The Intimacy Experiment

"The Intimacy Experiment is the most unique romance I have read this year, and this is due entirely to Rosie Danan’s impressive command of her characters, their voices, and their humanity. In this slow-burning, opposites-attract romance between two unlikely lovers—a cynical former sex performer and a forward-thinking young rabbi—Danan weaves a glorious blending canvas of faith, love, sex, and personal identity, making the reader truly believe that love conquers all. The soft shimmering sensuality of her voice is intoxicating, subtle, yet bold in the way she makes the reader feel each tantalising increment of desire between the characters. But it is her ability to give them genuine emotional depth and complexity that leaves a lovely, lingering effect long after we close this book. Every book on this list deserves the top spot for best romance book of 2021. But if I had to pick only one of them to take with me to a desert island, that book would be Broken French by Tasha Boyd because, at a time when the pandemic was raging just outside our doors and one would have a panic attack just going to the grocery store, this story transported us to the sparkling blue waters of the French Riviera with a searingly passionate romance that made us escape real life for a little while. Part of our best books of 2021 series."