Thanks to Embla Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a really interesting book - not your typical contemporary romance at all. Firstly, there is a LOT I don't know about Judaism and even more I did not know about Orthodox Judaism so I was learning along the way, just like Sam.

It was nice actually, identifying with the male character in this book, and something that doesn't happen to me very often. But anytime he asked a question or seemed surprised by a facet of the religion that he wasn't familar with, I was there with him.

I really liked Penina as a character - her empathy was such a beautiful thing to read.
I was concerned that Penina being orthodox would mean that there was no chemistry or heated moments, but there were plenty of those and they seemed even more meaningful than some of the more spicy books I have read.

Penina's struggle with acceptance in her community and as a woman is a much deeper dive into character than some other romances as well.

I really liked the way this was written and the other characters, especially Penina's family, were interesting. There are some funny moments, and while I wouldn't call this a lighthearted romance, it's definitely worth a read.

A wonderful reminder that love can be found anywhere anytime and it never plays by the rules. Learning about the Orthodox Jewish culture and community was a nice change of pace as you don’t seem to find it in many books at all. This was a nice quick read which kept you entertained throughout. I can’t wait to see more from this author and I know they’ll do fantastically!

Unorthodox Love is a delightful blend of romance, humor, and relatability. This book is a perfect choice for anyone seeking an entertaining and uplifting read that reminds us all that love can be found in the most unexpected places. I would definitely recommend this book!



Thank you NetGalley and Embla Books for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion .

I enjoyed reading Unorthodox Love by Heidi Shertok. The story has wonderful characters, fashion, social media and dating situation that will make you laugh. **I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

I’ve been trying to get into romance stories recently — historically, they haven’t been ‘my thing’, but they’re so popular that I really want to see what it is everyone else enjoys about them. So, I’m going to look at this from what I hope is an objective perspective and leave my personal feelings out of it. Don’t worry, this is a good thing, as it means I’m giving the book five stars!

As far as I can tell, this is a really strong example of a contemporary romance novel. It hits all the right plot beats and ends happily. The protagonist, Penina, is a nice person, the kind I imagine you’d want to be friends with. She and her love interest don’t like each other at first, but this is normal in romance, and the interesting part is seeing how their relationship thaws and then blossoms (I’m mixing up those nature metaphors here, but never mind).

I’m sorry if this review sounds a bit… flat? Robotic? But I was trying to think about it within the typical romance novel formula, and as someone who can really appreciate an established pattern, this book does exactly what I think it’s supposed to do. Reviewing it has led me to the conclusion that writing a romance is an art form; seasoned romance readers would surely notice if an author didn’t get the formula right. I’ve come to the conclusion that it must, in fact, be very difficult to write a book like this. From my limited experience of the genre, I think the author is spot-on with this one. So, yes, five stars!!!

Thank you to Netgally for my ARC copy of this book!

I loved the story of Penina and her family, it’s such a heartwarming story.
I like seeing the Jewish representation in this novel and it wasn’t overly used.

Penina is such a lovely, king young woman who I felt a connection to straight away.
This book made me laugh a lot of times, Penina sister Fraydie was hilarious.

I wish it mentioned more about Sams background, I would have loved to known more about him.

Overall it was a great book, the story was enjoyable and the characters were all relatable.

A wonderful read set in the orthodox Jewish community.It was really interesting to learn about their traditions a unique interesting read.Looking forward to more by this author.#netgalley #emblabooks

I really enjoyed this. I was really sweet and a super quick read. I don’t know much about Orthodox Judaism beyond following a few TikTok creators, so I really liked learning about that.

I shall be publishing an in-depth synopsis and review on my TikTok page on the publishing day.

As someone that has recently been learning about Judaism from Orthodox Jewish tiktok creators, the premise of this book really interested me. Not only do I feel that I was able to learn more from a different perspective (compared to the very educational based videos), but also it was an enjoyable book to read as a contemporary romance in itself. As expected from the title, this book was heavily focused on modern dating and Judaism, but if this element was removed, I would say that it felt like quite a standard romance book. From this angle, the two main characters followed a grumpy x sunshine, workplace romance trope and they developed an endearing, light-hearted relationship that was full of funny and heart-warming moments. However, the author also tackled some deeper issues, such as infertility and family duty. Without giving too much away, the book's ending was the only logical solution, but I felt that it had been slightly rushed as I questioned the practicality of whether it would last due to people's motivations.

Overall, I would recommend this book to others and I rated it a 4/5.

3☆ A Heart-warming Story

Unorthodox Love was an interesting read but i found it quiet difficult to connect with the storyline and main characters.

It was very much a slower paced read and it felt like it took a long time to get going.
I did however enjoy reading and learning about the Orthodox Jewish culture and community.

There was some good Witty humour, a slow burn romance, and a sprinkle of disastrous dates.
I would definitely recommend reading this quirky book, just bear in mind it takes a long time to get into the swing of the storyline. But that's just my personal opinion.

This book was so cute. I have read other books with Jewish MC’s but I think this was the first one that was orthodox so that was really interesting to me.

I will say that I didn’t like just how slow of a burn this was. I would have liked to see Sam & Penina after they got together.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this story, and couldn’t put it down! It was a nice change of pace reading a romance set in a culture different from most other romance novels, with this one being the Orthodox Jewish community. I enjoyed reading about their traditions, and how they impacted their lives, whilst also enjoying the clean romance novel wrapped in with this. I also really appreciated the author including an epilogue which nicely tied everything together

This is a love story with an interesting twist - the heroine is an Orthodox Jewish young lady. This means no touching a man before marriage, dressing in a modest way, keeping fully kosher and keeping all the festivals and Shabbat. However, sometimes things happen beyond her control.

Penina is 29, Orthodox, pretty and very single. This is not for the want of trying and her matchmaker is very trying indeed, but when you can't have children most Orthodox men are not interested, so the dates Penina gets are very challenging! That is until Penina literally bumps into Sam - tall, dark, handsome and very secular so obviously not suitable. When her matchmaker tries to set her up with Zevi, who is Orthodox, handsome, funny and very wealthy she thinks it is too good to be true - which it is because he is looking for someone to marry to appease his dying mother and is willing to pay handsomely. Add into the mix that Penina's beloved sister is about to lose her house, Zevi seems like a good prospect. If only she could forget about Sam.

A very sweet, and funny account of love in the Orthodox world. Made me smile a lot and even laugh out loud once or twice. A very quick, sweet, read.

When I saw the description for Unorthodox Love, I was immediately intrigued. We know I love Jewish rep in all forms. And I so appreciated the Jewish rep Heidi Shertok brings in this book. As an Orthodox Jew, Penina is not the kind of Jewish character typically included in fiction, let alone in romance. And Shertok's voice and narration is different, but in a good way. Things like "G-d" and "Shabbos" and Penina's modest fashion are just part of the story. There was a lot of good Jewish content that was included throughout the story, including lots of holidays, including minor ones like Shavuot, and the rules of Shabbat that some readers might not be familiar with, and I think Shertok did a good job of making it accessible and understandable for someone who isn't familiar. (As someone who is familiar, it felt a little repetitive and expository, as opposed to showing me what was going on, but I think better to err on the side of overexplaining when it comes to some of these customs and holidays.)

This book also fits squarely into the chaotic good category. There are lots of minor characters, particularly Penina's sisters, who are part of funny and chaotic subplots, and honestly even the main plot(s) have a chaotic energy to them. I do mean this positively, to be clear -- chaotic good books are some of my favorites because they are so fun to read about and so many of the characters are so different from characters I typically encounter.

While I did enjoy Penina and Sam's dynamic, the ending felt rushed to me (although I can understand it). But I liked their bantering and their interactions and Penina's persistent act of trying to convince herself that Sam isn't hot. Again, chaotic good energy that I am here for!

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Press/Alcove Press for providing me with an eARC of Unorthodox Love in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. It is a brilliant chick lit read but also very informative about leading a life as Jewish Orthodox. I learnt so much about the do’s and dont’s in this book. The characters are all relatable (even though I am not jewish) as they are the sort of people you have either in your family or as work colleagues and I really became invested in them, wanting a great outcome for all of them. There were some very funny parts and all in this book kept me interested until the last page.

I really liked this modern romcom about an Orthodox Jewish woman, Penina’s messy love life. She has a matchmaker who reminds her that beggars can’t be choosers, a loving / exasperating family, and an extremely attractive boss, Sam, who – while Jewish – is not Orthodox. There is a fake engagement, family drama, and an undeniable attraction between Penina and Sam.

I’d say there are trigger warnings of infertility and Penina volunteering in the NICU, but I found the author addressed these plot points with sensitivity and kindness.

This book had a number of laugh out loud funny moments. Penina is the FMC I dislike – the woman who becomes a bumbling, rambling mess in many social interactions; sometimes these were hilarious and sometimes these comedic antics were almost too much for me.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a very funny, modern romance.

I received an ARC of “Unorthodox Love” by Heidi Shertok but the review is my own.

I did not know what to expect when I started this book, but the heroine Penina was wonderful. A 29 year old Orthodox Jewish woman who was infertile seemed an unlikely heroine, but Penina is so kind and caring. She hides her pain well, because Orthodox women are supposed to have many children, so she always felt damaged.
She meets Sam cute, she is a baby cuddler in the NICU, and Sam comes through as a donor to the hospital.There is instant chemistry.
However, much to Sam's dismay,it turns out she is his father's employee in the jewelry store where she works, and Sam does not want to get involved with his employee.
The push pull of their relationship, the problem of secular vs Orthodox, and some other roadblocks made me wonder how this would work out.
The witty banter, especially when Penina is nervous is very funny.i really enjoyed this book and do recommend it.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy,for an honest review.

"Unorthodox Love" is an engaging journey into the life of Penina, an Orthodox Jewish woman navigating love, societal expectations, and her faith. Through the protagonist's banter and perseverance, we are treated to a likable but also relatable and inspiring character. Heidi Shertok skillfully balances light-hearted humor, romance, and a respectful depiction of Orthodox Jewish traditions.

The dynamic between Penina and her love interest, Sam, her non-Orthodox Jewish boss, offers delightful chemistry, imbuing their slow-burning romance with a realistic touch. The respectful manner in which Sam approaches Penina's beliefs adds to the depth of their relationship, making their narrative more compelling.

A subplot involving Penina's agreement to fake date Zevi, a man from her community, adds complexity to the narrative. Although it occasionally distracts from the main romance, the bond between Penina and Zevi is heartwarming and adds to the story.

In "Unorthodox Love," Shertok combines humor, romance, and a unique cultural perspective into a satisfying narrative that hits all the right notes. It's a refreshing, insightful, and enjoyable read, appealing to contemporary romance and women's fiction fans—a solid four-star recommendation for those seeking a love story with an unorthodox twist. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found a lot of the religious aspects of this book interesting, and I learned a lot about Orthodox Judaism. There was also a good bit of humor that made me laugh. The romance aspect of this story did fall flat to me, though.

Thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for the ARC of Unorthodox Love. While I love that this is giving exposure to Judaism and the orthodox community, I just didn't think it was written all that well. It felt like half the book was circling over the same story, over and over again, and that there was very little movement forward. Then, as things were finally changing, the book was done. I love a good happy ending but this story and the issues that were overcome to get to the HEA were not that interesting.