This was such a fun read, especially since I read it around Valentine’s Day! I loved the character growth from our two main characters as they navigate their connection in high school through college. There were lots of swoony, romantic moments. This is the perfect read for anyone who needs a light, fun rom-com. The audiobook was great, too!

I really wanted to LOVE this one… but didn’t. The FMC was weird and annoying at times!
the poetry written throughout the book made me cringe at times.. how are these being read in a MFA program… and not in some middle school is beyond me. also too many Taylor swift references… to the point where a poem is based off of her POV…

I just didn’t care for the ‘will they won’t they’ push and pull of the book. Overall, I saw the vision… it was just executed poorly.

This book completely stole my heart. You Between the Lines is an emotional, beautifully written story about love, ambition, and self-discovery. Leigh is at a crossroads—navigating her parents’ separation, feeling unfulfilled at her ad agency job, and taking a leap of faith by applying to an MFA program. To her surprise, she gets in. But even more shocking? Will, her high school crush who once rejected both her and her writing, is there too. As they find themselves competing for a prestigious fellowship, the tension between them is undeniable. They try to stay away, to move on—but it’s never that simple.

Leigh is messy, flawed, and incredibly relatable. Her struggle with people-pleasing and her journey through therapy felt so raw and real. Watching her grow and find her voice was both heart-wrenching and inspiring. And then there’s Will—soft, reserved, and difficult to read, but in the smallest moments, his care for Leigh shines through. His personal struggles, especially his complicated relationship with his father, made him such a layered and compelling character.

The nostalgia in this book hit so hard, weaving together past and present in a way that made every interaction between Leigh and Will feel meaningful. Their push-and-pull dynamic had me feeling everything—joy, frustration, longing, hope. Their relationship isn’t perfect, but that’s what makes it so beautiful.

This was more than just a love story—it was about finding yourself, healing, and learning to let go of the past while embracing what’s ahead. If you love angsty, heartfelt romances with deep character growth, this book is an absolute must-read.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this advanced audio copy of You Between the Lines.

After my travels recently, I thought I was too tired to read but TURNS OUT I WASN’T because I inhaled this book. Leigh is wildly relatable*, Will Langford is crazy hot, and this story was perfect.

*While I’m lucky I can’t relate to Leigh’s trauma about her parents’ separation, I can very much relate to her people-pleasing tendencies, low self esteem, and anxiety. I truly felt like the author did an incredible job crafting this character.

This book also includes:

🔥 Great smut
🎓 Not really a second chance, but a “I had a huge crush on you in high school”
🪩 Taylor Swift references if you’re into that
🖊️ Flirting via poem annotations

I was lucky to read this book physically and also via audio. I very much enjoyed the narration - not monotonous at all, there was great emotion and emphasis in the voice. I was also happy with the production of the novel and would recommend this sound to anyone!

Huge thanks to Katie Naymon, Forever, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

As a former English major, this was a FUN read. I could very much relate to Leigh's feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt during writers workshops. I read this one in audio-- thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. That little book was such a sweet story of second chances. The characters were well-developed and I was rooting for Leigh and Will from the start.

I absolutely adored Katie’s writing, and this book! 🥰

⭐️: 5/5
🌶️: open door, a few scenes

💭 overall thoughts:
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this one. Poetry isn’t really my “thing” - I have nothing against it, I’ve just never really been interested/into it.

I really appreciated the way it was used in this story, showing the development of both main characters. It was a big part of how they got to know each other, in both their own writing & the feedback they gave.

Leigh has this sort of imposter syndrome for who she is - she likes “girly” pop culture, but feels that makes her less of a “serious” writer.
She’s drawn to men like Will, who make her feel validated - or not.

Leigh spends a lot of time doubting herself, and relying on others’ opinions. She (thankfully) has a lot of growth throughout the story.

I think the main theme of You Between the Lines is what it means to be vulnerable, to be yourself, whether in writing or just in general. That was certainly relatable, and I enjoyed reading both characters working through this.

I generally prefer dual POV, but single really worked well here.

*side note - I seem to strongly have a thing for Wills 😅
(Beautiful Player, Perfect Fit, In Spades - to name a few)

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
I haven’t heard Sarah Beth Goer before, and I loved her narration!
She really worked for me as Leigh, and I didn’t mind her “male” voice (which can really throw me off with others sometimes 🙃).

read if you love:
📝 MFA students (poetry writers)
🏫 academic rivals to lovers
📓 former high school classmates
🥹 longtime crush/pining
🧠 mental health rep
🫶🏼found family
💖 single 1st person pov

✨ books/authors with similar vibes:
♡ Clare Gilmore (reminded me of Perfect Fit but I’m not sure why!)

Thank you Forever, Hachette Audio & NetGalley for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this incredible Audio Arc!

I can't rave about this book enough. What a delightful and enchanting story! I loved every aspect of it—from the characters and the setting to the brilliant writing. The love story was well-developed, and the characters were flawed yet captivating, making them unforgettable. The narration was fantastic, and the dialogue, along with the emotions, drew the reader into the narrative. I highly recommend this book for both listening and reading! Amazing!!!

Leigh is a very relatable character for me personally and I definitely think that affected my thoughts on this book. I too am an accommodating people-pleaser and she struggled with taking all comments and criticisms into my core. She has a lot going on personally plus the baggage of past interactions with Will that drive her narrative in this story. Her growth is slow to come along but she does eventually learn how to be more comfortable with herself.

I loved Will. The tag line of him not being able to forget her was accurate and I really liked how that played out as the length of his feelings are revealed. He has his own baggage of hurts to work through and that definitely holds back the relationship.

My criticism would be in how young and slightly immature these characters seemed. They felt more like undergraduates than MFA students in their late 20s. That aspect and my thoughts on it did pull me out of the story a bit.

I haven’t seen any reviews that point this out so I will also mention that this book contains very open door romance and was well outside my personal comfort zone so I did some skipping. It has a solid plot without it and it is skippable as you can see it coming (though a little harder on audio).

The narrator did a great job with the voicing of the main characters and I enjoyed her work on this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Content Notes: Multiple open door scenes; strong language

Book: 3.5 stars / Narration: 4.5 stars

I really wanted to love this book, but I had a difficult time connecting to the story. At times, I truly related to Leigh's people-pleasing tendencies and her relationship with her parents. But I also really just wanted her to get over the past and some of her hang-ups with her parents. I think this book will be loved by many, but it was not for me.

The narrator did an amazing job with all of the voices. Honestly, I think I enjoyed this book as much as I did because of the narration.

Overall Impressions: "You Between the Lines" is a solid debut novel. There were parts I really enjoyed, though there were also a few aspects that didn’t quite resonate with me.

The author's writing style is engaging, though the poetry and Taylor Swift references didn’t fully capture my interest.

The romance, while full of tension, wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. I appreciated the dynamics between the characters, but their constant disagreements and back-and-forth were a bit repetitive at times, reminding me of some of the more dramatic relationships often seen in high school.

On a positive note, the book addresses mental health in a thoughtful and meaningful way. It provides an opportunity for readers to reflect and build greater empathy and understanding around these important issues.

In conclusion, while “You Between the Lines” has a lot of potential, it didn't quite reach the five-star level for me.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

You Between the Lines punches you in the face with the nostalgia of being young and vulnerable. Seeing the main character, Leigh, receiving feedback in her high school creative writing class from Will, her crush, that her poem was "all style no substance" was almost too much to bear. I was excited to see how Leigh’s (and Will’s) story would play out based off that intro and there were plenty of cute details sprinkled throughout that made you root for them to make it!

I had a little resistance in the end believing that Leigh and Will were right for each other. But ultimately the messy union is more realistic than what we see in a lot of romance books so it was still worth the read!
I’m also super picky about audiobooks but really enjoyed the production of this one. Sarah Beth Goer’s voice was perfect for the story!

This was a sweet academia romance read. The author did a wonderful job in character development and portrayed the depth of emotion very well. This felt you and very “now”. Romance is not my favorite genre but for those who like it, I think this is a good pick for you. Also, beautiful narration. Well done. Thank you for the chance to listen to the ALC

This was definitely a sweet academic enemies to lovers/second chance romance that takes place mostly during the first year of a graduate program.

I enjoyed the relationship between Leigh and Will. Their banter and chemistry was well written and the spice was a nice touch!

While I enjoyed this book I felt like Leigh's character was a little whiny and annoying. I did appreciate the discussion of Leigh's mental health was well portrayed and handled this difficult topic with care.

I listened to the audiobook and I thought that it was well performed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator was perfect. The story was the same but different and took place in my favorite setting (school!). The ending was very cute. The female character got on my
nerves here and there but overall I would recommend this book to any romance lover.

Thank you NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Katie Naymon for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I found the main female character a little insufferable and like a child. The male main character was fine. The storyline was fun and i loved how the characters were poets.

ALC Review: You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon
Pub Date: February 18, 2025
Narrator: Sarah Beth Goer

I'm marking this one solidly in the "not for me" category. I didn't hate it but I found both main characters pretty pretentious and I just could not for the life of me understand why they kept saying they couldn't be together? There was never any actual reason given other than "it would end badly". The book was pretty repetitive - the number of times Leigh talks about being a sorority girl and how much she wants to be a poet (again without any reasoning that makes me actually believe she wants to be a poet). In the beginning of the book, she's with her MFA cohort and someone asks her who her favorite poet is and she can only come up with one name because she hasn't read a lot of poetry.... it just didn't work for me. The fact that she chooses to enter an MFA program where she knows she will be critiqued but then can't actually handle any critique?? C'mon. And she also is still perseverating on a critique from the MMC from HIGH SCHOOL - 6 YEARS ago. Girl, get some confidence and get over yourself.

I also didn't love the narration for this one - I found the narrator very breathy, particularly at the end of chapters. I actually think the narration probably did fit the character well but since i didn't like the character...I'm not sure anything would have saved this one for me. I did think she did a good job narrating the poetry.

This is one of those cases where I got annoyed in the beginning and then a hard time finding anything positive to say, even if I didn't actually hate the book. I think the characters are ultimately a bit too young for me and too immature. But I can see why others are loving this!

This angsty new adult romance felt more like women’s fiction. The heroine takes herself and her literary aspirations very seriously. I loved the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I wasn’t sure if I would like this book or not but decided to give it a try and I’m glad I did. The narrator was easy to listen to and the book had a nice flow to it. I was excited to see how the book was going to end.

Leigh has a lot to prove. She’s a smart girl but she lacks self confidence when it comes to her poetry. The guy she had a crush on in high school is named Will and now is a nemesis but ends up coming back into her life to help her with her writing.

In all honesty, sometimes miscommunication I find to be annoying but I did enjoy Leigh and Will. I was rooting for them.

Thanks Netgalley and Publisher for a chance to listen to this audiobook for free in return for my honest opinion.

This is a very fun angsty romance between two rivals in a masters program for creative writing. I genuinely felt interested in both characters development and highly recommend it.

*You Between the Lines* follows Leigh, a poet embarking on her MFA journey alongside eight other writers, including William, a former crush and rival from high school. As Leigh navigates the competitive program, she grapples with feelings of inadequacy, especially given how different her writing style is compared to her peers. Driven by a desire to prove her worth, she's determined to succeed and leave William behind.

The novel effectively portrays Leigh's internal struggles with self-worth and anxiety. As an only child dealing with her parents' separation, Leigh experiences a deep sense of rejection, which fuels her insecurities and affects her relationships, particularly with William. Readers who have experienced similar anxieties will likely find Leigh relatable. The author skillfully depicts these emotions and incorporates insights from Leigh's therapy sessions.

The dynamic within the writing group is another strength of the book. The diverse writing styles and critiques offer a glimpse into the creative process and the challenges of artistic expression. The unraveling of Leigh's personal life, with her parents' separation, ties directly into her artistic anxieties. Her fear of rejection permeates her writing and colors her feelings towards William, adding complexity to her character and motivations.

Overall, *You Between the Lines* is an engaging read that explores themes of self-doubt, artistic identity, and the complexities of relationships. I enjoyed the author's insightful portrayal of Leigh's vulnerabilities and the realistic depiction of the writing program environment. It's a book that will likely resonate with anyone who has ever questioned their own abilities or struggled with feelings of inadequacy.


Thank you Hachette Audio for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.