Review: Miracle of the Bellskis by Astrid Amara

Last year I really enjoyed Astrid Amara's Hanukkah story Love Ahead: Expect Delays, and so I was looking forward to her offering this year.  At first I was a little dismayed to discover that the story was a sequel to Carol of the Bellskis which I haven't read, but it seemed a good excuse to buy and read that first book so I could get this one too.  I loved Carol of the Bellskis which I reviewed briefly on Good Reads here, and so that made me look forward to reading this book.

Whilst, in the end, I didn't enjoy this one as much as Carol of the Bellskis, it was still a really great read.  It picks up the story three years after the first book.  Lars is now out to his family and, having sold his half of the partnership of his previous law firm, is now in business on his own.  Seth has passed the bar and is working as an attorney for a friend of Lars, Violet, because he wants to gain some independent experience away from Lars' influence.  All would be perfect except that Lars' parents are coming to stay for Christmas, meeting Seth for the first time, and Seth finds that he has to juggle to expectations of his family at Hanukkah with coping with the frosty behaviour of Lars' parents.

What I liked about this story was that it was less about Hanukkah itself and more about the slight clash of Jewish/Christian traditions around this time of year. Previous Hanukkah stories from this author have focused on the importance of Jewish family and traditions, but with the addition of Lars' parents, the focus shifts to how they view Seth's Jewish traditions and how he views their Christian traditions.  This was handled in a very sensitive fashion, and is a gradual creeping theme through the story so that I never felt that either tradition was being favoured over the other.

The visit from Lars' parents is a cause of contention between Seth and Lars, leading to arguments, but on the whole I liked that they were a united front against the cold treatment from Lars' parents.  I especially like the scenes where Seth stands up for Lars, or for himself.  This is something I've always liked about the character of Seth. He's not afraid to tell people exactly what he thinks, even if it's not the more diplomatic way of going about things.  In this book it works in his favour, as his forthrightness coupled with a 'through gritted teeth' determination to make the best of the situation because he want things to be better for Lars, is just the right thing to do for Lar's parents.

Where the story didn't work so well was in the plot involving a divorce case.  Seth and Lars find themselves on opposite sides when Seth takes on a last minute divorce case.  This would have been fine, expect that I'm sure there could have been a better way of resolving the problems they encounter other than the grand gesture that Lars makes towards the end of the story (sorry for being vague, I don't want to give away spoilers). I can see why it was used because it not only gave the story a dramatic push but it allowed all the characters in the story to gather in one place, but the whole thing felt a little forced.  Other than that part, I liked the way that Seth's working life is shown, such as the haphazard way that Seth and Violet run the office, compared the Lars' much more organised way of doing things. It was also nice to see the pair working as attorneys as it gave a different perspective on their relationship.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this novella length story.  I loved revisiting Seth and Lars and was happy to see them having successfully worked through the problems from the previous books.  Even the niggle with the divorce case wasn't enough to really spoil things to much for me and I would happily recommend Miracle of the Bellskis with a grade of 'Excellent'.

Buy this book HERE.