I enjoyed this one. Despite her extreme self-centeredness, Rachel and her friends have a very relatable relationship. I'm not sure if I thought the ending was great. It was quite foreseeable. I could identify with Rachel's genuineness and messiness. I adore how Christopher accepts her and gives her the confidence to be who she really is. With a strong emphasis on family and friends, the book is as much romance as it is women's fiction. The narration in the audiobook was enjoyable.

Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat
Author: Lauren Appelbaum
Narrator: Dara Rosenberg

I was not a fan of this book. I was bored and almost dnf but pushed through with hopes that I would change my mind. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Harper Collins Focus and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is absolutely hilarious! I must say being a Rachel and of course having dated in the past with the likes of a ' Stephen' this hit a bit close to home at times, but luckily enough water has passed under the bridge for me to enjoy it. My daughter did ask if this was about the lead character in 'Disobedience' which of course it is not- but I did enjoy the Jewish references. And the similarities to Bridget Jones/Pride and Prejudice to boot! Definitely recommend!

Ok I appreciate the fact that characters like Rachel exist in real life. The type of younger women where I want to scream, grow the hell up. So it’s realistic in that point.
The narrator has been used on much better audio novels….she should wipe this one from her portfolio though. Ugh.
I don’t mind a toxic character if they eventually grow up and learn…a nice character arc. Nope Rachel is an intolerable person the whole time. And each guy she is interested in doesn’t know the bullet they dodged.
My last beef with the story…..what kind of neighborhood dies Rachel live in with one income , yet a multi million dollar house is right next door? In contemporary romance/fiction these details matter.

Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat by Lauren Applebaum
Contemporary chick lit, romance. Own voice.I enjoyed this book! The main character is delightfully selfish and messy, yet she experiences tremendous growth over the course of the novel.Thank you to NetGalley and Hatchette Book Group for this arc.

2 stars.

I really enjoyed the narration by by Dara Rosenberg, but their performance cannot elevate the material in "Rachel Weiss's Group Chat" by Lauren Appelbaum. I love books with complicated and unlikable female characters, but Rachel is the WRONG type of unlikable. She's so dreadfully toxic! Rachel is SO immature, SP hypocritical, SO rude, and SO judgmental. She complains about the man her mother wants her to be with, Christopher, because he is a millionaire, but spends her life shilling for a rich company (even despite its best efforts to do good in the world) in a job she loathes. She complains that Christopher treats her friends like crap and that's what she does. Christopher would NEVER like a woman like Rachel... my god, grow a backbone, girl!!! Rachel does not grow as a person throughout the novel. As the kids say, she, and her actions, gave me "the ick." I audibly said "YIKES" on more than one occasion while listening, from her bad advice to friends to the way she treated Christopher to her horrible "jokes." There is more than one questionable plot point in this book, things that made me say "WTF?!" I am not sure how the Me Too/assault plot line/jokes about it made it through to the final cut. Like I said, YIKES. Also, I understand an overbearing mother and that this is supposed to be a "Pride and Prejudice" retelling, but I would seriously never speak to my mother if she acted the way Rachel's mom did toward me! The toxic apple doesn't fall far from the tree! The same goes for all of her friends... they cheat, talk crap, and affirm each other's toxic behaviors. Irredeemable people all around. There are a few laughs here and there, the voting stuff and the JLo joke made me chuckle, but otherwise, not a pleasant reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Appelbaum, Hachette Audio, and Forever for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review

Okay… I both do and do not like this book. Am I glad I listened yes. Will I reread it probably not and so it goes. I would love to read a book that had some Jewish advertising in it and the characters do more than just mention J-Date the Jewish dating site the FMC tries with her whole heart to avoid. Then she meets this guy, well she doesn’t really meet him, he moves in next door and did I mention her mother is CRAZY and for some reason hinges her whole existence on her middle daughters relationship status even though she has an older daughter (who’s getting married, might I add) and twin younger daughters who pull an SAT cheating scandal. What. ANYWAYS… from the jump the mom is dead set on having her daughter and buttkiss be together. Yes, the MMC last name is Buttkiss. The last quarter of the book zooms by and the FMC starts this really beautiful self reflection phase, but then we circle back around to this boy she friend zones but loves. I’ve ranted way more about this book than I intended to because like I said not my most favorite book. Glad to have received it as an ARC and loved listening to the scene that had zero plot but she rode a naked and painted pink on a bike down a road in Seattle. I do love how the cover looks though. I think I would also like the text threads if I had read the book in a physical copy instead of listened on audio.

Rachel Weiss’s group chat by Lauren Appelbaum

Coming up to the dreaded 30, Rachel finds herself dissatisfied with her life. Boring job, disappointing men, overbearing mother… she finds herself strangely drawn to a man she doesn’t Mike like but he seems to see her right to her core.

This was funny as all heck and cute AF.

Rachel is the party girl who works to pay bills but she needs more. She wants more. She finds herself doing things she wouldn’t normally do and liking it. Christopher is the rich uptight son of her neighbors she bumps into him at the worst times. They are so different but their friendship is sweet and loaded with misunderstandings.

Loved it 4 stars

3.5 out of 5 stars!


A book set in Seattle? Yes! The Emerald City was home for five years, so any and all books set there bring all kinds of nostaglia. I loved how Rachel had a friend group that saw each other through thick and thin. And while turning 30 didn't hit me nearly as hard as turning 40, I could see how Rachel was having a difficult time navigating life. The work mandated therapy may have just been the key to helping Rachel solve her life's problems. Except for the fact that she keeps running into Christopher Butkus, son of her parents' new neigbhors. She wants nothing to do with him, yet her racing heart every time she sees him doesn't seem to get the memo. I alternated between reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook. Dara Rosenberg did a stellar job narrating all the characters in the book. She brought them all to life and made this rom-com feel like a movie in my ears.

I received an advance copy of this book at my request and voluntarily left this review.

I honestly did not like this one very much. The main character was not very likeable and did a lot of things that were questionable. She apologizes and makes up for it in some ways but I felt like she was immature. I also felt like the whole friendship plot twist felt too immature too. Maybe my bad friendship experience is at play here but I just couldn’t bring myself to like this one.

A really great rom com for the current age of social media. I really enjoyed the story and the plot, the characters were all likeable. Also the narrators in this one were killing it. Such a soothing voice. lol.

Loved this book. Great setting. Great characters. Unique storytelling with a great narrator. I really liked it.

At the start of a new year, and the last year in her twenties, the life that Rachel Weiss has built for herself is about to be completely upturned. At least she can count on her friends and their group chat to keep her grounded. Lately, though, it seems like everyone has their own stuff going on and their texts and hangouts have been coming more sporadically. Then there's her mother who is convinced that Rachel is a failure because she's not on her way to being married, doesn't even have a boyfriend.

When new neighbors move in, Rachel's mother is determined to play matchmaker with Rachel and their son, Christopher. As soon as Rachel learns that Christopher is in the tech industry, though, any interest she may have had quickly wanes. Regardless, Christopher continues to pop up randomly and as they continue to clash with one another, Rachel finds herself examining where she wants her life to go.

When I first started reading this book, I did not realize that it was a retelling of Pride & Prejudice. Once that fact was learned, however, I was even more invested and excited as I am apt to read any Pride & Prejudice retelling that I can get my hands on. I do believe that Rachel Weiss's Group Chat does a very good job of modernizing the story yet still keeping those inherent qualities of the original classic.

I appreciated that this wasn't necessarily a romance, yes it had romantic elements, but it more focused on Rachel trying to "figure it all out". Spoiler: no one ever has it all figured out. You can have a semblance of life worked to your desire, but then some bump in the road comes along and everything is thrown. Rachel is going through that very thing.

For me, Rachel was a very interesting character. For a bit of the book, I didn't care for her which I think speaks more to my uncomfortableness with life chaos than anything truly about Rachel herself. For all intents and purposes, she is a kind and considerate person. She loves her friends and, though challenging, she loves her family too. Up until this point, she hasn't taken too much seriously within her own life, but she's getting by (barely but still). Her exuberance makes her a force to be reckoned with at times which means that if she really puts her mind to something, she can have a plethora of choices in life. She just has to take the first step.

Of course this book is her journey so as we see her begin to acknowledge that she's not completely happy with her job and she's maybe a little lonely as her friends start to build separate lives, she genuinely wants to make a change. While those things that irked me about Rachel were still there - because I do not believe she can be completely chaos free - I started to go easy on her. I wanted to see things turn out good for her.

While I liked the back and forth between Rachel and Christopher, and their sparring had all the hallmarks from the source material, the real highlight is the friendship between Rachel and the group chat - consisting of her friends Eva, Amy, and Sumira. This is a friendship built on deep love, ride or die type of friendship. But when they all seem to be headed in different directions, that is when real heartbreak sets in. It's true, sometimes friendships come and go, but when it's the type of friendship that has become part of who you are, it cuts to the core when those go away.

Also, it would be a misstep for me to not at least mention her family. They are pretty comparative to the Bennets. The overbearing mother who is very focused on marrying her daughters off. The father who often sits quietly by. The eldest daughter - also Jane - refined, beautiful, and, likely, the most level-headed of the bunch. Then two much-younger twins replace the rambunctious Kitty and Lydia, and poor Mary is unaccounted for in this retelling. Rachel's mother's often shrill histrionics are almost too much for me especially in a more modern setting where women can be single and thrive just fine. More prodding on Rachel's part provides a little bit more context for her mother's very over-the-top attitudes, but honestly, it's still too much. Many times while reading I just wanted Rachel to get up and walk away from the toxicity.

For the audiobook, I thought the narrator did great in really conveying the chaos that surrounds Rachel especially when it comes to her mother and her over exaggerations. At times I felt like it was too much, but honestly I think that just means that it was spot on. There's also a certain sense of pride that comes across nicely through the audio narration. Rachel is very proud of herself she doesn't necessarily see, or admit, her faults and failures, but with the narration I felt more the sense that this was a façade and came across as a whole "fake it 'til you make it" kind of situation. I don't know if this would have been as easy to decipher by just reading.

Down to the point, though, I found the story immeasurably readable. The more things seemed like they weren't going to work out for Rachel, the more I wanted to read because I was invested in her journey.

I really wanted to like this book, but something about the neediness of the MC and kind of self-centeredness really did a number on me. I have group chats like the one this is meant to be about, but I don't think I've ever felt like I deserved responses, like everyone should drop what they're doing because *I'm* in need.
There was more to this, but I really couldn't look past it.

Not for me. I didn’t care for the characters and the plot moved too slow to keep me interested. I appreciate the opportunity.

I just finished reading “Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat” by Lauren Applebaum, and I can’t wait to tell everyone about it! This book is an absolute delight from start to finish. The story revolves around Rachel Weiss and her hilarious, heartwarming, and sometimes chaotic group chat with her friends.

Applebaum does an incredible job of capturing the essence of modern friendships and the way we communicate today. The banter between the characters is so authentic and funny that I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. Each character is well-developed and brings their own unique personality to the group, making the dynamics even more entertaining.

One of the things I loved most about this book is how it balances humor with deeper, more emotional moments. It’s not just about the laughs; it’s also about the support and love that friends provide each other through thick and thin. The way the group rallies around each other during tough times is truly heartwarming.

If you’re looking for a book that will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate your own friends even more, “Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat” is a must-read. It’s a perfect blend of humor and heart, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good story about friendship.

A very bad re-telling of Jane Austen’s best book, Pride and Prejudice. i dont really know what else to say

Started out as what seemed would be the same story I’ve read over and over w small variations but as I got into I enjoyed it more and more. Was an easy read about the ups and downs of family, friends and work. Relatable on so many fronts.

This was a charming read. Fantastic friends, romance, secrets galore, and an overbearing mom that felt oddly familiar... The pacing was great, the narration was excellent, the characters were realistic and grounded, and I found myself making up excuses so I could keep listening a little longer.

What a fun book! There were great friends, fun romances and lots of secrets (some shared, some not!). The characters were all likable. Rachel's overbearing mom added comic relief. She wants Rachel to end up with their neighbors' son Christopher. I enjoyed the will they/will they not get together throughout the whole book.