This book took me less time to read than normal because I couldn’t put it down! The main characters, the side characters, the premise, falling in love over emails, a not so normal meet cute, lots of LGBTQ+ reps, the mental health reps.

Ravi and Yael meet in a not so ordinary way. Ravi is sneaking out of Yael’s bedroom window but didn’t realize that she was asleep in her bed. They become arch enemies because Yael thinks Ravi hutt her roommates feelings. Anyways a little after this Ravi and Yael become online coworkers without knowing that they are working together.
I really loved the premise and how the whole thing was executed. This romcom is a quick enjoyable read!

Thank you for the earc!!! ❤️

I feel like I am going to be an outlier on this one and say I didn't love this book (I didn't hate it either). This book is cute and I loved the mental health and LGBTQIA+ representation but right from the start I was a little put off. I hated the way the two MC's met each other and I feel like that affected my feeling for the entire book. I have no problem with reading about couples with different sexualities but something about their meet cute just didn't vibe with me. I liked Yael and Ravi and I can see them as a couple if I pretend that they met another way.

This book ended up being a quick read because of all of the email threads back and forth so I did finish it quite quickly. I have read books with a similar premise that I adored but this one was middle of the road for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

isn’t it obvious? | rachel runya katz

3.75⭐️
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What a solid romcom! A nod to You’ve Got Mail - email penpals who don’t know their real life nemesis is the person they’ve been falling for through words.

THINGS TO LOVE
+ an unfortunate first impression
+ they work together
+ a podcast about books
+ so much lgbtq+ rep!
+ a queer book club
+ mental health awareness
+ family dynamics
+ supportive friends
+ healthy mentor/student support
+ heartwarming side cast
+ fantastic diversity

This story portrays all different levels of queer dynamics and experiences and I appreciated that! I will say that the second half of the book fell a little flat for me. I don’t know what it was, but it lost a little spark and I was a tiny bit bored. But overall it was clever and cute and heartwarming!


Thank you I so much Rachel, St Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the advanced copy! Out 10/21!

So wait, this is such a fun read! The premise? The characters? The setting? The banter? The spice? All of it just works!

There is SO much going on in this but everything feels like it has space to breath and exist. If anything, read it for the fun queer high school book club we all wish we had growing up AND the underrated but deeply appreciated “falling in love through email” trope!

Ravi and Yael are extremely compelling and easy to root for MCs. I enjoyed them individually from the very first scene (buckle up for a truly WILD for first meeting ), and grew to love them chapter after chapter. Their romantic chemistry and friendship not only jumped off the page, but their conversations regarding sexuality, representation, mental health, and family were so earnest and relatable. I couldn’t get enough of these two and not even a 3rd act break up could ruin them or my love for them

How do I even begin to write about this book without writing an entire essay? I don't know but I am going to try.

Y'all, I ADORED this book. It immediately shot up to one of my favorite reads of the year, and definitely one of my favorite romances. I always say that I love romance plus books, and this absolutely embodies that! Yael and Ravi are wonderful characters outside of one another, and I love the intentionality and care put into each of their storylines and character development. I love that we get so much history about each of them, without it being information dumping, and we are continually learning about why each of them are the way they are. I love the dynamics of Yael and Ravi can't stand one another but Elle and Kevin can't help but swoon over each other - the writing of this is genius and so, so satisfying.

Also, this book is so beautifully queer, and I adored it. Ravi and Yael have very different family dynamics, and I think this was navigated so well, along with the experience of being a queer teen. I think the high school queer book club was a fantastic sub plot, and allowed us so much insight into Ravi's internal world in a really satisfying way. I found Yael's story ARC not only immensely satisfying, but also so relatable. These characters contain so much depth and it's impossible not to fall in love with them. I think the storyline around Ravi's family is really so beautiful, and seeing an uncle as a co-parent is not something I've come across before in a romance book, AND I LOVED IT. The way both Ravi and Yael experience their emotions is so visceral, and the fact that I felt so deeply for them while reading this book is just a reflection of how incredibly well written this was.

This was also my first time reading Rachel Runya Katz, so don't mind me while I go read alllll of their previous work. Thank you so much to Lavender PR, SMP & NetGalley for an ARC. This book was perfect.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

Isn't It Obvious - ARC Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
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FEATURES:
-Adult Queer Romance
-Jewish, Multiracial, and Trinidadian Reps
-Bipolar Rep
-Found Family and Blended Family
.
Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this book. The story and characters were uniquely stunning - full of layers and growth. This may be one of the best intersectional books I have read, while doing so effortlessly. It was filled with queer characters, people of color, immigrants, and people with mental health struggles. All of this diversity was so natural to the story.
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My one complaint is that this author writes in third person. It often felt as though the two leads had sections from their point of view but were speaking about themselves in 3rd person. This felt really strange and kept pulling me out of the story.

Oozing with vulnerability that is both beautiful and honest, devastating and jubilant, Isn’t It Obvious is the most meaningful book I’ve read all year!

As someone who does not identify as queer, bi-polar or depressed, but has at least one friend in each category, I learned so much reading this book. There’s a vulnerability here that I think allows me to know my friends better, somehow. It encourages me to be as open a vessel for their sharing as I can be.

For instance, I knew there were conversations my queer friends might have with their queer friends, that they wouldn’t have with me. But in the same way that I, as a black woman, might have a conversation with my black girlfriends, it’s a gift to be able to have a similar conversation with one of my white girlfriends and her get it. I want to be a friend who gets it, or at least receives it in a way that allows my friends to feel heard, seen, supported and embraced. I think this read by Rachel Katz has helped me understand how to get there. It’s a little steamy, too, which checks an all-to-important box for my romance reads.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St Martins for this ARC! This one took my by surprise in a beautiful way. I am also a podcaster who likes to over analyze the media I love so Yael was a very relatable woman. And I loved the you’ve got mail kind of theme to it. Ravi is a beautiful man with a huge heart that he tries to keep to himself and he and Yael make the perfect match. I inhaled this book in 2 days and would go back to it again and again.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Isn’t It Obvious? was such a conversationally intimate story. The dialogue and topics discussed were layered and had such great depth that you can’t helped but be pulled in! Rachel Runya Katz’ writing was so smooth that I flew through this book! Also, because I loved the main characters so much and couldn’t get enough of them.

Yael and Ravi fall in love online under ghost names but are enemies in real life, so you have the intimate substance online and the witty banter and tension IRL. It’s the perfect balance!

Read this book if you enjoy:

- enemies to lovers
- online romance in the form of emails and texts 💻
- pining and yearning 🫠
- bipolar disorder representation
- BIPOC main characters
- LGBTQIA+ representation 🏳️‍🌈
- major city setting 🏙️
- smoking hot librarian 📚
- open door romance

Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5 / 5

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This book starts out slow to help establish the dual relationships: the online friendship with an emotional connection and the physical work relationship with some banter and tension. The duality of the relationships allowed for the slow burn to feel like a true connection. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for them to figure out that their crushes were the same people.

There was a lot of diverse representation in this book without it feeling like tokenization which I really appreciated. I feel like the representation of mental illness was also very relatable especially when it comes to Yael’s experience of feeling too much. Her experience was raw and moving, and it didn’t feel dramatized for the plot. Ravi’s family dynamic allowed for my insight into his struggle as well.

I was lucky enough to be part of a traveling physical ARC for this book, and the experience was such a unique one! I got to be the first reader, leaving underlines and notes throughout the pages before passing it along to the next person in line. I can’t wait to see photos when it makes its way back to the author, filled with love from all of us along the way.

Yael, a high school librarian, hires a remote podcast editor named Kevin to help manage her hit show while juggling work, mental health, and a queer teen book club. Communicating only through email, the two start falling for each other, unaware they’ve already met in real life and can’t stand one another. Kevin, who goes by Ravi in person, is the same guy Yael once chewed out after a disastrous encounter involving her roommate. As their connection deepens both online and off, the truth comes out, forcing them to confront the fallout of hidden identities and unexpected feelings.

I absolutely adored this novel, and it hit all the right notes for me with its queer representation, multicultural characters, and beautifully crafted slow burn romance. The author did a fantastic job developing the main characters, giving each a distinct personality and set of flaws. I especially loved Yael, a passionate librarian devoted to books and queer youth, who also navigates her own mental health challenges and moments of loneliness. Her relationship with her two dads added even more warmth and depth to her story. Ravi came across as a genuine, kind-hearted guy who’s definitely made mistakes but is trying to grow. I was really drawn to Yael’s internal conflict as she wrestled with her loyalty to her best friend and her unexpected feelings for Ravi. One of my favorite touches was how Ravi and his brother slipped into their Trinidadian accent when speaking to each other because it added such richness to their bond. Their decision to co-parent Ravi’s niece was another beautiful layer, showcasing the many shapes that love and family can take. This book offered so many wonderful moments, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

Thank you Lavender Public Relations and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

4.25 ⭐️

This was so fun, such a great read. I loved the duality of the developing relationships. While the online personas of the MCs really focused on their friendship and emotional connection, in person it was more angsty with their simultaneous disdain and attraction for each other. So even though there was technically only one love story/relationship, it was like we got to experience two since the vibes were so different between the online and in person interactions. There was the perfect amount of slow burn and build up. The main characters as well as all of the side characters were likable and relatable. There was great queer rep with the characters, their stories and even the books mentioned in book club. I also think the discourse surrounding mental health, cultural differences and just identity issues in general was great and well done. Overall this was such a great romance, highly recommend.

Love the way the characters developed. From unknowingly being friends online/ to enemies in person and getting to know each other and then realizing that their feelings are blossoming into something more. It was a beautiful story . I absolutely loved the way Elle and Kevin showed up for each other. Was a beautiful read

A moving romance with lots of representation - mental health, queer, and racial diversity - and some good tropes - enemies to lovers and hidden identity. It’s definitely more of a slow burn, but the writing is great. It’s my first book from this author, and now I want to check out some of her previous books.

Isn’t it Obvious is a modern-day, Queer & (IMO) better done version of You’ve Got Mail, yes please. This is not my favorite trope by any means, but I was hooked from the beginning and stayed hooked through the epilogue. Reading this book felt like hearing juicy secrets from your slightly naive best friend, hanging on to every bit with the biggest smile on your face.

I am so grateful to Netgalley & St. Martin’s Griffin for approving me to read this ARC. I was giggling, crying, and happy-dancing throughout the whole read. I purposely had to slow down my reading so I could enjoy it longer.

One of my favorite aspects of the story was the centralization of being a literature lover & creating spaces that are needed (specifically: queer). I was choked up reading each of the book club scenes, it made me want to be in the club & made me so excited for the members.

As someone who works in public education, the FMC job was especially relatable and helped me feel even more connected to her. I appreciate how the state of education was represented honestly & authentically; the positive relationships, the frustrating administration, the pride for students’ development, the budget struggles, and so on.

Both the FMC & MMC developed emotionally together and independently of each other & I love to see it. Instead of giant overreactions and catastrophes, both characters explore & express their emotions in a healthy & appropriate way. In addition to healthy emotional development, the way sex was approached was just so healthy, it was swoon-worthy. 10/10 for consent, desire & pleasure being talked about between characters.

I will admit that I normally hate texts and emails in books, but something about these made me feel like I was getting a secret present each time. Honestly, I could have had even more! Their writing was so authentic to their characters and the story; I loved experiencing the text verse email style in addition to the in-person scenes.

Throughout the story, we navigated through identity, gender, friendships, language, sexuality, culture, religion, family, race, and mental health. Each topic felt so authentic and relevant, somehow perfectly adding layers to the characters and story that just felt so right.

The Epilogue….thank you.

I kept saying, well, I can’t just give it 5 stars…but it wholeheartedly is a 5-star book. I didn’t want to put it down, and I am ready to re-read via an audiobook as soon as possible.

I really, really loved this book and will be screaming from the rooftops about it! In “Isn’t It Obvious?” Yael finds Ravi climbing out of her window to avoid her roommate, Charlie, who he slept with last night. Yup, her window. Yael calls Ravi an asshole for not being honest with Charlie, though Ravi tried to be direct but clearly not enough hence the window climbing. Ravi leaves hoping to never run into Yael again. When he sees a sign looking for volunteers for a queer teen book club, he signs up, and wouldn’t you know it? Yael is in charge of that group. Ravi and Yael begrudgingly continue to lead the group and their icy connection starts to thaw. That makes things complicated because Yael has feelings for her next podcast editor, Kevin. They’ve never met in person because she thinks he lives in New York and she is in Portland and he doesn’t know her real name (because she wants anonymity for her librarian job) but they have a strong connection via email and text. He makes her podcast better and he makes her heart pitter patter really hard. What are the chances that Kevin is Ravi? Actually, pretty high! And Kevin (Ravi) has feelings for Elle (Yael) too. It is a messy web and a juicy story.

You will probably like this book if you like:
📚 Dislike to love
🎙️ Falling for each other via email and text
📚 Hidden identities
🎙️ Found family
📚 Biracial character rep
🎙️ LBGTQIA+ character rep
📚 Bipolar rep

I think it is usually pretty hard to pull off the hidden identities in a plausible way but this book did it really well! Usually there are gaping holes where you think, “how did you two dummies not realize it was each other?” but this book left no stone unturned. Sometimes it felt a tad convoluted (like when she talks on the phone to him for the first time and she is whispering, so that is why he doesn’t recognize her voice and connect that she is Yael), but I really, really appreciated that the thoroughness required for them to have two separate relationships with each other in a believable way.

I loved Ravi and Yael. They were so fully formed and so well written with each one having rich backstories and many different aspects to their identity highlighted. Yael is a Black and Jewish, bisexual, librarian who is bipolar and has a podcast critiquing literary classics, an absentee mom but two loving dads, and she works at the same high school that she went to. Ravi is a Indo-Trinidadian, bisexual freelance editor, who is co-parting his niece with his brother, just moved to Portland from NYC, and is an immigrant (he moved to the US from Trinidad for college). And that is on top of them both being funny, caring, vulnerable, kind, kind of stubborn, etc. Getting to read about all aspects of their identities helped spotlight the complexities and richness of their experiences.

I also think it can be hard to write a complex, multidimensional character and feature multiple parts of their identity. Sometimes it can feel overwritten or like one trait is focused on while other traits are just sprinkled in or are forgotten. But this was written so that you really got to know each part of Ravi and Yael. That care and thought was put into all characters, including side characters. Gina, the art teacher, was just as fully formed as Ravi and Yael. And because of that, the characters were really relatable even if their specificities may not match your own. While I am not bipolar, Yael’s feelings of being too much or needing to hide her mental health condition to be lovable were so real, relatable, and impactful that my heart broke for her (and for myself and for anyone else who feels that way). I feel like this book will speak to a lot of people in a really important way.

Ravi and Yael are also 🔥🔥🔥. Their chemistry via text and email is sweet and vulnerable and their chemistry in person, once they sort out the grudge holding and snipping at each other, is HOTTTTTT. The spice scenes were great for progressing their relationship and were well written but (most importantly), they were 🥵🥵🥵.

I also love reading texts and emails in books and this one captures that tension of Yael or Ravi being more open and honest virtually but then feeling embarrassed for possible oversharing. Those minutes or hours that passed between messages were agony and it was so real that I had a visceral, PTSD reaction to it.

My only complaint is that the ending felt rushed. We wrapped up a complex situation pretty quickly and then we were on to the epilogue and I would have loved to see more of them as a couple. I also selfishly would have read more of this book too.

Thank you St.Martin’s Press for providing the ARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: October 21, 2025

A refreshing, heartfelt, modern spin on You’ve Got Mail, this story swaps chat rooms for podcasts, freelance gigs, and queer teen book clubs, and I was hooked. The banter is top-tier, the characters feel real and relatable, and the mental health representation is handled with care and authenticity.

This romance embraces the messiness of love, highlighting growth, forgiveness, and plenty of swoon-worthy moments. It’s beautifully written, emotionally satisfying, and just plain good. Libraries over bookstores, always.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review of my own volition.

I loved this book!

I'm a sucker for a two-person love triangle and the romance-online/enemies-offline trope. Isn't It Obvious did this in the best way.

Yael and Ravi (and all the side characters) felt well-developed with full lives lived outside of what was shown on the page. Their confusion over their internet identities made perfect sense and didn't feel forced, like it often does. Their in-person enmity (mostly on Yael's part) felt realistic and their chemistry as they started to fall for each other was sizzling.

I loved all the representation in this book. Two main characters of color, one from a different country, complicated family dynamics, mental illness, queerness, LIBRARIES! Katz wrote all these aspects with a tender and compassionate hand and didn't shy away from the sometimes ugly realities that the characters faced. Both the stakes and the romance felt so real.

This book sort of snuck up on me in the best way. I quickly fell in love with all the characters. It was emotional, grounded, and nuanced. Highly recommend.

4.5⭐️ rounded down. Thank you to netgalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced e-copy of this upcoming October release.

This is the arc I received this year that I was most excited about! I couldn’t wait to dive in as I love hidden identity behind text/emails. There wasn’t as much of this aspect of the story as I was anticipating but I still loved it anyway!

Ravi and Yael have amazing chemistry irl and online and as their connection grows, the chemistry ramps up. I did not love that all of their connections start virtually simultaneously but their connection(s) more than made up for that aspect I didn’t like. Loved the side characters even though we don’t get too deep with many of them- they’re a heartwarming cast of characters who bring humour to the story.

This was my first read from Rachel and I definitely plan to read more from them.