When I first learned about Katie Holt’s debut, Not in My Book, I was instantly intrigued. Not only do I love books about books, I’m also drawn to anything with Peruvian culture. (My husband is Peruvian and I lived in Lima for a year!) With an enemies-to-lovers romance arc and plenty of discussions around writing, I was sure I’d love this novel.

Rosie Maxwell is an MFA student at New York University, writing the genre she most loves: romance. But the cute, annoying literary fiction guy in her class, Aiden Huntington, always critiques her writing too harshly, and she’s always ready to throw it right back at him. At risk of being kicked out of their class due to the frequent arguments, Rosie and Aiden are assigned to write a novel together. How can they agree on anything, from genre to character names to how it all ends? As Aiden and Rosie spend the school year writing together and getting to know each other, their relationship starts to mirror that of their characters. But can they have their own happily ever after despite their differences?

Tropes & Narrative Devices:
• Enemies to friends to lovers
• Forced proximity
• College romance (grad students)
• Fake dating… for research!
• Book excerpts!
• First-person POV (Rosie)

What I Liked:

• Blurring lines between reality and fiction. As Rosie and Aiden get started on writing a novel together, they quickly find that they need to get better acquainted and learn to work with each other. Their advisor suggests they go on fake dates as their characters. They’re effectively getting to know each other via their characters. But how much is real and how much is their own creativity?

• Writing discussions! Romance vs. literary fiction! Rosie is a romance writer who loves happily ever afters; Aiden is a literary fiction writer who doesn’t believe in happy endings or true love. They butt heads a lot, and even more so when they have to write a book together. I loved getting to hear their different reasons for liking their preferred genres and learning how they draft together. I’d love to be an author someday myself, so these peeks into the writing process are so fascinating for me.

• Playlist for books! I was so giddy to learn that Aiden makes playlists with perfect transitions between songs… and that he makes them for the books he reads, too. I’ve been doing this for years! He went up a few points just by discovering this about him!

• Peruvian culture! One of the biggest reasons I was interested in this book is because the main character is Peruvian American. I have a personal connection to Peru: My husband is from Lima! As such, I always love reading about Peruvian characters. Here, Rosie’s mom is from Peru, and that culture is represented throughout the novel. From various foods (papas a la huancaína, lomo saltado, ceviche, alfajores, chicha morada, and so on) to restaurants (Pio Pio; I’ve eaten there!) to their Christmas traditions, so much here felt familiar and real to me.

• Their rival dynamic. Whether as enemy classmates or a couple in love, these two are argumentative to the end! They have chemistry from the beginning, and I enjoy seeing how they never fully get over their stubborn, slightly quarrelsome ways. They’re so silly.

• Excerpts from their WIP! As Rosie and Aiden work on their novel together, we get to see snippets of what their characters are up to. Those characters’ lives greatly mirror what’s happening with Rosie and Aiden, offering an extra layer through which to view their relationship. I love that it remains untitled… until the end.

Final Thoughts
I absolutely loved Not in My Book. As excited as I was to read it, it exceeded my expectations. This is an enemies-to-lovers romance done perfectly! This is one of my favorite contemporary romances ever and is sure to be a novel I return to again and again. I already bought the paperback and look forward to revisiting these characters. Not in My Book is a fabulous debut and I can’t wait to read Katie Holt’s next novel!

Not in my Book by Katie Holt
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫(4.5)

I want to say thank you to NetGalley, Alcove Press & Katie for the opportunity to read this book before release. I stayed up til 2 am to finish this because I just wanted to keep reading until I was done.
Congratulations Katie on your Debut, it was such a fun and lovely read! I am just in awe because these characters were just so loveable, the storyline was perfection, and I loved so much of this book.

I absolutely loved the whole cowriting a book with the enemy because the tension was TENSIONINGGG and I love a little slow burn moment. I absolutely adored this read so much.

Aiden and Rosie are just MWAH. I love them both individually and together. Their banter was matched and the tension was THEREEE. The forced proximity was just perfection since they had to cowrite for their class in order to stay in it or pass and Katie DELIVERED and gave me what I needed. The whole grumpy x sunshine dynamic was perfect as well. Rosie being a romantic and Aiden just was a shy grump and I loved it. They worked so well together in my opinion.

There was so many quotes and moments that I am so going to eventually buy a physical copy of this book and add it to my reread and annotating list I have planned for next year because this was just MWAH. I was kicking my feet and blushing SO HARD. I just god I enjoyed this one.

My favorite quote that is engraved in my brain:

“I know you prefer what’s in your books, and I pretend I don’t want to be like them, but I do. I want to be the person you picture when you’re reading and dreaming because you’re who I picture every single time. I love you. In light and dark, in romance and Litfic. In this lifetime and the next” 😭😭


Tropes:
📖Grumpy x Sunshine
📖 Slow Burn
📖 enemies to lovers
📖 forced proximity
📖 one bed
📖 dash of fake dating
📖 bookish academia; both are aspiring writers

Incredible, 10/10, no notes! Mark the day...I've found my new favorite contemporary enemies to lovers romance, dethroning The Hating Game after three years.

From the first chapter, I knew this was going to be a five star. Rosie and Aiden's banter was EVERYTHING. Their arguments were iconic, and the chemistry was off the charts. I LOVED how their tension grew more and more palpable and being forced to work together finally made their hate switch to love. This type of slow burn is why I love enemies to lovers so much.

Also let's talk about the NYC vibes? Obsessed. Utterly obsessed. The number of times I've stood in that tiny romance section in The Strand is too many to count. And he buys her books there! Screaming crying throwing up. The emphasis on Christmas and winter in NYC was great too.

This entire book felt like such a fun and fresh take on various tropes and the romance genre as a whole. I liked how it was a college romance but also not a college romance (lol). Rosie and Aiden being MFA novelists at NYU and forced to write a book together is an AMAZING premise. There's a sort of twist on the one bed trope as well. And this got steamy and I loved it...like writing a spicy scene together for their book...I'm unwell. Blushing at at 6AM on the airplane. Also the pacing was excellent. Every romance lover needs to read this one!

Thank you so much to Alcove Press for sending me an ARC of Not in My Book. As always, my reviews are one hundred percent voluntary and all opinions are my own :)

I'M GOING TO THROW UP THIS BOOK HAD ME SOBBING AT WORK LIKE A BABY AND I NEED THE PHYSICAL COPY IN MY HANDS TO RE-READ IT AND ANNOTATE IT. THIS HURT MY HEART AND THEN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER AGAIN

This one was so cute and good! We have our Peruvian-American girl: Rosie, who loves romance. Then we have Aiden, a handsome guy who doesn’t understand romance. Perfect opposites-attracted story, where hate and love are divide by a very tiny line. Basically they are rivals in their writing class, and all the tension, all the emotions are there. I loved the slow burn, I love the story inside of the story, what a great concept and the forced proximity/working together! The relationship development was good, near the end I was having mixed feelings but it got solved fast. I also loved the side characters!! And the Christmas scene was hilarious and so realistic (I’m a latinx and was able to identify myself with the family drama and love). I recommended! It’s more of hate-to-love or rivals-to-lovers.

Thank you @netgalley and @alcovepress for the free copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars

What an incredible debut novel from Katie! I absolutely love a romance book that takes you for an emotional rollercoaster ride and this definitely does that. Katie does an incredible job at fleshing out the enemies to lovers trope (one of my favorites) and of course finishing out with a HEA. The characters were so real for me and I absolutely loved the plotline of two characters writing a book together.

I cannot wait to see what else Katie does in the future! I would love to see a sequel about Jess and Tyler! :)

4.5 - THIS WAS SO GOOD!! It honestly would've been a 5 star if it didn't have the classic 3rd act breakup. Almost every aspect of this book made up my favorite types of romances, and it was the perfect emotional, angsty, enemies to lovers, book lover book. For a debut author, I was so impressed by the writing and depth of these characters!!

Not in My Book follows Aiden and Rosie, two graduate students at NYU who are part of a creative writing class together. The two get off on the wrong foot, always getting into fights and disrupting class, and their professor forces them to write a book together to stay in the class. The one condition? They have to write a romance with a mix of literary fiction, where there isn't a happy ending. Aiden hates the romance genre and Rosie hates fiction books that don't allow for the main characters to end up happy. The two slowly go from enemies to lovers, to friends, to something more.

One of the things I liked most about this book was the discussion of the romance genre and how important it is in the literary and bookish world. The author did a great job of using Rosie to explain why romance is so important and means so much to so many readers and I really saw parts of myself and the hopeless romantic reader in Rosie. I also LOVED Aiden's character, it was so nice to see a male main character with flaws, who was SHY, working through his own trauma and trying to voice his needs and wants. Aiden and Rosie fit perfectly together, and their banter, chemistry, and tension was just so good.

As per usual, there was a 3rd act breakup that I just didn't love. That is a personal preference and as far as 3rd act breakups go, at least this one was brief. I did see the conflict coming from a mile away, and wasn't thrilled what Aiden decided to do, but felt like the author did a good job wrapping up the book and explaining each characters reasons for their choices. While Rosie and Aiden both hurt at each other at the end of the book, they were able to talk through their feelings and reasons and really communicate well.

Overall, this was a stellar debut, such a great romance, and I truly had SO much fun reading it!! Thank you to Alcove Press for the free book!!

📚 Read if you like: enemies to lovers, writers writing together, books about books, only one bed, grad school rivals, opposites attract
⭐️ Rating: 4.5/5

Thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel out today! I had so much fun reading this one! Rosie and Aiden were such tasty grad school rivals and it was the best kind of enemies to lovers. I was absolutely giddy reading this in the span of like 24 hours which never happens for me. I just could not put it down!

Aiden and Rosie writing a book together is so entertaining. There’s just something about a hopeless romantic and a grump together that makes me so happy. Their banter in real life and the pages they write was so quick and funny. And I loved how they showed their feelings in their writing. Also them writing the spicy scenes together?! 🥵

I laughed! I teared up! There’s a good friend group and family things and so much food! It’s a love letter to romance readers and writers and fans of the genre should absolutely enjoy this! Out today! Read this!

Thank you @netgalley and @alcovepress for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion

The cover told me initially all I needed to know to jump right in and I thank Alcove Press and NetGalley for indulging me in reading this advanced E copy that did not disappoint!

This was a delicious dilemma of a debut in my opinion and I ate it up in all its goodness. Enemies to lovers is an automatic click for me but I always proceed with caution.

Katie wrote a story within a story that was unique, refreshing and ALL the feels! Rosie and Aiden were pure fire off the pages from start to end. I was laughing out loud, rolling my eyes and swooning all through. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and these characters.

I hope this one is on your list and if it isn’t get to it my friends!

Happy Reading!

I really enjoyed this romance much more than others I've read recently that involve books and authors!

Rosie and Aiden are the MCs of this enemies to lovers romance about two upcoming writers. Rosie writes romance while Aiden writes fiction, because of this they are chronically at odds during their writing workshop. To me, the dislike from Aiden is palpable, and after one over the top argument in class, their teacher requires them to write together or be kicked out of her workshop.

As they write, their feelings become much more obvious through the characters of their book. But I love how this writing assignment pushes both characters to expand their comfort zones as well as allows them to grow and be honest with each other!

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review

Enemies to lovers, grumpy to sunshine.
Rosie and Aiden believe they can’t stand one another— or at least that’s what they think. However, when their professor becomes frustrated and pairs them up to work on a book together, romance begins to blossom.
I enjoyed the chapters that Aiden and Rosie “authored”; they were a delightful touch. I appreciate seeing more diverse romantic stories. This charming and humorous tale is perfect for the holiday season. I listened to the audiobook and found the narrators quite enjoyable as well.

This was a very cute romance. I loved the banter between Rosie and Aiden so much, it made this read really fun while also having some pretty swoon worthy moments. A pretty quick and easy read, I place it at 3.75 out of 5. It was really cute and fun, but it didn’t wow me.

Rosie and Aiden, notorious for their constant bickering and rudeness in their writing workshop, are thrown into a surprising twist when their instructor pairs them up to co-write a story. Collaboration proves to be anything but smooth sailing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, The deep dive into the characters' lives helped me form a real connection with them. The added layer of the story with the story makes it even more captivating and engaging.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was amazing!

I got butterflies almost the whole way through, and I immediately fell in love with the characters and their stories!

I can’t wait to go back and read this again!

I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did! It started a little slow, and I almost DNF’d it — but I’m sooo glad I kept reading. This was one of the cutest romances I’ve read in a while!

I loved that the main characters were both writers — Aiden writing literary fiction and Rosie writing romance. Reading snippets from the story they were co-writing felt like a perfect reflection of their feelings. It was like watching them fall in love on two levels — in their writing and real life.

As a fellow romance lover, I related so much to Rosie and absolutely adored her character. The slow burn was paced just right — I was giggling and kicking my feet when they finally got together! And the HEA was perfect.

To start off… I honestly have no idea how this is a debut novel?! It makes me so excited to share this review and even more excited to see what Katie Holt does next 🫶

This book was SO good. I was immediately hooked from the beginning. This is literally what dreams are made of: enemies to lovers trope edition. I loved the chemistry, banter and tension between Rosie and Aiden - truly palpable. Like seriously- a few scenes even gave me butterflies 🤭 This was the perfect combination of romance, substance and spice. This had one of the best spicy scenes I’ve read this year - and they aren’t even in the same room! IYKYK 🤭🌶️

I love that this was a story inside a story. These characters were so well developed and felt like two very real people to me. I am a huge fan of duel POV in romances but the author did such an amazing job intertwining both the FMM & MMC feelings through their book excerpts that it didn’t even phase me. Whether it’s chasing your dreams or love - these two are extremely relatable and make you want to be brave & hopeful.

I honestly just loved everything about this one & can’t wait for you guys to enjoy it too! Seriously add this to your tbr & thank me later 🩷🤭

what do you get when two writing students who hate each other are forced to write a love story together? you get moments upon moments worthy of kicking your feet & incredible tension.

in not in my book, we meet rosie & aiden, two rival writers who are in the same writing intensive class at NYU. this is academic rivals to lovers at its best. I ate it up, and the new york setting was so perfect for the story too.

beyond the super sweet romance (and trust me, it’s a good one), this book is one of those books that reminded me of why I love reading romance in the first place. so for that reason, this book will hold a special place from now on.

“no two love stories are alike. sometimes you know just after an hour with a person. or it can span decades. the only thing every love story really has in common is that it’s worth it. love is always worth fighting for.”

Wow! What an amazing book! Is there a better trope than enemies (really rivals) to lovers? I think not. I absolutely loved The Hating Game and Beach Read and I can see how this book might be compared to them. It definitely lives up to the hype.

Plus, give me an academic setting any day of the week and I will eat it up.

The tension. The angst. The pining. The yearning. Pure perfection. It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel from this author…it’s that good.

Do yourself a favor and read this one today. You won’t be disappointed.

That moment when they reflect on those early days and get to explain what they really meant with how it got misinterpreted… always hits.

A very special thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Alcove Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It's a perfect hit.
This novel has everything I love so much.
From enemies to lovers, lovable characters, forced proximity, great jokes, and it all happens while the book is being created and their tension was on high level.
A wonderful romance, I enjoyed every page.

I would love to read other books by the author.
Thank you for arc❤️

Rivals Rosie and Aiden are forced to write a romance novel together after an incident in their writing class at NYU. Rosie believes that no matter how bad life gets in romance novels, there would always be a Happily Ever After whereas Aiden writes literary fiction with more realistic endings (sadness, death, etc.). As they write together they really get to know each other-- will they end up writing their own love story?

I loved everything about this book, winter time in New York, the chemistry between Aiden and Rosie, the angst, the slow burn!! Rosie was such a well rounded and funny fmc who is also a Swiftie. Rosie's friend group & her family were so wholesome. I also loved all of the food references & learning more about the Peruvian culture. This book had everything I needed in a romance novel & more, so well done!

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Books and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.