Plenty of people will love this one but it steers a little too close to "Not In My Book" by Katie Holt but the execution was far worse. These characters were insufferable.

The narrators? Wonderful

This was so cute and relatable!!! I can totally see how this book might not be for everyone, but for me it totally hit! As an English minor myself I could easily connect to all those writing classes and feedback sessions that were equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.

You also can’t ever go wrong with a guy who’s been obsessed with her forever when she’s written him off and thinks he doesn’t want anything to do with her ever again.

I particularly loved how (unfortunately) relatable Leigh was. She had constant concerns with not feeling good enough, which largely stemmed from her parent’s relationship deteriorating. Her conversations in therapy revolved around her anxiety of being too much and adjusting her personality and likes/dislikes to whatever the person she was spending time with had opinions on. I’m sure many people can relate to moments like that.

The romance was great too and I loved the slow progression of their relationship, which we had to be veryyy patient to get to 😅.

Read if you like:
🌶️ medium spice (2.5/5)
📖 poetry
😍 he falls first
🙂‍↕️ she thinks he hates her but he hasn’t ever stopped thinking about her

This was a sexy, slow burn, spicy novel and it was fantastic!

I enjoyed watching the evolution of Will and Leigh both individually then not-so-individually.

I’m also a sucker for books that have characters who love reading and writing. I’m gonna full on connect to them no matter what!

The book and audiobook are both available now so I definitely recommend checking them out!

Thank you NetGalley, Katie Naymon, and Hachette Audio for the opportunity to listen to this yummy slow-burn in exchange for a review.

Leigh is surprised when she gets into a prestigious MFA program, but she is even more shocked to find Will, her high-school crush who broke her heart with the feedback he gave her poetry, is also in the program. With such a small cohort, there is no way to avoid Will, and it isn’t long before old feelings come back.

First of all, I would totally read a book of Leigh’s poetry - she’s a pop culture loving girlie after my own heart! I loved this debut - it was a great second chance romance and the MFA setting was a fun setting for them to reunite. I loved getting to know their classmates as well and the depth the side characters added to the storyline. I look forward to reading more from Katie Naymon.

I loved Sarah Beth Goer’s audiobook performance. It was easy to lose track of time while listening to her narration and I didn’t want to stop listening!

Thank you to Forever Publishing, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the advance copies.

I just finished You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon and here are my musings.

Leigh never expected to be accepted into a prestigious MFA program… Things are looking up. That is until William walks in and he is also in the same program.. He is the bane of her existence and his poetry… pretentious… Excellent but it's what everyone else does… She writes outside the box and she will stop at nothing to get that fellowship… Trouble is William is gunning for it too.

Firstly, this audiobook was really good. It set a beautiful pace and I was fully pulled into this cute romantic read. I am not a fan of poetry but I didn’t think about how vaste it can be. Leigh writes poetry like Taylor Swift lyrics and that's actually really bloody cool. I like the contrast between how and what William writes and what Leigh writes… It was almost like a grumpy vs sunshine poetry slam! It was totally clever!

I think my biggest beef was Leigh. I like FMCs that are unsure and vulnerable but she was constantly getting in her own way and she allowed whatever was or wasn’t going on with her and Will to derail her. It annoyed me. She walked away from her comfortable life to do the program and she was wasting it… a lot. That rubbed me the wrong way. I get second guessing yourself but this made me cringe.

It’s a debut novel so I always give more leniency to them and I could see some really solid work here. The pacing was off just a little bit but all in all I actually really enjoyed it. The last hour or so it really found its footing and was the best part of the book. It’s got some real vulnerable and raw moments and I can see what the book was trying to accomplish but some of it didn’t work as well as I hoped it would but I am super excited to see what the author does next.

3.75 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for my gifted copy.

For me this was an adequate romance novel. The characters were a bit wishy washy- especially Leigh who cannot decide what she wants, she's not even sure about her writing. I am not a big fan of poetry so that part of the story did not work well for me. I appreciated the writing style but it was not as light hearted as I was expecting. Still a decent story. I listened to an audio version of this book and the narrator was good. 3 stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Hachette Audio | Forever for a chance to read/listen to an ARC version of this book.

This book surprised me in the best way—it’s a sharp, emotional, and surprisingly personal romance set in the world of an elite MFA poetry program. Leigh, our insecure but clever heroine, walks into the workshop only to find Will—her high school crush, now grown, grieving, and just as complex as she remembered. What follows is a slow-burning, one-sided rivals-to-lovers romance full of banter, longing, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.

Leigh and Will are both deeply human characters. Their struggles with mental health—depression, anxiety, self-worth—are handled with such care and honesty that at times I felt like the book was calling me out. You feel for them, root for them, and occasionally want to shake them into talking to each other. But that’s part of what makes their dynamic so compelling—they’re flawed, but also funny, tender, and full of spark.

The MFA setting was a standout for me. The poetry workshop scenes felt authentic (probably because the author has an MFA), and I actually loved how bits of real poetry were woven into the story. The group dynamics with the other students added a lot too—funny, brutal, heartfelt. The whole thing really captured the vulnerable, cutthroat energy of creative spaces.

If I had a small gripe, it was the miscommunication trope—it did get frustrating at times. But honestly? It made sense for who these characters are and where they are in life. The emotional payoff was worth it.

Overall, this was a unique mix of romcom, grief, growth, and poetry—with a dash of chaos and some top-tier side characters. Five stars to the poetry, and four-and-a-half to everything else!

There is one awful thing about this book.... it is the fact that I cannot read it again for the first time. I absolutely adored You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon. Leigh is a writer who tends more towards Taylor Swift and sorority fun as a reference, but she was admitted to a prestigious MFA program. The only problem is that the pompous guy from high school who said she was all style and no substance is also admitted into her cohort. Will and Leigh both try to get the same fellowship, so the nemesis vibes are strong. Will submits an intimate work that is about Leigh - and that is when things start to change. I LOVED learning more about Will and watching them both evolve as humans and writers.
Narrator Sara Beth Goer did a great job with a variety of voices. Excellent diction and cadence.

Trigger warning: Anxiety, divorce in childhood. Lots of self-confidence rep. Lots of Taylor Swift references (I happen to be a fan, so it was great for me!)

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Katie Naymon for the chance to review this Audiobook.

I related a lot to our female main character because I was screaming at her that it is okay to fail and that it is okay to try to be loved.

I also loved that she was in therapy, but I felt like we may need to evaluate what she is working on. I do not want therapy to get a bad rep.

This ended up being a cute read. The poetry really got me a couple of times, and the letter he sent her was so sweet. Did she get on my nerves sometimes? Yes. Do I feel like he was a little extra broody when he was not really broody? Yes. But overall I had a good time.

If Taylor Swift and pop culture reference bother you, this probably is not the book for you.

Leigh is thrilled and nervous to start her MFA program. What's a little imposter syndrome? But showing up and seeing her crush turned nemesis is a terrible way to begin. And she certainly doesn't understand why his work could be about her.
I wanted to love this and found myself somewhat disappointed. It features bookish main characters - that should be an auto-win! I found the writing to be good but Leigh to be fairly unlikeable for the majority of the book. She is simply blind to those around her and her constant jump to conclusions was frustrating. The grand gesture though? Incredibly sweet and the perfect way to a bookish heart.
I've only heard Sarah Beth Goer with a young adult book before, but I did think that her voice lent well to the adult space too. Her voice for Leigh was a good match for her character.
Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the alc. All thoughts are my own.

I love a good romance book and this one almost hit the mark but fell a bit flat. it was mostly due to the FMC Leigh, who was really hard to like. She was incredibly immature and whiny. i wanted to like the poetry aspect and the nod to Taylor but I just didnt. Will the MMC deserved a lot better.

The writing style of this book was beautiful and eloquent. How unique this writing felt as a debut book, makes me look forward to future works by the author.


With that said, unfortunately so many things with this book (characters, single POV, and plot points) didn’t work for me. I know many others loved it, so take this with a grain of salt. It almost felt disjointed in a way as the writing (between the lines) was poetic, but the story itself lacked lustre and often left me feeling frustrated.

2.5 stars

This was such a fun and heartfelt read! You Between the Lines follows Leigh, a former sorority girl who’s just been accepted into a prestigious MFA poetry program in North Carolina—only to discover her high school crush-turned-nemesis, Will, is in the same program.

Leigh is determined to prove herself as a serious writer, especially after Will once dismissed her work as “all style, no substance.” But when Will (now William) submits an intimate poem clearly about Leigh, the tension between them ignites. Cue the slow-burn rivals-to-lovers tension, angsty poetry, and unexpected vulnerability.

I loved how this story tackled mental health openly and authentically, while also showing Leigh’s journey of self-acceptance and growth. The found family element among the MFA students was so heartwarming, and the chemistry between Leigh and Will was full of delicious tension.

Adorable, emotional, and full of academic tension and heart, You Between the Lines is a perfect pick if you love slow burns, enemies-to-lovers, and books with big heart.

Tropes you’ll find:
💖 Rivals to lovers
📚 Poets in MFA program
🧠 Mental health rep
👯‍♀️ Found family
🌟 High school crush turned rivals
🔥 Slow burn tension

Adorable, emotional, and full of academic tension and heart, You Between the Lines is a perfect pick if you love slow burns, enemies-to-lovers, and books with big heart. I completed an immersive read for this book and really enjoyed it!

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever and Hachette Audio for providing an e-ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review!

The timing was just never right for poetry students Will and Leigh back in high school and college. Now their paths have crossed again in an MFA program, where they each still secretly want each other (Leigh a bit more hatefully, Will a bit more desperately as he shares a poem that's clearly about Leigh). Where will they land at the end of all this will-they, won't-they?

The premise of this book was so exciting to me, but can you tell from my synopsis that I did not like it? I could never really figure out the deal with either of the MCs and I thought their cohorts in the MFA program felt like caricatures. Leigh is toxic af and Will kinda gave me the creeps. I initially loved their chemistry because it seemed like they were just so, so hot for each other but all of the back and forth between them got old by the end. All of Leigh's "this is never going to work" BS with Will was tied up in the breakdown of her parents' marriage, which I get, but I just hated how badly she treated him.

I also didn't understand Leigh's fanfic-style poetry or why it would land her in such a prestigious program.

The audiobook narration was meh. I thought the narrator sounded whiney, but maybe that's the right vibe for this book.

Skip this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟

A sweet romance about a former sorority girl who starts a poetry MFA program and is reunited with her high school crush turned nemesis. This was an entertaining romance with great characters and a great setting. Excellent on audio.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was sitting at a firm 2 stars the entire time… until the last 45 minutes of the audiobook showed up like, “What if I gave you feelings now?” And unfortunately… it worked.

The narrators were fine — nothing spectacular — and honestly, I think I would’ve liked this more in print. The writing had its moments, but it was hard to appreciate them when the FMC made me want to scream into a pillow. She was so obnoxious, so constantly on the verge of saying the worst possible thing in every situation, I had a full-body cringe response nearly every time she spoke.

And don’t even get me started on the conflict. This book somehow managed to be worse than a miscommunication trope. These two didn’t even try to talk. Not in high school. Not in grad school. Not ever. It was just two emotionally constipated people making wildly selfish choices and avoiding any meaningful dialogue for literal years.

Then suddenly — plot twist — the therapist appears in the final act with phenomenal advice that could’ve solved everything... if she’d said it years earlier. But sure, let’s just sit in emotional purgatory for a decade and call it romance.

What Worked (eventually):
🕒 The final 45 minutes were actually solid
🧠 Therapist wisdom unlocked a whole new level of catharsis
📖 The premise had potential (but the execution… oof)

What Didn’t Work:
🙉 The FMC’s dialogue — physically painful
🚫 Nonexistent communication
🎧 Narration was passable but not enough to elevate the story

Final Thoughts:
If you like tortured, slow-burn second-chance romances with messy people doing the absolute least for most of the book… this is for you. Just know it takes a long road to get to something that almost feels like growth.

Leigh is accepted into a poetry MFA program where she runs into Will who she knows from high school. He goes by William now and is everything she dislikes in men. William’s poetry begins to be personal and intimate causing tension between the two main characters on top of the fact that they’re both fighting for the program’s fellowship.

I missed the TS reference when applying for this arc but even I would have seen it, I wouldn’t have expected this book to mention her a thousand times (I’m exaggerating, I know) and it was not for me. The characters weren’t likable, the plot was odd, and I was hoping for more with the beautiful cover and description. I was reading 4 books while reading this and every single one of them mentioned TS, it’s getting old!

The narrator did great at portraying the characters

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Katie Naymon, and Hachette Audio for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review. This published on February 18th.

I couldn’t get into this because the narration was intolerable to me. The narrator’s voice was too grating for me.

You Between the Lines is a sweet rom-com for every Taylor Swift loving, artsy romantic. If you’re a book lover that dreams of writing, a poetry enthusiast, if Tortured Poets Department spoke to your soul - this is the book for you!
Katie Naymon’s debut is a relatable love story with PG13 spice which makes it appropriate for YA readers too.
Leigh reconnects with her high school crush - the dark and brooding poet, Will in an MFA program several years later. Is their connection just her imagination? Is he playing her? Readers will have so much to relate to with the “pathological people pleaser” (credit to TAS) Leigh as she learns who she is, finds her voice and maybe love too. 4.5 stars rounded to 5. Leigh is me on a page!

You Between the Lines completely surprised me—in the best way. Katie Naymon weaves humor, heart, and a unique twist into this love story, making it both fun and deeply emotional. The premise was so clever, and the writing had me laughing one minute and feeling all the feels the next.

I loved the connection between the characters and how the story unfolded in such an unexpected way. If anything, I just wanted more—more time with them, more of those gut-punching moments. This book is for anyone who loves romance with a little magic, a little messiness, and a whole lot of heart. 💕📖