I, unfortunately, did not enjoy it. The dialogue felt so weird and unnatural. There were moments when it felt so overly formal. The banter with Kat and Leo was entertaining exactly once. Then I lost interest and couldn't find it in myself to engage.

I really wanted to enjoy Read Between the Lines—it had all the ingredients I usually love: a bookish heroine, a brooding former police officer, and a small-town library setting. On paper, it looked like the perfect cosy romcom. Sadly, the story didn’t quite live up to expectations, and I ended up feeling more frustrated than entertained.

The plot follows Kat Fisher, a hopeless romantic with a name she’s not particularly fond of (a running joke that wears thin quite quickly). She’s working in a Yorkshire library and dreaming of finding a man who lives up to her fictional crushes. Then there’s Leo Taylor, newly retired from the police force and clearly at a loose end. He starts hanging around the library, cluttering up the tables and gently winding Kat up—until she snaps, and their slightly prickly dynamic begins.

It’s meant to be an opposites-attract romance, but for me, the chemistry just wasn’t there. The banter didn’t land, and their interactions felt more awkward than charming. Kat often comes across as short-tempered and dismissive, while Leo, despite being presented as the romantic lead, never quite felt fully fleshed out. Their relationship felt more like a series of mildly irritated conversations than a love story in the making.

One of the main issues, though, is the subplot. After being catfished through an online dating site, Kat ropes Leo into helping her track down the man who deceived her. It’s an unusual twist for a romcom, and while it could’ve added some emotional depth, it ends up dragging the story into murky territory. Rather than moving on, Kat becomes obsessed with getting justice, and it’s hard to see how that mindset leaves much room for genuine romantic development. It began to feel less like a love story and more like a public service announcement about online scams.

I also found the pacing quite slow. The middle of the book in particular felt bogged down with repetitive conversations and mundane scenes—especially those involving library patrons, which added very little to the overall narrative. It felt like the same few plot beats were being recycled, and I found myself skimming pages just to get to the point.

And while I do appreciate a bit of quirk in a romcom, this one felt like it was trying a bit too hard to be whimsical. What I’d hoped would be a funny, heartfelt read ended up feeling slightly tedious. There were very few genuinely romantic or moving moments between Kat and Leo, and when they did finally come, they didn’t feel especially earned.

All in all, this was a bit of a disappointing read. The premise had promise and the setting was lovely, but the execution just didn’t come together for me. I didn’t connect with the characters, didn’t care much about the romance, and struggled to stay invested in the plot. I debated DNF-ing around the 30% mark—and, in hindsight, maybe I should have.

If you’re after a slow, quirky romance with a slightly darker subplot and don’t mind a meandering pace, this might still work for you. But if you're looking for emotional depth, strong chemistry, or a story that sweeps you off your feet, Read Between the Lines may well fall short.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing the ARC.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, but overall, it felt like such a letdown.

I will start off by saying that I think this book's biggest issue is the prose. It's very simplistic and blunt, giving it a very disjointed feel. Most of the time, it felt like I was being told this story by someone with a very dry personality as opposed to being able to fall into the plot and the characters.

The plot was fine, if a little unbelievable. I don't think Kat would have been able find out the identity of her scam artist in the real world, nor would it conveniently happen in her own backyard. Also the story wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly for my liking. There wasn't any time built in to allow the reader to build up any kind of suspense.

Overall, not a bad bool, but it can definitely use a lot of work. I wish I had gotten more from this book than I received.

I liked the overall story but the pace was a little slower for me personally and I just didn’t gel with the writing style as much as I wanted to. A great cozy book for most just not for me.

I hate DNFing an ARC, but I could not get through this book. I am a sucker for any sort of bookish FMC, so a story with a librarian was right up my alley. Unfortunately, I could bring myself to care about her or the MMC. I was just too bored.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. DNF at 40%.

This book is such a fun premise. However, it seems quite odd to me. The overall plot, I thought was romance, but seems more like the “catfish” plot is the main plot. I’m not feeling the chemistry as the FMC is very rude to the MMC from the start. It’s just not hitting right for me. Also, maybe it’s just me, but the dialogue is very off putting. Too many references to things now and worded weirdly. I don’t know. Unfortunately, not for me.

1⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for an advanced copy of Read Between The Lines.

Kat is a librarian and a hopeless romantic. Leo is a former police officer who is trying to figure out his next path in life. They could not be more different but they are somehow perfect.

The writing was just so bad and way too cheesy for me. I was not a fan.

This one was simply fine. I found myself zoning out towards the middle parts of the book because I just wanted to get to the end to figure out how the story wrapped up. My biggest gripe with the book was that it seemed like every man Kat encountered was Crazy and terrible except for Leo. I found the two main characters to simply lack any sort of chemistry at all even though I knew where the story was going. It seemed like Kat just bothered Leo rather than him finding her entertaining and he is constantly putting her down. It was just a slow read for me and I had to put it down and come back to it a few times to get through it because I found that I really didn’t care. I did like the premise of the story but I think this is just going to be a forgettable read to me. Thank you for the ARC.

A romance wrapped up in a mystery that sings the praises of librarians …..what’s not to love?! I like my romances without too much spice and this gentle story was good fun and pretty chaste , leaving everything to the imagination which I appreciated. It was an excellent ‘palate cleanser’ after some heavy YA books I’ve been reading and left me with a warm smile on my face.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, HaperCollins UK One More Chapter and the author for providing me with an arc copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 ⭐

Read between the lines is a rom-com set in the charming setting of a library in Oxford, with a sprinkle of mistery. The story follows Kat, one of the librarians, and grumpy ex-detective Leo.

The Oxford setting was one of the things I enjoyed the most, I loved the atmosphere it added to the story. The story felt a little too slow for my liking, the mystery plot line probably slowed down things and I found it a little boring at times.

This a lighthearted read, easy and nice, perfect for a beach read.

I was really surprised that this book just didn't do it for me. I had a hard time getting into it and just felt annoyed by the main character. Just couldn't connect or get invested.

This was just the cutest read. And I love the cover so much! I enjoyed the flow of the book and the characters were really loveable. Thank you for an arc copy of this gem

I really wanted to like this book, I love a librarian romance but unfortunately this book did not do it for me. I actually just couldn't bring myself to be engaged enough or interested enough in the characters to finish the book and am dnf-ing at 35%. I don't like to dnf books but I also don't want to force myself to sit through a book I am not enjoying. The main plot is what took me the most out of the story. Our main character gets scammed from an online dating service by a catfisher and then recruits an ex-police officer to investigate and hunt down said catfisher. I just could not be less interested in this plot and I don't see how staying so incredibly in the negative headspace and memory of what your past love did to you will cultivate a romantic relationship with the new guy(Leo). This is just not for me but I'm sure it could be a great read for someone else!
Thank you to Harper Collins UK and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so cute! I loved the characters and the bookish themes were so fun and cute to read! Highly recommend for the romance book lovers!

I was so excited for this book, truly. It looks so stinking cute I was so excited when I got approved to read this early - that being said, this just was not for me. I wanted more insight to their relationship, I feel like these two lacked chemistry and I just wish there was more flirting or banter.

I also felt like Kat was a little bit too insecure, the constant put down of herself like "he is just too far out of her league", it just wasn't for me.

I think this book could be for someone else, just not me.

I originally picked this book up because of the premise I thought that it was really promising. However, I think that considering the romance did not start until the last couple of chapters of the book, it should’ve been marketed as a mystery and written more as a mystery with a romance, sub plot. Also, as someone who is on dating apps a lot, it was really boring to read about a scammer getting caught, I think this book had an I think this book had a lot of potential with a grumpy MMC and with a sassy FMC but the banter was more arguing than banter, and the romance was lacking for a book marketed as a romance . unfortunately this is not the book for me. I wish the author all the best in the future. I won’t be posting on my socials as I don’t think that’s fair to authors whenever I don’t really enjoy their book.

I liked this book and I enjoyed the romance of it and the mystery of it. The story moved slow but fast at the same time. The characters were good but I felt like we didn’t get a lot from the MMC. the FMC was rounded and we saw a lot of her background. I enjoyed the romance part but it was such a slow burn and the miscommunication was a little annoying. I wish that they could have communicated sooner and figured out their feelings.
Overall I enjoyed the book and enjoyed the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One More Chapter for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

This book is a classic feel-good read. The book centers around Kat Fisher (FMC) looking for "the one," only to find out she's been catfished. To solve this mystery, she teams up with Leo (MMC) to track the catfisher down. The two of them are adorable, and the banter is there, I just wish there was more "oomph" to the storyline and the character arcs. It's a very light book and easy read, but it felt like, although there was some banter, the chemistry between Kat and Leo had a gap. Additionally, as it was a single POV, I feel like there would have been more chemistry portrayed if we got Leo's POV in some of the chapters.

Read if you like:
- Miscommunication trope
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Single POV

Read Between The Lines is the perfect cozy romance with a mystery thrown in. As an American who loves all things British, I loved that it was set in Oxford, England. Kat, a librarian, almost falls for an online romance scam and decides she wants revenge. Leo, a retired police detective, volunteers to help in her revenge plans. This leads to so many fun adventures. The characters were fun getting to know. My only wish for the book was that the ending was rushed. I loved the book and will be recommending it to friends.

This book started off interesting enough but then it got bogged down. It was too wordy and too slow moving.
If you like enemies( kinda) to friends/lovers this book may be for you.