Warning to read this book with tissues. The entire concept itself is enough to make me want to cry. A beautiful trio of friends spend years together. When Michal ends up having devasting Brain Cancer she sets in motion a road trip for her two friends. The goal is to embrace their Jewish Heritage and embark on a journey focusing on different locations. As someone who grew up in a Jewish Household that was so touching. I loved that element and how the goal of the book was not just romance, but recovery of grief, love of friends and romantic love. This is a slow burn, but I loved every part. It is not a book you plow through and come out the other side in the same way. It really showed me another side of Jewish Culture but also Grief. How two close friends can pull apart in the devastation. How a road trip, including a brother, puts the awkwardness into a forced communication. I will like to highlight there is a lot of reading Text messages at points. Also, there is time differences in chapters from present time to 19 years ago. I found Rachel Katz has really developed her characters as they are so well done it feels like we know them. A beautiful story that I will highly recommend.

3.5* There was so much to like about this book, particularly the examination of Jewishness in the American south with an intersectional lens. While I appreciated the tension between Nia and Jade, I simply couldn’t overlook some of the miscommunication in this book. These characters are supposed to be in their mid-to late-twenties when this all happens and they are acting as if they are in their very early twenties. I really couldn’t get behind the big reveal involving Toni. I appreciate that conversations can be difficult but I just can’t imagine two best friends who have been in each others lives for this long not speaking for three years over this conflict.

This is a beautiful story about love, grief, and identity. The author did a phenomenal job at blending a cultural road trip with a tender friends to lovers romance. Some scenes felt more like a history lesson, which I surprisingly didn't mind, especially since it was through an intersectional lens that isn't usually discussed. This book will make you emotional so be aware! Overall this was a beautiful book, and I'm already looking forward to the author's next release.

Thank you to the publisher for my e-copy.

This was a great story! The characters were like able and the plot was great! I was really interested and would definitely recommend.

This is a perfect book. Rachel Runya Katz is a master at crafting stories that twine grief with the absolute hottest romance under the sun. This story is both hilarious and heartbreaking, and every character is so vividly drawn, down to the absent but so so present Michal. This is a book that will stick with you, and you will want it to.

Michal died of a brain tumor and had planned a road trip to look at southern Jewish History With Michal’s death, twins Jade and Jonah, and Nia embark on the trip without her. Their time together had them rehashing love between Jade and Nia and where Michal fit into their lives. Jonah dated Michal as well. There are a lot of bad feelings between the three of them as well as a lot of love. I got tired of the back and forth in their lives together. Other than the three being Jewish, I did not see where the time spent in old Jewish history figured into their lives today. Strained relationships were more prevalent than relationships built on love and understanding.

What if the crush was never unrequited? “Whenever You’re Ready” by Rachel Runya Katz is a captivating sapphic romance that explores the complexities of friendship, love, and second chances.

Meet Nia and Jade. The once inseparable best friends drifted apart after the loss of their mutual friend, Michal. But fate intervenes when Nia discovers a letter from Michal, urging her and Jade to embark on the southern Jewish history road trip they had planned together before Michal’s passing.

As the two friends reunite on this emotional journey, old wounds resurface, and buried feelings come to light. Nia has secretly loved Jade since their teenage years, while Jade has always prioritized their friendship over anything more. Their chemistry is undeniable, but can they risk their precious bond for something deeper?

Katz’s writing is both tender and witty. She deftly navigates the complexities of relationships, weaving together moments of vulnerability, humour, and heartache. The road trip setting adds an extra layer of nostalgia and adventure, making the story feel like a warm hug on a chilly day.

The characters are beautifully fleshed out. Nia’s vulnerability and Jade’s steadfast loyalty create a magnetic pull between them. And then there’s Jonah, Michal’s twin brother, who joins the trip, adding another layer of tension. As the trio grapples with their shared grief and unresolved feelings, readers will find themselves rooting for love to triumph.

The pacing is spot-on, with each stop on the road trip revealing more about the characters and their past. Katz’s prose is evocative, painting vivid landscapes and emotions. Whether it’s the sun-drenched beaches of the South or the quiet moments in a roadside diner, you’ll feel like you’re right there with Nia and Jade.

“Whenever You’re Ready” celebrates the power of friendship, the courage to take risks, and the magic of love that transcends time. Katz’s storytelling is a breath of fresh air in the romance genre, and Nia and Jade’s journey will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page. This is a gem of a book that will leave you smiling, wiping away tears, and believing in the transformative power of love.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Meet Nia, Jade, and Jade's twin brother Jonah. Since their childhood friend, Michal, died of cancer a few years ago, Nia and Jade have barely spoken, but as their 30th birthday's approach, it is time to go on the Southern Jewish History road trip they planned with Michal before her death. Told in a series of flashbacks and their road trip adventures, we see them reckon with their grief, family dynamics, systemic racism and antisemitism, and their love for one another.

Whenever You're Ready was beautifully written. Despite approaching such challenging topics, it somehow manages to feel bright, uplifting, and so full of heart. I loved seeing Jade and Nia work through their grief individually and together, and find their way back to each other after so much time apart and so many monumental changes. I found the elements of Jewish history and the intersection between Judaism and Blackness fascinating, especially as a white Jew. I'm so glad I got to read this story and I look forward to whatever Rachel Runya Katz has in store next!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy!

This book is so wonderful. Its exploration of Jewish heritage in the south was super enlightening, and the characters were so well developed with so many layers and years of history. I am so glad I had the opportunity to read it and give it 5 stars before its official release. I think this will be a hit when it comes out!

Thank you so so so much to NetGalley for the ARC! :)

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance readers copy of this ebook.

I greatly enjoyed this author's first book, Thank You for Sharing, and Rachel Runya Katz kept going strong with this sophomore novel. Like TYFS it puts a lot of interesting twists on the average rom-com plot. For example, in another book, Nia's unwillingness to confess her love for Jade over years on end would just be glossed over as an extreme case of unrequited pining. But here it's justified due to Nia having anxiety. This book's twist on the trope of "reuniting at someone else's wedding" is also very sweet. I would've loved to see an epilogue of their life after getting together though, like TYFS had, but this is just a minor complaint. Learning the backstories of the friendships between Mia, Jade, Jonah, and Michal was also very interesting. Many book bloggers talk about the trope of an unseen character's death "haunting the narrative" and I think that's done very well with Michal's death. As from the first page it inspires the other three to do (or don't) act on their hidden secret lifelong goals.

On a more serious note, I also appreciated getting to learn more about the southern history tours that the main characters all went on together. Especially since I myself did not grow up in the south. The tour stories from Atlanta and tours from Charleston (and the twins' conversations in Charleston about it afterward) were especially sobering. As one tour guide character says, "I personally think it would be worse to pretend we were never on the wrong side of history, but I know that it can be hard to look at." These chapters encouraged me to seek out more about these histories in these towns as well as others all across the US. As said in the author's note, "If you found it interesting, I hope you'll consider reading more from actual historians. There may not be as many kissing scenes, but it'll be worth it anyway."

I wanted to love this book SO much, and I just could not get past about 12% on my kindle. I felt myself skimming rather than reading because I felt so disconnected from the characters, which shocked me because I was so rooting for a book about fellow Jews, and especially one which delved into the unique experiences of queer Jews of color. Not only that, but I'm also finishing a clinical psychology internship! I should have felt connected to these characters for so many reasons, but they felt like character sketches and did not come alive on the page for me. I felt I was grasping to understand the plot as it transitioned towards the trip, but the chemistry between the friends felt pushed and, perhaps because the writing style felt very stiff and clunky to me, I was skimming and probably missing parts of the plot. The style was just not for me, though I think the characters and plot would have been if I could have hung in there. I think another round of editing may do this book very well.

hmmm, this book is a hard one to rate. Overall I enjoyed it, it had a good plot and the characters were cute. There was just some scenes that felt cringe and gave me the ick. The writing was a struggle to get through, if it had another round of edits I think it would have a lot potential.

Overall still a good read.

Thank you Netgalley!

I was really excited to see this one, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. Unfortunately, the writing style just didn't jive with me so I put it down for now.

My heart. Goodness did I love this book. Rachel Runya Katz excels in this space - the liminal space one occupies as a mixed-race Jew in America. She wrote about this experience beautifully in her debut novel Thank You For Sharing, and here she's back at it - also dipping her toe (or more appropriately, her whole foot) into grief again.

Not only is this a rumination on the lasting power of grief, as well as the complicated history of race relations between the Black and Jewish communities in America, it's also a romance. But one that transcends all tropes - it's sort of (but not) second chance romance. It's sort of (but not) friends-to-lovers. It's romance in the found family way, where two people who are just destined to get together actually do.

And unlike many contemporary romances, there is a twist to the usual third act miscommunication. Usually it's something misunderstood, often in the most basic way possible. Here, there is an incendiary moment, a secret told in anger that could disrupt everything about their burgeoning relationship, but our two FMCs move quickly past it. Instead, there's a third act break because one of our leads knows exactly what she wants and for once isn't going to let someone walk all over her boundaries.

In summary: I loved this book. It can be a little heavy at times (the premise and any trigger warnings are right there in the summary), but it's gorgeously written and a wonderful ode to lasting power of childhood female friendships. 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I read the authors 1st book ok- for 3 stars and appreciated the writing and Jewish of Color rep. Here we have a queer romance w Jewish / Black characters. It's an ex friends to lovers romance and educational. I grew up in northeast so I didn't know a lot of the history in the South about the Jewish population, other than in segregated areas, signs that said no Blacks/Jews.

The grief of losing a close friend was hard for me personally and relatable. However the romance was really slow. I usually don't mind current media such as emails and texts in the writing. I think it detracted from the plot movement. When I get distracted, it was too easy to put the book down. I wish the authors point of view was more representative as a Jewish author inclusive of Jews in Israel. Unfortunately, there were some issues I have I can't let go.

I liked the story, but the book itself was so embarrassingly poorly written that it had me cringing at least once every three pages.

It icked me out that the author was SO adamant about comparing characters' skin colors to food since that's usually pretty racist (the author is a woman of color, though, so maybe it's not as big a deal as if a white person was doing it).

All the notes app, Google Docs, and iMessage conversations throughout were fairly obnoxious; there were snippets and scenes that I could 100% recognize as references to popular queer photos and memes on the internet (MASSIVE side eye at the ridiculous eyeliner scene, as well as the "the girlies are fighting" note in the road trip Google Doc at the beginning); and the first time I saw an emoji, I wanted to throw my ereader across the room. I did get a few giggles, though probably not in places the author wanted me to laugh.

The formatting was also not great in the eBook on the NetGalley app and the font size changed drastically from section to section, which was a bit distracting.

Overall, this was not an enjoyable read for me, but I want to try not to be a big ol' hater about it, and I know reviews matter, so I'm giving it three stars instead of what I want to give it.

WHENEVER YOU'RE READY is such a beautifully poignant and tender story about love, grief and friendship with such emotional depth and rawness to the story and characters that you feel it on every level. Three years after the falling out of Jade and Nia's friendship and the passing of their friend Michal, Jade and Nia, along with Jade's brother Jonah, embark on a road trip in honor of Michal. Jade and Nia's are forced to talk about what happened in their past, the complicated feelings that have always been there but are now being stirred up in the present, and what that means for their future, if there even is one. But they've already lost Michal, are Jade and Nia willing to admit what they're feeling at the risk of also losing each other?

I appreciated getting to learn as much as I did about multicultural and Jewish history in the South. I really loved how big a part Jonah plays and how woven Michal is throughout the entire story. I also admired how messy, real, relatable, and grounded the characters are that allowed me to be fully immersed in Jade and Nia's world the entire time reading. And I am also thankful for the reminder that one must give themselves the chance to be happy in their life... It felt like a true honor to read this book and to witness Jade and Nia's love and their story. I already can't wait to read whatever the author decides to grants us with next!

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Three years after their friend Michal's death and the end of their Intense friendship, Nia gets a letter Michal wrote before she died, asking her and Jade to do a road trip they had originally planned to do together.

As a side note I liked that the author didn't just jump into the trip. Both because yes you would need to prepare, plus getting to know the characters.

Poor Jonah feels like a afterthought. Poor dude.

Along with the road trip we get flashbacks to the three girls meeting, up to Michal's diagnosis and Jade and Nia's breakup.

Now Jade and Nia are trying to figure out what they are to each other now....

Very good read. I liked Nia and Jade, as well as learning about Michal in flashbacks. And yes, Jonah gets some character bits, and even plays a role in the third act breakup.

This book! Finally, I can share my thoughts on it. It's a poignant, humorous, and beautiful sapphic romance. It navigates through the journey from friendship to something undefined, then to lovers, with a poignant pause in between, marked by unspoken grief and loss. Even just writing this review brings tears to my eyes; that's how emotionally powerful it is. The narrative beautifully captures the depth and significance of friendship, challenging societal norms that often overlook its importance. Unlike typical romance novels, this story prioritizes and celebrates the complexities of friendship, particularly within queer experiences. And at its core, it delves into a road trip through Jewish history, confronting the impact of white supremacy on our present and the significance of creating meaningful spaces within it.

This book has a cover as beautiful as its story. It deals with grief, healing from it and learning to live with it. It also follows the characters as they learn more of their Jewish heritage, and that mixed with the story–they way Rachel wrote, is beautiful. The love story? Ugh, gorgeous. Although I would've liked a little more of their romance on page. But I devoured it all in one and enjoyed it immensely.