Understanding that not every book is for every reader, I knew early on that I was not the reader for this book. However, I continued reading in an attempt to find anything that would change my mind. After reading the book in it’s entirety, I can honestly say I failed to find a single thing.

Rachel Weiss is the single most infuriating character I’ve come across in a long time. She’s selfish, insipid, vacuous, vapid, shallow, and unpleasant - and those are her good qualities. She never once deviated from being insufferable.

There’s too much going on in this novel to keep plot lines or characters straight and, honestly, I didn’t care. I simply wanted it to be over. While this was not my cup of tea, others may find it entertaining. Good luck. Let’s just say I understand why Rachel’s father hid in the pantry.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Forever for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

On the precipice of turning 30, Rachel is still trying to figure out who she is and what she wants out of life. I really enjoyed how this book told the hilarious-yet-accurate story of navigating the tumultuous world of online dating. While overall, I felt like the story was more of personal growth and friendship than it was romance, it was still a heartwarming chick lit book that will resonate with those in their late 20’s/early 30’s who still don’t feel like they have life figured out. Does anyone really? Luckily Rachel has an amazing group of friends, who albeit can sometimes be a bit chaotic, they’re ultimately there for each other the best they can be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read this digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Could not have loved this book more. Love a retelling of pride and prejudice with the excellent addition of some Jewish rep.

Rachel hates her job, is bothered by her twin sisters, and constantly picked on by her Jewish mother. She dates guys she does not expect a relationship to develop and when she does meet a nice guy, she is ugly to him. I thought it was not realistic for Christopher to do all he does for her. I did like the special relationship she had with her sister Jane. Rachel’s mother was too obsessed with finding a person for her to marry. Rachel was too self-absorbed and shallow. I did like that she finally tried to redeem herself, but I believe it was a little too late.

Rachel Weiss's Group Chat is a phenomenal read! I feel like it was written just for me. It was hilarious but also a reflection on friendship, family, and getting older. There was so much I related to. Further, it's a modern Pride and Prejudice. I have read/watched pretty much every retelling out there and this is one of my favorites. It's more Bridget Jones than Austen and that's perfect! The friendships were in the forefront of the relationships in this book. The romance is a little more on the backburner but also worth it.

A big thank you to Lauren Appelbaum, NetGalley, and Forever for this eARC!

Very good read! I enjoyed the character and plot lines. I was pretty quickly immersed in the book and enjoyed reading it. The moth was so frustrating but also realistic in a way. This really highlights the struggles of a single girl in her late 20/early 30 era and the centering of herself as she develops

To be honest, this book just wasn’t for me.
I really didn’t like the main character. She was extremely full of herself, but it was just so over-the-top with everything. She hated the love interest so intensely for seemingly no reason at all other than the fact he was a millionaire who worked in tech? Even after she learned about how kind he was and the good he was doing, she still seemed to dislike him which was odd. The characters didn’t have much depth to them and it felt kind of cartoony with how they were depicted. (Especially the mother).

It was also strange that Christopher and Rachel didn’t really have much conversation or time together before he was confessing his love for her. It didn’t feel genuine unfortunately and I wished they explored more of them getting to know one another.

I also thought it was icky that Rachel didn’t seem to care at all that her best friend cheated on her husband with HER BOYFRIEND? And then her friend decides not to tell her husband that she cheated on him and the main character just goes along with supporting this? I feel like this didn’t seem like they had much beyond surface level to their friendship because even if you love your friend, you’d think there’d at least be a conversation about whether or not that is fair to her spouse or something. Also, the way she went viral for making fun of the #metoo movement and how they handled that making the focus more on getting her sister her job back rather than actual accountability and understanding just felt uncomfortable.

I didn’t mind the tone of the main character sometimes because it reminded me of an early 2000’s movie the way she narrated. I also thought the way the author wrote the ending with her and Christopher getting together and that last scene was done well and made me wish all the more that there was more of that kind of writing for them throughout the novel.

Again, just wasn’t really my cup of tea, but I appreciate getting the opportunity for an ARC copy from NetGalley!

Not well written with a potential storyline buried somewhere in the book.
The main character is really annoying and hypocritical / rude. Her relationship with her family and friends is ridiculous. I felt like all she did was end up at a bar, drink too much and try to find a guy.

Rachel is months away from turning thirty and her life is stagnant. She’s a serial dater, hates her low level tech job taken to pay rent and never moved on, and can’t seem to figure out how everyone around her is becoming a grown up with fiancées, careers, and goals.

Her mom is trying to fix her up with the new neighbor’s son, Christopher, but she’s dismissed him out of pocket because he’s rich.

She has a group of girlfriends, each with her own set of problems and a group text among them that appears occasionally.

There’s a SAT cheating scandal, a family vacation, a viral video, and ten other subplots.

This one has vague Pride and Prejudice vibes: a mom obsessed with appearances and marrying off her daughters, oldest sister in a bland but happy relationship, youngest girls twins who are a chaotic mess, and Rachel, who makes bad choices, drives away anyone who might be good for her, and sabotaging everything with self centered choices.

But it’s like everything was turned up to 11. And let’s be clear, that wasn’t a good choice.

I didn’t enjoy this one. Rachel is vapid, childish, and obsessed with looks. She doesn’t show growth and is unlikable. There’s absolutely no reason Christopher would fall for her (it’s a ridiculous insta love to boot). And on top of that, there are too many things happening and each subplot seems to spiral for 10% of the book and then is either resolved or forgotten.

In fact, I liked this less and less the deeper I got into it. It tries to do too much, doesn’t present anyone to root for, and Rachel is no Elizabeth Bennett.

I tried and tried. I wanted to love this. But I review every book I fully read and knew this would never be over 2 stars. I may come back to it, but for now this is a DNF.

A light hearted, entertaining read that will grab you from the opening line and keep you engaged until the end.

This book was hilarious, it's a Pride And Prejudice retelling, which I wasn't quite expecting!
While I did find it funny, there wasn't a ton of romance in it, which is kind of what I came for.

I adored how it's about life, and growth and friendship.

Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc!

This book was funny and relatable for those in their 20’s who may feel like their lost in their personal and/or professional lives. I found the self-development to be very good, it was nice to see Rachel mature over the course of this book. Was she annoying? Yes. Was she self-centered and self-sabotaging? YES. Was her mother the worst person ever? 1000% I wanted to fight her, what a psycho. I enjoyed the ending but wish we got to see a little more

I see that this is a P&P retelling, and I guess I can see that, but honestly, I struggled with this book. The humor was definitely there, even if I felt it sometimes came at the expense of others. For me, I have to like the characters to be invested in the story. I kept reading, hoping, that the disaster that is Rachel grows, but the growth just wasn't there for me.

Though I was excited about the focus on female friendship, I had a hard time with two of the storylines. One was outright betrayal that everyone seemed ok with. Appelbaum tried to build a case for Rachel's reaction, but I felt like it was glossed over.

For me, Christopher was this stories saving grace. As much as Rachel tried to paint him as some horrible person, he was not horrible at all. From what I gathered, his crime was being rich, male, and white, but he always seemed to be generous and giving, and even saved the day at one point.

I do feel there is an audience for this book, but it's not me.

Rachel’s mom is determined to set her up with the son of her new neighbours. Not only is he obscenely wealthy, but he’s a nice Jewish boy! Rachel is less enthused by the idea of dating a dull startup bro. Besides, she has enough on her plate: dealing with the rest of her unhinged family, attending work-mandated therapy (long story) and keeping up with her besties’ all-consuming group chat. But as Rachel gets to know the man her mom has picked out for her, she starts to discover that he’s not the soulless capitalist she imagined him to be. He might actually be…kind of cool?

I enjoyed this book! The main character is delightfully selfish and messy, yet she experiences tremendous growth over the course of the novel. The side characters were entertaining, and there were some super funny moments that wouldn’t be out of place in one of those iconic 2000s rom-coms. As a journalist, I had to suspend my disbelief when it came to many of the details of the subplot involving a local news station (picture me hunched over the book muttering “that’s not how it works!”), but overall I had a good time reading this. It wasn’t a favourite for me, but it was a quick and fun read. I think this would be a good pick for busting out of a reading slump!

3.5 stars
Imagine a modern Pride and Prejudice, instead with Lydia and Bingley instead of Lizzie and Darcy. Lauren Appelbaum's 'Rachel Weiss's Group Chat' is a funny, sometimes exasperating but also an endearing book about growing up and growing apart and female friendship.

Rachel is an interesting character and at times she could be utterly painful. She is a bit chaotic, oblivious, at times self-centred with a her drama but at the same time a fierce friend, prone to self reflection and learning from her mistakes and funny. I loved that she was a female who had one night standards and partied and just had fun. I cackled quite a few times at her comments. In other words: Rachel is relatable. Haven't we all done or said cringy things and been THAT friend who sometimes takes up too much space for everyone else?

The romance was the weakest link for me. Christopher was lovely but I didn't feel any real chemistry between them. I think shoehorning the Darcy declaration seemed so out of character given they barely knew each other. I was glad it was called out for what it was but I think it should've been scrapped entirely. The big downside for me though was the over-the-top mother with her histrionics. We had ONE moment where you can her motivations and vulnerability, but the rest of the book she'd blow it apart making loud drama about Rachel being single. She needed serious therapy and I didn't like that Rachel and Jane didn't confront her to put her in her place and that their dad passively let her basically berate Rachel. It's 2024 can we stop having sexist mothers wanting to marry off their daughters and carrying on about it?

Thanks to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC.

This one didn’t land for me. Unfortunately, Rachel was not my favorite of characters. I found her unrelatable and frustrated with red flags she ignored. To me this was less of a love story and more of a self evolution story. Through that lens’s it’s much better. The last bit of the book felt rushed after the beginning was incredibly slow. The friendships were positive and I loved the group texts she had with her friends!

3.5 rounded up

This was a funny modern Jewish Pride & Prejudice retelling filled with messy family drama, lots of laughs, a disaster main character, misunderstandings and a swoony Darcy esque male lead. I enjoyed this but not quite as much as I was hoping to. Perhaps listening as an audiobook impacted a bit of my enjoyment since I didn't love the narrator. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. Recommended for fans of Bridget Jones' Diary and Jane Austen retellings. Overall a solid debut and I look forward to reading more by this new author!

Insanely disappointed by this. I had such high hopes for this story and this author! The writing was so incredibly cringe, and I felt like the author was trying to make our main character “relatable” but it just comes off as annoying and obnoxious. I wanted the Jewish aspect to be so much more, but instead we just got over bearing mom that’s flipping out because her daughters are almost 30/ slightlyyyyy above 30 and not married yet. My eyes are still rolling at this as well as all of her scenes. I will refrain posting my review on Goodreads as I truly want the author to do well, but I’m just so disappointed and found this book to be poorly written.

This was a fun, slightly unhinged and silly telling of Rachel's life, her group chat and her dating life as she turns 30.

I didn't find Rachel as insufferable as I probably should have, and I think the secondary characters all had a hand in lessening the blow of her chaos and inner monologue.

Overall this was an entertaining read and a bit of a palate cleanser from the romance-heavy books I've been reading.