Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book had it all! I wish I could cozy up and read it all over again it was THAT good.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Kat Fisher is a librarian looking for love. In the hopes of finding the one, she set up a profile on a local dating app that promises extra security. Without realizing she begins a correspondence with a scammer. Once the truth comes out, she’s determined to stop him from scamming other women. With the help of ex-policeman, Leo Taylor, the two set off to capture the culprit and make him pay. On the hunt to uncover the scammer’s true identity, feelings between the pair begin to surface. But what will happen once justice is served, and they go on their separate ways?

This was such a cute, cozy novel. Kat and Leo make quite the pair. Their banter was fun, though I didn’t quite feel any chemistry between them. While I understood that Kat would feel insecure as to the status of their relationship, given everything that happened to her, I still felt frustrated it. For that reason, the development of their relationship felt very flat to me. The plot itself is fast paced. I loved going along with them on their investigation as they get closer to uncovering who’s behind the profile scamming women, though I will admit the culprit is pretty obvious early on. While I would categorize this more as women’s fiction with a romantic subplot, I still enjoyed myself and would recommend this novel.

Cute Read for Book Lovers and Amateur Detectives

Librarian Kat hopes to find true love on an exclusive dating app and falls hard for Brian and his gravelly voice and heroic work. But when he fails to show for their first in-person date, Kat begrudgingly asks recently unemployed ex-cop Leo for help. Leo, who has been using her library as his work space and who seems to be able to get her riled up over the smallest things..

Emily Kerr's newest, Read Between the Lines, is a quick and cute read. Between the picturesque Oxford setting and quirky, lovable characters, the novel is easy to get through. While I personally had guessed the ending early on, there were one or two very good plot twists that I did not see coming, which was nice.

I think Leo's gruffness is adorably failing at hiding his good heart. I got a little more annoyed at Kat for just how chipper and naive she's written. Sometimes I feel that all the library and book tropes have been thrown in for cushioning of the plot but if you're on the hunt for a light and mostly cosy romance read with just the right amount of detective work, Read Between the Lines is for you!

The grouch in the library may not be as bad as he seems...

Kat is ready for love, and she thinks she's finally found it through a local dating app. Her new beau is in the military, but he's finally coming home and they'll get to meet face-to-face for the very first time.

Then he asks for some money. For a flight! To make their date she bought a new dress for! Just this once!

Red flag.

He's a scammer. She tries to report him to the app, but they swear he's a real person and dismiss her. Still feeling uneasy, she decides to take things into her own hands by investigating. Luckily there's a big grumpy ex-cop who frequents the library she works at who might be just the one to help her.

This story is all about solving the mystery of who this scammer is and getting him shut down. There's also a little bit of romance on the side. Really, I was hoping for a lot more romance.

For Leo, the grumpy ex-cop who holes up at the library, there wasn't a lot to work with. He has a bare-minimum backstory and it wasn't enough to really sink into. For Kat, it's easy to sympathize with her situation, but again, we don't actually learn all that much about her. It's not an actual mystery/thriller...it feels kind of blurry.

In the end the mystery is solved and love is found. There are certainly cute moments, but there wasn't anything really swoon-worthy. Three stars from me.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A thoroughly enjoyable book, about libraries and book love, sweet romance, with a mystery thrown in for good measure! Kat was a character that I would love to be friends with. She’s an introvert, prefers books and dogs to people, and her inner monologue is downright hilarious! Some laugh-out loud moments are in store for any reader of this novel!

*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

3.75⭐️
I really enjoyed this one it was filled with so much banter which always makes me happy and lots of adventure that made it so much more fun!! I loved seeing the development between the two Kat was very much against being near Leo at the beginning but that ended very quickly!! The little missions they would go on together were so fun and really emphasized the longing between the two. The only thing I wish is that we would have gotten more of them actually in a relationship this is very very slow burn which i love but I wanted just a bit more of them!!!! Overall a really good book I would absolutely recommend there was lots of fun and romantic moments in this!!

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a very cute rom-com about a librarian and an ex-detective. After she is catfished, he helps her with the investigation. The banter was good and the setting was dreamy. The story felt like it was slow at times but I’m glad I stuck with it!

I thought this book would be a funny, fast-paced romcom, but it was too quirky and slow.

I really wanted to like this book, but it was a bit boring. I felt the mundane conversations with the library patrons to be not needed, and I often skipped them.

I saw the Brian situation coming a mile away. I’m happy she didn’t fall for it, but I thought she had gone too far to get revenge/justice.

Leo was okay, but I thought he was a bit flat.

This book wasn’t for me. I hope others will enjoy it.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars.

Really enjoyable mix of cozy mystery with romance. I loved Kat and Leo and their banter. She's a bit insecure but she’s also pretty feisty, though at the start I felt like she was being unfair to Leo. Leo felt less realised, I wish we had more of his backstory.

However, about 25-55% of the book really dragged. For instance, it took about three chapters to sign Leo up to the app. I loved that this blended a bit of a mystery with the rom com, though I think the mystery solving should've been played up more and perhaps could've involved Doris given she wasn an ex CEO! and given Leo is a former detective, how is it he couldn't see that something was amiss with the 'villain'? His behaviour at the event was dodgy.

For the cozy mystery and romance lover.

Thanks to One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a really fun book to read as you travel through how Kat and Leo get along on their quest to find bad people....

Loved this cute story.
Kat and Leo made the cutest couple.
Kat, a librarian, is a romantic and wants to find a man who lives up to the standards of her book boyfriends. She is trying to date online (not successfully).
Leo is a former cop who is trying to decide where he goes next. Leo likes to spread out in the library, and Kat isn't a fan. She also doesn't like how he makes fun of her name.
Kat finds out she has been catfished and enlists the help of Leo to track the catfisher down.
I loved the banter in this book. I loved the adventures of Leo and Kat in the search for the catfisher/scammer.
The two MCs have great chemistry. Such great enemies-to-lovers vibes and forced proximity.
I just really enjoyed most of this book.
It was a quick and easy read.
The plot was well structured. The pace was great for the majority of the book. There were a few places that I felt the plot dragged a bit and needed to be sped up, but for the majority of the book it the pace was fine.
The characters were developed. I wouldn't say they were complex and well-developed, but they were developed. I could engage with them.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!
Add this to your summer TBR immediately! Great poolside read!
Happy Reading!

3.5/5

Now, I can always get behind some bookish characters!

This cute little rom-com follows a librarian and an ex-detective. And the two had some pretty decent banter and humor! Every now and then, a moment did feel a bit cheesy, but I'm sure some people won't mind or notice (I just know that I can be quite picky about that sort of thing).

At times, this story did drag a bit (mainly smack-dab in the middle).

There is a tad of mystery thrown into this little rom-com too! I thought that was a nice little touch, making this not just the everyday/average rom-com. We get a little scammer/catfishing investigation between our two main characters, drawing them together in this forced-proximity, enemies to lover situation!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

4.5 ⭐️ Read Between The Lines by: Emily Kerr is Publishing on June 13, 2025 with HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter

I have to say this was a quirky, fun read. The bantering was entertaining. I did easily guess who the real fraudster was. It was an intriguing tale full of bright characters. A cozy little town that had lightness and heart. I’m very glad I had the opportunity to read this story.

Thank you Emily Kerr, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter

Have you ever wanted to get even with a guy (or girl) that tried to bamboozle you-yes I love that word😆). How about if you’ve ever been on a dating app and signs are leaning towards the person leaning on you for favours or money.

Cue this book cleanser of romance that does such that but enlists the grumpy detective that loiters her library along with her.

It’s got all the grumpy > sunshine and literary references (including a Bookstagrammer!) along with fake flirty fun that is a great summer read.
My heart enjoyed the Oxford 🇬🇧 setting as I pretended I was back there visiting.
Attached a few pics but you can also see the mug I had to get from the coffee I had to get 🤣 every day while exploring England.

It got me thinking about how I need to start planning my next UK trip. And since I did most of England with the last, I know I need to focus on Wales and Cornwall then skip back up to Scotland for a longer exploration.

Anywho, cute book. Enjoyable book cleanser of a read
3.75 ⭐️

Kat is a librarian in Oxford. She's also a romantic and joins a dating app but then gets suspicious of someone who contacts her. She meets Leo who is always in the library at the business section. They both get involved in trying to find out the real identity of the person on the dating site. Loved the book. Very different to what I usually read

Read Between the Lines is a beautiful and enjoyable book, I was hooked straight away following Kat's life with the introduction of Leo but also the concept of Brian. I had my suspicions and enjoyed how Kat and Leo worked through the mystery together, it was beautiful to see how Kat and Leo started to trust and then care for each other throughout the story. This was a really enjoyable and cozy read it made me feel happy by the end and I really appreciated their happily ever after.

An unfortunate dnf 10% of the way in. The cat fishing plot soured the entire thing for me. The prose is also very wordy and challenging to follow. I couldn't stand listening to Kat for another 90% of the book...

A charming setting and a dreamy cover—this book is made for cosy reading sessions! 📖 ❤️

Set against the warm, bookish backdrop of an Oxford Community Library, Read Between the Lines has plenty of romcom appeal. Kat, a hopeless romantic, and Leo, a gruff ex-cop, are thrown together by library squabbles, mismatched priorities—and, eventually, slow-burn sparks. 💖

I especially appreciated the Oxford setting, with many well-known places lovingly referenced. Familiar landmarks such as the Rad Cam, the Botanic Gardens, the Ashmolean Museum, and the Randolph Hotel were lovingly drawn, adding an authentic charm to the story. The cobbled lanes and cosy cafés brought the city vividly to life, and instantly transported me back to my university days. 🎓 It made the reading experience feel personal, nostalgic, and quietly magical—a true trip down memory lane!

There’s lots to enjoy here: the premise is delightful and the enemies-to-something-more dynamic has promise. While I enjoyed the premise and the soft, slice-of-life pacing, the romance lacked a little spark for me. I liked both leads individually but found myself wishing for more tension or emotional build-up between them. Still, there’s an endearing quality to the story’s quieter approach, and fans of gentle, feel-good reads with a literary twist will find much to enjoy here.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ – A sweet, low-stakes romance that wears its heart on its sleeve. Perfect for fans of cosy contemporary love stories with a British twist ☕❤️

A funny, romantic novel which, although a little predictable, was still enjoyable. I loved Leo and liked Kat, albeit she was a bit annoying in places. An easy read that I got through in a day.

This was a lovely book but just slightly too cheesy for me. I didn't fully gel with Kat and didn't get immersed in the romance. I'm sure previous fans of Emily Kerr will absolutely love this.