ARC Review!!!!
Thank you NetGalley!!!

You Between the Lines was a good read. Leigh was a little annoying for me, annoyingly real. It makes sense the way she was due to her parents. So realistically her parents were annoying. The book was a SLOW BURN. It took forever to build up to them even kissing or touching each other. I liked Will and Leigh together after they were able to sort out their problems, well mostly Leigh. Leigh with Will before her breakthrough was so toxic. Therefore, I hated the 3rd act breakup. For a second I really thought there was no coming back. They both are completing their Masters therefore there is a lot of school mention and masters work mention. Overall the book was good, a quick read and went by quick. I enjoyed it but the Leigh made it a little boring for me.
3 Stars

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc.

ah jeez, i really wanted to love this romcom about two “rivals” in the same mfa program (especially for
the writing center representation — heyo!!) but all my issues stem back to our lackluster fmc leigh. she’s just ridiculously insufferable, and it seems that while i’m in the minority about this book, a few other reviewers agree that her behavior is childish.

let me start by saying if you’re going to be a hater, at least be an educated hater. multiple times leigh says she hates the “straight, white male” authors of the canon, and ok while totally valid for most of those guys she referred to, she admits she never even read their works??? as a self-proclaimed hater, at least when i say i hate something, it’s because i was originally intrigued and then either the content, creator, or both spoiled it for me. so, there’s that.

secondly, her hatred towards will was childish and petty. leigh, babe, he gave you GOOD constructive criticism ONE TIME back in high school and it dashes your hopes and dreams? idk how she made it this far in life then. at least in other academic rivalries i’ve read, whatever character that felt insulted by the other worked hard to spite them…

anyways, i wanted to love this, i really truly did, but man when the fmc/mmc are foolish it takes the fun out of everything. this book clearly has found its audience, but unfortunately it’s not me.

You Between the Lines follows our main character Leigh who joins a poetry MFA program only to discover that one of her fellow grad students is her high school crush-turned-nemesis William, who once gave her negative feedback on her writing in high school, and who also broke her heart in college. I was pretty excited about this book because I love rivals to lovers romances set in an academia setting. There was a lot of push and pull between Leigh and William throughout the book, and while I could see how this could be repetitive, I lived for the drama. Every stolen glance, touch, and slip of the tongue that William made towards Leigh was very fun to catch onto. At the same time, there were moments where I felt frustrated at William for not being clear and straightforward about his feelings for Leigh (instead of playing games). This book deals a lot with rejection, both when it comes to relationships and friendships, and when it comes to school and work. Speaking to the relationships portion, the number of times that William rejected Leigh throughout their friendship made me feel so depressed LOL. I have to hand it to Leigh for not crashing out and still maintaining a amicable friendship with William after each rejection.

The subplot of her feeling negative about her own writing did feel a little like the author was trying to force the reader to feel sorry for Leigh. I'm not one to enjoy a book that has a chockfull of Taylor Swift references, so I did cringe every time that Leigh based her poetry on writing from Taylor Swift's perspective. I didn't make me feel that sorry for her when she received negative feedback on her work. I'm glad that the plot shifted to her writing poetry about her own experiences instead. I also appreciated the friendship and found family Leigh developed with the rest of her classmates.

Overall, I can see how this book would be appealing to readers who like the (*cough* white *cough*) romances who are made up of all things Taylor Swift-coded. While I haven't read Emily Henry's books, I see a lot of readers comparing this book to hers, and I can believe that is true. I don't think this book is one that is going to stick with me that long, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

This is more than the usual fluffy romance. In fact, I loved it.

Leigh, a former sorority girl, is accepted into an exclusive MFA program. She's a poet, who deftly adds pop culture references to her poem. She can't help but feel less than by her 'cool' New Yorker classmates. She's hasn't read all the right people and isn't covered in tattoos like them. In fact, she still lives in the 'all style, no substance' mindset that was dictated to her by her former high-school crush.

When that high school crush walks into orientation, Leigh knows she has to prove herself, to the class and to William.

This is a book about change and growth. About pain and heartache. Yes, there are the stereotypical romance themes, but it's so much more than that. It's about two people who have grown beyond their former selves and who find there way back to each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

*3 stars*

This book was a bit of a conundrum to me. The writing was interesting and the plot was good, but I wasn’t a huge fan of our main character, Leigh.

While this book does shine a light on mental illness with our main characters, Leigh’s anxiety often makes her judgmental of others. I know that this is a real thing, and that it’s more about her insecurities than the other characters, but there isn’t enough self-reflection to counteract her judgements, so her character comes off as rude and entitled throughout the majority of the book.

Because of that, she’s often judging her love interest, Will, for being a white man in the literary world and writing more typical poetry that is seen in literature. However, she also judges another classmate who is a woman because her poetry is also written in the same “pretentious” way, but she never acknowledges that her female classmate is a woman of color. The whole thing just reeks of white feminism, and again, I know she’s insecure which is what affects her judgements, but regardless, it’s not okay.

With all of that being said, there are some really beautiful moments in this novel. I really liked the relationship between Will and Leigh and I loved that they kept encountering one another over the years. Their relationship had depth to it, and I loved the build up of it as well.

Additionally, the poetry our characters write is often featured in the novel itself, which is cool! I loved being able to see what the characters were writing, and the poetry was good! The writing in the book was great, and there were some lines that had me kicking my feet.

Overall, the book was solid but definitely could have been better if Leigh’s growth happened more throughout the novel. The plot and the writing was great though, so if it sounds like something you’d like, give it a read!

"You Between the Lines" by Nikki Erlick is a captivating exploration of love and connection through the lens of a unique relationship. The story delves into the emotional depths of its characters, highlighting the power of words and the unspoken bonds between them. With engaging writing and relatable themes, it's a heartfelt read that resonates with anyone who has experienced the complexities of love.

This is also really for the Amy March girls (I want to be great or nothing type of vibes), the type A planners, the in need of constant validation from others bc hearing it from ourselves isn't enough, you get it. I cried a lot okay! And it was so worth it, Katie Naymon has such finesse in her writing, portraying emotions that I felt through the pages. From now on, she is a must read for me.

┆ ⤿ 💌 5 stars!

My best friend Krysta loving this book was my first hint that it was going to be AMAZING. This is Katie Naymon’s debut novel and she absolutely hit it out of the park, a complete grand slam! I will be buying everything she’s writes (post it notes and all) for the rest of my life. I’m not a writer myself but I was truly able to feel the characters’ passion for the art form. I learned about the stress and work that goes into an MFA program and what it takes to making writing a full time job.

What makes the writing even more heartfelt is that it’s not Leigh and Will’s of writing we’re feeling but rather it’s Naymon’s love of it that’s shining through. I loved Leigh and Will’s relationship, I felt like I was right there with them through everything they’ve been through and even all their personal struggles. I’m not too proud to admit I finished this book crying in the bathtub with my kindle clutched in my hand.

Don’t get me started on Will by the way, he’s the perfect book boyfriend and I’m actively mourning the fact he isn’t real (thank you for the well wishes during this time) 😩 Thank you readforever and netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was like a 3.5 star for me. Leigh as a character was a little frustrating at times, but I thought she grew a good amount through the story and overall I enjoyed it. Also thought the line level writing was great, and would read from this author again!

This was an interesting story. The main characters are in a prestigious poetry MFA program which was fun. I loved the conversations between Leigh and her therapist.
I think a lot of people will enjoy this story, though it just wasn't really for me. I felt like it went on too long and was a bit repetitive- I found my mind wandering.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever publishing for the Arc.

Gahhhh this book is beautiful. I’m at a loss for words, and am just sitting in the feeling of being enveloped in a gorgeous story and not sure what to do with myself now that it’s over. You Between the Lines is so quietly unassuming and is the type of book I’d suggest you pick up for vibes alone.

Leigh is accepted into a MFA poetry cohort that also happens to include Will, the crush from high school whose “all style no substance” commentary on Leigh’s work left her disgruntled for years. As a former sorority girl, Leigh feels like she has a lot to prove with her pop referencing poetry, and she desperately wants to feel accepted and validated as a part of this group. I felt immersed in the tiny insular world that is table reading and critiques and felt like I knew each of the personalities that made up this group. This book is about vulnerability and the ability to let yourself be seen through your art and the way Leigh tries so hard to be liked and yet remain true to herself made me want to rub her hard edges and tell her, “Girl, you’re fine”. But it’s the tension between Leigh and Will where Katie Naymon really shines.

I felt Leigh’s nervous anxiety at table readings where her peers gave her constructive criticism and lived for the moments when she and Will read and wrote comments to one another. They have their own secret language in the margins and are so desperate for each other’s approval, but neither of them believes they are good enough for the other. The book is written from Leigh’s POV which felt so authentic to how she might misinterpret Will’s responses to her. I identified with Leigh’s constant overanalyzing and her desire to be seen without being vulnerable which made her such a beloved character.

If you want a book that may break you a little before it heals you, then you’ll live for Will and Leigh’s dynamic. It’s like a simmer that lives in the quiet spaces, the minutiae of everyday life, the glances and touches. And when that simmer begins to boil, it is so hot and beautiful and irresistibly portrayed and I enjoyed every minute of it.

The other thing this book does really well is portray mental health in a realistic and positive light. Leigh has a therapist, Will takes an antidepressant and I appreciated the normalization mental health as being something that is vital to these characters being their best selves. Katie Naymon has written a fantastic debut whose characters I know I’ll be thinking about for quite awhile. I know we’ll see big things from her in the future. I received an early copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Steam: 🪭🪭.5
Emotional Damage: ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹
Swoons: 💌💌💌

"But I’ve never been able to sink my teeth into these lauded literary classics— the ones written by men, the ones set in wartime, with stream of consciousness as their stylistic mode of choice, the poverty and depression of men as their focus."

I don't know if it was because the main characters are both writers or what but the descriptions in this book really hit me- I don't think I've ever highlighted this many times in one book!

I really related to Leigh and her people-pleasing ways, her fear of being vulnerable, her desire to be creative but still feeling held back.

Between the pining, dirty talk and general obliviousness of how the other feels about them, this book is definitely going into my favourites list!

Emotional Romance
Therapy and Anxiety rep
Will they or Won’t they?
Pop culture references
I know nothing about poetry and enjoyed learning a bit. Looked forward to Will’s notes on Leigh’s poems and his poem about her.
Slow burn romance, fast paced book

Author is a Swiftie and it shows

You Between the Lines follows Leigh as she enters an MFA program for poetry and encounters the last person she wants to see — Will, the former high school classmate who called her poetry “all style and no substance.” As part of the same cohort, they're forced to spend time together in and out of the classroom. Soon, they're rekindling an attraction that came to a boiling point six years prior, when their paths last crossed.

I thought the writing in this book was strong, but I found the characters frustrating, Leigh in particular. She’s still hung up on something from high school despite being in her late twenties. And she somehow made it all the way to an MFA program without the ability to handle constructive criticism about her writing. She damn near has an internal meltdown during her first workshop when she’s not praised and everyone points out what could be improved in her work. You’re in a workshop where the whole point is critique! What did you think would happen? She also looks down on other women in her cohort whose appearance and fashion sense fit the “poet” stereotype. Leigh used to be in a sorority, so she’s not like THOSE girls. I was hoping she'd display growth throughout the story, but no such luck.

This book was begging for Will’s POV. I would have loved to get his side of things, and his POV would've broken up the monotony of being in Leigh's head and contributed to a more well-rounded romance. I also might have warmed up to Leigh more if I saw her through the eyes of someone who loved her. Instead, she remains frustratingly judgmental and immature.

The pacing is also slow — it feels like the characters do the same things over and over, with not a lot of forward movement to the plot. There’s absolutely no reason why these two characters can’t be together, which meant the push and pull between them felt manufactured. A romance needs internal and external conflict. Everything here was internal. Nothing was keeping them apart aside from their own issues. A fellowship they’re both applying for seems like it’s going to raise the stakes and add conflict, but it really doesn't.

I wanted more romance (more scenes like when they go to the pumpkin patch! I enjoyed that!), more conflict, and more of the characters spending time together, and less MFA minutiae and Leigh's musings about her classmates. Unfortunately, strong prose couldn’t save this one for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

🦇 You Between the Lines Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❓ QOTD Write a six-word poem about your current read (who will rise to the challenge?)!

💜 You Between the Lines is brimming with mutual, long-time pining, mental health rep, and poetic reveals. Let's break it down:
✨ Characters: Leigh is one of the most painfully relatable characters I've read in a while. Her people-pleasing leads to self-destructive tendencies, which sometimes make her a frustrating narrator/FMC (specifically because I would have repeated her exact mistakes and chastised myself for them after). Will is sweet, but his desire to respect Leigh's wishes at all times leave him passive from the very start. I wish there was more depth to these beautifully flawed characters. I did appreciate the mental health rep (for both MCs), but it takes ages too long for Leigh to reach important realizations that would have helped us avoid the ongoing miscommunication.
✨ Plot and Pacing: The pacing drags, namely because of Leigh's long-winding exposition. The constant use of the miscommunication trope leaves the story dragging at the middle. There are too many scenes focused on the MFA minutiae/workshopping sessions, too (and as a Creative Writing graduate, I've had a lifetime of those, thank you).
✨ World-Building: Leigh's world feels very insular. She's in beautiful North Carolina, but you would hardly know it, even when the story leaves the college campus. The descriptors of her environment never place you in the story.
✨ Romance: There is SO MUCH about this romance to discuss. The spark of interest they both felt initially but never acted on. Mutual feelings of low self-worth, leading them to think the other wanted or deserved better. Subtle love notes hidden in the commentary of one another's poetry. Missed chances, again and again and again. Unfortunately, these moments repeat so often that the pacing drags, leaving US pining for a real moment between Leigh and WIll. The story also lacks strong romantic moments (we get the pumpkin patch, but everything after that is physically driven, despite the fact that the MCs are POETS). Getting Will's point of view would have given the romance more depth.
✨ Mystery/Suspense: There are a few mysteries left throughout the story that add tension. I'm glad they were left unrevealed for a while. This story was desperate for real conflict to drive it forward.
✨ Tone/Prose: For the story's ongoing focus on workshopping and editing, this story feels like a first draft. The prose lacks strong, descriptive language or that hint of poetry that REALLY could have enthralled readers. We're constantly dependent on Leigh's internal dialogue, more so than external dialogue or action; some poetic prose would have added life to those long-winding expositions.

✨ Characters: 4
✨ Plot and Pacing: 4
✨ World-Building: 3
✨ Romance: 4
✨ Mystery/Suspense: 5
✨ Tone/Prose: 3

🦇 Recommended for fans of The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberly & Austin Siegemund-Broka and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🖋 College Setting
📎 Slow Burn (High School Crushes to Adults)
🖊 Long-Term Pining
📘 Found Family
📘 Mental Health Rep
🖊 Rivals to Lovers
📎 Flirting Through Poetry
🖋 Forced Proximity

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #YouBetweentheLines

💬 Quotes
I am nothing but where our bodies connect.
It’s a push and a pull, a call and a response. It’s a rhymed couplet, this poem we’re writing.
He can’t write a single poem where I don’t exist.
Not a tipsy accident. Something fated. Something poetic.
I am just words on a page and he’s the poet, arranging me how he wants, using alliteration, rhyme, white space. Every moan a couplet, every breath a sonnet. He creates tension and I barrel down the blank page until the turn, the final stanza, where he breaks the words open into something more beautiful.
I love everything you’ve been, everything you are, everything you could be.
I can hardly remember a time I wasn’t in love with you.

Leigh, a poet who loves Taylor Swift and all things pop culture, starts a MFA poetry program at a college in North Carolina. She goes in with imposter syndrome and expecting to be judged by her cohort, which only doubles when she realizes Will(iam), her high school crush and nemesis, is part of the same program.

Not going to lie, this book was painful to read at times because Leigh's people pleasing tendencies and her aptitude to self destruction hit a little to close to home for me. I spent most of the book frustrated with her, but I realize it is because her personality contains many of the characteristics that I don't like about myself. She was immature at times and self destructive at others and even though I wanted to throw this book against the wall about half the time, it felt real and raw. I did enjoy the cohort and their personalities and the found family aspect of the book.

Tropes:
* College setting
* High school crushes as adults
* Pining
* Talking through poetry
* Slow Burn
* Rivals to Lovers
* Mental Health Rep
* Found Family

3.5 stars

Lovely, tender, heart fluttering goodness!!!

I am OBSESSED with mutual pining that spans years, it is decadent and delicious!!!

Leigh and Will…i love you

also, did anyone ever tell poor penelope what was going on in her bedroom??

Great plot and wonderfully written!!!

4.5 stars

Still thinking about this book and the chemistry that jumped off the pages between Leigh and Will. I am putty when it comes to academic rivals and anything that feels remotely bookish in theme so this was basically written for me. Beautiful prose. Great flawed characters (a personal favorite) and sweet sweet pining. Couldn’t ask for more.

When Leigh is accepted into a prestigious MFA program in North Carolina, she has no idea her nemesis and high school crush William has also been accepted. Now, she’s vying for a coveted fellowship, dealing with insecurities around her poetry writing and her parent’s impending divorce, and is confronted with both old and new feelings for Will while also working with him.

I am a bit of an outlier here. I wanted to love this book so much, after all it felt practically made for me. Cute cover? Check. Emotional rom-com with mental health rep? Check. MFA studies in Poetry? Check, check, check. And while it started out strong, by the mid-way mark I began to disengage. The characters, particularly the FMC Leigh, seemed very immature and as a result, there was quite a bit of miscommunication. The relationship (and spicy moments) between Will and Leigh felt forced, and the plot began to drag more and more as time went on. This is not a bad book by any means, but in the end, it ended up not being for me.

Read if you like:
▪️MFA centered stories
▪️poetry
▪️student competitions
▪️crush to enemies to lovers
▪️forced proximity
▪️mental health rep
▪️North Carolina setting

📆 Pub: Feb 18, 2025

Thank you Forever Pub for the advanced copy. .

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this debut novel by Katie Naymon. I was drawn to the cover and premise of the story. I did overall enjoy it! If you are a fan of Taylor Swift there are some references which was fun.
If you enjoy the following premises you'll enjoy this novel!
Literary Obsession & Identity Formation – The protagonist’s life has been shaped by a specific book, influencing their identity, choices, and relationships in profound ways.

Friendship & Complicated Relationships
Coming-of-Age & Self-Discovery
Slow-Burn Romance
The Power of Literature
Nostalgia & Revisiting the Past