4.5

Whenever You're Ready was absolutely heart-wrenching. This emotional story starts three years after Jade and Nia's best friend Michal has passed from brain cancer. Jade and Nia have been fairly distant since Michal's passing, especially after some harsh things were said in the aftermath of everything. They reunite, along with Jade's twin brother Jonah, for a road trip through the South visiting various important Jewish stops, a trip that was supposed to be taken with Michal but never came to be.

This book is extremely emotional and touches on a number of sensitive subjects but I think everything was done extremely well. The author's note at the end provides some extra context regarding the specific stops that the group makes in the book but ultimately the road trip provides some interesting (and unknown to me) history about Jewish history in the South during the Civil War. Jade, Jonah, and Michal are Jewish and Jade/Jonah's ancestors were founders of one Jewish community in the South, while Michal's ancestors were founders of a different community so there is a wide variety of Jewish history that Katz explores. I really enjoyed most of the characters. Jade was a bit frustrating though and I disliked how she treated Jonah for the most part but understand that there's always a lot more history between siblings than friends typically have.

Withholding review at this time. Will review post SMP boycott. Look forward to reviewing/providing feedback for author/audience at a later date

I had such high hopes for this book but it just wasn’t holding my attention and at 30% I gave up and jumped to the end. I found the history to be incredibly interesting but the main story felt forced and predictable. I really wanted to like this one since I loved the author‘s first book, but this was a miss for me. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced copy of this.

Very slow burn will they won’t they friends to lovers
A lot of Jewish history and connections with racism included
Great diversity but I wanted more from the characters

4.5 stars

lol, some other reviewer called this a romcom. It is not a romcom. It has its light and amusing moments, but it deals with some heavy themes, including (primarily) grief, loneliness, antisemitism and slavery.

HOWEVER. Don’t let that put you off. I devoured this book in a day.

Jade and Nia are two-thirds of a group of three best friends, one of whom, Mishal, died three years ago from brain cancer. Their relationship has suffered since, due to something that isn’t revealed until much later and also the toll grief can take on even the strongest, longest-running relationships.

After putting it off for a couple of years, they agree to go, with Jade’s twin brother Jonah, on a Southern Jewish history road trip they’d planned with Mishal. This forced proximity forces them to confront lots of things, including but not limited to their attraction to each other, Jade’s family’s hurtful focus on Jonah’s grief instead of Jade’s (because, complication! Jonah dated Mishal before her death), and the often shocking history of Judaism in the American South.

It is a lot, but once I got past the first couple chapters (of which more later), Runya Katz’s skilled writing and deft characterization grabbed me and didn’t let me go. I’m not a crier about books, but reader, I teared up. There are some hot moments too, and they fit seamlessly into the story of Jade and Nia’s evolving relationship.

Now, those first couple of chapters: I requested this ARC and was sent it in April. I read to 17% but couldn’t get into it. I then decided to pick it up yesterday because I was still intrigued by the premise and also felt guilty that I missed the pub date of September 10 (SORRY!!). I am so glad I carried on, because it was a wonderful, wonderful book — but know that Runya Katz drops you right into a complex, multi-charactered story with no info dumps, assuming you will figure it out on your own. I appreciated that, but I probably would have tweaked the beginning to be a little less… abrupt.

All that said, this book still deserves a 4.5. Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy.

The way I ate this up. It was everything. Between the back and forth time lines, the very clear and obvious want for each other. I loved this book definitely getting me a physical copy. I loved the aspect of a road trip and basically being forced together for hours on end. I loved Nia but I loved Jade wayyy more thats my girllll. I wont say anything else because then I will be here telling you the whole book lol. Just go read it, its amazing.

I really appreciated the way this novel tackled the topics of grief and friendship. The road trip element really added to the story and I loved the build up of the relationship between Nia and Jade.

This was really good! I loved the exploration of grief, and the slow burn was slow burning. I really wish we got to see more stops on the road trip though -- they were so interesting! The flashbacks were also a very strong part. I also wish the main characters had more distinctive inner voices. When I get a multiple POV, I like to be able to know whose POV I'm ready just from their tone and inner monologues, you know? Anyway, still so so good!

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the arc. This was a beautiful sapphic road trip romance. It was quite heavy at times, dealing with the death of their friend, intergenerational racial trauma, anti-semitism, and institutionalized racism. I really recommend this. Rachel Runya Katz writes about the interracial jewish experience in a way that educates without it feeling forced. I really really recommend this to anyone who likes deep romance novels. The character work in this was outstanding. One of my favourite reads of this year.

Note: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am so sad I didn’t pick this up sooner!! What an amazing story of what it means to be soulmates. Soulmates doesn’t always mean romantic, and I firmly believe you will have many over the course of your life. Nia, Jade, Michal, and Jonah are proof of that.
Being a queer Jew in my 20’s from the South, the factual history included in this book was refreshing in that many people try to gloss over it. It was important not only for our characters’s growth, but as a reader, to see on a page. We can never forget the part that we as (White) Jews played, even if inadvertently through avoidance (or directly), in the slave trade and racism of the past and present. I really liked that we got some of that on page, but the focus was still on our main characters.
Part of what is really refreshing for me is that Katz is really, really good at writing characters who act their age. Yes, even after establishing careers and fully moving into adulthood, they are still in their 20’s, and will have moments of impulsiveness that are immediately regretted. All four of our main characters felt fleshed out and real, and I fully found myself sharing in their emotions. I found myself grieving Michal along with them and cheering for milestones. I think this was a beautiful story of discovering your self, your identity, and what it means to be you. I rated this 5 stars and will definitely be looking into this tour myself!

This is a great, timely, and nuanced slow burn romance. I really appreciated the layers to this story, more than a slow burn romance, Whenever You're Ready is also a story that examines intersectionality through examination of religious and cultural identity, racism and bias, sexuality and gender. I really appreciated how the story was slow paced to really allow the characters to indeed explore being ready for more than friendship, to process grief and persistence in a time and in places where it can be hard to be accepted for who you are. I was all in for the inclusive romance and road trip theme but got so much more from this powerful story.

While I really enjoyed the premise of this book, unfortunately it is not for me.

Overall, I was not a fan of this author’s writing style. For starters, the book is dual POV (third person). The POV changes throughout each chapter, and often times it wasn’t clear whose POV I was in, Nia or Jade. Throughout the entire book in both POVs, the characters often allude to a prior event and their feelings about it but readers are kept in the dark about what the event is. It was frustrating to constantly feel like I didn’t have all the information for 2/3 of this book. It’s not a technique I love but generally I feel like most authors only use this technique a couple times at the very beginning of a book. I was frustrated that this continued on throughout the entire story.

I really struggled to get a true sense of Nia and Jade as individuals. Often times the way one friend would describe the other clashed with how that character would behave when we were in their POV. It made it even more confusing to keep Nia and Jade’s POVs distinct, because I didn’t think either had standout personalities. It all really blended together.

I also thought the drama between Nia and Jade that was the catalyst for the third act break up was really overblown. Not to go too into it, but it felt like Nia was being really unfair to Jade considering the circumstances of the situation they were both in. And it just added to my overall disinterest in their characters.

What I loved most about this book was the friendship between the three women and how Nia and Jade grieved the loss of Michal. This is where the book really shines and captured my attention and my emotions. The flashback scenes of their friendship were beautifully written and I would have loved to see more of that, to be honest. I also thought the sibling relationship between twins Jade and Jonah was incredibly realistic and well done, if not also frustrating (again, so realistic).

I wish this book had been the one for me, but hopefully it’ll be the one for another reader.

Thank you NetGalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Two estranged best friends go on a road trip their third (deceased) best friend always wanted them to go on. The story has friends-to-lovers, a kind of second chance romance (?), complicated family dynamics, queer rep, Jewish rep, and a DOG.

Friends-to-lovers is very hit-and-miss for me, and while I didn't love every aspect of this story, I thought their estrangement was relatable and their wariness to share their feelings made sense. I liked the road trip premise and how it forced them to be in close proximity. The only one-bed trope is SUPREME.

The plot was great, but the way the characters' emotions were written was my favorite part. I relate a lot to never being anyone's first choice, so reading about a character with that insecurity was cathartic.

This book does address sensitive topics about faith and racism. Check content warnings.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I sobbed through basically this entire book because the way the author paints a vivid picture of grief is just heart wrenching. Grief can bring out the ugliest parts of people, like it did in this story. But love, whether friend or romantic love, can make it easier to bear. Nia and Jade had their quirks. Nia dealt with life by trying to control her schedule to an almost pathological degree. Jade was a bit blunt and blind to her own emotions. Neither of them were good at communicating the way they needed to about feelings for one another. The resolution was beautiful and fulfilling as they learned more about themselves and how to take risks that are worth taking.

Spice: 2/5

Triggers: death of close friend from cancer, grief, discussion of racism and antisemitism, discussion of sexism, discussion of lunching of Jewish man, discussion of transatlantic slave trade and enslavement,

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nia and Jade have been best friends forever. They were part of a group of 3, but their 3rd passed away 3 years prior of cancer. The story in essence is about their grief and taking a road trip that they had planned together as a group, only now it's Nia, Jade and her twin brother Jonah going.

The trip is part healing from the death of Michal but also the healing of Nia and Jade's friendship because they have not spoken in 3 years.

I found this one to be informative with respect to Jewish history. The romance piece was a slow burn as Nia and Jade explore their feelings for each other. Overall a solid read!

Michal introduced Nia and Jade at her 10th birthday party and they’ve been inseparable since. Michal died three years ago and now Nia and Jade are barely on speaking terms. When Nia reads the letter Michal wrote her for her 29th birthday, asking Nia and Jade to go on the southern Jewish history road trip they had planned before she died. Jonah, Jade’s twin brother and Michal’s then-boyfriend, joins on the trip as well. As the trip goes on, old issues arise, forcing Nia and Jade to confront what happened between them three years prior, their feelings for each other, and their respective relationships with Jonah.

WHENEVER YOU’RE READY is told in dual timelines and dual POV, transitioning between Nia and Jade’s POVs within the same chapters. I found it a bit difficult to differentiate between Nia and Jade’s voices though as they didn’t feel super distinct.

I loved seeing the relationships Michal, Jade, Nia, and Jonah shared in the past and present. The communication, particularly what we see of it in the present, is difficult at times, but feels realistic. I don’t feel like we get much of an explanation of what happens between Jade and Nia that causes them to drift apart three years prior and I would have appreciated more context on this. I also think that the pacing and storytelling to a certain extent, don’t allow for a good connection between the reader and the characters.

The romance is a very slow burn and ended up being my least favorite aspect of this story (sorry not sorry). I think the emotional trajectory of this story was the most meaningful part overall. I liked how Jonah, Jade, and Nia are able to slowly redefine the relationships they share amongst each other by the end of the story.

I really enjoyed the Southern USA Jewish historical tour. I thought it was a very interesting snapshot into a small piece of Jewish culture and history while creating a rich backstory and emotional connection to the characters and their culture. The settings the characters visited were descriptive and easy to envision.

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St Martin’s Press, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own.</i>

Just when I think I've stopped crying long enough to write this review thinking about the book gets me up in my feels all over again. Despite being "straight" I have really come to love LGBTQIA+ romances. I feel like there are so many more nuances and layers in these stories. Also, with finding out my biological family was Jewish made parts of this novel extra poignant for me.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Whenever You’re Ready releases September 10, 2024

2.5

Three years after Michal dies of brain cancer, her best friends live out her dying wish and go on a Southern Jewish history road trip, wherein an extremely slow burn romance ensues between Jade and Nia after decades of friendship and what they thought was unrequited love.

Objectively, this was written well, but I never found myself in a position where I actually cared what happened to the characters.
I think this story would have had a greater impact if Nia was also Jewish as it would have added an extra layer of depth between her and the twins while they all reconnected on their road trip.

While there was eventually a sapphic romance, I would say the main focus surrounded grief, friendship, and platonic love, making it read more like women’s fiction.

I am fully obsessed with this cover!! From the description this book should have been perfect for me, but the writing style does not work for me at all. I have picked up this book and pretty much instantly set it back down several times because of the third person present tense. It feels like I'm reading a movie script and it's just feels boring because of that. I need to stop trying to get into this book.

After reconnecting on a road trip, two friends must decide if love is the ultimate risk worth taking in this funny, emotional sapphic romance.

This was a really cute second chance romance . I really enjoyed it 🥰