Unorthodox Love by Heidi Shertok

 💖💖💖💖/5

Unorthodox Love by Heidi Shertok is a sweet, emotional story about an Orthodox Jewish unmarried, twenty-something who offers a unique view at modern social issues and traditional expectations and how they affect her. At twenty-nine and unmarried in a community where young women most often get married by their early twenties, Penina Kalish is considered old in the Orthodox world. A medical condition ensures that she’ll never have children, and as this is something extremely important to Orthodox Jews, Penina knows she’s damaged goods and unlikely to find a husband. The dates she does go on, set up by a feisty but out-of-touch matchmaker, never go well. Penina works at a jewelry shop, but also helps out with her family, volunteers with preemies at the NICU, and maintains an Instagram account focused on modest, budget-friendly, and fashionable attire. Sam Kleinfeld is Penina’s new boss, the son of the jewelry store’s owner. He’s rich, incredibly handsome, Jewish (though not Orthodox), possibly single, a little rough around the edges, but with a good heart. Being an outsider of the Orthodox community, Sam sees Penina as she truly is; not broken or missing something essential as she often thinks of herself. As Penina gets to know him, she realizes how easy it would be to love him, but he’s off-limits. As Penina struggles to keep her heart in check and help save her sister’s house, she’ll learn a thing or two about how she is truly not damaged, what makes a person whole, and maybe she’ll fall in love along the way. Penina truly does love her Judaism, exactly the way she practices. She is not struggling against the rules of the orthodoxy she follows, nor does she ever consider a way out; her doubts are only whether Sam, as a secular Jew, is willing to fit into her life.

Ms. Shertok wrote a cute, fun romance that gives you a peek inside a world most people aren’t familiar with along with a lot of Orthodox Jewish traditions. I enjoyed the banter between Penina and Sam, funny moments that had me laughing, and many of the issues brought up in this book. There isn’t any spice in this book which is necessary because of the religious aspect of this and respect that the author stuck to that. As one who grew up as a secular Jew, it was wonderful to read about a story with a Jewish female character and enjoyed the portrayal of an orthodox Jewish community throughout the book. For those who are not of the Jewish faith, the book does an excellent job going over and explaining the details without being too over the top. I highly recommend Orthodox Love to other readers.

 

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. 

 

Unorthodox Love will be available at your favorite retailers July 11, 2023.