CAN I GET AN AMEN FOR A BOOKISH ROMANCE THAT CHECKED ALL MY BOXES?! Especially enemies to lovers that is actually enemies to lovers and not just toxic with spice.

The slow burn between Lanie and Noa is pure magic. This book about love and books doesn't have what I have found a lot of the contemporary romances I've been reading to be leaning on too heavily: smut. spice.

By Any Other Name is a delicious, delectable, slow burn that will leave you wanting more.

3.5 Stars

“Just because I can write love stories, doesn’t mean I can live them.”

Lanie Bloom’s life changed the day she discovered the romance novels of Noa Callaway. Lanie’s dreams went from becoming a doctor to becoming an editor. She even found the love of her life due to one of Noa’s earlier novels. The last decade of her life has been spent working towards the moment she would become Noa’s editor at Peony Press. And now that the moment is finally here, Lanie’s life is falling apart. Her picture-perfect engagement is starting to show its flaws and the author she has idolized since she was a teenager is definitely not the person she always imagined looking up to. But with the pressures of an author behind on their next deadline building, Lanie is about to discover a real-life plot twist that even the best-selling Noa Callaway couldn’t see coming.

By Any Other Name was just an all around cute story; even when Lanie’s life felt like it was falling apart, there were plenty of little things to enjoy about her story. My previous experience with reading Lauren Kate comes from her YA paranormal Fallen series, and a lot of the low-level flirting/no sex from her YA writing transfers over to her adult fiction.

This novel was described as enemies-to-lovers, but I think both the “enemies” and the “lovers” part is a bit of an exaggeration. At most, Lanie is shocked at the revelations thrown her way at the beginning of the story, but to say she is enemies with anyone invokes more anger than Lanie ever demonstrated on the page. And, as previously mentioned, there is no sex (either on page or off) so calling the story enemies-to-lovers is a bit of a stretch for me. It’s more strangers-to-coworkers-to-heading towards being lovers, if you want a more accurate description.

There was quite a bit to love about this sweet romance. As someone who loves books and the publishing world in general, I loved that this story featured an editor and her author and the stress of getting books on shelves in time, especially when those book sales can make or break a publishing house. Lanie’s story might be fictional, but it was still fun to see behind the scenes a bit when it comes to book publishing.

Lanie has a pretty big revelation fairly early on in the story; it does shape everything Lanie thought she knew and alters the course of her life. While it isn’t exactly hard to figure out what the big revelation is and why the mysterious Noa Callaway remains so mysterious, most of my favorite parts of this book can’t be discussed without giving away major plot spoilers. Without giving too much away, I can say that I ended up really enjoying Lanie’s love interest in this book. They were a bit opposites attract, at least at first, but I loved watching them grow closer with each interaction. It was all very low steam, so much so that I would even hesitate to firmly put this one in the romance genre. With so much emphasis on Lanie’s career and personal happiness, By Any Other Name is much more women’s lit that just happens to have a touch of romance.

I enjoyed Lanie’s story, and found it to be a pretty quick read. I didn’t personally think there was anything earth-shattering about Noa Callaway’s big revelation, but I thought Lanie’s journey, friendships, and hint of romance more than made up for any unpredictability.

I am actually really sad I didn’t enjoy this book because I really thought I would. There wasn’t very much enemies to lovers at all and I felt like I was always inside Lanie’s diary… I thought the characters were a bit bland and that their development and romance wasnt there

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

Torture... AKA a slow burn romance with none of the smexy reward.

That being said, By Any Other Name was a cute book that I enjoyed.

I loved the male romance author and how the MC was a little sexist about it at first, but she evolved. It was pretty refreshing to see the stereotypical thinking on the female MC's part. Either way, it was cute and anyone who doesn't mind the lack of steam should definitely give this a go.


Thank you, NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this book. While I found a lot of it very predictable, I don't think that's a bad thing in this case. I loved seeing Lanie's development as she learns to let go of her youthful expectations of love and others and enjoyed feeling like I was behind the scenes of a book editing process (although I wish we got to see a little more of that). I did feel like it wrapped up very quickly without actually confronting the aftermath of the decisions made in the last few pages and wanted to see more of that.

This took me a little bit to get into. A quarter of the way in I wasn’t sure how I was feeling. The writing was ok but nothing was really keeping me interested. I powered through the next 25 percent and not gonna lie I started to like what was happening. I really loved Noah and Lanie. Honestly everything was kinda slow going for me but in the end it was all worth it. And the slow pace seemed perfect for the characters.

This book was such a delightful read! Perfect for the summertime! Based in the editing/publishing world, it's perfect for book lovers and writers alike. Highly recommend reading.

I found this book predictable but charming! Lanie gets the opportunity to be the editor for her FAVORITE reclusive romance author, Noa. This woman is her idol, and Lanie has modeled much of her life after her books. Imagine her surprise when she learns that this author and mentor that she’s been emailing for years is actually a man. This was marketed as “enemies to lovers” but that’s really not what it is. There’s a brief time where Lanie is angry at Noah but it’s very short lived. I found Noah to be sweet and romantic, but his character isn’t developed as much as I’d like. There’s very little tension in this story, but it was still easy to read. Lanie’s journey of self-discovery is fun to follow.

I would have liked to have heard more of Lanie and Noah’s email exchanges from before they met. I think it would have helped build this depth of relationship in my mind as I read, especially before the big “twist”. It would have helped me feel her betrayal, as opposed to just rolling my eyes at her dramatic reaction. In general this story seemed to skim the surface. It never gave me that gut wrenching tension I love in a romance. All-in-all it was still enjoyable and fun and sweet. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC to review!

The premise of this was interesting but the execution was not quite there. The story starts with Lanie engaged to Ryan and she seemed to think he was perfect but then when he actually showed up on the page there were so many issues it was hard to believe that they were engaged. The swift ending and perfect timing of the end of their relationship just felt too convenient to be believable. It really didn't feel like the enemies to lovers story that it seemed to be marketed as. I think I would have liked it more if she didn't start out engaged.

The plot of this book is centered around the publishing industry, as that is where the main character works, and I thought that it gave an interesting glimpse at what it might be like to work in that field. I thought the initial relationship between the main character and her now-ex ended kind of abruptly, but it made sense within the full context of the story so that the relationship between her and Noa could start. Although there was definitely some slow burn, I really liked the relationship between the two of them.

Another fun, quick read! I felt there was so much going on in this story but it was executed so perfectly. I highly reccomend if you're looking for something that will make your heart happy.

Book # 17: By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate

Lanier is killing it in her career as a romance book editor, especially for someone who doesn't know a lot about love. She managed to get engaged to a man who checks off all ninety-nine boxes on her carefully curated list, though. When given the opportunity to work with world-renowned author and her biggest inspiration in love and life—the Noa Callaway - Lanie has to say yes!. If she can cure Noa’s writer’s block, she’ll get the promotion she’s always dreamed of.

This book is a great romance book, and a good book about books. The characters have some real-life qualities and I loved Alice the turtle (Lanie's pet), along with Javier Bardem the bunny (Noah's pet). It's a fast, cute read for fans of romances.

Lanie and her fiancé felt flat to me, not surprising given that they spelt in the first half of the book. I also didn't care that Lanie was so upset about Noa being Noah. I felt like that amount of anger/disappoint was too much. Authors have pseudonym, it's not unheard of.

I rate this book as 3.5 🌟!

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

#readingchallenge #reading2022 #springreading2022 #booklover #bookworm #bookwormlife #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #netgalley #readinggoals #byanyothername #laurenkate #laurenkatebooks

I love a book about books! By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate was a delightful bookish rom-com read. This book is a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance between Lanie and Noah. I enjoyed the character development between these two, and I wanted them to be together. I enjoyed the audiobook version, and the narrator was great! It did take me a few chapters to get invested in this book, but it's worth the wait.

Oh, my heart, By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate is one of those books you just want to give a big hug to once it's over. I loved the storyline of Lanie being an editor and finding out one of her clients isn't what she expected. I read the synopsis again after I was done with it and saw it doesn't actually mention what this was, so I will try to keep it out of this review as well. It was a fun surprise, and I loved how it played out in the story. This is Kate's second adult novel and I believe first romcom, and I really hope she writes some more! I found the book very entertaining and lighthearted but there were still plenty of times I could feel my eyes getting a little misty, and I absolutely loved Alice the tortoise!

There is also a bit of a love story within a love story thanks to Noa's book, and it made me wish Kate would write an actual book about those characters! I listened to the audiobook and was really excited to see one of my favorites narrating. I honestly think Brittany Pressley is perfect for every book, but she was definitely the right person for By Any Other Name and I found myself reading in her voice for another book I was reading which was weird but also fun! I always love a book set in NYC which this one is, and the author brought it to life in such a way I felt like I was back there. I also loved the inclusion of the trip to Positano, Italy and I HIGHLY recommend grabbing a copy of the physical book because it has a really great conversation with the author at the end. This made me appreciate the story and the characters even more, and if Kate writes another romcom I am definitely here for it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This story was absolutely precious, and I'm a sucker for You've Got Mail! Lauren is a great heroine and I enjoyed seeing her stand up for herself and become the person she wants to be. Noa was the perfect kind of upset to her life by removing the veil on what Lauren thought was true. He's there for her and knows her better than anyone. I loved seeing Noa's vulnerable side through the emails v. who we meet in the present. Watching their friendship blossom in person to something deeper and romantic was lovely.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It started out a bit slow for me, but it picked up fairly quickly, and definitely sucked me right in once Noah is introduced. It was really cute. The only thing that makes me give this 4 stars instead of 5 is that it was really obvious to me that Lanie wouldn't work out with the man she's seeing when the book starts out, and it took her too long to reach that conclusion.

Leaving reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

3.5 stars, rounded up, because I keep waffling on 3 vs 4 stars. This book was adorable, but I wanted MORE. Also, I do not understand how it is being called enemies-to-lovers. I feel like that's misleading. It's more just as Noa's big secret is revealed, Lanie has to adjust her expectations for them.
Things I enjoyed about this book- the settings (NYC/ Italy), MC's jobs- book editor & romance author, and the idea that someone being a perfect partner on paper does not necessarily mean they are perfect for you or in real life. All good things!
Issues I had- the idea that there would be a problem with a man writing romance novels. Excuse me, has no one involved in this book heard of Nicholas Sparks?! What is the issue???
This book also ended too abruptly for me. I needed to know what happened next, please and thank you. And by that I mean, I need to know if the MCs have chemistry in bed because dammit if I read a romance I expect there to at least be a closed-door sex scene (although I prefer the full-on smut) and this just had nothing. Once again, I feel like this was put in the wrong category. This could easily be called a YA, if the characters themselves were younger. But to me, this is not a real, adult romance.
So, I enjoyed the book, it was cute. But it was not what I expected and really, I just needed at least a decent epilogue to round things out at the end.

By Any Other Name was a super cute and quick read. Though I like the characters, the premise of the plot was my favorite part of the book. My one vice with this story is that the backstory of our main characters is not hinted at in the blurb and is glossed over in the story. I really wish the author would have explored and elaborated their story a bit more.

By Any Other Name was an extremely predictable romance. The leads start with bickering that is marketed as enemies-to-lovers, however if we’re going from when they actually started talking they were friends first and then just had a falling out. I felt like the chemistry at the beginning of Lanie getting to know Noah felt forced. Her messaging with Noa Calloway at first was a very sweet sort of fan to idol interaction, which merged into a nice friendship. With the discovery of the writer’s identity it just felt forced. I also did not like the crazy amount of stereotyping that happened in the book. It was inconceivable to the main character that a man could be reading a romance book, or that if a guy was buying a book it had to be for a woman in his life. It just made me uncomfortable with the many judgements that came with her stereotyping. I also didn’t understand her feeling of betrayal when she learned the writer’s identity, as far as I can remember he never claimed to be a woman and it’s not like there’s anything wrong with being friends with a guy. It just felt confusing. For me, this was a 2/5.

I received a digital copy of this book free from Putnam Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.