I was really intrigued once I saw the general premise of this book... and who can resist a book-related romance?? Kat is a librarian, constantly irritated with Leo's messy, unorganized presentation in the library. Even worse, he ends up overhearing an embarrassing moment in her life that she wishes he would not have heard. Fortunately for her, this event turns into an investigation for which Kat seeks help from Leo, who is a former police officer. The cover of this book is ADORABLE and I felt like Kat was such a cute, funny character that I enjoyed reading about. And the supporting characters in the book like Moira and Doris were added fun and entertainment that truly made me envious I didn't work with them at this library!

While I was initially stoked to read this romance, I was disappointed that the actual romance did not occur until the very very end of the book (literally like 90% into the book). Most of the book was centered around Kats' investigation, and the romance did not truly start to flourish until the book was wrapping up. While I think the investigation part of the book was super interesting, I was hoping for a lot more romance! However, overall I enjoyed Emily's writing (hey name twin!) and felt that the plot of the book was unique and exciting! Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and Emily Kerr for allowing me to read this book earlier. Read Between the Lines will be published on Jun 13th, 2025, just in time for summer!

Set overseas, surrounded by books, romance? This has every element for a fantastic beach/pool/summer read. This was so incredibly enjoyable from start to finish.

Set in the UK, this book is quaint and sweet.

Librarian Kat is head over heels for her online sweetheart Brian, but he starts showing some red flags and she enlists ex-cop Leo to help sleuth out whether Brian is who he says he is and whether the dating app is legit.

The investigation is the main part of the book, it probably takes up 20-80% of the chapters and so the romance between the main characters feels lacking unfortunately.

⭐️ 3

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!

I was really excited for this book, but sadly, it didn’t meet my expectations. It took me longer than usual to finish because I struggled to stay invested. This is a very slow-burn romance with zero spice, which is perfect if that’s your thing, but it didn’t work for me. I didn’t feel much chemistry between Kat and Leo, and honestly, Leo came off as a bit moody, while Kat I just found annoying.

The plot focused heavily on the romance scam artist mystery rather than the actual romance.As i say for all books that are single POV i think this book would have really benefited from leo’s persepective.

Not sure if the authors is British, but as a British reader whith family who live in Cambridge (Very similar to Oxford, where this book is set), I found the dialogue overly posh and stereotypical—it felt more Victorian than modern oxford!

That said, I did enjoy the idea of an ex-cop and a librarian teaming up to catch a scammer. The mystery element was engaging, but the lack of romance made it feel more YA than adult fiction.

Emily Kerr whips up a romantic study of contrasts, a down on her luck librarian who dreams of romantic gestures and forever afters and a jaded ex-cop who is trying to find his own after a defeat at the hands of the system that was meant to protect.

Kat Fisher loves books, romance and her library flock (Mrs and Mr Moira being my absolute delight!!!) - when she signs up for a dating app she dreams of romance with her Military dreamboat, only to be crushed when she gets stood up and demanded of funds. She turns to an unlikely expert, Leo Taylor, ex-cop who complains about her squeaky trolley and puts his boots up on the furniture. Unfortunately, he also had front row seats to her getting ready for her romantic rendez vous which didn't transpire.

The banter between the two is exquisite and Emily Kerr rides a fine balance between the does he does she, and adding in the mystery of who the actual catfisher is. The story is fast paced and I polished it off in a day - perfect for a lazy beach read any day of the week!

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins UK, One more chapter for the ARC! It was a roaring delight to devour!

Firstly thank you so much to Harper Collins UK for a copy of this eARC!

The premise for this book is what really caught my eye. A librarian and an ex police officer set in the UK were the perfect ingredients for a contemporary romance for me.

As Kat is a librarian, there are lots of great nods to classic literature that I really enjoyed.

The side characters (Doris and Moira) were my absolute favourites. With their witty remarks about young people and dating (especially when Kat goes through her bad experience at the start). Doris is also such a legend in her own right. An older lady reading spicy books with demons and has a successful bookstagram? She is who I want to be when I grow up!

Other than this, I’m gutted to say I found the book severely lacking.

Kat goes through a bad dating experience at the start of the book and decides to ask Leo, an ex police officer, for help. However, from the point of first meeting him up, she is incredibly rude and quite unprofessional. Despite this, she still has the audacity to ask him for help and then continues to be rude to him? I know you can read books where you don’t like the FMC but there was nothing I enjoyed about her that made me want to continue.

Leo is.. understandably, frustrated at the cards he’s been given in life. However his, what I can only describe as greasy flirtation attempts at the start of the book came across as creepy and cringe and then he went straight to cold attitude towards Kat. I felt like the author couldn’t decide how she wanted to write Leo and couldn’t settle on how his personality was to be.

The writing itself was okay but felt very… meta? Quotes like ‘I do love a bit of demon action’ in relation to fantasy books with spice, or mentions of bookstagram with 10k followers and advance copies and proofs, or ‘the holy grail of fits’ and my personal favourite ‘the ref flags are so big I’m amazed you’ve not been knocked over by the strength of them blowing in the breeze’ all just felt like the author was trying to be with the times and used language that was too conversational for a book.

I honestly wish I loved this book and could finish it but the writing and the characters were just not for me.

I’ve not read any of this author before so I’m unsure if this is just a style of writing or unique to this book but if you enjoyed this author’s work before I would be interested to know if I should give her other work a go.

I stopped reading this book at 23% therefore all my views are only on this part of the book.

This is my first from this author and I thought it was such a fun premise! I love the slight mystery element and the opposites attract vibe we got. I did feel like the MMC was a bit too grumpy and a bit rude. I feel like there's a fine line of when too grumpy becomes rude and disrespectful and messes with the flow of the story. I loved the UK setting and was so intrigued by it! I also think the title name was very fitting!

What a perfect little book! I was hooked from page one. The characters, the humor, the plot, the romance, all of it was so well written and engaging. I ended up reading it all in one day. This is a book I could see myself coming back and reading again as a comfort read and is one I wish I could read again for the first time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book.

I believe that the description for this book has changed since I requested it, I remember the description including the reason behind Kat and Leo's acquaintanceship. I would have loved to revisit the original synopsis rather than see all the five star reviews. Personally the plot that I was enticed with was what drew me into the book. I thought the idea of Kat and Leo teaming up to find the scammer to be unique and appealing. I anticipated adventures and time spent together were they would get to know one another better. However, I did not anticipate that 80% of the book would be discussing the scammer with the other 20% being occasional conversation, banter, or Kat agonizing over her attraction for Leo while he constantly gives her and the audience mixed signals. While the book does describe Kat as a romantic I think that her infatuation with books and fiction makes her seem extremely naive and she fails to separate reality from fiction by using her book knowledge as law for real life situations without considering that she is extremely unqualified for any kind of sleuthing. While I like that she does acknowledge some of the flaws about her character I would have liked it more if she had done something about them. Overall, I just found her character a little inconsistent and I was never sure what to expect from her and yet all her decision were a little questionable. Leo on the other hand had some nice protective male lead moments and also some moments where he too was calling Kat out on her naivety and impulsiveness. I just didn't feel the chemistry between the characters and I feel like they spent more time arguing about how to catch the scammer and discussing their one life problem that led them to each other that they didn't really learn much else about one another. I also figured out who the scammer was the moment that they were introduced which may have lessened my enjoyment for the search but I did enjoy the idea. Overall, I was a fan of the mini mystery of finding the scammer, I was a big fan of all the side characters from the library and Kat's sister, I do think that this book worked well as a slow burn. I just really wish I liked the main characters more and that they had more time together to connect and not just to plot and argue.

Read Between the Lines is a sweet, cozy romcom set in Oxford, where librarian Kat teams up with grumpy ex-cop Leo to track down a romance scammer. What starts as a reluctant partnership slowly turns into a gentle, slow-burn connection.

The romance is subtle think more soft smiles than sparks, but their banter and friendship are fun to watch grow. The mystery adds a light twist, and while it’s easy to guess, it keeps things moving. The charming Oxford setting and quirky library regulars add warmth and personality.

It’s not a swoony romance, but it’s heartfelt, witty, and comforting.

A romance with a little mystery thrown in. Good story but felt like it dragged a bit in the middle.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Read Between the Lines to come out June 13, 2025.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc! All thoughts are my own.

This was a short, easy read with a cozy setting - I barely find romances set in the UK so Oxford was nice! - and the mystery aspect of this was so fun and intriguing. However, I didn't quite enjoy the book as much as I'd hoped to. It was hard to get into with the extra dialogue and slight info dump, which didn't feel necessary to begin with and made for a slow start, but I kept reading for the mystery of it all. I think, while I thought the chats at the beginning were realistic and I could hear them in my head with familiar voices, being set in a local library, it didn't do anything for the plot and I think it just wasn't neededfor a book like this.

I also didn't quite gel with the characters and it was hard to connect with Kat, but I appreciated the slow burn of Kat and Leo's romance!

I think it was missing some heat or a bit more depth to their chemistry, but overall this was a sweet read and I enjoyed the plot more than the characters,

A sweet easy read set in Oxford. I loved the characters of Kat and Leo and the setting of Oxford. Recommended.

The premise of this book really drew me in, with it being set in a library in Oxford and including a romance with a broody ex police officer. The main character Kat is a librarian and she’s trying to figure out who the mysterious Brian she has been online dating is.

I do definitely think this book is likeable, however, I just didn’t personally gel with the writing style. There was a lot of extra dialogue and information that didn’t necessarily add to anything and the multiple pop culture references just weren’t for me.

However, this is just my personal preference so I would definitely say to try this out for yourself as there are tons of positives and I am just one of many readers.

Thank you to One more chapter and net galley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Read Between the Lines is a charming and lighthearted romcom set against the picturesque backdrop of Oxford, blending a gentle enemies-to-lovers romance with a surprisingly engaging mystery plot. It follows Kat Fisher, an idealistic librarian and hopeless romantic, who thinks she’s finally found love on a dating app, until the red flags start piling up. When her so-called Prince Charming fails to show and starts asking for money, Kat suspects she’s being scammed and turns to grumpy ex-cop Leo Taylor for help.

What follows is a sweet and cosy mystery-romance mashup as Kat and Leo team up to track down the scammer. The Oxford setting really adds something special. The author’s references to familiar landmarks and cozy spots give the story an endearing, nostalgic charm. It’s a lovely change from the typical big-city romcom locations.

Kat and Leo are an entertaining duo. Their dynamic begins with friction (and some mild bickering in the library), but develops slowly and naturally as the story progresses. While I didn’t feel a ton of romantic chemistry or deep emotional tension between them, their banter and evolving friendship kept things engaging. It’s more soft smiles and companionship than fireworks, but that suits the tone of the book. The romance is definitely on the slower, subtler side.

The mystery element adds a fun twist, and even though the culprit is fairly easy to guess, the investigation has enough small surprises to keep you turning the pages. There’s also a delightful cast of side characters. The quirky library regulars really give the story its heart and bring a warm sense of community to Kat’s world.

All in all, this is a sweet, easy read, perfect for fans of feel-good romances with a bit of sleuthing on the side. While the characters could have been fleshed out more, and the romance lacked a bit of spark for me, the cosy vibes, witty dialogue, and well-drawn setting made for a thoroughly enjoyable book. A great addition to your summer TBR!

Rating: 3.5 – 4 stars
Cozy, cute, and quietly clever - like a warm cup of tea on a rainy day.

Read Between the Lines by Emily Kerr

ARC Read releasing mid June, thank you as always to NetGalley for the sneak peek!

Set in the UK, this story is about sunshine librarian Kat and ex-cop grump Leo. Kat is a romantic, head up in the clouds, falls way too quickly kind of girl. She is currently waiting to meet her online Prince Charming "Brian".
Having never met in person and only talked online for the past few months, Kat is still convinced he could be her happily ever after. Until Brian starts flagging all the red flags. And Kat realizes she might be getting tricked. Cue, meeting Leo and using his cop background to start their own investigation into Brian and the dating app itself.

It's all light and breezy, even with the investigative part it's not a heavy book which is nice. I felt it kind of lack chemistry between the main characters - missing some heat. The writing was good, and the characters were good also.

ARC review

3,5 stars

Kat is a librarian and she dreams of finding a guy who can live up to her book boyfriends. But she ends up being catfished by the man she met on a dating app.
Leo is a former detectiv that spends a lot of time in the library trying to make a business plan.

I received an ARC from HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter (via Netgalley).
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

Kat and Leo start investigating the catfishing together and they become friends.
I did not like how she treated him in the start, but I enjoyed their banter after they started working together.
Most of the story is about the catfishing and there is only a little bit of romance.
It is even more than a slow burn, as they only get together in the last part of the book.

Overall this is a cute book, it has a good writing, but the pace is a bit slow and I wanted more tension and chemistry between Kat and Leo.

I thought the book was well written, but it just wasn’t for me. I liked the Oxford setting.
Other than that, I found that even though the book was short, the pacing felt slow.
I was more interested in the mystery (who is Brian even if it was pretty obvious) than in the romance. The characters lacked chemistry imo, and I didn’t connect with them.

Thank you NetGalley and One More Chapter for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute little romance with some mystery involved. I laughed quite a few times! I loved how fierce and determined Kat was. She was great. Leo was perfect in his own way. It would have been fun to hear his side as well. I wish the ending would have went a little longer but it was still good!