These debut authors are knocking it out of the park! These characters are so real with their flaws and insecurities, which is what makes them relatable, beautiful and perfect. It was beautiful to see how these two poets worked towards finding their voice (in their career and life), while realizing they have been pining for each other for years. The people pleasers, tortured poets and perfectionists will love this one.

📖Yearning
📖The ANGST!
📖MFA students / rivals
📖Anxiety, therapy, mental health rep
📖Taylor Swift love
📖“Let’s get it out of our system”
📖Former high school classmates
📖Classmates / found family

Katie Naymon has a new fan, and I can’t wait to read what she writes next!

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the arc!

I always love the “not quite second chance”, more like a redo, where the main characters weren’t together previously but did have a moment. Naymon told an engaging story letting us slowly learn what happened between them. I enjoyed the push and pull between Leigh and William. I love when the characters have to work for their relationship.

It was hard to see Leigh struggle so much with her confidence. She didn’t feel like she was as talented as the other poets in her program, she didn’t feel like Will could actually want her long term or be as attracted to her as she was to him. Her parents’ divorce was also really tough.

I was glad to see Leigh in therapy on page, which is something I think we as a society are still trying to normalize. I loved the tension between Leigh and William.

Rivals to lovers-and poety. Leigh and Will met in high school and hadn't seen each other in years until they found themselves in the same MFA program and competing for a fellowship. Know that there's poetry woven through the novel (what a treat) and that there's some interesting (to me) insight into writing programs (and peer review). The focus though is on this pair whose banter is good and who you know will eventually find their way to romance. Naymon doe a nice job with mental health issues. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good storytelling makes for a good read.

All in all this was a fun romance read, great for the Valentines season. Leigh, was a little annoying, she was constantly putting herself down, and I know there was a point to it, she was seeing a therapist. I’ve also realized after reading this one, that I’m not a fan of the miscommunication trope, Will and Leigh just needed to spit out what they were thinking, they could’ve gotten together even sooner. And after the epilogue, I was asking for more.

You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 1/5 🌶️

Thank you to Forever, Grand Central Publishing, Netgalley, and the author for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a wonderful debut novel! You Between the Lines was such an amazing introduction to Katie Naymon’s writing! I was so invested in Leigh and Will’s story throughout. I truly enjoyed following along with their story, the overall plot, the poetry, and everything in between!

Leigh, the FMC, is accepted to a prestigious MFA program and is surprised that her high school crush, Will, is also there. The depth of this one is incredible and it really feels like we get to know the MCs closely. With the separation of Leigh’s parents and the passing of Will’s father, each of them is working to navigate changing circumstances/families and grief while adapting to a challenging MFA program. They are also rivals and are competing for a spot in a highly coveted fellowship.

What was especially notable about the story was how both Will and Leigh have their own struggles, yet they are simultaneously kind, humorous, and witty. Going from rivals to lovers made the banter, tension, and chemistry so much stronger. The romantic moments between them were so heartfelt! Seeing them grow, break down their walls, and get an opportunity to be together after so many years was so special! There was some miscommunication between them but it was navigated very well.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this one! It’s especially perfect if you love a book where there are two writer MCs, a rivals to lovers trope, an academic setting, and mental health rep!

You Between the Lines was a fine book. In this story, Leigh is in grad school, where her insecurities of writing come out when a former high school crush turned nemesis, Will, who once tore her essay apart, joins her in her MFA program.

Filled with poetry and writing workshops, we get the inside feeling of what it feels to receive peer feedback of something that you worked hard on and believed to be good, but where everyone else sees flaws. When in Leigh's head, the portrayal of that anxiety was real. Almost too real where I felt like I was back in undergrad English class myself, one class I did not look forward to. The writing assignments Leigh would receive and the anxiety on page felt like my own which I did not enjoy reading at all. The other thing that was a turn off for me was the Taylor Swift referenced poems. I didn't think they portrayed her likeness well, especially one that is an ongoing issue for Taylor who doesn't need more people adding to it.

The romance in the story was nice, and I did enjoy Leigh's story arc relating to the opinions of others towards yourself.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for an opportunity to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one is for the pathological people pleasers. The ones molding and shaping themselves into whatever they perceive others want from them, and are experts at it. For the ones who self-sabotage so much that they’re a self-fulfilling prophecy of their own worst fears. Take a deep breath. Breathe in self imposed expectations and breathe out self love and kindness. Change is possible, even after all this time.

This book is a master class in yearning. In stolen touches,longing glances, the brushing of lips, and whispered, vulnerable words. So tender yet buzzing with electricity. A slow and wonderful burn leading to an explosion of light that is all consuming.

The poetry woven throughout. The memory of things said and unsaid. It’s all so evocative. Will and Leigh are everything.
They feel inevitable. In every universe they would find each other. It’s kismet. And after 10 years of missed moments and 10 years of longing for the other, this is their moment.

“Am I just supposed to do this forever?”
“Fall and get back up? Yeah, I think so. What other choice do we have, ya know?”
Everything about this book is earnest trying and resiliency.

If you’ve ever identified with or over analyzed a Taylor Swift lyric, this book is for you. If you’ve ever identified with Amy March (little women), this book is for you. If you’ve ever desperately wanted your therapist to like you, this book is for you. If you ever thought a wrist was sexy, this book is for you.

Grab an iced lavender latte, this book, and your favorite Taylor Swift album and get reading!

Incredible debut novel by Katie Naymon! The story follows Leigh and Will, who had animosity towards each other in high school and wind up back in each other's sights at an MFA program. Both Leigh and Will have a loaded family past, resulting in their own fair share of traumas, insecurities and difficulty maintaining a serious relationship with one another. As the story unravels we become more aware of why they are the way they are. It's very easy to relate to Leigh in the way that she's constantly self-sabotaging and overthinking people's words and actions. There's a quote from the book that says, "I constantly accommodate, but then I secretly resent other people for not being as accommodating." I wasn't expecting to be so directly called out and will also be mentioning this to my therapist.


Will is beautiful character, and the importance of mental health is much appreciated in this book. There was nothing too dark or overwhelmingly tragic, but the way Will opens up about his mental health to Leigh is beautiful and raw and I think a lot of readers can understand their dynamic after hearing both of their stories regarding their upbringing and life events that have shaped their view on themselves and others. We also get to see Leigh communicate with her therapist and it felt very similar to what a session looks like with my therapist and I, so perhaps I'm biased as to why I loved this story so much but I loved seeing mental health representation in this book not only with therapy but positive conversation around medication as well.

It's also fun to read the dialogue between Leigh and her best friend Gen, as well as the other members of the MFA program. The plot was steady and every time we have a scene with Leigh and Will where we want more, we're definitely given more in time. The character development was nicely paced and by the end of the book I was pleasantly surprised. We have themes of loss, grief, love, self-worth, a realistic look of what women have to deal with regarding men and unwanted advances, and growth.

I can't wait to purchase a physical copy of this book for rereading! Will is up there high on the list of favorite book boyfriends. We love yearning and when we finally get resolve for the tension between the two characters it's incredible - I had to reread and couldn't put it down.

Very excited for more from this author! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this E-ARC.

This was a well-written book. It just wasn’t for me. I felt a little too bogged down by the deep dive into writing craft and the MFA program. Again, I think this ended up being a me problem, because analyzing writing was one of my least favorite parts of English classes! But I would try another book by this author again!

Thank you to Forever for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

The premise for You Between the Lines intrigued me and I’m a big fan of the rivals to lovers trope. Things started off pretty well and I enjoyed the found family vibes of the MFA cohort. I struggled with the main characters though and didn’t find them that likeable. They came across very immature for adults in their late 20’s. I think the story would have benefited from having both Leigh and Will’s POV’s (instead of just Leigh’s).

Unfortunately, the romance didn’t fully work for me because I didn’t feel the connection between Will and Leigh. The interactions that drove them apart in the past felt blown out of proportion and it didn’t help that there were so many starts and stops in the present day. It was frustrating that they wouldn’t just communicate with each other and instead chose to run away and/or make decisions based off of assumptions.

I enjoyed the writing, but it also felt too flowery at times. I’ve always thought that I liked poetry, but the included poems felt like they were all going over my head. The information about the MFA program was also a bit overwhelming and took up a lot of page time. I really wanted to love this one, but sadly it didn’t quite work.

I mainly listened to the audiobook and the narration was enjoyable, but not my favorite. Sarah Beth Goer’s voice worked well for Leigh, but there wasn’t a lot of variation otherwise.

Audiobook Review
Overall 3 stars
Performance 3.5 stars
Story 3 stars

CW: parental separation/divorce, death of parent (past), grief, anxiety, depression, plagiarism (past), FMC experiences unwanted attention and harassment by OM

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this one! I am not the best at writing reviews sometimes, but sometimes books take you by surprise and this one did just that. I got invested a few chapters in and couldn't put it done. It was so good! I highly recommend this one. This made my heart sing. I loved it.

You Between The Lines
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This book had soooo much potential, but it kinda fell flat for me! To be blunt…I found the FMC to be insufferable and felt like she had no character development. She overthinks everything, almost in an unbelievable way (and that’s coming from someone who overthinks everything) At one point they were walking and people were coming from the other direction and so the MMC stepped in front of her to make room and then she had a moment of like “ugh I always accommodate for people, why is it always me, why couldn’t he step behind me.” And I’m thinking sis it’s a sidewalk. She needed validation from absolutely everyone and it felt like we wanted to spread awareness of anxiety/ mental health / people pleasing tendencies / self sabotage, but ultimately it missed the mark for me. Dual POV probably would have helped balance it better. She just flip flopped so much I had whiplash! We do get some spice, but not overly graphic, I did like the writing aspect and following along during their creative process, the Cleveland references were fun, and I love the cover! Ultimately I liked the concept better. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you NetGalley, Katie Naymon, and Forever for this e-arc, it comes out February 18th!

I quite liked the themes, prose and plot of the story. I however found the characters challenging and immature. It was hard to get passed. It just wasn’t for me. I wish I could have liked them more, but they just seemed like they had never left high school…

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️ I really wanted to love this more. Because I really did love parts of it and the writing especially, I can’t believe this is a debut.

But I found the FMC insufferable. She is meant to be 27, but reads close 17 to me. And it just got to be me painful to read for me.

The whole push pull between them also got so frustrating. Like her friend Genevieve said, I really wanted them to just get over themselves and get on with it. Side bar, Gen might have been my favourite character, she seemed like a riot, I wanted more of her.

The audiobook was great, I really did enjoy the narrator. Overall pleasant book, but could have been better.

Thank you to Hachette audio, NetGalley & the author Katie Naymon for the advanced listening + reading copies, all my opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for this advance reader copy! You can pick up You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon on February 18, 2025!

This book deserves all the hype!

You Between the Lines follows a former sorority girl starts a prestigious poetry MFA program only to discover that one of her fellow grad students is her high school crush-turned-nemesis—​who can't stop writing about her.

First off, I want to say that this book lives rent free! I'm obsessed with Naymon's beautiful writing and how she crafted characters with emotional depth to enhance the overall experience. Will and Leigh are so adorable! I'd love to have a Will in my life! I'd be happy to read more Naymon's emotional stories in the future!

You Between the Lines does includes the following:

- academic rivals-to-lovers
- lots of yearning
- mental health rep
- open-door spice
- so much angst

I highly recommend picking up You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon if you are looking for a heart-wrenching story!

For two people who are in a masters program about words they are terrible communicators. Leigh and Will were high school classmates where Leigh had a crush on Will who never gave her the time of day. Now 10 years later they are in the same MFA program and still find each other at odds creatively but drawn to one another.

I think that there was just too many little things added together that I couldn't get past and enjoy the book but I feel like for some people they may not be a bother: Leigh being the "I'm not like other girls" pick me archetype, the cringy Taylor Swift and One Direction poetry (and this is from a Swiftie and Directioner), Leigh being 27 and overly invested in her parents failing marriage, and the number of times her and Will make one step towards being together before ultimately saying "we can't for xyz.." weak reasoning. Also I cannot get over Will's daddy issues being used as an excuse for plagiarism???

The writing in this is very beautiful though, and I think I have realized after reading this that any book that uses Beach Read as a comp title will just end up missing the mark for me. Thank you Forever and NetGalley for an ARC & ALC of You Between the Lines.

This book was great start to finish. Leigh and Will were both deep characters who had struggled of their own and I appreciate both were discussed and not overlooked. The side characters were also very well developed and felt just as real as the main characters. The history between Will and Leigh was enough to keep you interested and the constant back and forth, and yearning was perfect in every way. Truly this book does was so many recently haven’t done and that’s build an amazing love story with few words and actions right off the bat. I also appreciate how the author didn’t do something that could have been cliche with the fellowship. This book is a new favorite and will be an automatic recommend to friends and followers! I can’t wait to see what Katie makes next!

Thank you to Forever & NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was really looking forward to this one, but it honestly fell flat for me. The relationship between Will and Leigh felt very unnatural and forced almost, they had zero chemistry. I also felt like Leigh was a bit insufferable as a FMC, she didn’t have many redeeming qualities, and spent most of the book complaining.

I also tend to enjoy dual POV more, and as this was single POV, I had a hard time getting into it.

I think others may enjoy this book, but sadly it wasn’t for me.

I thought this book was going to be made for me as an English grad.

Unfortunately, I had such a hard time thinking that Leigh would have made it into this MFA program. And there's no way I could have ever believed she'd have a shot at the special apprenticeship. She's immature, stubborn, and has a big case of the "not like other girls." Why was Will so obsessed?

Not to mention the amount of Taylor Swift references in this book is absolutely egregious. It got to the point that if it was a drinking game, you would NOT be ok.

This book is tailor-made for readers who are captivated by angsty, second-chance romance stories filled with emotional depth and the slow-burning tension that defines the enemies-to-lovers trope. It will resonate deeply with those who appreciate a healthy dose of humor and lightheartedness woven into a story that explores the complexities of love, identity, and the pursuit of creative passion.

If you find yourself drawn to characters who grapple with their pasts, navigate the challenges of rekindled feelings, and discover the transformative power of love amidst adversity, then this book is likely to capture your heart. It is a perfect choice for those who relish stories that delve into the depths of human emotions, showcase the resilience of the human spirit, and ultimately celebrate the triumph of love and second chances.