Long story short this was perfect!!

It’s witty, it’s soooo cute, it delivers on the romcom vibes, it’s very unique + creative and it’s one I think y’all should read!! Katie— 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

I read this in a span of about 4 days and it would’ve been shorter had I not had a busy week/weekend.. Once I started I couldn’t put it down. I loved the whole book within a book thing and I especially loved Aiden! 🥹

⭐️ 5/5 easily!

I loved the tension and history between both characters. You can tell they have a level of respect to each other even when they pretend not to.

I really liked this book and it would've been a five star for me if not for the third act conflict. In my opinion, the book started out great and you could really feel the tension between the main characters but something was lacking by the end of the last chapter. I didn't mind the book-within-a-book aspect of the story, I think it was actually fine and added a little fun twist to the plot, but I wished they would've talked and communicated their feelings better after pouring everything they had on their shared work. The only thing I have to point out is that the last chapters felt rushed and like some sort of filler just to get their HEA, which didn't resonate with the characters we were reading about for the rest of the book.

I desperately wanted to love this one. The premise sounded cute… enemies to lovers? I’m sold! However, the execution fell flat for me. I couldn’t connect to the characters and the writing wasnt my style.

I loved this book!! I was hooked immediately, and I finished it in a day. Their romance was so soft and sweet, the slow burn was so good. The concept of writing a book together was so unique to me, I loved the dynamic. The conflict at the end was a little bit unresolved? What is Aiden gonna do with the fellowship money... Other than that, I thought it was amazing.

Holt’s writing was almost too convincing; the hatred Aiden and Rosie had for each other was so strong it made the romance seem unbelievable… The redeeming part was how they wrote the love story together and in doing so got to see a totally different perspective of each other.

Enjoyed the banter and drama, the supporting characters were also adorable. Would recommend as a quick read and quite steamy!
Thank you NetGalley, Alcove and Katie Holt for the ARC

4⭐️

guys! i loved this book oh so much! i absolutely love enemies/rivals to lovers, and this did it perfectly!

this debut novel by katie holt has:
📖 academic rivals!
📖 grumpy x sunshine!!!!!
📖 he falls first and HARDDDD!!!!!

rosie and aiden are academic rivals, and in order to stay in one of their classes, they have to work together and co-write a novel that blends their genres! rosie is a romance writer, and aiden writes literary fiction!!!

i absolutely devoured this book!!!!!! thank you so much to katie holt, netgalley, and alcove press for the arc copy of not in my book!

Loved the excruciatingly slow burn of the rivals to lovers trope. The characters were actually relatable and likable, it was easy to root for them to be end game. It didn’t change my life, but was thoroughly enjoyable!

Not in My Book by Katie Holt 📝

“I want to be the person you picture when you’re reading and dreaming because you’re who I picture every single time.”

I’m sorry but reading a romance book about two people who are writing a romance book with characters that mirror them!? It was done so well. I loved it.

Rivals to lovers and banter are two things I can always get behind. I was hooked on the story from the very start and felt all the feelings.

It was fast paced, easy to read, and had high moments and low moments that had me wanting to know more.

A brilliant debut novel and I will definitely look out for more by this author in the future.

This is going to be all the rage for contemporary romance this fall! The two main characters are academic rivals with two different styles of writing. And when they get paired together, well… let’s just say they bump heads a lot before they do anything else. This is a cute read for sure! Definitely recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for the eARC.

OOOH the tension! Great enemies to lovers read about writers!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read this eARC

This was a cute read, I enjoyed the whole book within a book concept, really original. Some common tropes here, enemies to lovers etc. nothing groundbreaking but a cool read all the same. Not a fan of the third act breakup (although I know it adds a level of tension to the read) and some of the spicy scenes were a little cringey. But it was a really cute romance and I do recommend it it to romance readers. Thanks netgalley and the publisher for the read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Didn’t love this one. While the premise and overall plot points had cute elements, the fmc was pretty juvenile and annoying. I didn’t get much growth from her and it disappointed me.

Not in My Book was an okay read! The whole book within a book plot was interesting. I actually found myself more interested in the fake book than the actual one. I thought the fake book's dialogue was stronger. I liked the scenes where the main characters were writing their fake book. I especially liked the first writing together scene after their dinner date. It was cute! The story starts off with Rosie and Aiden as enemies. I personally thought the "hating" each other bit was too harsh and intense. I had a hard time believing Rosie's reasons for "hating" Aiden. As a graduate student in a writing program, Rosie handled Aiden's critiques immaturely. Luckily, the hating each other act got better towards 18% of the book. Once Rosie and Aiden let their guards down, their relationship was fun to read. I liked how the author developed their relationship. Rosie and Aiden had some cute scenes together. I particularly enjoyed the cookie making scene. The classmate side characters were fine. It seemed like their only purpose was to help Rosie with Aiden. Every conversation with them always revolved around Rosie and Aiden...which got old over time. I did find their group chats funny! I wasn't a big fan of how the third-act breakup played out. I didn't like the whole twist or how Rosie handled it. I thought she handled everything childishly. The ending knocked this book down a peg for me. Despite the ending, I had a decent time reading this. Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC.

When I saw this had a mix of a beach read and academic rivals, I knew I had to pick it up immediately. While I really enjoyed it, it wasn’t quite JanuaryGus for me. Rosie and Aiden are academic rivals in a writing workshop, forced to collaborate on a manuscript that blends their genres—romance and literary fiction. I loved how real their rivalry felt, with both constantly critiquing each other’s work. The excerpts from their manuscript, mostly in the MMC's POV, were a nice touch, especially since they subtly conveyed their feelings by masking them as their characters' thoughts. However, I found myself getting a bit bored around the 60% mark, and Rosie’s insistence that romances must have a HEA to count as romances felt too stereotypical. Plus, while the MMC’s attitude made sense initially, by the end it was used to justify his behavior, which didn’t sit well with me. Still, I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a writing-centric, academic rivals-to-lovers story with a Peruvian FMC. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I was initially really intrigued by the premise. It seemed like it was going to be academic rivals to lovers, but the story just didn't deliver for me. I found the main character, Rosie, to be incredibly immature and unlikeable. She had a massive chip on her shoulder and lashed out at Aiden even when he didn't deserve it. The third act breakup was really unnecessary and felt forced.

Some of the dialogue was cringe worthy, especially Aiden's dialogue during the spicy scenes. It felt completely out of character from what we had seen of him beforehand.

There were also a lot of issues with formatting, spelling, and grammar, which I found to be quite distracting at times.

Overall, the book had a good premise, and parts of the story were interesting, but it just missed the mark for me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book absolutely made me melt while reading it! It was the ultimate grumpy x sunshine trope. As the characters fell in love with not only themselves but one another, you started to fall in love with them too! Just adoring the way they started to develop in the story! I really enjoyed this book and it was a quick read for me!

Great tension in the story! Grumpy grumpy must work together for the good of both of their careers, only if they could stand each other. Age old story!

The concept is interesting, but reading about writing is a tad tedious at times 👀 Aside from that enjoyable read.

*”Not in My Books" by Katie Holt**—I absolutely loved this book! The plot, the character development, everything was on point. Rosy, as an author, felt so relatable, especially as a fellow romance lover. It made me hope I could find my own Aiden one day! The chemistry between Rosy and Aiden was incredible, and their journey from enemies to lovers kept me hooked. They first met in a fiction writing workshop, and from there, their story took off. If you want to know more, you’ll have to read the book yourself—it's definitely worth the time!

This was sweet. Rosie and Aiden do NOT get along in class and are forced to write a book together by their professor. Classic rivals to lovers. The excerpts of the book we are shown throughout the novel mirror the growing relationship between Rosie and Aiden.
It took me until about 15% to really get into it, but then I was in it. Unfortunately I wasn't really feeling the chemistry at some point. At times it was great, at others not so much. Overall it was a bit too much flip-flopping for me on that part. I'd say this was great until the 75% mark. The lack of communication and immaturity in the way they handled their relationship made me want to throw my kindle honestly and that somewhat ruined the book for me sadly. Still not bad, just really frustrating towards the ending....