The Intimacy Experiment

4.5 stars — This one surprised me with how much I loved it. Both narrators were new for me, but I enjoyed them both. They had great pacing, great emotions, and pretty good distinct voices. Mr. Griffith nailed Ethan’s kindness and occasional innocence. Ms. McKenna NAILED Naomi’s dryness, and the balance between her hard edges and her soft underbelly. Ethan was a dream book boyfriend for me. So genuinely kind and caring, and open and non-judgmental. Not without his flaws for sure, but all his goodness overcame those for me. He was terrible at communication sometimes, and he let his hesitations give the wrong impressions. But oh god…if I had the ebook, I would have been highlighting freaking everything he said. He said the most beautiful things to Naomi, and I was so happy that she had someone who could see *her*. I was worried I wasn’t going to love Naomi, because she’s so sharp and protected. But Ms. Danan did a great job of showing us why she is the way she is, and how its worked for her. And we got to watch someone get under her walls and make her risk her heart again. I loved that it wasn’t just Ethan that was opening her up though — she was growing already on her own. With some help from Josh and Clara, but also just pursuing learning and opening herself up to new experiences. I felt so many emotions in this one. I mean, I laughed so hard at some moments, and cried at others. I ached watching Naomi open her heart and sometimes get bitten by it. I wanted the two of them to work so freaking badly I ached. They seriously just complemented each other so well. They are the quintessential opposites attract, where they actual love and appreciate the things about the other person that makes them different from themselves. The steamy scenes were definitely great, but I think it was the other intimate moments that truly sold me on the two of them as a couple Lots of great secondary characters, I adored the wide range of folks attending the seminar and the crazy characters at Ethan’s shul. And of course Josh and Clara make their appearance. And then there’s Ethan’s family. His sister Leah cracked me up. I think I actually loved this one even more than The Roommate. There was something just so emotional in it…something magical.