I couldn't connect with main characters, Liyah and Daniel, but I still found this novel heartwarming, sexy, and fun (even though it covered some heavy topics).

I would read another book by Rachel Runya Katz.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for eARC of this book.

What did I love about this book? The representation. Loved how it was a Jewish story. But I didn’t like the main character and I ended up DNF at 30%. Liyah was so rude to Daniel that I wasn’t rooting for them to begin with, and I knew it just wasn’t going to be for me if I felt that way in the beginning. I did like the speakeasy Friday night meetings and the side characters a lot. And I also understood a lot of Daniel’s confusion about why Liyah was so angry with him. But I’d definitely try this author again in the future.

Thank You For Sharing was a nice read that followed two childhood friends who abruptly ended their friendship just to reconnect years later due to a work project. Daniel is a marketing specialist who was assigned to work with museum curator Liyah. While the main conflicts in this story seem to stem from miscommunication or lack of communication all together, I can totally understand each characters issues with the other.
This book has a good cast of diverse characters who all bring something to the plot in a valuable way. I really enjoyed getting to see Daniel and Liyah grow together both as professionals and people after their time apart. This is a great book for anyone looking for a dual POV romance with diverse characters and a big emphasis on a found family.

What a great debut story. I really enjoyed reading this story. the characters were great easy to like and i loved all the interactions they had , especially the Friday night meet ups. The story mainly revolves around two characters Liyah and Daniel. She is trying to work her way up in her career and Daniel is a tech specialist. The two are put together unexpectedly to work on a project and realize they knew each other growing up. The memories from childhood are very different for each of of them. From her the story moves forward exploring the past , present and possible future for them.
This story is heartwarming and the banter between characters is very well done. I had a hard time putting it down.
The story explores Jewish POC , trauma , grief and sexual assault but was handled in a very respectful way.

I would recommend this book to family , friends and my book clubs

There are redeeming qualities, but overall this was a tough one for me to get invested in and stay engaged. The FMC Liyah is a grouch and has a pretty unlikeable personality. She’s ambitious and passionate about her career as a museum curator, which is great! But at times she was so serious about it and negative toward others who don’t share the same passion for museums & artifacts that it was a little off putting. But this is also a case where Liyah’s trauma history, and history of experienced racism and sexism have clearly made her the person she is. Maybe I would be a grouch too if I had a similar trauma history.

Now when it comes to Liyah and Daniel, I didn’t really feel the chemistry. I’m not sure I would call this enemies to lovers because it was more like one-sided animosity from Liyah. I didn’t really see examples of all the amazing qualities Daniel sees in her, but I also don’t know if I missed it because I zoned out while reading. Again, I struggled to stay engaged because I was bored for most of it.

Redeeming qualities that kept this from being a 2 star review:
🔹The friend group’s weekly survival club meetings
🔹The fact that minutes were taken at these meetings and they were amusing
🔹Learning about experiences relating to the intersectionality of being Black and Jewish (in Liyah’s case) and Korean American and Jewish (Daniel’s case)
🔹Daniel has a cat named Sweet Potato

Years after a misunderstanding drove them apart as kids, Liyah Cohen-Jackson and Daniel Rosenberg find themselves sitting together on a plane. It's not a good encounter for Liya, but Daniel can't help thinking about the girl who got away and how beautiful she's grown up to be. Luckyly for him, they get teamed up when the museum where Liyah works hires the agency Daniel works for to get more young adults interested. As they're forced to work closely on this project and forge a friendship through a support group with their friends, Liyah and Daniel will have to face things from their past and how that affects the present if they're going to find the happiness they deserve.
I wasn't sure about Liyah because her willful misunderstandings make up most of the unnecessary drama in this romance, but reading about the things that have led to her being the way she is gives so much depth to the character. And it proves the brilliance of how RRK paced the story because it shows that the things that happened and were said earlier had very legit reasoning behind them. It makes a simple rom-com into an exploration of trauma and healing.
Also, props for being so unapologetically Jewish and showing the elements of the faith as the simple, everyday things they are.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the fun read!

I adored this book! It's such a beautiful emotional journey that had great banter and characters that you root for. When an opportunity presents itself at work, Liyah, a museum curator, is forced to work with Daniel, someone she hasn't seen since she was a teenager. Determined to put their complicated feelings about their past aside, Liyah and Daniel work to bring in more patrons for the museum. As they juggle their weekly "survival drinking club", they become friends and the spark that existed between them as teenagers returns.

There is so much I love about this book, The first being how diverse it is. Both main characters are Jewish POC and one of them is also queer. I can honestly say I've never seen this type of representation before and I loved it! I also think the author took a lot of care in discussing difficult topics. The emotional journey in this book was so earned and was just beautiful. The slow burn between Liyah and Daniel is one of the best I've read recently.

I highly recommend!

CW: sexual assault (not on page, just discussion about a past event) and grief.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A cute story about two people who went to summer camp together and then get reconnected in their 20s. Each of their story discusses being biracial and in the Judaism faith. Each of them has their own personal struggles but will be they able to come together?

I adored this book! It had the perfect balance of funny, sweet, and emotional. Liyah and Daniel were so well fleshed out and the progression of their relationship felt very authentic to me. The transition from childhood friends to enemies to friends to lovers was done seamlessly. I also think the author does a great job of writing about trauma and grief and how these things affect your relationship with yourself and with others, and how people can be there to help you overcome these issues. Overall just such a great story and I will definitely read future releases from this author!

I was blown away by this book!

I love a contemporary romance, especially when it's Jewish, but this book just upped the ante. I loved the way these characters felt so real and so messy and so human. I loved that this story delved into how hard it can be to be othered and how hard it it can be to deal with grief as a 20 something. I was so moved by the struggles and triumphs of these characters and I rooted for them throughout the story.

Although this book did include a lot of miscommunication (which I usually hate), it felt justified for these characters and I didn't mind it. I loved their growing relationship and how they learned to be themselves together, it felt like such a young millenial story.

The Jewish rep in this book was also PERFECT. I always love reading stories about Jews of color and these two characters belong to biracial Jewish communities we don't usually see represented in books.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

This was a quick romance and I really enjoyed the diversity of the characters. I love the idea that no matter how different we all are we can always find something in common.

I genuinely thought this book ended at the 25% mark, but it turns out that’s really where Liyah and Daniel’s story begins. As they work together on this new museum project, we watch as these former childhood lovers turned enemies become friends and then more.

I enjoyed the message that no one is broken or messed up enough that they’re undeserving of love; that everyone deserves it regardless of things they’ve done or things that have been done to them.

I thought the story ended at 25%, then around 50%, then again around 60% so in short it felt a bit drawn out to me. I also felt like Liyah and Daniel never actually moved on from their middle school-esque communication abilities, which is never a fun trope for me personally. Talk. To. Each. Other. And. Stop. Assuming. Everything.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.

I thiought this was an ok rom-com. Enemies to lovers. Both main characters have pain/heart ache in theie pasts and were olf childhood friends that drifted apart. Both stubborn. I thought this was an ok book and I would read another book from this author, but I was not blown away, nor was I overhelmed with emotion for the story. I did like that the story was set in Chicago!

Recommended but not my favorite.

Thanks to Netgalley, Rachel Runya Katz and St Martins Press Griffin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

Unfortunately, this one was a DNF for me. The characters felt like caricatures and the writing and pacing did not flow well for me,

This was such a cute read. I loved the dual POVs, the history between the characters and their depth. Discussing heavier topics, that were well thought out and kindly written; however the characters did lack some depth and growth.

Overall though, I still liked this story.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The positives: it takes place in Chicago, my hometown. And the representation was diverse - Jewish, Korean, queer, etc. And Aliyah had a unique career, working in a museum towards a goal of becoming a curator. I also learned about certain Jewish and Korean traditions which was nice.

But….Aliyah was so not likable for so much of the book that I never cared about her getting her HEA. Daniel was so nice to her and took so much of her anger that I started wanting him to walk away pretty early on. By the time she opens up to him about her past hurt and works through it all I was just didn’t care very much.

Unfortunately this book just didn’t work for me as much as I hoped. Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins for the arc.

Thank you to the publisher for this arc!

Thank You for Sharing is about Liyah and Daniel as they meet again on a flight and reconnect as Daniel's company is hired by the museum where Liyah works at. This book had me in my feelings. It really makes me question when it is my turn???? Daniel and Liyah were so cute. This debut was so nice and I am delighted that I got to read this book. Hopefully, I will order my copy and I am waiting for this author's next book!!!!

I had hoped to enjoy this as I constantly seek out books with Jewish representation but it was not for me.

Thank you to SMP for an advanced copy.

I received an advanced reader’s copy of Thank You for Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz.

Aliyah was not the most likable character. I felt she treated Daniel poorly throughout the book and questioned why he would want to be in a relationship with her. She had moments where she was empathetic to his feelings, but there were too many other times where she wasn’t. I liked that Aliyah recognized she was a difficult person and had some awareness in this regard.

I liked Daniel and the secondary characters: Siobhan and Jordan and the friendship group they formed with Aliyah.

Overall, I think the story was well-written.

Don't let the cover fool you- this book actually has a lot of tough topics discussed, please check trigger warnings. I loved the representation (fmc is half black and half Jewish and the mmc was half Jewish and half Asian).

The reason that this is not higher stars is because I just felt myself unable to connect with the characters on an emotional left. I thought the fmc was quite awful at times and I disliked the third act breakup.

Thank You For Sharing
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Rachel Runya Katz

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: A chemistry-filled childhood friends to enemies to lovers debut romance about two people forced to confront their pasts to save both their relationship and careers.

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?

My Thoughts: For a debut novel, this was stellar. Liyah and Daniel were friends 14 years ago until a fight ended their relationship. As fate would have it, they end on a plane together and pick up fighting where they left off, each thinking this is the last they will see of each other. When Daniel’s marketing firm gets hired for a project at the museum where Liyah works, fate crosses them again when they must work closely together for the project. They are forced to face feelings buried years ago. Can they manage to be friendly during this project and can that spin into more? This follows the tropes of enemies to lovers, forced proximity, one bed, family by choice, and second chance romance. Trigger warnings of grief and sexual assault.

The author really embraces both the POC Jew representation and queer representation with grace, tactfulness, and rawness. The storyline covers sensitive topics such as grief, trauma, and sexual assault, and does it so that it impacts the storyline but carries authenticity. The story is narrated in a dual narration by Liyah and Daniel, in a third person POV. While I don’t care for the third-act breakup, sometimes it is necessary to bring the characters back together closer. The rawness and tenderness between the two characters is authentic, raw, and just beautiful. The baggage they work through with on-the-page therapy is brilliant and it sheds light on a topic that is usually swept under the rug. Therapy should be freely sought out if needed and we need to remove the stigma it carries. Liyah experienced some difficult trauma and as a result, she keeps her heart locked away and has the appearance of unapologetic. Daniel, on the other hand, is thoughtful, patient, and compassionate. The characters were well developed, had tremendous growth, sassy witty banter, amazing chemistry, and were creatively spun. The author’s writing style was complex, layered, contemporary, humorous, raw, poignant, and heartwarming.

Thank You For Sharing was endearing, heartwarming, a bit poignant, while beautifully written story between two people who have to lean on each other when it matters the most, while growing in the process. It will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions with a HEA that will warm your heart. Katz has created a modern love story between two memorable characters, with humor, and the most tender love that I have read recently. I recommend picking up.