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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was so pleasantly surprised by this, like partway through reading it I was like I am not really invested in either of these characters, but then tell me why I was speeding through it so invested in the outcome??
Also, if you're a person of faith (or even if you're not), the whole book is worth it just for the thoughtful conversations on religion, dating, and intimacy in today's world.
Also, if you're a person of faith (or even if you're not), the whole book is worth it just for the thoughtful conversations on religion, dating, and intimacy in today's world.
I'm committed to finishing it but I really don't want to. The characters don't feel real and their attraction seems superficial. I'm almost done and hoping the end makes up for the rest.
The writing style is forced, as if the author is trying to stretch the story with these descriptions or else she is trying to use some writing- class techniques. What is her fascination with the tongue?! She has made numerous descriptions using tongues.
The writing style is forced, as if the author is trying to stretch the story with these descriptions or else she is trying to use some writing- class techniques. What is her fascination with the tongue?! She has made numerous descriptions using tongues.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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:
Complicated
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I just expected a little more, I guess.. I absolutely loved the roommate and when I found out about this book I definitely did have high expectations. It just didn't live up to those expectations. The storyline was pretty good. The way Naomi gets judged for her work is so sad and it's also so sad that Ethan gets judged for dating her. It's also so sad that because he's a rabbi, he needs to live up to certain expectations. I mean, he's also just a person like you and me. So, because I did like the storyline this book got three stars instead of two. I must say that while I do like Rosie Danans writing style, I do always get quite confused with whose point of view she is writing from. I struggled with this while reading the roommate and now again at the start of this book I was so confused and it's not like it gets that much clearer throughout the book. But next to that, I did enjoy reading this book but if there ever comes another book then I probably wouldn't read it.
I just expected a little more, I guess.. I absolutely loved the roommate and when I found out about this book I definitely did have high expectations. It just didn't live up to those expectations. The storyline was pretty good. The way Naomi gets judged for her work is so sad and it's also so sad that Ethan gets judged for dating her. It's also so sad that because he's a rabbi, he needs to live up to certain expectations. I mean, he's also just a person like you and me. So, because I did like the storyline this book got three stars instead of two. I must say that while I do like Rosie Danans writing style, I do always get quite confused with whose point of view she is writing from. I struggled with this while reading the roommate and now again at the start of this book I was so confused and it's not like it gets that much clearer throughout the book. But next to that, I did enjoy reading this book but if there ever comes another book then I probably wouldn't read it.
Very disappointing. LOVED The Roommate but unfortunately this book was
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
medium-paced
4.5⭐️ this was really good! Very very different from the roommate definitely don’t go in expecting a similar vibe but this was great! I enjoyed the MMC so much he was such a sweet nice guy. This book was really Jewish which was lovely to read I love that he was a rabbi and her journey through faith. Overall great read but would have loved more of them together before they started dating and a bit more spice but still good!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
REVIEW
cw: anxiety, misogyny, mentions of death, cancer, organised religion
When the sex-positive start-up she co-founded becomes an international sensation, her responsibilities shift from the bedroom to the boardroom. Ready to conquer new worlds, Naomi wants to extend her platform to live lecturing, but higher education won't hire her. Ethan Cohen has recently received two LA Mag named him one of the city's hottest bachelors and he became rabbi of his own synagogue. Unfortunately, his shul is low on both funds and congregants so the board gives him three months to turn things around or they'll close the doors for good.Together, Naomi and Ethan 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. They've built the syllabus for love's latest experiment, but neither of them expected they'd be the ones putting it to the test.
I really, REALLY wanted to love this book. I LOVED the first book, and I've also adored Rosie's most recent two books, but this one dragged.
I'd loved Naomi in the roommate, and, while I appreciate she was on a journey here, I felt like we'd lost the essence of Naomi somewhere along the way. Still, I liked how at ease she was able to make everyone who came to her seminars feel. As in the previous book, I also appreciated the positivity towards sex work. But my heart ached for Naomi when she spoke about how she always worried about being judged in one way or another, and it explained her seemingly hard exterior. Her recollection of high school broke my heart, and I was furious on her behalf at the way 'frat guy' spoke to her. But I chuckled at the scene with Ethan taking him to task. And drunk Ethan was ADORABLE. Speaking of Ethan, I loved how self-deprecating he was, and I also loved his relationship with his sister, Leah. She was funny and I loved the teasing between her and Ethan. Her arrival at the mixer made me cackle. But she also gave great advice.
At times I have to admit, I wished Leah was Naomi's love interest, because, while I ADORE a slow-burn, this was excruciatingly slow, mainly because the focus on religion was personally too much for me. Look, I realise Ethan was a rabbi, but I didn’t learn anything about Judaism that I didn’t already know, and, at times it felt like I was reading an introduction to Judaism handbook rather than a romance novel. And my goodness, it became boring very quickly. I hold my hands up. I'm not a fan of ANY religion, having spent the first half of my life being force-fed Catholicism, so perhaps that's why it irked me so much, and I would say this regardless of whatever denomination had been chosen... there was just WAY TOO much for a romance, and I couldn't push past it.
Not for me. DNF at 48%
Updated 23rd July
So, I decided to finish the book, but honestly, the above review still stands.
cw: anxiety, misogyny, mentions of death, cancer, organised religion
When the sex-positive start-up she co-founded becomes an international sensation, her responsibilities shift from the bedroom to the boardroom. Ready to conquer new worlds, Naomi wants to extend her platform to live lecturing, but higher education won't hire her. Ethan Cohen has recently received two LA Mag named him one of the city's hottest bachelors and he became rabbi of his own synagogue. Unfortunately, his shul is low on both funds and congregants so the board gives him three months to turn things around or they'll close the doors for good.Together, Naomi and Ethan 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. They've built the syllabus for love's latest experiment, but neither of them expected they'd be the ones putting it to the test.
I really, REALLY wanted to love this book. I LOVED the first book, and I've also adored Rosie's most recent two books, but this one dragged.
I'd loved Naomi in the roommate, and, while I appreciate she was on a journey here, I felt like we'd lost the essence of Naomi somewhere along the way. Still, I liked how at ease she was able to make everyone who came to her seminars feel. As in the previous book, I also appreciated the positivity towards sex work. But my heart ached for Naomi when she spoke about how she always worried about being judged in one way or another, and it explained her seemingly hard exterior. Her recollection of high school broke my heart, and I was furious on her behalf at the way 'frat guy' spoke to her. But I chuckled at the scene with Ethan taking him to task. And drunk Ethan was ADORABLE. Speaking of Ethan, I loved how self-deprecating he was, and I also loved his relationship with his sister, Leah. She was funny and I loved the teasing between her and Ethan. Her arrival at the mixer made me cackle. But she also gave great advice.
At times I have to admit, I wished Leah was Naomi's love interest, because, while I ADORE a slow-burn, this was excruciatingly slow, mainly because the focus on religion was personally too much for me. Look, I realise Ethan was a rabbi, but I didn’t learn anything about Judaism that I didn’t already know, and, at times it felt like I was reading an introduction to Judaism handbook rather than a romance novel. And my goodness, it became boring very quickly. I hold my hands up. I'm not a fan of ANY religion, having spent the first half of my life being force-fed Catholicism, so perhaps that's why it irked me so much, and I would say this regardless of whatever denomination had been chosen... there was just WAY TOO much for a romance, and I couldn't push past it.
Not for me. DNF at 48%
Updated 23rd July
So, I decided to finish the book, but honestly, the above review still stands.
This was good, and made so many important points, but unfortunately I just didn’t find myself enjoying it as much as I did The Roommate.
Naomi was one of my favourite characters in the last book, so I was really excited to be in her head and see everything through her eyes, and we did, but only the cynical stuff. We saw her have panic attacks when she was triggered by things from her past, but we never actually saw them get addressed, they were noted, but not fully addressed. I also liked Ethan as a character, because we so rarely get soft MMCs and he really was soft, I would have liked more of his family, because his mum was introduced and then we never saw her again!
I think my issue was with the pacing of this one, especially in regards to their relationship, because of where the action took place, we saw them get together for 3 weeks, break up, get back together and then in a 9 month later epilogue we know they are engaged, we just didn’t get the relationship development that this book needed. I think this is more annoying to me because it took until the halfway point for them to address the romantic tension between them and then I don’t think we got anything concrete.
What this was really successful in was bringing Judaism into a romance book, I don’t know if I’ve read any other romance book where being Jewish was explicitly mentioned. This was also great for showing how having a community and people you can rely on is so important, but also how these communities have to evolve to suit the needs of the people and not force people to meet standards that are no longer relevant.
Naomi was one of my favourite characters in the last book, so I was really excited to be in her head and see everything through her eyes, and we did, but only the cynical stuff. We saw her have panic attacks when she was triggered by things from her past, but we never actually saw them get addressed, they were noted, but not fully addressed. I also liked Ethan as a character, because we so rarely get soft MMCs and he really was soft, I would have liked more of his family, because his mum was introduced and then we never saw her again!
I think my issue was with the pacing of this one, especially in regards to their relationship, because of where the action took place, we saw them get together for 3 weeks, break up, get back together and then in a 9 month later epilogue we know they are engaged, we just didn’t get the relationship development that this book needed. I think this is more annoying to me because it took until the halfway point for them to address the romantic tension between them and then I don’t think we got anything concrete.
What this was really successful in was bringing Judaism into a romance book, I don’t know if I’ve read any other romance book where being Jewish was explicitly mentioned. This was also great for showing how having a community and people you can rely on is so important, but also how these communities have to evolve to suit the needs of the people and not force people to meet standards that are no longer relevant.