Rina is a tired young mother and Modern Orthodox Jew living in LA. In an attempt to spice up their marriage, her husband pressures her into a night of wife-swapping. This sense of release is transformative for Rina and leads to a passionate affair with her married Mexican-American art teacher. Rina’s story was intense, compelling, and heartbreaking as she contemplates her domestic responsibilities, struggles with her faith, and rekindles her desires. OLIVE DAYS is a thoughtful exploration of what happens when religious beliefs conflict with passion and independence. Highly recommend!

I found the exploration of the Jewish community in this novel to be interesting and detailed at a level we don't often see in literature. The characters were believable and well drawn.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Jessica Elisheva Emerson, and Counterfeit Press for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

With my name being Rachel and the fact that I have dark, curly hair, I have been mistaken for Jewish more than once. Although growing up religious, I don't know much about the Jewish faith and even less about Orthodox Judaism. The premise of this novel was extremely intriguing to me, and I was excited to learn a bit more through reading it. Emerson has a magnetic writing style, and I found Rina's story to be extremely compelling. There is a lot going on here at all times, some of it works really well and some doesn't. I was able to sympathize with or understand where Rina was coming from mostly, and I liked reading from her perspective throughout the course of 2 years. It really helped me to get to know her and her motivations as a character. However, even with as intimately as the reader gets to know her, there still feels like a wall put up between us and her to where I didn't always understand ~why~ she was doing something. Not that I necessarily need to fully, but it would have helped the story become a little more nuanced and thought-out. Kind of similar to how I didn't really see the point of including one singular chapter from Will's point of view. This made who he was as a character even more confusing and interrupted the flow of the story. I did enjoy Rina's crisis of faith paralleled both alongside Will's growing "faith" and the faith of her community members. Additionally, the relationship between Ansel and Rina and how that concluded worked really well for me too. Ultimately, I did enjoy reading Olive Days and Emerson's beautiful writing, and I will have a lot to think about in regards to it, but there were elements to the story that didn't work for me.

I really liked this book, fell into it quickly and become completely immersed. The writing is excellent, the characters flawed and real, the southern California setting rendered so artfully, you can smell the ocean's briny tang and feel the warm autumn winds. I was rooting for Rina and Will and their doomed love affair, and loved the open-ended ending. Thank you NetGalley, Catapult and Counterpoint Press for the opportunity to read this incredible book. 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Olive Days”, a debut, comes out in September, but I read it early ….finishing it in May…on Mother’s Day…which was very comforting to me.
I’m Jewish, married 45 years. Our two daughters were raised in a reform Jewish home - both went to religious school. Their Bat Mitzvah days were happy celebrations with family attending (my own mother who was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home was still alive then-as well as my first cousin, Moses, who died of Covid in 2020, in Los Angeles. He was the second Rabbi for our daughters Bat Mitzvah. I miss them both. I miss our daughters. I miss friends lost.
Today: Mother’s Day: (a quiet day at home with my husband)….
It’s been a long time since we’ve visited our adult daughters (one lives in Los Angeles. The other in Canada).
But lots of personal family memories came flooding back while reading “Olive Days”.
So….in many ways - that I can never express fully, Jessica’s book, “Olive Days” was soothing-to-my-soul on this 2024 Mother’s Day.

We learn right away that there will be some hanky-panky rendezvous storytelling….
“A smoldering novel about an exhausted young mother in an Orthodox Jewish Community of Los Angeles whose quest for authenticity erupts in a passionate affair following a night of wife swapping”.
ALL THE ABOVE IS TRUE…..but for me there was so much more.
I loved scenes of ordinary days - sweet storytelling visuals - and remembering all too well myself how exhausting it was to be a young ‘busy-bee’ mother- wife-woman-teacher-friend-cook-driver-schedule manager-sexual being-gym goer-yoga practicing-trail jogger-young-mom myself.
As for wife swamping….. (yeah, my husband and I stepped over into the wild side of sex-exchanging-*swinging*- it was called, for a short time too)….our story was a little different than in “Olive Days”…..but I can’t lie …..I, too, was’ exploring all aspects of my sexuality….much like the desires of protagonist Rina Kirsch in “Olive Days”.

After Rina’s husband convinced her to take part in a night of wife swapping with other Orthodox couples…..the experience opened up a can of worms —
Later….Rina fell in love with her married, Mexican American art teacher, named Will.
She also rekindled her passion for art and the life she left behind in the Olive groves of her youth.
Also…..being truthful here ….it’s completely understandable why any woman might wish to melt from steamy-lustrous-allure of a man’s attraction toward her. The kind of new- naughty-(primarily forbidden or secretive with society judgements) - of lust and steam that can fade to the wayside after many years of marriage.
So - yes - I connected with this book on many levels. I also have a beautiful marriage—neither of us has ever cheated. Everything we did - sexually with others - we explored - consensually - together.
In time, the sexual innuendos came to an end. We retired from the dark side soon after the few years we visited it. We still have close G-rated friends today from when we were all sex-driven-swing-buddies. All of us keep our sexual energy (what’s left of it) with our ‘one-an-only’ spouse.
At my age (72 next week), I am happy when my joints don’t hurt - keep those 5 pounds down, happy when I accomplish a challenging hilly hike -
happy with my quiet life - our few friends- being homebodies-
enjoying our garden, oasis pool …..the hundreds of birds in our yard….our outdoor shower, our sauna, our bed, time to read - love in my heart …
Ha…..
and also worry about the wars - the conditions of the world - and our younger generation.

Geee…..forgive me …. (I got carried away here on Mother’s Day - reflecting) unconsciously writing—-
…..I didn’t sit down to write anything other than a SMALL review -
give “Olive Days” a strong 4 star rating - maybe a 5 star rating.
But….
I’ve already fallen in love with the author. Jessica stimulated my chatter here —

I’d happily deliver a Purim basket (mishloach manot) filled with homemade hamantaschen yummies, to Jessica. I like this woman. I wish to congratulate her on her first book - and promise to read her next book.

A few more things
….little tidbits in the story that made me smile and tap into a string of memories. My grandmother lived on the beach in San Simeon. (always a magical place) Grandma died the NIGHT BEFORE our first born daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. Knowing she was sick - dying - she made a tape to be played at our daughter’s Bat Mitzvah if she wasn’t alive to be there herself….as she wasn’t. There was not a dry eye in the room when our daughter played that tape during the service.

In “Olive Days” ….there was a small moment when San Simeon was mentioned. Madonna Inn too.
Oh….and a Korean Spa ….all of these things …..(Korean scrub treatments - reading on the woven reed mats, eating Kimchi - I have done)…..
Playing on the beach at Grandma’s - and visiting the. Madonna Inn, too.

I’ll leave one beautiful written excerpt …..
….leaving unspoiled other themes and details in ‘Olive Days’…..
“Their naked bodies were warmed by the flames of sin, and they would go forth, he and she. They would be a nation unto themselves. They would live in peace with the idea that they were insignificant flecks of matter in an incomprehensibly vast universe. All they could do was create and love and make the most of their limited, inconsequential days”.

Highly recommend…..(sorry for the extra long review— which in my thinking —
turned out to be a sincere love-note-of-congratulations- and *thank you* note to Jessica Eisheva Emerson.

Highly recommended to Jewish women - mom’s - or anyone who has felt lonely or unseen - or grappling with conundrums between choices ….religious devotions- lust desires - or any mind boggling predicament.