This was amazing. I loved how real the MCs felt and how much I resonated with Liyah. I loved how the Jewish community was represented and it was just such a refreshing read!

The GrumpyxSunshine I didn't know I needed!! Liyah can come off pretty bad, but she owns it (and sometimes blames her hunger and we've all been there) and I loved to see her soften and grow in her friendship/relationship with Daniel. They were both working through a lot on a personal level and it was not lost on me that this chance encounter changed everything for the both of them. There are heavy topics covered - while not necessarily on the page - but they are covered with so much respect.
Definitely recommend if you like:
- Childhood friends to lovers
- GrumpyxSunshine
- Multiple "but there's only one bed", yes, multiple 
- Amazing Side Characters who create their own survival club
- Diverse Cast
- Jewish representation 

But really, this one immediately goes into the "I will reread this" pile

I could not stop talking about this book! I could not put this book down and will definitely be rereading it once I get my hands on a physical copy. This book touches on very important topics such as race, identity, culture, and aspects of mental health. There is something about this book that is so real and I am so glad that I got to read it!

This was a really great love story. So many romance books have such an unrealistic take on what falling in love is like, but this story did a great job capturing what it is like in the real world. I love that this story is messy, and the characters are flawed, and there is some misunderstanding in this book. The side characters are very interesting individuals (I’d love a follow up Jordan, Neen, or Siobhan story!), and the cat named Sweet Potato was adorable! A lot of books about specific people or cultures can be hard for people not in that group to follow. I loved how this story invited the reader into Jewish culture and customs and traditions. The explanations during SSC were so helpful and I learned a lot. I loved how bold and fabulous Aliyah was, and how sweet and sensitive Daniel was. This was such a lovely book, with characters that will stay with me for a while. Content warning- sexual assault (off the page), and death of a loved one (off the page), so keep that in mind when deciding to read this story. I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

*Title: Thank You for Sharing- a standalone

*Release date: 9/12/23 read: 8/5/23

*Author: Rachel Runya Katz-debut author

*Book cover: love when POC are featured

*Page Count: 336

POV: dual H/h Daniel and Liyah

*Setting: Chicago

*Genre
✅Adult Fiction
✅NA-20's, post college
✅Contemporary Romance

*Tropes
✅LGBTQIA+
✅interracial romance
✅ multicultural-AA, Korean, Jewish
✅ forced proximity
✅ 2nd chance romance
✅ found family
✅friends to enemies to lovers
✅office romance
✅ slow burn
✅ 1 bed

Look out for:
⚠️ sexual assault (past & off page), death of a parent, grief, therapy, bullying

*Summary: Thirteen-year-old Daniel Rosenberg and Aliyah Cohen-Jackson meet @ Maccabiah-Jewish summer camp and become friends. Liyah feels slighted by him at their closing ceremony, and they stop speaking. Fourteen years later, they meet cute and end up working together. Sparks fly in work meetings and their Speakeasy Survival Club (SSC) which makes for a great 2nd chance romance.

Characters

Daniel- 27 works @ Kinley marketing firm as a digital marketing strategist. Father Aaron passed a year ago to lung cancer. He is Korean/Jewish. Hasn't had sex in 6 mos. Been in a few serious relationships.

Aliyah/Liyah-27 works as a junior curator/exhibition development designer @ The Field Museum in Chicago. Wants a promotion so she has to team up w/ Daniel to write proposal to get 20-somethings to come to the museum. She is black/Jewish. Only does casual hook ups.

Kayla-Daniel's sister, a therapist and SA Survivor so she gives Daniel advice on how to help & romance Liyah.

Jordan-Daniel's bff/ former coworker. Created Chicago Rocks- he and Daniel enjoy rock climbing.

Siobhan-Irish. Liyah's co-worker/friend, graphic designer

Neen-Liyah's bff, lives out of state.

Alex-Daniel's roommate, a mixologist

Brett-Daniel's boss

Jeff-Liyah's boss

Sweet Potato-Daniel's rescue cat

*Review: I loved the SSC even though it was a bunch of friends getting drunk and gossiping. Their "found family" talked about life problems- mostly work and relationships. Liyah was tough to empathize with especially in the beginning. She's had an icy exterior with a quick comeback, which I later understood given her past. Kayla and Neen served as great moral compasses. Each helped Daniel and Liyah get closer to each other. Therapy was important for both of them, glad it was destigmatized in this book. Sexuality was another issue that was very "matter of fact" because each character represented a different lifestyle. Both Daniel and Liyah dealt with racism being Jews of color, but they smashed those stereotypes immediately. I liked the slow burn romance as Liyah and Daniel had to get to know each other as adults. Loved the 1 bed trope, definitely brought out the intimacy between them.

*Rating: 5/5⭐

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC🖤! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions are my own.

Fourteen years ago, Liyah and Daniel were attending Jewish sleep away camp and were falling in love, until Daniel did something stupid and it ended their friendship.

When Daniel’s marketing firm gets hired by the museum Liyah works at, they are forced to collaborate on a project. With potential promotions on the line, can they set aside their past to get the job done?

With every meeting and social gathering that takes place, their chemistry becomes undeniable. They’re forced to confront what happened all those years ago.

This one is a fantastic and realistic look at dating in your late twenty’s early thirties. I don’t know about you but when I was that age, I had plenty of baggage and was still searching for my true love. This book was written in such a realistic way it was easy to relate to the characters and empathize with them on their journeys. Life can be a challenge, and get very messy, and this book showed exactly that. I loved how the characters communicated with each other and were able to work through things. I also enjoyed the Jewish and BIPOC points of view this book offered. I always enjoy learning and this book helped me learn a few new things; a different perspective is always nice. It was also nice to read about a character who uses they/them as their pronouns. Also, how can you not like a character who names their cat sweet potato?

This was a fun and enjoyable read and I think many will enjoy it.

If you are looking for a sweet closed door romance that offers a different point of view, then I hope you check this one out.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley, @Netgalley, for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Additional links will be added once posted.

I can't believe this is a debut! I am truly so impressed and can't wait for pub day so everyone else can read this.

This romance tackles race, culture, identity, spirituality, trauma, hope, and so much more! I loved the representation of BIPOC (Black & Korean) Jewish main characters (the FMC is bisexual & there's also a side character who is nonbinary) -- I want more stories like this. PLEASE! This was open-door but not TOO steamy. Maybe 1.5-2/5 for me.

Tropes:
-dual POV
-second-chance romance
-grumpy x sunshine
-cinnamon roll love interest
-only one bed
-forced proximity
-slow burn
-found family
-SO MUCH ANGST, TENSION, AND LONGING
-the banter was BANTERING

I may come back and write more, but for now, just know this was beauuuuutiful!

This was a good one! I was interested in this one because I hadn't read a romance book featuring a biracial Black and Jewish main character before. I learned a bit about Jewish culture and I liked that this book focused on the complexities of being biracial. The assumptions, the prejudices - Liyah couldn't escape them and it definitely was something she was constantly fighting.

I liked Liyah & Daniel's chemistry. That first scene on the airplane was cute! Liyah was a bit on the immature side in terms of egocentric perspectives. I couldn't get on board with the reason why she ghosted Daniel all those years ago and why she so strongly held onto that grudge.

All in all, it was an enjoyable book but it didn't quite meet my expectations. I think many will enjoy this.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥¼
⚠️: mention of: death of a parent, sexual assault, & cancer.

Thank You for Sharing isn't a poorly written book, but I absolutely can't stand one of the protagonists in the story. This may work in other genres, but it doesn't in romance - I have to like the characters otherwise I struggle to understand to see what a character I do like sees in the other one. In this story it's Liyah. I grant that she's dealt with things in her life that no one should have to go through, and that impacts the way she interacts with other people, but quite frankly she's mean and self-absorbed. She's dismissive about things that don't interest her, and disrespectful of people when they don't agree with her. She's perpetually cranky and lacks a filter. She makes no effort with the exception of her friend Neen of maintaining relationships with anyone that isn't constantly physically in her orbit. And she takes about all of these things to an eleven on a scale of one to ten with Daniel, who's hopelessly crazy about her. I like Daniel, but I also end up thinking of him as a bit of a sad sack for constantly apologizing to Liyah for things he did over ten years ago, constantly having to worry about not saying something she'll get her hackles up about, and constantly putting up with her put-downs. He's wonderfully supportive of her when it comes to her past traumas, and pursuing her career goals, but it doesn't really feel very romantic or even much like a healthy relationship half the time. I appreciate Katz operating outside the box of a romantic storyline between two white, straight people, but the personalities of the characters, especially Liyah kills my interest in their HEA. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Daniel and Liyah attended summer camp together many years ago. Things did not end well when Daniel betrayed Liyah. They are thrown together on a work project and Liyah holds some animosity. They are forced to overcome to pain of the past and strike up a friendship. While working they bond over being Jews of colour, becoming friends and remember the undeniable chemistry they had. Can they get over the pain of the past and move on?

The first half of the book took me a bit to get in to, but once it started going, I found myself captured by the story of two people in their 20's coming together with their own baggage and working through things both individually and as a couple. The diversity in this book is done well, and I thought the POV of Jewish people of colour was important and one we don't see nearly enough in writing.

I thought the friendship group was interesting and real, adding to the story itself. There is some history and trauma in this story and I thought it was dealt with gently and in a way that made sense for the characters. I thought the positive inclusion of therapy was important and validating.

There are some hard things to read in this book, if you require content warnings, please check them ahead of time. This was an excellent debut novel and I look forward to seeing what else the author comes out with in the future. If you like a second chance, hate to love story this would be a great book for you! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thank You for Sharing releases September 12, 2023

3.5

Liyah and Daniel are the main characters in this story, and both happen to be biracial and Jewish persons of colour.
They first met and grew close when they were kids at a Jewish summer camp, but haven’t been in touch for 15 years, until they both happen to be seated next to each other on a flight home to Chicago.
Not even a month later, Liyah and Daniel are crossing paths again, this time through work.

The goods:
- two biracial main characters
- dual pov
- a reconnection/reconciliation between two childhood friends
- workplace romance
- a survival club/support group
- a lot of Jewish rep
- a bisexual fmc + non-binary side character
- pro therapy
- “one bed” after hours in a museum during a snow storm
- a cat named Sweet Potato

This is a really admirable debut novel. While the first half was rough for me to get through as it took a bit longer than I would have liked to warm up to the characters, I loved the delicacy and complexities within the themes and how each person reacted because it felt very real and not cookie-cutter.

My favourite scenes were Yom Kippur and when Liyah and Daniel had to stay overnight during the snow storm because those had the most chemistry and connection, not only between the two characters but also with the reader.
Seeing them slowly open up to each other and build trust was a journey deep rooted in past traumas, but they had this maturity that balanced each other well.

If I could change anything, it would be the quantity of their club’s meeting notes because it started to feel unnecessary and fed into it being all tell and not show. Race was also heavily packed in at the start, being discussed nearly every other page which veered on being a little forced/tiresome.

Overall though, the second half really pulled through for me and I’d love to read more from this author or even get to know some of the side characters better!

cw: discussion of SA and parent death

Rachel Runya Katz’s debut is a multi/mixed cultural, laugh-out-loud one moment and deeply emotional the next romantic comedy starring a couple of complex characters who are childhood friends turned frenemies. Her storyline is a unique look at what it means to be a biracial Jew in America melded with a rollercoaster ride of a romance between a dynamic duo whose chemistry flies off the pages only they don’t see it. And even though the characters are a bit old for a coming-of-age story this novel does give off a little of that vibe too. Daniel is calm and composed, a treasured younger brother and son who’s still grieving the death of his father when the girl of his past dreams falls into his present, attitude, and all. Liyah is the Yin to Daniel’s Yang she’s opinionated, testy with a bit of a chip on her shoulder about dating, men and especially what she perceived as Daniel’s ill-treatment of her when they were kids. The supporting characters are also unforgettable especially Liyah’s bestie Neen and the other two members of the Speakeasy Suvivors club, Jordan and Siobhan. Debut authors deserve so much praise for bravely sharing their babies with the world and the world will welcome this gem with open arms. The author also deals with sensitive social issues with loving care. A wide range of readers will enjoy this novel including fans of rom-coms, mixed culture and really any romance lover will find themselves staying up until the wee hours to finish this fabulous read.

Liyah Cohen-Jackson’s hoping her flight back home to the windy city from visiting her bestie in San Francisco goes smoother than the trip to the airport when she discovers her seatmate turns out to be none other than, Daniel Rosenberg the boy who ruined her last year at summer camp. Well at least she’ll never have to see him again.

Funny how Karma will bite you in the butt as it did the very next week when Liyah and Daniel are forced to work together when the Museum Liyah works for hires Daniel’s firm to help in a museum membership pledge drive. The rest as they say is comedic relief.

I really enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of interracial main couples, and I enjoyed watching the characters fall in love with each other.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Rachel Runya Katz delivers so much in her debut novel. This is a slow-burn second-chance romance. The main heroine is charming, if at times harsh to Daniel. The alternating points of view between Daniel and Liyah were interesting. The diversity in this book is well done. The point of view of Jewish BIPOC characters was appreciated.

I did feel it dragged a bit at times, but the ending made up for it.
This is a well-rounded romance novel and I'm excited to see what the author writes next.

I didn't want this book to end. It was so beautifully written and the pacing of it was so good. We don't get to see Jews of Color in books often and it was such a joy to read about these experiences and celebrate Judaism in all its different facets, and recognize where the community falls short. Daniel and Liyah are so relatable and real. I felt like I knew them, went to camp with them... Their connection to each other, through their shared experiences and their shared culture, as well as learning about their differences, there was such an honesty in it all - you couldn't help but fall for them. And we all need a version of SSC.

I loved how absolutely imbued with Judaism this book was! Thank you, Neen, for talking sense into frustratingly stubborn Liyah.

I'm definitely appreciative of the chance to read this novel in advance of its release and would honestly give it 3.5 stars if I could. Did I love the lead characters? Not particularly, or more accurately, not consistently. I liked that they weren't cookie cutter and represented identity markers we don't often see in romance, but the conflict between them felt overly contrived and I grew frustrated with Liyah's reactions at times. Thank goodness for the interspersing perspective change to Daniel right when I was ready to put the novel down. I also liked the decision to use Chicago and the Field museum as backdrop to this love story, but I wished it figured more prominently later in the novel (I'll leave it there to avoid spoilers).

This was very good. I was hooked from the airplane scene. I really enjoyed the Liyah's balance between prickliness and kindness. And Daniel's swooniness.

In most romances, I find the side characters not well fleshed out or taking up too much space, so I was impressed by how much the side characters really came through and worked. I especially loved Need and Kayla.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Now to the review: I will admit, when I first started this book it wasn't really my thing. I found the FMC to be too quick to anger which is like the opposite of my own personality. I felt that if she just thought about things a bit more or allowed others their moment, she wouldn't be facing as many situations. Because of my initial feelings about her, it took me a while to get into the story. I kept going though because as a black woman myself, we're allowed to have a varying amount of personalities and I was sort of glad to see that represented in a book.

And I'm glad I didn't give up because as I got deeper in the story, just more things were revealed to me that allowed things to just start making sense. Personally, I wouldn't have held a grudge for as long as she did but I could see why.

The MMC was nice though I wish he had just a tinge of more personality. His grief was delicately dealt with and his hesitation in dealing with the FMC was obvious. It would've nice to see something more from him though as at certain parts it felt like he existed to love and not as much depth was added to him as the FMC.

The story does have Jewish representation and how it feels to be a person of color in the religion for a few scenes so I thought that was a nice thing to see be I feel like most people don't even think about that. But once you do, it's kind of hard to stop and I like that the book drew attention to that.

Overall, I would recommend this book to any reader!

Thank You For Sharing is a beautiful childhood friends, to enemies, to lovers romance full of laughs and heartwarming moments in equal measure.

Daniel, an employee of a marketing company, and Liyah, a junior curator, are tasked with a work collaboration, which may be harder than normal since they were once childhood friends. That was, before one conversation ended their friendship for over a decade. However, with potential promotions on the line for both of them, they're forced to put the past behind them and learn to work together.

I really loved this book. It was overflowing with witty (sometimes even snarky) banter, laugh-out-loud humor, and heat. The romance between Daniel and Liyah was also soft, tender, and moving. I enjoyed watching them both fumble slowly towards love through meetings, work related gatherings, and their shared experience of being Jewish people of color.

Speaking of, my favorite thing about this book was how diverse and inclusive it was. The author included characters with representation for: non binary, queer, black, Korean, and Jewish people. I really appreciated that each of these characters felt very authentic, well-written, and fleshed-out instead of simply being thrown in for quota purpose.

Read if you like:
- sparkling banter
- burning tension
- soft, heartwarming romance
- inclusive rep

TW: racism, death of a parent, grief, mention of rape (past)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.