The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan @rosiedanan @BerkleyRomance @BerkleyPub

Posted March 30, 2021 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 26 Comments

Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan @rosiedanan @BerkleyRomance @BerkleyPubThe Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan
Published by Berkley on April 6, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Naomi Grant has built her life around going against the grain. After the sex-positive start-up she cofounded becomes an international sensation, she wants to extend her educational platform to live lecturing. Unfortunately, despite her long list of qualifications, higher ed won't hire her.

Ethan Cohen has recently received two honors: LA Mag named him one of the city's hottest bachelors and he became rabbi of his own synagogue. Taking a gamble in an effort to attract more millennials to the faith, the executive board hired Ethan because of his nontraditional background. Unfortunately, his shul is low on both funds and congregants. The board gives him three months to turn things around or else they'll close the doors of his synagogue for good.

Naomi and Ethan join forces to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy, the perfect solution to their problems--until they discover a new one--their growing attraction to each other. They've built the syllabus for love's latest experiment, but neither of them expected they'd be the ones putting it to the test.

I loved The Roommate so I decided to continue the Roommate series. The primary character is Naomi Grant who was Josh’s partner when they were porn stars. I could imagine how much more difficult it is to be a female sex performer.  I appreciated getting Naomi’s history of how she ended up in the business and all her feelings and life choices.  While The Intimacy Experiment is flirty and funny, it also covers deeper topics.

Just as Josh moved on to be a sex therapist,  Naomi has developed a website called Shameless.  It has a few different subscription levels and provides sex education.  With the website very successful, now she wants to move forward with live lectures.  Since higher education doesn’t seem very interested, she attends a conference hoping to make some personal connections with them, but she receives a teaching offer from a Jewish synagogue to teach a course.  Ethan, the rabbi, is unusual in his youth and good looks.

We get a bit of Ethan’s point of view.  The board has given him just three months to revitalize the membership (which doesn’t seem very realistic to me). He doesn’t want to take members from established shuls, but instead to  reconnect with younger members who aren’t practicing.  So he wants to offer something younger and more modern at the community center.

The Modern Intimacy course is brilliant. It touches on so many great concepts and feelings. I appreciated the idea that while intimacy is naturally part of sex, the intimacy is about trust and connection and does not have to include sex.  Of course, the board hates it, because sex and some of them are stuffy.  Of course, Ethan and Naomi are attracted. They both have some issues to sort through along with some personal learning and growth.  I loved the emotional journey and thought-provoking perspectives.

About Rosie Danan

Rosie Danan writes steamy, big-hearted books, articles, and tweets about the trials and triumphs of modern love.

The New York Times calls Rosie Danan’s debut novel, THE ROOMMATE “a book about people expanding into their best possible selves…warmly funny and gorgeously sexy.” The rom-com has been optioned for film, and a companion book THE INTIMACY EXPERIMENT is forthcoming April 6, 2021 in both the US and UK.

After participating in the writing mentorship program Pitch Wars as a 2018 mentee, she was thrilled to rejoin the organization as a 2019 and 2020 mentor.

When not writing, Rosie enjoys jogging slowly to fast music, petting other people’s dogs, and competing against herself in rounds of Chopped using the miscellaneous ingredients occupying her fridge.

As an American expat currently living in London, she’s developed an incurable fondness for electric kettles.

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Posted March 30, 2021 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 26 Comments


26 responses to “The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan

  1. I didn’t pick up the last book because it’s hard to picture it being a viable romance when one of the parties is in porn. I’d have a hard time dating someone with that job, because I’m sure jealousy would drive me nuts. So, yeah, hard to picture it. Sounds like an interesting premise here. I might like this set up. Glad to hear you enjoyed both books. Fab review, Anne. 🙂

  2. Jen

    Another winner! I really wish I’d picked up the first book. There’s still time before she gets too many more written!!

  3. I have The Roommate on kindle (surprise surprise! haven’t read it yet) but I love the sound of this one too… All the reviews are bumping it up the TBR but I’m such a mood reader who knows when I’ll actually read either!