By day, Yael is a rule-following high school librarian. By night, she's “Elle,” the anonymous voice behind a popular queer literary podcast. But keeping her double life in balance is getting harder, so at her best friend's urging, she hires an editor—Kevin—to handle the technical side of things. What she doesn’t know? Kevin is actually Ravi, her roommate’s charming one-night stand… and the annoyingly attractive new volunteer at her after-school LGBTQ+ book club.

Ravi has no idea the mysterious, whip-smart Elle he’s been emailing is actually Yael, the buttoned-up librarian who seems to glare at him every time he speaks. As their online messages start to blur the line between professional and personal, sparks also start flying in real life—though neither of them realizes just how close they’ve already gotten.

Caught in a tangled web of secret identities, slow-burning attraction, and forced proximity, Yael and Ravi are heading straight for a collision. Will the truth blow everything up—or will it finally give them a shot at something real?

This book was an enjoyable read with strong queer representation and characters that felt authentic and relatable. The writing did a great job of capturing the characters’ emotions, making it easy to connect with their journey.

That said, the pacing felt a bit slow at times. I found myself waiting for Yael and Ravi to realize they were emailing each other, and the delay in that reveal started to feel a little drawn out—with less emotional payoff than I’d hoped for.

Still, I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy queer romance, especially fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope. Despite some pacing issues, it’s a heartfelt story with great representation and solid romantic tension.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Liked this a lot. Thought Yael and Ravi had good chemistry, and loved all the friends, family, and community in the book

When high school librarian Yael’s secret podcast starts to take off, she decides to hire Kevin, a remote freelance editor/producer so she can manage juggling her mental health, day job, and the queer teen book club she’s been hosting at school after hours. To maintain her anonymity, they communicate strictly via email and Kevin only knows her by her podcast persona, Elle. Little does Yael know that Kevin, who in real life goes by his middle name, Ravi, is the same man she tore apart for climbing out of her bedroom window after a one night stand with her roommate, Charlie. And she certainly never expects him to show up to volunteer at her book club. In person, Yael and Ravi clash until their sparks turn into something more. Over email, Elle and Kevin are starting to fall hard when they decide to keep things strictly professional. But when Ravi discovers the truth, will keeping it a secret mean the end of everything he’s built with Yael/Elle? And what happens when she finds out? Will they fall twice as hard, or cut ties in more ways than one?

Thoughts

This is was a cute read. Reminiscent of You’ve Got Mail but without the bookstore competition. This book hits on diversity, queerness, mental health and more and it did so without being too heavy. I really enjoyed both main characters and loved how all these topics and storylines were woven together.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this ARC!

I liked this! It is such an earnest story with a sweet romance and casual cultural, lgbtq+, and mental health references.

Isn’t It Obvious? follows Yael and Ravi who have an unconventional meet-cute that leads them
to dislike each other in real life while also unknowingly falling in love online when working together under aliases on Yael’s podcast, which she keeps secret to protect her job as a school librarian. However, when Ravi unintentionally signs up as a volunteer helper for Yael’s queer teen book club, the tension between them turns into something new. Yael and Ravi then deal with their personal struggles and the pull they feel toward their in person and online peer- but what will happen when the truth comes out?

I really liked that real queer books were referenced in this. I immediately thought that this book club would be such an amazing thing to have in real life, and by using real titles in this, it makes it feel more realistic and the reader feel included. I also enjoyed our characters, including Yael, Ravi, and the side characters. I found the change of perspectives a little confusing, as it was kind of abrupt and busy, but as the story went on I felt that I understood it better.

Overall, I enjoyed this! If you are looking for a heartfelt and diverse romance, this one is for you!


*I will post on my social closer to pub date and add link

SOOOOOO good !!!! i absolutely devoured reading this book. from the very first page to the very end of the reading lists it was so well done! diversity, inclusion, complex characters, LGBTQIA+, and deeper discussions on international mindsets of the former commentary! i loved every single detail of this book! no notes! all praise!

This is a fantastic book.
It has wonderful queer representation that feels natural and not forced or over explained. It seamlessly incorporates mental health, cultural differences, queer stories, family struggles, and hot sexy flirty fun?? Incredible. The pacing is perfect, the writing is engaging and heartfelt, the characters are so deeply lovable, and there is a perfect ratio of sexy to serious. I had a great time reading this.

What’s obvious is how much I loved this book! I was kicking my feet and grinning ear to ear throughout Yael and Ravi’s story. These main characters were so loveable and had realistic flaws that only made me love and root for them even more (side characters were also wonderful!). I want to be friends with Yael and I wish the podcast was real. And I’m maybe in love with Ravi. I’ll be picking up more of @rachelrunyakatz work!

I binged this romance book. It was cute and funny with a lot of heart. Our two main characters are very diverse and relatable and I felt invested in them as people. There was lots of mental health representation which was well done in my opinion, and lots of everyday issues that these two characters needed to work through. I loved the setting of this novel, especially the school library and how the characters interacted with the queer book club teens. It felt very positive and lovingly written. I think the author put a lot of care into the book and making readers feel safe and comfortable. I really appreciated getting an opportunity to read this and feel safe and comforted while doing so.

Yael: public school librarian, runs a queer teen book club, podcasts on books that *should* be banned (she is highly opinionated), searches for the right antipsychotic. Ravi: part-Trinidadian social media designer and tech wizard who uprooted his life to help his brother care for his young daughter. The opening scene in the book? Where the two “sort of” meet? Masterfully done and priceless.

It’s a mix of “you’ve got mail” and “enemies to lover” tropes immersed in a multi-racial, queer, social media saturated situation. Great dialog, fun epistolary (email based) segments that perfectly recreate the excitement of slowly emerging emotions, interesting characters who are both completely foreign to me and surprisingly relatable and likable. I enjoyed getting to know them, though I doubt I would have had any opportunity to do so in real life.

I liked that the book felt like a story, not an agenda. The characters spent more time trying to make things better and not being confrontational and argumentative (although snide comments were obviously both allowed and encouraged). I liked the phrase “competency crush,” which I hadn’t heard before (but which I have a lot of). I generally enjoyed it and picked up several new ways of looking at things.

BUT — some bizarre (to me) nasty asides about a couple of my favorites. Ray Bradbury racist and homophobic? I’ve read everything the man has ever written and can’t think of anything that would earn him those epithets. The author of the Five Love Languages? The ONLY self-help book I’ve found illuminating and helpful? Katz writes: “the guy who wrote the love languages book is actually an intensely conservative Christian, who basically thinks the solution to all marital problems is to conform to gender roles.” I have no idea about Chapman’s background or opinions of gender roles, but there is nothing in the book that suggests Katz’ opinion. For me this smacks of labeling anyone negatively if they don’t completely adhere to your way of thought. Still enjoyed the book, but those barbs hurt and made me wonder at a generation so willing to toss aside a whole person’s work because someone attached an unpopular label on them.

The book had so much potential because I liked the FMC but I just could not stop my brain from thinking about how the MMC and the FMC met. Their entire start is weird. How are you going to be with the guy that just slept with your guy roommate. That’s a weird line to cross no matter how you wrote about it.

This book started strong, funny with an impossible meet cute. It had some great Queer representation from both the FMC and the MMC a long with almost every single side character.
The book shows some complex family dynamics and mental health rep.

With that said, at about 30% through maybe 75% of the book it just dragged. Too many side plots with his family, her friends and then the school and the book club, there’s a lot going on. Also once Charlie was irrelevant to the story he kinda disappears for half the book .

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher at St Martin’s press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

This story isn't for me; I just didn't connect with it, and I don't particularly like the characters. At some point, it became boring because it started to drag.

I so wanted to love this but the writing just wasn't my style, also the formatting confused me. I definitely think it will be other people's vibe though!

This book was magical. Hating each other in real life while simultaneously falling in love via email correspondence? SIGN ME UP. I would read this entire book just in emails if I could. I loved the banter and chemistry between Ravi and Yael. They were such well rounded characters that (mostly) had themselves together and yet still managed to grow in so many ways. The subplot of them working together to keep the queer teen book club alive? Top tier. The queer/bi rep? Top tier. Just such a great read.

*Isn't It Obvious?* by Rachel Runya Katz is a sharp and witty romance that explores the complexities of hidden identities and unexpected connections. The story follows Yael, a high school librarian and secret podcaster, who hires Kevin, a freelance editor, to help manage her growing podcast and mental health. What Yael doesn't know is that Kevin is also Ravi, the guy she had a disastrous one-night stand with in the past.

As they begin to fall for each other over email under their podcast personas, their real-life encounters are full of tension and clashing personalities. The chemistry between Yael and Ravi grows, but when the truth about their identities is revealed, they must decide whether to keep their secret or risk ruining everything they've built. With humor, heartfelt moments, and a lot of sparks, *Isn't It Obvious?* is a delightful story about love, forgiveness, and taking chances.

Isn't It Obvious has so much heart, it's unbelievable. Did I want to shake Yael and Ravi multiple times during the story, yes, but I wanted to do it with love. This book echoes a lot of the things I love about You've Got Mail, which is one of my all time favorite movies. As someone who works in a high school, Yael's band of misfits also resonates with me.

This is a definite must-read. The perfect mix of feel good, and hard topics that should be talked about.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
-----
Thanks to NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for mu honest review.

I loved ittttttt. The in-person banter. The heartfelt emails. The tension over both. I just loved it and I love them and I loved the ending (cue me bursting into tears over their duplex and “their family”).

I loved everything about this book. Dual POV, mental health rep, Queer rep, well used side characters, ALL OF IT. The storytelling was impeccable and I fell in love with Yael and Ravi separately and together. One of my favorite uses of the enemies to lovers in conjunction with those same characters falling in love as strangers via writing. I’ve read a few similar set ups recently and this is definitely my favorite!

Hidden identity romance? Sharp banter? Emotional growth wrapped in chaotic meet-cutes and spicy slow burns? Isn’t It Obvious? checked every single box for me and then some. Rachel Runya Katz has crafted a story that’s whip-smart, delightfully messy, and deeply romantic—with characters that feel so real, I half wanted to email them myself.

Yael is the kind of heroine you root for instantly—witty, stubborn, anxious, and fiercely passionate about queer stories and her students. Her dual dynamic with Ravi/Kevin is masterfully done: on email, they’re all vulnerability and connection, while in person, they’re full-on verbal sparring partners with enough chemistry to light up an entire podcast network. The tension? Chef’s kiss. And once the truth threatens to unravel everything, I was glued to the page hoping they’d figure out that sometimes, love is obvious… even when you’re pretending not to see it. Smart, funny, emotionally layered—this book is pure romcom joy.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Yael and Ravi, independently and together, were such rich characters with impressive depth. Their interactions with each other and their respective loved ones were honest, vulnerable, and humorous with consistently strong timing. The tension between their lives online and in real life was well executed. I would recommend this book highly with zero reservations.