. I liked the premise of this book, but this book ended up being an absolute mess. Penina is a relatable, frazzled heroine. her internal monologue is SO horny. There's nothing appealing about Sam, other than his supposed good looks. There's so much unnecessary information about unimportant characters/events.
This book has an unexpected amount of medical content, from casual mentions of illnesses and injuries, to main plot points of cancer, infertility, and other ailments. I found it a bit jarring.
The audiobook is possibly the worst I've ever listened to. The narrator pronounces words- common English words, and Yiddish and Hebrew, extremely weirdly. She also uses random accents that aren't in the text.
In short, this book could have been fun, but just didn't work.

I liked the premise of this story and the Jewish representation but the execution was too drawn out and lagged at times. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the main characters and all the side characters were pretty unlikeable. In addition, the audio narrator mispronounces a lot of the basic Jewish words and I wish they would have done a bit more research before keeping the mispronounced audio in.

I adored this story. Pennia is a trip, and I love her. Her inner dialogue was spectacular, but Pennia is a sweetheart with a big heart. She cares about her family so much she is willing to put herself lst at all times.

Pennia has had difficulty being as she can't have kids, although she puts up a good front. Meanwhile, she has serious feelings for Sam, but he isn't Unorthodox.

But she is getting married so she can't think of Sam - she needs to get married to help her sister - it won't be that bad.

I devoured this book and loved it. I also adore all the different covers of this book! Stunning!

Unlike many of the reviews, I am very knowledgeable about the Orthodox Jewish community and it's traditions. I was excited to read a book with Jewish characters that isn't Holocaust related. While the book was a fun, light-hearted romance, it was a bit slow in the beginning and then a bit contrived toward the end. I would definitely recommend this book for those who want to learn more about a different culture and its practices towards marriage.

Unorthodox Love was funny, light-hearted, and genuinely lovely to read.

Panina is 29 and searching for love. She's an Orthodox Jew, and her matchmaker keeps sending her on awful date after awful date - leading her to think she may never find the one. We follow her on this journey.

This is contemporary romance for sure, but oh so clean! Main character Penina is 29, which seems like a great age for a romance main character - she's older, wiser, and more mature. I also loved that Penina was unabashedly an Orthodox Jew, with the subsequent explanations of the customs and practices (making it very accessible for the non-Jewish reader). I was totally rooting for Penina to find her happy after the whole time, loved her for keeping the no-touching as much as possible, and just adored Sam for the most part. It was funny in parts, and a nice cast of secondary characters.

But I struggled with this book. I wanted to absolutely love it and shout about it from the rooftops - we need more Jewish romance being published. However I was uncomfortable with the two choices that Penina had - marry a rich gay man and fix her sisters' financial problems OR have romantic lead Sam change his religious practices (or Penina decide that they weren't actually that important to her) made me uncomfortable. While I adored the ending and it really wrapped up things nicely, it was the middle of the book where I struggled. I also felt uncomfortable with how much of a jerk Sam was in the beginning, and how that was okay because it turns out he had feelings the whole time for her. Would I still recommend this book? Definitely! We need more Jewish romance, and I would love to see another book by Heidi Shertok!

Unfortunately this book didn’t vibe with me. It had a really meaningful premise but I struggled to connect!

This was a cute read about an Orthodox Jewish woman who is dealing with infertility, which gives her the dregs of her community from the matchmaker. Overall it was cute. I was kind of annoyed with the main character for making herself a martyr for her family, but I appreciated that the people around her called her out about it. I appreciated learning about a different religion and culture as well.

This is a fun, quirky romance between an Orthodox Jewish woman who works in a jewellery store and her boss's son. It was fast paced and the tension between the two characters was really well developed. Slight enemies to lovers vibes. I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it!

I loved this book and the storyline was just perfect. I feel in love with the characters and their story and couldn't put the book down. Will be recommending to all that I can.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for this ARC!

I was entertained with this book! It was a good read and I would absolutely recommend reading it to my friends. Quick easy read for me. Such a cute romcom!

This was my first time reading something by this author and it was quite an enjoyable experience. The story was unique and caught my attention from the beginning and held it all the way through. I enjoyed learning about a new culture and the author did a nice job of depicting the traditions and practices and helped the reader really understand the customs. The book definitely left me with a smile on my face afterwards. The characters were interesting and well-developed with realistic qualities that gave them an authentic personality and were easily relatable. The story was delightful and interesting and I look forward to reading more by this author.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Unorthodox Love was a cute and fun to read rom com. The story was heartwarming, charming and humorous.

Panina is an Orthdox Jew looking for love who keeps getting sent on horrible dates by her matchmaker. (She literally gets sent on a date with a guy who answers her mom's FaceTime while on the date!) I felt for her character right then and there.

I loved how the book tied Panina's religion with how she shows up on her instagram page, how she's a strong woman that stands up for herself and her beliefs, and how she will do anything for her loving family.

The story was interesting and really different from other romances I've read, but it felt a little insta-lovey for me and at times a bit unrealistic.

Thank you NetGalley and Embla Books for my e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Yes, I love a Jewish romance and yes, this was a lovable one. Pnina is on her journey to find love, when she’s forced to deal with her grumpy, hot, new boss. We all know where it goes from there, but all of the nuances are what makes this one special. Lots of likable characters, funny moments, and growth. Some moments are a little far fetched, but the story kept me engaged past those hiccups.

I truly enjoyed this book. Penina is a 29 year old Orthodox Jew who is infertile. Sam is her new boss. It was wonderful to see a Jewish romance novel and to see the religion treated with respect. The romance was enemies to lovers / grumpy sunshine which I enjoy. The HEA was wonderful and so worth it.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
This is my first title by this author and will read more in the future.
I requested this book as i was drawn in by the cover and thought it looked interesting.
I really enjoyed learning about a culture that is different to my own.
I am not usually into romantic stories, but i really enjoyed this one.
Thanks again for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
5/5 stars

i loved this book so much. whilst i’m not an orthodox jew i related so much of the main character. it had a little humour sprinkled in which i loved and i loved reading a romance from the point of view of a religion i know little about. this book made me cry (which is very uncommon for me), not because it was dark or tragic but, because it brought up a lot for me. it touches on subjects close to lots of people’s hearts. <spoiler> whilst i loved the ending and don’t feel a book needs smut to be enjoyable, the sexual tension had been building so intensely through the whole book i feel like i didn’t get a payout to match the insane tension, which by the way was done incredibly well; i don’t think i’ve ever experienced tension in a romance the way i have with this book </spoiler> overall this book was amazing and i highly recommend to any lover of romance. please don’t let the fact it’s got religion in it dissuade you, it is so well done it feels like any great contemporary romance.

Absolutely loved this book. A refreshing take on romance. Penina comes from an Orthodox Jewish community that has all sorts of rules and regulations about relationships, including no touching and men and women who are not related not being alone together. It was eye opening to understand some of the rules and the impact on people’s lives

Our MC has a major “problem” and remains unmarried as she is unable to have children. It is seen vitally important to have children in Orthodox families so this is the core premise of the MC’s issues in finding a suitable life partner.

Some brilliant laugh out loud moments and great interplay between the characters made me want this book to go on and on… I absolutely loved every single moment.

Look forward to reading more from this author. 4.5* LOVED IT

3.5/5 stars

This was a great read about a 29 year old orthodox Jewish virgin woman who is looking for a guy and meets her new boss who she can’t fall in love with. Shertok is a great writer and I loved the story right from the beginning. It was very entertaining as there were bantering and cute scenes. Shertok explores the Jewish community which I enjoyed learning about. Usually, I’m not a huge fan of religious-based books but the author did an amazing job with incorporating it into the story. The concept and plot of the book was great but I do wish there was more romance between the main characters. Readers will read the majority of the book about Panina and a secondary “love interest” that you don’t get much of the main love interest. The pacing was off as the ending felt very rushed. This book is only told from Panina’s pov.

Panina is the MC of this book and I really enjoyed her story. She is a virgin, infertile woman looking to get married and help her sister. I loved how relatable a character she was and a sweet person. She had a great character development even though her end choice was a bit confusing but nevertheless, I enjoyed her story. There are many side characters in this book whom I very much enjoyed. I do have to say that I didn’t like how much page time Zevi got. I felt as though I know him a lot more than the love interest, Sam. Sam was a great character but he’s also a mystery left unsolved. The romance is clean enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine and opposites attract. A cute couple but not the best romance.

The ending was good, nothing surprising. I do wish there was more romance development in the book as it’s labeled as romance. It was still a well-written story and I would totally be reading more of Shertok’s books in the future. I still think it was a fun, light read perfect for the time I was reading.

This book I could not put down, I was so freaking adorable! I love the banter between the MCs. this book is definitely a book to recommend to a friend, if they are looking for something that is super cute, silly, and full of sweet moments. 10/10 would read this book again!

*I got this book from NetGalley for my honest opinion and review*