I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this book. I loved the characters and I always love an enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine. I loved the academic portions of this book and how the characters were ambitious on their own and together. I liked Rosie’s friendships and family and I loved her relationship with Aiden. I found myself laughing at their banter and I loved the excerpts of their book throughout the novel. A fantastic must read for anyone who loves Romance novels!

Rosie adores love and dreams of becoming a remarkable writer, so she makes the bold move to New York City. However, her idealistic journey takes an unexpected turn when she encounters Aiden Huntington. Aiden is a weary literary writer with a heart hardened against romance. As tensions flare, they are forced to collaborate on a book, and their contrasting energies — Rosie’s bright light and Aiden’s shadows — create a magnetic tension that pulls them closer in a complex romantic dance. The vibrant secondary characters not only enhance the storyline but also provide much-needed comedic relief. The book they craft together may be filled with awkward moments that disrupt the narrative flow, yet it ultimately unfolds into a deliciously steamy read.

I enjoyed the first 200 pages or so. I liked the writing and the characters. Rosie and Aiden's dynamics were interesting and fun. The side characters were also likable.

Not in My Book is a witty and engaging enemies-to-lovers romance with plenty of heart. The chemistry between Rosie and Aiden is electric, and their back-and-forth banter makes for a fun and fast-paced read. The premise of a romance writer teaming up with a literary fiction writer is a clever twist, and the way their evolving relationship mirrors the development of their novel adds a unique layer to the story. While the pacing is strong, at times the conflicts feel a bit predictable, and some moments could have been fleshed out more. Overall, it’s an enjoyable and humorous debut, perfect for fans of rom-coms with a literary flair.

Not in My Book is a classic enemies to lovers, forced proximity, he falls first and opposites attract book that makes you swoon. The story follows rivals Aiden Huntington and Rosie Maxwell. They both take a writing class where they compete against one another and insults each other’s writing style whenever they can. While Aiden prefers realistic, melancholy endings, Rosie prefers happy ever after's. In order to remain in their class, they had to write a book together, which compelled them to spend more time together and ultimately led to them falling in love.

Overall, the book features excellent character dynamics, just the right amount of banter, and well-executed slow-burn romance—all of which are guaranteed to win over romance readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Katie Holt, for the e-arc. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

WOW. THAT'S HOW YOU DO ENEMIES TO LOVERS. I ate this book up SO fast. I love the tension, the banter.. the fact that they have to write a novel together 🤭 I'm sorry this took forever to read, I'm literally kicking myself for it.

What a fun enemies-to-lovers exploration of the romance genre through a Creative Writing program! A total treat, with laugh out loud moments and lots of tension and banter.

Ugh wow I loved this book! The chemistry between Rosie and Aiden was top notch and I just devoured all their banter. I loved how they communicated their feelings through the story that they were writing. A great debut novel and such. fun read.

it's amazing 10/10 characters, they were so well written and their love felt so genuine
thank you netgalley for the arc

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Not In My Book by Katie Holt!

Ok this was fun!!!! And hot 🥵!!!!!
Enemies to lovers.
Rivalries!!!!
This was so good, the build up amazingly done.
Enjoyed the whole dynamic of these two main characters.
I like how they have to work together towards a goal, even that they really don't want to. I love how the animosity change to friendship to lovers. I would said the third act break up I seriously wanted to strangle the FMC but well.
If you like rom-coms this is definitely for you.

I started this book and got around half way through this but I stopped because I was kind of bored. It felt super cringy and i did not enjoy the spice.

I am a new romance girly. I was against them for SO long, SO long. But I needed something light and fun, and thus begun my world into romance. Why am I loving romance? It's fun, it's lighthearted, it's not too serious. I think so many people are trying to find the next literary masterpiece and judge books so harshly.
Is this book going to go down in history as one of the greats? No. Is it fun as heck to read? Absolutely. The characters were likable. The trope(s) weren't annoying. It was a fun and easy read.. I'm excited to see what is in store for Katie Holt!

I'm so torn about writing this review because Katie is such a sweet and kind person, and her writing is SO strong with such a clear voice. But I strongly disliked this book on so many levels, I would have DNF'd if it were any other author.

So first, let me say that I am so excited to see what she writes in the future, and I will absolutely be reading anything she writes still!

I think the number one problem was that it was too meta. Having followed Katie on Instagram for years and talked to her about her grad school experience, it felt so self-insert on her part. I get that a big part of storytelling is writing what you know, but it felt too close to what she had shared about her actual experiences. I'm also realizing (and this is a very me thing), I don't like books about writing, and specifically writing romance. It's starting to show up more and more in contemporary romances, and it almost always feels contrived and forced. It has so many wink-wink moments to romance readers, and it just takes me right out when it's such an obvious commentary that we, romance readers, are not the ones who need to be hearing it? Like we KNOW romance isn't taken seriously, we know we always have to fight to take up space, so to read nearly an entire book based on that premise was a bit much. The book in a book is a great device to use if the book isn't just repeating what just happened in the actual story. If there's more nuance and an actual difference between what's happening, it's great! But when you're just reading the same thing happen to a set of identical characters, it's boring and repetitive and takes you out of the book.

And please don't even get me started on the conflict at the end. Throughout the entire book, the characters read so much younger than they were, and any hint of character development for them was thrown out the window for the final conflict. So much so that they read like completely different characters.

Again, her writing is strong and I think she'll write incredible books as soon as she gets out of her comfort zone, and I really hope she does that one day!

They hate each other. All they do is argue in class, picking apart each other’s works. Then, when they’re forced to work together, they start wondering have they both actually always liked each other?

“Then I guess I’ll see you in the next chapter” haha I loved this line! I also loved almost every excerpt of their book from his perspective 🫠

There’s so much more I loved about this book. Her idealization of romance novels because humans are unpredictable and they can hurt you. The way he wrote his feelings, fears and hopes for her in his pages. I laughed, I swooned, I cried. The story was such a beautiful package all wrapped up 💝
However, Rosie… I hated her for part of the book. She seemed like she was just mean, while Aiden’s comments to her seemed to be helpful criticism of her work, she seemed vindictive and just out to get him. And somehow, she flipped the switch from hating him to wanting him to kiss her really fast, it just didn’t feel like it was time for that yet. She hadn’t really seen his longing for her yet, she still just hated him.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I wish I didn’t take so long to get it off my TBR and I’m over here waiting on the edge of my seat for Katie’s next book!!

3.75 stars!!

honestly it was a really cozy, cute rom-com. kind of exactly what I needed at the moment. It was refreshing to read a not-badly written romance after such a long time. I loved the chemistry between the characters, the tension, the angst which is rarely seen in romance book nowadays(sadly). I loved the characters, except few times-I admit-they were a little immature and pissed me off. But I think I finished this book in a few days and it was bingeable. What I did NOT like was the third act breakup because it was SO UNECESSARY (this happens in almost every romance normal nd it pisses me off) and this book could've been easily 4 or 4.5 stars idk maybe if it were'nt for the dumb ahh third act breakup.

I love loved this one! I love the different take on the writers falling in love with each other. I love the scenes where they are writing in tandem and I can't say I've read anything like that in romance!

Rosie and Aiden's critical friend (definitely enemies) vibe at the start of this was an instant hook and ultimately, I really enjoyed this story.

But- I forgot about it twice. There are points in their story where it felt repetitive or a bit too... forced? I guess? and I'd close the book to do something else and then just forget... for weeks. I LOVED the way things came together and was so delighted to have had the chance in the end, though.

Fast, light and easy read! Enemies to lovers trope and I enjoyed the witty banter between Rose and Aiden. A little predictable but has enough depth for a good story flow.

The book has been compared to The Hating Game and Beach Read, and I can see why. It's got that enemies-to-lovers vibe with plenty of witty banter. Rosie's passion for romance and Aiden's skepticism create an interesting dynamic, especially as they pour bits of themselves into their joint project.

Overall, it's a fun read that explores the clash between different literary worlds and the unexpected connections that can form when opposites attract. If you're into contemporary romances with a meta twist, you might want to check it out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Alcove Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you so much!