4 ⭐️
"there was no metaphor i could write, picture i could paint that would even come close to comparing to the magic of her."

"...i didn't believe in love at all—until i met you....the shoot for the stars, shout on the rooftops kind."

the hopeless romantic in me really felt this one. okay. damn. literally loved this so much. i really liked how this wasn't too complex in terms of writing and plot, and it was a quick read. the excerpts at the end of the chapters... my fav omg. and speaking of the excerpts, i loved how rosie and aiden literally spoke to each other about their true feelings through their coauthor assignment for their creative writing class. omg how romantic lol. it was literally just such a cute and fun read. that's it.

I feel so bad writing such a negative review, but here we go:

There were a lot of issues with this book, so let's start with the characters. The FMC was insufferable and immature, and the MMC was a jerk for no reason. You know the old saying "once a cheater, always a cheater?" In this case it's more like "once a jerk, always a jerk." The things you say in an argument when tempers are high are an extension of how you really feel and Aiden really showed his true colors. It's no surprise though, because Rosie was not acting like a woman in her mid-late twenties getting a MFA. She acted like an 18 year old right out of high school. Neither one of them should've been in a relationship.

Let's talk spice. There was one scene that was really good, and I did enjoy the part where they were writing spice together on the phone. The rest of the spice, however, felt like she was trying too hard to cater to what she thinks readers want. It felt forced and a little stale.

This book felt a little like she was trying to cram as many tropes into one book as she could. Enemies/Rivals to lovers, only one bed, third act breakup. At a certain point it just gets excessive.

Lastly, I understand that the FMC is hispanic and speaks Spanish, however the author assumes that the entire audience will either be able to speak Spanish or be able to figure it out from context. If we were talking just one or two lines, that would be different, but she uses Spanish in the book A LOT and provides no translation. It's not hard to simply put the translation in italics next to it. Why make it harder to enjoy the book? For people who do want a translation and are somewhere with spotty signal, like on a cruise or plane, well too bad for you.

I rolled my eyes through a solid 60% of the book and it's unfortunate because I really wanted to like this book. My husband and I met because we both write and I was excited to see a similar love story.

If you've read this far, good! The book isn't all bad and I can completely see how it could be someone's cup of tea. It just had too many issues for me to give it anything higher than a 3, and for me that was probably a little too high.

As someone who's Chilean, a Swiftie and a romance reader, Rosie was such a relatable character and I absolutely loved her story with Aiden. Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advance copy!

This may be one of my favorite books of the year!

I absolutely adored the characters in this book; they are both so well-developed, dynamic, hilarious, witty, intentional. Their slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers arc was done so beautifully that any reader can't help falling in love with the couple, too.

Having the characters, as writers, take turns writing chapters of a book in their own styles? Not initially understanding they are writing love notes to each other? Perfection!

Katie Holt has a new fan. What an amazing book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

4.5 ⭐️
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this book!!!!😍😍
Two writers forced to write a romance story together?! Stop it because it was SOOO enjoyable! Rosie and Aiden were so steamy and PERFECT!!!😍
The tension was truly so yummy! 😭 but I also loved how they opened up and got to truly know each other through the characters they were writing about. And when their teacher suggested they start going on dates in order to help with their writing?! UGH AIDEN IS SUCH A GENTLEMAN!!😭🩷
Hard to believe for me this was a debut novel!! I can’t wait to read more books from Katie!!🥹🩷
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!

This book was basically glued to my hands while reading it--it could NOT be pried from me. I had so much fun with this one.

To summarize: Tennessee-born Rosie moves to NYC in the hopes of becoming an author. When she enrolls in a writing workshop, she is immediately attracted to her classmate Aiden, a literary writer, but quickly realizes that he despises and looks down on what she holds dear: romance novels (and perhaps just romance in general). They verbally spar in class at every turn, and finally, their teacher gives them an ultimatum that will make or break their chances of expulsion from the class: they have to write a book together. What could go wrong when forcing a sad literary author and hopeless romantic together?

I loved the dynamic of them writing a book together, and how initially it kind of starts as a "screw you" to write their main characters as caricatures of each other, but it created delicious tension between them expressing how they feel through their story. And there is one scene that will absolutely stick with me in which they write a smut scene together. My GOODNESS. I enjoyed both of them together and was truly rooting for them to get past their differences and just kiss already!!

I think the reason I am lowering to 4 stars is because the ending kind of fell flat to me. I think Rosie's actions near the end were a bit ridiculous for a grown woman, but I get it--the Drama of it all. 3rd act breakups are decidedly not my favorite, but even still, this book was just so much fun and I loved it. Katie Holt will be a new auto-buy author for me.

Thank you @ Alcove Press and @NetGalley for this ARC. The banter in this book is on point. This is an enemies to lovers trope and was so much fun to read. Rosie and Aiden are both writes, rosie romance and Aiden fiction. Aiden does not like romance and so he does not like Rosie, but when their teacher has had enough of their fighting she decides to make them write a book together. This will end bad or so spicy they may go up in flames.

This was such a fun contemporary romance. I love a well done Academic Rivals to Lovers trope.
I got super invested in their story. And I love books about writers and books.
I loved the Peruvian rep. I can't fully explain it but every time Aiden called her Rosalinda it was kind of hot? Tension was high throughout and the slow-burn had a good payoff. The push-pull attraction really sparkles in this debut novel.

New York City is a paid actor in this book and although I didn't realise when I started this book, it was actually quite a festive read so perfect for December/January.

Highly recommend if you are a fan of the following tropes and traits:

Academic rivals to lovers
Top tier banter
Suave male leads
Smart and sassy female leads
Big city life with small town heart
New York Life
Book within a book
Books about writers

I have not read such a satisfying enemies-to-lovers romance in ages. I devoured Katie Holt's NOT IN MY BOOK. This is not only a love letter to the magic of New York City, but also an ode to romance and rom-coms in general. Great execution of so many fantastic romance tropes--and both characters had great depth. NOT IN MY BOOK is such a strong debut. I daresay that anything Holt publishes will be an automatic purchase for me now. Can't wait for her next story!

This was a romance novel that you don’t want to step away from. I found myself stealing away time to read just a bit more during a hectic weekend and Monday. Truly, a balm for the heart of a novel.


Thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.


I loved the tropes and the exploration of them through both leads being writers. And Aiden being new to writing romance was an excellent way to take the reader through some of the writing process of a romance novel without feeling as if the curtain had been torn asunder and destroyed any chance of genuinely reading the genre for pleasure.


Aiden and Rosie were lovely leads. Aiden’s backstory was so good for a sad, male lead. Rosie was vibrant and understandable. However, this book is definitely very trope-y and predictable. I am a fan of those books and did enjoy this one, but there is perhaps not as much depth to this book as the description made me think there would be. Also, I loved the development of the plot and the pacing, except for the ending. I hope that the final version is a little longer or more drawn out, as I felt a bit rushed through the last moments.


All in all, a romance I did not want to put down filled with tension and tons of witty banter.

Not In My Book
-forced proximity
-enemies to lovers
-academic rivals
Rosie & Aiden are at NYU together and take writing classes… Aiden is a lit fic writer and Rosie is a romance writer… and Aiden has a personal vendetta against romance. They fight every time they’re in class together & their professor gets SICK OF IT. They have two options: drop the class, or do their final project together. They have to write a book that is both a romance but also has themes of literary fiction. Their professor forces them to go on dates and write a cohesive story together. While going on dates they become friends.. and then more

Rosie is a hard working and intelligent woman just trying to get by in New York. Her passion is romance and she is very vocal about changing the perspective people have on the enjoyment of romance, it’s not a “guilty pleasure” but a valid form of literature.
Aiden is also very intelligent but VERY GRUMPY. He’s jaded and has a tortured past (of course) and takes his anger out on Rosie’s writing.
The book has a cool feature, every chapter ends with a little excerpt from their book together. And they basically write their story. Not in my book is in Rosie’s POV, but you get a lot of Aiden’s thoughts and opinions throughout his chapters.

This book was very reminiscent of Book Lovers with the romance vs literary fiction conversation between writers. The difference is they are emerging authors rather than established writers. The rivalry between the two stemmed from mutual attraction that they tried to ignore but overall sometimes felt mean-spirited. When they are grouped together to pass the classes they put their rivalry aside and got to know each other. The MMC had a tragic backstory (absentee, adulterous, verbally abusive/manipulative father) but with time he warms up to Rosie.

I am SO SO SO pleasantly surprised by this book, I had no expectations at all going in and I fell head first into this story in the best way.

Not in My Book follows Aiden & Rosie, two graduate students who aim to become published authors, but who do this in very, very different ways. Aiden writes deep & dark literary fiction, and Rosie loves a spicy romance with a happy ending. This premise was a bit like Beach Read but the execution was wildly, wildly different and unique. They're later forced to co-write a book in order to stay in their highly coveted writing workshop, and the banter and chaos that ensues from this is SO WONDERFUL and different from other romances I've read.

These two really are incredibly different, but also so well suited for one another. Aiden needs someone to remind him that he can be loved despite his prickliness, and someone who can remind him of how his tendency toward pushing people away is hurting him. Rosie is a hopeless romantic but she also does NOT take shit, she calls Aiden on his crap and never backs down from her own conviction that she's a talented writer who brings a lot to the table. Aiden begins as someone who throws a lot of shade at romance writers but he corrects to fully and apologizes so thoroughly. Their back and forth and chemistry really jump off the page, and seeing as the two are writing a spicy romance... there is a TON of opportunity for tension. The spice is immaculate, both in Aiden & Rosies writing project AND when the two finally come together themselves. I can tell that this author is a die-hard romance fan who has done her research, and I appreciated that so very much.

I've only knocked off a half star here because I thought the final conflict could have been handled and fleshed out a lot better, I didn't really understand Aiden's motivations for lashing out verbally at Rosie the way he did when certain truths are revealed, even though he wrote in from his perspective later. I still was rooting for them, I just wanted either less lashing out or more explanation as to the why.

Thank you SO much to Alcove Press and NetGalley for this gem of a book. Its definitely put this author on the map for me in a big way, and I cannot WAIT to see what Katie Holt writes next!

4.5 stars!

"Not in My Book" by Katie Holt is one of my favorite books of 2024! I absolutely loved this story! It's a New York City enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity (in a classroom!!) (even some only one bed, too!!), epistolary romance for the ages. I swooned HARD for this book and these characters. Rosie and Aiden have some of the best banter I've read all year...it's just terrific! This is one of the best "books about writing books" I have read in a long, long time. I have a hunch there will be a section of readers who think the premise is too meta, but I was connected to it from the get-go. The character arcs are wonderful. These characters feel realistic and lived-in. I loved Rosie's family and friend dynamics, and I loved learning about Aiden's past and his life as details are slowly unraveled. AND THE GOOGLE DOC SCENE?! HOOOOOOOLY CRAPOOOOLA, I am going to be thinking about that scene for years to come! It'll live in my head rent-free, as the kids say. I also adore what this book has to say about how many, many authors and readers are snobby about and look down on romance as a genre. Romance RULES, don't get it twisted. I am running out of ways to say how much I was enamored with this book. You MUST read it as soon as possible!! I devoured this book!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Katie Holt, and Alcove Press for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This book was so cute! I absolutely loved the tension and banter between Rosie and Aiden. Watching them slowly admit their feelings through the characters they were writing was so good. I also loved the little snippets of their book and how it matched their real relationship. This was a cute, sweet, spice, and fun read from start to finish.

This was so cute! I love bookish romances and I really wish there were more of them. Thought this was really cozy and I would read more from the author.

I enjoyed the exploration of the genre through the characters. The cover is beautifully drawn and properly conveys the tension between the book's key characters. This book definitely deserves a 5 star rating.

I was not aware this was a debut novel and I would never have guessed from reading this book. I love a good childhood friends to lovers and add in a bit of enemies to lovers and I'm a sucker. Also-- A dual POV has become a BIG favorite of mine over this last year but sometimes I feel like it's hard to really capture two characters with any real depth, but Katie Holt did a fantastic job. The voices felt very authentic and despite this being more of a rom-com feel, there was some emotional grit as the characters started working past their issues. I really loved Aiden's banter. While I didn't start off liking Rosie, I grew to like her quickly. Overall, this book is a solid 4 star for me!

I was realy into this and liked the set up and the chemistry but then the story turned and it just didn't seem realistic and lost me

I had heard great things about this debut and decided to pick it up. I am thrilled that I did! I fell right into this enemies-to-lovers story and loved every second. In this story, we have Rosie and Aiden. Both are in an intensive writing class at NYU. Each week, when it comes time to critique classmates' writing samples, the derision comes pouring out of these two. Aiden can't stand that Rosie writes romance, which he sees as unrealistic. Rosie thinks Aiden's lit fic is stuffy and boring. The arguments reach a crescendo until their professor tells them they are being kicked out unless they agree to write their novel together.

I loved every second of these two. Ever since Emily Henry's Beach Read, I have not been able to get enough of reading about writers. Rosie and Aiden are the perfect example of what I love about this trope. The discussions they have around writing, genre, and their craft are fascinating and engaging. The chemistry is off the page. Holt builds the tension perfectly and manages to have Rosie and Aiden remain true to themselves and their beliefs while somehow coming together to co-write and more. The banter is great. There is a visit to The Strand (IFYKY). There is Peruvian family on Rosie's side and a literary genius on Aiden's. There just wasn't anything not to love in this book. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down.

I'm officially obsessed with this new author and cannot wait to see what she puts out next. In the meantime, I'm glad to have this on my shelf for whenever I need to laugh or swoon. Highly recommend!