If the Hating Game and The Roughest Draft had a baby...

It was fun, it had all the angst and tropes that I needed for this to be everything. It gave all the right feels and if you're a fan of romcoms this is your book. I loved the Peruvian American rep, and how her family was so supportive of her.

I also liked the mutual pining, it's top tier for me, and the way they were writing the book togther was very great for me.

Overall a fun time!

Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for an e-copy.

This is my first book by Katie Holt, But I assure you, it will not be my last! I loved every single character that was introduced, especially Aiden- I felt like he was the perfect boy next-door with a heart of gold, and I just knew that there was going to be a happy ending, which made me love the book even more. This book was short(ish), sweet, with a little bit of sexy! 4.5 stars!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Loved this academic rivals to lovers story where they are forced to work together on a book. The book within a book trope really worked well here as they were able to express their feelings towards each other through their characters. Great blend of banter, spice and yearning.

*arc provided by Netgalley*

OMG OMG OMG!!!! THE PERFECT ROMANCE BOOK!! ANGST, TENSION, VULNERABILITY, AND SOME SPICE!!!

I've read a review on this book that said something along the lines of "romance is back" and I HAVE TO AGREE!!! The characters had so much tension, they totally yearned for each other. Also, we have the classics in the romance genre: enemies to lovers forced to work together, he falls first, yearning, and so much chemistry I was swooning.

The story centres Rosie, a peruvian-american, following her dreams studying in New York to be an author, a romance author. Everything is perfect, except the fact that in her favorite class Aiden, a literary fiction writer, criticizes her and the romance genre constantly, being ruthless to her. They end up fighting in every class, to the point where their professor has to act, forcing them to write a book together that blends their genres in order to stay in her class. Reluctantly, they agree and as the book is written and they organize dates for inspiration, the line between fiction and reality gets blurry.

Guys, give this book a chance and I promise it won't disappoint.

5/5 stars for sure!!

Rival opposites have to work together in a uni writing course to prove their competence.

Katie Holt has written an ode to romance novels. She shines a well needed light on the nuances and value of the romance genre, with obvious love and care.

As stated, Not in My Book takes place at uni – but it felt more like high school, which unfortunately didn’t work for me.


Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Unfortunately, I DNFed this book at about 45 percent.

It was not holding my interest, and the voice and tone of the writing felt much more YA than adult, so much so that when sex was mentioned in any way, it was a jump scare. I went in mostly blind and was so confused when I realized I wasn't reading about undergrads or even high schoolers. The voice did not match the content, and it was jarring as a reader. That took me out of the book and made it a slog to get through. It also felt surface-level and needed more plot and character development to feel deep and captivating.

Not a book I would go back to or recommend, but hopefully we will get a more developed and tone-established story from Katie in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

I really liked this book! Rosie is studying at NYU and plans to be an author. Aiden, another student, is always a harsh critic of her writing. He hates romance novels which is what she is working on writing. Their professor forces them to work together to try and combat their animosity to one another. As they work together they realize they have more in common than they thought. The characters were interesting and had a lot of chemistry. I always love a NYC setting so that was fun. The writing flowed smoothly as did the pace. Overall a fun and engaging romance book.

Two writers, one book, and a whole lot of tension—Katie Holt’s romance is a playful blend of forced proximity, academic rivals-to-lovers, and a book-within-a-book. Rosie, a hopeless romantic, and Aiden, a grumpy literary purist, are forced to co-write a novel despite hating each other (and secretly liking each other). Their mentor flips the script: Aiden tackles the romance, while Rosie handles literary fiction. Through their fictional characters, they communicate feelings they can’t express in real life. With sharp banter, swoon-worthy moments, and heartwarming growth, this story celebrates love in all its messy, magical forms. Reads more Young Adult and New Adult to me than Adult. Not perfect but absolutely charming!

I really enjoyed this story. I thought both the fmc and mmc were well written and not overly exaggerated. I liked the plot and the tension between the two. I did think there were a few small things that I personally felt could've been tweaked a bit, but overall, very enjoyable book.

I have never rooted so hard for someone in my entire life! I truly fell in love with Rosie and Aiden immediately ❤️. The writing immediate captivated me and I love stories that take place in NYC! So so much fun!

I absolutely adored this book! Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed but that is my only complaint. I loved these characters and swooned the whole time. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to @netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Ooh this one was tasty. Reminiscent of The Hating Game and a book within a book. I love characters who love to read, enemies to lovers, and people who love to sit in coffee shops, so on paper there’s a lot here. But then there’s a lot of flavor added with the additional characters, the dynamics of the class, Rosie’s and Aiden’s families, the book they were writing together, and it all just came together so nicely! It’s a perfect book for the cozy winter months, and I highly recommend!

// thank you to the publishers and netgalley for giving me an arc of this wonderful book!

this book was such a surprise! i always love books which are about writers, especially if they include a book being written. the premise is fantastic: two enemies are forced to co-write a love story but without a happy ending. you got to see bits and pieces of their manuscript come by, and it was sweet to see how much of themselves they put into the characters (and how much they said through the channel of their characters). i loved the discussions of the main character being mixed and not being fluent in spanish–as a third-culture kid, i love stories in which the characters don’t fit clearly into one identity and are instead an amalgamation of many.

the transition from enemies to lovers genuinely gave me butterflies. the way the lines blurred in all aspects of their life until it was clear that they cared about one another–aaaaa! it felt organic, and i loved the way they were so protective about one another. the friend group, too, was so sweet! i loved all the characters i got to see on the page, and they all felt like real people to me. both of the main character’s backgrounds, too, were so interesting and it was like getting to know real people. i loved the setting of NYU and, more generally, new york for this story, especially around christmas time.

one last thing: it’s often a pet peeve of mine when books take place across an unreasonably short amount of time when there is no need for the story to be that confined. i can’t stand it when you’ve spent 300 pages reading about this grand love, only to be told it’s been 10 days since they’ve met each other. so, i want to give props to this book for actually letting the relationship take time. they slowly get to know one another over the course of a year, and it makes it feel all the more real. both characters, too, have real hang-ups regarding the idea of love and the discussions they had about it were so interesting.

the ending did go a little too quickly from are-we-even-dating to super happy to betrayed to happy again for my liking, but that’s also a personal preference. i will say, this book made me want to write again–all this talk of writing and drafting and feedback made me want to inhabit their little world of writers at NYU.

and i want me an aiden, of course <3

This is rivals to lovers at its finest! I had such a fun time reading this book, and I was laughing and swooning the entire way through.

I really enjoyed how there was a book within a book, and that we got a glimpse into Aiden’s POV through those snippets (though it always left me wanting more). I also appreciated how the author handled the communication during the intimate scenes in such a gracious way.

This book felt like a love letter to romance writers and readers, and I loved every second of it!

This is one of the best rom-com books read lately and it's Katie Holt's debut novel which impressed me a lot! The book is basically about two completely opposite writers who hate each other and who are forced to co-writer a book! The banter was fun, the tension was delicious and the romance was swoony. What's not to love? A hopeless romantic and a tall, dark and broody hero in his gorgeous peacoat?

This was a perfect romance up until the third-act break-up which I saw coming miles away (just like I knew how their co-written book would end). It's not that I am not a fan of the third-act break-up, it's that it did not feel believable and in-tune with the characters so far.

Points for also being a festive book! Love me a Christmas romance just around Christmas and it's set in New York so I was a goner from the first snowflake.

4 ⭐️
"there was no metaphor i could write, picture i could paint that would even come close to comparing to the magic of her."

"...i didn't believe in love at all—until i met you....the shoot for the stars, shout on the rooftops kind."

the hopeless romantic in me really felt this one. okay. damn. literally loved this so much. i really liked how this wasn't too complex in terms of writing and plot, and it was a quick read. the excerpts at the end of the chapters... my fav omg. and speaking of the excerpts, i loved how rosie and aiden literally spoke to each other about their true feelings through their coauthor assignment for their creative writing class. omg how romantic lol. it was literally just such a cute and fun read. that's it.

I feel so bad writing such a negative review, but here we go:

There were a lot of issues with this book, so let's start with the characters. The FMC was insufferable and immature, and the MMC was a jerk for no reason. You know the old saying "once a cheater, always a cheater?" In this case it's more like "once a jerk, always a jerk." The things you say in an argument when tempers are high are an extension of how you really feel and Aiden really showed his true colors. It's no surprise though, because Rosie was not acting like a woman in her mid-late twenties getting a MFA. She acted like an 18 year old right out of high school. Neither one of them should've been in a relationship.

Let's talk spice. There was one scene that was really good, and I did enjoy the part where they were writing spice together on the phone. The rest of the spice, however, felt like she was trying too hard to cater to what she thinks readers want. It felt forced and a little stale.

This book felt a little like she was trying to cram as many tropes into one book as she could. Enemies/Rivals to lovers, only one bed, third act breakup. At a certain point it just gets excessive.

Lastly, I understand that the FMC is hispanic and speaks Spanish, however the author assumes that the entire audience will either be able to speak Spanish or be able to figure it out from context. If we were talking just one or two lines, that would be different, but she uses Spanish in the book A LOT and provides no translation. It's not hard to simply put the translation in italics next to it. Why make it harder to enjoy the book? For people who do want a translation and are somewhere with spotty signal, like on a cruise or plane, well too bad for you.

I rolled my eyes through a solid 60% of the book and it's unfortunate because I really wanted to like this book. My husband and I met because we both write and I was excited to see a similar love story.

If you've read this far, good! The book isn't all bad and I can completely see how it could be someone's cup of tea. It just had too many issues for me to give it anything higher than a 3, and for me that was probably a little too high.

As someone who's Chilean, a Swiftie and a romance reader, Rosie was such a relatable character and I absolutely loved her story with Aiden. Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advance copy!

This may be one of my favorite books of the year!

I absolutely adored the characters in this book; they are both so well-developed, dynamic, hilarious, witty, intentional. Their slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers arc was done so beautifully that any reader can't help falling in love with the couple, too.

Having the characters, as writers, take turns writing chapters of a book in their own styles? Not initially understanding they are writing love notes to each other? Perfection!

Katie Holt has a new fan. What an amazing book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

4.5 ⭐️
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this book!!!!😍😍
Two writers forced to write a romance story together?! Stop it because it was SOOO enjoyable! Rosie and Aiden were so steamy and PERFECT!!!😍
The tension was truly so yummy! 😭 but I also loved how they opened up and got to truly know each other through the characters they were writing about. And when their teacher suggested they start going on dates in order to help with their writing?! UGH AIDEN IS SUCH A GENTLEMAN!!😭🩷
Hard to believe for me this was a debut novel!! I can’t wait to read more books from Katie!!🥹🩷
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!