I expected more from this one. it was cute but it was also slow at some parts. It just left me wanting more.

This wasn't my favorite book ever but I didn't enjoy it just the same. Not sure I liked it enough to purchase though.

The writing is phenomenal and had me laughing. I related to Penina in a lot of ways and it was obvious why Sam fell in love with her.

Too unorthodox for me. Not sure if it was the story or the narrators but this book was a struggle to get through.

I really enjoyed this book. At first I was confused but finally got what this book is about. I really like the fact that we get to see and understand what being a Jewish entails.

Also the ending, I love and made me appreciate the sacrifices to be with someone you love.

Penina has been looking for love for a long time. Unfortunately, being infertile as an Orthodox Jewish woman limits your chances for a good match immensely. Between dating trouble and family drama swoops her new boss: young, handsome, funny - and an absolute nuisance. Life couldn't be going worse when Penina gets an offer that would solve all (or at least half) her problems. Question is - is she willing to take it?
I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator did a great job! I liked the general plot of the story and how the characters and their conflicts were set up. I thought Penina was a lovely main character in the way she was outlined, however, every interaction between Penina and Sam felt super painful to me. I did not understand how two adults in the workplace could act so childish to each other and I really disliked how that reflected on their dynamic - later, when they started to get along it felt unnatural and implausible considering how much they disliked each other at the beginning and how stupid they acted towards each other. This took out a lot of enjoyment for me and I also wasn't too happy with the ending because of this. I would pick up another book by the author though, since this one thing (even though for me it was a major flaw) is the primary reason I couldn't enjoy the story as much as I'd hoped.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Liked it, fun while I was reading it

This contemporary romance tells the story of Penina, a 29 year old woman who longs for true love and marriage, but being infertile in the Orthodox Jewish community means she’s rarely matched with the cream of the crop.

There's religious expectations, there's family drama, there's attraction with a boss, and an engagement of convenience. It was fun! Zany at times, clever, funny, and sweet in other moments. The characters grow and the love story was charming.

Having grown up Orthodox, all the customs and religious laws were very familiar to me and author, Heidi Shertok, did a really wonderful job explaining them. However, the narrator, Caitlin Thorburn, butchered the pronunciation of the Hebrew and Yiddish words which pulled me out of the story many times. Once I was sensitive to that, I noticed some other very common English words were peculiarly pronounced as well... but, I did like some of the accents that she used to distinguish the different characters.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, NetGalley, and author Heidi Shertok for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Unorthodox Love is out July 11, 2023.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced listening copy of Unorthodox Love. This was so cute! I actually learned a lot about orthodox culture but this was such a sweet romance. No major villain or issue this time but still sweet.

As someone whose faith is apart of their everyday life, I connected with Heidi Shertok’s Unorthodox Love!!!

Penina isn’t the most desirable bachelorette in her Orthodox community, but she hasn’t given up hope. Despite dating from the age of nineteen, her inability to have children has resulted in limited and often incompatible options. But none of this matters now that she learned her family is in need of financial rescuing. Is marriage the answer to their problems, or will she hold out for her HEA?

I adored this book! Heidi Shertok wrote a contemporary romance relatable for ALL women of faith. You don’t need to be Orthodox to relate to Penina’s story.

Penina as a protagonist was a breath of fresh air! She was firmly grounded in her beliefs and resisted every temptation thrown her way. And she had a lot of them!

I also loved that Penina was not this old, frumpy shell of a woman. Shertok’s decision to make Penina a modest fashion influencer on Instagram was genius. It perfectly summed up how Penina navigated living in the world, but not letting it define her.

After seeing Penina’s loving and pure heart, I worried she wouldn’t get her HEA. I was so happy with how her story ultimately wrapped. It was the perfect ending!!!

*While I found the audiobook to be enjoyable, I preferred reading the book. I struggled a bit with how the narrator pronounced some of the words.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Heidi Shertok, Embla Books, and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Even though I'd already read Unorthodox Love, I couldn't get enough of it so I had to give the audiobook a try.

The New York accents were done well, and Penina's voice does have a sort of Eastern cadence to it as well. Very few of the male voices were how I pictured them, but that can often be the case with "growly, deep-voiced" characters, and a female narrator of a higher pitch.

It was a bit of a shock each time I would start the audio over again, but once a few minutes had gone by, I would get lost in the story again. It's so easy for me to drift into this world, and it was just as enjoyable the second time!

While not my favorite narrator - some of her pronunciations seemed very stiff, and odd at times - she wasn't one that made me turn the book off. There are some books where the character's voice is too "clear" in my head, or simply readers that put my back up, and this was neither of those.

Penina grew up under the Orthodox Jewish faith and with the teaching that everyone has their soulmate. At 29, she's still single and starting to question her belief. She can't have children, and while it is a main tenant of her faith, she can't believe this would keep her from her soulmate. Enter Zevi, who has proposed, albeit with an odd proposal, and Sam, her new boss, who she can't stop thinking about. Will one of these keep her heart? It's a fun romance with a unique and unlikely sunshine heroine. The narrator does an excellent job bringing Penina and the characters to life.

Things I adored:

⛪️ Faith in a Rom-Com
✡️ Learning about Orthodox Judaism
🚺 An infertile FMC
🪄 NO magic cures!!!
🙌 Amazing rep!
👩‍❤️‍👨Gentle & Sweet Love Story
👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Family Centered
😂 Funny Banter

"What was he about to say? That I was seen as damaged, less than, not good enough?"

"A person is more than their reproductive organs . . . you are so much more than that . . . you're more than whole. you're perfect."

I absolutely adored this book! It's not often that you find a romantic comedy novel that centers around infertility and does an outstanding job at handling these issues. I loved the representation in this novel and getting to learn more about orthodox Judaism. But for me, the real magic was being able to relate and connect to a character like Penina. I thank the author for not downplaying or avoiding the emotions that come with infertility while also giving readers lots of swoon and humor. I absolutely loved how she handled what it was like to date as someone who faces infertility. Brilliant! Add in faith aspects and a man who not only wants Penina to see her worth, but also wants to support her faith, and this easily became one of my favorite listens of the year!

Content warning: This is a sweet romance. Some cursing. Infertility.

"We all have our hardships and our struggles, but we're all Godly souls. And my job as his mother is to love him unconditionally . . .And our job as Jews is to see the Godly spark in everyone, not to judge each other."

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher, author, and narrator for an advanced copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own.

*Please note: I listened to the audiobook (which was amazing) so I have tried to annotate the quotes as best as possible :)

Penina is still single at 29. This is a pretty big deal in her Orthodox Jewish community. Penina's single status is not her doing, she is infertile which limits her marriage prospects. Desperate to help her sister out of financial ruin, Penina agrees to marry a wealthy closeted gay man. She is willing to enter a loveless sham marriage, but she can't stop thinking about her boss, the gruff Sam Klienfield.

I very much liked the Orthodox angle of the book. Penina is a great protagonist, though her clumsiness is a bit cloying. She definitely has Oldest Sister Syndrome though she is not the oldest sister. As the oldest daughter I relate. She loves her family fiercely and actually enjoys their company. I feel like I didn't get to know Sam on the same level. I think the book could have been helped by a dual narrative.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the free audiobook of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"Unorthodox Love" by Heidi Shertok follows Penina Kalish, a 29-year-old Orthodox Jewish woman struggling with infertility in her search for love. Her life changes when Sam Kleinfeld, her non-Orthodox boss, enters her world. Their relationship grows while adhering to Orthodox traditions, as Penina confronts her insecurities and learns self-acceptance. The story offers insight into Orthodox practices through Sam's perspective. The book is praised for its relatable characters and the way it balances romance with cultural exploration. The ending, though a familiar trope, suits the story's context. Overall, it's a charming and insightful romance.

Unorthodox Love tells the story of an infertile Orthodox woman, Penina, unable to find a match in the arranged marriage process, who finds herself in a fake-marriage scheme with a gay Orthodox Jew. But her plans for a sort of happily ever after go way when she meets her sexy new boss, Sam.
Penina’s love interest is her boss Sam who is also Jewish but not Orthodox or religious and over the course of the book, we get to see their relationship grow and blossom. He’s grumpy and she’s the complete opposite and they both have to navigate in her world together and get to know each other better and develop a deep friendship.

This audiobook was absolutely amazing! I had a hard time actually putting it down because it was so cute!

I had a hard time relating to this. There is a strong Jewish representation, which is great and needed! I am not Jewish, so connecting to the main character and her struggles was difficult for me.

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

I had to DNF this book. The narration was horrible. Production was trying to make them sound like stereotypical Unorthodox Jewish people, which made it very unbearable. The storyline was pretty generic. Overall, I stopped about 3/4 of the way through, just couldn't finish.

Thank you to DreamScape Media and NetGalley for an early copy audiobook of this title. This review is my own.

While Ms. Shertok has a wonderful plot and character development, this story was just not for me. I didn't completely finish it because of the employee/boss (ish--not even really her boss) vibes. HOWEVER, if you are into that, or love moody men, or love selfless women who look out for their families, this is the book for you!

Two things I did love about the book were the narrator--she knocked it out of the park!--and the representation of the Jewish community. Though I don't practice that faith, I did find enjoyment in learning more about customs and devotion to the faith.

One person's struggle is another person's gain. The writing style, humor and wealth of knowledge in this title is great and probably shouldn't be passed up. My rating is just for me.

This was absolutely precious!! Thank you so much @netgalley for the chance to review this. 29 year-old Orthodox Jew Penina is an awesome MC who dresses well (but conservatively) and shows it off on Instagram. In an attempt to fix her sisters’ issues, she agrees to marry a secretly gay wealthy man for money. However, handsome Sam, her irreverent and sexy boss, enters the picture. He’s not Orthodox, but he is tempting.

So cute - a perfect beach read! Excellent narration!