Bubbling up with Helena

• Title: Isn’t It Obvious
• Author: Rachel Runya Katz
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
• Release Date: 10/21/25
• Genre: Romance
• Age Range: Adult
• Rating: ★★★★★
• Publisher’s Summary: After a meet-disaster, a podcaster and her producer fall in love over email without realizing they know (and hate) each other in real life. When high school librarian Yael’s secret podcast starts to take off, she decides to hire Kevin, a remote freelance editor/producer so she can manage juggling her mental health, day job, and the queer teen book club she’s been hosting at school after hours. To maintain her anonymity, they communicate strictly via email and Kevin only knows her by her podcast persona, Elle. Little does Yael know that Kevin, who in real life goes by his middle name, Ravi, is the same man she tore apart for climbing out of her bedroom window after a one night stand with her roommate, Charlie. And she certainly never expects him to show up to volunteer at her book club. In person, Yael and Ravi clash until their sparks turn into something more. Over email, Elle and Kevin are starting to fall hard when they decide to keep things strictly professional. But when Ravi discovers the truth, will keeping it a secret mean the end of everything he’s built with Yael/Elle? And what happens when she finds out? Will they fall twice as hard, or cut ties in more ways than one?

Rachel Lynn Solomon recommended Thank You For Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz at a book event I went to last year, and I am so glad she did. It was moving and thoughtful, and one of those reads that sticks with you after you are done reading. I felt the same way about Isn’t It Obvious.

First of all, let’s talk about the way the two main characters meet. Ravi and Yael meet when Ravi is sneaking out of Yael’s apartment after spending the night with her roommate. A meet cute? Not so much. A brilliant start to a story? Absolutely. It set up such an interesting tension between them. As a loyal roommate and friend, Yael is obligated to hate Ravi, but she finds herself slowly warming up to him as he volunteers at her afterschool queer book club.

First of all, I wish Yael’s podcast was real. As a former English teacher who taught books like 1984 and The Great Gatsby, I would love to listen to a podcast where a queer woman of color takes down dead white men’s literary work. Does a podcast like this actually exist? If so, please tell me.

I love good use of dramatic irony, and Katz does it so well here. The reader knows that Yael and Elle are the same person and that Kevin and Ravi are the same person, but the characters do not. The tension is built up so well to the moment where “Elle” and “Kevin” have to meet in person. (I won’t say anything else to avoid spoilers). It is so fun to read the difference in the way Yael and Ravi interact at book club and how “Elle” and “Kevin” email and text one another. It is so well done.

Jewish representation is very important to me, and I love a Jewish main character in a romance novel. This one is even more special because it features a Jew of color. Jews of color absolutely exist, but they seem to be forgotten about and not talked about enough, and Yael addresses that issue. She tells Kevin in an email that, “I’ve had some pretty negative experiences in Jewish spaces because I don’t look Eastern European (or at least my Eastern European features are not my most obvious ones.” Her words are an important reminder of the harm of making assumptions about people based on appearance.

Isn’t It Obvious features a straight-passing relationship between two queer people, which feels so important. Biphobia is real as is the erasure of bisexual people from queer spaces. Ravi shares with Yael that he experienced homophobia in Trinidad where he grew up even from his own father. Yael shares her very different experience growing up with two queer parents. Stories like this are so important, and I am thrilled Katz is telling them.

Probably because I’m a new mom, but I’ve been loving romance novels where children feature prominently lately. Ravi’s relationship with his niece, Mia, is so sweet. He sacrifices a lot and even moves across the country when his niece’s mother decides to leave and move to Europe. I loved the little details like how Mia insists on Ravi sitting on the toilet next to her during her bathtime. It made me smile and emphasizes what a kind and caring person Ravi is.

I also love that Katz put in a little Easter egg for readers of her other books. Ravi’s niece watches Youtube videos made by Liyah, the main character in Thank You For Sharing. It’s a blink and you’d miss it moment, but it made me smile as someone who loved Thank You For Sharing as well.

I highly recommend you pick up any of Katz’s work. They are romance novels that deal with serious and real issues like mental illness, race, and sexuality thoughtfully while also being lighthearted and funny at times. I have already purchased a copy of Isn’t It Obvious, and I look forward to reading it again.