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.

This enemies to lovers romance was such a great read! I really enjoyed the two main characters and how they did not stay enemies for the majority of the book. They started opening up to each other earlier and even though there was a third act breakup, I saw it from a mile away. I loved that they were writing an enemies to lovers romance at the same time and thought that was an interesting thing for their professor to make them do together given their circumstances. They had the perfect amount of banter and spice in this story and I defiantly loved it!

This was okay, but as someone who only reads romance there was nothing that made this story standout amongst other titles with very similar plotlines and tropes. Not in My Book would be the overlap section if you made a venn diagram of Beach Read and The Roughest Draft. So if someone was just starting to read romance or hadn’t read those books, they would probably enjoy this more than I did.

Thank you NetGalley and Recorded Books for an ALC of Not in My Book.

I expected a fluffy book. Boy, did I get more...

While Rosie and Adrian are both writers, they are complete opposites. Rosie loves writing romance, and Adrian despises romance.
What happens when heated argument has them working together?
End up in their very own romance novel?

I enjoyed this book so much!
The cover had me thinking that this book was just a fluffy romance. There was definitely more than fluff... This is an ADULT book.
I thought the story was very relatable for both main characters, which made me enjoy it.
The audio version! The narrator was amazing! Highly recommend listening in audio format!
Very cozy and very addictive! Couldn't put it down once I started!

I wasn’t ready for how much I absolutely loved this book. This was a sweet refreshing read !
The storyline of them having to cowrite a book together ??? But they “hate “each other which means they secretly like each other.. so they spend the first chapters of the book just talking mad shit on each other through the characters 💀😂 GOBBLED THIS UPPPPPP👏🏼 I absolutely LOVED that about this book. I loved that they talked through the characters to each other and that’s how we got to find out through the story
The banter between the two had me cackling out loud at work

I was disappointed in this book. The main character was annoying. This book should have been a perfect match for me because it was romance with a bit of humor. I enjoy romance and humorous books so this should have been right up my alley. This tale reads like an old formula. The plot was unoriginal. The characters were weak, dull, boring and flavorless. Rosie was obnoxious and immature. While Rosie may claim to dislike Aiden, she spends all her time thinking about him. She is obsessed with him. Neither Rosie nor Aiden are capable of holding a conversation. The two main characters are taking a literary class. Their bickering has the professor at her wits end so she assigns them to write a book together. They use the book to communicate. Through the book they express their desire for each other. The method of using the book to communicate made much of the writing repetitive. There are no twists or turns in this book. It is easy to see where the plot is going. I do think this book ha
has potential but it needs work.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

4.5 stars rounded up

A delightful enemies-to-lovers rom-com set in the world of writing! Rosie is a Peruvian-American sacrificing everything to pursue her dream of writing, attending a Masters program at NYU. She is optimistic and loves to write romance, recognizing that while it's not always taken seriously, it's a huge part of the publishing market. Aiden is a snooty writer of literary fiction and with his heavy criticism and dismissal of her work, is her arch-nemesis in class. But when they take their rivalry too far, the only way their professor will let them stay in the class is if they agree to write a novel together! It has to be a love story, but the ending does not have to end happily.

Honestly this is a pretty great setup, and the book they write together is really a thinly veiled repetition of their own relationship. It's very much a grumpy-sunshine dynamic, and I think it works. It's funny, cute, and eventually gets quite steamy (at one point they co-write a sex scene while on a phone call...). I think this is going to be a crowd-pleaser and will especially hit for long time romance readers or writers who are sick of the genre not being taken as seriously as it deserves. The audio narration is really excellent with dual narrators that get the vibe of the characters, and then also read excerpts from the book being written. Definitely recommend this one! I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Not in My Book by Katie Holt is a sparkling debut!
Rosie Maxwell is a romantic Peruvian-American from Tennessee now living and working in New York City. Rosie is a romance writer currently in a graduate program and she’s got the best friends. Rosie and her friends attend a writing workshop for school that’s taught by her favorite professor, the only problem is her nemesis is also enrolled in this class. Aiden Huntington is Rosie’s ex-crush and current thorn in her side. The pair can’t help but throw barbs at each other in class. Aiden thinks his literary fiction is superior to Rosie’s romance and Rosie makes it clear that she finds his lit-fic boring and gratuitously sad. Their distain for one another becomes quite the distraction in class and the professor threatens to remove them both unless they work together on the final project, a novel. Now forced to write together, Aiden and Rosie are encouraged to go on fake dates in order to write a believable story. As they spend more time together, this duo can’t help but writing pieces of themselves into their story and maybe they have been wrong about each other all along.

I loved this book and never wanted it to end. I enjoyed the witty banter, the fun and supportive friend group, and the depth of the main characters. Rosie and Aiden were complex characters and interesting to read. I was very invested in each characters life. I’m incredibly impressed by this debut novel and can’t wait to read what Holt puts out next!

I was given an advanced listeners copy by NetGalley and thoroughly enjoyed Frankie Corzo’s narration. I would definitely recommend this audiobook to all my audio loving friends!

Read this if you like:

-academic rivals to lovers
-secret crush
-he falls first
-forced proximity
-slow burn
-only one bed
-fake dates
-snarky banter

4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley, RBMedia, and author Katie Holt for this advanced listener copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

****FAVORITE ROMANCE OF THE YEAR****

HANDS DOWN! And I've read hundreds! I will definitely pick up more from this author. The narrator of the audiobook did a fabulous job as well!

The characters in this book, Rosie and Aiden, are so relatable that I feel as though I know them. The build-up of this enemies-to-lovers romance was perfection. I will own this book when it comes out.


Many thanks to Net Galley and Alcove Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The fact I got both the ARC and ALC made it so I could read this book twice in a month. I LOVED this book so so much! It had all the right tension in all the right places. The love they had for eachother is unmatched. I want every single person to read this book. I will scream it from the rooftops. The narrator was perfect for how I imagined Rosie in my head! She nailed it.

This book surprisingly surpassed my expectations. I got this book purely for the title and cover art. It’s no surprise that I don’t read descriptions by now and it’s been working for me everytime! It makes my reading experience better when I don’t know the plot before reading.

If opposites attract was people it would be Aidan and Rosie. What stood out the most to me was the fact that Aidan and Rosie had to work together to write a short story. Aidan wrote literally fiction and Rosie was a hopeless romantic. Their professor was at her breaking point and had them fake date as their characters to make their story more realistic because they couldn’t agree on how the story should be written. The book trope was enemies to lovers but their characters was pretty much enemies the whole time. This is why I love fake dating tropes, I knew that when the professor wanted them to go on a date to spark their creative writing process, that their true feelings will come out towards each other.

I love how the author included excerpts from their untitled novel at the end of each chapter. We got a glimpse of what the story would look like as they wrote it and it was sooo freaking cute! Little do they know, they are writing their happily ever after 🥰

The narrator did an outstanding job with the audio. She brought the characters to life and I really enjoyed listening. I had both the ebook and audio for Not In My Book and primarily listened to the audio because the narration was so good!