Whether you loved or hated “Nobody Wants This” — or maybe felt a little of both emotions — the show may have left you jonesing for some Jewish romance. If the Netflix Hot Rabbi Show starring Adam Brody as Rabbi Noah Roklov and Kristin Bell as the hot non-Jewish blonde he falls into steamy love with, then this list is for you.
We’ve written about the Jewish films you could be watching with your special sweetheart (a special sweetheart can also be a tub of pickles or an everything bagel, just FYI) but here are some cozy and funny Jewish romance novels you can be cuddling up with while you wait on season two of “Nobody Wants This.” Creator Erin Foster said we will probably have to wait for for at least a year, so you’ve got plenty of time to read!
If you want more hot rabbis:
“The Intimacy Experiment” by Rosie Danan
Need another hot LA Reform rabbi in your life? May I suggest Rabbi Ethan Cohen from this steamy book? In “The Intimacy Experiment,” Naomi, a (Jewish!) former porn star and current sex educator gets hired to teach intimacy classes by said hot Jewish LA rabbi and bachelor. Rabbi Ethan and Naomi became unlikely co-lecturers — and maybe something more — in this very romantic and very risqué book.
“Shiksa” was meant to be the title of “Nobody Wants This,” but if it were honest, it would have the same title as this book, which does indeed deliver on the hot rabbi and then some. What happens when free-spirited and pink-haired Shoshana goes to her childhood synagogue to see the hot new rabbi in town? Well, things get steamy, of course.
“Learning to Love” by Felice Stevens
Yet another tale of a hot rabbi (our cup truly runneth over)! This time, it’s the story of Jewish caterer Gideon Marks who comes home after a decade away for a holiday catering job at his childhood synagogue. There, he finds his old teenage nemesis and secret crush — Rabbi Jonah Fine. As you would expect, things get hotter than a Shabbat hot plate.
If you want a gender-flipped (loud! strong!) Jewish woman with a (dreamy!) non-Jewish man dynamic:
“Mr. Perfect On Paper” by Jean Meltzer
Erin Foster, creator of “Nobody Wants This,” worked as the creative head at Bumble, and Dara Rabinowitz, the heroine of this story from Meltzer, is the CEO and founder of a Jewish dating app — J-Mate. Just like Rebecca in “Nobody Wants This,” she’s a Jewish woman who knows the kind of future she wants — she has a list of qualities her bashert needs to have. When her bubbe exposes that list on public TV, a local news anchor — a non-Jewish single dad — asks to help document her quest for love on air. But what if true love doesn’t tick all of our imagined boxes?
“Funny You Should Ask” by Elissa Sussman
Sussman’s big mission with this book about a loud and brash Jewish reporter who falls for the haunted dreamboat Hollywood actor she interviews? To show Jewish women that they’re worthy of that big romance. And show it she does!
“Sadie on the Plate” by Amanda Elliot
Forget about a reform rabbi dating a non-Jewish woman! This book is about a truly epic forbidden love dynamic: Can you really date the guy you’re competing against in a heated “Top Chef” style reality competition? This book about a Jewish aspiring chef, Sadie, and the cute guy she meets on the plane to compete in “Chef Supreme” — who of course turns out to be her adversary in the show — is delicious and delightful.
“Girl Meets Goy” series from Aviva Gat
I’ll be honest, while I may not hate it as much as I hate “shiksa,” I’m not a big fan of the word “goy.” But this series from Gat promises the “Nobody Wants This” gender-flipped romance of your dream, with the story of an aspiring journalist and the non-Jewish boy who saves her on the subway and their unfolding romance.
If you loved the podcast aspect of “Nobody Wants This:”
“The Ex-Talk” by Rachel Lynn Solomon
OK, so this book by Jewish romance maven Rachel Lynn Solomon is about a Jewish/non-Jewish love affair, but it’s also about a veteran Jewish radio producer who starts a dating show called “The Ex-Talk” with her on-the-job nemesis, a show which ends up climbing the podcast charts and which leads to an unlikely but wonderful romance.
If you loved the whirlwind glamorous romantic feel of the show:
“Playing the Palace” by Paul Rudnick
This is truly a queer romantic fairytale in which a nice event planner from New Jersey falls in love with the literal Prince of Wales. It’s a funny, wonderful gift of a book by New Yorker writer Paul Rudnick. In 2023, Rudnick released “Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style” which may even be more charming for “Nobody Wants This” lovers, about a nice Jewish boy from New Jersey, aspiring writer Nate Reminger and his decades-long love for Farrell Covington, the WASP-y, glamorous scion of a conservative American family, who he meets as a student at Yale in the 1970s.
“What You Do to Me” by Rochelle B. Weinstein
This book asks, what if a song like The Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah” was written about a musician’s first love — a Jewish girl named Sarah Friedman? Is there a more romantic concept than that? Rockstar Eddie Vee and Sarah did not end up together, but when Rolling Stones journalist Cecilia James tries to unearth the story behind that hit love song, she ends up unraveling a very complicated but epic love story and finding some truths about herself along the way.
“Till There Was You” by Lindsay Hameroff
Speaking of love songs, here’s a love story between a Jewish chef, Lexi Berman, and Jake Taylor, the indie musician she had a whirlwind weekend with while in culinary school and who wrote what would end up being a huge hit based on that affair. Years later, Jake winds up on Lexi’s door, and well, as the synopsis reads: “Things between them soon reheat faster than a bowl of Lexi’s matzah ball soup.”
If you love meddling Jewish moms and lots of relationship goss:
“Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat” by Lauren Appelbaum
The Jewish mom in this millennial romance may or may not put Bina — Noah’s mom from “Nobody Wants This” — to shame with her meddling in her daughter’s Rachel’s love life, but she does mean well and she does end up introducing her to an unlikely, but actually very successful match, the nice Jewish tech bro who bought the house next door for his parents. Rachel’s friend chat does have a Joanne and Morgan relationship banter vibe, too.
If you want novels that talk about similar “forbidden” dynamics within the Jewish community:
“Unorthodox Love” by Heidi Shertok
The idea that dating a fellow Jew is no fun or drama-free is as far from truth as possible — the truth is that a lot of Jewish couples don’t necessarily have the same level of observance, and that brings with it tension, but also a lot opportunities for growth. In this story, a 29-year-old Orthodox Jewish woman is considering an arranged and loveless marriage after despairing from the Orthodox dating world. In walks her brash, secular Jewish boss — with who she has undeniable chemistry.
“An Unorthodox Match” and “An Observant Wife” by Naomi Ragen
This book and its sequel follow the unlikely romance between a secular Jewish woman from California and an Orthodox widow from Boro Park, Brooklyn. These two books explore the real dynamics of Orthodox conversion and what it means to be a convert in that insular community.
If you want a synagogue romance meets Bridgerton:
“Marry Me at Midnight” by Felicia Grossman
This book is a gender-switched Cinderella story featuring a synagogue custodian that will transport you to 1830s Jewish England. This wonderfully researched and felt book is a feminist tale of a Sephardi heiress who needs to marry to keep her interests in her late father’s business and the impoverished Ashkenazi man who fits the shoe for the task quite perfectly. Cinderella lovers will also find plenty of easter eggs to delight you in this wonderful book.
If you’re looking for a sapphic interfaith romance:
“Seasons of Love” by Helena Greer
This enemies-to-lovers tale about a Jewish artist who falls for the grumpy groundskeeper at her late Jewish great-aunt’s Christmas tree farm, which she of course was forced to take over, is perfect for the upcoming holiday season where Christmas and Hanukkah happen to coincide.
If you’re looking for a sizzling, queer, very Jewish slow-burn romance and more complicated sibling dynamics:
“Whenever You’re Ready” by Rachel Runya Katz
A few weeks after their best friend, Michal, died of cancer, Nia and Jade had a fight that imploded their friendship. Three years later, a letter from Michal urges them, along with Jonah (Michal’s boyfriend and Jade’s twin brother), to go on a Jewish road trip through the South, visiting historical Jewish locations. The trip brings them face to face with their grief, with their relationship with Jonah, but also, with the fact that Nia’s teen crush on Jade may not be so one-sided after all. And one more bonus title for the list: If the summer camp scene of “Nobody Wants This” had your jonesing for more Jewish summer camp love stories, consider Katz’s debut novel, “Thank You For Sharing.” You’re welcome.
