I wasn't quite sure what to expect from a romance pairing a rabbi and a former porn star, but this book was surprisingly sweet.. Naomi and Ethan seem like such different people, despite their immediate physical attraction to each other, but it's their differences that made the story so fascinating. I enjoyed getting to delve beneath Naomi's hardened exterior, and I loved how Ethan gradually dismantled her emotional barriers. He was the perfect cinnamon roll hero, with a secret sexy side. Overall, it was a fun, flirty, heartfelt read.

This was a difficult one to get into and I was sad about that because I LOVED The Roommate. Unfortunately, I just did not like Naomi. I didn't enjoy her in the first book so I hoped to come around to her in The Intimacy Experiment. That just didn't happen.

The author handles the main topics well, including sexuality, religion and finding ones identity. It was a well done, interesting and steamy story! I appreciated the main characters love story and journey together and I really enjoyed the empowering light on women and their sexuality however, I found the main character to be a bit shallow and superficial I wish she had a bit more depth.

Former sex worker turned start up cofounder Naomi Grant finds herself teaching a modern intimacy class in the most unlikely place: a synagogue with low attendance and a hot rabbi named Ethan 🕍 If you were into FLEABAG’s hot priest storyline this book feels like the natural next step in your adoration of hot religious authority figures you’re probably supposed to keep your hands off of but don’t really want to because that sounds not very fun.

While I liked this book, there was something missing for me in the lead up between the 2 characters getting together that I can’t quite put my finger on. I found myself a little confused about how/when these characters went from attracted to ~in love~ - the pacing just felt off, but perhaps that’s a me thing. I’d say between the 2 books in the series the first is my favorite and is much steamier than this one. But they’re both fun and Danan has a long career in front of her writing about hot people doing hot shit together.

I previously reviewed Rosie's book, THE ROOMMATE (the companion story to THE INTIMACY EXPERIMENT). As much as I enjoyed THE ROOMMATE, it doesn't hold a candle to THE INTIMACY EXPERIMENT, at least in my opinion. Where THE ROOMMATE focuses more on sex, THE INTIMACY EXPERIMENT is all about rediscovering intimacy, something I think we often overlook, both in romance novels and in real life.

*I reviewed this book for my podcast, Boobies & Noobies. You'll definitely find this book on my end-of-year list of Best 2021 reads, but in the meantime, you can listen to the full podcast review on your favorite podcast app or on www.boobiesandnoobies.com

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I loved this book even more than the first! So well written and a powerful commentary on how to be a strong woman while also maintaining intimacy with someone who truly respects you. I loved Naomi’s personal journey so much as well as her beautiful relationship with Ethan. Such a beautiful, steamy read!

A great follow-up to The Roommate! The fact that the love interest is a rabbi was an interesting twist. As someone raised Jewish, this was a cool way to explore the religion and traditions I grew up with and that I don't really follow as an adult.

Naomi hasn't been able to find love, not that she's let herself. Ethan is trying his hardest to save a failing synagogue. As part of Ethan's plan to bring in new, young members, he decides to team up with Naomi for a seminar series on modern dating and relationships. Naomi is hesitant at first, but begins to warm up to teaching in person (not just running an online sex-ed site)... and Ethan, too. A fun romance that discusses religion, society's view on sex and relationships.

I was so excited to read about Naomi but this one didn’t do it for me and i forgot didn’t love this one as much as the roommate but it was still okay.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first book but I was glad to see the same characters. I will definitely check out Rosie's next book!

I loved this follow-up, couldn't put it down. The author handled religion, identity, and love in such a unique and gentle way. And it was definitely steamy, super steamy. Just what I wanted for the 2nd book in a new favorite series.

Rosie Danan cemented herself as an auto-buy author for me with her debut last year, and The Intimacy Experiment more than lived up to the hype. While less steamy than The Roommate, this one tackles questions surrounding religion and sexuality, which I found incredibly interesting. I can't wait to see what this author writes next!

I loved The Roommate so much and just had the hardest time getting into this one. I had such high hopes for the sequel but I just couldn’t finish this one and it didn’t quite work for me. Looking forward to seeing what this author writes next!

This felt very awkward to me! There was a lot of completely unnecessary exposition and I just didn't feel the chemistry. I honestly didn't finish it because the writing seemed so juvenile to me. Maybe I'll give it another shot at some point in the future, but this was not working for me.
I couldn't get through the author's previous book either, same issue with the writing, so I don't know why I thought this would work better for me. The premise just sucked me in. Oh well.

This book is a rom-com waiting to be adapted into a movie. While the plot has some holes, the endearing characters and the sex positive outlook provide enough speed to get over those plot bumps. Anyone who read "The Roommate" will want to read this second book in the series.

After finishing the Roommate, the Intamicy experiment definitely had more slow burn. The premise that an ex-porn star turned sex educator and a rabbi come together to teach about modern intamcy had me rushing to read it. I understand the push back for both characters in allowing the chemistry to happen and the hesitancy was believable. I loved the second half of the book as the characters start to peel back some of their walls and allow for a relationship. I really enjoyed watching Naomi's facade break and rely on her friendships. It was beautiful growth of character. I can't wait to see what Rosie Danan is gonna do next!

This was one was definitely steamy for sure. I didn't love it as much as the first book in the series, The Roommate but it was very interesting reading about our main character falling in love with a rabbi. I enjoy these books but don't love them as there isn't much to them but still an enjoyable read.

When I announced on Facebook I was reading a book about an ex-porn star and a rabbi, the jokes started. Actually they started before that when I mentioned it to my husband. The premise of this book though is what caught my eye and I am so, so thankful I took a chance on new to me author Rosie Danan. The Intimacy Experiment was the book I needed and I didn’t even know it. It was easy to think this book might go down a clichéd path, but is was so much more; it was a book about relationships, about belonging, about being true to yourself but also being willing to open up to the right person, about trust and about love. From the first page to the end, I was completely caught up in this couple’s journey to their happily ever after and I was thrilled when they got it.

I’m not an overly religious person, but I was so intrigued I had to read this book. These characters were very different; Ethan understanding, kind and just an all around good guy and Naomi hard, cynical, and questioning everyone’s motives. I loved the way Ethan’s faith was wound throughout this book, but it wasn’t preachy. Ethan is a master at oration (well except when he’s tongue tied by Naomi) and when he is able to apply his faith to everyday life it is hard not to sit up and take notice (and I am not Jewish). I loved his easy way with people and how he knew exactly how special Naomi was from the start. While Naomi didn’t trust Ethan’s invitation to offer a series of classes on intimacy to his congregatin, she couldn’t help but wonder what if and after the first meeting found she really enjoyed the group. Their relationship developed slowly with Ethan breaking down Naomi’s walls and Naomi helping Ethan open up about his fears of failure. Throughout their time together there was a lot of longing, some sexy banter, eventually some make out sessions and foreplay to the main event and while sex was mostly off page it wasn’t missed or needed because that’s how well this story was written.

The Intimacy Experiment was everything I love about romance; it was intelligent, the characters showed personal growth, it was thought provoking, sweet and sexy. All in all a perfect romance.

I really wanted to like this book after reading The Roommate, but it just didn’t work out for me.

I found it a unique story with an interesting set of characters. Especially characters that don’t we see often: a bi former porn star and an attractive rabbi. Definitely haven’t heard of that combination before!

Something that didn’t jive with me early on was how they author was quick to repeatedly call a jerk of a character “frat guy” when there was no way to know if he indeed was in a fraternity or not. The way the nickname was used made it come off as a negative word. There is nothing negative about being in a fraternity or sorority. For a book where representation was so important and in a book where it was shown that people are not their stereotypes, why was this done? It was a poor choice.

The rest of the book was an overall “meh” for me. It was hard to connect to the characters and each seemed one dimensional.. The ideas where good, but they weren’t executed to the best they could have been. The bedroom scenes were just over the top and the constant dirty talk and innuendos were eye roll inducing.

Holy slow burn. Where The Roommate started very early with an immediate chemistry and steam, these characters made us wait.

I don’t typically love books that are centered around religion, but I thought The Intimacy Experiment did this in a way that it was not preachy, and was still an interesting component to the storyline. Additionally Naomi is a former sex worker, so when you couple that with a rabbi whose synagogue is in trouble, it makes for an interesting pairing!

I liked this one a lot, though not quite as much as The Roommate. Still absolute recommend this to anyone who loves romance!

Love these characters! Definitely not the types you usually see in romance, so I was curious to see how it would all work out. Of course, it being Danan, it was lovely, and sassy, and full of spark. Really authentic handling of the conflict between hero/heroine.