3.5 stars

I don't know how else to describe this read as anything than achingly tender. I feel like it really gets at the core of every person, there is such a focus on the struggles that ensnare our insecurities, confusion, trying to figure out how to become an adult, get out of a rut in your life, etc. And the feelings that this will bring out in you! The author really handles that thin line of friendship and romance so so well, and all of the unsure anxiety ridden feelings that come with it (along with the excited tingly butterflies) when you value that person's friendship so entirely that you don't want to ruin it with adding in romantic feelings. Overall such a great read.


book given in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed reading this book! I read this book in one sitting because I could not put the book down, I highly recommend reading this book!

The Right Thing to Do at the Time's main character is a trans Jewish man! I was incredibly excited to read this book because of that because there aren't many books out there with representation. The actual read was charming and heartfelt. I loved the characters. They were very three-dimensional and wasy to love and they felt like family.

I thought this book would be a light-hearted romantic comedy sort of story, but it was a lot deeper than that. There was a lot of deeper truths and meanings if you read between the lines. I really enjoyed reading this Pride and Prejudice retelling.

To start off with, I liked the diversity in this book where the main protagonist Ari is a trans-Jewish guy. I also loved how the story takes place in Jewish side of New York City (one of my favorite places in the world) and is a cute re-telling of Price and Prejudice. I am not Jewish but I feel like I learnt a lot about the culture indirectly from reading this book. What I also found interesting is that even though they talk bout trans, cis and these other labels, the author blurs all of these lines when it comes to love, which I really liked. There are a lot of feel good moments, and I loved that the author has not focused just on romance, but gives importance to friendship, family and gives importance to other characters as well.

But having said that, I did feel like this book felt a bit rushed and there was a lot of things happening every quickly, so I found it hard to keep up with the plot. Also, there is a lot of Jewish references, so for someone like me who is not familiar with it, it took a lot of time to understand what they were talking about as I had to research it separately (in a way that is good as I learnt a lot about the culture, but at the same time, it slowed my interest on the plot in some parts).

Overall, I thought this was a fun book to read and a good, modern re-telling of one of Austen's classics.

Sorry, I could not get into this one. I love P&P retellings, and I was intrigued by queer NYC as the setting (so many possibilities for social snubbing!) but didn't really connect with the characters. Thanks anyway.

This book is hard for me to review because I don't really know what my feelings about it are. I think I enjoyed some aspects but I was bored throughout a lot of it so it can't have been that entertaining. 3 stars it is, maybe closer to 2.5.

I received a free ebook copy of The Right Thing to Do at the Time in exchange for my honest review.

I believe I would have enjoyed this novel far more if I hadn't known it was meant to be a Pride & Prejudice retelling. While there are parallels, it isn't a perfect match to the original, and I spent stressful amount of time trying to work out who was who as the story moved forward slowly and characters eventually became introduced.

The Right Thing to Do at the Time employs a dry Jewish humor that I did find quite enjoyable, with ample footnotes to translate the Yiddish bits. Additionally, Itche and Ari's friendship is heartwarming and frankly is what makes the book worth the read. Itche and Ari have been friends since summer camp, both outcast; Ari was forced to sleep in a tent outside (the boys called it his "apartment") instead of a cabin because he was trans. They are supportive of each other in all ways, basically family, and it's excellent.

There is a lot of transphobia in this book. Ari's bubbie refuses to use his real name, his father makes a weird comment about everyone accepting the genitals God gave them, many people stare at his crotch inappropriately or make gross comments about trans people in general, and there's a trans-antagonistic confrontation near the end that left me in tears. This isn't to say it isn't accurate to life, but it's worth noting. Ari's family -- and the cast of characters generally, excepting Itche -- all left me rather fermished.

I tried to get into this, but I just couldn't stand the writing style. Sometimes the book's just not for you! Rating three stars because I don't want to punish the book for not being to my taste...

The book resonated with me being that it is an LGBTQ+ novel, but I find many of the words and terminologies confusing.

Many references to Jewish cultish and Yiddish words used, which is interesting to me personally, but it does interrupt the story a lot. I kept going into a googling spree after one interesting cultural search after another. A good book for someone looking to read LGBTQ genre.

This book has some really unique writing style that entrances you from the first page itself. Also, the pitch for this book goes like: a Pride and Prejudice retelling with two queer, Jewish men, so there's no chance I wanted to leave this unread. The Jewish rep and the LGBTQ+ rep is immensely well incorporated into a classic plot line of P&P. There is a little quirkiness and a wittiness in the voice of the narrator which is one of my most favorite kind of narration styles so that's a great point to consider. There are hidden meanings and individualistic references throughout the story that really pulls you in and gives a better dimension to the character. However, the exact same thing somehow worked against the book, too. At some points, it was really difficult for me to continue reading because the quirky writing was getting a little irritating and the references were not making sense. So the lack of balance really stood out at a few places and I had to mark this as a good read instead of an excellent one.

Thank you a Tiny Golem Press and Netgalley for an ARC.

This is not my usual genre but it was an enjoyable read.

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review)

I'm not going to give this one a star rating because I just couldn't get into it. I tried twice, and maybe I'll try again down the road, but something about the writing and I don't click. At all. It's very... I'm not even sure how to describe it? It's very conversational, I guess? So it's abrupt at points and just strange?

Also, I'd still offer it/recommend it to people if they're looking for something like this - queer, Jewish as hell, and takes place in New York.

I think I might of just not been in the right headspace for the romantic comedy vibe? And wasn't expecting it, for some reason, the first time I picked it up. Even though I only got a bit through, and I don't think I'll finish, I'd still give it probably a solid two stars from what I got through. I can definitely see the interest/intrigue with this one - the writing just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason.

As a queer Jew, this was an awesome read. Seriously, I felt so connected to it and there were so many moments that I literally thought it was a book about me. Love.

Officially on hold, possibly forever, at around 16% of the ARC.

I think this is a great book and the writing is so unique and it's what initially made me think that I would love it. However, it's really not easy to read at all. Not just the writing style, but the book itself is just...difficult. Difficult as in, you can't take anything literally.

For example, Ari not being able to break up with his girlfriends isn't something that you should take literally, at least not in my interpretation. It's a metaphor and a great representation of what it means to wander through life passively. That makes it difficult for me to read because it hits too close to home, but also it's full of references that I feel like I don't really get. I'm just not in the mood or in the right place to read a book that takes me a lot of effort to read.

Rep: Jewish trans man queer MC, Jewish queer LI

I can't say enough good things about this book. It is a Jewish romantic comedy featuring a trans protagonist with a passion for the violin - and several equally colorful characters. There is a *lot* of Yiddish, but Dov Zeller provides comprehensive footnotes for the unfamiliar reader.
I've never been a big Austen fan, so the Pride and Prejudice comparisons largely escaped me - but the Fiddler on the Roof comparison is apt. This is a wonderful novel about friendship, romantic entanglements, family, faith, and all the complications that come along with those things.

It's good. You need to be comfortable with Jewish and Jewish-ness. It's very Jewish. There's no side-stepping it and it's good to see. I've never read Pride and Prejudice so I can't say whether it hits the nail in the comparison between it and this story. But it's on its own a good story and enjoyable.



I enjoyed my time with this story. It took me SO LONG to write this because EVERY TIME I would go to write/add this to this blog.. blogger would have issues OR NETGALLEY WOULD.

This was downloaded through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Recommend? Yes. If you've read this lemme know what you thought about it!

DNF @ ~20%


I was really hopeful about this book - a Pride and Prejudice retelling with two queer, Jewish men? Of course I wanted to love it.

But I just could not trudge through the writing style. Or Ari's apathy.

The pacing of this story was way too slow. 20% into the book I felt as though nothing of real interest had happened. There was nothing captivating or intriguing about the plot. And the characters themselves were not saving the story for me either.

Ari was, sadly, a very stagnant character to me. Apathetic in everything he did, from avoiding relationships (sorry guys, ghosting in a HUGE personal peeve), to not quitting his violin lessons for SIX YEARS because his teacher wouldn't 'let him'. I understand being a person who avoids things or struggles with the motivation of certain tasks. But Ari was this to an extreme and, along with the slow pacing and lack of story, frankly it was the opposite of entertaining.

Now, I do want to note that while this wasn't a book for me reviews of this book seem to be one of two things: DNFs or 4/5 stars. There are also a number of own voices reviews who speak positively of the representation in this book, so please check them out. Because I am neither trans nor Jewish nor a queer male. And perhaps this is part of the reason I did not feel engaged in the story.

I will also note that a lot of reviews discuss the first half of the book being a slug, but then the story and writing improves.

Either way, this was not a story for me.

This book caught me by surprise. There were so many elements of the story that made it utterly unique, and I really enjoyed it. Would definitely recommend!

The funny thing about reading e-books is that you don't end up reading and rereading the cover material like the back of a cereal box each morning. As I worked my way through the queue in ereader, I read The Right Thing to Do At the Time without much context other than the title, so the whole "if Jane Austen and Sholem Aleichem" and retelling of Pride & Prejudice went right by me. Despite missing the reference, I really enjoyed the story. There was something familiar and real about characters' relationships, something gentle and sweet, occasionally frustrating and frequently humorous. All good, though at one point you will want to go after Ari's brother or go console Ari (either way).

I recommend this book, knowing there is a level of geekery for Austen Lovers that flew passed me and a depth of humor and meaning that I missed as I didn't grow up in a Jewish family or with much nearby Jewish community.