This was a fun take on Pride and Prejudice that reminded me of Bridget Jones' Diary. I really liked the focus on Rachel's friend group, which was a lot more fun and interesting to me than the romance. I think if you're looking for more of a romance, you might be disappointed since that wasn't really the main focus of the book, but I didn't mind at all because I loved how funny and realistic Rachel's interactions with her friends felt.

I loved the premise of the book, as a PP retelling, but feel that it fell flat in the delivery and the characters themselves for me. Though it was a quick read, it felt more like women's fiction and less like a romantic novel.

Rachel is not likeable and while I love that the author works to have her evolve and she does have a love interest, the premise feels more like women's fiction. The author has worked to make the heroine a bit messy and hopefully relatable and lovable at the end. I wasn't able to fully warm up to her, but can see the appeal and love that she tried to show how messy relationships and friendships can be.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Almost-30 Rachel Weiss is single and really does not want to end up with the tech-millionaire her Jewish mother has hand-picked for her. But maybe, as Rachel finds out through her ridiculous escapades, her mother has really picked out a gem?

Ugh. This one is tough. Did I breeze through it? Yep. Did I roll my eyes around every corner? Also yep. Rachel Weiss, for lack of a better term, sucks. Her friends and family also kind of stink. She blames everyone else for her problems, has a horribly self-centered friend group, and her family does some terribly questionable things (it will never be cool to make fun of sexual assault victims or to cheat your way into college, and then blame someone else that people call you out on that?). And through all of this, a cinnamon roll of a human who is generous, kind, and genuine falls into Rachel’s orbit? Woof. Does Christopher Butkus just have some self-esteem issues because his last name is Butkus? Who knows.

2/5 stars, mostly because Christopher deserves a star and I do appreciate the Rachel got it somewhat together and wasn’t completely abhorrent by the last page.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book felt more like women's fiction that a rom com. I didn't really get the romance between Christopher and Rachel in the slightest since the majority of the story was all over the place with all the different story lines going on. The actions of the main characters didn't really feel like something someone in their late 20's - early 30's at all so in all honesty it kind of lost me. The book was really easy to read and digest it just felt like it was missing something.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute and I get the P&P retelling may draw a lot of people in, but for me it was just sort of there and not a focal point.

I enjoyed this, but I did get confused at times with the plethora of characters.

I liked the Pride & Prejudice references but i don’t think they all translated well for this modern story. there was also a lot going on throughout the book and so many characters that I feel weren’t very fleshed out.

A fun P&P retelling that, as a Jewish woman, at one point made me laugh out loud (the part at the college friend’s wedding when she talks about gentiles liking to feel like they have an in with the Jews).

This book was heartwarming and hilarious. Rachel Weiss is navigating turning thirty, a job she doesn’t enjoy, and a series of misfortunate romantic endeavors. The only thing keeping her sane is her group chat with her girl friends. Her meddling mom is scheming up matchmaking attempts with the boy next door, Adam. She cannot escape him with him showing up in the most unexpected places. This book reminds you of the power of friendship, to expect the unexpected, and that there is no right timeline for getting to know yourself.

I'm not a fan of the writing and the hot mess MC. The pride & prejudice retelling is not a win in my book. The mom is more annoying in this book. This book is not for me.

Rachel’s mother was all sorts of annoying, until I realized this was a Pride and Prejudice retelling and her mother is supposed to be the quintessential Mrs. Bennett. Rachel is an almost-thirty year old single woman living her best life ever with her best friends, a job she hates, and no relationship prospects in sight. Her meddling mother tries very hard to set her up with the new billionaire neighbor, Christopher, but she hates him immediately because of his tech job, his money, and the glowing recommendation from her mother. He’s basically the Darcy character here being all stern and serious and aloof. We spend most of the book with Rachel either thriving or flailing at life with misadventures in dating and various embarrassing encounters with Christopher. It’s light on the actual romance between Rachel and Christopher, since they rarely get any page time together. It leans more towards women’s fiction to me, with Rachel needing to find her footing in the world on her own, before realizing that maybe her mom was right about Christopher being perfect for her.

How you feel about this is going to depend hard on how you feel about Rachel, who is immature and annoying at best and truly awful at worst. She's bereft because she's turning 30 and she's unmarried. Her mother is on her case about this. Much of this is told (well, the best parts) in texts and dms- a format which can be a pain but it works here. There's a twist that redeems things so keep reading. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

You're either going to love or hate this one. No surprise, the chaos was right up my alley! Rachel Weiss is the kind of character I love to read about. She's a brazen hot mess on a wildly entertaining and often hilariously bizarre journey toward maturity and independence.

I didn't always agree with the choices made by these characters, but I really enjoyed the messy, realistic dynamic of Rachel’s friend group. This story focuses on the inevitable missteps of navigating adulthood, that phase of life when priorities shift and friendships evolve—leaving Rachel feeling a bit lost in the midst of it all. It doesn't help that her meddling mother is constantly trying to set her up.

Though tech CEO Christopher Butkus was an unexpected delight, who is irresistibly drawn to Rachel’s bold personality and refreshing honesty, I'd say this was definitely more women’s fiction and coming-of-age. The romance was super subtle, but I didn't mind at all. I had a really good time with this one!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
At first, I was excited to read Rachel Weiss's Group Chat as it seemed like it was about a woman who was about to turn 30 and the challenges she faces. Unfortunately, it was more about a self absorbed, serial dater party girl who has nothing going for her. Rachel Weiss is self centered, egotistical, immature, and has no drive to do anything productive. The first half of the book was super hard to get through. There were lots of eye rolling and omg really?! going on in my head. But while it's easy to look at Rachel's bad qualities, looking at the kind of mother she has makes it a little easier to understand why she's the way she is. I almost DNF'd this book but am glad that I pushed through. Rachel redeems herself and actually is more likeable by the end of the book. That ending however was a little forced and rushed.
If your looking for smut or romance, this book is not for you. But if you're looking for a book about a woman who grows, and becomes a better version of themselves, you may like this book. And while it's a Pride and Prejudice retelling, it also gave me Magnolia Parks vibes.

This was messy, chaotic and so much. I loved the mess and found it to be a fun and easy read! I wish there was more romance. I'm looking forward to more from this author!

Read This Book If…you love to hate Mrs. Bennet from Pride & Prejudice!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat by Lauren Appelbaum

Genre: romance / chick lit
Spice Level: 1/5🌶, closed door
Setting: Seattle, WA
POV: single, 1st person, past tense
Tropes: opposites attract

My Thoughts:
In my opinion, if the two leads spend less than 20% of the book together, you can’t really call it a romance or romcom. That being said, this was pretty good as chick lit (although I hate that term). It’s a great story of working on yourself and maintaining friendships in adulthood.

This is a pretty straightforward Pride & Prejudice retellings, with a little Bridget Jones and Sex & The City woven in. Rachel’s mom reminds me a LOT of the moms in Mrs. Maisel.

Overall, I liked this one just fine, but I was craving more romance and the ending lost me a bit.

Memorable Quote: “Who would have thought I would round out the year having landed not only myself in employer-mandated therapy, but my sister too?”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

Do you ever read a book waiting for the unlikable main character to redeem themselves? I think sometimes there is just nothing to like

Our MC, Rachel Weiss, is many things: selfish, immature, superficial, and using alcohol as a crutch. She is in a dead-end job, seeks emotionally unavailable men, and has a mother desperate to marry her off. The writing depicts her in such a harsh light that I just wanted the book to be over by the time she begins working on herself.

I am grasping for positives, so I will say that I enjoyed the formatting of this book and the use of text messages and DMs to move along the plot, but I honestly wish there was more of that and less of Rachel’s inner thoughts.

Perhaps Applebaum could have excelled with this concept had the characters been in their early 20s rather than turning 30. Their actions seemed more relatable to someone who had just graduated college than to someone who was 30 years old.

A considerable miss here was the lack of connection in every relationship. We got brief glimpses into each: Rachel and her mother, Rachel and her sisters, and Rachel and her three best friends, but none of them were thoroughly flushed out, and often, once they were the center of attention, they disappeared from the plot. I think fewer side plots would have done this book wonders

There was a somewhat diverse cast of supporting characters, but again, there were so many that I didn’t get the depth I craved from any of them!

Finally, don’t even get me started on the romantic subplot with no connection or interaction, and then they fall in love?! It wasn’t easy to read.

The writing felt like it was supposed to be ironic, but unfortunately, it just fell flat, and Rachel’s flippant nature dominated the narrative.

Also, in the year of our Lord 2024, I cannot support any book that has people crying over being single at 30… just so shallow.

To end on a positive note, I did find parts of the writing numerous… swipe for quotes.

Rachel’s mom wants the best for her daughters, and for Rachel and Jane - that means marriage. Jane is set but Rachel is another story, she’s very single. When the house next door is bought by a young and cute millionaire, Rachel’s mom’s heart is set on him for Rachel. In a Jewish twist on Pride and Prejudice (although much more loosely based than other retellings I’ve read) - Christopher and Rachel clash until they don’t.

I really REALLY wanted to love this one but, well I just didn’t. Rachel’s character wasn’t a particularly appealing character and Christopher’s feelings for her just never made sense to me. Rachel and her friends (the titled group chat) also didn’t seem like particularly good friends to each other. That being said, the author did turn one traditional romance concept over on its head (I can’t tell you what because it would ruin it) but it was fun to read and the best part of the book. I listened to about half of this one and read about half and the narrator was really good. But in the end I couldn’t root for the couple because I only liked the male main character and honestly, I thought he could do better.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC to review

I honestly can’t decide if I loved this book or not.
The main character drove me nuts at times and made me laugh out loud at other times!
I feel like that’s how some friends are though, you can’t tell anybody what to do, you just want them to be happy.

This was definitely a fun, quick read!

At 50%, I was debating a DNF, as Rachel's inner dialogue and decisions were really hard to get through. It almost felt like a coming of age story, yet she was turning 30 and I often was reminding myself of that fact as she made one judgmental and self-absorbed decision after another. All of the characters in this story were pretty awful (the mom, wow) and the friendship group seemed to have weird dramatics that also felt juvenile. The only character I liked was the love interest, but it was a weird enemies-to-lovers scenario where who even knows why they were enemies. Especially when Rachel so easily forgives her friends discretion - why are we hating on the guy who repeatedly showed how genuine he was. The third act drama sealed the deal that this wasn't the book for me. The drama Rachel and her sister cause was extremely disappointing and I felt reinforced that she hadn't done any actual growing up.
Thank you Forever for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I dived into the book reading the blurb thinking this book was for me but I did not like the female main character at all. it was not that she was unlikeable but more like annoying with no morals. TI wished it had more romance aspect but humor was was kept me engaged!! I just had high hopes from this book