By E.M. Lindsey
Chanukah romance through disastrous dates
Subject
Themes
Ben Weiss, a university professor still recovering from discovering his boyfriend Taylor cheating three years earlier, finds himself the reluctant recipient of his brother Aaron's unusual Chanukah gift: eight blind dates, one for each night of the holiday. Despite Ben's protests that he's perfectly content alone, Aaron has spent days researching dating apps and selecting matches, convinced his younger brother needs to move past his heartbreak. Ben approaches the prospect with scepticism bordering on dread, armed with true crime podcast-inspired fears about meeting strangers.
Ben Weiss, a university professor still recovering from discovering his boyfriend Taylor cheating three years earlier, finds himself the reluctant recipient of his brother Aaron's unusual Chanukah gift: eight blind dates, one for each night of the holiday. Despite Ben's protests that he's perfectly…
Eight Dates occupies a significant position within contemporary LGBTQ romance literature, particularly within the sub-genre of queer holiday romances that have gained substantial popularity in the 21st century. The novel's publication in 2023 places it within a literary moment characterised by…
The journey from Taylor's betrayal to Nova's genuine care maps Ben's emotional healing across three years compressed into eight transformative nights. When the story begins, Ben insists he's moved on from discovering his boyfriend cheating with his teaching assistant, pointing to practical measures…
Ben's relationship with his family, particularly brother Aaron and their mother, reveals tensions between meeting expectations and living authentically. Aaron represents everything their parents hoped for: doctor, married, financially secure, presumably approaching fatherhood. Ben chose teaching,…
The central irony driving this romantic comedy lies in Ben's inability to see what's developing directly in front of him whilst enduring Aaron's carefully selected matches. Each disastrous date brings Ben back to the Crooked Pint and Nova, yet the framework of Aaron's gift initially blinds Ben to…
Ben's dry wit and deadpan delivery function simultaneously as protective armour and connection mechanism throughout the story. His sarcastic observations about murder podcasts, true crime scenarios, and potential serial killers transform anxiety about dating strangers into comedy, allowing him to…
This story centres queer experience not through tragedy or struggle but through the ordinary complications of finding love, family interference, and recovering from heartbreak. Ben's identity as a gay man exists as fundamental fact rather than plot point requiring justification or explanation. His…
Ben Weiss stands at the centre of this romantic comedy as a thirty-something university professor navigating the aftermath of heartbreak whilst being thrust back into dating against his will. He teaches at a public university, earning a modest salary that barely covers his expenses, yet takes pride…
Nova enters the story as the charming bartender at the Crooked Pint, serving drinks with theatrical flourishes and genuine warmth to patrons navigating their own romantic disasters. His presence provides refuge for Ben during eight increasingly catastrophic blind dates, and their connection develops…
Aaron Weiss represents both the golden child of the family and a surprisingly caring older brother whose good intentions occasionally miss their mark. As a successful doctor married to a kind woman, he embodies their parents' dreams in ways Ben never could or wanted to. Yet despite occupying this…
Taylor haunts the narrative as Ben's ex-boyfriend, the man who shattered Ben's trust three years before the story begins and whose ghost still influences Ben's reluctance to risk his heart again. Though he appears physically only once, near the story's conclusion, his impact permeates Ben's…
Ben Weiss sits in his cramped university office grading essays when his brother Aaron appears with an unusual Chanukah present: Ben's own phone, now loaded with a dating app. Aaron has arranged eight blind dates, one for each night of the holiday, convinced Ben needs to move past his breakup with…
Ben arrives at the Crooked Pint for his blind date with Chaz, immediately recognising the man at the bar from the coffee shop encounter: Nova, the person he gave his coat to. Nova introduces himself properly whilst making Ben's drink, mentioning his sister is the fierce barista who threw him out…
The fifth night finds Ben in crisis, FaceTiming his colleague Selina in Ireland whilst she battles insomnia. She confronts him about the obvious: Nova's consistent rescues, generosity, and attention go far beyond professional courtesy or casual friendship. She challenges Ben to stop hiding behind…
Ben arrives for the sixth date to find Nova absent from the bar, replaced by female bartender. Charlie proves immediately problematic: tall, broad, aggressively masculine, treating service staff with contempt. He whistles and snaps fingers to summon their server, orders Ben's drink despite Ben's…
The seventh date brings someone who spends entire evening discussing polyamory philosophy despite Ben's profile explicitly stating he seeks monogamous relationship. The match insists monogamy represents outdated social construct and Ben's reluctance stems from internalised shame requiring therapy.…
Ben Weiss, a history professor at a public university, finds himself confronted by his well-meaning but overbearing brother Aaron with an unusual Chanukah present. Aaron has taken it upon himself to address what he perceives as Ben's isolation following a painful breakup with his ex-boyfriend…
With six dates completed and only two remaining, the relationship between Ben and Nova deepens in ways that transcend their initial attraction. They begin to build routines together, small rituals that speak to a future neither has explicitly acknowledged, but both seem to be moving toward. Nova…
The seventh date, which should have brought Ben closer to the end of his obligation, instead takes a dark and frightening turn that fundamentally alters the trajectory of his relationship with Nova. His date, Daniel, initially seems unremarkable if uninspiring, presenting as just another in a line…
In the immediate aftermath of the assault, the eighth and final date becomes an impossibility that neither Ben nor Nova attempt to salvage or reschedule. Ben is emotionally exhausted, physically shaken by what happened with Daniel, and dealing with the practical and psychological aftermath of filing…
The final chapters find Ben and Nova in the quiet aftermath of the chaotic week, building something intentional and deliberate from the wreckage of eight disastrous dates. They spend the day together in comfortable domesticity that feels both natural and revolutionary for Ben, who has spent years…
Ben Weiss stands at the centre of this romantic comedy as a thirty-something university professor navigating the aftermath of heartbreak whilst being thrust back into dating against his will. He teaches at a public university, earning a modest salary that barely covers his expenses, yet takes pride…
Nova enters the story as the charming bartender at the Crooked Pint, serving drinks with theatrical flourishes and genuine warmth to patrons navigating their own romantic disasters. His presence provides refuge for Ben during eight increasingly catastrophic blind dates, and their connection develops…
Aaron Weiss represents both the golden child of the family and a surprisingly caring older brother whose good intentions occasionally miss their mark. As a successful doctor married to a kind woman, he embodies their parents' dreams in ways Ben never could or wanted to. Yet despite occupying this…
Taylor haunts the narrative as Ben's ex-boyfriend, the man who shattered Ben's trust three years before the story begins and whose ghost still influences Ben's reluctance to risk his heart again. Though he appears physically only once, near the story's conclusion, his impact permeates Ben's…
By E.M. Lindsey
Subject
Themes
Ben Weiss, a university professor still recovering from discovering his boyfriend Taylor cheating three years earlier, finds himself the reluctant recipient of his brother Aaron's unusual Chanukah gift: eight blind dates, one for each night of the holiday. Despite Ben's protests that he's perfectly content alone, Aaron has spent days researching dating apps and selecting matches, convinced his younger brother needs to move past his heartbreak. Ben approaches the prospect with scepticism bordering on dread, armed with true crime podcast-inspired fears about meeting strangers.