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.

Started this with high hopes that the first few chapters justified, but then it all went downhill from there. She had preconceived notions about what the author should be like and when she turned out to be a he, she flipped out and was really quite unprofessional. And I really just didn’t understand why it was so bad that the author was a he. Something about having to turn in a feminist card? Like, why can’t a guy right about live and romance? I might have liked this much more without that issue. Like, maybe he made a bad impression on her and now they have to work together? That I can see. But really, she’s the one who made a bad impression when they first meet by implying that she’s only there to get a book for his wife and get laid.

Lauren kate was my absolute favorite author growing up. I have read her Fallen series so many times, i cant even count. So, i was excited to see she wrote a romance book! I do have to say, i was expecting more. The love connection build up between Noah and Lannie is sweet, but slow and isnt quite fulfilling. The book overall was well written, and i enjoyed the book. I'm excited to see what Lauren Kate does next!

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC.

I requested this book because someone described it like ‘You’ve Got Mail’ and I can see why they said that but I personally wouldn’t describe it that way.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was well-written. The romance between the two main characters is a slow burn and done very well. I believed it and was rooting for them to get together. I liked how the story progressed and the character development. I would definitely recommend this book to readers looking for a somewhat lighthearted and grabbing romance.

Wow... Despite the fact that I had plenty of other things that needed to get done today, I read "By Any Other Name," stealing moments with it here and there throughout the day because I just needed to read what happened next.

This book is a slow-burn journey of self-discovery, love and finding the perfect (for you) partner.

As an author, editor and publisher, I love reading stories based around writing and publishing, and some of the trickier aspects of author branding and marketing. And this one completely delivered for me!

The secondary characters provided spice for a story that I thoroughly enjoyed, as Lanie and Noah's story unfolded.

Brava, Lauren Kate. And thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the review copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for the arc.

This has one of my favorite tropes (and the favorite of many others), enemies to lovers. Although I enjoy a good slow burn romance, this was a little TOO slow burn about 25% before the characters ever met which was just frustrating, but it’s okay!! The rest of the book made up for it! A solid fluffy romance.

Thank you Putnam and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel. All opinions are that of my own.

In complete honesty I don't exactly know how I feel about this book. I want to say I did enjoy it and I do feel good recommending it to others to read it, but it wasn't a favorite book. I adore when books are written about the publishing world and this book is that!

My biggest issue with this book is that it didn't feel complete. It took to 24% of the way through the book to get to the characters meeting. Look I can handle slow burn and even later for characters to meet (looking at you Fastest Way to Fall), but there's like no conversation between them up to that point. I mean technically they've been emailing for the past 7 years, but there aren't enough emails or moments leaning back on those to make me feel like they know each other.

I liked where the characters were going and I could start to see some of the build-up, but there wasn't much chemistry between them. Maybe if their emails had been shown more or slipping into their history had occurred I wouldn't feel this way. Idk.

That ending was anti-climatic. I seriously read it like three times making sure that it was the end of the book. The fallout of everything was SO needed and it was skipped.

I did love BD and she was the shining light in it all. I want BD as my own. I loved Lainie's history and how she came to be in her work. Lainie was a great main character and I wanted so much more for her.

I don't want to seem like this was a terrible read because it wasn't! I did enjoy it! I desperately need to get to NYC to feel the full magic that was written about. And I definitely will pick up additional releases by Lauren Kate as the come. It just fell a bit flat and I wanted more.

Let me start off by saying that this book was charming, and I could have easily read it in one sitting. The minor characters (BD, Meg, Rufus) were the brightest spots, particularly BD. That being said, I had some major issues with the storyline, the pacing, and the marketing.

First, the storyline: Lanie's anger and feelings of betrayal upon learning the true identity of Noa Callaway was frankly ridiculous. Pen names are common, especially in genre fiction like romance, and truly... who cares? Her indignation felt super disproportionate. I understand that she idolized this author, and it caught her off guard, but it felt a little silly for her to worry about being "complicit" to the "lie."

Second, the pacing: I love a slow burn as much as the next reader, but the chemistry wasn't there so it didn't really spark to begin with and then the book just...ended. I understand wanting to do something a little different, maybe trying to step away from the traditional pacing of a rom-com, but the execution wasn't there.

Third, the marketing: This book is not enemies-to-lovers. They're not enemies and they're not lovers, and I think that marketing line is going to hurt this book because it won't meet reader expectations. The good news is, it's not too late for your team to find a new tagline!

i really enjoyed this book! it was so cute and sweet! i loved all the characters and they really brought this tory to life! thank you so very very very much, netgalley. you guys are so sweet.