This was such a cute read!! I loved the chemistry and history that these characters had and I enjoyed getting to read their story from the very beginnings all the way to the very end. I also loved how much depth Rachel Runya Katz added to this story, as it is not your classic, stereotypical romance book. There are some heavy issues that the characters face, but the way they are approached in the book is absolutely phenomenal.

I normally am not a huge fan of dual point of views, but in this case since both characters had a lot of history with one another, I enjoyed it because I felt as if I were learning more about them as individuals. Overall, I enjoyed these characters, but I felt as if they lacked major character development. At the end of the book, it felt as if they were still the same people as they were in the very beginning and didn't necessarily work through their respective issues. Yet, I still enjoyed their story!!

Overall, I would still recommend this book for all the romance readers out there!! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.

Not a fan. Clearly aimed at a younger crowd. I am like, sit down, talk and act like the adults you are. I don't live at home anymore and I can move on and even let go of young choices and out comes. Found the characters whiney and irritating. A good ending saved the book for me.

Thank You For Sharing is a really fantastic debut by Rachel Runya Katz. Liyah Cohen-Jackson and Daniel Rosenberg meet at a Jewish sleepaway camp as young teens and have a typical summer romance, fraught with usual teenager antics. Fourteen years later, both living in Chicago, they reunite: first on a plane from San Francisco to Chicago and again when Daniel’s marketing firm is doing work for Liyah‘s museum.

I loved a lot about this book. First, the chemistry between Liyah and Daniel jumps off the page from the moment they re-meet. I also loved how well-developed the friend characters were. Neen, Siobhan and Jordan all felt like fully realized characters as well. There’s off-page trauma that the author handles very well, and the relationship between Daniel and Liyah felt so authentic.

My only qualm was that I wish I had a little more insight into Liyah’s minder in the last third of the book. It’s dual POV and works well, but I did think Liyah’s realization towards the end was more abrupt than Daniel’s and I wanted a little bit more.

4.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I absolutely enjoyed this book from start to finish.

Characters:
I loved Liyah’s attitude right off the bat & Daniel’s self-awareness. Jordan & Siobhan were phenomenal side characters and I actually was very appreciative that they didn’t conveniently fall into lust/love with each other once Siobhan’s crush was revealed. It was nice to have some M/F friendship representation (whereas it usually feels like it turns into friends to lovers). Neen’s character was so wonderfully supportive but I definitely got frustrated with how strongly Liyah relied on her at times.

Plot:
I adored the backstory & the casual ways their similarities & differences in upbringing, heritage & religion were woven into the story. Their individual backstories were both very rich which could have taken away from the story but instead added to it so well. I loved the natural progression of their romance. I do wish we had more of Liyah’s emotions and feelings once they were falling into more of a romantic pattern because her realization was so abrupt.

Would still recommend this to anyone looking for a romance book with more depth!

*thanks to netgalley for the ARC*

This ARC copy of "Thank You for Sharing" by Rachel Runya Katz was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion. This is my review:

Liyah ends up next to Daniel Rosenberg on a plane ride back to Chicago and she doesn't make it a secret that she's still livid at him for humiliating her at summer camp over 10 years ago. But Chicago is a big city, and if he lives there too, they'll likely never run into one another again. Right? Wrong. When Liyah and Daniel are posed to work together on a huge project that will determine the direction of both of their careers, Liyah can't believe her luck. She's determined to keep Daniel at arm's length with insults and eye rolls. That is until her work friend Siabhon crushes on Daniel's friend Jordan and begs Liyah to meet them for drinks. Thus a Friday night club is started and now they're all meeting once a week to rehash their lives and relax. And feelings start to bud between Daniel, who has turned into a frenemy but may be turning into something more.

This story started slow for me, but it did pick up pace about a quarter of the way in! I was hooked on Daniel and Liyah's chemistry, their feisty/relaxed opposites attract was steamy and thrilling. There were times I thought Liyah was a bit mean, but it lends to her character the fact that she is hurting inside from past traumas. There is a bit of open-door spice between Daniel and Liyah that I very much appreciated! The author does a fantastic job of being ultra-inclusive and tackles mental and emotional health in an appropriate and healthy way. I wonder if she set up future novels with Jordan and Siabhon, who were wonderful supporting characters in their own right.

The epilogue leaves little to be desired, however. We do get a hint of their future, but overall it was kind of blah and either didn't need to happen, or more needed to happen. 4.5 stars (rounding up though)

This is one of the best romances that I've read this year. I loved it from the first page until the epilogue and every page in between. I read many romances, and I feel like many of them have been flat lately. This one captured my heart and on to it tightly.

Liyah and Daniel met as young teenagers at Jewish summer camp, but the summer didn't end how they wanted it to. They haven't seen or spoken to each other in 14 years..... until they are seated next to each other on a plane. They also have to work together on a project for their jobs. They quickly realize how much they have in common, and a friendship develops.

Daniel and Liyah are both Jews of color, and it was interesting to read about their experiences with racism within their religious and cultural identities. There was a lot of description about their holiday traditions and customs around the death of a loved one (which occurs off the page, before the story begins).

Liyah and Daniel work on a project together for their jobs, and the more time they spend together, their feelings start to change. Liyah works as junior museum curator, and Daniel is hired to work on a marketing strategy for a new exhibit.

Liyah hasn't been in a relationship in a long time, and they both have to confront their pasts with each other, and separately, in order to work toward a future together. I loved the chemistry and banter between Liyah and Daniel.

This book is one that will stick with me for a long time because of Liyah and Daniel. They both brought so much to the table, and they can find love, if they open their hearts to the possibility.

I loved this book so much, and I can't wait to purchase it when it comes out in September.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this amazing book.

Cute, fun, and thought-provoking. I loved watching the romance develop. Read it one sitting. Highly recommended!

Thank You For Sharing is an exceptional love story that centers two people grappling with pain and loss who manage to find each other and a second chance amidst all of that. I was grateful to read it; it centers experiences that I have not seen centered in romcoms before, and I think it’s a powerful thing to craft a book that is able to deal honestly with some of the most difficult things we might face and still remain hopeful about love and relationships. Daniel and Liyah were both so compelling in their experiences. Biracial and queer Jewish people deserve romcoms! As do people grappling with the death of a loved one and with a history of surviving assault. The content warning frames this perfectly and succinctly.

I will reread this book when I need it; I particularly appreciated a scene that authentically and lovingly depicts the height of joy in a budding new relationship as well as the baggage of emotional turmoil that does not just automatically disappear. We all are, even in our best moments, the combination of all of the wonder and the pain that it is to be human in this world. This book is beautiful, and it made me smile, and it felt like it healed just a teeny tiny broken part of me to read it.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for sharing the eARC of this! (I guess what I’m trying to say is Thank YOU for sharing, and Thank you also to Rachel Runya Katz for writing this book.)

Thank You for Sharing is a captivating romance that takes readers on a journey from childhood friends to enemies to lovers. The story follows two individuals who are forced to confront their pasts to save their relationship and careers. This chemistry-filled novel is impossible to put down, as it offers a delicious pressure-cooker-style slow burn of a romance that will leave readers yearning for more.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book.

I want to start by saying that the diversity in this book is 10/10. I don’t think so I’ve never read such a diverse book before, it was nice reading about another religion and its customs. Moreover, the author did an amazing job of writing about certain sensitive topics. The characters are well-written as well. The only problem I had with this book was the pace. For the longest time, the plot was moving around in circles, to the point where it felt like filler chapters back to back. Hence, making it difficult to continue reading. But once you move past that, it’s a good book.

Friends to enemies to lovers... can't go wrong with that. It makes for the most interesting plot to be honest. You have two people who know each other well that know how to push each others buttons. Loved it start to finish!

Thank You For Sharing is a brilliant debut full of longing, healing, delicious banter, and beautiful rep. Written from dual POV, we get to see these 2 navigate a complicated relationship that started out in a sleepaway camp, ended in tragedy, and started anew due to being paired at work. Sexy, sweet, and funny, this is a must read!

DNF @ 13%, I did not vibe with the way this book is written at all. Just something about the writing style really prevented me from engaging in this book, also I don't like the FMC. She is (justifiable) in some of her anger given the deep history racial/religious/gender inequality against her, but at some points it gets a little overwhelming. The MMC seems like a pushover and a simp, and overall way too vanilla and boring. It was really hard to care about this relationship

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'll admit, I wasn't sure going into this one. I feel like sometimes romance books like this can be hit or miss for me, but I'm happy to say that I enjoyed this one. This book has some good representation, and the characters felt fairly well developed and enjoyable. There were some places where the pacing felt a little slow, but overall it was a fairly fast and fun read.

3.5 stars, some mild spoilers ahead.

I was really excited to see this on NetGalley, since I really can’t resist a romance with Jewish leads. I definitely liked reading about Liyah and Daniel’s winding path friends to lovers to enemies to friends to friends with benefits to lovers. Even though they didn’t actually get together until the end of the book, I did kind of feel like them becoming friends with benefits did take away from some of the fun to read tension between them so I wasn’t super into that. However, I did enjoy reading the (first) love confession scene, even if I did feel a bit of second hand embarrassment.

As for the characters themselves, I loved that this book was dual POV so I really felt like I got to know them. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of Liyah’s character development. Although it was great to see her actually getting in touch with her emotions and overcoming past fears and stubbornness, I felt like it didn’t happen at all throughout most of the book then was kind of speed run at the end. As for Daniel, I also didn’t feel like I really saw him learning how to work through his grief about his dad. It felt like that plot point was brought up and just dismissed super easily through one therapy session.

I feel like I’m complaining a lot in this review, but I actually did like reading this book. I think a lot of the stuff I didn’t like is more subjective. Overall I would still recommend it, and I want to read more from this author in the future.

Katz's writing is witty and charming, making it easy to root for Daniel and Liyah as they navigate their complicated history and figure out their feelings for each other. The novel touches on important themes such as identity, race, and culture, and does so with a deft hand.

Overall, Thank You for Sharing is a heartfelt and engaging novel about love, friendship, and forgiveness. It's a must-read for fans of contemporary romance and anyone who loves a good enemies-to-lovers story.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Liyah Cohen-Jackson is a guarded and ambitious museum worker who finally gets the chance to be a curator but there is one problem: she has to work with Daniel Rosenberg–her childhood best friend that betrayed her trust once. Daniel works in a marketing firm that gets hired by the Chicago Museum. After 14 years of not talking with each other, they find themselves in a position where they are practically forced to work together, which constitutes a big problem for Liyah, but as time flies and they get to relearn each other, their dynamic shifts.

From the very first scene at the plane, I knew this book would be absolutely amazing, however, I wasn’t ready for just how good it was. From the tropes, and the romcom cliches, to the amazing representations, this book was a reader’s dream. This book is filled with fantastic representation, with a BIWOC Jewish main character and a Korean POC Jewish main male character. The Queer representation was also executed perfectly. Aside from the main characters, the side characters were so detailed and lovely. The found family in this book gave me life.

Liyah is a very strong-minded heroine and she is aware of her stubbornness or prickliness (even though she will deny it). She’s had a life-long trauma to cause her to create these walls around her–with Neen being the only one she lets in. However, as she becomes closer and closer to Daniel, she finds that lowering her guard isn’t as bad as she expected it to be. I loved how the story wasn’t rushed and it was a very good slow-burn, the pacing of the book felt very realistic. Some decisions aren’t as easy to make as they make them seem in the movies, and in this book, it took a while for Liyah to figure out and make sense of her true feelings. I loved the fact that therapy was very common in the book and that the characters weren’t afraid to reach for help and it was normalized. It broke my heart reading about what Liyah had to go through in college but it’s unfortunately very common, thus as a woman, I appreciated the fact that such an important topic was brought to attention with Liyah going to therapy to heal (and not left to deal alone). Liyah’s trauma was handled in such a delicate and down-to-earth matter. It was very important to see how she tried to find blame for herself even though she had done nothing wrong. I loved how her therapist guided her throughout the book and I just wanted to give Liyah a hug at the end of the book. Daniel’s trauma was also handled very well. Loss of a parent is never easy and his emotions were so raw and vulnerable, and I loved his relationship with his sister. The way they both had different coping styles was an important detail.

I can’t not talk about the friendships. I loved every single one of the side characters. It felt like a real group of friends. I need a Neen in my life, they were the sweetest character and I loved how honest they were with Liyah. They spoke their mind and they were always there for Liyah. I was really curious to see what would happen between Siobhan and Jordan and honestly, I was surprised at the end. I loved how Alex just let the Survival Club come to his bar every week and just drink for free. These scenes allowed these side characters to be more than side characters. The weekly recap they did allow the reader to learn more and connect to these characters.

Liyah and Daniel. They were absolutely amazing. Bounded by their shared experiences as members of marginalized groups and their childhood experiences, they were lucky to find each other again. I loved the talk between the characters about the summer camp and their different point of views about the same incident. I loved the feminism and how Liyah talked about how the world treats girls and boys differently for the same action. I loved seeing Liyah and Danielle find their rhythm again and become each other’s person. If you’re looking for a real, heartwarming story about love and trust with amazing representation, this is the book for you.

Because who doesn't love a second chance love story. Thank you netgalley and St. Martins Press for sponsoring this review. The cute second chance love story of Liyah and Danile. I loved the character development in this book. Their love story was slow but gave you all the feels and took you for a ride. It kept me in anticipation. A page tuner for sure. A great read. A must read!

Let’s talk about third-person, present-tense writing. I hate it, there, I said it. I hate it, even though some of the best books I’ve ever read are written in this style (RWRB, Beartown, Thrown of the Ice). Okay, I might not always hate it, but at least 80% of the time.

In my opinion, there’s a controversy in this type of writing which makes it difficult to connect to a story and its characters. Third-person writing is somewhat distant and tends to be more telling, while present-tense writing makes you feel like the events are happening in real-time. And that’s where the controversy lies for me—distant but real-time. I don’t want distance when I also feel immediacy! According to Google, distance and immediacy are even antonyms.

But I suddenly adore third-person, present-tense when I can really feel the main character's emotions like I’m inside their head. Sadly, that was not the case with Thank You for Sharing. I struggled with the writing from page one. Therefore, I decided to DNF after repeatedly trying for two days to get into the story. It’s definitely on me, and the premise is really good, so give this one a try if you’re not like me and don’t mind the writing style!!

unfortunately this one didn't really work for me. i went into it hoping for fun banter and great chemistry, but what i got instead was "banter" that was trying too hard to be banter and a romance that was, in fact, very lukewarm. i wish we'd gotten more development of the characters, and more time for them to *be* in the relationship rather than just lead up to it.

thanks to St Martin's Press for providing me with an eARC of this!