Status Undefined

by Ziv Barzilay

When love turns from vacation fling to IRL romance, are they ready to take the heat?

After a disastrous attempt to come out to his conservative father, Amit leaves his traditional home behind for the sunny beaches of Thailand. Starting over from scratch, he hopes to find the sense of home he’s always been missing.

Daniel, a big-shot travel influencer from New York City with an impressive follower count, arrives in Thailand ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Moving from one exotic destination to the next, he’s focused on forgetting his troubled past and living in the moment.

When shy and social-media-averse Amit is dragged by his obsessed friend Keren to track Daniel down, he isn’t ready to be swept away by his charming and over-the-top personality.
As the two opposites meet, sparks fly. Daniel seizes the opportunity to coax Amit out of his comfort zone and enjoy the present. And Amit is surprised to discover there’s a lot more beneath Daniel’s superficial internet persona.

As things start to become too real, Amit and Daniel are put to the test when one’s need for stability and comfort clashes with the other’s chosen lifestyle of freedom and adventure. With the clock running out on their relationship, can they put aside their differences in time? And is living in the moment still worth it if you’re living it alone?

A heartfelt and wholesome second-chance MM romance, Status Undefined is full of charming banter and endearing characters. Fans of Red White and Royal Blue and Boyfriend Material are sure to fall for Amit and Daniel’s sweet love story.

Genres: LGBT, Contemporary, Queer, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, M M Romance, Travel

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 10, 2025

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating read!
This book starts off light and charming, almost like a sweet romance, but there’s a constant countdown in the background, you just know something’s about to go wrong. That tension keeps you hooked as the story unfolds. Set in Thailand among digital nomads, it gives off a strong sense of freedom, yet slowly shows that freedom isn’t everything in life. It’s not a long novel, but it makes you think and feel deeply with the characters. Highly recommended!

[Yoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! It made me laugh and cry.
One of the best books I've ever read.

[El Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read this year, I loved everything about it!

[Lisa J Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great dual pov story of Amit and Daniel and how they can navigate their new status together. Filled with lots of fun, banter and laughter and great use of modern writing in the LGBTQ+ community as it's theme. Fantastic story, Ziv.

[Michael Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow-such a sweet and enjoyable read. The characters were so relatable and the storyline was compelling. I really felt for both Amit and Daniel on their individual journeys to discover themselves through love.

I highly recommend this.

[Sarah☀️ Somerville · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea and themes but the writing was awkward and the interactions and decision-making weren’t particularly believable.

[s.elle.books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit. It was different than I expected based on the cultural aspects of the book, and there was minimal spice, just steamy kisses. I felt like the plot and character development kept it all together well, and gave me a reason to keep reading.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys low spice MM romances!!

[Tamarae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Status Undefined is a sweet, emotional and honestly relatable MM love story that shows how impactful it can be to connect with someone in a strange place. Amit, who is quietly nursing the wounds of rejection, meets Daniel, a fearless influencer who travels the world and has a lot of charm. Their chemistry, although immediate is just the beginning because their story develops into a connection that is much deeper and much more impactful than one expects.

Ziv Barzilay tells a compelling story about opposites attracting. They mix in humor, laughter, heart break, and so much more. Readers will cheer for Amit and Daniel as they deal with being vulnerable, growing as people, and having the strength to let love change them. This story is ideal for LGBTQ+ and modern romance fans. While amazing, I feel like it was slow in some spots and could have developed a bit more in other spots but still a top notch novel.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Janet Jaramillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Status Undefined 4.5 Stars
Only reason I did not give it 5 is because the first two chapters were kind of hard to follow and I wish the book was longer.

This is however a top tier heartfelt romance where Opposites attract! We meet Amit who moved to Thailand after his military service. There he is adored by a sweet family. Amit has lots paid form back home (parental drama) by the way I don't excuse his mum! Amit meets Daniel a "happy go lucky golden retriever" Daniel is travel influencer living the nomad life.

They start a fast romance Daniel is 100% in Amit is more careful. We later see why both MCs have a lot of layers (why I wish it was a tad longer)

Again heartfelt angsty but also a book with great banter, Amit is a king in sarcastic comebacks :) I would 10/10 recommend and look forward to reading more work from this author!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Status Undefined is a wee gem of joy. Amit and Daniel are wonderful characters and their story is certainly original.
Mostly set in Thailand, the country and culture provide an interesting environment for this story and I learned new things which I always love.
While I enjoyed the book, there is one little thing that prevents me from giving this book 5 stars. And that is the fact that throughout a lot of the book, I felt like I had started reading partway through the book. Like there was a whole lot of background for the characters that had happened somewhere else.
While it didn’t ruin the book for me I did spend a bit of it confused and wondering if I had accidentally skipped over a few pages. This did upset the pace of the story for me.
All in all however, I enjoyed the book

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

STATUS: UNDEFINED isn't a bad book, but it's also not a great one. There is a lot of untapped potential in the story and the characters. Unfortunately, it felt like the author was keeping the reader from getting too close to the characters, even when the characters share some pretty disturbing details from their lives before they met. Is it possible for the characters to be too detached from their own story? I don't know, but I believe that may be the case with Amit and Daniel in this novel.

However, I'd like to see where Amit and Daniel go from here. Is Liam's story coming next? Will we revisit Eli and Naame and Karen (and Sean)?

I received an advance reader copy from the author through BookSirens, for which I thank them. All opinions are mine.

[Katherine Tricker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this started off quite fast paced and I was feeling a lack of direction, but then it settled down and ended up being a beautiful story of finding yourself, and making those tough decisions that are the hardest ones to make in life.

I loved that this was set in Thailand to start and that both characters had a Jewish background. It showed the culture and religion on a level you could take in but choose whether you want to know more. It also makes it different to most romance books I've read for the setting.

I was privileged to receive an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Tamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really way too short for the amount of potential to tell a great story these characters had inside them. They fell in love too fast with not enough tension. Their past traumas were glossed over and all of this made all the tension in the end unearned and unrealistic.

I wanted so much more for these characters and their relationship, both with each other and themselves.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[deborah lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

True Love begins with Self Love
Wow! This book was not at all what I expected. It’s a love story, but it is so much more. Like Santiago in The Alchemist, Daniel and Amit must take a personal journey to discover what was right in front of them all along. I felt like I was along for the journey and fell in love with Phuket as much as the characters. Hat tip to Ziv for a beautiful and unique love story.

[b00ks_in_nature · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to travel, and I love meeting new people. I feel like the connections we make when we are away from our usual (location, people, etc) can be deeper, or connect in a different way. Amit and Daniel have this experience. They are able to connect, and through this, grow as people. This didn't hit 5 stars for me, but I definitely enjoyed it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Renata Rachieru · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an emotional read!! I loved the story and could definitely relate to some parts (as an Israeli🙂)

I loved how strong and resilient Amit ended being and how Daniel figured out his feelings for Amit.

This story was heartwarming 🩷

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Tiffany (areyoutellingstories) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet love story that reminds us that who you were in the past doesn't have to dictate your future. "Every single day, ask yourself: Who am I? And expect a different answer every time. Who are you right now?"

[Mogi B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure reading. It transported me to these wonderful places mentioned in the book. It also gives light to other cultural traditions. This was an impactful read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amanda Grange · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it wasnt bad, I had high hopes for it based on the premise however I couldn't not follow the writing style. It was a struggle to understand what was happening 90% of the time. Not bad but my brain hurts none the less.

[DLB2572 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amit & Daniel

There isn't a lot of spice in this but it didn't need it. I liked how sweet the story was and I enjoyed reading it all.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

[Amanda Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Status Undefined is a sweet, opposites attract read about Amit and Daniel. I had a hard time reading this for the first couple chapters but I stayed with it and ended up enjoying it a lot.