I really liked this one! I genuinely loved Leigh and Will and their characters so much. The fact that they were basically obsessed with each other and never really forgot each other for over 10 years was really cute to me. The one thing that I didn't love was how Leigh ran out before her big reading, I really wanted her to own that moment for herself, & I didn't love how they ended up having a big fight after that. But I love the way they came back together in the end and I really liked how Leigh really came into her character in the end. AND the epilogue was SO CUTE! I love how they both ended up proposing to each other :)

4.75 stars :)

I thought You Between the Lines would be similar to Emily Henry’s Book Lovers, and I was excited to give it a read. I enjoyed the few poems that the author included, and I thought Will was an interesting character. However, Leigh, the main character whose perspective we see everything through, was absolutely unbearable to me. If I had borrowed this from the library instead of receiving an ARC copy on the promise that I’d provide a review, I would have stopped reading about 20% into the book.
I couldn’t figure out if Leigh had severe anxiety, was a full blown narcissist, or was a severely anxious narcissist. She was also hypocritically judgemental. She had a therapist, which I was so glad to discover, but she didn’t learn anything from her therapy sessions until the book was almost done. I wish she could have overcome her struggles and grown gradually through the story instead of having it happen like a whirlwind at the end.
Although I found the story challenging to read, I’m sure there are many others who will love reading about Leigh and her struggles.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I already want to read this again! This story was so relatable, beautiful, sad, touching, and hot. Every moment Leigh and Will were around each other I wanted more.

I really loved all of Leigh’s backstory and her current issues with her family and herself.

Wow! Can’t wait to recommend this to other romance lovers!

I'm completely obsessed with YOU BETWEEN THE LINES and will be telling everyone I know about it as its publication date gets closer. While I'm often reticent about romances with writer protagonists (sometimes they edge too close to self-insert for my taste), but I'd seen so many positive reviews of YOU BETWEEN THE LINES on instagram that I requested the ARC, and I wasn't disappointed. Naymon's writing is beautiful. She embodies the voice of her poet protagonist so well, sweeping the reader away in vivid descriptions and heartfelt emotions. The characters are well-developed and the love between the protagonist and her love interest feels real. I love this book!

Why, YES, I *am* in fact prepared to make this book my whole personality!

Former sorority girl (and Swiftie!!!) Leigh begins 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.

In high school, Leigh's crush-turned-nemesis Will gave her “all-style-no-substance” feedback in a workshop that she's never been able to forget. So UH OH bad news when Will is part of her MFA cohort and appears to be pining for her in poetry, complete with butterfly-inducing comments on her work and nostalgic alluding poems.

Leigh’s determined to prove herself—and William—wrong by landing the program’s highly-coveted fellowship. But Will’s dead-set on it, too, and in a small cohort, they can't keep apart for long. When Will submits an intimate poem (that's maybe, probably, definitely about Leigh) to workshop, they’re both forced to realize there’s more to the other than what’s on the page. And what’s between the lines may be even more interesting.

GAH I loooooved this book so much. It's so smart and sexy, but also incredibly thought-provoking and meaningful. It hits such gorgeous romantic beats, the writing is intentional and beautifully-crafted, and it takes us on a journey with characters that feel multi-dimensional in their flaws and feelings. It's relatable in its conversations of imposter syndrome, complex familial relationships, and the ways we express honesty. It's a swoony, intelligent, and resonant masterclass of a novel. More from Katie, please!

Also, that cover is gorge. I'm obsessed with this book, in every way.

A massive thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. YOU BETWEEN THE LINES, your new favorite read, is out 2/18/25!

(4.5)

Leigh gained an insecurity and a nemesis when her high school crush, Will, said her poetry was “all style, no substance”. Now, six years later, Will (oh I’m sorry, he now goes by William) and Leigh are in the same MFA program vying for a coveted fellowship spot. She HAS to prove him wrong.

The writing and characters felt real and honest; I’ve had many of the same feelings as Leigh, which is probably why it got difficult to read while she was self-sabotaging.

I loved the element of Leigh talking to her therapist – it was a creative way to share flashbacks, as well as have a character in the book (metaphorically) shake Leigh by the shoulders and tell her what’s up, like I always want to do. Friends and therapists were the real heroes of this story.

As far as the romance goes, it’s definitely open-door, but the door was not WIDE open, which I appreciated. Slow burn, tastefully done.

I really did love Will. He wasn’t perfect, but he cared so deeply. And who doesn’t love a man in a sweater vest and glasses?

I’m obsessed with Katie’s storytelling, and I can’t wait to read everything she ever writes!

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the e-arc!

This book left me speechless. Leigh’s personality, hopes, and dreams leap off the page, and I just want her to be happy! I especially loved reading each character’s poetry, which is a sentence I never thought I’d write. Also…who knew poetry could be so hot??

I am going to shove this down so many people’s throats, it’s going to be great. This was ridiculously enjoyable even with heavy themes mentioned and just damn, this was phenomenal.

I love Will so much.

I honestly wasn't sure if this book would be for me. I'm not a Swiftie and I'll admit that knowing the main character is a former sorority girl was a detail that made me think I would not relate to her. Well, it turns out I was being overly judgemental because Leigh turned out to be one of the most relatable characters I've read in a while.

I completely DEVOURED this book from the moment I started it. Reading it this week was such a moment of brightness during a dark time, and the level of joy this gave me was massive. This is truly a book for the Beach Read and You, With a View fans. The chemistry between Leigh and Will was so ridiculously good, and I'm going to remember some of the things they say to each other, their poems, and their feedback for a long time.

I'm just obsessed with these two and their vulnerability. Thank you so much to Forever for the ARC! This book wasn't on my radar until this got sent to me, and I'm so, so happy it was.

You Between The Lines was quite the journey. Main character Leigh is beginning an MFA program after leaving a unfulfilling corporate marketing career and unexpectedly is met with a high school crush/rival also attending the same MFA program.

Leigh’s character can be frustrating to read. She has a mountain of self doubt with no follow through. But this is a good sign of great writing on the author’s part. While frustrated, I was intrigued enough to continue reading her story.

Great slow burn, rivals, frenemies romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this romance. I couldn't put it down. I think the two characters are do different and fit well together. The pacing is fast and kept me engaged. Their banter and romantic moments were equally cute and I over all really really enjoyed this and can't wait for it to come out

Leigh has left her job to start an MFA program, only to discover that her high school crush(who gave her writing some very harsh criticism), is in the program too.

This was so beautifully written. The main characters writing was included throughout the book and it really added to the story. I loved the characters, including all the grad students in their program. I felt transported back to grad school in the best possible way.

Once I started reading, I could not put this book down. I loved absolutely everything about it. Easily the best romance book I’ve read this year. I don’t know how I’ll wait for Katie Naymon’s next book. This gets all the stars from me.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Leigh and Will have a past and that past is rocky. So when she is accepted to an MFA program she doesn't expect to see him there too. They are both poets and unfortunately Leigh can't forget what Will thinks of her. It is going to be interesting to see what WIlliam thinks of her now and if she can even stand to be in the same room with him. He is as infuriating as he is attractive and she's not ready for all he is bringing.
Will has had a crush on Leigh for as long as he can remember, but it has always been the wrong time with her. He knows she deserves so much more than him, but he can't help getting closer and closer to her again.
The enemies to lovers tension is there in spades and I loved these two and their banter so much. They just had a connection that couldn't be ignored and I loved seeing all the past connecting with the future and how sweet Will was. Both of these characters had tremendous baggage and I felt they both could do with some therapy, but they seemed to realise that they shouldn't be fighting against one another, but fighting for one another and it melted my heart.
Leigh's poems were amazing. I love reading poetry and this book had so much in it and it was so fun to be able to see what they were writing not just hear about it. 4.5 stars.
Thanks to Forever, Katie Naymon and Netgalley for an early copy.

I keep seeing great reviews of this one! Leigh starts a poetry MFA program, only to discover her high school crush is in the same program. And guess what, they hate each other.

I loved this book. The enemies to lovers tension was just right. If you loved Beach Read by @emilyhenrywrites, especially the fact that the MCs are writers, you'll love this book. It's just a little spicier. This was such a well done debut. I'll be reading everything Katie Naymon writes after this.

a book for everyone who loved the gus and january university years dynamic in beach read (which should be everyone ever, right?) we follow leigh and will who were somewhat acquainted in high school and present day are both poets in the same MFA program. i really loved the setting and experience of reading about an MFA cohort, it was rife for drama and tension between the leads, and the supporting characters were well-drawn. leigh and will are both complex and endearing characters with a lot of their own baggage and issues. i found some of the poetry excerpts to be a little cringe but i'm not the biggest poetry person to begin with so that checks out.

Beautiful story. Characters were written well and plot was entertaining! This was my first book by this author and I’m definitely excited to read more! 4 stars recommendation!

this is a dazzling debut for katie naymon!! her style of writing is very comparable to emily henry! i would definitely pick up her next book! this was one of the most beautifully written romance books I've read in a minute. everything felt intentional. i could tell a lot of thought went into each word written on the page.

i struggle with reading emotion so don't usually gravitate towards poetry since it oftentimes requires you to read between the lines to get the deeper meaning but i actually "got" it with leigh's poems.

i will say the slow burn was slow burning!! the angst was borderline talking too long for the reader to find it the history between leigh and will. we didn’t find out until like 46% of the book what happened the last time they say each other. BUT other than that, this was a delightful read :)

3.75 rounded up to 4.

This was a great debut! This was really well written, but I think a lot of time was spent talking about writing when I would have enjoyed a little more time with Leigh and Will. I'll be picking up what Katie writes next, though.

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.

Overall, I found this to be just okay.
Although the premise immediately drew me in with MFA students who know each other, like each other, and can't seem to keep their hands off each other, BUT refuse to really talk, the execution left me a bit wary.

Will & Leigh are interesting characters. I felt like I understood Leigh as the misunderstood sorority girl type who wanted to be seen as more than just shallow and cares about people's opinions about her a bit too much, but she is also tough to exist alongside as her decision making and POV left me utterly frustrated. While Will is our broody MMC who seems lovely, but also relatively flat given he has no POVs for further insight outside of Leigh's warped perspective. They're both kind of clueless, which is endearing at the beginning but gets to be a bit much towards the end.

The plot of them being a part of a two year MFA program was initially dreamy as they get to drop everything and just write to their heart's content and essentially live as college kids in their 30s, but that too gets drawn out with slow pacing as not much action happens to push the story and we're just walking through their first year together and taking class after class, writing poem after poem. The pacing was just very slow and I honestly couldn't identify a true climax nor did any of the external conflicts feel pressing. Like yes they both have mommy/daddy issues, but outside of that and normal school happenings? Nothing happens...

Regardless of the miscommunication and slow pacing, I think I would have loved this more if Leigh's growth & internal work was given more space and time and Will's point of view came across more clearly. But overall, if you're looking for a small college town romance with artsy MCs and battling poems, this may be the one for you!

Thank you to the NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

**Review of *You Between the Lines* by Katie Naymon**

Katie Naymon’s *You Between the Lines* is a sparkling gem of a novel that perfectly captures the chaotic and often hilarious journey of finding your voice in a world full of pretentious literary types. Meet Leigh, our charmingly flawed protagonist, who’s just been accepted into a prestigious MFA program in North Carolina—much to her own astonishment. As a former sorority girl who knows more about the lyrical genius of Taylor Swift than the greats of poetry, Leigh's entry into this elite literary realm feels a bit like a cat showing up at a dog show. And trust me, it’s as delightful as it sounds.

From the get-go, Naymon gifts us with Leigh’s sharp, self-deprecating humor that makes her feel like an old friend—one who’s constantly grappling with imposter syndrome while trying to pretend she belongs. Surrounded by her tattooed, turtleneck-wearing classmates who can quote T.S. Eliot in their sleep, Leigh’s insecurities bubble to the surface, especially when her high school nemesis, Will (now fabulously rebranded as “William”), reappears like a bad penny. I mean, who wouldn’t feel a little shaken when their crush-turned-rival strolls into orientation in a pretentious sweater vest and an aura of literary superiority?

The tension between Leigh and Will is electric, and Naymon masterfully turns their rivalry into a delightful dance of sarcasm and simmering attraction. When Will submits an intimate poem that might just be about Leigh, you can practically hear the literary alarm bells ringing. Suddenly, Leigh is forced to confront not just Will’s pretentiousness, but the fact that he might just be more than the annoying boy who once crushed her hopes in a poetry workshop. The chemistry between them sizzles, igniting a connection that neither of them saw coming—and it’s utterly delicious.

As Leigh hustles to prove herself and secure the coveted fellowship, the narrative becomes a witty commentary on ambition, identity, and the messy, beautiful struggle of growing up. Naymon captures the essence of a writer's life—where the lines between ambition and insecurity often blur, and every rejection feels like a personal tragedy.

Ultimately, *You Between the Lines* is a charmingly witty exploration of love, self-discovery, and the delightful chaos of chasing your dreams. Naymon’s writing is sharp, clever, and filled with enough laugh-out-loud moments to make you want to read passages aloud to your friends (or just to your cat, no judgment here). This book isn’t just a love story; it’s a celebration of finding your voice—complete with all the messiness and magic that entails. Grab a copy and dive into this delightful literary escapade; I promise you’ll come out smiling and maybe humming a Taylor Swift tune or two!