I know it's supposed to be an enemies-to-lovers story, but I didn't get the impression that they were enemies whatsoever. Nonetheless, this is a nice and entertaining rom-com. The relationship between Lanie and Noa was fascinating to read about.

Lanie works for author Noa Callaway as a romance editor. She recently received a promotion at work, but the only issue is that Noa Callaway's manuscript is four months late. Lanie is keen to assist Noa in overcoming her writer's block. The only problem is that no one has ever seen Noa, with the exception of a few people. But what happens when she discovers who the actual Noa Callaway is?

This. Was. Fantastic! Was the love story great? Yes! Was watching the female main character be a mature adult consistently throughout the book just as great? Also yes!

Lanie is our female MC, and I think she perfectly fits the mold for the majority of women in their 20s and 30s. We follow her through her own self-discovery of her career, her love life, and her desire of a close family. The big difference between Lanie and many other MCs, though? Lanie is bold and unapologetically true to herself throughout the entire story. We see how she's bold in choosing her career that's drastically different from her family's, as well as her mother's legacy. We see her reflect upon her relationship with her fiance and what it means to love someone for who they truly are versus what they represent and the past that has been shared.

This book is refreshing in that there's no miscommunication that makes you eye-roll, jealousy or having the fiance's role solely to be there for conflict at a later time, or other trivial issues that could be resolved with an adult conversation. There are also no constant reminders that authors sometimes rely too heavily on when writing about an adult woman - the biological clock, the comparison game between side characters if one is married with children, or the frequent reminders from others that women "can't have it all" when it comes to romance, family, and a satisfying career. This book is, in a word, mature.

Watching Lanie stay true to herself, and of course finding love along the way, was a refreshing treat!

This book gave me everything I knew it would, and more. While I read it, it played like a movie in my head. From the scenery, the characters, and what they felt, it was easy for me to picture it. It was super sweet, very romantic, and it was eye opening. I could really see myself in Lanie and her list because at one point in my life, I had a list of my own (it's probably somewhere in an old diary). I loved how we get to see Lanie grow as a character and change her view of life and love, and she takes us on this journey that left me feeling as if I was there with her going though it too.

This is the first book I've ever read by this author and based on her writing style it won't be the last. I loved the concept of this book so much and i really loved Lainey and her tribe of friends. My only "gripe" with this book as i wish we had spent more time exploring Noah and Lainey's relationship. Although, I did understand it based on previous mentions that they had been "friends" for years, i would have love more in person interaction. That being said, i really did love it and couldn't put it down. So if my only critique is that i wish there more i guess that's not so bad.

This was such a cute little romcom! I loved the characters in this story. The banter was so cute. This is a feel-good story!

This is a short but sweet read that was overall enjoyable but I ultimately found to be lacking in depth. I actually really liked Lanie and Noah but found myself wanting more on all fronts. I still liked the story overall, but if you were looking for a passionate romantic storyline this isn’t it. This is more of a story about self discovery and friendship - which I still really liked!

ARC kindly provided in exchange for my honest review.

It was quite an enjoyable read for me. However, in my opinion, I think it fits more into the the category of women fiction than the contemporary romance. That being said, I really liked the main characters, they were fun, genuine, humorous and most importantly sincere. Along with that, I really liked the secondary characters too, they were all cute and entertaining. But, I felt the ending a bit rushed. And it would have been more satisfying to have a prospective epilogue. However, I still enjoyed it, nonetheless!

Do not go into this book expecting a romance. It's not, and I wish it weren't being marketed as one. By Any Other Name is contemporary fiction or a chick lit genre read. If I were reviewing this as a romance, I'd give it 1 or 2 stars.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy this book. Because I really did! It was sweet and touching, warm and comforting. It felt like wrapping myself in a cozy blanket on a cold day. I stayed up super late on a work night to finish this book, which doesn't happen all that often.

Lanie, Rufus, and Meg were wonderfully written characters--charming and smart and funny. Their interactions were delightful. I also enjoyed the various settings and descriptions.

Lauren Kate's prose is pitch perfect, but the storytelling fell somewhat flat. There was very little tension and the tension that was there resolved too quickly. I wanted more, so much more.

What happens when your favorite author, who single handedly changed the course of your life and relationships, turns out to be someone completely different than you had expected?

Lanie has loved the romance novels of Noa Callaway as far back as she can remember. When Lanie is promoted to editor, if and only if she is able to get Callaway’s next novel produced by the deadline, she is shocked to discover the author she knew and loved is not who she thought she was, at all. And as she develops a plan to get the uninspired writer writing again in order to save her new promotion, she begins to question all the decisions she has made since reading Callaway’s first novel, Ninety-Nine Things I’m Going to Love About You.

Yet again I find myself reading a book by an author I’ve never read, which of course makes my bookworm heart incredibly happy. I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book going in. And although Lauren Kate writes in the romance genre, this is her first foray into women’s fiction/chick lit. Turns out, she is a natural.

I really, really enjoyed this book (I finished it in a day which says a lot for me). As a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, I found myself utterly charmed by Kate’s bantery (is this even a word?) dialogue. My only criticisms of this book are that the relationship between the main characters was not fully explored and that this book simply wasn’t long enough. I wanted more, but perhaps that is me being greedy.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up

Honestly this book was a bit underwhelming and the writing felt spacey at the beginning. It took a few chapters for the author to find her footing, but when she did the book really took off. Lanie was too much of a romantic initially. She loved too hard and expected her life to mirror the romance novels she grew up reading. She lived in the fantasy of romanticizing cliche moments rather than living in actual moments of her life. I loved that Noah showed her that her reality and history is worth more than any fiction could ever write.

The last half of this book really shined for me. Lanie's growth shined through the pages and the chemistry between Noah and Lanie was sweet. I loved how this book centered around the publishing world and how that provided a unique way to tell this love story. This was a really fast and easy read that I devoured in one day. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC and all my opinions are my own.

My first book of 2022 and it was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!!

My heart was so happy y’all don’t even understand. I highlighted so many moments in this book that made my heart melt and ugh I almost shed some tears from the heartfelt moments.

I’ve never read a book with this plot so I was a fan!! We have hidden identities, author/reader romance, etc. it was AWESOME.

Spice: 0.01🌶 (aka none but I’m not even mad about it)

I do wish this book was longer and that we could’ve seen how things turned out and the future but nonetheless, it was still such a great romance.

The newest book that Noa Calloway (the author of focus in this novel) wrote was literal perfection. I’m still sitting here thinking about it’s characters. AHHHHHHHHHHH. Love love loved it. Add it to your TBR. Seriously.

Thank you to netgalley & Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

pub date: 03/01/2022

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I saw that the author of the Fallen series was writing a rom-com, I knew I needed to add it to my TBR right away! By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate is a delightful rom-com that will have you laughing and sighing at the same time. The story revolves around Lanie, who is about to be promoted to be an editorial assistant as her publishing company. The catch is, she has to make sure that elusive bestselling novelist Noa Callaway gets her latest manuscript ready by publication date. It should be a piece of cake, since Lanie and Noa have corresponded by email for a long time. But what will happen when she finds out Noa's secret?

Here is a humorous excerpt from Chapter 1:

"In the hours before a big Noa Callaway event, we sometimes forget that we’re not performing an emergency appendectomy.
I think this is because, well, the first rule of a Noa Callaway book launch is . . . Noa Callaway won’t be there.
Noa Callaway is our powerhouse author, with forty million books in print around the world. She is also the rare publishing phenomenon who doesn’t do publicity. You can’t google Noa’s author photo nor contact her online...
And yet, you know Noa Callaway. You’ve seen her window displays in airports. Your aunt’s book club is reading her right now. Even if you’re the type who prefers The Times Literary Supplement over The New York Times Book Review, at the very least, you’ve Netflix and chilled Fifty Ways to Break Up Mom and Dad."

Overall, By Any Other Name is a laugh-out-loud rom-com that will appeal to fans of Melissa Ferguson's Meet Me in the Margins or Sophie Kinsella's Love Your Life. One highlight of this book is that it's a book about book publishing, since I am fascinated by the behind-the-scenes info about book publishing. I love "meta" books like this that talk about the process of writing a book or about the process of how a book gets marketed by its publisher.

Another highlight of this book is that it's an enemies-t0-lovers workplace romance. I find plots like this to be a lot more interesting than regular romances where the two characters start off as strangers, because we get to see the characters' relationship change to the complete opposite. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of rom-coms, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in March!

I couldn’t put this book down! I read it in one sitting.
As a romance reader this story hits home so much. The author was truly able to put in words what someone feels about their favorite romance books/ author.
Laine’s love for Noa Callaway’s was so sweet to read about. I loved her relationship with grandmother. Those scenes cracked me up.
I couldn’t get enough of Noah! He was so sweet with Laine and I love how he opened up to her. The story he writes is so beautiful it moved me to tears.
I definitely recommend reading this book!

I loved this book. It’s was such a heartfelt romance. I love that it took place in the book world as well. It’s a lot of slow burn because the main female is in a relationship that checks all her boxes but turns out he isn’t the one for her.

Labor is a romance editor and honestly don’t we all want her job! She gets the biggest career chance by being editor to Noa Calloway the biggest romance author. But she gets a lot more then what she thinks.
I liked this book a lot. Lanie was a very likeable MC. I liked her from the very start. Her relationship and issues with her fiancé were something I could relate to having been through a similar situation. I wish there would have been more focus and showing that Noa and Lanie had been basically friends via email for SEVEN years! I wish this book was longer honestly and I wanted more of this story! It’s hard to say a lot without giving away spoilers. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Lauren Kate has written a lovely slow-paced romance. I throughly enjoyed the enemies to lovers story with a few secrets sprinkled throughout.

This book didn't feel like a romance at all for me. It's women's fiction with a small side of romance. I can't lie, I was hoping for something very different. I liked Lanie's character arc and the development of her relationship with Noah was good, but it was not enough to call this book a romance.

I liked Noah more than Lanie, and I hope this had been dual POV, because I would have loved reading his thoughts. He was a very interesting character but in the end, we barely know anything about him. He was very secretive during the entire book, and only in the end we got a glimpse of what he really feels for Lanie or when it started happening. Again, not enough for a romance.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, and I'm sad it didn't meet my expectations.

Thanks to the publisher for my advance review copy.

This book started out well for me. The premise is interesting: a young editor is put in charge of her favorite author, only to discover her preconceived notions are wrong. The writing is solid as well. However, the pacing felt slow and the plot lost steam before I could get invested in it. I love an enemies to lovers trope, but what makes it work is the tension and build up with a good dose of chemistry that I didn't feel in this book.

Lanie's life has been shaped by her love of Noa Callaway's books. They are the entire reason she went into publishing. Now that she has the opportunity to work closely with her favorite romance author she discovers that Noa is nothing like what she had envisioned. In fact Noa is actually Noah and he is no where near finished with the book she needs to keep her job secure, Despite feeling betrayed as Lanie spends time with Noah she begins to see glimpses of how the man in front of her could have written the words that have moved her for years.

I was charmed by this book despite not at all understanding why Noah using.a pen name was such a big deal, I did think that Lanie completely over reacted to the revelation. Luckily it blows over quickly as get to know each other better, I say better because the two had been in touch for years when Lanie was the assistant to Noah's editor so their relationship already has a foundation. It also helps the Noah is a man who pays attention. This was a slow burn romance. So slow I was watching the end creep nearer with dismay.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As I’m writing this review I have to note that it’s 4:55am, and I’ve stayed up all night reading because I simply couldn’t put it down.

Lanie is living in my ideal world and I am beyond jealous. She’s a successful editor in New York City who is in love and happy. When I read the blurb I had some assumptions on what could go down… I was wrong.. and it was written brilliantly! Things completely fall apart, but they are stitched back together so beautifully!

And the last chapter that Noah wrote gave me goosebumps! I can’t remember the last time that happened. Obviously I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

There is only one reason this isn’t a 5 star book for me, what would make this book even more satisfying… an epilogue, bonus futuretake, something… I need to see a glimpse of their HEA or more of their story. I want to READ them together. I’m hoping the author will eventually give us something.

I was given this book for free from NetGalley for my honest opinion.