There's feel good romance and then there's books like this which are more feel A LOT romances. Helen Hoang writes in a similar vein. (I suspect that this is a book that, if one dialed down the level of spice, would be shelved in a totally different genre as a coming of age story or an exploration of pain and self in the art world. Fortunately, however, this book absolutely ranks on the scoville steaminess scale.)
On the heels of me complaining, loudly, about an absence of well-written Jews in romance novels, this was an absolute gift. First of all, this book does the important thing which is realizing that a Jewish character is an anomaly and you need a whole cast of us and, second of all, portraying the wide range of Jewishness and the ways that people relate differently and that no cultures are monolithic. (This book knows about the existence of Open Orthodoxy!) And also the way Lee uses photography and the description of the photos to frame the numinous - that Ely's spiritual experiences are captured and reflected on the film but also the moments she chooses to capture direct the reader's gaze towards Jews in particular having spiritual experiences.
Also shoutout to whoever was responsible for finding a narrator who could not only pronounce Hebrew, but also who did the range of New York Jewish voices so well.
All of which elides every other thing this book decided to talk about, including addiction and a nuanced portrayal of twelve step programs and power dynamics in relationships.

I also really appreciated the way that Lee had the characters talk about the different ways families fracture and that Ely's struggles impacted her family in a way that Wyatt's just didn't and that's part of what healing looks like.

This book was intense but in a good way. Just like its protagonist.