Can't say I liked this one. The romance aspect fell flat for me. I found the premise of the book to be very fascinating but it ended up just being boring. I hated the fact that Lanie was engaged and conveniently ended things with Ryan when Noah entered the picture. I didn't understand why the concept of Noa being a man was so upsetting to Lanie to the extent of her going off on him then walking out. I wish her relationship with Noah would have been more comprehensive and developed. Overall this book was predictable and monotonous.

*thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review*

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this but I found myself wanting more. More connection between our main characters, more character development, more of their little outings throughout NYC and just more. This was more telling and not showing where our two main characters had a connection though email for seven years. I wish we could have seen a few more of these emails to really get a sense of their connection so when they finally met in real life I could believe it. The idea for this story was great, it had so much potential! I just feel it fell a little flat and didn't do what it was supposed to do. I still enjoyed it and read this in one sitting. I wouldn't categorize this as enemies-to-lovers as it seemed to be resolved rather quickly. I did really like the book within a book aspect, I thought that was super cute. The ending was also super rushed and I am not a fan of when that happens. Overall this was still good but I wanted a little more.

This was a honestly a book I was super excited about, I don’t know if it’s the part of us that likes to imagine us in the story ourselves, but I think everyone goes a bit crazy when books/reading play a central focus in the story. In saying that it honestly one of my favorite story lines to see (think beach read) and it certainly didn’t fail me here. I loved the dynamic between the two and I think the only downfall for me was just wanting more between the characters a little bit. It is a great light read but as someone who will happily read an 800 page slow burn just for them to finally get together in the last 10% I think I was just left wanting a little bit more from them however, I do think that is really just a preference thing and this will be the kind of read that many are looking for and is good for a variety of readers.

By Any Other Name follows Lanie, a book editor who is finally given her big break when she is given the opportunity to work with her biggest inspiration and the agency's biggest client, reclusive romance author Noa Calloway. Noa has never missed a deadline - until now. With her career on the line, it's Lanie's job to get Noa writing again, but once they finally meet, Lanie is shocked to discover her romance idol is actually a young, attractive man. With an undeniable spark between them, can Lanie get over her hurt to help Noah find the inspiration he needs to meet his deadline?
The concept for this book was great, but unfortunately the most compelling part of the story is severely undeveloped. Lanie and Noah have been communicating via email for seven (!!) years. While Lanie thinks she's becoming friends with Noa, a woman more her mother's age, she has in fact bonded with Noah over years of editing stories, exchanging jokes and encouragement, and playing online chess. Sadly, we are only told about these interactions, and I wish snippets of their emails could have been interspersed throughout the first half of the book.
The first half of the book focuses mainly on Lanie and then her over-the-top reaction to learning Noa's true identity. The two aren't together until into the second half, and I wish more time had been spent developing their time together. Because we don't see any of the emails where they got to know each other, their connection feels rushed, and frankly we don't even get that much time with them together in the second half of the story. Lanie's relationship with her two friends feels more detailed and developed than her relationship with Noah.
While the concept is great, the execution is lacking and ultimately left me wanting much more insight into Noah, their email correspondence, and the development of their relationship.

Este libro debió de ser mas largo pero
Me alegro de que no lo fuera, porque fue absolutamente horriblemente ejecutado. tienen el atisbo de una idea, eso es
luego mal pensado y anotado apresuradamente como si fuera a colapsar
si hay tiempo para desarrollarlo? que honestamente es tan revelador
su propio. Podría decirse que la primera mitad del libro es la más redundante.
cosa que he leído: sólo galimatías que seguían y seguían y seguían. Como era de esperar entonces, la segunda mitad fue abarrotada/sin información, con tanto sucediendo. El libro es increíblemente corto y sería una buena
recomendación si solo quería sentarse y desperdiciar un un par de horas, sin centrarse mucho en el contenido de la historia.

By Any Other Name is a pretty clean ( some language and inuendos), slow burn romance between author, Noah, and his editor, Lanie. I really enjoyed the characters, writing style and the overall plot My only negative is that it left me wanting more. I would have loved to have had more throughout the story, a couple more chapters towards the end, or at least an epilogue to see where the characters ended up. It was an enjoyable, quick read and I would definitely be interested in reading more of Lauren Kate's work. Also, would love to read a novel like the one Noah was writing in the book!

Thank you Netgalley and Putnam Books for the chance to read this advanced copy. All opinions are strictly my own.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: March 1, 2022

Beginning: I think I know where this is heading but it’s adorably charming and I can’t wait to get there!

Update: we got there and I’m still loving it. This is the first book I can remember reading that depicts a very current, honest NYC life. As someone who lives here I’m seriously living through all the location mentions (and all the restaurant mentions and meals!) …I think I might just need an emergency brunch at Maison Pickle this weekend just to finish reading this! (Also can I just gush at how perfect that Maison Pickle order was??)

I raced through the second half of this book because it was so gratuitously lovely and my stomach did somersaults when I got to the end. It’s mushy and gushy and I loved every second of it! Fall in love with love again while reading this one!

This was such cute and light read! I really enjoyed the plot of this book- I love reading books about the publishing industry. However, I went into reading this thinking it was a romance, but it almost felt more like woman's fiction. Nothing wrong with that, I just had to change my expectations!

I enjoyed the two main characters and their storylines- however, I almost wish this book could have been told through a duel POW. I think that hearing the story through Noah's perspective would have added more depth to their relationship. The first part of the story dragged for me, but once I got to about the 70% mark the plot picked up and I really enjoyed myself.

All in all, this is a very cute light read for someone who wants just a bit of romance mixed in with their plot.

A fun, cute read! I would categorize this as women's fiction to better set expectations for those committed readers of the romance genre. You'll find it easy to root for Lanie and you'll be nostalgic for pre-COVID times with such vivid narratives around NYC.

Successful romance editor Lanie Bloom gets the opportunity of a lifetime, but it comes at a cost! Lanie gets to work with her favorite author and life’s inspiration, Noa Callaway, who is THE meal ticket for the publishing company where she works. Lanie must cure Noa’s writer’s block to keep a big promotion. The question is, can Lanie pull through?

By Any Other Name is an adorable, contemporary romance novel that I couldn’t help but liking! Although the story is fast-paced, there are vivid details that help to set the scene. I enjoyed getting to know Lanie and watching her grow throughout the story and mature while meeting a person who shaped much of her life. Callaway’s first novel dictated Lanie’s view of love, but Lanie’s idea of love transcends as they bond.

Although I liked this book, I wish there was more to it. The story was predictable and fell flat regarding the enemies-to-lovers trope and romance aspect. I loved the other characters, especially BD, and would have loved getting to know them more overall.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

Very underwhelming. At 70% the plot was still being setup and the characters had zero chemistry. I tried really hard to read through. The one unexpected aspect of this book I loved was how they were practically e-mail buddies for years! That definitely was a different take. I do wish we had the male characters POV because I think that would have elevated the story.

First off, thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC of this book!

By Any Other Name is about Lanie Bloom, an assistant editor at Peony Publishing. She's living what she thought was her dream life; working as an editor, working with her favorite author, Noa Calloway. She's also engaged to a man who checks all her boxes when it comes to the perfect relationship. All that changes when she learns a big secret about Noa Calloway.

This was a super cute and relatively quick read! I really liked all the characters, especially Lanie, Meg, and Rufus. Their friendship was touching and fun to read about. BD was also great, can't forget about her! The writing was really good and I loved the plot and everything Lauren Kate touched on.

The few problems I had with it are really small. One: this didn't feel a lot like a romance, it feels more like contemporary fiction with a little romance in it. Which is fine, I just would have liked more romance! Two: I wanted more from the ending. It was kind of abrupt, in my opinion. One one hand, I kind of liked it but on the other, I felt there was more to the story that could have been shared.

Overall, I enjoyed this! I'm definitely open to reading more of Lauren Kate's adult books in the future, should she come out with more.

Lanie is an assistant editor at a publishing house. When her boss decides to retire after having a baby, Lanie is promoted on a trial basis. Only one problem - her bestselling author, Noa Callaway, has writer’s block for the first time ever. Her manuscript is four months overdue and counting. Over the years, Noa and Lanie have become friends over email, but have never met in real life. Lanie hopes to inspire her author, but when they finally meet she’s in for a big surprise.

This was a super sweet book. It’s hard to write a review for this without giving away too much of the story. I always love reading books about books, so it’s no surprise that I really enjoyed this. I loved Lanie’s friends that she works with at Peony Publishing and I loved reading about the publishing world. Lanie’s grandmother BD was amazing! I easily could have read a whole book about her. The romance was wonderful and that last chapter (chapter one 😉) was so swoony. This was very slow burn. There isn’t any steam here, so if you are new to romances or like your romances to not have those steamy moments you will love this.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam for an advanced copy.

I enjoyed this read! I think overall the cover led me to believe it was more of a traditional romance, but it’s not like it was lacking romantic themes! I think sometimes going in with the expectation of a true romance versus women’s fiction can impact the overall experience but that’s 100% on me. I found this to be a light, fun read, and I would for sure recommend to someone who doesn’t read a ton of romance. The characters appealed to me and I found them to all be super relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. What a dream scenario - book lover, happily engaged to the love of her life, all is good and the cherry on top is getting a promotion at work that means taking over the next book launch for your favorite author. What could go wrong? Only that the author you thought you knew like the back of your hand is nothing like you imagined, setting you on a crash course questioning everything in your orbit. Although the story was a bit predictable, it was acceptingly so. I really enjoyed the characters and the friend trio, as well as the witty one-liners. Nothing like a rom-com that gives you all the feels.

Quirky and cute. A bit like The Hating Game vibes with a Chick lit twist. I’m used to Ms. Kate’s YA books so this was interesting. I’m not really a chick lit kinda girl so I skimmed a bit, sadly. This is clearly a case of, “It’s not you, it’s me.”

If you’re looking for a sweet romance then you should check this out.

What a sweet + heartfelt love story about love stories! Lanie is an editor who just got a promotion and is engaged to marry the man of her dreams. When her most famous + successful author fails to meet their deadline, Lanie learns a huge secret that has the potential to cause ripples in both her professional and personal lives. While there was practically zero steam in this one, I still swooned over the romantic and thoughtful gestures by the main characters. I felt their connection and chemistry instantly and thought the plot development + writing style was smart and heartfelt. I didn’t care for the constant jokes about marriage killing romance from her friend/colleague, unsure what the point of that was? And I would have preferred some steam. Overall I truly enjoyed this one! Gave me wanderlust for NYC as well as Italy and all the bookish insight made my book loving heart flutter.

Thank you so much to Putnam and Netgalley for my copy.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this during the first third of the book. I felt a little slow, and maybe it was just me, but it seemed familiar, like something I'd already read. As I kept reading and Lanie and Noah's story unfolded, I found myself really enjoying them as characters, and it started to come together for me. The book in a book thing is something I've always enjoyed, and I would have liked to see a bit more of that. In fact, I'd love a full version of "Noa Calloways" book. I do think that the storyline of Noahs mother could have been explored more, and it would have made for an even deeper character connection. The settings and characters were really nice, but the pacing was off for me personally. Overall, this was a solid cute, slow-burn read that I would recommend. Solid 3.5 stars

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I will run an instagram post closer to the release date with either this review or a mini version of it.

This is a sweet, feel good story that I just adored! Lanie works at a publishing company and finally lands her dream job and gets an opportunity to work with her favorite author, Noa. Unbeknownst to her, is having a major writers block and I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave it at that. This story is marketed as an enemies-to-lovers, but I don't really get that vibe. It's a super sweet rom-com, hallmark feel and I definitely recommend it!

Oh this was such a sweet and swoon-y read. Though most of it felt predictable, there is nothing wrong with knowing that something good and happy is going to come out of everything and I really enjoyed that. I really identified with Lanie's character and her love of reading. Her relationship with Noa felt very organic and I love how everything developed. The scenery at the end in Positano was gorgeous as well. Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC.