Pre thoughts
- Library romance

Stars 4/5

overall
- This was a cute romcom read.
- The chemistry between the FMC and the MMC was impeccable.
- Had a great amount of twists and turns.
- It was quite nice this book included contemporary problems.

I would recommend if you enjoy a cozy read. I will also be getting a physical copy when this publishes.

Tropes
- Slow burn
- Forced proximity
- Library setting
- Cozy vibes
- Strong FMC

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Uk for the opportunity to review this eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A light and cozy read. Easy to digest, great characters that were lacking a bit of depth. Overall, a cute novel that isn’t going to be too hard on the brain.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, cozy book. I enjoyed it a lot!

This was an okay read. Did not enjoy it as much as I hoped having read other books by this author. 2.5⭐️

I quite enjoyed The Typo by this author so I am sad that I felt like this book wasn't for me.

I love a bookish character so Kat being a librarian reeled me in. Enter, Leo, an ex-police officer who begins to spend a lot of time at the library. Kat is unfortunately scammed on a dating site by a catfish (our MC's surname is Fisher - a little too on the nose for me) so she enlists Leo's help to track him down and stop him from attempting to scam anyone else.

This is a very slow burn so perfect if you are a fan of that but for me, I felt like I didn't care too much for the plot and couldn't really feel any chemistry between Kat and Leo.

I did really enjoy the supporting characters, especially Doris, but other than that, it was a bit too slow paced for me personally.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

A good funny and enjoyable book. A really good summer escapism book.
I look forward to reading more books by Emily Kerr
Thank you netgalley

Librarian Kat Fisher has high hopes for her first in-person date with Brian, a charming man she’s been chatting with on a dating app. But when he suddenly asks her for money, Kat suspects she’s been scammed. Determined to uncover the truth, she turns to Leo Taylor—a former police officer and regular library patron—for help.
In return, Kat offers to lend her skills to Leo’s budding business venture. As their investigation leads them through a string of quirky singles events hosted by the dating app, their reluctant partnership begins to shift.
This book was such a fun blend of romance and mystery. I loved Kat’s strong sense of justice and how she barrels ahead with her investigation, dragging Leo along even as he tries to keep things low-key. While reluctant to be strung along, he feels strongly that he needs to keep her safe.
The mystery aspect of the story had me guessing who the culprit was until the end (I had some feelings as to who it could be, but I was never really *sure*).
Getting together at the online dating company’s different “in-person events” in order to “find the culprit” was a cute excuse for them to meet up/go on fake dates.
It’s admittedly cringey reading what about folks who online date have to go through, but that’s just reality, not the fault of the book per se; in fact, I think the author is making a comment on the general sh*ttiness of it all.
I especially enjoyed Kat and Leo’s banter: here we have two very different types of smart people sparring and slowly learning to understand each other.
The side characters were just *delightful*: Kat’s fellow librarians, a bookstore owner couple, and an older Bookstagrammer who were all (not-so-secretly) shipping them the whole time.
The Oxford setting gave everything a charming, cozy vibe, giving it super small-town vibes. It made me seriously wish the Oxford Community Library were a real place I could visit.
Overall, with the banter and the suspense, the plot moved at a decent pace.
Also, kudos is deserved for the lovely cover art.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and Emily Kerr for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really lovely read. The characters were likeable, the relationship was cute, and the hunt for the scammer was really fun to follow. I loved reading about the Oxford setting as well - the perfect place for this book.

A librarian and an ex-cop team up to take down a dating app scammer? Sign me up!

Read if you like: Bookish girls, partners in crime, supporting third spaces in communities, pun-filled banter

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing me with a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

In this fun and entertaining new romance novel, readers follow Oxford librarian Kat Fisher as she tries to find love, but with an inconvenient name and scammy dating apps making things difficult, she might just decide to stick with her book boyfriends. When former police officer Leo Taylor makes the library his office to find a new job, Kat sees his presence as an opportunity for help getting into the dating world, but happy endings and romance might be closer than Kat and Leo think. With a fun premise and great tropes, readers will love the atmosphere of this modern romance novel and the characters that bring it to life. Their personalities are complex and entertaining, and Leo and Kat’s chemistry is particularly well-written and evolves in some fun ways. Their opposite personalities are really fun, and the banter really helps develop their relationship. The plot-related drama and excitement in this book gives them opportunities to grow and find common ground, and the slowish burn really makes the payoff even better. A great read for fans of bookish romances and opposites-attract tropes, this new romance novel from Emily Kerr is a fun, entertaining, and heartwarming book with great characters and a fantastic plot.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Great characters and a believable plot. I read this in a couple of days as I could not put it down. Recommended.

A book for book lovers—literally. At the heart of this charming story is a librarian who, after falling victim to a romance scam, decides to uncover the truth and track down the real man behind the photos that stole her heart. Enter a former detective turned holidaying policeman, who reluctantly (but curiously) agrees to help.

What follows is a mission filled with wit, unexpected chemistry, and more than a few surprises. Their journey together ends up revealing far more than just the scam—it uncovers hope, connection, and the kind of spark that neither of them saw coming.

Romantic, funny, and utterly delightful—this is the kind of book you start reading “just for a bit” and suddenly realise you’ve been lost in it for hours. And the twist? Absolutely brilliant. I didn’t see it coming, and I loved that.

A perfect read not just for summer, but for anyone looking to be charmed any time of year.

Kat Fisher, a librarian looking for love, has been catfished. When the dating app doesn't want to know, she is determined to prevent this from happening to anyone else and decides to investigate herself. She enlists the help of a grumpy ex-police officer who appears to have taken up residence in the library, much to her annoyance.

Together they embark on solving the mystery. You know right from the start that Kat and Leo will end up together but it doesn't matter. This is a cosy, hum0rous, light-hearted read, perfect for the beach, an afternoon in the garden etc.

**Thank you to HarperCollins UK for an ARC of this book via NetGalley! These thoughts are my own.**

I unfortunately DNF'd this book. I was so excited for a bookish/librarian character, but honestly, the FMC fell flat for me. She lacked personality, and I was bored. The MMC was fairly funny, but some of the jokes felt forced. The plot was somewhat interesting, but it just took too long (I stopped about 25% of the way through). I think this book had potential, but overall, I was bored.

Thank you for the ARC! Unfortunately this was a bit of a miss for me. I love the idea of a librarian and ex police officer. But from the beginning, the characters felt lacking. The dialogue didn’t feel real between characters, and I wonder if this book passes the Bechdel test? It was not my favorite, but it was cozy enough

This was quite a cute read. I don't think there was one character I did not like. I look forward to recommending this to friends and reading from this author in the future!

I picked up Read Between the Lines by Emily Kerr hoping for a fun, lighthearted romcom. I was especially excited about the main character Kat, since she works at a library (just like me). However, I’m sad to say I choose to DNF it around the 20% mark.

The writing style wasn’t for me. It felt clunky and the dialogue seemed to ramble on and on to the point I was getting confused and had to reread parts multiple times.

Another issue I had (which isn’t really on the author, just more my personal taste) was the nicknames side characters had for Kat. One older character kept calling her Pet, or Kat Pet and I really couldn’t take it serious.

That being said, just because I didn’t vibe with it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work for someone else. If you’re looking for a cheesy, low-stakes, feel-good read, then definitely give Read Between the Lines a try.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the arc.

This was a slow read for me. I actually got about 1/3 of the way into it and then put it down to read something else. When I picked it up again, it did seem to go a little quicker so maybe it was my headspace or maybe I got to the heart of the story. I wanted to love this one - a library, a mystery, a romance - what's not to love however I can't say that I really felt like the main characters were more than comfortable with each other. I don't need spice in every book but a spark would've been nice. The mystery was pre-empted by an event that I caught on to immediately and really made me question whether the main character was naive or just out of touch with the world of today. There were also times as I was reading this that I didn't feel like it was a book set in current times then there would be a mention of dating apps, obstacle races, etc. and I would be reminded. I'm not sure what it was about the writing but it felt dated for a new book. Overall, I did enjoy the storyline but it wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for providing this e-ARC opportunity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this e-ARC! This was honestly one of my favourite books of this year!

I haven't read any books by Emily Kerr before now but I had heard really good things about 'The Typo', and this book did not disappoint!

This was a stunning mix of romance and mystery, and I absolutely loved the character of Kat! No spoilers, but I was gutted for her on her dating journey until she met Leo. I felt that both Kat and Leo were really well written, well developed characters.

I love a slow burn romance, but I honestly would have loved to have seen even more of Kat and Leo's romance! This is definitely one of my books of the summer!