Many thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Audio | Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and the author for the ARC and ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I even start? I have never been so disappointed in an ARC (I am being dramatic, but I mean this year).

Rachel Weiss knows herself, she is hot, she is talented and she is perfection - she hates capitalists, elitists, aka live, love and eat the rich! However she basks in her own privileges and never really questions herself! Her mom is the most unbearable character i have had the displeasure of reading about! I know people like her exists in this world - the 'by any crook or book' kind of people, but I truly truly would not wish a mother like her for even my most hated enemies!! She is overbearing and emotionally abusive - and it's all brushed under the rug in the name of a 'mother's love' - yeah right!!

All the other characters, even the titular group chat members are forgettable. The MMC barely had any page space -his surname was Buttkiss?

The only other memorable character was the older sister Jane! There was a lot questionable things that the characters did and what got on my nerve the most was how the 'me - too' movement was used for aplot point??? That movement was started out of sheer helpness of victims and survivors fighting for justice and you use it like that??? I am sorry?? WTF??? that was last straw.

There was absolutely no repercussions to anything characters did be it mocking the metoo movement or forging SAT scores?? like what are you trying to prove??

That's my rant! Not a book I think I will be recommending!

Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat is a witty, modern rom com that channels Bridget Jones’s Diary and Pride & Prejudice through the lens of a Jewish millennial navigating her late twenties in Seattle. Rachel, flirting with burnout and thirty looming, turns to her trusty (and chaotic) group chat—and eventually to her tech-bro neighbor Christopher—for clarity and connection. Rachel’s transformation—messy, hilarious, self-aware—is the heart of the story. Though at times she can be hard to root for, her loyalty to her friends and her growing maturity makes her redemption emotionally satisfying. The dialogue sparkles, the friendships feel grounded, and the romance unfolds with just the right amount of tension and charm. In just over 300 pages, Appelbaum balances humor, heartfelt growth, and sharp social insight into a fully realized debut. Add this one to your reads if you crave laugh-out-loud fun wrapped around a story of self-discovery.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for an arc of Rachel Weiss's Group Chat by Lauren Appelbaum. This book is a witty and heartfelt rom-com that blends modern millennial struggles with a distinctly Jewish voice. Centered around Rachel and her tight-knit group of friends, the story captures the chaos of dating, family pressure, and turning thirty—all filtered through the lens of Jewish culture and humor. With laugh-out-loud moments and emotional depth, it’s a refreshing take on friendship, identity, and finding love in unexpected places

I'm not quite sure how every person in this book seemed to be the WORST human. I thought about DNfing a few times because everyone was just so unlikeable. The story was fine, but the people were so over the top. I'm also very over a women's worth being tied to being in a relationship.

Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat 💬
— The most chaotic gc energy EVER

★★★★☆ (4/5)

This was pure chaotic comfort. It felt like scrolling through the funniest group chat I’ve ever been in — but with higher stakes and a whole LOT of unfiltered honesty. I loved how real Rachel’s panic felt — turning 30, dealing with work, family pressure, bad dates, and still trying to hold her friend group together like her life depends on it (which… kinda it does?).

The pacing is super readable and the group dynamics are chef’s kiss. The way the group chat slowly unravels while Rachel tries to keep control gave me so much secondhand stress — in a good way. And don’t even get me started on the romance. The tech-bro neighbor caught me SO off guard in the best way. It’s slow-burn, slightly awkward, and totally swoony. I looooove it.

Sure, it’s a little over the top at times — Rachel can be a lot — but honestly, I loved that about her. She’s messy and dramatic and way too way and, probably, way too online, and I felt that in my bones. We might be twins, girl!

Would I reread it? Not really.
Would I recommend it? Yes, especially if you love drama, heart, and unhinged voice notes.
Would I read more from this author? 100%.

Millennial burnout, chaotic friendships, accidental tech bro romance...this had all the ingredients, and while there were definitely moments that worked, it didn’t quite come together for me. Rachel is a relatable character, and the slow-burn romance was charming, but many of the pieces (the group chat stuff in specific) felt underdeveloped, which was a bummer since friendship seemed like it should be at the heart of the story.

Rachel Weiss is stuck in a job she hates, facing pressure from her matchmaking mother and feeling left behind as she turns thirty. Supported by her close friends and their group chat, she navigates therapy, aging, and personal missteps—until an unexpected connection with her seemingly arrogant new neighbor reveals a deeper compatibility and sparks hope for real change.

I thought the book was a cute story, but didn't have much depth. Had a lot more potential to be more emotional and relatable.

Didn't think the character development was as good as it could have been.

Thank you Forever for this ARC.

This was a cute book, but too many subplots to really get involved. The ending was way too quick for me— I wanted to relish in their getting together a little more!!

A woman struggling with life in general—her job, romance, purpose. She turns to her group of friends for assistance. While I wanted to like this one, a romance if was not, more of a chick lit than anything. It was really hard for me to relate to the FMC, and I wasn’t fond of any of the supporting characters either. It was relevant to current times with corresponding mainly through chat messages but that alone did not push this book enough for me to enjoy completely.

I enjoyed the writing style, the storyline and the characters immensely. Lauren Appelbaum is a wonderful novelist and I look forward to anything else she writes or has written.

I liked this one, but I didn’t love it. Rachel and her friends were fun. However, I feel like Rachel felt a bit immature for almost 30. Christopher was a great character, if a bit unrealistic. Overall, I enjoyed the dialogue and the relationships between the girls.

This book fell a little flat for me. I really loved the premise but I had a hard time empathizing with the FMC and the choices that she made. Overall, it was a solid debut and I would definitely be interested in future books from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 15%. This book was just not for me. I didn't care about any of the characters or the plot. I was also turned off by some acephobia in the friend group. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Okay, this one was a doooozzzyyyy!

Let me start with the good parts: I absolutely love the Jewish representation in this book being smack in the forefront. I also love that this is a reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, especially since that's my favourite classic.

However, this book lost me a few times throughout the read:
1) Some of the characters felt like Jewish stereotypes i don't love to see being upheld in our day and age. Ex: the mother was soooooooo stereotypical Jewish mom i just couldn't take it anymore. She was written so poorly and it was such a pain point while reading this book because she was in almost every chapter.
2) Rachel is honestly annoying. Her character development was so slow and very minimal and it really just wasn't hitting the spot.
3) the book itself felt like it was very slow-paced and needed to be shortened and also go through some more editing.

Overall, there were some great parts to this story, but it fell short.

A good idea but the execution was subpar. Would be a better book if it was shorter and went through more editing,

What a great way to feel the cultural pull of home.

Growing up Jewish on Long Island, even this story is set in Seattle, there is much I can relate to this from involved Jewish mother's to a tight-knit group of friends from day camp.

As Rachel tries to deal with her mother always looking to set her up on blind dates to her friends sharing and sometimes oversharing with the growing pains of adulthood and ever growing friendship fractures, how do you balance it all?

You move forward the best way you can, you share what you need to share, you constantly are the one reaching out first, and maybe, just maybe, you finally let you know mom set you up.

But what happens when the set-up you don't want turns out to be the new neighbors hunky son who you can't stand? Well, chaos as only the life a Jewish 30-something can be.

Thank you Forever Pub for this eARC!

This was a cute women's fiction. Rachel's story was interesting. Some parts fell a little flat but overall it was an enjoyable book. I would be interested in reading more from Appelbaum in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Rachel Weiss's Group Chat by Lauren Appelbaum!

When I first started reading Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat by Lauren Applebaum, I really thought that I would be giving it a better rating. A three-star rating is not a bad rating, but I was loving the book at the beginning. The further I read in the book, the less it felt to be even a four-star. But, before I start talking about what I thought of the book in detail, let’s talk about what it is about. Rachel Weiss, our main character, is getting close to the age of 30, but is stuck in a job she hates. She also hates what she considers as “tech bros.” Unfortunately for her, her parents’ new neighbors are the parents of a “tech bro,” who her mom is very interested in introducing her to. She’s hoping to set them up. The first meeting does not go well, but their story isn’t over.

Let’s get into what I like about this book. The writing style is what really drew me in. It had just enough detail, and a lot of character personality. I loved seeing the friendship between Rachel and her friends, but I really thought that Rachel’s mom needed a reality check. We do learn more about why Rachel’s mom is the way she is, but I still find her to be on the more problematic side. Honestly, all the characters are problematic in some way, which seems to be the intent of their characterizations. I don’t really love any of the characters, but I do appreciate that Rachel tried her best throughout the book. Christopher and Rachel’s older sister, Jane, may have been the best characters in the book. We just don’t see Jane’s boyfriend too often to have a good opinion on his characterization.

Even though Rachel may make a mess of things throughout the book, she really tries her best to correct them, whether it is her opinions on matters, or just the messes she actually makes. Most of the events that happen seem to help her grow, even though she seems quite naive at times. There is one event that happens near the end of the book that I feel was a bit too much to add, but I sort of understand the reason for adding it. I just feel that there were too many plot points to get her to change her outlook on life and the people in her life. Overall, I do like that she tried to do the right thing after every wrong turn she made.

One of the parts that I disliked, which I did mention earlier, were the scenes between Rachel and her mom. Her mom did end up treating Rachel unfairly during the book, but claimed there was a good reason she did so. I do not think there is any reason for a mother to treat a daughter that way. She made Rachel feel that she was less than her other sisters and not a good person. Sure, Rachel made mistakes, but I’m sure the others have as well. Not only that, but her mom was a spoiled brat, and her husband hardly ever went against her. Almost no one in the whole family went up against the mom, and if they did, if felt like they were quick to back off.

Another part I disliked dealt with one of Rachel’s friends, Amy, and her boyfriend at the beginning of the book. For one, I don’t like how Rachel reacted to the situation. I felt that there should have been more feeling since she supposedly felt enough about both people in the situation, even if she should have known that Steven did not care enough about her. I also just felt like she could have learned more from the situation than she did. It was a low response to a big deal. The lead up to it was a big thing.

Rachel ended up having problems with all of her friends, and actually all of her sisters to an extent. It was part of portraying her to be selfish and self-centered, but it felt a bit forced at times. And the fact that the book title has the words group chat led me to believe that there would be a lot of chatting in the group chat compared to how much there actually was. I enjoyed the parts of the group chat that we did get, but I would have liked more.

It might sound like I disliked the book, but I really did enjoy it, but there are parts that diminished the enjoyment level. This seems to be Lauren’s debut, and I think it was a good first book. I am looking forward to seeing what she writes next. I can only believe that the next book will be better than this one. She did great with giving the characters personality and I loved her writing style. It just might need less major plot points to create a smoother story.

I enjoyed RACHEL WEISS’S GROUP CHAT so much. It felt like a modern Pride & Prejudice where the Bennets are an American Jewish family and Jane and Rachel just want to have their relationships without their mother bringing down their backs or their silly younger sisters getting into too much trouble. Totally would recommend if you like a romance that’s just as much family drama!