Rosie, a Peruvian—American, who grew up with not many ties to her culture, leaves her Tennessean town with the New York City skyline in her eyes. Her plans to make it as a writer lie straight ahead of her, even with her exs harsh words running through her mind, or so she hopes. After making it into NYU and slowly going through her masters course, she starts verbally sparring with her arch- nemesis - Aiden Huntington. When their professor finally has enough and offers an ultimatum - leave the class or partner up to write a book - Rosie and Aiden have no choice but to work together. As days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months, they slowly realize that perhaps they may not hate each other as much as they thought they did. While writing their manuscript their feelings come pouring which in turn leads them to exploring each other. Only when it comes out that Aiden and Rosie are competing against each other for a prestigious and life changing award, their love story is once again at risk of crumbling. Can they make it through this stage of life or are they destined for an unhappy ending?

Okay, so I absolutely ate up this book. I was given an ALC via NetGalley and I’m so glad I was able to listen ahead of the publishing date. Frankie was an amazing narrator and I couldn’t wait to listen to the book as soon as I jumped in my vehicle.

Some TWs to mention: death of a parent (MMC), mentions of cancer, mental abuse and manipulation towards MMC (by parent). There are likely others I missed so be sure to look into it. Some tropes include: rivals/nemesis to lovers, forced proximity, enemies to friends to lovers, school (college) romance.

Thank you so much to Author Katie Holt and RB Media for the ALC of Not in My Book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! I had high hopes since I was obsessed with the cover. I’m so happy that I wasn’t disappointed. I bounced back between the e-ARC and audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration as well. You could clearly differentiate between different characters which is important in an audiobook for me.

The story has enemies to lovers, great banter but was also about much more than their love story. Rosalinda and Aiden made for such a cute pair! There were opposites who with a slow burn romance just clicked. I really loved the story and her writing. The story felt original to me. I am looking forward to reading whatever she writes next!

Got this as an ALC, (thank you recorded books!)
Frankie Corzo was a great casting choice in my opinion!

Not in My Book was a relatively strong debut from Katie Holt . I’ll probably tune in for her upcoming releases.

I’d best describe this as January and Gus (from Beach Read by Emily Henry) if they were a bit more immature and collaborated to produce the most profound piece of romantic literature: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, of course.

No, but seriously, I really enjoyed parts of this, like their relationship progression. It built slowly, and I found myself internally screaming at them to kiss. Some scenes were genuinely romantic -I swooned and laughed along the way.

That said, some parts were corny. Since they’re co-writers on a litfic/romance mashup (which, based on the snippets, was honestly pretty boring), the story served as a way to show the MMC’s perspective. Essentially, the book they were writing became a self-insert for both characters to communicate with each other. Cute in theory, but it was cheesy and redundant in execution.

I also wasn’t a fan of the MMC’s gaslighting during the third-act conflict or how he used sexist critiques of the romance genre as a jab to the FMC calling him a pretentious litfic writer. It was very off-putting, and I didn’t like how those critiques were positioned as equally valid—especially as the book addresses how academia systematically favours litfic by white male authors. Her writing romance, being a woman (and a non-white one at that), results in her being taken less seriously , since romance is often dismissed as uninspired and frivolous.

This was such a good book! The things I liked most about it are the fact that it has a love story within a love story. I think that’s difficult to write, but the author achieved it really well. Even though the two are intertwined, you could also see the slight differences and I enjoyed seeing the excerpts at the end of each chapter from Aiden and Rosie’s book.

I also enjoyed the little spice that we got. The two characters had so much tension, you could tell that they needed to work it out desperately (and did!)

The friendships and friend characters that we got to see were also fun. Logan was so funny, he made me laugh out loud at something he said towards the end.

Now onto the audiobook aspects of the story, since I read it through the audio format, primarily. I did have the ebook of it as well, but the audio was dominating.

I think the narrators voice fit with each character that was being voiced. I especially loved the Spanish, from the mother and Rosie occasionally. As someone who knows/understands Spanish, it was lovely to read/listen to it spoken so well. I did have to put the audiobook on 2.5x, as opposed to my normal 1.75-2x speed because it was sorta slow, but I didn’t mind it too much.

The narrators voice and the story fit well together in my opinion. I don’t know if I would necessarily recommend the audio format of this book vs print/ebook but it was still well done. I’d recommend it if you didn’t know how to pronounce Spanish, but otherwise, I think it’s better as an ebook or print book.

It didn’t get confusing when there were excerpts read, or when there were scenes of the book they were writing in the book, but I think I would’ve gotten confused if I didn’t see it in the ebook. I would’ve thought the characters were thinking/saying it out loud, besides the fact that the character names were different.

I love third act breakups because it makes the book more devastating to read, but some things said kind of irked me away from their relationship. There could’ve been more groveling in my opinion, but that’s just me. I still enjoyed the book!

I can't believe I just finished this book. Without a doubt one of my favourite books this year.

It's been so long that a romance book has made me feel like this, alive. And the fact that they were writing their story made it ten times better, loved how they would communicate through it. Like where do I sign up for something like this to happen to me plssssssssss.
I also felt so connected with the characters, I laughed and cried a lot with them.

I think I just found a new favorite romance author! This book was everything! The writing was incredible, and I even enjoyed the slight miscommunication trope (which I usually don’t, unless it’s exceptionally well done). The characters, the plot, the story, every part of it had me hooked.

This was such a he falls first kind of romance, and it was absolutely adorable. From the very beginning, I could tell he was into her his mean streak was such an obvious front but the fact that she didn’t notice? It had me giddy waiting for that moment of realization. The spice was perfect, and let’s talk about that man’s mouth for a second… Is there an Amazon link for one of him? Asking for a friend.

I also loved how they communicated through writing. It was so sweet and relatable, especially since I often find it easier to express my feelings through writing than speaking. It made me feel so seen. And can we talk about the representation? As a Latina myself, seeing her background woven into the story especially her mom showing up, inspecting everything, and asking all the questions warmed my heart. I felt truly represented.

Another standout element was the insight into a writer’s mind. I imagine the author drew from her own experiences, and it was so fascinating to see that perspective. It added an extra layer of depth to the story.

While it was a bit of a slow burn, it never felt slow. The pacing was spot-on keeping things moving while keeping me fully invested. I devoured this book in five hours at 3x speed and didn’t want to stop, not even to bathe my kid (yes, I had the speaker on during bath time). That’s how good it was.

The narrators did an amazing job, especially with the full cast. It made the story feel even more immersive and authentic. They brought so much emotion and depth to the characters, and it felt like I was truly in their world.

This book was an absolute gem. I’ll be recommending it to my audience and eagerly keeping an eye out for the author’s future works!

At NYU, rival writers Rosie and Aiden are forced to co-write a novel, blending their opposing genres. Their collaboration sparks an unexpected attraction, but professional competition threatens their burgeoning relationship.

This well-written book is rivals-to-lovers, not enemies to lovers. It’s entertaining, but ultimately, the deception and disrespect was too much for me. DNF ~85%. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This book had me grinning, giggling, and fully obsessed from start to finish! Rosie, a romance-loving author, and Aiden, a literary fiction snob, are forced to co-write a novel, and the result is pure magic. Their witty banter and fiery chemistry were absolutely top-tier, and the tension between them? Let’s just say that shared document spicy writing scene will live in my mind rent-free. 👀🔥

I loved how this story defended romance books while celebrating opposites. Rosie’s big heart and Aiden’s brooding nature clash in the best ways, but watching them grow closer through their writing—and their “practice”—was chef’s kiss. The romance felt authentic, with real vulnerability and beautifully imperfect moments, including a third-act breakup that actually worked and gave the story more depth.

If you love enemies-to-lovers, writing partners forced to collaborate, NYC holiday vibes, and swoon-worthy romance with humor and heart, this book is for you. A perfect addition to any romance reader’s TBR!

This book was so good! It had me kicking my feet, giggling, swooning, and blushing. It felt like a mix of Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry, and I absolutely adored it! If academic rivals who can’t stand each other, but are forced to write a book together sounds like something you’d enjoy, this is the one for you. Rosie and Aiden can’t say what they want to say to each other, so they communicate through their characters. The tension, chemistry, banter, and verbal sparring were all top tier. Rosie is feisty and lovable. I adore how passionate she is about writing romance. And Aiden was everything you could ever want in a book boyfriend. He’s grumpy, overprotective, damaged, a little nerdy, and has a filthy mouth. I loved the “story within a story” aspect of the book, and would totally read the romance book Aiden and Rosie co-wrote. I was lucky enough to receive an ALC, and Frankie Corzo did such a good job with it! Her Southern accent and Spanish pronunciations brought Rosie to life, and it was a pleasure to listen to. I loved everything about this book and highly recommend it!
✍🏻
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
✍🏻
Read if you like:
▫️sassy Peruvian heroine
▫️rivals to friends to lovers
▫️they’re in writing classes together
▫️they hate each other
▫️fighting as flirting
▫️forced proximity
▫️slow burn
▫️opposites attract
▫️grumpy x sunshine
✍🏻
Thank you to Alcove Press, RB Media, Katie Holt, and NetGalley for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Four stars for the book, three for the audiobook. You can’t read a southerner with a So-Cal “t” drop (think “wri-in” for “written”).

The book was compelling, and the writing kept me engaged, but the conflict was, unfortunately, predictable and made me dislike the FMC for her selfishness and short-sightedness.

I received a copy of this audiobook through Netgalley, and this is my unsolicited review.
Blurb:
Description
Rosie writes romance novels and listens to Taylor Swift on loop. Aiden is a literary fiction writer who doesn't believe in happy endings. They're about to write a book together—what could go wrong?
The Hating Game meets Beach Read in this sexy and hilarious enemies-to-lovers romance from a debut Peruvian-Tennessean voice.
Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian American, leaves her Tennessee hometown to pursue her dream of making it in New York as a writer. But her plan is derailed when she ends up in class with her archnemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington—an obnoxious, surly, and gorgeous literary fiction writer who doesn’t have much patience for the romance genre or for Rosie.
Rosie and Aiden regularly go to verbal battle in workshop until their professor reaches her breaking point. She allows them to stay in her class on one condition: they must cowrite a novel that blends their genres.
The reluctant writing duo can’t help but put pieces of themselves into their accidentally steamy novel, and their manuscript-in-progress provides an outlet for them to confess their feelings—and explore their attraction toward each other.
When Rosie and Aiden find themselves competing against each other for a potentially career-changing opportunity, the flames of old rivalry reignite, and their once-in-a-lifetime love story is once again at risk of being shelved—unless they can find a way to end the book on their own terms.
Review, spoilers!!!:
This is an Enemy’s to lovers story
Rosie, a romance novelist and Aiden, a literary fiction novelist dislike each other at first. But I think that is just s…tension. In their workshop they bicker and argue a lot. Their professor get`s fed up with them and makes them write together. You understand that this wil go GREAT!!
Not!! They make it work however, if they don`t they get thrown out of this class. They get to know each other better through the book they are writing and start a relationship. Bliss follows.
Aiden unfortunately screws up and the romantic Rosie goes home to Tennessee to wallow in self-pity. But out Hero follows her and eventually wins her over.
What I liked:
All the side characters and the fact that it is a sweet story.
What I didn`t like:
I put the speed on this book at 1.25. I didn`t like the the voice of the female. Her words are spread lohoooong.

This book was absolutely everything and I will be shouting about it from the rooftops.
I will be honest, I generally shy away from single point of view books because I like to have both sides of the relationship. However, I really enjoyed how the book played out with the chapters of the book being written intertwined with the chapters.

I also try to shy away from single narrated books because I have had multiple scenarios where I had a hard time staying within the story. It worked really well for this book.

It was sweet and spicy. I loved the peeks into her culture.

This was such a great debut! Aiden and Rosie were so cute and the rivals to lovers pipeline was done so well. I loved that you got to hear excerpts from their book as they wrote them and in a way got to hear how each of them felt. The grand gesture at the end was so sweet and true to their characters!

When he buys books for her. GIRL. I.AM.SAT. Such a cute, funny romance book with great characterisation that just hooked me from the beginning. However, the beginning of this book was a bit ruff and tumble. I just feel like there were a lot of cliche elements in the book. It was also very long and waffly at times. I did enjoy the embedding of Rosie and Aiden's novel throughout the book which elevated it. But their banter and tension were really cute too.
3.5

This was such a light and refreshing romcom! It was so quick and enjoyable. I’m a sucker for rivals to lovers, and forced proximity relationships.

The tension was delicious and since both FMC and MMC are writers forced to write a romance together, the sexual tension….is THERE.

This almost felt like a fun nostalgic 90’s romcom...and your girl was here for it.

I really enjoyed the audiobook. I listened to this last weekend while batching content and the audio had me distracted from my tasks because I was so invested in the story.

I laughed, was frustrated when the characters were, and kicked my feet when THE moment finally happened.

If you love:
💕90’s romcom vibes
🙅🏻‍♀️Rivals to Lovers
🔥Slow Burn
🫂Forced Proximity
🤺Verbal Sparring
😠Surly anti-love MMC
🦋T-Swift romance obsessed FMC
📚Books about books

Read this book!

I would even consider this a semi holiday book since it does have a nice Christmas moment. So if you want to dip your toes into the holiday spirit but don’t want to go full force Christmas tree farm – this is a great one and can be read all year round.

#romcom #bookreview #rivalstolovers #forcedproximity #slowburn #bookreview #bookrecommendations #reader #readmorebooks #advancedreaderscopy #alc #arc #netgalley #notinmybook #katieholt

Rosie and Aiden are gradstudents and they do not like each other at all. Rosie is a romance writer who only believes in happy endings, while Aiden is all about putting his characters through nothing but pain. They personalities obviously crash, they critique each others work. After one very heated argument their professor gives them an ultimatum - write a romance novel without a happy ending together, or get kicked out of the class permanently.

This book is such a wonderful read! Rosie and Aiden's relationship is fun and adorable. Aiden might stray from love, but he sure is a swoony love interest.

I haven't read anything like this before, a romance within a romance. It's such an interesting choice. I dig it. I'll need more.

My favorite scene has got to be when they are both on a google doc working on a steamy scene in real time, all that build up frustration ahh. I also loved bits with Rosie's friendgroup, their GC had me cracking up!

A guy who doesn't believe in love and a hopeless romantic are always a great pairing!

So I think this may be one of my favorite Rom-Com books ever. And I have read A LOT of rom-com contemporary romance.

-Rosie and Aiden are class mates in their MFA program. They are both writers, but Rosie writes romance and Aiden writes Lit-fic. And he HATES romance, so naturally he takes that hatred out on Rosie. Their academic feud lead their professor to assign them a joint project. They have to write a story together, rather than alone like everyone else in the class.-

This story so perfectly blends Rosie and Aiden story, with the story of Max and Hunter; the characters in the story they are writing together. It has been a long time since I have stayed up until 2-3am in order to read, but this one made me do it. I didn't;t want to stop, I couldn't put it down. Rosie and Aiden are addicting. The banter between them is perfect. It's set from Rosie POV, but Aidens POV comes in through his writing, using Hunter to share how he feels about Rosie, so that we still get his POV, without having dual POV. Quite frankly, it's genius.

This is this kind of book that makes me wish I could write like this. I have always said that if I were to write a book I would want to write like Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry. But I think Katie Holt has Taken the top spot.

If you are looking for a 'kicking my feet and giggle' book, a 'look at the ceiling and squeeze your eyes shut' book, this is it. 10/10. Please read this.

I had the privilege of listing to the audio book, as well as reading a digital download of this story thanks to Net-Galley and Alcove Press.

I absolutely loved this story!
I love the enemies to lovers trope, and the way it was portrayed in this story was so different! I knew I had to read/listen to this book as soon as I saw the cover and read the blurb. I immediately signed up for an ARC!
I am so glad I was chosen for the audiobook ARC! Thank you NetGalley and Katie Holt!
The narrator chosen fit so well with this story! I loved her voice and the way she read, it was so perfect! I've listened to other audio books where the voice of the narrator didn't quite fit or was simply annoying and it ruined an otherwise great story, but not this time! I loved it so much I may seek out if Frankie Corzo has narrated any other novels.
With that Katie's book was so unique, Rosie and Aiden were both writers in the same class at NYU. They bickered constantly during class until they were forced to write a book together. Their book became a mirror of their own growing relationship and it was so fun, and a touch spicy lol. These two characters were so deep and I loved them..
Until the end, I wasn't a fan of their third act break up at all and it made Rosie seem a bit ridiculous. Without it, it would have been a 5 star read for me.
All in all this was a very well written story, and I loved it so much! 4.5 stars for sure!

The book was really cute as well as a fast read
I really loved how the characters they wrote in the book resembled themselves and how they did a plot twist in the ending ♥️

Thank you so much for the arc 🫶🏼

When I first learned about Katie Holt’s debut, Not in My Book, I was instantly intrigued. Not only do I love books about books, I’m also drawn to anything with Peruvian culture. (My husband is Peruvian and I lived in Lima for a year!) With an enemies-to-lovers romance arc and plenty of discussions around writing, I was sure I’d love this novel.

Rosie Maxwell is an MFA student at New York University, writing the genre she most loves: romance. But the cute, annoying literary fiction guy in her class, Aiden Huntington, always critiques her writing too harshly, and she’s always ready to throw it right back at him. At risk of being kicked out of their class due to the frequent arguments, Rosie and Aiden are assigned to write a novel together. How can they agree on anything, from genre to character names to how it all ends? As Aiden and Rosie spend the school year writing together and getting to know each other, their relationship starts to mirror that of their characters. But can they have their own happily ever after despite their differences?

Tropes & Narrative Devices:
• Enemies to friends to lovers
• Forced proximity
• College romance (grad students)
• Fake dating… for research!
• Book excerpts!
• First-person POV (Rosie)

What I Liked:

• Blurring lines between reality and fiction. As Rosie and Aiden get started on writing a novel together, they quickly find that they need to get better acquainted and learn to work with each other. Their advisor suggests they go on fake dates as their characters. They’re effectively getting to know each other via their characters. But how much is real and how much is their own creativity?

• Writing discussions! Romance vs. literary fiction! Rosie is a romance writer who loves happily ever afters; Aiden is a literary fiction writer who doesn’t believe in happy endings or true love. They butt heads a lot, and even more so when they have to write a book together. I loved getting to hear their different reasons for liking their preferred genres and learning how they draft together. I’d love to be an author someday myself, so these peeks into the writing process are so fascinating for me.

• Playlist for books! I was so giddy to learn that Aiden makes playlists with perfect transitions between songs… and that he makes them for the books he reads, too. I’ve been doing this for years! He went up a few points just by discovering this about him!

• Peruvian culture! One of the biggest reasons I was interested in this book is because the main character is Peruvian American. I have a personal connection to Peru: My husband is from Lima! As such, I always love reading about Peruvian characters. Here, Rosie’s mom is from Peru, and that culture is represented throughout the novel. From various foods (papas a la huancaína, lomo saltado, ceviche, alfajores, chicha morada, and so on) to restaurants (Pio Pio; I’ve eaten there!) to their Christmas traditions, so much here felt familiar and real to me.

• Their rival dynamic. Whether as enemy classmates or a couple in love, these two are argumentative to the end! They have chemistry from the beginning, and I enjoy seeing how they never fully get over their stubborn, slightly quarrelsome ways. They’re so silly.

• Excerpts from their WIP! As Rosie and Aiden work on their novel together, we get to see snippets of what their characters are up to. Those characters’ lives greatly mirror what’s happening with Rosie and Aiden, offering an extra layer through which to view their relationship. I love that it remains untitled… until the end.

Audiobook
Frankie Corzo narrates Not in My Book, primarily from Rosie’s first-person POV, but also as her and Aiden’s characters, Maxine and Hunter. The narration is full of personality, making Rosie really come to life. I also appreciate the pronunciation of Spanish words throughout. (A big pet peeve of mine is when narrators don’t do secondary languages justice! Thankfully that’s not an issue here.) This whole audiobook is wonderfully done and amplifies the story beautifully.

Final Thoughts
I absolutely loved Not in My Book. As excited as I was to read it, it exceeded my expectations. This is an enemies-to-lovers romance done perfectly! This is one of my favorite contemporary romances ever and is sure to be a novel I return to again and again. I already bought the paperback and look forward to revisiting these characters. Not in My Book is a fabulous debut and I can’t wait to read Katie Holt’s next novel!