Absolutely LOVED this story of standing true to your beliefs. This is a timely story that's needed and so relevant to modern-day issues. I enjoyed catching up with Leah and Yaakov, seeing how Shaindel was holding up with her step-mother, and watching how their new lives played out. The story took unexpected turns, and I wasn't sure where everything was going, but in true story-book fashion, {spoiler alert} everyone gets their happily-ever-after.

I grew up in Boro Park not part of this ultra orthodox community but they were my neighbors getting to read this intimate story a bout their lives their family fascinated me.From the opening pages of this book Ibwas drawn in by the couple getting married his young children who will be hers now and the fact she was not a member of this community and would now have to adjust to life customs code of being there.Reading of their adjustments the family issues kept me involved turning the pages.Highly recommend,#netgalley#St.martins boojs

I enjoyed Ragen’s earlier book about the newly ultra-Orthodox Leah Howard., so I was delighted to see this sequel. Often sequels appear too late for me to remember the earlier plot and characters, but happily Ragen’s timing is perfect.

We get to see Leah as a bride moving into the complex Haredi community in Boro Park. Ragen does not sugarcoat the life she finds there. It is actually the restrictions that push her to reflect on her own Feminist beliefs and the way they mesh with this lifestyle.

Leah’s love for her husband and stepchildren push her toward behavior that make her a pariah in this closed society. I felt like I learned so much about the inner life of the community. There are several subplots within the story but Ragen ties them all together. The characters are humanized, but based on news stories, not whitewashed.

I do recommend this book, but it is not easily liked as a stand-alone, rather it should be read after “An Unorthodox Match”. I found these novels gave me a glimpse into a community that is so important here in New York City.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to meet old friends.

I loved this sequel to AN UNORTHODOX MATCH and although it had been awhile since I read it, I quickly remembered the details. AN OBSERVANT WIFE finds our reconstituted family doing well enough until small challenges grow beyond control. I wondered how the author would resolve these and she did an excellent job. The solutions fit the characters and milieu perfectly. My only mild critique would be the over reliance on foreshadowing; it wasn’t necessary and could have used a lighter tough. Otherwise, this tale of life in a Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish community was engaging and compelling. This is definitely worth reading after the first book. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.