Romance Book Review: The Intimacy Experiment | Rosie Danan

A rabbi and a porn star walk into a romance novel…

Author Rosie Danan’s book The Intimacy Experiment features a supporting character from her prior book, The Roommate. Naomi Grant is a former porn star with an advanced degree who has evolved her career away from sex work and towards co-leading a successful sex-positive online platform called Shameless.

With her background, Naomi knows she can be a voice for helping people embrace sex positivity and improve how they engage in intimacy. Her approach is all about empowerment and seeing sex as more than just an act, but a part of having a fulfilling experience.

After applying at different colleges and universities to teach a course on this subject, Naomi is met with a series of rejections due to her very public career as an adult performer. However, Naomi’s career may have a new opportunity when she meets Ethan Cohen at a professional conference.

Ethan is a young rabbi at a Los Angeles synagogue who is looking to increase membership and engagement through new, more modern programming. His synagogue has an older congregation currently and he hopes to bring in younger members to keep it afloat. When he hears Naomi speaking about her work in sex education, he offers her to teach a lecture series on modern intimacy at his synagogue.

Naomi is initially reluctant. She hasn’t regularly attended synagogue since her bat mitzvah, but this course seems like a great way to show what she can do and reconnect with Judaism in her daily life. As the lecture series goes on, life imitates art as Ethan and Naomi have their own exploration of the stages of intimacy.

Meanwhile the lecture series gains traction in the community, but it doesn’t do so without controversy. Many of the older and more traditional members feel that Naomi Grant’s series is damaging the reputation of their shul. Ethan is put in a tenuous position, as he is encouraged to cut ties with Naomi.

This was such a refreshing entry in the romance genre, with the themes of traditional versus modern faith and the role of sex positivity and intimacy in what was typically a place discussion of those topics could be taboo.

Naomi and Ethan’s relationship is steaming hot, but I also liked that there was a strong emotional and mental connection between them as well. It reinforced the work Naomi was doing perfectly, though at times it did interfere with the pacing of their love story.

I loved the heavy emphasis on Judaism throughout the book. I learned a lot and I enjoyed seeing a different take on faith in romance than the more standard Christian or even Muslim books that I’ve read. Naomi is a strong leading character and carried her half of the story perfectly. Ethan was smart, compassionate, and thoughtful. It sounded strange at first to have a Rabbi as a lead in a romance book (or any faith leader) but I actually loved it.

I was hesitant to pick this up because I thought The Roommate was a bit too heavy on the steam for me, but this one had much more balance with the plot, character development, and relationship. I found the story clever and engaging to read. The audiobook narrators were well-suited to the story.

An all-around good book that is worth the read!

About the Book | Goodreads

Naomi and Ethan will test the boundaries of love in this provocative romance from the author of the ground-breaking debut, The Roommate.

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.

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About the Author | Rosie Danan

Rosie Danan is the award-winning, bestselling author of The Roommate, The Intimacy Experiment, and the upcoming Do Your Worst. Her work has been optioned for film as well as translated into 9 different languages and counting. The New York Times describes her writing as “warmly funny and gorgeously sexy.”

When not working on her next book, 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.

To receive first look updates on Rosie’s books as well as bimonthly musings on savoring the good stuff, looking respectfully 👀, and building a creative practice that embraces unapologetic striving, subscribe to her newsletter: https://rosiedanan.substack.com