I loved The Intimacy Experiment even better than the first book! A hot rabbi meets an ex-pornstar turned businesswoman and proposition her...to give a lecture on Modern Intimacy to attract congregants for his synagogue.

Naomi is portrayed as a badass, business b*#ch in The Intimacy Experiment, and in this book, we get a look at her vulnerable side. We see Naomi trying to connect with her faith and how she's seen as someone who's not "Jew" enough. Along the way of Naomi's seminar at the synagogue, Naomi and our hot Rabbi Ethan grow closer together, and of course, it's not without consequences.

Overall, it's a beautiful, heartwarming, and emotional book where Naomi and Ethan teach us that we can't define love and intimacy, that we have got to love ourselves and our creation/work like we love others, shamelessly.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher Little Brown for letting me read this copy in advance for an honest review. I loved every second I spent with Naomi and Ethan, I am not one for reading a lot off romance novels but I definitely enjoyed this one, especially their dynamic with each other. The whole will they wont they kept me reading on and immersing myself into their story. The unexpected way their relationship turned to the way Naomi found herself going back to her faith and how her confidence in the seminars unfolded was a joy to read.

This is a perfect heartwarming read which has provided a great escape. I love how this has been written and cannot wait to read more by this author.

Unfortunately not as engaging for me as The Roommate, The Intimacy Experiment was still a quick and fun read. I really liked Naomi and Ethan, their banter was funny and the sexual tension was great - I just felt like there was a lot that was missed out on this one, though I couldn't really put my finger on why?

All in all a fun follow up to The Roommate, and the little glimpses we got of Clara and Josh were awesome too.

The storyline heavily explored Judaism and obviously, the modern intimacy and the link between the two. While sometimes I felt it hit the perfect amount of each with a balance, sometimes it did focus more on the prior.

Still a great read, really enjoyed the character developments.

I didn't think I'd love this as much as the first book but I was so wrong. I love Naomi so so much, she is so strong and badass but I also liked how we got to see her weaker side. The vulnerable side with the trauma she has been through, it was well written to show even the strongest of people struggle sometimes. I just really loved and felt so inspired by this book.

Naomi Grant is a well-known adult entertainer who created her own business to teach sex-positivity. She wants to go into lecturing but no schools will hire her. Ethan is a young rabbi who needs to attract new people to his synagogue. He decides to hire Naomi to provide lectures on modern intimacy in the hopes that this will attract younger members of the community. They soon discover that they are attracted to one another but can their relationship work?

I haven't read The Roommate where our main character is introduced but I was intrigued by the premise for this book so decided to pick it up. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. There was quite a lot going in this story. I felt that the characters didn't get to spend that much time together so whilst they were attracted to each other I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between the two characters. I would have had liked to have seen more development of their relationship and see them spend more time together.

Overall this was an ok read for me. Naomi and Ethan are sadly not a new favourtie couple for me.

So much fun. I really loved the examination of whether religion and sex positivity can coexist. Steamy - surprisingly so considering it involves a rabbi, but not as steamy as you might expect given that our heroine is a former adult performer - but also a look at community and service. I liked it so much I went back to read The Roommate (the previous book in the series) first straight after.

Now if you've read the Roommate first, you're probably going to find this a little lower on the heat scale - but hello, the hero is a rabbi and the actual plot doesn't centre around sex in the same way that The Roommate does - it's examining intimacy and relationships and what they look like in the modern world.

This was such an enjoyable romance read! I really loved Naomi and Ethan. I love their personalities and that they've got their own separate thing they're passionate about. I also really enjoyed the romance aspect. Their dynamic is pretty much like sunshine (Ethan) and grump (Naomi) which is one of my favorite romance tropes!! Naomi is used to keeping people at arm's length and has trust issues resulting from something that happened to her back in high school. It was so sweet seeing her form a friendship with Ethan that eventually turns into something more once she let her guard down enough to let him in her life.

The Intimacy Experience
Rosie Danan
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I read the first book the roommate and loved it.This is the second book And this book just overwhelmed me with joy. It a funny heart warming book with great characters you enjoy. The writing style I love great chemistry between characters. Like a slow burn romance as well.

The Intimacy Experiment - Rosie Danan

I liked the fact that the book is driven by a strong female lead and how the two main figures bring out the best in each other. I really wanted to love it, but I felt that I warmed to the characters more in the authors other book The Roommate and I personally preferred that book to this one but as you can see from all the raving reviews I am definitely in the minority with this.

Naomi Grant is a sex expert and she wants to share that knowledge with people. The only problem is that no one will hire her. Enter Ethan Cohen a very attractive rabbi. After an immediate attraction Ethan risks it all by asking Naomi to help him draw in a younger crowd to the synagogue, much to the disgust of the board. But it's a do or die situation as they are threatening to close it down if they can't increase the footfall.

As they begin the teachings they slowly fall in love with one another.

I enjoyed this a lot and can't wait to see where the 'series' may go next! I did personally prefer The Roommate but that is my own preference.

Headlines:
Faith & Intimacy
Rabbi & Naomi
Refreshingly sweet & deep

I liked Naomi in The Roommate but it was a mild interest. In The Intimacy Experiment, Naomi’s character was slowly evolving and revealed. She kept that hard, successful shell but there was more to her.

It cannot be escaped that what made this book so great was the idea of a Rabbi and an ex-sex worker. But it’s so much more than that, there were deeper themes of faith and intimacy that I found really poignant. I do have a faith, but I’m not Jewish. I have scoured reviews to find some own voices take on how the reform Jewish perspective was conveyed but I can’t find any. I really enjoyed that aspect but I will continue to look out for own voices reviews.

“It’s simpler than that. I want to give people a reason to believe. In themselves, each other, and something more.”

There was a softness to this book that gave me something more to feed my reading soul. The vulnerabilities and honesty of both main characters really hit the spot for me. Ethan especially had such a kind and genuine soul, his lack of judgement but also his humanity really drew me into the story. I highlighted so many lines, bits of dialogue, inner monologue that just hit the gut with me. I will forever think of “the cuddling incident”.

The Intimacy Experiment brought a fresh take to this year’s contemporary romance and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I can’t wait to read more from Rosie Danan.

Thank you to Piatkus for the review copy.

This book was just not for me. I love a rom com, and I’m able to suspend my disbelief in shaky/unbelievable set ups, but I found this one a bit much. To me, the entire reason why Ethan and Naomi start spending time together makes no sense, in such a way that I struggled to ignore it.

On top of this, I found the whole thing a bit clunky and a bit boring. I didn’t find it funny and I didn’t find the characters very well developed. However, I do think it’s interesting that it included less common elements than you would usually see in this genre - there was a lot about religion. I think this book could be loved by some people, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me unfortunately.

I haven’t read the first book in the series so I had no idea who Naomi was. As usual, I love going blind into stories, especially romance books and I was intrigued after the first chapter that I had to read the whole book in one sitting.

Maybe it’s the different kind of story that involves two opposite attracts that got me so hooked or just the writing style, I have no idea but I did enjoy it all.

These two are so different in so many ways, never have I thought they could work together, but that’s the beauty of it all, they both worked along to demonstrate that it’s not all about other people’s conceptions and what the society is expecting or calling it a norm, it’s all about what they felt and lived while staying truth to their beliefs.

Full of chemistry and great banter, this unusual story is definitely a must read for all romance lovers that are looking for something new that pushes boundaries and fulfilling their heart with a well deserved happily ever after.

So much fun! Really enjoyed this, strong female character driven!

I enjoyed the layers to this story, it shows that we aren’t always the person we portray online.

This book follows Naomi an ex-pornstar who now owns a very successful start up educating people on all things sex and pleasure & Ethan a young Rabbi looking to get more people to his synagogue. Naomi wants to turn her hand to teaching people about sex & relationships, so between them they come up with a series of seminars on modern intimacy. Naomi is a bad bitch, she has dealt with a lot of criticism and exclusion due to her career path but due to that she has become mean and built up barriers - is Ethan the one to break down these barriers?

I mean a Rabbi & an ex-pornstar can you get more unconventional than that? Naomi won me over straight away, a woman who knows what she wants and goes for it? I’m in. However seeing her develop and understand letting people in isn’t always a recipe for pain and hurt really resonated with me. I loved the content of the seminars it really made me think about my approach to dating and relationships. Ethan as a love interest, wow, he really accepted her for who she was and defended her. I loved how in a scene where a guy disrespected her he really tried to talk him round - asking the guy if he’d make Bruce Willis walk over broken glass for his entertainment because he did it in die hard? Isn’t that the same as asking an ex-pornstar to show her tits ‘because everyone had already seen them’. They bought out the best in each other in the most unconventional ways - I loved it.

If you like strong women, an unconventional love story and a bit of spice - this ones for you!

The follow up to The Roommate, The Intimacy Experiment follows Naomi who we met in book one and Ethan, a Rabbi at a struggling synagogue. I liked Naomi in book one, I thought Ethan was great and there were also some fun side characters.

However, I have mixed feelings on The Intimacy Experiment and ultimately I was left a little disappointed by it. I liked the premise and exploration of religion. Parts of it were sweet and funny too, although it seemed like the pacing was off. Some parts dragged and seemed to be included just for the sake of it and without adding any value and towards the end it felt rushed. I also don’t think we saw enough of Naomi and Ethan as a couple or together having that kind of discussion. Naomi was almost a different person to how she was in the first book as well and it seemed jarring at times.

In spite of what I’ve said above, I don’t think it is a bad book at all and I still enjoyed Danan’s writing style. I will definitely read more books by her, this just fell a little short. (Also this book is definitely a slow burn, which isn’t a bad thing, but be warned that it isn’t the same as in The Roommate!)

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

I absolutely loved this read. It was intelligent, witty, and full of plenty of relationship advice. The steamy scenes weren't cringey and really stayed true to the characters.

The only reason this wasn't a five star for me was because it was a little predictable but I still thoroughly enjoyed!

Two Very Different Lives, Will Love Conquer All? 🤔

Naomi Grant a sex educator, runs a website Shameless, endeavoring to get work face to face teaching but currently to no avail. After giving a talk at a conference, Naomi is offered a proposition that surprises even her... to give a seminar on modern intimacy at a local synagogue.

Rabbi Ethan Cohen is endeavoring to increase his attendance numbers and is wanting to try something different to get some younger additions amongst them back into his synagogue.

A different story of finding love, two very different characters to your normal romance, steamy in places. Overall a good easy read.