The book starts out right in the middle of things with little explanation so it is a bit confusing to figure out what is going on at first. However, afterward, it turns into a mostly nice story about love, friendship, and reconciling the past with the future. Nia and Jade's relationship is extremely slow burning considering how long they've known each other. Plus, the things that keep them apart are mostly the typical annoying misunderstandings that occur in books because people keep things to themselves instead of talking to each other and resolving their issues. When they get together, it is sweet though.

Jonah seems like more of a jerk than a loving caring supportive brother. If he really cared about Jade, he would never say anything so deliberately hurtful like he does near the end of the book no matter how mad and/or jealous he was. There is a line you just do not cross if you really care about someone, and he crosses it. Plus, even though he was the one dating Michel, he seems the least affected by her death. Even if you move on from trauma, it never really leaves you and he barely seems like he was affected by the trauma of her death at all.

The fact that they embark on their trip because their late friend wanted them to makes sense, and does bring them together after a period of estrangement. However, the trip itself doesn't make sense because it seems to be mostly related to tracing some of the trauma suffered by their racial and religious ancestors, including slavery and the death of Leo Frank. It doesn't make sense why they would purposely want to subject themselves to a trip like that you would think it would be as triggering for them as it would probably for many readers of similar backgrounds.

Accordingly, unless you don't mind any extremely slow-burning romance, and you are not bothered by books dealing with grief, racism, and antisemitism, you might want to skip this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Jade and Nia, best friends who grew apart shortly after the death of their shared best friend, Michal, are coming back together (three years later) to go on the Southern US Jewish history road trip that they'd always talked about. Michal left birthday letters, and for Nia's 29th, she's told her that she needs to convince Jade, grab her twin brother Jonah, and make it happen. It won't be an easy trip, but the tension between Nia and Jade surely isn't making it easier.

There was a lot to like about this book: the queer rep, the normalizing of therapy, the dive into difficult but important history, the racial/ethnic mixed rep, and a lot of moments that just felt good. Nia and Jade were complex and difficult, but honestly, they're 29 and have a LOT going on - it feels reasonable, even though some of their conflict can feel frustrating. Also loved Jonah!

CW: mentions of death/cancer, antisemitism, sexual content

This book was such a Beautiful way to touch on hard topics while still feeling the love and growth of the characters in different ways. I appreciated how we got to see the two of them become friends and how life happened to them as to make them who they are now. Their love was beautiful to see grow and blossom into what it became.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin, and Netgalley for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars, rounded up.

I’ll be honest, this one was a slow starter for me and struggled to get into in the first half. But I really enjoyed the second. It was a great slow burn romance with a great backstory that is deeply moving. I also love that the book was very pro-mental health and pro-therapy in it’s approach to the characters and their issues.

Be advised, this is not a rom-com. Some of the material is quite heavy. Be sure to read the author’s content warning.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

Whenever You’re Ready is the heartwarming kind of sad that makes you feel. Nia, Jade, and Jade’s twin brother Jonas all embark on a Southern Jewish road trip that they had initially planned to attend with their other best friend, Michal, before her death. It’s been three years since they last were together in person and it’s finally time.

Honestly, Whenever You’re Ready was about so many things. Grief, antisemitism, racism, and the joy of platonic soulmates and friendship.

There were so many moments of misunderstandings, but they felt so realistic. Two queer women who have been best friends for nearly their entire lives; I can imagine how scary it feels to risk the best friendship of your life by changing the relationship by wanting more.

I laughed, smiled, and cried throughout this read. I was entranced and couldn’t put it down. I am hoping (SO MUCH) for Jonas to get a story of his own and I’ll definitely be reading more from this author.

I have been anxiously awaiting Rachel’s sophomore novel ever since reading Thank You for Sharing in 2023, my favorite debut of the year.

Katz returns with a tender and emotional Sapphic romance as 2 estranged childhood best friends come back together to finish their deceased best friends bucket list 3 years after her death and their estrangement.

Through heartbreaking and vulnerable moments, Jade and Nia learn to reconnect with each other while remembering Michal and grappling with their continued grief. Their feelings that have been buried for years come back to life. But is it work the risk of losing each other once more after finally finding their way back to each other?

My thoughts:
I adore Rachel’s writing. She explores the impact of grief in such a raw and thoughtful way. Through the experiences of Jade and Nia, Katz challenges how society weighs condolences and toxic judgements about grief via the “just a friend” mentality. Jade, Nia and Michal have the most beautiful friendship, the definition of platonic soul mates. However, the depth of their grief isn’t recognized since they weren’t romantically involved with Michal like Jonah.

“I bet it feels amazing to finally be with your person. Actually, I know it does, because for me it was the two of you. Not in the same way, but just as big.”
Brb, sobbing

I love a road trip romance… the forced proximity of being in a car for long periods of time, the domesticity of traveling together and sharing meals and space and the way the romance develops as the trip is progressing. The combination of tropes and the potential is unparalleled. In WYR, Jade and Nia end up sharing a bed and the tension builds with escalating touches while they both silently challenge each other to make the next move and take it further. While the romance develops quickly (the road trip is only 1 week), it worked as they have been secretly pining for years and have a strong foundation through their friendship.

Whenever You’re Ready also confronts painful moments in Jewish American history. During their road trip, Jade and Jonah experience the “intersections of anti-Black racism and antisemitism in the American South.” (author note is a must read) I’ve really enjoyed learning about Jewish culture in Rachel’s books. TYFS details Jewish traditions surrounding grief, while this book dives further into history.

This book is a romance but also a love letter to life changing friendships. It is full of hope and heartbreak, nostalgic moments and dreams for the future, pain and joy… much like life. Rachel has quickly become an auto-buy author for me; I cannot wait to see what comes next!

Tropes & Things
• Dual POV, dual timeline via flashbacks
• Sapphic, childhood friends to lovers
• Road trip/ forced proximity
• Grappling with grief
• Southern US/ US Jewish history
• Complicated family dynamics
• Unrequited crush, or is it?
• Long time pining
• Letters from Michal
• Theres only one bed

Trigger warnings- cancer, death of a close friend to cancer, racism, antisemitism- author has a full list of trigger warnings listed in introduction

Favorite quotes:
But now, after almost three years away, everything about her is either an obvious change or carries a memory.

Like discovering her queerness almost entirely because she was discovering Jade (she probably should’ve known based on her reaction to Lindsay Lohan in Herbie: Fully Loaded, but still).

Thank you to SMP Romance for an e-ARC of this title; all thoughts are my own.

Thank you SMP romance for #gifted copy of Whenever You’re Ready! #WheneverYoureReady #RachelRunyaKatz #smpromance #stmartinspress #romance

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐳
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

𝟱★

𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗨𝗟! I honestly had no clue what to expect with this book, and I was blown away by this sapphic romance novel by Rachel Runya Katz. This 320 pages book was packed with love, family, friendship, and so much more. I feel like I got so much more from this book than I ever expected. At times I was laughing out loud, and at other times I was grabbing for tissues. The author has such a way with words and was able to incorporate such difficult and sensitive topics, but did so in a way that was very educational. I loved everything about Nia and Jade and their relationship and the rest of the characters in this book and the journey they took together.

🩷Road Trip
🩷Slow Burn
🩷Found Family
🩷Sapphic Romance
🩷Grief
🩷Jewish Representation

Posted on Goodreads on September 8, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around September 8, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on September 10, 2024
**-will post on designated date

What a beautiful heartbreaking love story. I loved everything about this story. From friends findinding out if there is really something there to taking a pilgrimage for their friend who passed everything is lining up to make this a beautiful story. I didnt want it to end. Also this cover is beautiful I feel like it will really grab people to it.

Okay I don't have the words to express how much I loved this book. Rachel Runya Katz advertises themselves as a rom-traum-com author and that description is a perfect fit for this story. If you're coming to this story for a romance you will absolutely get all the sapphic best friends to lovers yearning your heart could desire. You will also get a complex exploration of how grief affects each person in a friend group in differently. I adored how the author never shied away from the complexity of her character's messy emotions or the messiness of our country's past or present. They dove right into those difficult topics and the story is that much richer for that inclusion. I fell for each character in the friend group and felt their loss deeply. Rachel Runya Katz adeptly wove the conflict of this book into the structure of the friend group so that there was minimal drama but maximum angst and pining. Fear of ruining the friendship is a common obstacle for friends to lovers romances but the stakes had never felt as high for me as in this story where a close-knit group of three became two. It made perfect sense to me why Jade and Nia were wary of rocking the boat and potentially losing their last link to Michal and the last person who had understood them for so long. This review wouldn't be complete without gushing about Jonah a little. Jade's twin originally felt like the third wheel in this romance road trip but the author didn't let him fade into side character obscurity. They gave him the depth he deserves and I fell hard for this man who is struggling but also trying his best. If any sequels are in the works I humbly request that Jonah get his own book because he deserves to find someone who will cherish him. If you love books that are raw and real and make you feel many things then this is the book for you!

Whenever You’re Ready by Rachel Runya Katz is an emotional road trip of reconnection, healing, and self-discovery. The story follows childhood best friends Nia and Jade, who have been estranged for three years after the death of their mutual best friend, Michal. With Michal’s twin brother Jonah along for the ride along with a precious pup sidekick, the group sets out on a road trip rooted in southern Jewish history, confronting not only their unresolved grief but also the tension and desire that has been simmering between Nia and Jade for years.

There’s a lot to love about this book. The road trip aspect is especially engaging, with well-described settings that make you feel like you're visiting these historical places with the characters. I particularly appreciated how the novel infused real Jewish history into the journey—I love to come across a romance novel that also educates you along the way. This blend of history and personal exploration added a meaningful layer to the story, and it’s great to see representation of Black, Jewish, and queer characters throughout.

The slow-burn romance between Nia and Jade was one of the standout aspects for me. I love to see a romance that takes its time to build tension and emotion. There’s so much unspoken history and longing between these two characters, and Katz does a solid job portraying their complicated dynamic as they work through their past and the possibility of something more.

However, I had a few issues with the pacing of the story. The novel starts off quite slow, and with so many key elements of the characters' backstories left unexplained at first, it made it difficult to emotionally connect to the trip or the characters themselves. Nia and Jade, while interesting, felt somewhat indistinct from each other at times. The switching points of view didn’t help much with differentiating their voices or deepening the understanding of their motivations, which made it a bit hard to get fully invested in their personal journeys.

That said, Whenever You’re Ready is still a touching narrative about grief, friendship, and love. Katz’s exploration of how relationships can evolve—whether it’s between friends, siblings, or lovers—is emotional and heartfelt. While it wasn’t a perfect read for me, it’s a promising addition to Katz’s work, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a thoughtful, diverse romance with a focus on healing and connection.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins for an E-ARC of this book.

I believe I am now a sucker for road trip- sapphic romances. Between this and Alison Cochrun’s Here We Go Again. I’m sold on the trope.

Nia and Jade had a falling out three years ago but are brought back together on a Jewish History road trip they had planned with their friend Michal who died earlier of cancer. Michal had written both of them letters for each birthday before she died and reminded them to do this trip before they turned 30.
I think wrapping this story of grief and rekindling relationships all set while learning parts of American History that is not taught in schools, made this such a rich lovely story.

Thanks to Netgalley and SMP for an eARC

A beautifully deep, queer romance that I just loved. There was so much depth to the characters and I just adored that. No one was perfect, but they definitely were perfect for each other.

This book had it all, romance, road trips, friendships, family, second chances, tears and fears, and I really wished it didn't have to end. When formerly inseparable best friends Nia and Jade agree to go on a road trip to honor their late friend Michal, they find themselves learning new history, reliving old history, and mourning all at once. There was such a wonderful world.build for the jewish culture as well as leading in the way of navigating the heritage as a person of color. I loved every moment of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-f/f contemporary romance
-grief roadtrip
-childhood best friends to estranged to lovers
-mutual pining
-childhood crush
-slow burn
-found family
-jewish and biracial rep

Rachel Runya Katz just knows how to write friendships (and siblings, honestly rude how incredible she is at drawing dynamics with her characters). This book handles so many difficult topics, multipe timelines, and a romance, and Rachel is one of the few authors out there who can do it and do it deftly. Nia and Jade after not speaking for a few years decide to embar on the Southern Jewish roadtrip they planned with their best friend prior to her death, with Jade's twin brother tagging along. This roadtrip is packed with so much. Dealing with the grief of losing one of your closest people, how grief and relationships are different between different people, and balancing the weight of your history, and your friendship, for a romantic relationship. oh and there is the cutest dog. Add in the complexities of their roadtrip through Southern synogogues and this book is a beautiful exploration of ancestry, history, and paving your own future.

Ouch!!!! This is easily on of the most powerful books I've read in a while. How all consuming grief can be and how trying to hold on to what was after major loss to protect yourself can end up with more loss that you were trying to prevent. Jade, Jonah and Nia were all bleeding throughout the entire road trip and it felt so tangible. Tissues are required for this book, no doubt.

4.5 stars

This is a beautiful Sapphic story that weaves heavy topics in with lighthearted banter and a lovely romance.

Nia and Jade agree to finally go on the Southern Jewish road trip that they'd planned before their best friend Michal died, and they take Jade's twin Jonah and his dog along with them. Nia never told Jade she's in love with her, but that's not going to come up... right?

Throwing the reader right into the story with little explanation was a little difficult to read, but power through it because it is worth the journey. I really enjoyed the intersectionality of Jewish, POC, being multiracial, and queer that was present throughout. The grieving parts hit me hardest and had me tearing up in a café. This is a gorgeous slooow burn with flashbacks to their youth throughout. I adored the sibling banter and the emphasis on therapy to sort out issues.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

Okay, I thoroughly enjoyed this book so damn much.

Friends to lovers has become a favorite trope of mine, and I really loved Jade and Nia’s friendship. I think the heavier themes were dealt with great care and the author did a wonderful job with them.

The super slow burn may have been just a tad too slow for me, but overall I really liked this book.

I am almost halfway through and I don’t really connect with any of the characters. I find my mind wandering and that I’m skipping over pages. This makes me sad because I enjoyed Rachel’s debut, but I cannot keep my focus on this one enough to finish. :(

Whenever You’re Ready is a delightful slow-burn romance. Nia and Jade have always been best friends, along with their friend Michal. After Michal passes away from cancer, Nia and Jade reunite after years apart to take a road trip that they all planned. As they journey through the South, they are faced with painful history and bittersweet memories. Can Nia and Jade find their way back to each other?

Whenever You’re Ready is a book about loss, friendship, and missed connections. I especially enjoyed how Rachel Runya Katz writes such depth in her characters. They feel relatable and deeply lovable. Jade and Jonah’s sibling relationship felt realistic and I liked how their individual connections to Michal were portrayed. Nia and Jade are absolutely gone for each other but can’t quite realize this before the trip. The aspects of grief, anticipatory grief, and loss really hit hard for me. I also learned a lot about what it was like to be Jewish in the South, both historically and presently. This is a very important topic and period of time that is integral to the story.

Whenever You’re Ready is a beautiful and heartfelt book about friendship, love, and searching for connection. Readers who enjoy slow-burn sapphic romance and friends-to-lovers should check out Whenever You’re Ready.

Thank you to Rachel Runya Katz, St. Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

This is a grief-ridden but very heartwarming friends-to-lovers romance. It deals with a lot of different themes - grief, complex family dynamics, racial identities, religious undertones, etc., but still manages to strike a balance to make this book light enough to be a great romance.

The characters are all flawed but lovable, and feel remarkably realistic - all of their personalities and conflicts feel very true-to-life, and it’s impossible not to get sucked into the story right away.

There’s also a lot of history woven into the story, and I came away with a deeper understanding of some complexities of different ethnic backgrounds and cultures.

I definitely recommend picking this up and giving it a read!