It took me a while to warm up to this book, but in the end I’m glad I stuck with it. It’s a great college rivals to lovers, opposites attract story.

I thought there was great chemistry between the main characters Rosie and Aidan. Their banter was great, a fun mixture of insults and arguments that border on flirting. And I loved seeing the tension between them build to something so real and inevitable.

The thing that kept holding me off from loving it at the beginning and that I continued to struggle with throughout was the heavy emphasis on the writing workshop. Sometimes it felt like the plot and the romance got a little lost in all of that. And I didn’t love how the excerpts from Rosie and Aidan’s piece were almost directly mirroring what was happening to them in the book. It felt like I was read the same thing twice in a row which was in my opinion unnecessary.

Overall, I feel like the strengths in the book outweighed those weak spots. I had a good time with it and I look forward to reading more from Katie Holt in the future, especially considering this was her debut novel!

Some parts annoyed me, but overall, this was pretty cute. I love an enemies-to-lovers story and this actually felt like enemies at the beginning.

Were they childish at times? Yes.
Was the ending a little much? Yes.
Was it still pretty cute? Also, yes.

I loved having the story set in NYC (we even got Christmas in the city!!!) and the Latin American representation (alfajores really are the best). It was cute how they had to write a novel together and basically put themselves into their romance novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

it's giving very much lovers-to-rivals. a little bit cheesy and cliche, but hey.. it's romance! i thought it was done well.

thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book. i received this book as an ARC. all thoughts and opinions of this book are my own, and i leave this review voluntarily.

This a witty, spicy enemies‑to‑lovers romance set in NYC’s MFA workshop scene—complete with cheeky banter, steamy co‑writing sessions, and a heartfelt look at the romance genre itself. I enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters and the banter. The slow-burn is well done and makes you want to keep reading. The only part I struggled with was the predictability and the third act conflict. Rosie was a bit immature for my taste so that also irked me a bit. Not in My Book is a clever, entertaining read for fans of rom‑coms and writing‑in‑workshop humor.

I was not a fan of this book. The characters seemed way too childish to be the ages that they were portrayed and I was more annoyed by them than invested in their love story.

I really liked this debut!! I can see how it was comped to Beach Read or Book Lovers by Emily Henry. Highly recommend!

Katie Holt’s Not in My Book is everything I want in a romance: sharp banter, genuine emotional depth, and sizzling chemistry wrapped in a story that made me laugh, swoon, and clutch my chest more than once. If Beach Read and The Hating Game had a very bookish, very steamy baby—with a splash of Taylor Swift energy and literary snobbery—it would be this debut.

Rosie is a romance-loving, Swiftie Peruvian-American heroine I fell for instantly. Her optimism, passion for storytelling, and vulnerability made her incredibly relatable. And Aiden? Well, he’s the perfect grumpy-to-lovers counterpart—broody, brilliant, and oh-so-irritating (until he’s not). Watching these two spar in writing workshops, then melt into each other through their co-written novel, was absolute catnip for this romance reader.

The meta writing journey was so clever—Holt uses the characters’ book-in-progress to reflect their growth, tension, and slow-burn desire. I especially loved how the story balances playfulness with thoughtful themes around identity, ambition, and creative authenticity.

Not in My Book is a celebration of the romance genre, of letting yourself be soft even when the world says you should be hardened, and of writing your own ending—on and off the page.

Katie Holt is a name to watch, and I already want to reread this one.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the early copy in exchange for my honest review!

My thoughts




Narrative and Plot






Not in My Book is as much a hate-to-love romance as you can get in the genre. Rosie hates Aiden, and the feelings are mutual. But the story itself points out that the line between love and hate is quite thin.




The story has this dual narrative going on. It stays grounded but has the freedom to explore romance clichés through the fictional narrative without being over the top.




While the majority of the story is told from Rosie’s point of view, we get glimpses into Aiden’s world in the form of excerpts from the book they’re co-writing. Since there are two plotlines, the story feels fast-paced and keeps you rooting for the main characters.





Characters and Conflicts





Rosie, as the name suggests, views the world through rose-tinted glasses, while Aiden is a realist. The difference in their personalities is reflected in their preferred genres. As always, the romance author is mocked for the genre, and the literary fiction author has their nose high in the air. That dynamic reminded me of Beach Read by Emily Henry.




Aiden isn’t your smooth and suave romantic hero. He’s quite defensive when it comes to revealing himself. He’s also awkward and has his own set of flaws. All of it makes him feel real rather than just a token love interest.




The romance is a slow burn, and the fact that the story breaks the fourth wall to let us know that makes it even more fun. However, the final conflict, despite being strong, fell short in the way it was resolved. At some point, it felt like the story was repeating the same beats in terms of conflict.






Conclusion





Overall, I enjoyed Not in My Book. This is a passionate, steamy love story between two authors. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, give it a go. It’s worth it.

Finally a Rom Com that made me laugh without rolling my eyes at how annoying one of the characters was. This was a fun read and I will definitely be back for more from this author.

This book is basically The Hating Game meets Beach Read with a slight dash of academic chaos. The manuscript-in-progress becomes a love letter and a confession—like “oops, I accidentally wrote my feelings for you, and now we’re both blushing and ignoring it” perfection.

If you’re into:
- Snarky, spicy, enemies-to-lovers banter
- “We’re co-writing a book and also maybe falling in love” energy
- Characters who can’t help but pour their feelings into their art
- A swoon-worthy payoff after all the delicious slow burn

Then this is absolutely the book for you!

Love me a cute little romance and this book delivered on that. Classic enemies to lovers always hits for me

This is the perfect read to fix a reading slump. It was funny, it was emotional and basically had everything you could want in a romance, rivals-to-lovers, one bed, forced proximity etc.
The rivalry was believable and their relationship was paced really well. The conflict was of course frustrating but I think overall it worked for the story and made the makeup even better.
The characters were a joy to read, they both had a lot of personality and made the story that bit more interesting.
Overall it’s a lovely, cosy romance and I really enjoyed it.
Thank you Alcove Press, Netgalley and Katie Holt for letting me read this amazing ARC.

Oh my gosh, I adored this book! It was the feel good that I needed in life right now! It’s enemies to lovers with a little slow burn going on and the fact that the two MC’s had to right a literary fiction/romance together was just PERFECTION! I also really enjoyed that every chapter or so we got a little snippet of the book that they were working on which is really their love story 😭. This was cozy, cute and pretty perfect in my eyes, just what I needed at the moment!!

This book was such a fun surprise! I absolutely loved the banter between Rosie and Aiden—it had me grinning like a fool. The forced collaboration trope was chef’s kiss, and watching them go from enemies to something much steamier had me hooked. I also really appreciated the cultural layers and how Rosie was figuring herself out along the way. The pacing dragged a bit in the middle, but overall, it gave me everything I want in a rivals-to-lovers romance: tension, heart, and just the right amount of spice.

Maybe I'm just a very petty person, but that third-act break-up would've been the END for me. There's no forgiving after what he said. First you lie, then insult her as a writer? I'm sorry but you're out.
That's a same because the rest of the novel was very fun and would've been a good 4/4.5 stars for me. I was a bit skeptical at first of the guy's disdain for romance because you can dislike the genre and have criticism about it, but berating it, and any type of romantic plot lines as much as he did? Yeah, no, that smells like misogyny to me. We got an explanation as to why he thought romance didn't exist, and I thought "ok, whatever, he has daddy issues, fine". Then the ending. Honestly it ruined everything the author had built up until then, the cute moments they'd spent together, the chemistry they had, the very meta element of the novel they were writing together that was honestly pretty cool, after what he said at the end, I lost all sympathy for him and just wished this would end there, that Rosie would move on and forget his sorry ass. But this is a romance so. 3.5 stars

I enjoyed this one - I liked both the Rosie and Aiden - chemistry, yearning and romance - and I always enjoy book loving main characters. Great debut novel. Would recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy to review.

Aiden and Rosie are recent graduates taking a writing workshop at NYU. Aiden likes literary fiction and Rosie loves romance novels. They do not get along and their lecturer, Ida, tires of their squabbling and makes them write a novel together for their final project. This does not go well at first but they gradually get closer.

At first I thought they were both immature and seemed more like teenagers than adults but I soon grew to love both characters. I loved seeing their relationship develop and they are one of my favourite book couples of the last few years. I enjoyed the glimpses of the book they wrote at the end of most chapters. I was annoyed about something one of the main characters did but I'm fickle and forgave them when the other main character did.

Man, how I enjoyed this book! The tension between Aiden and Rosie — WOW. From page one, the story pulled me in, and I couldn’t stop reading. I finished the book in a single day, which just shows how much I loved it.
Two writers who have to work together on a book while they hate each other?! I ate this up!!! I’ve never read anything like it, and I really loved it. I was also totally cheering for the side characters!
Was the book perfect? No. But I was smiling, and I genuinely sympathized with the characters — and that’s exactly why I’m giving it four stars.

The perfect read for fans of Emily Henry’s Book Lovers. Such a fun read, rival writers, great chemistry, what more do I need?

This one takes a few chapters to get into but once you get into it you'll love this rom-com. So much spice and delightful laughter!