Drip! Drip! Drip! Sweat pouring from my head! It’s getting hotter here than Lut Desert!

The chemistry between Naomi and Ethan makes you sweaty, jumpy, yes you need to order more undergarments because your pants will be on fire when you read pages about their blooming intimacy experience and you will cross your fingers for their happy ending because you may have already suffered from broken heart when you’ve watched Fleabag’s last episode (logical but extremely bittersweet ending) and screamed “No! No!” , as sexy priest has been slowly walking away from the bus stop and their story reminded you of exactly the same dilemma!

This book is about a relationship between man of God and ex porn star/ new sex educator ! Hell yeah, it’s unconventional, juicy, scandalous, forbidden, taming, intriguing combination you want to devour urgently!

Thankfully our hero is a rabbi! So there’s nothing hold him back to date or form an ultra tempting relationship! Of course his work at stake when he decides to hire Naomi as a lecturer to his synagogue to speak about intimacy, sex, relations!

Of course some of ultra conservative or biased mind will protest this situation!
What happens if they come clean about their feelings and decide to date! Oh yes, this means their opposite worlds will collide: but when you love someone you learn to love him/ her completely! You can’t disregard his/ her past, mistakes, misdemeanors. You have to say “yes” to the whole package!

Will their love survive against those emotional struggles including displeasure of congregation, judgmental public opinions.

I honestly say: I loved both of the MCs a lot!
Naomi Grant is one of the badass characters who shielded herself with poisonous bitchy concoction but inside of this shield: there’s tender hearted, delicate Hannah who got hurt by narrow minded people, bullies. She can perfectly fight for own wars and literally kick asses! But when the cracks start to appear on her shield , she realizes she deserves to be loved and cared and she can find that unconditional love at the place she could never imagine and the person she would never think to become close!

From the beginning Ethan Cohen steals our heart ( he reminded me of young, blushing Hugh Grant from Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral : beautiful times before he played cheating narcissistic husband at Undoing)

He’s sweeter than ten layer chocolate cake (I shouldn’t skip the lunch before I start writing this review) He’s loyal, he’s patient, he’s supportive, he’s a true gentleman! He knows how he feels about Naomi and he’s not ashamed to express them! After reading about so many douchebag alphas, he’s the most adorable book boyfriend we yearned for!

I was planning to give four stars to this read but Naomi’s epic speech part at the last third and the author’s way of bold approaching the sensitive subjects such as belief, religion, grief, queerness, sexual awakening made me give extra half stars so I’m rounding up 4.5 to 5 hotter than habanero, steamy, sexy, intimate stars!

I couldn’t relate with Clara and Josh at first book but thankfully this book’s characters and their story hooked me up from the start! I loved them so much!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing arc copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I adored this book. Danan is not afraid to break the mold and stereotypes. This love story between an ex-sex worker and a Rabbi is delightful, informative about aspects of Jewish faith and just a heart-warming story.

What a breath of fresh air! Naomi Grant might be one of the smartest, most bad-ass, romance heroines in recent memory. We first met Naomi in Rosie Danan's The Roommate where she was one of the side characters we all ached to hear more from. Now that Naomi is the main character we get to see just how brilliant she is. Sex-worker advocate, scholar, and CEO. What more could she want? The answer is a certain rabbi she meets while rediscovering her jewish faith. This book HAS IT ALL.
Rosie Danan is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors and I can't wait to read whatever she puts out next.

Rosie Danan does it again with her beautiful The Intimacy Experiment, which is about spirituality, sex and true love in equal measures.

Ex-porn-star turned sex educator Naomi Grant – AKA Hanna Sturm – wants to expand her highly-regarded start-up website, Shameless, into the realm of public lecturing, but due to her past – and the fact that she willingly calls out the privilege of the academic and religious worlds -  no one’s willing to hire her.

Rabbi Ethan Cohen has a small shul with a tiny number of worshippers, something that becomes a problem when his synagogue’s executive board points out that they’re hemorrhaging money and need to do something to fix the situation quickly, or they’ll shutter the shul.  When he’s named one of Los Angeles’ most eligible bachelors, the notion of drawing young, hip millennials to witness his worship services comes to his attention.

When they meet after her failed presentation to the board of his synagogue, Naomi and Ethan realize that they have a perfect solution to their problems in one another.  At Ethan’s suggestion, they join forces to put forth a series of seminars on the topic of modern intimacy at the shul.  Naomi writes the syllabus, and together they try to work out the hypotenuses they’ve developed when it comes to love and sex.  In the process of working together, they begin to develop feelings for each other.  But the constant rejection Naomi’s been through – and the battle they must wage against the world to keep the shul open – pose a possible risk.

I adored this book so much.  Naomi’s one of my favorite heroines of the year so far: ambitious, tender at heart, but understandably self-protective after everything she was put through in high school.  For everyone who’s been waiting for her romance since The Roommate, you will not be disappointed.  She has to learn to overcome the past, and when she does the reward is rich.

Ethan, meanwhile, is a warm at heart cinnamon roll with a strong community surrounding him.  Adored him as well.

Their story – a slow burn romance, beautiful to behold – is about Naomi rediscovering the power of emotional intimacy, her Judaism and a baseline sense of faith after being so rejecting of harmful others and Ethan learning how to open up a little more.  Spirituality and personal growth as well as romantic growth fill the page.

This is a novel about communities – the one Naomi has at Shameless, the one Ethan has at the shul, and the one they form together at the classes and among their friends – and I love the way Danan puts that feeling of intimacy together. The big enemy in this novel – besides Naomi’s self-doubt and scars – is definitely the repressive nature of the academic world through which she must navigate. This is handled in a way that’s not-over-the-top cartoony, but explains Naomi’s frustration with the academic world and Ethan’s desire to grow the shul’s foot traffic due to his love of his own faith.

The Intimacy Experiment is like a long soak in a hot bubble bath - worth absolutely every second you spend relishing it.  It is glorious, soul-enriching, and sweetly romantic. I highly recommend it.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore
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Did you hear the one about the ex-porn star and the rabbi? Instead of a joke it is a sweet, heartfelt, smart, thoughtful contempoary romance. A second in a series but can be read as a stand alone. Naomi and partners run a website that includes tutorials on sexual pleasure. Ethan invites Naomi to do a lecture series on modern intimacy for his synagogue hoping to increase membership interest. I don't want to say too much, but the lectures themselves are worth reading the book.

I love the idea of community that is brought up and wanting to belong whether it is with friends or family, religion and even co-workers. I could relate to bonds in all of those areas. I will remember Naomi as one of my favorite heroines as she overcomes her guards and lets down her walls to accept love from others. Ethan is almost too perfect at understanding and dealing with her past and career. As I finished the book I instantly found and downloaded "The Roommate". After reading it I came back and re-read all the scenes with Naomi, Clara and Josh and loved this book even more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Much anticipated sequel to The Roommate! I love Rosie Danan's style of writing and her characters! Cannot wait to see what she does next.

I really enjoyed this book - particularly the depth of the discussions of Judaism. Naomi and Ethan are full, well-rounded characters with big interesting lives. The emotional and theoretical frameworks are the best part of this book and go to places that I haven't found in romance before, which I very much appreciated.

This book was much more interesting than a typical romance. The Jewish perspective made it unique, in addition to the former sex worker angle, which is a rarely heard from group in novels. A nice addition to this book, which may be part of the print edition, would be resources for those people in the sex trade who may wish to get out of the industry.

Holy intimacy, Batman! This book was amazing, just as much as the Roommate was. An easy read with an important message. I admit, personally I have been going through issues with intimacy and vulnerability like I never have before, and Rosie Danan really hit the nail on the head with this one. I will definitely be reading again. Also. I will be selling the hell out it like I have since the Roommate was released -- no doubt about that.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for honest feedback.

Holy moly, this book. I'm not Jewish, but I am a religious person and I feel like this was one of the best explorations of faith I have ever read in a contemporary fiction book, let alone a romance novel. I enjoyed The Roommate and thought it had some super sweet moments, but I think I enjoyed this one even more and it was solid all the way through. Naomi and Ethan have so much chemistry, and I felt like both of them were so fleshed out as characters, it made for such an enjoyable reading experience. I was dreading the moment of doom but when it actually happened, I felt like it was an understandable circumstance, rather than flagrant miscommunication. One of my favorite romances I've read this year, and I know that readers are going to be excited to read this one in 2021.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for this eARC.

I liked this a lot and more than <i>The Roommate</i>. Truly my friend Gretchen put it best in her review when she compared this to <i>Fleabag </i> but they are allowed to date. I also thought about the movie <i>Keeping the Faith</i> a lot. All around a good time, and a good read alike if you want a slightly less angsty Roan Parrish readalike.

I really really wanted to love The Intimacy Experiment as much as I loved The Roommate but I didn't. However, I did appreciate the exploration it took in religion, identity, finding oneself, I loved the supporting characters and would appreciate finding out what happened with Ethan's sister.

All the radical sex positivity of The Roommate with authentic religious experience thrown in - I feel like this book was written for me?

For real, I was really blown away. I had some issues with pacing things in the last quarter of the book, but they were minor and I’m reading an uncorrected proof anyway. Everything else is ON POINT. Naomi and Ethan are brilliantly written characters, each raw and real and driven by complicated desires and beliefs.

Rosie Danon is officially on my will-read-forever list.

After reading "The Roommate" I was so excited to see what Rosie Danan did next! And when I found out that it was Naomi's story?! YES! I was so intrigued by Naomi in the first book.

I was very hesitant when I read that the love interest was a......rabbi. I thought, how is Rosie Danan going to pull this one off?

BUT. SHE. DID.

This book is so good! I mean, it all just works. It's so hard for me to write good reviews without spoiling things but if you're unsure if you want to read this book, and you enjoyed "The Roommate" just do it! If you regret it I'll...I dunno, eat an onion! (I hate onions)

Or heck, even if you haven't read Rosie Danan's debut novel, still read this one! You don't HAVE to have read the first book to read this one, which I do enjoy because that puts less pressure on me as a reader, but it does enhance your experience if you have read the other book because you're already attached to Naomi, Clara, and Josh. :)

The religious elements are so poetically written, and not in an overdone, pushy sort of way. Ethan is just to lyrical when he talks about things that he is passionate about and it was so refreshing to read a story with a male protagonist who isn't stereotypically macho, but rather is quite understanding and puts up with a lot on the road to gain Naomi's trust.

I loved Clara and Josh, but I would almost say that Naomi + Ethan is even better. I finished this book feeling like I'd petted a unicorn or something equally magical. Ugh, I love love!!!

I didn't think Rosie Danan could do better than The Roommate, but she did! Not only is this book sexy and fun, it's so beautifully written. The way she weaves together intimacy and religion is so brilliant and inspiring. I can't wait to recommend this to everyone I know!

I wasn't sure I'd ever find a romance I liked as much as the Roommate - luckily, Rosie Danan wrote yet another stellar book! The Intimacy Experiment, like the Roommate, follows an unlikely couple - in this case, a rabbi and sex worker-turned-entrepreneur/teacher, but Danan's smart writing makes it all feel very organic and natural. Her characters are fully-formed people, with believable anxieties and insecurities, but she infuses their stories with so much humor and fun. I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Stars: 4.5

All. The. Feeeeelz. This is the romance I didn’t know I needed after reading The Roommate (which I also thoroughly enjoyed). And darn it, Rosie, if you didn’t make me fall in love with these characters. This romance has a refreshingly wholesome quality given the fact it is about a red hot relationship between a former porn star and a rabbi. This isn’t to say it doesn’t have it’s fair share of smut, but it is really more about all the ways intimacy is more than just sex. This book also tackles a lot of the social issues touched upon in The Roommate, and shows them from another angle.

Well done, Rosie. A truly exhilarating romance all around. I hope to read more from you.

I loved this book. Rosie Danan is one of my favourite romance authors. Her characters are always so loveable and real.

Naomi Grant, former sex worker and current CEO of Shameless, an online sex ed platform, really wants to teach but finds breaking down barriers of academia to be difficult.

Enter Ethan Cohen, a rabbi trying to boost membership to his synagogue and make religion relevant to young people. He offers Naomi a position teaching a Modern Intimacy seminar through the synagogue. What begins as a purely professional relationship soon grows into something deeper as the two begin to work closer together.

I absolutely adored this book. Ethan and Naomi were amazing individually and together. I love how fierce Naomi is but how she was able to be learn to be vulnerable. I really enjoyed Ethan’s dorky jokes and bookish nature.

Amazing read, and highly anticipated follow-up to The Roommate. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance.

*Review copy provided by NetGalley*

I didn't love this book, but I liked it. The situation definitely created a commentary on "modern intimacy". I found some parts a little unrealistic, but mostly the situation was very interesting.

SO GOOD!!

I really liked The Roommate Agreement, but I LOVED The Intimacy Experiment! The first book is fast paced and exciting, whereas this one is much more slow, and personal. You see a little bit of Naomi in the first story, but here you really get to know her. This book is genuine, and vulnerable in the best ways. Both Naomi and Ethan are so likeable, even though they’re complete opposites, you’re rooting for them to be together.

Naomi is a go getter, she’s smart and witty, and has a career as a sex educator. She runs a website with her best friends called Shameless, focused on promoting intimacy through instructive videos, and tutorials. While their business is insanely popular, she’s hoping to branch out and teach classes in person.

Ethan is an all-around good guy. He’s a bookworm who is passionate about religion and his beliefs. Once a high school teacher, now he’s a Rabbi at Beth Elohim.

In order to bring younger people, and fresh ideas to the synagogue, Ethan hires Naomi to host a 7 week seminar series on Modern Intimacy; a look at love and relationships through the eyes of an expert. While the board does not approve, the two work together challenging the rules, and learn how to be truly intimate with another person.

You can read this book as a standalone, though I would recommend reading The Roommate Agreement first, because the characters overlap. A special thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sending me an advanced copy!