4.5☆ I loved this romance book. As an avid reader, I love a romance novel about writers and books. I really enjoyed reading the snippets of the co-writing between the main characters at the end of each chapter. I highly recommend Not in my Book by Katie Holt.

Not in My Book by Katie Holt is a book I know I’ll revisit whenever I need to escape reality. From the first page, it had me laughing, screaming, and kicking my feet in excitement. The plot is so creative and engaging that I couldn’t put it down, and by the end, I was ready for a reread.

As a Latina, chocolate lover, and terrible cook, I instantly connected with Rosie. She’s funny, clever, and relatable, but the banter is what truly stole the show. I absolutely loved the dynamic between Rosie and Aidan—it was so heartwarming and fun to watch develop. And her friend group? They were just as entertaining and added so much to the story!

The spice in this book was amazing, and I did not expect Aidan to be like that! It was such an amazing surprise. When Rosie pointed it out, I was like, “Omg girl, same.” I also loved how we indirectly got both points of view—such a unique and creative format that kept me hooked.

Aidan, the love interest, was perfect—he added depth and charm to the romance, making it all the more enjoyable. Katie Holt’s writing is witty and refreshing, and this book is a must-read for any romance fan. I can’t wait to dive back in!

Thank you NetGalley and the author for this ARC!

Not in my Book by Katie Holt

Not in my book by Katie Holt is a contemporary romance that follows two academic rivals as they are forced to write a manuscript together.

Rosie Maxwell has always loved love, after splitting from her controlling ex she finds herself determined to secure her dreams. Aiden Hunter is the antithesis to romance. Opting to writing more serious literature capturing topics of grief and hurt.

When they are forced to team up in order to stay in their NYU writing class they find themselves becoming friends as they soon learn the true nature of each other, and maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

I really enjoyed this book! I think having two very strong leads isn’t often done in a romance book and in some ways I wish this book were dual pov as I’d love to know what was going through Aidan’s mind during certain points of the book.

I think their romance and coming together came across very natural. They were bound to have disagreements or be scared away at certain times. Now *slight spoiler* I didn’t like the 3rd act break up. I did predict the way in which it would happen quite early on but I think he didn’t redeem himself enough. As much as I loved Aiden and I’d have loved to know more about his childhood I think he got let off too quick! Maybe that’s just me. I do like a quickly resolved 3rd act breakup as they do stress me out in books but I don’t know I just feel like something was missing there. Maybe we could have had her read the manuscript after Ida’s call out of curiosity and then Aiden turns up? I don’t know. That being said I still really really enjoyed this book and I’m rating it 4 stars.

Not in My Book by Katie Holt is an adorable romance about two aspiring writers in a writing workshop who argue constantly. They became so disruptive in the workshop their professor gave them the option to collaborate together on writing a book or be removed from class. Strong personalities, overcoming past trauma, & falling for each other through their characters makes this book an excellent story.
Thank you, #NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book, with all thoughts and opinions being my own. This is my first Katie Holt book it won't be the last. If you're looking for spunky characters, a little drama, passion, & a whole lot of swoon, then I recommend adding this wonderful romance story to your TBR list.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! This book comes out on December 10, just in time for the Christmas season. :)

I love an enemies to lovers, I love romance books set in NYC, & I love books about authors. Because of all of that, this book was the perfect vibe for me. Not to mention the heroine being a romance reader like myself.

Rosie & Aiden are writing students that are always feuding in class, to the point where they are assigned to write a novel together to force them to get along. While being a pretty straight forward enemies to lovers story, the characters were also to explore career, grief, & family in a touching way.

The only reason this wasn’t a 5 star read for me was that the pacing felt a little off from me from time to time. While I loved every journey these characters went on, there were a few times I felt like the book could be wrapping up just to see that I had quite a bit of the story left to read.

Wow... just wow! This book was beautifully written and had me hooked from the start! This book has diverse and well developed characters that help build and show that. Rosie and Aiden are school rivals. In the same MFA program they started as rivals the day that Aiden dismissed Rosie as a writer since she writes romance. Despite Rosie's instant attraction to Aiden (and that darn peacoat) she won't let him win and it means war. They're bickering and need to one up another causes enough strife in their program that their professor gives them an ultimatum.... write a manuscript together or leave the class and potentially the program. Rosie and Aiden reluctantly decide to call a cease fire for the sake of their education. As they write their story they find that the characters are a little too familiar. As they work together and write, they're bickering and snide comments slowly begin to turn into a friendship... with a LOT of tension. Rosie can't ever see Aiden liking her, because she will never give up on romance and Aiden doesn't believe in it. But maybe he just hasn't experienced it and is willing to bring his walls down for Rosie. After all, their characters are simmering with desire for one another... why wouldn't it work for them? This book gave so much angst and tension and is a true enemies to lovers novel. I loved the banter and the character development, it was wonderfully written.

I loved this story! I was smiling, kicking my feet and giggling! This is enemies to lovers and we are given exactly that. What made this book different is that they are both in a graduate program in NYU. They argue all the time in class to the point that other students feel they are getting entertained. One time they take it too far and they are forced to write a book together. That's where the magic happens. It was so fun watching two people write a book when they claim to hate each other. The chapters they write and the relationship they build both in the book and for themselves is such a great story.

I DNFed this book. I could not get into it. The characters were not likeable to me. I gave it 1/5 stars. I’m sure it’s good, but it was not my cup of tea and I’m very particular about my books!

A bit of slow burn unexpectedly but the romance within romance was cute. Loved the cozy vibes and Taylor Swift atmosphere. Rivals to lovers done well!rosie was very liked and versatile.

Wow! Aiden and Rosie couldn’t be more different from each other, and this is what made this story so compelling. The constant banter and bickering was everything! This was your typical perfect academic rivals plot and I’m obsessed with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

Ohh, I had fun with this one! It was cute, easy to read, and had a unique storyline. I'm usually not a fan of the I'm-mean-to-you-at-the-beginning-because-I-actually-like-you thing, but Aiden made it work! Rosie was sweet and funny, though she was a little over head head sometimes. I loved her chemistry with Aiden, as well as her relationships with her family and friends.

Giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because the pacing felt dragging at times, and the main reason for their breakup didn’t seem that impactful to me; it surely could have been avoided with a simple conversation. I also didn’t fully feel Rosie’s heartbreak over Simon—while everyone mentioned how he hurt her, it didn’t come through strongly in the narrative.

Overall, I loved the story and the characters, especially Logan! I would happily trade an organ for a book about him, tbh.

Gosh I haven't had a good cry from a book in a while! I loved the FMC and her group of friends and loved the "enemies-to-lovers" (more like rivals-to-lovers), I think it was executed well and it wasn't too slow to reach the lovers part. They were just so cute I was smiling every time they would interact.

This was like bookception with the book within a book but it was so good and I loved the back and forth. (THAT scene...wow). While this book didn't have me hooked to where I couldn't put it down, I really really enjoyed it and it was such a cute read.

I loved the fiery chemistry between Rosie and Aiden! Their banter had me hooked, and the forced proximity of co-writing a novel? Perfection. The plot felt fresh, combining humor, heart, and just the right amount of spice. If you adore enemies-to-lovers, this is a must-read!

I absolutely adored this book. The rivalry felt fitting for the situation. It was realistic. The communication and banter was perfect. I loved the whole premise of them writing the book. The scene of them writing the sex scene… WHEW !!! Loved it & of course loved a HEA.

3.5✨ this was a cute, cozy book! Let’s get into it.

First off, I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and Katie Holt for this ARC.

I think this book started really strong. I was obsessed with the dynamic between the characters, and it truly felt like enemies to lovers. It was super fun to read, and I was invested in what was going to happen next.

I do think it got a little more boring as it went on. This book is a victim of Mid-book slump syndrome, and it didn’t pick back up for a bit. I think it was all of the conversations? I’m all for witnessing the characters get to know each other, but I do think every conversation in a book HAS to be intentional, and I don’t think that’s the case with this one. Rosie’s ex was a narcissist and it clearly fucked her up, but I don’t think she *really* had a conversation with Aiden about that at all. She mentioned Simon, but it was only once or twice and it was about his perception of romance and how they weren’t meant to be, not what he actually put her through. There were entire dialogue dedicated to random stuff that I can’t even remember.

I also feel like it was corny sometimes but I’m just picky with romcoms. I hated all the NYC references, it very much screamed I’m not a native New Yorker and it’s just a pet peeve of mine. For instance:

“as soon as I heard you went back to Tennessee I went straight to LaGuardia” just say the airport

I do think the ending was kind of cute. I feel like so many things were strong, like the characters, the plot, the book, but there were certain misses that made it mid for me.

I also LOVED the book concept. How meta. The excerpts were so fun to read, and it was cute the way it reflected their relationship. I loved the scene where they wrote the sex scene together over the phone. Legitimately sooooo good (and hot ngl🥵). This concept made the book stand out!!

I would recommend this to romcom lovers!

This book

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

Rosie is a true romantic, and Aiden is a grumpy sceptic - of course their destined to butt heads when their forced to write a book together. A must read for any hopeless romantic.

You ever want to root for two characters so goddamn badly but they just keep doing everything in their power to stop you from doing that?? Yeah...

Plot
The plot in this book is just really solid - I mean, a hopeless romantic and a cynic have to write a book together?? It was so fun to watch their feelings develop on page before they manifested in real life. And yeah, writing a smut scene back and forth was way sexier than it had any right to be. Honestly, it did more for me than any of the actual smut scenes lol. I think the timeline of this book could have shrunk just a little bit because by the third act the conflict was starting to get pretty repetitive. I think this would have been a lot stronger without the third-act break up and instead Rosie and Aiden started facing their outer challenges as a team.

Aiden
While I didn't mind the enemies-to-lovers of it all, and he would definitely be my hate-to-love crush if I had to share a class with him, there were points when Aiden crossed the line from being grumpy and just went straight into being a huge dinkwad, which made it hard for me to root for him as a love interest. I could definitely see the potential in his character, I just wished he was fleshed out just a little bit more. At times, it was clear he was reduced to the archetype of "grumpy jerk-face" because it better furthers the plot. I had a hard time connecting with him and unfortunately his backstory didn't really help when we did come to understand why he's so against romance.

Rosie
I really enjoy female main characters who are allowed to be bright and feminine and silly, and Rosie was just that! She was a perfect amount of quirky without giving me the ick. However, she was just a liiiiitttlllleee frustrating with the choices she continuously makes throughout the book. Her character growth was a bit start and stop and it gave me a bit of whiplash.

Overall this was such a solid debut novel and I will definitely be looking out for the next book from this author! It's clear she's a romance lover herself and I for one love to feel that connection to an author when I read. And can we talk about the cover??? I'm in love.

Rosie is a girl like all of us, she loves romance books and looks for that “perfect” love that only exists in books. And well, Aiden, his college classmate, doesn't believe in real love.
Therefore, when it is their turn to present their work, they both attack each other, calling Rosie's romantic work naïve and Aiden's work depressive. When the atmosphere in the class becomes unbearable and their behaviours begin to affect the other students, the teacher decides to force them to work together to overcome their differences. Now they must write a love book but with a tragic ending.

Tropes:
🔏Rivals to lovers
🛏️Only one bed (one of the most credible and natural one beds that exist)
👩🏽‍🤝‍👨🏻Forced proximity
🔥Slow burn

The only thing that seemed a little “wrong” to me for the story was that Rosie and Aiden tend to act childish when they fight and they are meant to be graduate students. That made me doubt the book but in the end, I was able to put it aside because the plot was everything. Hence the -0.25.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.75)

Note: the book comes out in December, and it's set in winter which is perfect.

This book was an ARC gifted from @netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the outset, Katie Holt's "Not in My Book" captivated me with its vibrant prose and intriguing premise. The novel's exploration of the literary world, particularly the clash between tradition and innovation, felt both timely and timeless. The characters, Alex and Charlie, were immediately compelling, their contrasting personalities promising a dynamic and engaging narrative.

The plot centers around two rival booksellers, Alex, a young and ambitious idealist, and Charlie, a seasoned veteran with a deep-rooted love for the classics. When their beloved bookstore faces closure, they are forced into an unlikely partnership. Their journey, filled with both professional and personal challenges, serves as a microcosm of the larger struggle within the literary industry.

Holt's writing is a standout feature of this novel. Her prose is both elegant and accessible, effortlessly weaving together humor, pathos, and thought-provoking commentary on the nature of storytelling. The characters, particularly Alex and Charlie, are remarkably well-drawn. Their complex personalities and evolving relationship provide a rich tapestry of human experience.

While the novel's pacing is generally well-executed, the conclusion felt somewhat rushed. A few more chapters could have allowed for a more satisfying resolution, providing greater depth to the characters' arcs and the overall themes explored.

"Not in My Book" is a delightful and thought-provoking novel that celebrates the power of literature. Holt's skillful storytelling, combined with her engaging characters and insightful commentary on the literary world, make this a must-read for book lovers. While the ending could have been more expansive, this is a minor quibble in an otherwise exceptional work.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Alcove Press for sharing a digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Not in My Book sounded awfully similar to both The Hating Game and Beach Read, which made me hesitant to read it at first, but I'm glad I did! The comparisons are accurate, though Not in My Book was different enough that it didn't feel like a rehash of either. I enjoyed the rivals-to-lovers romance which felt like it progressed naturally, and I loved the element of Rosie and Aiden having to write a book together (and that book reflecting the state of their relationship). It was a clever, different way of portraying what was going on with their emotions. I loved that Rosie was Peruvian-American and that I got a glimpse into her culture (I was also extra delighted to find out I had retained more high school Spanish than I'd previously realized!) One of the most special parts of the book for me was the depiction of New York City. The city came to life on the page in a visceral way that made me feel like I was there--and made a part of me want to revisit NYC at Christmastime! Not in My Book is definitely worth a read for romance lovers, and a wonderful debut by Katie Holt.

I loved this twist on enemies/annoyed to lovers! It was so cute and gets extra love for the main female character being a swiftie!!! Can’t wait to get the physical copy for my bookshelf!!