Daniel and Liyah were friends at camp until they weren't. Liyah has held onto her anger since then- anger and stress over something that happened when they were 13- and now, surprise- they are 27 and must work together. It's.sort of classic rom com trope-y one (second chance, misunderstandings, frenemies to lovers and so on except that the main characters are BiPOC who are Jewish. Oh, and Liyah and her BFF are bi. This adds depth to their relationship and to the atmospherics (for want of a better word). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I really liked the idea of two former friends sitting next to each other on a plane after not seeing each other for half their lives. It was a great setup, mixed with the work piece. But then the book really slowed down. It felt drawn out and really slow at times. It took something away from it for awhile. While it did pick up later on, it wasn’t as much as I hoped it to be. The end of the epilogue felt a little abrupt. I did really like Aliyah and Daniel - together and separate. Each was dealing with their own issues and was well written.

One of the highlights of the book was the Speakeasy Survival Club. I enjoyed reading the club notes.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is an interesting story of a two biracial Jewish young people. Daniel is Asian and Jewish and Aliyah is Black and Jewish. The plot gives them the opportunity to rekindle a friendship that disintegrated when they were teenagers. With the help of some wonderful characters readers are entertained through some fun times. There are also some heavy discussion topics shared that bring Daniel and Aliyah closer together.

This was a slow burn enemies to lovers, but it was also a second chance since our main characters met a camp years ago. I like that our two main characters along with one of each of their friends formed a club where they had rules to follow which was probably my favorite part of the book. So many laugh out loud moments there. While this is a cute story, it dragged a little for me.

Thank You for Sharing is a STELLAR debut by novelist Rachel Runya Katz.

Daniel Rosenburg and Liyah Cohen-Jackson thought they'd never meet again after sharing a summer at camp as teens. Yet, as fate would have it, they both end up sitting next to each other on a plane. Next thing, Liyah is forced to work with Daniel on her dream museum exhibit. Both Liyah and Daniel are made to face their past as they continue to collaborate. Realizing they have a lot in common as Jewish and people of color, they realize that friendship may not be as bad as they once thought. And maybe something more....

Rachel Runya Katz's debut is one that is filled with heart and laughs. Runya Katz writes some pivotal scenes about what it means to be BIPOC in a Jewish community and Liyah's experiences being bisexual. She interweaves both characters into a set group of friends (Jordan and Siobhan) who meet up to have a Speakeasy Survival Group. I enjoyed reading this contemporary romance and look forward to what Rachel writes next!

As a Jewish reviewer for this book, it pains me that I had to end up DNFing this book, but I really struggled with getting in to it. The story was very slow and I also found Liyah to be very hard to like and want to root for. I think others will enjoy the book, it just wasn’t the best fit for me.

“Thank You for Sharing” by Rachel Runya Katz
We are all the same in at least some characteristic (We are more alike than different)
And, Some experiences leave lasting trauma.
I liked this page turning story. I begrudged every interruption of my reading time. You may be a differenct color or religion than the characters in this story.. But the issues are the same for all of us. Each of us is different in at least some way from everyone else; but we are also the same as everyone else in some way. Don't we need to see our sameness rather than our difference? Happy Reading ! !
Note: This review expresses my honest opinion.
I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book should have a content warning. It's a trauma book, and I don't want to read trauma books. There's literally no obstacle to the relationship other than the FMC's trauma. She's horrible to Daniel because he has the audacity to express feelings for her. She needs to stop using sex to self-medicate and GET MORE THERAPY. Daniel deserves to be with someone who's a whole person, not someone who will break every time he comes close.

Clearly, I'm not the target audience for this book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I know it's bad, but based on the cover, I didn't have the highest expectations for this. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but it just didn't appeal to me very much. So I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading this! This book is so fun - I loved the awkwardness that occured a lot of the time, and I especially loved the budding friend group, joining for Survival Club and even taking notes of their meetings. Both the MC and LI are Jewish people of colour, and this is something that connects them. I thought this was great to see, especially since I don't think I've seen this representation in books often before. It's also a queer book, since the MC is bisexual!

i really enjoyed this romance! i always love seeing queer people in romance novels, and even more so jewish queer people! i really love how the religion was sprinkled throughout the novel to really showcase daniel and liyah’s connection and shared heritage. their found family in the SSC was so fun to read and you couldn’t help but root for them!

a few things did, however, fall flat for me. i think some of these will probably not be in the final version, such as a continuity error and a mildly bodyshaming comment, but some stuff with the plot didn’t hold up. despite all the background and insight given, i still cannot understand why the summer camp incident, especially after the truth was revealed, was such a sticking point for liyah.

additionally, i wish the reunion scene had been a bit longer. i think the book would have benefited from that instead of the epilogue.

4 stars

friends to enemies to lovers is gonna hit every time sorry!

Daniel Rosenberg and Liyah Cohen-Jackson’s last conversation—fourteen years ago at summer camp—ended their friendship. Until they find themselves seated next to each other on a plane, and bitterly pick up right where they left off. At least they can go their separate ways again after landing...

That is, until Daniel's marketing firm gets hired by the Chicago museum where Liyah works as a junior curator, and they’re forced to collaborate with potential career changing promotions on the line.

With every meeting and post-work social gathering with colleagues, the tension (and chemistry) between Daniel and Liyah builds until they’re forced to confront why they broke apart years ago at camp. But as they find comfort in their shared experiences as Jews of color and fumble towards friendship, can they ignore their growing feelings for each other?

With sexy charm and undeniable wit, Rachel Runya Katz's sparkling debut, Thank You For Sharing, proves that if you're open to love, anything is possible.

There is so much to love about this debut! For one thing, I loved that it featured Jewish authors of color because I haven't read enough of that. I thought the development of Liyah and Daniel's relationship from one-sided enemies to friends to "friends with benefits" to lovers was so well paced and I enjoyed watching it play out so much. The characters were well developed and fleshed out and the side characters, human and cat, really rounded out the story. I thought the Friday night support group was such a unique and fun touch! I really look forward to what the author brings us next.

4.25/5 Stars

+Friends to Lovers/ Second Chance
+Jewish Rep
+Grumpy-ish/Sunshine
+Themes of grief and healing

I’ve read books where it feels like the author writes diverse characters only to check a box. Their stories and journeys don’t feel genuine. Well, Thank You For Sharing, is the complete opposite. Each character felt authentic: a friend you have or a coworker you’d like to head to happy hour with after a trying day.

Thank You For Sharing’s two main characters are biracial and Jewish:
+ Liyah Cohen-Jackson: a Black, bisexual, grumpy-ish, passionate, and talented junior curator
+ Daniel Rosenberg: a Korean-American cinnamon roll hero with jellyfish tats (10/10, no notes)

Daniel has loved Liyah since they were 13 and away at summer camp. Liyah’s dislike of Daniel started around the same time. Now as 20-somethings, they are thrown together in a work situation and rekindle their friendship. In addition to their eventual romance, we see their experiences navigating culture and identity.

I particularly enjoyed their Survival Club, a Friday night meet-up that gives their foursome friend group a safe space to vent about career, life, and dating problems. I need a Survival Club! Also, the meeting notes from these meetups were so funny.

We get to watch Liyah and Daniel’s friendship develop from friends-with-benefits to much more while they begin healing from their personal trauma. I loved every page and can’t wait to see what Rachel Runya Katz writes next!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. Thank You for Sharing is available for pre-order and officially out on September 12, 2023!

Liyah Cohen-Jackson and Daniel Rosenberg knew each other in summer camps until they were 13. Liyah still harbors deep resentment about things that happened the last days together. But now at 27 she runs into him realizing they live close to each other in Chicago. And then finds she will need to work with him for a promotional campaign for the Field Museum. The success of their work will determine if she will get her much sought after promotion to curator. Together with a friend of his and a co-worker of hers they form a friend group and get together for weekly drinks and hang outs. It turns out to be a great support group and for Daniel and Liyah it turns into something more.

There is surprising depth and representation in this book. Liyah is bisexual as is her best friend. Both Daniel and Liyah are mixed race POC and Jewish. Interestingly to me, they enjoy the cultural connection more than a belief in God. Liyah is bold and confident in her work but personally she is prickly. She doesn’t believe she is worthy of love and it impacts her intimate relationships. This book feels like you’re dealing with real people. Daniel is wonderfully supportive and the first to admit feelings yet he pushes and makes mistakes. I like that the story includes moments when she needs to check in with her therapist when feeling on edge. Some of the past camp stuff feels childish to bring up years later but it resonates with realism. Where he gets to swagger with a hot rep she gets the negative label and it also effects how she thinks of herself growing up. Yes, it is unfair to blame Daniel for that because he was a young teen and yet it unfairly happens to teen girls everyday.

This is an easy book to recommend. There is a wonderful found family friend group, easy banter, humor and naked times. But there are harder topics too. I also enjoy it being set in Chicago. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

There were so many elements that I appreciated in this story, but overall, this book just didn’t hit the mark for me. I think it could be a wonderful book for anyone who is looking for a love story that spans from childhood “enemies” to adulthood “frenemies” and eventually to romance, with slow introspective growth along the way.

What I loved… It touched on multi-racial identity and gave space to the unique experiences the characters were having. I also loved that there were non-binary and LGBTQIA+ characters living a supported life where it was easy, peasy for their friends to use the correct pronouns and accept fluid sexuality – it’s my favorite kind of inclusion, where it’s just woven in effortlessly.

I did not love… the way the main characters interacted. Enemies to romance is a tough trope for me because I just don’t enjoy snippy or mean banter. I don’t like teasing as a form of flattery or affection, and holding on to the past so tightly that you can’t enjoy today is just not my jam.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for allowing me to read an early copy of this book- I appreciate you!

Content warnings: Racism, Grief, Sexual assault

This story felt real to me and allowed me to explore other faiths and cultures while helping me understand the challenges that both may face. Liyah and Daniel are a second chance romance after a wonderful summer camp experience became a nightmare for Liyah. It’s 15 years later and they cross paths on a flight back to Chicago. For Liyah, she still carries the scars from the summer and blames Daniel. Daniel wonders why Liyah never came back to camp and has missed her over the years. Both of them are faced with issues at work as they pursue their passions but what neither expects is for them to be teamed up on a marketing campaign for the museum Liyah works in. This ends up being a good thing as they are forced to work through the past and see how they can shape their futures. I don’t know that I completely connected with the characters but I did appreciate their personal journeys and how their faith and cultures shape the choices they make. I also learned a lot along the way which I appreciated. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

Received this ARC via NetGalley…

Childhood crush/2nd chance - one of my favorite tropes!

I love that there is so much representation in this book! Bi-racial, Jews of color, queer, non-binary characters and interracial relationship.

I also appreciated how mental health is discussed in such a healthy and productive way. The characters created such a supportive and safe space for each other.

Content warning: references to death of a parent and sexual abuse

I enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers, second chance romance that was witty and fun. It can be hard to find a romance that is the right balance of fun and feels like it has enough weight to be believable. I loved the character development that felt realistic and also went deeper, while still having good banter and the romance heating up.

I read Rachel Runya Katz's "Thank You for Sharing" on NetGalley. I loved this book! Liyah & Daniel were meant to be. They met at camp when thirteen and then years later ran into each other again. And again. Slowly over time their reservations were lowered and they became friends. This book made me laugh and cry. This is the author's first book and I'm sure it won't be her last! I'm looking forward to reading more!

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I appreciated learning about Jewish customs in this novel, as it was all very new. I liked that it wasn't insta-love and that they got to know each again as adults.
I think the third person made it very hard to see into how the characters were feeling, and it made Liyah come across as not as likeable as she could've been.
There wasn't too much angst I suppose, so it wasn't very fast paced.