I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wonderful book. I had so much fun reading it!

There were so many things I did not like about this book. This was supposed to be a modern day Pride & Prejudice but it did not have the same heart the original did. I was also shocked that in this day & age the author thought it was a good idea to make a joke about sexuality assault survivors. And don’t even get me started on her friends.

This modern day retelling centers around Rachel, who is about to turn 30 and still single. Her mom keeps trying to set her up with the man buying the house next door, Christopher Butkiss, who Rachel immediately dislikes. Unfortunately Rachel keeps running into Christopher.
This book has some great character development and it was nice to see Rachel work on herself and grow over the course of the book. I loved her relationship with her friends, and the whole story felt relatable to being a hot mess in your 20s. Overall, this was a quick and cute read.
I was impressed by the audiobook narration done by Dara Rosenberg. I appreciated that she did a different voice for each character and was amazed by her range.
Thanks to Forever Publishing, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the advance copies.

Loved this book by Lauren Appelbaum! A great debut reminiscent of BRIDGET JONES but for Jewish girls. Loved it and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Full disclosure- I am DNF this one. I am almost half way and I despise everyone. And I am super angry that this is being compared as a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I mean sure, if all the characters are Lydia frozen in time at her 15 year old self. I despise the main character, she lost me after her 5th time wanting to go "smoke a bowl" and didnt seem to give a shit about anyone but herself. Her attempt to be deep by lecturing everyone about whatever sanctimonious topic she obviously just saw a tiktok about was so off putting and annoying that I questioned how she had any friends. Not for me.

Fun and feisty. Lauren Appelbaum’s Pride and Prejudice inspired debut was just the fluff I needed after a few serious reads. Rachel’s voice was strong throughout and I totally envisioned Kristin Bell’s classic sarcastic humor as our FMC’s voice. All that said, some parts of this book just seemed so outlandish that it took me out of it. The whole Ollie and Abby situation? No way it was resolved so easily. Amy’s problems? That’s a big ooof. The #metoo moment. Kinda cringe and resolved in a way that made it seem like the blame was all on our FMC. Which brings me to Mrs. Weiss. Boy, oh boy, did she annoy me. While I understand her role was that of Mrs. Bennett meets modern overbearing Jewish mother, she was just too much and it felt like our FMC was constantly facing the blame for things either out of her control or that simply never involved her in the first place.

Overall, I really enjoyed Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat and am excited for what Lauren Appelbaum writes next.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I had high hopes for Rachel Weiss's Group Chat by Lauren Applebaum. The title alone should have been a warning. Weiss's? Shouldn't be Weiss' Group Chat? The main character is so annoying and exasperating. Actually, I had a hard time finding a character who I liked. There were a couple laugh out loud moments, but ultimately, it was a hard book to tolerate.

This book is definitely more women’s fiction than romance. It was a breath of fresh air to following along this Pride and Prejudice inspired journey of a chaotic heroine. This is a story about friendship, family, and self growth. I much enjoyed reading it.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

Rachel Weiss's Group Chat was relatable as a 40 year old. Life changes a lot within friend groups and it's hard.

The book was pretty good, not a must read, but it entertains

This was a fun, light-hearted take on Pride and Prejudice by way of Bridget Jones. The characters were likable (for the most part) and frustrating (in a semi-relatable way). Their antics made me laugh out loud a couple times. The ending felt a little rushed and some of the drama was glossed over, but it was a fun book overall.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

FLOP. I'm so sorry but I should know better than to get myself into modern retellings ESPECIALLY Jane Austen ones.

Okay BIG expectations for this book. It was being compared a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, but it feels more like a retelling of the retelling that was Bridget Jones. Still, it was okay, but I think I just was expecting more. Rachel feels a bit over the top to me, but perhaps that's the point? Her friends were not great, and seem to support cheating on husbands, and as much as it was great that she was learning to be her own person, I wanted to tell her just to stick to new friends. Christopher was nice, more Darcy than Rachel was Lizzie, so I enjoyed his development

Another millennial romcom to add to the TBR!

This book was really enjoyable. The cast of characters is chaotic and includes great tropes like a massively overbearing Jewish mother and a comical group of friends. Friendship takes a front row in this book too which I really enjoy in this genre!

Rachel as a character was funny and super relatable for anyone unsure of jobs, love… life generally, lol.

Overall, this is one I enjoyed and would recommend.

Unfortunately, I did not especially enjoy this. Besides Christopher, none of the characters were very likeable or relatable (to me). I don’t mind a book with unlikeable characters. Sometimes it’s an important aspect of the book. But those books then need to have an amazing plot so that something is hooking me in.

This book is a romance and romances should have characters the reader is rooting for, otherwise it’s tough to keep reading about people who you don’t actually care about. That is how I felt about this book. It actually made me sad to think there are people who are so self-centered and selfish. And there are mothers like Rachel’s who are so manipulative and controlling.

But I am sure there are readers who will see some aspect of this book that reflects their own experiences and may very much enjoy it.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars. I really wanted to like this book far more than I did, as I found myself really exceptionally happy to be reading a modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice but this book was just not it. I couldn't really connect the characters to Elizabeth or Darcy, and found myself struggling (probably more than I should have) to make the connections and see the charm in this version of a retelling. The characters felt as though they were trying too hard to just be themselves, and the dialogue fell short of missing the mark for me. It was a quick read, and I am glad that I read it as it was a different take on the story - also, I did enjoy the nostalgic feeling overall!

DNF ~30% mark.

I haven’t disliked a FMC this strongly in a long, long time. Rachel Weiss is a hot mess express who is so completely full of herself and cruel to those around her. I’m saving myself some grief by closing this book early and dedicating my time to the many other books on my shelves. I didn’t like the whole pushy mother storyline and the quiet resentment Rachel had for her sister who’s in a happy, loving relationship. The way Rachel exists as if she’s the center of the world at all times in a tone deaf, immature manner just turned me off from this book. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would like this, so don’t take my review as advice on whether or not you should read this. I actually know several people who read and enjoyed Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat - I’m just not one of them.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for sending me an early copy.

In this fresh, modern-day reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, we follow Rachel—a bold, unapologetic, and sometimes hard-to-like heroine whose journey to self-discovery is as entertaining as it is enlightening. Rachel’s quick-witted, often hilarious inner dialogue feels like a nod to Lorelai Gilmore, with a blend of sass and self-confidence that makes her both relatable and challenging. Though her loud, over-the-top family adds plenty of drama, the real heart of the story lies in Rachel’s growth. While the romance with Christopher (our Darcy) simmers in the background, his big declaration moment may feel a little out of place in a modern context, but it’s delivered with the classic intensity fans expect. More coming-of-age than romance, this novel explores family ties, self-awareness, and the universal challenge of balancing confidence with humility. Rachel might not be easy to love at first, but her flaws are what make her journey so satisfying.

This was an easy, enjoyable read. The story is about Rachel and the various people in her life. It’s a story about friendship, family dynamics and lots of self-reflection. Rachel never took anything seriously in life and just lived in the moment. Through different events that occurred, she was able to understand where people were coming from and as much as she must have felt that her life was falling apart, things were falling into place. She was focused on her own battles and she forgot that her friends were also going through their own battles. Ultimately, things had to happen and unfold a certain way to make her be a better version of herself and appreciate her friendships and her relationship with family.

While I really did enjoy the shenanigans of this friend group at times, with the exception of the fully passed-over betrayal, I’m not sure I was the biggest fan of our leading lady. Her inner monologues felt very Lorelai-Gilmore in a slightly more neurotic way, which is saying something. Her relationship with the original man felt very forced, like the author had to convince even herself to pair them together for the plot’s sake, which led to an unsurprising breakup. Also, I’m assuming the bike ride after was far more painful than we are led to believe haha. Her family was unbearable with the exception of Jane and her fiancé, mostly. I liked her OTP, but it also felt like she had a bit more work to do on herself before they were able to get together…

This book was such an encouraging book about relationships of all kinds: familial, platonic, and romantic. Anyone from an overly-invested family will be able to relate to Rachel on a soul-deep level (at least, I did.) The characters are all vibrant and unique and help make the story so lovely.