I was completely sold on her from this line in the first few pages: But of course the connection builds and builds until it boils over. Naomi puts a lot of effort into resisting her attraction to him because she believes that as a former porn performer she would only cause problems for Ethan if they got involved.

The chemistry between Naomi and Ethan is OFF THE CHARTS right out the gate. At a conference on education, she meets Ethan, an unconventional (and very hot) Rabbi who wants her to teach a course on relationships and intimacy connected to his synagogue in the hopes of attracting Jewish people who are not currently practicing much. Naomi has a master’s in psychology and wants to try her hand teaching on human sexuality and relationships, but is having trouble finding any “serious” institutional setting that will let her teach. She is still running Shameless (bascially a sexy adult sex-ed online subscription) with Clara, the heroine of the The Roommate.

Naomi Grant, who had a major role as Josh’s ex-girlfriend and fellow porn performer in the first book, is the heroine here. (The ending was a bit of a clunker for me, but we’ll get to that later). Both the main romance and the individual journeys of the main characters were quite beautiful, and I loved this book almost the entire way through. The romance pairs a badass ice queen heroine with a sweet beta hero. The story touches on themes of sex work stigma and sex positivity, religious practice and faith, and modern intimacy. (As a note, you probably don’t need to read The Roommate to understand this book, although it was fun to see the main characters from The Roommate make several appearances here.)īITCHERY! This book was so emotionally raw, funny, hot, and moving. I have a lot to say on this one! Prepare yourself for a long review. My latest contemporary read was The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan, a companion novel to The Roommate. I’ve said this on the site before, but during the pandemic, I’ve gotten more into contemporary romance, mostly because people getting to do things like attend in-person gatherings, see movies and plays, and eat at restaurants seems sexy and novel.

Archetype: Escort/Courtesan/Sex Worker, Jewish

The intimacy experiment by rosie danan