Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Intimacy Experiment

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan

31 reviews

le3713's review

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Appreciated the unexpected romance novel premise, and the positive portrayal of religion.

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ayah_reads's review

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2.0

I really should learn to DNF 😭

This book has a pretty cool premise for a romcom, a plotline that carries itself through the entirety of the novel but the INSTA LOVE JUMPS OUT SO HARD.

I just couldn't with the way these two fell SO unbelievably quickly in love. Insta attraction fine, but in love?? The book literally takes place over the span of like max 2 months, I cannot.

It's well written and I enjoyed parts, but there were other things that irked, like the irony of Naomi running a seminar on modern intimacy when she is so obviously emotionally closed off and unable to be emotionally intimate with people??

Ethan would bust out insecurities that felt like they came out of nowhere and were dropped on us. Only part about this I liked was the internal discussion about what it means for the closet people in your life when your job is literally helping people. As someone who works in the NGO sector I felt that.

So sure, there were parts I liked, but overall unfortunately whilst there was an interesting premise, the insta love had to come and ruin it. And I saw the insta love like 50 pages in and that should have been my cue to drop the book but alas here we are 😭

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aseel_reads's review

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked that the main characters came from opposing worlds, very wholesome. I really relate to Naomi's attitude to intimacy, felt very seen. Otherwise, the pacing was a bit off and just read a little odd

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The first book in this duet was gifted to me for my birthday. I really enjoyed the first book, and this book was so cute but also talked about some subjects that don’t offer get spoken about.

This book has two points of view. The first is Naomi Grant. She has built her life around going against the grain. After the sex-positive start-up she cofounded becomes an international sensation, she wants to extend her educational platform to live lecturing. Unfortunately, despite her long list of qualifications, higher education won’t hire her. The second point of view is Ethan Cohen. He has recently received two honours: LA Magazine named him one of the city’s hottest bachelors and he became a rabbi of his own synagogue. Taking a gamble in a effort to attract more millennials to the faith, the executive board hire Ethan because of his nontraditional background. Unfortunately, his shul is low on both funds and congregants. The board have given him three months to turn things around or else they’ll close the doors of his synagogue for good. Naomi and Ethan join forces to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy, the perfect solution to their problems – until they discover a new one – their growing attraction to each other.

I liked how headstrong Noami was in the first book from the little snippets where we saw the friendship grow between her and Ciara. So, I was looking forward to seeing her own love story and I did not expect it to be with a Rabbi and a submissive man. It was fun, cute and sexy. But the serious subjects – trying to encourage young people to join a synagogue, sex workers after they leave the industry and that they are people before they are sex workers and how men treat male sex workers differently from female sex workers. Ethan was so adorable. I loved him and how he questions everything and doesn’t think he is worth it. Naomi was so headstrong, and I loved her and how she is fragile on the inside and doesn’t want to break. Her going back to her high school that she hated and then ranted about how break-ups sucked rather than the sex ed talk that she was supposed to be talking about.

I felt like there was something missing within this book, I don’t know what it was, it was just the extra sparkle that would make it five stars. Maybe it was the miscommunication that happened or the way that the getting back together happened.

I really enjoyed this book, and I cannot wait to read more of Rosie’s work.

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pages_with_panda's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Meh book honestly.

The in-story seminar was the most interesting thing about the story. The main characters had very little chemistry and honestly I didn't get their attraction to one another?

The middle dragged, the pacing was really slow and then felt rushed at the end.

And we were left with a few loose ends that never got answered?

What was with that whole board meeting about Naomi's family? Not that it matters HOW she's Jewish, but it was never explained BY Naomi her family situation? Plus her whole lecture at her high school seemed so randomly dropped in. I get it was supposed to be a full-circle for Naomi but it was so badly done.

Also felt like Jonathan didn't really have any character development? He stayed the same throughout the entirety of the story and was just overall boring?

We already got the shock value of a "good girl" dates "porn star" in the first book so it felt like in this story they just switched roles but it was the same story...Couple that with the fact the characters are also working on a "business" together? It was just unoriginal. (Unless you haven't read the first book, then I guess it's an okay premise?)

Also, the sex was very boring.

PLUS the late-stage conflict felt so out-of-character.

You expect me to believe that Naomi; a strong, assertive woman who has done whatever she wants for her whole life & never gives a damn about what anyone thinks, suddenly bends to the whims of others when it finally comes down to her actually happiness? What?

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leahhmorriss's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The pacing of this book felt a little off in the beginning but it quickly redeemed itself. I loved both of the main characters and I really enjoyed seeing their romance blossom. This book was also quite educational as I learnt more about Jewish culture and it had great representation of an empowered and independent woman who works in the sex industry.

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cheypreston's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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thebookpaiges's review

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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thefatpaperback's review

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5.0

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jen1804's review against another edition

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funny informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the Roommate (which I rated really high at 4.5⭐️). It wasn’t that this was a bad book, I just simply didn’t vibe with it as much.
This book had an interesting plot with a romantic thread woven through a story which is centred around a synagogue and Judaism, together with seminars on modern intimacy. This was fresh and insightful because I’ve never read anything like that before. There were also some really beautiful quotes throughout this book which I loved and will write below. But at the same time I guess the plot was just not really my scene and I found it difficult to connect with the story.
Whilst I did like the characters in this book, I didn’t LOVE them, I didn’t find them, or the plot, as fun as the first. I think that’s because there’s less romance and less spice in this one, which in some aspects is cool because it gives the plot more depth and this book is way more profound. However I went into it expecting way more romance than I got I guess.
Satisfactory ending? Yes and no.

“All those lights” - he pointed unnecessarily - “coming and going, each one a person with a whole world inside their head. People don’t think about that enough. How everyone we pass on the street has just as much complexity, just as many aspirations and fear and failures, as we do.”

“I forgot that love is essential. That even in its absence, you occupy yourself with the lack of it.”

“…We get all these different perspectives in one room, and suddenly you realise that people are going through the same stuff you are, even though we’ve all got our own stories. I like being connected, and I thought I’d find more of that here.”

Tender like a promise. Tender like a sunrise. Tender like your key in the front door at midnight, letting you in, welcoming you home.

“I’ve been a social pariah for many years now, and I can tell you that it’s worth it to not spend a second of your precious time on earth worrying about what other people believe you should do, believe you should be. Your body is a gift. Your life is yours alone.”

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