
Member Reviews

Leigh Simon (27) gets accepted to a prestigious MFA program at Perrin in NC. She has an English degree and has been working as a copywriter. But she loves poetry and has been published in a known magazine. She is surprised that in her small MFA group is William Langford who she went to highschool with. He already has a Master’s degree and has worked as an editor. But what Leigh remembers most clearly is that he didn’t like her writing.
I thought this book was the most interesting as Leigh tries to figure out why she is such a people pleaser. She literally doesn’t know if something is good until she has a reaction or response from someone. So for a women’s fiction story I enjoyed the journey with her as she dealt with her insecurities and tried to understand her parents' failing marriage. I was less interested in the romance. It still ties in to her insecurities but a lot of it had to do with poetry and writing with feeling and honesty. And truthfully I don’t really don’t get poetry on that level. There is a competition for an internship that only one poet can earn. But I didn’t love the resolution for that. I saw this as a happy for now ending and didn’t quite believe they have what it takes for a HEA.

This was a quick read. I struggled to connect with Leigh and Will but overall, they were fine MCs. I liked Leigh’s journey of self discovery. I thought the third act breakup was a bit much (although Leigh’s parents… come on). I just wanted a little more from this one.
But the ending was cute! I enjoyed the epilogue.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc/alc.
This was a beautiful love story and a wonderful debut novel by Katie Naymon. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Leigh and Will. Additionally, being a huge Swiftie, I loved all of the Taylor Swift references in this novel. Sarah Beth Goer did a fabulous job with the audiobook narration and I would definitely consider listenig to more books by her in the future. I would also read more by Katie Naymon in the future as well!

There was a lot that I enjoyed about this one. I like the higher education setting, the poetry discussed in each class, the forced proximity, and the classmates in the MFA program. Also, the cover is beautiful. Unfortunately, I could not get over how much I did not connect with the main character, Leigh. She was supposed to be in her late twenties, but how she reacted throughout much of the novel made her read much younger. It made me wish it was dual POV so that I could escape her thoughts for just a few pages. I wanted to know what was going through Will’s mind during certain situations and his thoughts on their interactions.
Thank you to author Katie Naymon, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and NetGalley for the eARC of You Between the Lines in exchange for my review.

2.5 stars
I was looking forward to reading this as I had seen so many wonderful reviews for it. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. I didn't care for the FMC at all. She seemed so immature for a woman of 27 years old. She seemed very me-me-me with her parent's marriage issues. Her issues with Will were very childish, too.
Thank you to Forever Publishing for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

⭐️ 3/5
🌶️ 3/5
Thank you Forever (@readforeverpub) for the ARC and finished copies! 🫶🏼
Where are my fellow English major and Creative Writing besties at!? This book lured me in because I was once just a sorority girl writing romance alongside the literariest at my liberal arts college!
I really enjoyed the premise of the story and loved the poetry interspersed throughout. I fell head over heels for Will-YUM Langford and I’m not mad about it. I also really loved all the side characters who added a healthy dose of comedy and drama to the mix.
I will admit though, what got under my skin the most was how miscommunication became the heart of this romance. Both Leigh and Will have a laundry list of assumptions about one another, none of which they take the time to discuss or clear up. They both just kept pining for one another but never really stopped to take a moment and really listen to the other. I mean, I’m all about lust driving all your motivations, even more on board when they want to give in just this once to get the want out of their systems, but I think immaturity got the better of our FMC and tanked the relationship.
I think this book would have benefitted greatly from a dual POV perspective. I know there was so much more to Will’s character that we didn’t get to see and there were times I was just desperate for it!
For a debut, this was still a great romance, but I wanted more.

"All style, no substance"—the words Leigh has never been able to forget.
Accepted into a prestigious MFA program at a crossroads in her life, Leigh is determined to prove herself. But when she discovers that Will—her high school crush-turned-nemesis, who once rejected both her and her work—is also enrolled, old wounds resurface, and the tension is undeniable.
The slow-burn dynamic between Leigh and Will is thick with unresolved history, keeping me hooked and rooting for them the entire time. Naymon’s writing—both in the novel itself and through the characters' MFA work—adds layers of emotion and depth, making the romance feel immersive and poetic. Leigh was a complicated character for me. At times, her actions felt younger than her age, but Naymon skillfully unpacks the reasons behind her insecurities, making her growth feel authentic and rewarding. With its lyrical prose, academic setting, and simmering romance, You Between the Lines is a captivating story of longing, self-discovery, and the power of words.
Thank you Forever for the copy through NetGalley!

This one was a really good slow-burn missed connection story. Leigh and Will were in the same high school writing class and Will had given Leigh hypercritical feedback during class, basically derailing her crush on him. We fast forward ten years later and they’ve just started the same Masters of Fine Arts program together and it’s a pretty small cohort. Things are awkward between them, as expected, especially when we learn that they had seen each other once six years ago (also ending badly). It was interesting to see these two people continuing to skirt around their feelings for each other and not quite communicate directly. Everything is sort of hiding in their poetry and creative work and they’re both deeply insecure. It was fun seeing the dynamic with all their classmates and working through their career aspirations. Overall, the book kept me hooked, even if all the poetry went over my head.

god this book hurt SO GOOD!!!! angsty romance books are my favorites and katie’s debut was promptly added to the list.
leigh is finding her footing after her parents’ separation and feeling restless at her ad agency job. she applies for a spot in a mfa program and, to her surprise, gets accepted. the surprises keep coming when will, her crush from high school who rejected both her writing and her 6 years ago, is also in the program. when their cohort is up for a prestigious fellowship, they try to stay away from each other. they try to just get it out of their systems. it doesn’t work.
I adored this book so much. leigh is messy, imperfect, and so god damn relatable. will is soft, quiet, and unreadable. but in the little moments in their interactions, we get to see him. and how much he cares for leigh. there’s an undercurrent of nostalgia woven into the pages that hits so hard. the yearning between leigh and will had me giddy, frustrated, sad, happy, and every emotion possible. the two of them are perfectly imperfect and their journey was angsty and beautiful and healing.
leigh’s mental health journey was so well done. she is THE pathological people pleaser and her therapy scenes were so real. her character growth had me misty eyed and I loved every second of it. will’s journey with his insecurities and challenging relationship with his dad hit so hard. it was so complex and moving and I would protect him and his softness forever!!
this book was easily my favorite of january. the two imperfect poets messily falling in love and figuring their shit out are gonna stay with me forever. the two of them saw each other, learned to be vulnerable with each other, and refused to shy away from the hard stuff. even if it hurt. even if it was scary.
thank you so much forever publishing for the arc!
what to expect
⟢ so much delicious angst
⟢ mfa poets, and sort of rivals
⟢ so much yearning
⟢ anxiety and therapy rep
⟢ finding your people and learning to be vulnerable

A truly original romance! Such wonderful tension in this story. This will be a welcome read to warm hearts in the dregs of winter. Will be looking forward to reading whatever Katie Naymon comes with next!

A book about poets that felt like poetry while reading it. There are so many lines throughout that felt like they were plucked from the deepest part of emotion and had me rereading them multiple times. A story about yearning and not just for another person (though yes and hard) but about yearning to be accepted. Leigh and Will’s insecurities are so real and felt like a personal attack at times. The moments of clarity from Leigh with her therapist had me crying and made her feel so human even when she was flawed.

I couldn't put this book down once I picked it up - I was so drawn in to Leigh and Will's history and their present, being flung together as rivals in a small MFA class. I felt like the connection and the pining was so palpable between these two and every time they got close and then pushed each other away, I could feel the tension between them. I loved seeing Leigh's work on herself mirrored in her work, in the way she learned to give more of herself to the people around her and to the page. You'll gobble this up if you've ever found yourself thinking a poem about Ohio has prose that's sublime, you competed in power of the pen in middle school, or you've secretly been hung up on the salutatorian from your high school graduating class (Or if Beach Read by Emily Henry really spoke to you - perhaps a more common occurrence!)

Solid 4 star book.
I don't know that I was smart enough to read You Between the Lines. So much of the poetry/English stuff sailed right over my head. It's clear Katie Naymon knows what's she's writing and doing. What I did understand was beautiful, but I lost a lot in the jargon. As an accountant, I wouldn't start out using accounting terms without first giving a real life comparison of what I'm discussing for those that don't have accounting degrees.
I really enjoyed the friendships, Kacey and Gen were top tier. I loved the moment with Gen during spring break where Leigh was lashing out and Gen, who would have been totally justified popping off, just... didn't. So much respect for that, that takes a strong confident person to listen and recognize what's being said comes from a place of hurt.
There were a few lines I highlighted because the author wrote them so beautifully. When they were in the bedroom during the Halloween Party and she wrote "...his thumb dragging up and down in a constellation so perfect, it's as if he already knew my body's cartography." WHAT?! Get out of here with that poetic beauty (no pun was intended there) I loved that. And of course, she got me in the corn maze with, "I will hold on so tightly," *Sigh* So good.
I didn't love Leigh's parents. I know that's the whole entire point, but I really just wanted to slap them around. Going to a huge event for her and bringing their drama with it? No, you shouldn't have even come. Wait until she's done and FaceTime her later to tell her, once she's completed one of the bigger moments off her life. Of course, then we wouldn't have had all that we did and the book would have gone in a different direction, but I was SO MAD at them.

I immediately ran to request this arc when so many of my friends have been raving about it!
I actually put off reading it because I was so nervous. It wouldn’t live up to the insane expectations. I had in my head over it. I’m so glad to say that I had the best time reading it!!
Starting the book, I was nervous because Leigh felt a little conceited hanging onto one negative comment by a cute boy in high school. But putting myself back into my old high school shoes I probably would’ve done the same thing. And that exact cycle continued throughout the entire book. Leigh doing something questionable and me, realizing I would have or do the exact same thing.
Leigh struggles with anxiety, people pleasing and feeling good enough in her craft. Leigh is me. I am Leigh. How Katie could crack my brain open and put everything on the page without ever meeting me is crazy.
I’ve never read a romance that orbited poetry like this book has. I loved reading poetry in high school and because of this book I’ve checked out a few poetry books from my local library to get back into it. This book was inspiring and frustratingly relatable, beautifully written, and just absolutely lovely.
Thank you to NetGalley for this early copy for an honest review!

Tomorrow is Katie Naymon’s book birthday!! I was so lucky to get a copy of YOU BETWEEN THE LINES earlier, and it didn’t disappoint! You can still preorder today, or grab the book from your local bookstore tomorrow!!
A former sorority girl starts a prestigious poetry MFA program only to discover that one of her classmates is her high school crush-turned-nemesis—and he can’t stop writing about her.
I died over this pitch! It’s giving January and Gus, the grad school years, and the tension was beyond delicious! Leigh’s growth arc was amazing, and it was so much fun getting to know all the side characters. Will and Leigh’s journey to each other was amazing, and there was a mirror scene that will live rent free in my mind forever!
Can’t wait to see what Katie comes up with next!

3/5 ⭐️
What a disappointment. This had a strong start - Leigh and Will are both in a MFA program for poetry (they have history back from high school) and they are competing for a prestigious fellowship. Leigh and Will had great chemistry and I was pretty invested in the story. But there were aspects that just slowly started to grate on me.
Leigh got on my nerves. I can understand feeling insecure and having imposter syndrome in a graduate program but Leigh was acting like someone in her early twenties and not someone who was almost 30. She barely seemed to learn from her mistakes, there was some growth at the end but not enough. She went into the program writing poetry that centered mostly around pop culture (which is cool, own it) and she just spent the entire time complaining about how her classmates "didn't understand her" and how she "didn't want to write like or read anything that was 'elitist.'" She used this interchangeably with not wanting to read anything from 'white, straight (weird that she is assuming sexuality) men.' Which like ok you can do that, but then why are you in a MFA program and why completely disregard when you could just read more diversely?
Leigh's insecurities coupled with Will's inability to communicate and his own baggage made for the most frustrating miscommunications and problems. They honestly seemed pretty toxic for one another and I did not believe that they would or should have stayed together.
I think this could have been better if we could have seen more growth from Leigh (and Will) throughout. It was just too frustrating for me and I no longer was rooting for Leigh and Will to be together by the end.
Thank you to NetGalley, Katie Naymon, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for my early access to this.

haven’t been obsessed with a book in a long time but I am OBSESSED with this one. Leigh and Will who haven’t seen each other in years end up in the same MFA program. While not necessarily enemies their relationship is strained. Watching their relationship evolve throughout the book was beautiful but also frustrating in a good way. I LOVED all the Taylor Swift/One Direction references. Leigh overcoming how she sees herself and her relationships with her parents and others was a difficult journey but one that I felt deeply. Will having to sort out his feelings for Leigh while also dealing with his unresolved feelings over his father was an incredible journey to watch.
The only thing I struggled with was Leigh’s situation with Lucas. It had, what I felt like, a rushed/incomplete ending. It didn’t detract from the book, but I felt something was missing.
Loved all the side characters in the MFA program and Gen!

I thought the writing in this book was really great—Katie Naymon’s storytelling is beautiful and there were a lot of moments that resonated with me. I wanted to love this book more than I did but a couple of things held me back.
Since this book follows two poetry MFA students, there’s a lot of poetry woven into the story. I think this is just a me problem but poetry doesn’t really resonate with me. I don’t fully understand it and because of that I feel like I missed out on a deeper connection to the story. If you love poetry though, I think you’d really appreciate this aspect of the book.
I also found Leigh, the FMC, to be incredibly sensitive, constantly assuming others were judging her while also judging them just as harshly. I think a lot of readers will relate to her struggles with self-doubt and I can recognize parts of my younger self in her but at this point in my life I just found her frustrating. Will, the MMC, was also difficult for me to connect with at first because he was so indecisive. But in the second half of the book he felt much more invested, thoughtful and like a true book boyfriend which made me enjoy him a lot more.
This book is definitely angsty, which I usually love, but these characters were so deep in their own heads that it felt like they were constantly self-sabotaging. Still, the writing was gorgeous and I’d absolutely read more from this author. Even though the story didn’t fully work for me I think the right reader is going to love this.

Infinite stars 💫
You know when you read a book that reminds you of when you first fell in love with reading? It brings you right back into the world of fiction and hits your heart straight on? This was that book for me. I cannot believe this a debut - but WHEW if it doesn’t go viral and become a best seller I’m gonna be rioting. Katie deserves all the praise and acknowledgment for this absolutely beautiful and stellar work. I haven’t read a romance novel this intricate + compelling in a long time. I absolutely love Will and Leigh… I will miss them so much!! I didn’t want this book to end. I felt every possible emotion here. Idk what Katie put in this, but man it’s just literature CRACK.

* I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. Pretty cute!