THIS BOOK WAS ADORABLE!!! And so well written, I was SHOCKED to read that this was Katie Holt's debut novel. In this book, the two main characters have a glorious "enemies to lovers" trope; they're both in a creative writing class trying to write their first novels, when their professor (fed up with their fighting), assigns them to co-write a novel. I really enjoyed reading the novel part of this book, and the novelization project they were working on in class. 5 stars, I can't wait to read more from this amazing author!

A love letter to the romance genre and to all of us that believe in the happily-ever-afters.

Rosie and Aiden are academic rivals in their NYC graduate writing program- he writes literary fiction, and her romance, but neither seem to respect one another’s work. When their constant disagreements finally result in an explosive classroom disruption, their professor orders Rosie and Aiden must put their differences aside and write a novel together, or face removal from the course.

I really enjoyed this take on the “enemies-to-lovers” trope, and the inclusion of excerpts from Rosie and Aden’s novel added to the tension in such a unique way. Speaking of romance tropes, this story is an ode to them, and I was impressed by Katie Holt’s ability to weave so many tropes seamlessly into the book. Romance lovers and Swifties alike will enjoy picking up on the many “easter eggs” left for them to discover.

The NYC setting through the seasons is a perfect backdrop, spending just enough time at the holidays to make an impact, but not make it a “Christmas book.” Significant literary locations in the city such as the famous Strand bookstore enforce a literary atmosphere.

I loved the multiplicity of Rosie, part Peruvian, part Southern Belle, both sides adapting to her new life in the city. Her family dynamic is solid, and the second-generation American representation is thoughtful written. As the story progresses, we learn how Adian’s turmoil with his family and tense relationship with his father influence his outlook on life and writing style. If I asked anything of this book, it would be to dive deeper into these rich characters.

My favorite theme in the story is the validation of romance as a genre, the authors who write with vulnerability and champion the happy endings, and the readers who shamelessly enjoy them. Rosie is valiant defender of romance, and Aiden’s initial impressions of the genre represent its frequent dismissal in the literary world.

Not in My Book is a delightful read, a heartfelt story fueled by the kind of tension and banter that only a well-crafted enemies-to-lovers scenario can provide. The addition of Rosie and Aidan’s co-authored novel provides insight into the hearts of the characters, providing a creative and unique way to express their emotions and literary writing styles. A wonderful debut for Katie Holt, who validates contemporary romance by defending it against literary elitism, and embraces all of us who love the genre.

This book had everything you could ever want from a romance book. Slow burn, AMAZING banter, forced proximity and enemies/ rivals to lovers. It was such a great read and had me kicking my feet and giggling the whole time.

Not in My Book takes the slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, and forced-proximity approach to building a romance, to a new level. Rosie and Aiden are rivals in their writing program at NYU. Both adamant in their respective chosen genres, Rosie refuses to budge on her belief in Romance and Happily-Ever-Afters; Aiden looks down on her choice atop his Literary Fiction high horse.

When their arguments in class become too disruptive, their professor gives them an ultimatum: drop the class, or collaborate on a novel. They were both gifted writers, she explained, but they needed to learn to respect points of view outside of their own. As neither wanted to leave the program, they took the latter option.

As the enemies-to-lovers characters in their book go through their journey, they decide they need to, as well, in order to bring realism and depth to the story. This decision leads them to many awkward planned interactions, made easier only by communicating through the Google doc they share to write and edit the story together, and to talk to each other in ways through their prose, that they cannot manage, face-to-face.

Building the story together opens them up to each other's respective pasts and lasting wounds. Writing the story together ultimately helps them heal.

Not in My Book is a joy to read, and lands at a level higher than most, with this approach. It would be interesting to read where their journey goes from here.

Cute and quick read. The “hate to love” theme was a tad strong at the beginning. In fact, the hate-game was so strong between these two, it was almost to the point where you couldn’t forgive it. Similar story with the ending… 🙄 Can we normalise adults reacting and having rational conversations?

LOVED the Spanish sprinkled throughout the novel with no translation. More of this please! Also really enjoyed the co-writing of the novel and steamy scenes when they were typing together! Soooooo good. The angst in those scenes was off the charts!!

I couldn't put this book down. I overall loved the story, the plot, the banter between the two main characters, and their relationship with their families.
(spoiler ahead): I wouldn't give 5* because of the break up act which felt a bit unnatural and also the way they got back and the ending itself just didn't finish the book as strongly as the whole story.

Katie Holt’s NOT IN MY BOOK is exactly what I was looking for in a summer romance read. It’s sexy and fun, and the enemies to lovers relationship between Rosie and Aiden is flawlessly developed. All the stars!

Not in my book is an enemies to lovers story about Aiden and Rosie. Two authors who are very different people and write very different genre's but are they really that different? I don't normally read a lot of romance, however I was intrigued by the synopsis of this one and it did not disappoint. I was drawn in from the start and there I stayed. This book is perfect for a cozy day, cup of tea, chocolate and a fuzzy blanket. It was nicely paced and balanced so the reader just glides through it. The character development was nice and even the side characters had just enough description that you could develop your own relationship with them but were not to overpowering in the story to send it off on tangents.

Romance novels can be fairly standard in the way in which events unfold, this one was no different. Even though I was able to predict how things would unfold, i didn't feel like it detracted from the story. My only issue was the use of the term 'Baby', c'mon can't we get creative here? I feel like this word detracted from the book so much, I think I physically cringe when I hear it and it especially did not work in this book, It is the main reason I am giving 4 stars not 5.

Book Review
Book Title-> Not In My Book
Author-> Katie Holt
Release date->December 2024
Tropes-> Rivals to lovers, Grumpy × Sunshine, One bed, Book about Book, Slowburn romance, Small town FMC, Contemporary romance
I'll definitely recommend this book to the ones who love Academic rivals to lovers trope.
Rosie, the FMC who moved to New York from her home town(Tennessee) with dreams of becoming an author (To be precise a romance genre writer) gets accustomed to Newyork's busy life. The only person whose presence she can't stand is her grumpy class mate and her ex-crush who dislike romance genre and doesn't believe in HEA, Aiden. Aiden is a literary fiction author who never fails to get on Rosie's nerves with his feedback every week about her script in class.
Their professor who gets annoyed with their verbal battles she tells them to discontinue her class. After little pleas, she will allow them for her class on a condition: Rosie and Aiden must write a novel together. A romance novel with a sad ending.
They take turns writing each chapter but their banter continues as they place themselves in to the main lead characters. Things take a turn, the tension builds and there comes a situation where they will write a spicy scene together. As manuscript develops, their banters turns in to sweet talks and later in to confessions & promises. Date nights, sweet talks, Aiden is everything Rosie dreamt of. But their academic rivalry revive for a career changing opportunity. Will they find their way back to each other after a rift in their relationship.
Will they complete the manuscript?
Will they find their way back to each other?
You should definitely read the book to know what happens next.
Dear Author,
This book is so good that i enjoyed reading every page. You've done a wonderful job by slowly building the tension and making our hearts beat wild with your writing. This book is amazinggggg. I hope this book will become a huge hit. All the best. (Anddddd i don't want to give spoilers for the readers but chap17 is 🔥)
I loved the book and enjoyed reading it very much. It almost felt like I'm reading a book with dual POV with the way you wrote and i loved it. The rivalry, tension, spicy scenes are all so well written. This is definitely one of the books that i enjoyed and got involved in to the story while reading in recent times.
Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the book Arc...

Not in my book by Katie Holt is the feel-good book of the year.

This book has me speechless. I have never wanted to devour something so quickly in a long time. But reading this had me doing exactly that. The amount of times that I giggled, swooned, and kicked my feet is enough to prove exactly my thoughts on this book (Note-It was a lot).

Rosie and Aiden are absolute goals. While they started as enemies that constantly bickered about the smallest things, they learned to really connect and care about each other. They went from classroom fights to Aiden calling Rosie to make sure that they spent Christmas Eve together so that none of them were lonely. It was the sweetest and most wholesome relationship-truly one of a kind. Their banter was top-tier, and love even more delicious. I mean, who does not want an Aiden who has the cutest blushes-please sign me up. And their first kiss scene! There were defenitely some squeals from me at that chapter!

The Wholesome friendships-
Honestly, Rosie's friendships with Jess, Tyler, and Logan was one of the funniest and most wholesome aspects of the books. Their continued groupchat where they talked about anything and everything going on about Aiden and Rosie, to their nights and the Peculier club, I loved it all. They had each others backs, and were the funniest side characters one could ask for. Needless to say that I loved them, and would love to have a Logan in my life.

And then there is Rosie's family dynamic. I love her family. They are so adorable-from the way that they wear llama sweaters as a Christmas tradition to their joking mannerisms. I do wish however that we got to see a little bit more about Rosie's family. I loved them completely, and wanted to see more scenes with them in it.

Now to my most favorite part of the book-the story that Rosie and Aiden were writing.
This was by far the best plot-point that happened. It really alleviated the story, and made it even more enjoyable. It built up Rosie and Aiden's relationship, and gave them a comfortable outlet to share their feelings. Especially when writing that steamy scene, oh my. But most of all, it gave both of the characters a unique voice. Since their story is written in a different tone than the overall story, it gives it more chances to develope, and be seperate from everything else. I felt like kI was reading a completely different story, and I loved every second of it. Being able to see Rosie and Aiden's progression through their real life, and character personas was my favorite thing.

Overall, this book was completely amazing. The writing was so compelling, and the slow burn was slow burning. I wish that this story never ended. There are not many books that I see are set in this writing industry setting, and I loved that it made it all the more unique. As someone who loves to write, it felt very relatable and comfortable.

AND the New York winter backdrop-100% YES. This was the perfect place for the story to be placed in, and created this magical wonderland of a world.

Thank you so much to Netgally, Alcove Press, and Katie Holt for a chance to experience this wonderful story!

5+!

"Love could be a ruthless game."

Rosie and Aiden are MFA students in New York, she writes romance and he writes literary fiction. Except he hates romance and she hates literary fiction and as such, they hate each other. When the two of them get into a particularly vicious verbal battle in their class, their professor has had enough. In order to stay in the class, the two of them must write a novel together, no ifs ands or buts about it. When the duo find themselves writing a literary romance, they can't help but lose themselves in parts of it. When they finish the book, they're finished, right?

When I realized this was a debut, I was STUNNED. This was beautiful!! I loved every single thing about this book. I L-O-V-E-D Aiden, the little Taylor Swift easter eggs, the dual narrative (which made up for the lack of dual perspective), the book, the quotes, the New York setting, all the seasons, just every single thing.

This was truly a beautiful romance and I cannot wait to see what else Katie Holt reviews because if this is the beginning? She has an incredible future ahead of her.

"I loved you the whole time, but I love you the most now.'

This was the perfect enemies to lovers! The tension between the two characters were to die for, I loved the little arguments they would get into. I really loved the fmc Rosie. She was just so determined and knew how to hold her own ground. And Aidan, the mmc, OMG he was just so perfect. He listened to everything Rosie said, he was literally such a simp and I loved it. The plot of this book was so unique, and I love how we got a romance book inside of a romance book. The ending really tied everything together and made the book even better. While reading this book, I was smiling and kicking my feet, the banter was just so good! It was the perfect amount of drama and the perfect about of spice. I cannot wait until the physical copy is released, so I can get my hands on it.

I aint a big TS fan but I caught on to the hints for sure. This was a beautifully written rom/com enemies to lovers' book and I'm so here for it!! immediately put it on my Wishlist so I can buy the physical copy as soon as release date hits so I can annotate all the cute notes on it!!

Rosie Maxwell and Aiden Huntington write very different books. Rosie writes romance and Aiden writes literary fiction. They, of course, attack each other’s writing in the writing class they’re in together. They are so bad that their teacher threatens to kick them out of class for good. She suggests they write a book together. Of course, the characters in the book (Max and Hunter) parallel Rosie and Aiden’s life and feelings. And as Max and Hunter start falling for each other, so do Rosie and Aiden.

This book was similar to Emily Henry’s Beach Read, but I think I enjoyed this more (I know, don’t come at me). Both characters have pasts that make them hesitate to fall for each other (Aiden’s father, Rosie’s ex), but once they push past their barriers they are a fun couple, completely in sync with each other. The third act break up was predictable, and I got really mad at Rosie for it, but it’s a romance, so there’s a happy ending.

I think this is a common but tricky premise, two writers tackling a romance book together. It's just very hard to make this meta concept work, twice over within the same book. I think the main characters acted so juvenile towards each other, in a masters program, to take them seriously later on.

I wanted to love but but it is just not for me - i ended up DNF-in about 35% in - just not the book for me

I really enjoyed this little romance novel. The premise for the book was adorable: two rivals in a Graduate program writing workshop where the MMC is the most critical of the FMCs work, but she never backs down showing us how feisty and stubborn she is. This sparks an intriguing rivals/enemies dynamic. During an argument had in front of their entire class, the professor decided as punishment that they were to write a book together. This is where things started to get realllly good. The banter and the way they communicate through the characters in their book is swoon worthy. I love me a man in a peacoat!!!

What lowered my rating was around 70% the book started to drag for me with what seemed like a lot of fluff, but I enjoyed the ending and how everything wrapped up.

I would definitely recommend when in need of an easy/comfort romance read.

Loved this book. At first I thought it was going to be the typical hate to love story and it was but it had such a great premise. I loved that we got to see what they were really thinking and feeling by reading their book. There were moments when I thought the characters were being a little dramatic but overall, it was a great fun book

Solid story of enemies to friends to lovers. You can’t help but root for Rosie and Aidan! Plenty of tension and arguments to keep the pages turning. But they get the HEA they both deserve.

I really enjoyed this book like I devoured it honestly! Love a rivals to lovers book, I just think they could’ve built a stronger relationship. There was so much yearning and pretending to not like each other that the book was nearly over when the romance occurred. The bantering and bickering was done perfectly and I just wished we had more relationship time. The third act break up did but didn’t make sense - everyone’s reactions felt superficial to who I knew the characters to be. Especially because I feel the book didn’t show the greatest job of how this would tear the characters apart. The entire situation just confused me. Also I was the biggest fan of the epilogue, I would have preferred a different view of their future. Overall a good read!!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.