"Thank You for Sharing" was an absolute delight to read. Rachel Runya Katz graced us all with a romance so sweet and so tender and so realistic that I honestly cannot believe it's a debut novel. Katz is a superbly talented author and has catapulted to the top of the list of my "must buy" authors for romance. I love the representation she gives not only to Jews of color but also to Jews who identify as part of the LGBTQ Community. She has found a really underrepresented niche and writes their stories incredibly well.

In "Thank You for Sharing" Liyah Cohen-Jackson and Daniel Rosenberg have potentially the most awkward plane ride of all time after realizing they were friends as teenagers who ended things on a horribly bitter note, one that still grates at Liyah almost a decade and a half later.

Liyah hopes she can move past the encounter and let Daniel slip back into the compartments of her mind that she very much does NOT revisit until she learns that she's been assigned to partner with him on a months-long process that leaves a much-desired promotion to curator hanging in the balance. Liyah finds herself determined to make it through their work relationship but is equally determined to hold Daniel at arm's length. A plan that goes off without a hitch until she begins to notice with each new work meeting and social outing what a thoughtful, caring man her teenage arch-nemesis has grown to be. As their chemistry builds Liyah finds herself forced to face not only what happened between them all those years ago at summer camp, but also the emotional limits she's put on herself to keep out of emotional entanglements.

I loved that Katz didn't shy away from all of the baggage that can come with developing feelings for someone you feel has betrayed you before, and I loved that she didn't sugarcoat the realities that come with being a Jewish person-of-color. Katz gave real depth to the Jewish experience of both characters, while also turning out a heartwarming and funny story about what it's really like to try and date in your late twenties. "Thank You for Sharing" is the perfect pick for book clubs who are looking for romance that comes with an emotional and touching backstory, and for those who are looking to see their lived experience in Jews in a modern setting. A very sincere thank you to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for providing an Advanced Reader's Copy of "Thank You for Sharing" in exchange for an unbiased review. This is a story that I will recommend again and again to our patrons.

3.5/5 - A second chance romance between Liyah Cohen-Jackson and Daniel Rosenberg, who had a falling out of sorts at summer camp and years later end up seated next to each other on a flight. Because, of course!

There were a lot of things I loved about this book - the characters were dimensional, interesting, witty and diverse. Both Liyah and Daniel are POC and Jewish, Liyah and her best friend are Queer. I loved the insight into Jewish culture and customs, and getting a deep sense for how Liyah and Daniel both felt connected to yet alienated from their faith community.

Everyone in this book has baggage and they are all willing to talk about it. There’s a focus on mental health, grief, trauma and loss. A huge part of the story centers around Liyah and Daniel’s post-work support group for their friend group, with the main and side characters venting, listening and helping one another navigate the ups and downs of adulthood. Relatable! The characters were fun, flawed and thoughtfully written. I also haven’t read a novel set in Chicago in ages and, being from the area, it quite literally hit home.

The pacing was off for me, though, and at times I struggled to stay engaged in the storyline. This book is written in third person present tense - I’ve said this a lot recently but I prefer first person romance especially when it’s Dual POV. And I kind of wish this one was dual timeline to give more impact and meaning to the camp storyline. It was clearly a huge part of Liyah and Daniel’s story but their falling out didn’t feel as big to me as it was to them. I feel like if I experienced it real time it would have hit harder!

Overall I enjoyed this and hope to read more from Rachel Runya Katz! Thank you to @netgalley, Griffin and Rachel for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Daniel and Liyah went to summer camp together as kids. A misunderstanding and heartbreak inevitably put a pause on their friendship. So when they coincidentally end up on the same flight and on the same work project(!), they don't know how to act.

I really liked that Liyah was a complex queer character and that Daniel was so open and accepting of Liyah. I got annoyed at them and their conflicts because they seemed so grounded in who they were as humans, but that also made them more realistic characters.

Overall, this was a wholesome friends to enemies to lovers story and I def recommend!

This story really hit all the right notes for me! Thank You for Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz is a warm hug for its readers and is full of amazing representation. It has Korean and black Jewish representation, Yiddish phrases and Jewish traditions and rituals, and I just adored it. Now, let me tell you more about this comforting read.

Meet Liyah and Daniel. They were friends in childhood, but this friendship turned sour after an incident at summer camp. Meeting again many years later, resentments are still abound. The two slowly begin to bond over their common BIPOC Jewish heritage and the struggles that come with it, like not fitting into certain cultural boxes and feeling left out. Can bonding over commonalities create the foundation these two need to repair their friendship, and perhaps become something more?

Three cheers for Sweet Potato! To get what I mean, you have to read the book. Go do it. Now. I applaud Katz, again, for all of the representation in this story. While I’m not Jewish, I really did relate to some of the feelings the main characters were experiencing. There are some trigger warnings that happen off-page, like a past death and sexual assault. But if you are able, this read is totally worth it and highly recommended.

Enemies to lovers is my favorite romance trope and Thank You For Sharing knocks it out of the park!

Liyah and Daniel met as teens at a summer camp but their young romance doesn’t survive after Daniel does a boneheaded thing. Fast forward to the future and they’re now stuck working together.

I loved the push and pull of Liyah and Daniel’s relationship along with learning some of the custom Jewish traditions.

There were a few times where I felt the dialogue didn’t quite match the characters but it was easy to overlook. Definitely worth the read, especially if you love enemies to lovers romance.

Thank you SMP for gifting me this ARC!

› There is a note at the front of the book that says: "Some of the thematic content in Thank You for Sharing contains discussions of sexual assault and the death of a parent; neither event occurs on the page. For more information, please visit the author's website." I love it when a book includes content warnings like this.

› Lucky for Liyah she managed to make her flight on time so she could find herself sitting next to Daniel.

› Daniel's love life has been nonexistent for a while, and it might be time to "get back on the horse". As he's checking out the woman next to him he realizes he recognizes her face - this is the same "Leah" from summer camp when he was thirteen years old. They had a huge argument and every summer he planned his apology, but she never returned to camp.

› After an incredibly awkward flight, they both move on with their lives thinking they'll never see each other again.

› Daniel made the mistake of telling his best friend Jordan, "a true romantic", all about Liyah - aka the woman from the airplane. It's been a month since Daniel and Liyah's flight and Jordan hasn't stopped asking if Daniel plans on trying to contact her. Liyah's best friend, Neen, is also encouraging her to start dating again.

› Liyah studied biological anthropology at Northwestern and now works at the Burke Museum with plans to become head curator by 30. Siobhan is one of the museum's graphic designers. They've been putting in many hours together creating a presentation for the exhibit Liyah would like to create at the museum. She wants to "tell a broader story of human evolution...not just the nuts and bolts of natural selection, but the greater intricacies of the development of traits that we view as especially key to our humanity."

› Her boss, Jeff, loves the idea but needs a more thorough plan to take to the board because they'll need extra funds to pull this off. The museum needs to attract more young adults. He makes a plan for Liyah to work with the marketing guy that the board hired to create a promotion package.

Guess who the marketing guy is....yup...Daniel.

"Why are you even here?" she asks

"I'm meeting someone for work," he says

"I'm meeting someone for work," she says

HAHAHA. Ya...each other!

Daniel doesn't want to walk away from the project because he really wants to impress his bosses. Liyah is in the same boat. So, they have to figure out a way to put the past behind them and create an epic promo package for the museum board.

Aliyah and Daniel invite Jordan and Siobhan to a speakeasy called "The Prohibition" and the four of them create the Speakeasy Survival Club support group. As a joke, they keep meeting minutes and have some rules:
1. Meet: Friday nights at Prohibition
2. Anything said here stays here
3. No toxic masculinity
4. Liyah and Daniel will explain Hebrew and Yiddish phrases to the uninitiated
5. Siobhan must explain Gaelic words and Irish slang
6. Jordan may reference his charm no more than once per meeting
7. No more than one round of tequila shots
8. Daniel and Jordan may not talk about any sports team's chances prior to the start of the season
9. A Friend of a club member is a friend of the club
10. Liyah must explain anthropological terms so that the rest of us can follow along with her work updates

› Liyah and Daniel get to know each other again as they work together on the promotion package and we get to learn about what happened at summer camp, and what happened to Liyah that makes her determined to not have a serious relationship.

› Characters: 9
I found Liyah to be unlikeable and I don't think she's meant to be...I didn't see her character growth. Some of Daniel's behaviour gives me the ick. Honestly, most of the characters are immature and selfish. Neen is my favourite character. I love that Liyah has come to love her curvy body after struggling as a teenager. As a curvy woman myself, I can relate. My little Anthropology-Degree-Heart loved every time Liyah talked about her work. The Speakeasy Survival Club support group is my favourite aspect of the story.

› Atmosphere: 6
I wanted more description of the setting and world-building.

› Writing Style: 6
I like the writing style, readability, dialogue and point of view, but I wanted more "showing" instead of "telling". I also didn't like strange wording like "colonialism mumbo jumbo" and whimpering while kissing (so corny). I found it odd to list holidays, but not in order and I didn't like the use of etc. (so weird to see this in a work of fiction).

› Plot: 8
Good beginning and middle. Definitely a page-turner. However, for me it was anticlimactic.

› Intrigue: 6
I wanted to keep reading but didn't really care about the characters.

› Logic: 6
There were quite a few times when I felt myself pulled out of the story due to things like every single character being described as beautiful or hot and sexy. It's strange that Liyah didn't know her roommate's name. There were times when characters laughed and I didn't think it was funny at all. I don't know if it's just me, but the underground water exhibit in particular caused many eye rolls for me.
"Dee-Dubs, your beer is getting warm!" Then keeps it in the fridge until he's ready!

› Enjoyment: 6
This was just okay for me. It made me smile a few times, but I didn't feel much of anything. The best part for me was all of the anthropology aspects and learning many Jewish words and traditions.

Average 6.7

My Rating ★★★

Average Story Graph Rating 4.05

Average Goodreads Rating 3.92

71% of Goodreads reviewers gave Thank You For Sharing 4 or 5 stars, so I am in the minority giving it three stars.

› Final Thoughts
• Thank You For Sharing is a sexy and entertaining enemies-to-lovers story about friends, fate, and love. I recommend this book to romance readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What a delightful friends to enemies to friends to lovers story! One of my favorite tropes, Katz gives us a delicious grumpy/sunshine romance with a whole lot of heart. With a diverse cast of side characters, this is the kind of romance we need more of.

I got to 27% of this book and decided to go ahead and DNF it. I don't have as much reading time as I used to so I am being picker about what I read and if it doesn't grab me then it's over. I just struggled with a lot in this book, the fact that these adults made a club about their jobs and getting together to drink just felt really fake to me. It might be that I am just not a young professional and don't know that this is really a thing, I also struggled with the enemies to lovers and childhood sweethearts bit. It just felt really immature as adults to fixate on this. But again it is not something I experienced. I think this is still a book many people will appreciate as it follows Jews of color and shares their experiences. Thank you St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy.

This was a very sweet second-chance romance where the characters had originally met at a Jewish summer camp. I loved the Jewish representation, particularly that both main characters, Liyah and Daniel, were Jews of color. I did get a bit tired of all the misunderstandings between Liyah and Daniel, both when they were young and in the present-day, but ultimately, I really enjoyed their journey and I think others will too. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this one. The representation it offers is cool. But the writing style just didn’t vibe for me and I had a hard time getting into it. DNF for me.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

2⭐
Genre ~ romance
Setting ~ Chicago, Illinois
Publication date ~ September 12, 2023
Page Count ~ 343 (30 chapters + e)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 0 minutes
Narrators ~ Raymond Lee, Tyla Collier
POV ~ dual 3rd
Featuring ~ debut, childhood friends to enemies to adult lovers, he falls first, some steamage

Aliyah & Daniel went to camp together when they were kids. There was a misunderstanding one summer, she left camp and never spoke to him again. Flash forward 14 years and they are working on a project together.

I could not stand Aliyah at all. Well that's a small lie, I did like her ambitions to be a museum curator before she turns 30, but that's about it. She was really mean to Daniel, both before they started sleeping together and even during. Don't even get me started on the 3rd act bs. I can honestly say I was rooting for them not to get together.

Daniel was sweet and deserved better.

Overall this one was not for me, but I feel like it's a decent debut for the right audience. Aliyah was half Black and half Jewish and Daniel was half Asian and half Jewish and I felt the cultural aspects of the story was well written. Aliyah's bff, Neen, is trans and I thought they were a great edition. They were always honest with her and let her know when she was being ridiculous, which is a great bff in my opinion.

Narration notes:
I did not listen to this one, but am just giving the info above for reference.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Sadly I had to DNF this book at 53% of the way through (which is why I will not be posting a social media review). I just felt as though the FMC and the MMC had no chemistry and it was forced. I also hated the fact that the FMC was upset at something that happened 15 years ago. Even though the MMC explained everything that happened and that it was actually not his fault. I loved the friends Siobhan, Jordan, and Neen more than the main characters. I also did not like the tense that the book was written in at all... 
I do recommend trigger warnings before reading. 

Overall I was highly disappointed, especially since I LOVE books from this publisher. However I am grateful to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

The story of Daniel.and Liyah who meet on a lane years after the summer camp where they first met. Their work then throws them back together again so can they move past how he hurt her years ago? A great read.

I really wanted to like this book. It seemed like my kind of vibe but I couldn't get past that the FMC was mad at the MMC because of a thing that happened 15 years ago. You guys were *kids*, and the fact that you've held onto it for *years*???? Like dude. Come on. The characters are all in their late 20's but apparently we are going to be mad at something that happened at camp? I couldn't get past it. The FMC continues to be mean and the MMC just is nice and feels like he's always getting walked all over.

I was given a free arc copy for review from NG, but I am highly disappointed.

First, let me say that this book has a fanTAStic cast of characters. Liyah and Daniel are excellent leads, but I also adored Siobhan and Jordan, Neen, Alex, Kayla, and all of the characters that made this story feel so warm and friendly. And overall, the story is wonderful. I loved Daniel and Aliyah’s history and the relationship they build, and I was impressed by the depth of their characters’ personal struggles. This book had some really relatable things to say about grief, and it also explored the topics of religion, race, gender, sexuality, and sexual violence quite well, I thought. I would definitely recommend giving this a read, all you romance lovers out there!

Thank You For Sharing Is so amazing so fun and swoon worthy I could not get enough of this! Liyah and Daniel were so amazing and cute, and the representation in this book was amazing. I cannot wait to recommend this to my friends to get my hands on a hardcopy. I know so many people that are going to love this. Thank you.

I really can't put my finger on exactly why, but I just didn't love this one. It felt really tedious to read and I didn't connect with any of the characters. In general I struggle with characters that refuse the help and love that people are begging to give them and Liyah was one of those characters for me - I know that she had trauma she was working through, but I wish she would listen when people told her that they loved her. I also thought she really held on to something that seemed pretty random (and small??) from summer camp for a decade longer than she needed to. Overall I think this had a lot of potential but it just didn't land for me.

This was an entertaining romcom. Liyah and Daniel met as teenagers at the Jewish summer camp they attended. After a falling out they haven’t seen each other in years. They have a chance run in and they then find out they have to work together on a work project. It was fun seeing them reconnect as friends. They both have their own trauma and grief to deal with in order to move on toward their romantic relationship. A great debut novel!

Rachel Runya Katz’s Thank You for Sharing is an interracial romance focused on Chicago Museum junior curator Liyah Cohen-Jackson and marketing executive Daniel Rosenberg, childhood summer camp BFFs whose friendship abruptly and bitterly ended 14 years ago but get a second chance through a work project. Katz’s vivid description, dry wit and humor, active writing style, and dynamic and natural-sounding dialogue and language use help make her debut a charming romance. Her emotional and original story, skillful worldbuilding, and colorful storytelling kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. Katz’s diverse cast of well-developed and fascinating characters are fallible, likable, and easy to care about and become invested in their lives. They vary in race, ethnicity, gender, cultural background, sexuality, and body type, reflecting the diversity that makes our lives richer.

Liyah and Daniel’s lives reconnect when they are seated next to each other on a flight home to Chicago. They don’t expect to see each other ever again after pushing each other’s buttons during the tense, turbulent flight. Unexpectedly, Liyah’s employer hires Daniel’s marketing firm to help improve their membership/subscriptions and attendance by millennials, forcing them to work together on a project that could potentially land them career-changing promotions.

The lingering tension from their broken friendship and the surprisingly intense chemistry and connection that still exists between them intensify as they work together on the project and attend post-work social gatherings with colleagues. Daniel and Liyah must resolve their issues and face why their friendship/relationship broke up all those years ago. They’re each biracial with a Jewish parent, giving them a shared experience as Jews of color and a common ground/foundation upon which to rebuild their friendship. Can they ignore their growing feelings and passion for one another, or will they surrender and take a chance at love?

Daniel is sweet, kind, funny, gentle, thoughtful, patient and still harbors feelings for Liyah. However, he’s clueless about what led to the end of their friendship. Tough, self-protective, independent, strong, intense, and emotional, Liyah is still bitter about events that occurred during the last summer camp she attended with Daniel. Liyah is so mean to Daniel. But I love how he just rolls with it. Pretty soon, it becomes a running joke. Liyah has intense, negative feelings about love and relationships. She doesn’t believe in romantic love and only has sexual relationships because she fears being hurt—especially when friends are involved.

Katz deftly develops Liyah and Daniel’s relationship from former friends turned foes/enemies to lovers to friends to lovers with sexy, sarcastic, witty, funny, steamy, emotional, sweet, intimate banter, interactions, and love scenes that contribute to their character development and evolution. Unable to resist their fiery attraction, Daniel and Liyah agree to a friends-with-benefits-only sexual relationship. But of course, Daniel catches feelings, and Simone has no idea what’s up with her.

I appreciate how Katz takes the time to develop Liyah and Daniel’s relationships with other people outside of their relationship with each other that are nurturing, intimate, and genuine. Liyah’s relationship with her BFF, Neen, and Daniel’s relationship with his sister, Kayla, is essential to developing their characters. But Neen and Kayla also give them vital emotional support and advice. Furthermore, Liyah’s relationship with her family and Daniel and Liyah’s relationship with Jordan and Siobhan, with whom they form an after-work meet-up group, help reveal their characters and contribute to their evolution along with the story. Their humorous banter, dialogue, interactions, and fascinating discussions are entertaining. I love it when characters in novels talk to each other about life and what’s on their minds and hearts. It’s a nice touch that Katz incorporates the group’s texts, emails, rules, and meeting notes into the novel.

Fast-paced, emotional, sexy, funny, and angsty, Thank You for Sharing is a childhood friends-to-foes, enemies-to-lovers, interracial romance that explores themes of dating, romance, falling in love, friendship, biracial identity, Jewish faith/tradition, racial microaggressions, racial stereotypes, biphobia, sexual assault, grief, and emotional healing and recovery.

Advanced review copy provided by St. Martin’s Griffin via Netgalley for review.