I'm going to say a 3.5 on this but I may change it. This is a really great debut romance novel and I liked the audiobook format of it but the ending really chafed me.

Overall the FMC was a bit much at times and made...interesting decisions. The MMC was fine but I wanted a bit more from him. The ending really killed the book for me. I rather not have an HEA than all that.

Them writing back and forth was kinda hot though. Def Hating Game vibes (maybe too much idk). I could see this translating to screen easily. I'm recommending it but with a grain of salt.

I would absolutely want to check out more from this author, really promising. I read this book as an audio ARC and am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

I listened to this book in one day. I loved the chemistry between Aidan and Rosie/ Hunter and Max. It was enemies to lovers at its best! I also loved how they wrote their book together. The audiobook was good, but I think it would have been better with two different narrators. Sometimes it was hard to tell which character was narrating.

This book was so great! There are few audiobooks that my boyfriend enjoys as much as I do and this was one of them. When I find him asking if we can relax on the couch and listen to the book I was listening to earlier I know I have found a winner. Not in My Book follows Rosie who is putting herself through school working on becoming a writer in New York City after moving away from her family and hometown in Tennessee. Feeling like she has a lot to prove she enters into her writing group with confidence and strong opinions. When the most attractive man she has ever seen catches her eye and announces he hates romance books with a passion. A rival begins and tension seems to always be rising.

What I really enjoyed about this book is that there are tender moments and deep feelings mixed with some laughter and spice! This book felt like When Harry Met Sally with it's romantic New York Scenes and trying to balance this love hate relationship they are constantly building. Plus there is great Christmas scenes which was a great surprise seeing as it's starting to be Christmas time now! I genuinely really enjoyed this book and Cannot wait to see what else this author puts out. I will definitely be continuing on with whatever else this author puts out.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to read a rivals to lovers romance! Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Bookish Enemies to Lovers? Yes please!

Rosie and Aiden study at the prestigious NYU graduate writing program. The catch? While Rosie is a romance author trying to prove her and her genre's worth, Aiden writes Literary Fiction and despises romance - he doesn't even believe in Happy Endings! Their professor, Rosie's heroine and a romance writer herself, finally has enough of their antics and forces them to write a book. Together. Blending their genres. Suffice to say neither of them is thrilled. But a prestigious short story award by a literary magazine is Rosie's big hope for the next year of her studies, guaranteeing her tuition and a chance to bring romantic fiction the honour it deserves. But does the romance writer even stand a chance at her own happy ending?

I listened to the audio version of Katie Holt's newest book and the narrator did not disappoint. It was very lovingly narrated and well paced.

The book was enjoyable, well-written and well plotted. Plenty of humour and depth made for a great reading experience. There was some meta level with the excerpts from the book Rosie and Aiden write over the course of the novel, which was amusing and insightful. The family and friends are likeable secondary characters (mostly!).

If you are looking for a secretly sweet grump, bookish enemies to lovers with some spice, this book is for you!
Fincancial struggles and psychological abuse are mentioned, as are acts of a sexual nature, so be aware.

Overall, I would say the book is well written, with believable and relatable characters, a cute romance and a nice take on two very popular tropes: enemies to lovers and writers' romance.

Honestly? I’m obsessed. I love a good enemies to lovers and the fact that they’re forced to write a romance book basically detailing their lives but still in denial about it until the first kiss scene, in the book and in their lives, is amazing. The banter and insults are hilarious while they were also able to dig deeper and be open and honest with each other while writing

5 star debut from Katie Holt! I loved the premise of Not in My Book and this book was a slam dunk for me (one of my favorite romances from 2024!). I loved listening to Rosie and Aiden's story unfold as well as Rosie's family relationships. I look forward to reading more from Katie Holt in the future.

Thank you to RBmedia, Katie Holt and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Not in My Book hits shelves on December 10, 2024.

Thank you RBmedia for granting me an ALC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and not influenced by the publisher.

Amazing debut! Loved this so much that I preordered a physical copy.

What to expect:
- BIPOC FMC
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Forced proximity
- Enemies to lovers
- Slow Burn
- Steamy 🌶️🌶️🌶️
- HEA

this was very cute! i loooved that rosie and aiden were forced to write together - the scenes where they were going back and forth writing had me laughing out loud. it was a pleasant surprise to have scenes taking place in NYC at christmastime too.

my only (small) complaint is that i didn't love the conflict. i correctly predicted the cause of it and that aiden had tried to stop it, but didn't like how he reacted when it inevitably came to light and he was confronted about it. i would have preferred immediate regret and groveling because he was truly in the wrong for not being honest with her.

i will definitely be watching to see what Katie Holt comes out with next because this was such a great debut 🫶🏻 thank you netgalley and RB media for providing me with an advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was slow-burn, angsty enemies-to-lovers perfection following two writers, Rosie and Aiden, who are forced to write a book together. From the very first chapter, the book felt like the perfect blend of Beach Read and The Roughest Draft, and it more than lived up to those comparisons with the self insert novel writing and genre swapping.

As they work on their enemies-to-lovers novel, the lines between fiction and reality blur. The inclusion of excerpts from their co-written story was a brilliant touch, amplifying the angst and yearning. Every snippet they write is a window into their hearts, filled with raw emotion and unspoken longing that had me completely hooked.

The romance is a masterclass in slow burn, delivering everything from charged glances to gentle touches and so much pining. The moment of them writing a sex scene over a phone call together was packed with tension.

I can’t believe this is a debut! Katie Holt’s prose is polished, and the characters are so vividly drawn that they feel real. This book is an unforgettable love story.

OMG this was a masterpiece.
Enemies to Lovers was perfect.
The way the Maxine and Hunter intertwined with the real life events of Aiden and Rosie.
This was the best debut novel and you truly would not know Katie Holt hasn't been writing forever.
The narrator Frankie Corzo was perfect for this audiobook and could not be faulted.

Audiobook Review 🎧 | NetGalley ALC

I wouldn’t call this an enemies to lovers but rather rivals to lovers.
These are two writers, one loves romance and the other literary fiction. They’re forced to write a book together and things get interesting.

Up until the last chapters I actually thought this was duet narration 😅 Frankie Corzo did a great job at embodying each characters!

I had to trust the process on this one because my biggest pet peeve with romance is the lack of communication and misunderstanding being the point of contention.
I wish this was a true rivals to lovers or enemies to lovers without them liking each other and just not knowing how to deal with these emotions other than despising each other.

Overall I did enjoy it and read it fairly quickly and with ease.

My rating system:
Narration: 5/5
Story: 3/5
Entertainment: 3/5
Emotions: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing an advanced listener copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

THIS WAS A DEBUT?! Excuse meeee.... 🤯

GUYSSS, this enemies to lovers romance had me hooked from the VERY beginning. Two competing writers in a master's writing class that cannot get along AT ALL. Rosie and Aiden are at each other's throats about 99% of the time, but my oh my, the freaking tension between these two was honestly amazinggg 🔥 After fighting a bit too much, their professor forces them to write a book together to prove they can work together. These two literally fell in love while writing a romance book and holy gods, not only was this concept amazing, but damn was I INVESTED. I mean, this book brought me to literal tears at a few different times.

Truly cannot recommend this one enough! Also, Rosie's friend group was so so good - these characters added a whole other level of depth to the storyline that I really enjoyed.

📖 enemies/ rivals to lovers
📖 grumpy (MMC) / sunshine (FMC)
📖 slow burn romance
📖 both MCs are aspiring authors
📖 academic setting in NYC
📖 multicultural FMC (Peruvian/American from Tennessee)
📖 great banter
📖 open door

Thank you to netgalley and rb media for the opportunity to listening to this audiobook. All thoughts are my own. Unfortunately the narrator made this hard to actually enjoy the book, i believe i would of enjoyed this much more if I chosen to read it instead. Rosie came off a little whiny and stuck in her ways, while Aiden was a little more relatable as a character.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, RBMedia & Katie Holt for the chance to listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book. This book. This book. When they said The Hating Game meets Beach Read- they weren't kidding. The angst, the tension but then the tenderness. I'm still thinking about the chapter they wrote together... wooooo eeee. I loved this book!

Narration was incredibly well done- but I do admit- even as a pretty much ride or die audiobook listener- due to parts of the book being the text of the novel they were writing- it was sometimes hard to realize the narrator was reading that, rather than book. I almost, ALMOST would suggest a person might enjoy more reading from the page on this one. Or to those of us that enjoy listening AND reading- you'll have no issues!

"But what makes romance novels so good is the fact that they’re a complex dive into human emotion. There’s so much more to a romance than just love."

Thank you to Netgalley for this Audio-Arc!

The Banter was fun, albeit infuriating but in the best way.
I had high hopes from reading the E-Arc reviews and the narrator did not disappoint either.

Being forced to write a novel with someone you loathe? Easy right? They spend a lot of time roasting each other in front of their whole class. While everyone around them just wants them to get it on already.

The optimist who believes in happily ever after's writing romance; and the man who's a realist who writes literary fiction...

Definitely worth the listen!

This book felt like a typical enemy to lovers, except I couldn't really connect with the characters or plot. Neither of the main characters, Rosie and Aiden, stood out to me. I didn't get that feeling that they were meant for each other all along or that their relationship would even be a good one.

The other issue that I had with the book is that the pacing felt off at times. The first half is mainly them focusing on their writing class and writing a romance novel together. The transition from them going from hating each other to starting to like each other happened rather abruptly. They then went from liking each other to sex so fast. After that, it felt like there were sex scenes nonstop.

Overall, I did enjoy the book besides the couple of things that bothered me. It was a cute romance and easy to follow. I like how they were able to be more open with each other and move forward from their pasts. They both had some past traumas that they struggled to work through, and it was caused some issues here and there. Thank you to Netgalley, RBmedia, and Katie Holt for an ARC of this audiobook. This review is my own honest opinion.

4.5!!

A joy and a treat! Rosie and Aidan are not friends. In fact, they’re total rivals in their NYU writing course. Too bad they think each other are totally hot. But that’s not the point. They hate each other. They are vicious and pull no punches giving feedback on each others’ work. He hates romance, and she hates literary fiction. -queue Sk8tr Boi by Avril Lavigne in the background- After a particularly rough (and loud) critique session, their teacher and mentor asks them to drop her class. Or…write a book together combining both of their genres of choice. They (reluctantly) accept the challenge.

They decide on an enemies-to-lovers plot set in a workplace between rivals. But spoiler alert, they’re totes not gonna get a happy ending because that’s not how literary fiction works, apparently! Aidan and Rosie exchange chapters, and find that they are both goofing on each other subtly within them. (It’s not really that subtle, but who's gonna tell em?) Ida, their teacher, assigns them to go on a fake date to try and get a better grasp on their combined voices and improve their writing- it’s a disaster. They write their chapters and their writing gets better and they seem to be understanding each other more and more with each exchange. They spend more time together and so do their book characters, and the tension on the page definitely mirrors the tension in their lives. Honestly, them getting to writing the kissing and sex scenes got so heated and so fun! And we loved to see their relationship evolve and devolve all in an NYC winter wonderland!

The story is freaking delightful and hot and messy, and Frankie Corzo brings so much depth and emotion and magic to the audiobook! Lovelovelove!

There is nothing against the audio narrator--I think she did as best as she could with the material. I do wish, however, that the country accent she tried for Rosie would have stuck around, but I also recognize that it is hard to keep up.

This was hard to listen to mainly because it leaned into every cliche imaginable. It felt like I have heard of this exact plot many times before. I don't think this is a true enemies-to-lovers but rather some insta-love rivals that imagine themselves to be enemies. I neither like nor appreciate the fact that every disagreement between the characters would have been solved by sex, as explained by the side characters. It felt absolutely ridiculous for the two main characters to have their writing professor push for them to not only go on a date to mimic their characters but to then "up the romantic factor" in their next excursion. I have never felt a plot device so clearly as I did when I listened to this part of the book.

I also am not a fan of the "rich city guy buying everything for the small, country girl" trope that seems to be popular, if not common. I do not like how he is slightly diminished as a character by the fact that he can pay for the books and whatever else she has. Not only is he rich, but he has daddy issues? And his mother is dead??? This felt too much, in my opinion. Also, I do not appreciate the fact that after resolving some of their differences, they now consider themselves to be best friends. What happened to her friends in the program??? What happened to her roommate? I definitely think that it was too soon for them to be declaring this when they were *just* fighting about 20 pages ago. I was disappointed in this book, and definitely thought that for all her talks about being a feminist, Rosie did not strike me as a particularly strong female character.

Such a fun, unique take on enemies to lovers with funny dialogue. The chemistry between Rosie and Aiden was angsty and adorable. Fans of The Hating Game will enjoy this one.

Rosie and Aiden can’t stand the other. Aiden writes lit fic, Rosie writes romance, and they can’t seem to have a single agreeable opinion. After an explosive public argument in class, their professor gives them an ultimatum, write a book together and learn to get along - or drop the class and jeopardize their academic career.

Rose and Aiden use their novel they are writing to tell their story and at times, communicate with one another. Their banter in the beginning is actually pretty funny and clever. I enjoyed when they hated each other and when they loved each other. We also got a bonus love story with the side characters. I wish we got a little resolution with Aiden’s dad, but the book already gave The Hating Game vibes and i guess that would have really nailed that in.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for my honest opinion! This is a great romance I highly recommend checking out.

Fun fact: the audiobook at 2.0 speed is the perfect length to listen to to clean 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms 😂 love the narrator!

What a fun audiobook ! Such a good rivals/enemies to lovers story line. This was very easy to listen to and it really pulls on your heart strings. Aiden and Rosie had so much chemistry. The ending was super romantic. I think if you enjoy rom-coms you love this audiobook. Give this one a listen.


Thank you Netgalley and RB Media Recorded books for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.