An interesting and new story with a fierce protagonist , tamsyn is amazing . I was expecting she would end up with Euan but there were definitely twists and she ended up with Ari. It is a feel good story but it became monotonous after the first half but again at the end it was fun. The banter between all the characters was very hilarious , that undoubtedly deserves appreciation.On the whole it was a good read.

My rating for this book is not quite four stars but not as low as three.
This is the story of Tamsyn, a thirty-something, living in London and dealing with her family, life and love.
This book is a ‘self-discovery’ romance story, the characters are charming, well developed and as flawed as real people.
Whilst not a great deal ‘happens’ throughout the story, we follow our heroine as she faces prejudice, both her own and from others.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was an easy, laid back read that kept me turning the pages and entertained until the end.

Tamsyn Rutman has a chip on her shoulder, and it's not entirely surprising (though it does make her a bit hard to relate to at first, something the men in her life are very much aware of). Her boss at a trade magazine for hoteliers doesn't recognise her talents, preferring to bring in Hugh Grant lookalikes with red trousers and no publishing experience. In her teens, while her friends were out on the town, she was spending Friday nights in with her parents eating dry chicken and watching telly in a not particularly spiritual way. Her increasingly frum cousin Abigail is trying to fix her up with a guy called Ari, her dad is basically Martin Goodman from Friday Night Dinner and her favourite uncle, who truly understands Tamsyn and her brother, is getting steadily older and weaker (also, her boss doesn't understand about shiva because why would he).

I liked Tamsyn's coming to realise that she was hurt more than she originally thought by her first real boyfriend saying she wasn't Jewish enough, and choosing to explore her identity rather than maintaining her uneasy love-hate relationship with it, which confuses Ari and most of her family. I loved this book, and having read many books about Jewish characters and lived in North London for so many years, I know plenty of Yiddish but a couple of words here were unfamiliar to me ('tsedrayte' for example, and also the idea of 'farfel,' which I had to look up - a bit like orzo pasta it seems but toasted? Yum)!

Tamsyn Rutman is at yet another wedding, for yet another cousin. She wouldn't mind - the food's pretty good, the location is fabulous and there's a moderately famous singer crooning away - but what is a Jewish wedding if not the perfect opportunity for the bride to do a bit of matchmaking on behalf of her single, workaholic cousin? Tamsyn's not at the table with her parents and her family, she's sitting next to Ari Marshall.
This is a funny story in parts and I loved Tamsyn as we follow her journey to find love.

I loved this book. Even though I’m not part of any religion or group I could really see myself in Tamsyn. Maybe because her problems are so much part of the current city life we all live. And when I say “we” I mean single ladies in the big city. I truly enjoyed this book and soaked up all the cultural differences.

I had and have some good Jewish friends and was in a long term relationship with a Jew. It was lovely to read about Taken and her family. Remembering things I'd heard and seen in Israel. A great, great read. Highly recommended!!!!!!

Tamsyns family want nothing more than for her to settle down and try and set her up with a nice suitable Jewish man, Ari, at a familiy wedding. She wants to reist her family so much she doesn't give the an a chance, but as their paths continue to cross, she realises he could be the man for her. But by this point they are both dating other people. I felt sorry for the chef she is dating!
Will Tamsyn and Ari have a chance together?

I chose this NetGalley book because it spoke to me of my childhood, and then was astonished at how much the characters in it were my family come to life in a book...
Except that most of my family spoke very little Yiddish in comparison to these.. These were 2 generations or more closer to the ghettos than mine.
So let's look at the similarities:
1. My family also come to England from the White Russian/Polish areas -maybe before those in the book though, as they left in the late 1800s as a result of the ghettos and pogroms happening then. So we had not got family in Europe during the Holocaust luckily;
2. They also went and settled into the East End - all around Bow;
3. Then they all went to live in and around Edgware just before the 2nd World War. Some in the same street, others around the corner.
4. I remember the Jewish shops in Edgware - the fish shop where you could buy gefilte fish ingredients ready chopped and the bagel shops. But our Kosher butcher was at the Green Man shopping parade and he sold the most tasty boiling fowl with lots of egg yolks to put in the soup. Now as for Kneidlach, there were 2 ways if making them - heavy or light, and each of my grandmothers made them the 2 different ways. My preference, and my husband's, is for a middle way. Yes I still make them! But most of the Jewish shops have now gone from Edgware - it is a very sad shopping centre now, the department store has gone and so many of the shops that used to thrive there;
5. And I too went to a Mill Hill synagogue - but a different one from in the book - and Cheder on a Sunday too. But I stayed on for much longer and very nearly got Bat Mitzvahed - the female version of a Bar Mitzvah, which was quite unusual then in an orthodox synagogue. I have several trees in Israel I paid for with my stamps I bought each week at Cheder.
6. And finally I too had friends and relatives who went to Israel and stayed - none went until they were 18 at least though, and most went to spend time in a Kibbutz. Many came back though as the politics became too right wing for them. Once it was full of Ashkenazi now not so much.
7. Oh, and a point about me - I had a DNA test and I am 99% of Jewish origins and 1% Nigerian. I have 3 different strains including one dating back to a tribe in the Middle East from Biblical times.
Now let's talk about the book.
So while yes, it did take me down memory lane, and for me that was fun, I suspect that for many others there was far too much Yiddish and not enough explanation and the glossary at the back was unreadable. The Jewish wedding description only applied to a very Frum event, I don't remember more than one wedding where there were chairs involved let alone ribbons - except on TV. So I think many of the customs were exagerated for effect. Which is both good and bad. And honestly, the whole ending was too trite.
There is also such a difference between the 'tribe' and its customs, and the faith. I believe that I am Jewish because of my tribe, not my faith - I am non-religious - and each sub-tribe - depending on their village and Rabbi in the 16th and 17th centuries, have developed their own versions of the culture and customs. Espcially between the Ashkenazi - the Western European - and the Sefardi - the Eastern Jews. and even practice their faith in different ways too.
I find myself torn in how to characterise this book. Whilst it is clearly a romance - with some humour and tristesse, it is also a book about a dying culture - in terms of the customs practiced. So, did I like it because of my own history and memories brought back to me? Or because of the story? Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion, it is the former and thus without those memories the book would not have struck me as a good read which will limit its appeal.

That Jewish Thing by Amber Crewe is a great novel that is part “coming of age” and part contemporary romance that I really enjoyed.

I really liked the full character cast with this book. The friends and family that are a part of Ari and Tamsyn’s lives are well-developed, complex, and well-ingrained into their lives (whether they want them to be or not lol).

I enjoyed Tamsyn and Ari as well. They had great chemistry and after Tamsyn working through her own issues, questions, and filtering through her own life, she was able to realize it as well.

I loved the inclusion of not only the Jewish faith, but also the culture. A lot of people that haven’t grown up in either/both of these environments do not realize that they are not necessarily one and the same. There were times that I felt like I was hanging out with my own meddling (but well-intentioned) family as I read through the book. And for our non-Jewish friends, the author includes a handy glossary at the end.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Hodder & Stoughton for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately (as of 5/21/21 no BB listing has been created) and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.

I really enjoyed this.

I enjoyed the story itself, meeting Tamsyn and following the romantic side of the book. Give me a hot chef in a velvet jacket any day of the week and I’m there.

This book gave me a real insight into the cultural side of Judaism and how this sits alongside the religious aspects of Judaism (or not). It was interesting to see the different approaches the various characters had to being Jewish and how they were all real and valid depending on how individual choice.

The heart of this book is family. I loved seeing how the main character negotiates the various relationships she has to deal with from those she finds easy to those that are more strained. A special shout out has to go to Uncle Doodle. I loved his outlook on life and the special bond he gad with Tamsyn.