DNF at 15%. I started this book last year and wasn't in the mood so restarted it this month to hopefully get into it as I'm focusing on queer romances. However I had the same problems, I just couldn't get into this. The writing is well done it just didn't hook me in.

Thank you for the earc in exchange for an honest review

⭐️ 2.5

I was so excited for this queer reconnection love story but these characters just pissed me off one time too many. So immature I wanted to scream!! I just didn’t feel the chemistry. I wanted more passion, more yearning. The thing that kept me going was the co flick between the twins, which was pretty compelling.

Very well written. The writing style took me a second to adjust to every time I returned to the book, but it didn’t pull away from the story. I always got to a point where I was mad I had to put the book down because I wanted to keep appreciating the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The main qualm I had was with the miscommunication between Nia and Jade. I felt like if they were really as close of friends as the book made it out to be, they wouldn't go 3 years without speaking because of a minor misunderstanding and lack of communication.

Nia and Jade used to be best friends until a huge fight after their other best friend, Michal, died of cancer. It's now a few years later, and Michal's letters written before her death have encouraged Nia and Jade to reunite on a road trip through the South to visit Jewish landmarks. They are struggling to mend their relationship while still dealing with the grief of losing a friend.

I enjoyed this book for the plot, characters, and also what I learned about Jewish history in the South. This is the first book I've read by Rachel Runya Katz, but it won't be the last.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press / St. Martin's Griffin for the e-ARC of this title to read and review. I'm catching up on some ARC reviews that I'm totally behind on, but am so very happy to still be able to talk about these books! "Whenever You're Ready" is a really complex and unique story that tackles grief, culture/identity, and friendships in a refreshingly new way -- and I love reading something that I haven't seen done before. I've read Rachel Runya Katz's debut as well before this one, and this is something she just consistently does amazingly.

At the center of this story is a road trip between friends, who reunite to take the Southern Jewish History Tour their dead bestie always wanted them to go on together. This is the strongest part of the story for me by far, as we get a ton of real historical information (that the author clearly researched well and knows a lot about) that's interesting and compelling. It feels like we, the readers, are along for the trip with the characters. Examinations of all of the characters' differing (and overlapping) personal cultures, races, and religions are also done beautifully.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot out of the friendship or romance themes in my own reading. I think longterm friendships are so beautiful, because you have been with people through so many different stages of your life: sometimes you're in the same place at the same time (both emotionally and geographically) and other times you're completely misaligned, but you can always come back to the "home" you find in these other people. I got this feeling about.... halfway there, with these characters. There's distance between them because of some sort of fight or tension that happened before the events of this book, and I find that they all consistently run from problems or uncomfortable situations instead of facing them. This is such an interesting idea to explore against the overall backdrop of grief (especially WHO gets to grieve a loss "the most" - best friends, lovers, family?) but ultimately I didn't feel the soul-deep connection between our trio of friends, who are decades-deep in their tight-knit friendship. And the romance(s?) almost feel like an afterthought, even though they *could* feel like a delicious moving forward after years of tension and conflict. I hope other readers can take away that feeling!

This slowburn really annoyed me. I didn't like the characters and I did not like this book at all. I just thought it took to long to get to the plot or the point.

People falling in love in the wake of grief is so powerful. This is a story about friends going on a road trip to honor their friend who passed and along the way, they revisit feelings that they thought were long-buried.

This was a beautiful and emotional read. I think I loved the flashbacks more than the current-day parts. Rachel Runya Katz has such a way with words and description that I felt like I knew every single character within the first twenty pages. Their dynamics were so realistic and messy in a way that friends who’ve been attracted to each other are.

I’m excited to see what Katz writes next.

More sapphic romances!!! I loved everything about this book. It was sweet and the world needs as many queer love stories as it can get

DNF @ 35%

I TRIED. I tried so hard to get into this book because I loved the premise. Unfortunately I just didn't vibe with the writing, I just didn't find it engaging.

Wow I loved this so much! All of the main characters were so well developed and I totally understood their motivations and the basis of the conflict between them. I loved the focus on the non-romantic relationships being just as important in the story as the romance, while definitely being a romance.

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the DRC of Whenever You're Ready! All opinions in this review are my own.

I'm glad I had reviewed the synopsis of Whenever You're Ready ahead of time because it is not one to go into lightly. Jade and Nia have not talked in three years, since right around the time their best friend died from cancer. As they are nearing 30, they are determined to cross the final item off Michal's bucket list, a tour of Southern Jewish history. Not only must Jade and Nia confront both their grief and their feelings for each other on this road trip, but Jade also must work through her grief in relation to her brother Jonah as well who was dating Michal at the time of her death.

I find I don't typically gravitate towards books with heavier topics lately but I figured I would try Whenever You're Ready. Although it is categorized as a romance, I think it is important to know that the romance is not the most addressed relationship or emotion, especially in the first half. I found this to be more about grief and friendship, especially the exploration of why romantic relationships are given more importance than friendships.

My only complainy is that at times the narration can be difficult to follow. The point of view would switch between Jade and Nia's inner thoughts but because it is still told in third person and it would switch during chapters, it could sometimes be difficult to figure out which person's thoughts we were currently hearing. I wish it had either been written as first person so you would only see one name and know who "I" was referring to, or it was told with an omniscient third person narrator so you had everyone's thoughts whenever they were shared.

Overall, Whenever You're Ready is an emotional undertaking, but it is so worth it!

My eyes were practically glued to the pages as I read this book in one sitting.

With a rich backdrop of Jewish history, grief, and coping this road trip will change Jade and Nia’s friendship forever. After the tragic loss of their close friend Michal Nia and Jade take the road trip of all road trips. I loved the deep dive we got for Jade and Nia’s friendship. Driving home the importance of a lasting friendship and sometimes all you need is the love of your closest friend and the courage to embrace who you are.

, Nia and Jades journey is one for the ages.

This book is part road trip and part emotional journey. It travels back and forth between the past and the present so you get a full picture of the relationships, both past and present. You also get an understanding for the bond and subsequent grief the characters are going through with the loss of a friend. The friendship is the basis of the relationships, but do they both want more? This road trip allows them to explore this relationship as something else. I also enjoyed that the trip included Charleston and Savannah because my family did a road trip to both of those places, so that brought back fond memories. This sweet saphic novel will warm your heart.

Thank you to St. Martins for a gifted copy.

This was such a fresh, funny, heartfelt romance—the exploration of identity, friendship, loss, and love through the story of a reconnecting roadtrip was touching, romantic, and fully-realized.

Whenever You're Ready by Rachel Runya Katz is an insightful read, though I’ll admit, the characters had me pulling my hair out at times! While I struggled with certain parts of the story, I absolutely loved watching the two female leads grow and evolve throughout the book. Their development truly made the journey worthwhile.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Whenever You're Ready by Rachel Runya Katz!

While I may have rated this as a 3 star novel (in reality, a 3.5), I am slowly but surely becoming a Rachel Runya Katz fan. Her first novel was a delight, and this one was very enjoyable as well! I think that my main reason for knocking off a couple of stars is because I felt like the pacing was slightly off and that some things could have been described in a little bit more detail. But overall, this was such a nice read!

The characters are enjoyable, and very easy to empathize with. If you imagine yourself in their shoes, it's easy to see how things could go south so quickly in their relationships. The road trip was a fun plot line, but I think it could have been done just a little bit better. It felt like the characters had sooooo many hours in a day, that it seemed unbelievable to me that they were able to get so many things done in just a short trip.

I definitely will be picking up any of Katz's future novels, and hope to like them just as much as this one or even more!

Whenever You’re Ready by Rachel Runya Katz is an emotional, deeply layered sapphic romance that explores grief, friendship, and the risks of love. The road trip setting was a great backdrop for Nia and Jade’s journey—both literal and emotional—filled with moments of tension, longing, and reconnection. I loved the Jewish representation and the strong themes of friendship and family, which added depth to the story.

That said, I went into this expecting something a bit lighter, so the serious and trauma-filled tone caught me off guard at first. It took me a little while to adjust, but once I did, I really appreciated the emotional depth. If you’re looking for a romance with heartache, healing, and a beautifully complicated relationship, this one is worth the read!

This was a beautiful and heartfelt read. Following along with Nia and Jade as they navigate the feelings they have for each other, both known and unknown, is a beautiful story to follow. That first love is a big part of developing into who you are, and they have a journey ahead of them.