Highlights:
- Sightseeing throughout New York
- Romance Editor && Author
- SLOWW BURN romance

This was such a sweet and feel good romance novel! Following Lanie who thinks she has everything figured out has her life turn upside down when she gets the opportunity to be the editor for her all-time favorite romance author Noa Calloway. It was so fun following Lanie and Noah’s relationship throughout the book. They had a great working relationship before she has the opportunity to work directly with him. This was such a slow burn romance I wish there were a few more chapters where we could enjoy them being together lol.

Huge thank you to ‎ G.P. Putnam's Sons, Lauren Kate and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an ARC of By Any Other Name.

I truly tried to finish this, but I just couldn’t make myself keep reading/pick it back up.
I read and enjoyed Fallen by Lauren Kate in my post-Twilight, paranormal fantasy craze, so I was interested to see what her foray into adult romance was like. Plus, I’m always a sucker for book-related books.
The prose was clunky and the contemplations of the main character’s love of fiction were so cliché and cringey that any relatability was overshadowed. What bothered me most, though, was the main character.
She’s almost 30 years old, and yet she still thinks love/her romantic partner are going to match the list that she made when she was a teenager? All she (internally) talks about when she’s with her fiancé is his amazing body or how perfectly he fits her wish list--she has no understanding of him as a fully fleshed out, real human being. Her naivete just doesn't make sense for an almost 30 New Yorker.
I probably could have gotten past the writing and my annoyance, but Lanie's response to the big reveal of her favorite author’s identity put the nail in the coffin of my reading experience. I get that Lanie and the author are pen pals and whatnot, but she acts as thought it's the biggest betrayal. Moreover, she gets personally offended that the author wants to write something fresh and new with a setting other than her beloved NYC. This overreaction and self-centeredness were just insufferable.
Based on the synopsis, I’m sure the main character has an arc that resolves some of these issues, but I knew I still wouldn't end up giving this a positive rating so I figured it's better to DNF (at 30%).

I loved EVERYTHING about this book! The premise was amusing, the writing was eloquent and fun and the entire story and its characters were equal parts loveable, vulnerable and fantastic.

The relationship between Lanie and Noa/Noah (which starts off as an email friendship 7 years before they finally meet in person) was so sweet. I appreciate a slow burn as opposed to hot and heavy romance. I loved following Lanie's life from her engagement to her singledom and even through her job promotion, just as much as I loved following Noah's artistic process and the final product of the novel.

Edward and Elizabeth were beautiful muses and I loved Lanie's friendship with Rufus and Meg. I laughed out loud so many times, but especially when Lanie wanted to wear a tan thrift store turtleneck to the club instead of a hint of bosom (BD cracked me up- what a fantastic character!). Such a great book!!

I loved this! It has all the things I love: unexpected love, book world, romance writers, secret identities! I do think it felt more like women's fiction than romance because of the strong focus on her figuring out what love was and how that was connected to the grief over losing her mom at a young age. I really liked how she had the perfect boyfriend and all of her expectations of love were turned on its head when she met Noah. The writing was really smooth and kept me engaged. I will definitely be looking for the next book by this author.

I am such a sucker for books set in the publishing world. I just love them! This book was really cute. No steam…so don’t pick up this one if that’s a requirement for your romance books!

I would label this as a calm friends to lovers romance. The relationship was sweet and built slowly. I found myself becoming impatient with them at times 😆 but the circumstances that existed required it to be a slower pace.

I still found this book adorable and was excited to pick it up each night before bed. I recommend this if you want an easy read to get lost in and not think for a bit.

Thank you to @putnambooks and @netgalley for the arc in exchange for my review 💜

A cute and fun romance! I found this an easy read, something I could just enjoy over a couple free hours. I loved the character and the scene was set so well from the very beginning. If you are looking for a sweet romance this is for you!

Thank you for a copy of this book. It was such a delight! I am not familiar with Lauren Kate's YA series, although I know it was a hit. Her writing style in By Any Other Name was so easy to get into, it was light and airy, super readable. Both people in the romance were completely likeable and on top of that, there were two really relatable side characters. There are actually no steamy scenes, but some sexual language. I would call this book romantic instead of a romance. It was so cute and sweet and yet not too sticky gooey over the top. Following the writing and publishing world was a fun perspective, even though some of titles of the books were the cheesiest part of this whole book. I felt like some scenes could have been more thoroughly developed and at the same time, I wouldn't have wanted much more length to the book. Overall, I loved it and would highly recommend!

I adored this book! First off Laine was such a great character. My romantic heart was with her through this whole book. And Noah. Swoon. What an absolute gem of a read!

Loved this bookish romance! It was witty, fresh, and fun. This book just made me straight up happy! The characters were charming and I loved the concept. The writing was excellent and the plot woven together in a lovely way. 4⭐️

This fun read was really what I needed during this time. The storytelling was just lovely and I just highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good book.

By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate

Pub Date: Out now!

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for a copy of this ebook for an honest review!

This is a cute little enemies to lovers trope! So if you are not a fan of those, I'd steer clear. She helps this famous writer with his writers block but discovers that she can't judge a book by its cover.

See synopsis below:

What she doesn’t know about love could fill a book.
 
With a successful career as a romance editor, and an engagement to a man who checks off all ninety-nine boxes on her carefully curated list, Lanie’s more than good. She’s killing it. Then she’s given the opportunity of a lifetime: to work with world-renowned author and her biggest inspiration in love and life—the Noa Callaway. All Lanie has to do is cure Noa’s writer’s block and she’ll get the promotion she’s always dreamed of. Simple, right? 
 
But there’s a reason no one has ever seen or spoken to the mysterious Noa Calloway. And that reason will rock Lanie’s world. It will call into question everything she thought she knew. When she finally tosses her ninety-nine expectations to the wind, Lanie may just discover that love By Any Other Name can still be as sweet.

This book had potential but it didn’t work for me. I found the MC a bit unlikeable and ended up rooting for Ryan (her ex she broke up with with the excuse that he proposed poorly). Since that happened at 50% of the way in, I wasn’t invested in the new relationship forming. I like the premise though and the writing was well done it was just missing the romance aspect I was looking for.

This felt like something I would like, but it didn't grab me. I ended up not finishing this title. I really think that others will enjoy it though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnambooks for this ARC.

By Any Other Name was a great fast read. Lanie is a romance editor who has been inspired by Noa Callaway. She is then given the opportunity to work with Noa. A promotion is on the line; that's if she is able to surpass the challenge that was given to her.

This rom-com was so well done. The romance in it was a slow-burn with lots a cute moments. I definitely enjoyed this beautiful read. I loved how Lanie and her friends had great personalities. The author also includes us on Laine's self-discovery journey

I definitely had my doubts about exactly where this story was going. I've never read a book by this author before and was pleased with the writing style. Relationships around the main plot gave this book a lot of extra points. Stories about publishing are always interesting to me. We are here for the love of books and rarely know what goes on behind the scenes. We just sit down and enjoy the ride.

The romantic parts of this love story were painfully slow for my taste, but it was enjoyable no matter what. In the end, I was expecting a little more but overall have no complaints about how this story ended and the happy tears that were falling as I read the last few lines.

Have you adored a book right from the first sentence of the first page and fallen deeper in love with it as you read further and further? Well, this one might be the one for me. I loved Noah and Lanie and couldn’t stop reading this book once I started. I loved it and highly recommend this heartwarming and adorable love story.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

I absolutely adored this story. I loved Lanie’s character and her story. I loved Noah and his story. I loved their story.

This book was so sweet. I didn’t want it to end. I found myself smiling throughout. I will be recommending this book to others!

Fun, easy, slow build enemy to lovers rom-com. I'm hard to please when it comes to Rom-coms, so I didn't have high expectations, but I'm so glad I gave this one a chance! This was a <24-hr read for me, once I started, I couldn't put it down. Great character development, the perfect blend of romance, snark, attitude, and sweet. Highly recommend - would make a great book for summer travel, or a quick break between more serious / heavy reads!

This book was so good! I’ve read a lot of romance and this one was such a good one to add to my collection. It’s plot was quite different from what I usually read, but it was really good. I really liked how the main character, Lanie, reads the books and that helps with her grief. This is something I can relate to and it was nice to see in a book. Overall, I would read it again and definitely would read more by this author.

This was a wonderful read! A book about books always makes for a nice story, even more so when romance is involved, and this title did not disappoint. The character development was heartwarmingly sweet and fun at times. This was my first time reading a book by this author, I really enjoyed their writing style and the narrative flow of 'By Any Other Name'. Highly recommended for anyone looking for an enemies to lovers romance that will have you laughing for a few days!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this lovely novel!