”People say there’s a thin line between love and hate. But it wasn’t that thin when it came to Hunter.—Excerpt from Untitled by Rosie Maxwell and Aiden Huntington”

He’s an arrogant pretentious literary snob.
She’s a hopeless romance writer with rose colored glasses.

Aiden and Rosie have been rivals since the day they met in their first NYU masters class. Once he found out she was a romance writer, all bets were off. They faced off any chance of they got. but, this time they’d pushed it too far. Their workshop professor, Ida, has had it. They’re either out of the class or they have the option of writing a romance to literary fiction book together. Rosie’s got everything to lose. She’s just trying to stay afloat in the city after moving here from Tennessee. She really can’t lose this class! She agrees for the both of them.

As their out of class meetings turn friendly-ish (and date-ish) their characters (that are definitely not each other) and feelings begin spilling onto the page.

“My heart was pounding. He had copied this evening almost verbatim, but the romantic in me couldn’t tell the difference between the lines of reality and fiction.”

Their untitled book is like a confessional of all the things they can’t say to each other as they’re beginning to see each other in a new light. Getting to know each other changes things. It’s amazing how just a different perspective can change the whole attitude of a scene.

“I probably do need to lower my expectations.”
Aiden immediately shook his head. “No, Rosie. You don’t have to lower your expectations. You deserve more than your highest one. Any guy you’re with should be falling over himself to make you happy.”

I laughed, clapped my hands, swooned, sweated a little (I wasn’t expecting the spice and dirty talk), yelled a little at each main character and felt all the feelings of they each felt about wanting to be loved and worthy of love.

“You were worth every bit of the wait, Aiden.”

I couldn’t get enough of all the excerpts of their book throughout each chapter. Especially them writing together. The only thing I would have changed would to make the conflict happen sooner (like before 90%) and change MFC’s response to that conflict (I’m trying not to give anything away here). For her being such a strong independent woman, it just felt out of character for her.

Will I still be recommending this book, absolutely! It’s a great quick, romantic-comedy, tension-filled (little spicy) read. I devoured this in a day and a half…and stayed up way too late in the night trying to finish it. My husband woke up and literally said to me, “You’re still reading.” I just needed to know how it ended.

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press and Katie Holt for letting me read Not In My Book in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing debut novel!
Not in My Book is perfect for fans of literary humor and rivals to lovers who are forced to work together!

Aiden Huntington would be the perfect man. He's gorgeous, everyone in their Writing Workshop hangs on his every opinion, and he is a devastating writer to boot. The only problem is... he can't stand Rosie. So what if she writes Romance, a genre that he clearly deems to be beneath him? His unfair notes and surly opinion only fuel Rosie's fire as she works to prove that the Romance genre is equal to its counterparts. But when their rivalry ignites, and they are forced to try and write a book together, will either of them survive their differing opinions on what makes great literature, or their undeniable attraction to each other?

The angst in this book was wonderful. I enjoyed that they truly were rivals and didn't just immediately show their cards to one another. Watching their relationship develop via their book characters was so sweet, and then spicy, and honesty just so introverted-writer coded that I ate it up! Rosie and Aiden are grumpy x sunshine done extremely well. They brought out new sides of each other, and helped the other heal just by being themselves.
The Peruvian rep was also refreshing to see. I loved Rosie's mixed heritage, her family was so adorable, and Aiden warming right up to it was precious.

I would highly recommend Not in My Book to anyone who is in the mood for literary humor, enemies/rivals to lovers, grumpy x sunshine, BIPOC rep, and beautiful, scenic descriptions of New York City.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the chance to review!

I absolutely loved this book. Katie writes in a cute and interesting way, making it easy to fall in love with the characters and the plot. I Found the book super original, it isn't the typical enemies to lovers. It's a peculiar one. I loved Rosie and I think she's the nicest ever. When I started reading I didn't really have any expectations, but I fell in love with the book as soon as I started reading it. Aiden and I have a love-hate relationship. I started by hating him, but now I just love him. I have to make some compliments to the author for writing and creating such a good book. Can't wait for you guys to read it when it comes out!

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Not in My Book follows Rosie, an MFA student and romance writer. Not everyone appreciates the genre like she does, especially not Aiden, a guy she used to have a crush on until his abhorrence for romance became clear. However, their animosity bubbles over in class until they are left with an ultimatum: write a book together that has both romance and a LitFic ending (read: tragic ending), or get kicked out of the class. However it can be hard not to insert yourself into your writing, and bringing the two characters closer together might end up bringing them closer together, too.

This book was a fun and rompy read. It took me a bit to get into the story, but then I was sucked in. I don’t often get second-hand embarrassment at books, but I have to say I did with this book. During the writing critics, I felt so bad/awkward for their classmates! However, I still overall enjoyed the book. There is a third act conflict which I didn’t love how it was handled, but it didn’t impact my overall enjoyment by too much. 4/5 stars

This book was amazing and I devoured this book in just a few sittings! I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

Not in My Book by Katie Holt was an absolute joy to read. It was an enemies-to-lovers and had a vibe similar to The Hating Game. Rosalinda and Aiden are both in MFA programs and in a creative writing class together. Even though she thought he was
incredibly attractive when she first met him, Aiden is mean to Rosie every time he offers a critique. She LOVES romance and he acts as though it is beneath him. They are so disruptive during one class, that they are either kicked out or have to work on a short story together.
This was so, so sweet. As they get to know each other, their story evolves… they share sweet moments through their characters as well.

I adored this and actually wish that I could read it again for the first time. The spice was chef’s kiss!!

"Not In My Book" by Katie Holt is the contemporary romance that follows the academic rivalry turned enemies-to-lovers romance between Rosie and Aidan, who find themselves in the same literary workshop under the same professor. As they critique each other's work, their verbal sparring only intensifies. Eventually, their exasperated professor suggests they co-author a book together.
The premise of this story is not only intriguing but also incredibly strong. Watching Rosie & Aidan navigate their way through writing a romance that might take a surprising turn towards sad, sappy literary fiction is both entertaining & refreshing. The moment when their professor finally intervenes, forces them to work together is immensely satisfying after all the witty banter.

WHAT I LIKED:

One of the standout features of this book that I absolutely adored was the way the co-authors used book language to communicate with each other. It was like a literary dance of critiquing, backhanded compliments & expressing feelings through the written word. They rarely spoke face to face, opting instead for written communication, which I found oddly relatable and surprisingly comforting to read about.
And let's not forget about the steamy roleplay sexting scene - talk about turning up the heat! While this book may lean towards the softer side of romance, those spicy scenes were expertly crafted and left me fanning myself. The conflict resolution reading in the third act breakup was a unique twist that added an extra layer of fun to the story!

The character development in this book is, slightly above average. Rosie is your typical, slightly messy, slightly clumsy, run-of-the-mill romance protagonist, while Aiden is the brooding, bookish type who is easy on the eyes - pretty much what you'd expect.
But let's talk about the real stars of the show - the side characters. Jess, Tyler, Logan, IDA and especially Alexa stole the spotlight for me. I need more Alexa in my life, she was the ultimate cheerleader for Rosie. The family scenes were a riot too, adding some extra spice to the mix.
Now, don't get me wrong, the chemistry between Rosie and Aiden exists, but I didn't feel a deep connection to them individually. Maybe it's because we only see things from Rosie's perspective, which is a bit one-dimensional. The snippets of Aiden's POV from the Untitled Manuscript were a nice touch though. I found it intriguing was how the author teased readers by only providing Aidens point of view throughout the book. It kept me on the edge of my seat, eagerly awaiting the end of each chapter to see what Aiden thought of the latest situation. Although I appreciated the suspense, I couldn't help but crave more of Aiden's perspective.
The author definitely threw in every trope in the book & a whole cast of characters to boot. It's like a literary buffet of interess, passions, childhood anecdotes & tropes like forced proximity, one bed, fake dating, standing up against a parent..shall I go on?. This might have diluted the character development a bit, but hey, at least I didn't end up despising anyone. Rosie & Aiden were flawed but likable in their own ways, which is a win in my book.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

I absolutely adore how the author incorporated a variety of role-plays into this book. While the characters work on their book, they engage in platonic role-plays to really get into character, along with a steamy sexting session that added an extra layer of excitement. That aspect of the book was definitely my favorite!

The dynamic between the two main characters bonding over their love for books and exploring each other's literary preferences in a bookstore is incredibly charming. It's one of my favorite tropes, and it's executed so beautifully in this book. The scene where they connect in the bookstore is just perfect.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK

One of the main reasons why I gave this book a 3.5 rating is the injustice meted out to litfic. Let's talk about Aiden - the brooding, literary fiction-loving, peacoat wearing character that was supposed to be the dark & intense heartthrob of the story. The problem? We never actually see him indulging in any literary fiction or engaging in any stimulating conversations about the genre. Even when he's co-writing a book, there's no mention of how his love for literary fiction influences the story they're creating. It's like the author kept telling us Aiden is into literary fiction, but forgot to actually show us.
Another gripe I had with this book was its unnecessary length. I mean, come on, do we really need to hear about Mr. Rogers the brick four to five times? It's like beating a dead horse, or in this case, a dead brick. Sure, we get it, Aiden cares about her, but does it really add anything to the plot? Spoiler alert: nope. There are plenty elements in this book that held no consequence in the larger scheme of things & you are left wondering why you were told about them in the first place. This book could have used a good editor to trim the fat and keep things moving along. But hey, at least now I have a newfound appreciation for bricks. Further, the pacing of the book was a bit wonky, with stretches of slow buildup leading to a rushed ending. It was like a rollercoaster ride - some parts were thrilling, others were a bit of a snooze fest. Overall, while entertaining, the uneven pacing left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
One thing that struck me about this book is the cozy, soft romance vibe it gave off from the start. Despite being enemies turned lovers in a contemporary NYU setting, their banter & fights were more like playful jabs than heart-stopping battles. It was like curling up with a warm blanket and a cup of tea while reading. So naturally, I was expecting a smooth, mature resolution to their conflicts, but alas, the dreaded third act breakup reared its ugly head. I held out hope that it would be different this time, but Aidens' flimsy excuse & Rosie's quick forgiveness felt out of character. Just because she's a romantic doesn't mean she should overlook everything he's done and suddenly declare him a prince charming.
One major gripe I have with modern enemies-to-lovers books is that the enemies part feels like an afterthought. Take "The Hating Game," "The Spanish Love Deception," and even the book I'm talking about now - they all lack a solid foundation for the animosity between the characters. It's like the author just threw in some conflict to spice things up, without giving it any real depth. Now, let me tell you, "Not In My Book" had so much potential. I mean, it had the makings of a great enemies-to-lovers story. But instead of exploring why these characters hated each other and how they overcame it, we got the tired old trope of "I never really hated you, it was all a big misunderstanding." I refuse to accept this as the new norm. That's not enemies-to-lovers, that's just miscommunication-to-lovers. And let me tell you, it's getting old fast. But hey, I will give credit where credit is due. This book does have its charms. It's a cute, quick read that will resonate with any romance lover out there. So, if you're in the mood for a light-hearted romance that doesn't delve too deep into the enemies part, then give this one a shot. Just don't expect any groundbreaking revelations about why these characters supposedly hated each other in the first place.

In sum, this book is basically academic rivals, enemies to unwilling co-authors, to friends, to best friends, to lovers, to breaking up because of misunderstanding, to lovers again. Katie Holt has crafted a story that is not only engaging but also cleverly written. Overall, the concept of a book within a book, written by two different authors with contrasting styles, was truly captivating. It was like a good attempt at a literary mashup that kept me hooked from start to finish.

ARC review: Not in My Book by Katie Holt.
Oh my goodness, this book is amazing, I’m literally blown away and so obsessed! I devoured this book in one sitting!! Not In My Book follows our main character Rosie who is a 26 year old student studying at NYU and her journey to becoming a writer. Rosie is smart, funny, and a true romantic at heart. This is a single POV book, with insights into the MMC’s POV. As Rosie and her academic rival reach a breaking point, their Professor forces her and her rival Aiden to co-write a book to complete their semester. This book has swoon worthy romance, academic rivals, a strong and fierce FMC. I am so excited to get my hands on a physical copy of this book when it comes out in Autumn 2024!

An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for me!!!

I’m also so excited to see where Katie Holt goes next as I’m a firm fan of her writing and storytelling!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for providing me with an ARC for an honest review!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Cute, breezy, and the classic enemies to lovers trope. I liked the ‘book within the book’ concept. The plot felt a bit rushed and thin at the end, but overall a fun read!

Generally, I didn't think this book was bad, but I did struggle with it a lot. In my opinion, the enemies-to-lovers part had zero substance and didn't make any sense. Therefore, it made the whole book lack authenticity and felt rather forced.
Furthermore, it was unnecessarily lengthy. During some parts I was sadly just bored.
The book has potential but unfortunately, it wasn't for me.

Author main characters, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, third act breakup, spicy, they express their feelings through their writing

I am a sucker for enemies to lovers, and I have discovered my love of the microtrope of a writer romance. Pure gold.

I loved seeing them be vulnerable and open to each other through the book they were writing. It was so beautiful and something that I hadn’t seen before in a book. Also the first spicy scene between their book characters was quite possibly the hottest thing I’ve ever read!

I think my favorite part about this book though is the realistic sense of it. Every relationship is going to be rough, it shouldn’t be all sunshine and roses. There will be arguments. But knowing how to work through those arguments and working on being better together is what’s important. I feel in romance books it’s often this idealistic relationship where there’s only conflict before they get together then there’s never anything bad in the relationship, but seeing them fight and continuously working though it makes it more real. It’s still a romance, still has a bit of a rosy tint, but it also doesn’t shy from the hard parts of life.

Review to come…

I really love the cover ❤️
The description is very intriguing.
This is a new author to me.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

"𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆."
"𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰'𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔."

3.75 ✰

♡･ﾟ:*｡.:*･ﾟ

first & most importantly, thank you diksha for buddy reading this with me!!

not in my book is a cute romance about two academic rivals, rosie and aiden, who absolutely despise the other. professor Ida, tired of their constant bickering in class and lack of teamwork, decides to put their skills to the test by forcing them to collaborate on a novel. the catch: if they fail to finish the novel, they will be expelled from the class. both rosie and aiden need this class to graduate, so they attempt to put their differences aside, but as they continue writing, they begin to uncover each other’s hidden strengths and vulnerabilities, slowly chipping away at their initial impressions in the process. just as they're about to make progress, their differing opinions on the story's direction threaten to tear them apart – forcing them to confront the possibility that maybe, just maybe, the other person isn't so bad after all.

i really enjoyed reading this book. it was so sweet and funny, and there were so many good quotes. so let’s get into the review shall we?

✏️🗒️🩷🌃🚉

𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 📓
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
✎ rivals to lovers
✎ small town girl, city boy
✎ one bed
✎ “hurt her and i’ll end you”
✎ grumpy x sunshine

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 📓
rosalinda˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
our fmc is rosalinda, rosie for short! i loved rosie’s character so much. throughout the book she was always ambitious and very adamant on getting what she wanted. she had a relatable personality which i loved as well.


aiden˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
the way i need him is ridiculous. he starts out as a grumpy, seemingly stuck up mmc, but the character development with this one is insane. not to mention, he has a way with words 🤭 obviously he does, he’s a writer.

logan, jess, tyler˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
rosie’s friend group) i liked them! they were a solid friend group. they were normally very supportive of rosie.

maria˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
rosie’s roommate) she was so cute and so sweet! i would love to have her as a roommate. the only thing i didn’t like about her was that she was really pushy when it came to rosie and she didn’t seem to care if rosie disagreed or was uncomfortable. this wasn’t an all the time thing though!!


𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒕 📓
overall, the plot was good, but i didn't like that there was a new conflict introduced around 90%. i also wish that there was more included in either the last chapter or the epilogue because i wanted to see more of aidenrosie!

𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆 📓
the writing style was good imo, although there were some typos and formatting issues that at times could be distracting. there were a few issues with dialogue and who was speaking that was confusing as well. other than that, i really liked it!

𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 <3
“If you loved someone, you’d stay up late even if you were tired.”

“‘Writing’s in the revisions. Nothing’s set in stone, you know. Your backspace works just as well as the other keys.’”

“‘You two lack chemistry.’

‘That’s not true.’”

“‘I don’t want to be everyone else to you.’”

“The truth was I liked her no matter what she did, no matter what she said.”


𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍 📓
i enjoyed this book! it was so cute and just what i needed after the heartache that was heartless. it came out to a 6.8/10 on cawpile and 3.75 stars!! this was a very solid debut novel for katie holt!


thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. all opinions here are my own!

Rosie is in an NYU graduate writing program. Rosie is an optimistic romantic with a passion for writing romance. Aiden is in the same program, but Aiden despises romance. Aiden is a grumpy literary fiction writer. They constantly fight and disrupt the classroom until their professor believes they should be dropped from the class. To stay in the class and possibly get along with each other, they are tasked with writing a book that has both romance and literary fiction.

I found the tension and banter between Rosie and Aiden as rivals engaging. I didn't understand why they initially hated each other so much, but the troupe was written well. Seeing their transformation from enemies to lovers through the characters they crafted in their book was sweet. When they weren’t fighting their chemistry was tangible and well depicted. Rosie and Aiden have layers of complexity that unfold gradually throughout the book, which made my reading intriguing. What stood out to me was the narrative structure, which felt like I was reading two books in one —an aspect that kept me intrigued.

Overall, it was a great romance novel.

Thank you, NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advanced eARC in exchange for an honest review. Not in My Book releases on December 10, 2024.

this is the perfect romance book written for romance lovers and readers. it’s giving Book Lovers by EmHen, but make it The Tortured Poets Department ( no, actually ). there are soooo many cute blips about the reason romance novels need to exist, and what makes them so much more than just a love story. Aiden and Rosie are both so precious to me. i completely fell in love with this story and couldn’t put it down. i can’t wait to add my pre-order copy to my shelves when this releases. this is going to be perfect to cozy up with this December when it releases. Katie Holt writes in such a lovely and tender way, this was a book that made me forget i was reading. an absolutely amazing debut 🦋

the details ✨
- enemies x lovers
- slow burn
- academia / grad school
- new york city
- mean banter

rating : 4.5 ⭐️

I was really looking forward to this one - I unironically love romance novels with characters who love romance novels - but unfortunately this one fell a little short for me. It read a bit like a first draft - some sections dragged, and then the next thing you know we had jumped from NYE to "Spring"?? Not to mention, was their class a semester? A year? Just lots of logic jumps and I am a licensed Logic Investigator so I struggled.

I also got the ick in a big way when Rosie and Aidan were co-writing the sex scene with each other. I truly cannot imagine a less sexy experience than trading off in Google Docs talking about "he slapped his *spoiler* on her *spoiler*" like PLEASE. My entire body froze and I almost passed away.

But BY FAR my biggest gripe with this book is the third act miscommunication. Babes, literally have one singular conversation about the dumb lil fellowship thing and it's water under the bridge? They were really both doing too much and it was irritating.

Others might enjoy! It just wasn't for me. Which was a shame because it started really strong and the premise was fun but I just felt disappointed at the end.

3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

— 3 stars ★

Thoughts Ꮺ
— This had the plot of things I loved - academic enemies to lovers, book writing, forced proximity and angsty banter! Overall, I thought it was a cute book. The characters were fun and the enemies to lovers was truly ENEMIES to lovers, which isn't done justice most the time. There wasn't anything spectacular about it but it wasn't objectively bad. The plot was exciting but it could have been done better and I think the characters could have been fleshed out more. In the synopsis it talks about Rosie not being honed in on her culture so I expected there to be an aspect of her learning more about her heritage but didn't really get that.

I was also really hoping that the two would subconsciously write their feelings for each other during the novel writing process, and then later the other would start picking a part the pieces that applied to them - or something like that. I was itching for this to be a enemies to friends to slow burn lovers and that there'd be a whole revelation of these feelings coming through their writings but I didn't get that. I was disappointed by the execution - the pair immediately know they were writing the main characters about one another and I wanted to roll my eyes out of my head. The things that would happen to Rosie and Aiden happened to the characters they were writing and it just felt... repetitive.

Beyond that, I think that once the characters became lovers, the story became flat. It felt like the author was rushing to get to the conflict and then VERY quickly wrap up the ending. This book was super spicy towards the end but it wasn't that fun for me as a reader because I literally couldn't imagine either characters talking that way during sexy time. It felt so OOC for them!

The main reason this isn't rated lower was because I did have a lot of fun with it, when I didn't think too much about who the characters were. I had fun with the banter and the academic setting. I think more of my favorite parts came from the pieces from the book the characters were writing rather than the actual book itself.

Overall Ꮺ
Again, I thought it was cute overall but the execution didn't live up to what I had in mind. of course, Things can change between now and publication (sometime in December), so keep that in mind!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

I had such whiplash with this book. It was like it was written by 2 different authors. Most of the book was so sweet and romantics and then it would switch to filthy sex scenes with dialogue I couldn’t imagine either character using. Great potential but just very disjointed. Thank you to the author and the publisher for this ARC.

This book had many favorite tropes: enemies to lovers, fake dating, forced proximity, even a shared bed! But it just was not it for me.

I had such whiplash. It was like it was written by 2 different authors. Most of the book was so sweet and romantic and then it would switch to odd and honestly creepy sex scenes with dialogue I couldn’t imagine either character using.

Great potential but just very disjointed and left me disappointed.

i am a little mixed on this book. overall, i thought it was cute. i loved the detail of aiden + rosie co-writing a book as their relationship developed. i thought the excerpts at the beginning of each chapter were sweet, and i loved that in big moments when rosie and aiden were trying to figure out how to communicate their feelings, they used their main characters to do it for them. however, when their character moments started overlapping with their own experiences, it started to feel redundant to me. i understood that hunter and max were a reflection of themselves, but i think when it came to reading scenes for max and hunter, that had literally just happened to rosie and max, it felt very repetitive.

i LOVE a good enemies to lovers. and i genuinely understand developing poor communication skills and unhealthy responses to conflict due to how one was raised. BUT, i feel as though when conflict arose aiden’s character was genuinely toxic. being so quick to put her down, was alarming. i know aiden mentions it’s wrong he reacts in that way and that it is a habit learned from childhood, but i think the only way to be able to pull that off is major character development either throughout the book or in the third act. possibly even have representation for therapy? i just had a hard time getting past the awful things he said to her and his apology, while it was mostly sweet, was essentially him saying “i didn’t mean it. i’m sorry. but i’ll likely do it again. it’s okay though, because we love one another”

near the end of the book “Not in My Book” was placed randomly at the end of sentences and that threw me off because it’s placements never made any sense. i think squeezing the book title subtly into the storyline is fun, but this felt awkward and forced.

all that to say, i think when it comes to publication day, i will likely be rereading to see what has been changed.

I'm in love with this book and Rosie and Aiden!
First off, the characters are great and I built a relationship to them very quick. It's an amazing enemies to lovers story that makes you feel all the emotions out there and I loved that they had to write a book together and kind of used it for communication!