What an unexpectedly spectacular book.
To be honest, when I started reading this and saw just how much these characters’ religion (which is Judaism) is a part of their story, I was afraid I won’t be able to relate or understand. I’m not familiar with Jewish beliefs, growing up in a Catholic-majority country.

Plus, I’m just really averse to stories that involve religion because, more often than not, it involves intolerance from people who preach about God and “loving everyone” when they can’t do it themselves. It just ends up making me angry and I’m not about that life, nosirthankyou. And while there was intolerance and bigotry here, they weren’t the adjacent themes to the exploration of religion in this book. It was more like faith, in general. How it could be this beautiful thing you can hold onto, a bridge that will connect you to the right people.

Not gonna lie, the way faith and religion were explored in this book made me, a very non-religious person, misty-eyed and hopeful.

Anyway, before I make this too long, I want to talk about the book itself first! Because it’s amazing and just lovely and made my heart so full!!! When I started it and read the first couple of chapters, I immediately thought it was already waaaaaaay better than The Roommate. I don’t know if it’s the writing or my mood or just my general interest in these characters, but God, I loved reading this book so much.

So, as you may know, Naomi is a former porn star who now runs Shameless, an organization that teaches people about pleasure. Then she runs into Ethan, a rabbi at a Reform Jewish synagogue. He asks her to teach his congregation about modern intimacy to attract more people to his synagogue.

I LOVE these two SO MUCH. Naomi has been a character of interest to me since reading The Roommate. She was such a scene-stealer and I wanted to know more about her. And once I did while reading this book, I just wanted to give her a hug and punch people on her behalf. And then there’s Ethan, hottest rabbi in town. It feels like sacrilege saying that but that’s basically how Naomi describes him lmao. Anyway...this man, you guys. He’s just so...ugh. So good and so pure and so smart and so compassionate and so...everything. His beliefs, his relationship to his faith, the way he loves—all of these things were just so beautiful to see. He reminded me of one of my most favorite soft boy in romance, Ren Bergman from Always Only You by Chloe Liese. Good, soft guys just hit different. Sigh.

I don’t want to say anymore because, honestly, I wouldn’t be able to put into words the feelings this book made me feel. Just know that it’s feminist and not preachy and, at its core, such a beautiful story of both romantic and self love.

Thank you so much to Berkley for the ARC

I unfortunately did not finish this book. It just seemed a little far fetched for me. I think a lot of people will enjoy it, I just wasn’t for me

What do you get when you mix a former porn star turned sex education teacher and a Reform Judaism rabbi? 4.5 stars because Naomi + Ethan = a sexy & hot but emotional & tender romance!

Rosie Danan knows how to write the kind of romance that makes your pulse quicken and leaves you feeling flush while making your heart skip a beat! I loved Naomi and Ethan. Naomi was as fierce and in your face as ever but we got to see her emotionally stripped down here and show her softer, more vulnerable side and it was everything I wanted. Ethan was adorable and sexy and a rabbi - what? The 2 seem like such opposites when you look at them like this on paper but they worked so well together, complimenting each other in the best way. I was smiling much of the time that I read this book - swoon. The rest of the time - I may or may not have been fanning myself.

This book had a bit more angst than steam when compared to the Roommate (don't worry there was still lots of steam!) and the ending felt just a tad rushed which is why it didn't get 5 stars from me but I LOVED this one. Rosie Danan is now firmly an auto buy author for me. I love her originality and outside the box thinking and can't wait to see what she dreams up next!

I loved this ALMOST as much as I loved The Roommate (which I have reread at least three times, lol). I loved Naomi's character arc, and Ethan was SO sexy and SO lovable. I do wish there had been a bit more of the will/they won't they, and the ending seemed slightly rushed, but I still thoroughly enjoyed The Intimacy experiment and I have a feeling Rosie Danan is a new auto-buy author for me! I especially loved the unique twist of Ethan being a Rabbi, you don't usually see Jewish representation in romance/rom-com novels and it was super refreshing and interesting to read about. 4 out of 5 stars!

The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan was electric and passionate, and provides a slow-burn romance that rivals that of Mariana Zapata.

This stunning novel, albeit cheesy at times, addresses serious topics regarding female sexuality, slut-shaming, the stigmatization of sex work, and antisemitism. However, I did find it a bit wordy and flowery at times, thinking to myself, “does anyone actually talk like this in real life?”

The main character, Naomi Grant, is also a bisexual, Jewish, sex worker, which was a kind of characterization I have never seen before, and absolutely loved. Naomi was confident in herself and her sexuality, while also being flawed enough to be relatable. She was also a bitch, which I find very cool.

The romance between Naomi and her love interest, Ethan Cohen, an L.A. Rabbi, is steamy and full of sexual tension, and had me turning the pages at the speed of light. I still enjoyed the romance in the precursor to this book, The Roommate, a little more, which is why I gave The Intimacy Experiment 4 stars instead of 5. Nothing can top Josh Darling and Clara Wheaton for me, but this book still deserves tons of praise and adoration.

If you’re looking for a quick, sexy read, then the Intimacy Experiment is the book for you. Rosie Danan, if you’re reading this, I am on my knees begging for a Josh/Clara and Naomi/Ethan novella, thank you very much.

If you want to hear more of my book reviews, check out my Youtube channel, Lipstick & Literature!

I loved THE ROOMMATE so I was super excited to get into the second book!

SUMMARY:
Naomi is a former sex worker / porn star, currently looking to teach others about feeling good and sex through lectures. Rabbi Ethan Cohen hires her for a short series on modern intimacy, hoping to draw a younger group of congregants to his synagogue. All is working, until the board pushed back on such a non-traditional way of recruitment. Throw in intimate feelings between the two and they really have their work cut out for them.

MY THOUGHTS:
🕍 Naomi was a strong character with so many admirable qualities. I liked her much more in this book than THE ROOMMATE.
🕍 The book felt full circle- like things came to a good close. Naomi returning to her high school showed how much she had grown.
🕍 Ethan was very likable and I’d love to see who others would cast as his role in a movie. 😍
🕍 The Intimacy Experiment was significantly less steamy than The Roommate. I was honestly a little saddened by this? However others might like that more. This felt more cutesy romance than steamy romance.

If you read romances, do you prefer a cutesy 💞 romance or a steamy 🔥 romance?

After loving Rosie Danan's first book, The Roommate, I knew I'd be picking up her next book as soon as it was available!

The Intimacy Experiment follows Naomi, Josh's friend and colleague from the first book. She's busy with their start-up Shameless, but looking for teaching opportunities. She receives an offer from the last place she expects - Rabbi Ethan Cohen, who is trying to revive his struggling synagogue.

I really enjoyed the way that Naomi and Ethan's relationship unfolded. The timeline felt natural. They both had a misguided sense of needing to protect the other person and the justified need to protect their own hearts, and I liked that their coming together wasn't rushed. I also liked that we got a bit of history on each person, but the book mostly focused on the present and the relationship moving forward.

Just like in the first book, the steamy scenes were excellent and this book is also filled with body and sex positivity! In case you need the warning - this isn't a closed door romance! But I do think the steamy scenes weren't quite as detailed as the first book.

Some of my favorite parts were Naomi's lessons - there were good takeaways even for this married woman! I enjoyed the emphasis that relationships, intimacy, and sex can look the way you want/need them to. There's no one size fits all when it comes to sex and love!

I wasn't too invested in the Reform Judaism/synagogue part of the story, but it certainly added an aspect to their relationship that I've never read in another book! It was hard to read about the external pressure and judgement from members and the board; but it read like a believable storyline and I'm sure it's what would certainly happen if an ex-porn star and rabbi got together in real life.

If you loved Danan's first book, this one is just as great and you should check it out when it releases on April 6th!

This solid sequel to series debut The Roommate finds former sex worker Naomi Grant professionally slaying as CEO of a multi-billionaire dollar company helping people have better sex, but she’s personally unfulfilled. Ethan Cohen is a former physics teacher who’s now the young, hot rabbi of a struggling LA synagogue. Naomi is looking to pivot into academia, but she needs real-world classroom experience. Ethan’s hoping to build a bridge between faith and intimacy but lacks the knowledge to make it happen. Enter Modern Intimacy: a seven-part lecture series which guides the plot as well as transforms an unlikely collaboration into a burgeoning relationship. Danan excels at imbuing her text with both heart and steam, and the sex-positive, modern spin on faith and intimacy means Naomi and Ethan’s HEA is fully realized.

Thank you Netgalley & Berkley Pub for an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

I had high hopes going into this book after just finishing The Roommate which I absolutely adored. But I was a bit hesitant about picking this one up as I didn't love Naomi as a character in the first book. Not that I was disappointed but the feelings I had towards her in the first book carried into this one. I have a hard time reading a book when I cannot connect with the main character or I don't like them which carried into reading this book.

I also did not completely jive with the premise of religion and sex being involved in a book. I requested and picked this book because Rosie Danan was the author and how much I enjoy The Roommate. But I just could not get behind the premise of religion being involved. I also felt the book didn't have as much sex as the first one which yes was fitting to the premise but was something that made me thoroughly enjoy the first book.

Just felt this book fell kinda flat for me... and I was not a big fan of the whole rabbi, saving a church, intimacy story on top of the main character that I just could not connect with. She just got under my skin. I love Rosie Danan's writing and don't get me wrong I would read anything she writes next but it was just not my cup of tea this time around.

I absolutely devoured this book! Naomi is such a strong, dynamic character and I loved seeing her journey of allowing herself the space to fall in love and be loved by sweet Ethan. She and Ethan are very different in a lot of ways but still compliment each other perfectly. I would happily read another book about them. Their slow-burn yearning for each other was top notch.

The lectures on modern intimacy were a really unique way to look at today's dating landscape and I didn't find them cheesy at all.

I thought the ending was a bit lackluster but overall I it was satisfying enough to close out Naomi and Ethan's story.

This also had one of the sexiest non-sex scenes I've ever read (that thing by the door, iykyk).

I immensely enjoyed The Intimacy Experiment, especially getting to see Naomi’s character grow.  Especially that she was relatively comfortable in her skin and seemed to be pretty aware of her flaws, this book is extremely sex-positive, which may seem a little strange since it also has a lot to do with Judaism.  I liked the way these two were interwoven; while for a rom-com, this book has some steam, I expected more given the characters.  It isn’t even the steamiest rom-com I’ve read.  

The one thing I didn’t love was the ending. It felt a little rushed, and the epilogue especially seemed almost pointless as we didn’t actually get to see anything happen; instead, we were told about it.  In general, I wish we would have gotten more details of Ethan and Naomi as a couple.  I felt like other than a few scenes; we didn’t see much of that at all in this book. I did enjoy Naomi and Ethan. As a couple, they made sense to me in an opposites-attract sort of way.  

I am certainly excited to see what Rosie Danan writes next!

I loved The Roommate the second I read it. The Intimacy Experiment is equally fantastic but in enticing new ways.

Whereas The Roommate titillated, The Intimacy Experiment feels, well ... more intimate. It's an unlikely romance between a former porn star who now runs a sex positive start-up and a young rabbi looking to reinvigorate his congregation. Naomi has a lot of baggage to unpack, and Ethan is equal parts smitten and patient while she overcomes her own past traumas. Ethan is also facing some of his own challenges, and together they stumble through their messy lives and feelings.

I was rooting for Ethan and Naomi from the start, and I loved seeing the two of them interact. Every scene between them was an utter delight to read, whether sweet and innocent, or steamy AF. I just adored this book from the first page to the very last, and would have gladly lingered with them for even longer. I can't wait to see what Danan writes next.

I read this prior to reading the first book in the series. I felt that this one really at a depth to Naomi and I enjoyed her growth as a character. I won’t lie, after reading the roommate which features some of the same characters, I did hope for a little bit more steam in this one. That part fell a little flat for me. Overall, it was a solid and enjoyable read.

Naomi Grant is looking to break out into live education seminars. Her sex-positive website is booming, but she's craving something more. Ethan Cohen is trying to increase attendance at his synagogue and he thinks Naomi is his answer. The two embark on a new seminar, Modern Intimacy, where Naomi lays out a guide to relationships from start to end. She and Ethan try to resist their attraction to each other, but they find themselves following the syllabus a little too closely.

I read The Roommate earlier this year and LOVED it. I was so excited to hear Naomi was getting her own story because she was such a fierce, and intimidating, character. From the first chapter, I was completely hooked. Naomi may appear confident on the outside, but she had all of these insecurities in her own head. It was interesting to see the dynamic between her inner and outer self and empowering to see her eventual arc to complete confidence. Ethan was also a definition cinnamon roll hero. He was adorable with his elbow pads and clumsiness. They were such an unlikely pair but they complimented each other so well. And I loved the tiny glimpses we got with Josh and Clara! Clara and Naomi's sisterhood was so heartwarming, especially since Naomis has such a hard time letting people n. The banter, the steamy scenes, and the overall lessons of sexuality and religion in this book made me want more and more Rosie Danan. I can't wait to see what she comes out with next because I'll be first in line.

Thank you Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, let me state that this book was so incredible that I stayed up until 1 in the morning to finish it. I shed many tears, laughed many laughs, and had entire conversations with characters who did not hear me.

Naomi is such a BADASS woman. Like seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such a badass in the romance books I’ve been reading recently. Now Ethan on the other hand was the perfect cinnamon roll hero that we didn’t know we NEEDED.

At first, this pairing seems very taboo because well Naomi is a former sex worker and Ethan is a rabbi but Rosie Danan does an excellent job writing such a meaningful relationship that just had me all up in my feels 🥺The portions of Naomi’s seminar where she discusses intimacy were so educational and honestly, I would love to attend a seminar with the same content. This book is just so refreshing and takes a deep look at community, religion, and what intimacy means for different people.

Rosie Danan has officially become one of the auto-buy authors because seriously, their work is PERFECTION!

OMG I loved this book. I just kept highlighting passages. I loved the idea of a modern intimacy course.

Rosie is a returning guest to the show and her new episode will air publication week. She does mentioned her book in this first interview.

I enjoyed the Intimacy Experiment. Danan creates characters and situations that are intriguing and definitely unique.

Naomi, the former adult movie icon, now owns a successful sex how-to company. Ethan is a "hottest bachelor" and the new rabbi trying to save his synagogue. When Ethan and Naomi attend the same seminar and she goes into a rant about people's judgement of her and her trade, Ethan sees an opportunity. She has the education and credentials to teach a seminar for his congregation on how to date. They call the course Modern Intimacy and an immediate attraction between the two begins to follow the course curriculum.

Can a rabbi and a sex industry icon make a future together? Can Naomi break down her castle-protection-worthy walls? Can Ethan be any dreamier? (Ok, I threw that one in.)

This story has a very different set of characters and circumstances wrapped in a normal boy meets girl romance and it was all very entertaining. I liked Naomi despite wanted to smack her a couple of times for her obstinance. I enjoyed their journey and their friends and families.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

Another beautifully written steamy romance by Rosie Danan! This was a more slow-burn romance in comparison to The Roommate. It made sense for Naomi and Ethan's characters to take it slow to keep the relationship meaningful. Once their relationship got going, the steaminess was a 3.5/5.
Ethan is a Rabbi who is seeking unconventional ways to grow his congregation. Naomi is wanting to take her intimacy teachings to a classroom setting. A professional partnership forms between the two... as well as an emotional one. The two seem an unlikely pair, but prove to be successful together.
I liked how the two books converged a bit. There are interactions with Josh and Clara as well as an extension on the Shameless website, from the previous book. Naomi is a very tough female lead. She’s a badass who tells it like it is and fierce! Ethan was soft and vulnerable. The two balanced each other and had an understanding, despite coming from very different career choices. Unlike some books that include religion, I didn’t feel lost in the jargon or differences in culture. Religion added a very important element to the story, a choice between love or conformity to traditional values. My favorite parts had to be the seminars Naomi held. Each had so much thought and emotion put into them. The final seminar, including the breakup ritual, was so honest and relatable that it made me cry! Although this book is fiction, it definitely taught me a few things!

The Intimacy Experiment is hands down one of my favorite books of the year!

Naomi intrigued me when she was introduced in The Roommate, so I was ecstatic when it was announced that she would get her own book! I could not have predicted that her hero would be the sweetest, most caring, non-judgmental, cinnamon-roll hero I have ever read. Ethan is her perfect match in every way. On the surface, a relationship between a rabbi and a former porn-star seems taboo, but Rosie Danan expertly writes one of the most meaningful relationships I've read in contemporary romance.

Naomi is a prickly, independent woman with a ton of knowledge about intimacy. Ethan is an optimistic, young rabbi who is searching for a meaningful way to connect with his younger congregation. So when he hears Naomi talking so passionately about her expertise in the matters of lust and love, he immediately approaches her for a seminar on intimacy and dating.

The best thing about this book is how completely Ethan accepts Naomi from the very first. He isn't intimidated about her past, and never judges her for it. Naomi NEEDED that! His respect for her knowledge and for her passionate approach to intimacy is the key to their unconventional, but powerful relationship.

I teared up at how beautifully this romance unfolded. It had all of the passionate and emotional depth that I was missing from The Roommate!

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley and Berkley Romance for my ARC of The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan.

Publishing Date: April 6, 2021

I was SO excited for this book after my love for The Roommate and how unique of a storyline Rosie Danan gave us. Again, Rosie gave us another super unlikely pair, a sex worker with no interest in dating and a rabbi who is now in charge of his own synagogue.

These characters were both super badass in their own ways, but I especially love Naomi and her drive to own her own sex-positive business. I think some people shy away from these books because they do have a sex-positive theme but I wouldn’t consider them to be super over-the-top steamy. However, do prepare yourself for the classic friends-to-lovers slow burn that will have you waiting at the edge of your seat for it.

I love Rosie as a writer and I think she is definitely a new auto-buy author for me because her stories are just so unique. I wasn’t as obsessed with this one as I was The Roommate, but I still definitely think this should be on your radar of new releases and books to preorder ASAP.

This can also be read as a stand-alone, even though the characters overlap like most romance series.