Wow..Eliza was an amazingly complex character and I truly enjoy character driven stories. I enjoyed that Eliza was of Jewish faith, I’ve never read from that point of view before and it was interesting. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review is “spoilerish”, so proceed with caution.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Eliza Bloom is a young woman that has been raised in a conservative Orthodox Jewish community. She has always lived by the rules: she wears the “frum” clothes she’s expected to, she eats only kosher food and has finally chosen a suitable husband. And then… she falls in love with a secular man named Alex. And she has to run away from her family and from everything she has ever known.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I thought this was going to be a book about a woman trying to navigate the “Real World” (as the author calls it) and finding herself. But the twist appeared when, after a few months out of her community, Eliza starts missing her family. Her food. Her traditions. And she starts lying to her husband to go back to her family in her old clothes, the same way she used to lie to her family about working late to meet Alex for coffee. That’s what the two hearts of the title mean: she loves her husband, but she also loves her upbringing. And she shouldn’t have to choose.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
One aspect I found very interesting about the book is the culture shock of the protagonist. I’ve always tended to assume that people - especially women - that have been raised in very conservative communities love breaking free from them and enjoying their freedom. But it’s not that easy for them: there are a lot of prejudices to fight, there is a lot of guilt and also the constant feeling of loneliness, of not belonging to this world. This book helped me be more empathetic with these people and made me be more cautious when making certain statements.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A final thought: a thing that struck me about this book was that it was publicised as “laugh-out-loud” funny and… I didn’t feel this was a “funny” book. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for me, because I enjoyed reading the book nevertheless (it’s a page-turner), but I think it can be very misleading for other readers that are looking for a funny book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with this ARC.

I found the characters in this book deeply unlikable. The story was interesting and i found out some things I didn't know about the Jewish religion, but the characters were a sticking point. Beth is clearly a very clever writer though, and I will read her next book as I enjoyed her style.

I enjoyed this novel up until about halfway through and then it started to drag for me. There seem to be lots of extraneous information and details in every chapter after the halfway point. I did like the story line though and enjoyed reading about how orthodox Jews live. I also liked the character of Eliza and Alex and their daughter Leah Who wants to embrace the Jewish customs that Eliza left behind.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This story started off very strong and I was very engaged in the story and how it was going to turn out, then in the middle of the story it for me felt like it went on for too long. However I learnt loads about the Jewish way of living which I found very interesting. The ending was lovely too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this story in exchange for a honest review.

Firstly, thank you to Netgally for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Eliza Bloom is a complex character. Born into an extremely religious family, she defies them all and runs away with the love of her life, thus beginning a whole new chapter.

I didn't love this book but I didn't hate it. It is extremely well written but slightly confusing with the jumping timelines and flashbacks. Also, I did have a problem with some of the characters.

Eliza - she is no saint but sometimes I felt that she tried to make herself out as the victim which I don't believe she was. She made her own choices then didn't seem to want to "put the work in" when things got tough.

Alex - whiny, overly-sensitive, jealous. None of these tropes are attractive in my book sorry.

Eliza's family - lets not go there. What I don't get is Eliza's father is overly abusive without any real reason apart from the fact that he seems to be on a permanent power trip. Yet this man is taken down in one instance.

Leah - the girl who caused all the trouble, the frankly horrible teenager who I just wanted to slap.

I am not jewish so I will fully hand on heart say that I don't know about arranged marriages, or the the customs but even to me some of it seemed extremely over the top.

Anyway, that being said, Beth Miller can write. The book is extremely descriptive and I give her much credit from not shying from some serious issues. That is the reason I gave this book three stars rather than two. The characters for me were the major sticking point. I just couldn't feel any empathy or emotions for them at all.

I will however, look forward to more of Beth Miller's work.

I really struggled with this book. Although I found parts of this novel interesting (mainly the transition from Orthodox Jew life to the Real World life), I just found the characters insufferable. Eliza/Aliza was whiny, insecure, and duplicitous. Alex was condescending and sneakily controlling. Leah was rude. Eliza's father was abusive. Nathan was bland. I just didn't connect with the characters at all, and as a result, most of the novel dragged on and on for me.

I guess this is a twist on Pygmalion with Eliza as Eliza Doolittle and Alex as Professor Higgins. It would have been an interesting remake, if it hadn't been for the unlikable characters. I will say I found the ending sweet and relatively satisfying. I think that many readers will like this as a romance, but I couldn't get past all the issues with the characters.


Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What do you do when your religion says one thing and your heart says another? That's a key question in The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom. Set in both 2000 and 2016, this story explores Aliza/Eliza following her heart to marry a Gentile. Having been raised in a. Orthodox Jewish faith, it's an interesting cultural background that Beth Miller explores.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
The premise of the book is about Elisa/ Aliza who is caught between her old identity and new life post her eloping with a person not from her faith. I did not know this book would resonate with me. I too, have married outside my ethnicity, though from the same faith we do not even speak the same language at home. How Eliza is so enchanted initially with her new world, feels trapped in her Orthodox jewish identity, and how once she elopes, feels a pull towards that life, her family is beautifully told in an uplifting love story.

Told with flashes of the past intertwined with present, i was guessing what happened. I am glad that Eliza wasnt made out to be a saint - She is painfully human and that made the story so much better for me. As a mother facing the consequences of her past, she realizes what her mistakes are and i love how she is unafraid of facing them.

rating - surprisingly lovely. 4 stars

Wow this was a mess. I thought about giving up 25% of the way through because the story and characters were just so bad but I stuck with it hoping it would get better. Spoiler: it only got worse.

Eliza/Aliza basically flees her family into the arms of a smarmy, negging, controlling asshole who she sees as some kind of knight in shining armor.

Alex tried to control Eliza from the start, whining and barking when he doesn’t get what he wants. Poor Eliza thinks it’s unclean to touch or sleep together during er “bleeding” (period) but Alex drones on and in about how period sex is fine. Meanwhile Eliza views Alex as unclean after he so much as demands to hold her hand during her period. He has no respect for her her religious beliefs and immediately tries to change her into whatever he wants at that moment. It’s clear to the reader that one of the only reasons he wants Eliza is because she’s “pure”. But does Alex really need to serve up the line “some of the best fucks I’ve ever had have been with gals on the rag” yes folks he actually says that. Then he adds “making love during Eliza’s period” to his tacky list of sexy things to try. If this doesn’t turn you off enough then do reading.

Later Eliza mentions that blow jobs were on Alex’s sexy things to try list but she tried once and was not a fan. However there is a scene where Eliza is trying to get out of the house quickly and Alex is whining he didn’t get laid and doesn’t she think he’s attractive anymore?? So to shut him up she makes a gesture with her tongue then gives him a blowie despite hating doing it, all so she can leave the house without his whining. Of course after he finds the time to make a joke when she spits instead of swallowing “must get some of that kosher spunk so you can swallow”

The characters in this were just so cringeworthy. The references to sex seemed to be written by a horny teen who has never even kissed someone. The whole book was just a big ball of uncomfortableness. There was nothing redeeming here.

In fact there is a paragraph where Eliza/Aliza gets nostalgic for a pile of pre torn toilet roll that her friend has prepared so people can wipe on the sabbath. Of all the things to write about...

I am not an Orthodox Jew but I can’t imagine how revolting this book would be to someone who was.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy to review but I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.
What Eliza/Aliza has with Alex is not and never has been love. It’s Stockholm syndrome.

Synopsis: Eliza (or is it Aliza?) Bloom’s runaway wedding has become the stuff of family legend, but legends have a habit of catching up with you in the most unexpected ways... as Eliza discovers when her daughter finds something buried in a shoe box that nobody was supposed to find.

I loved the way Beth Miller talks about ‘packing the suitcase’ when it comes to the way she writes her books. I checked goodreads and it looks like she’s been off radar for a couple of years, but boy is she back! With a well packed suitcase! This is a really nice read. It’s light, is heartfelt, it’s sensitive, it’s funny (at times laugh out loud)... I really enjoyed it. I got lost in their world and wanted to keep learning about their lives. I loved Eliza, though I admit I found some of her actions frustrating and hard to understand... but we all do confused things when life is a confusing mess.
This is the perfect read for when you’re chilling on the beach, preferably with a cocktail within arms reach 🏖🍹
Released 1st March 2019.


Thank you to netgalley and bookouture for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Aliza, within the confines of her orthodox religion, is going to marry Nathan, whom she does not love. But when she meets non-Jewish Alex, they secretly start to meet and fall ,in love, she knows she can’t go through with the wedding. On that day she leaves with a suitcase and meets Alex in front of all her relatives, causing them to shun her forever. Out in the “real” world with Alex she has so much to learn about current society, as well as to find out who she really is. A lovely story, showing us life is not lived on a straight line, and sometimes we have to go back in order to move forward.

A sweet & refreshing read. I flew through this book really enjoyed it! Would recommend this to anyone

The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom by Beth Wood is a charming and, ultimately, uplifting novel about finding yourself against all odds. This is a thoroughly delightful read, and I would not hesitate to recommend it.

The novel is presented as a dual timeline, alternating between the years 2000 and 2016. In late 1999, we meet Aliza Bloom, the product of an extremely strict Orthodox Jewish household. Aliza is desperate to escape her sheltered and suffocating existence when she meets Alex, a gentile, at a training course. The two begin a tentative relationship, with Alex unintentionally altering her name to Eliza, the subtle change representing the woman she can see herself becoming in the Real World. The trouble is, Aliza has an agreement to marry Nathan, a man she does not love, but has agreed to marry in order to pacify her devoutly religious family. On the day of the wedding, Alex whisks Eliza away and quickly marries her, immersing her in his secular life. Eliza is forced to navigate her way through Christian customs, with the results being laugh out loud funny yet also, at times, heartbreaking.

When the couple's daughter, Leah, finds a wedding photo in 2016 of her mother standing beside a groom who is not her father, questions arise, and Eliza must come to terms with past decisions and mistakes.

Told in a breezy and conversational style, this is, ultimately, a feel good story about staying true to yourself.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

A sweet read! Aliza/Eliza agrees to an arranged marriage (to Nathan). However, she runs away with her true love (Alex) on her suppossed wedding day. The story includes interesting details about the Orthodox Jewish religion and how Eliza adjusts to the "outside"'.

A stellar read with suspense and intrigue up until the very end. Delightful!

Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a wonderful story.

Where'd you go Bernadette meets Britt-marie was here with a religious twist. Eliza/Aliza Bloom is stuck between tradition and her heart. This lovely unexpected read left me questioning could I leave all I know behind for a chance at love?

This was an insightful book regarding the Orthodox Jewish community and how their perspective on marriage and family shapes their lives. Re fact that Eliza rebelled against it showed who she was and how strong love is.