This story is one of the best romantic stories I've ever read! I really enjoyed the dynamic of the characters, two completely different characters full of passion. The dialogues between them are delightful and so you just can't stop reading! I highly recommend it!

Beautiful! I am a sucker for stories about writers, and for enemies to lovers, and for romance. This book delivers all my favorite things - so many great tropes used so artfully that sometimes it took me a minute to realize another one had snuck in. Rosie is so passionate about not just writing, but writing romance and I love her not-rose-but-Rosie-tinted view of life. In perfect contrast, Aiden’s more serious and down-to-earth approach tempers her well as they are forced to write together. I adore the inclusion of excerpts from the characters writing; since we don’t get a full dual point of view, it’s a perfect snippet of a glance into Aiden’s thoughts. And the scenes where they fully collaborate, writing line by line rather than chapter by chapter, are some of my favorites as it shows how well they fit. I positively devoured this story!

"Not in my book" is a nice romance novel about two post grad writers: Rosie, a romance author, and Aiden, a litfic author. They cannot but argue every class and they are forced to write a novel together not to get excluded from the program.
The book is basically a set of well-known romance tropes like rivals to lovers (which by the way was a little weaker than I expected), forced proximity, one bed, etc. And I personally liked how Katie Holt used these tropes both on Rosie and Aiden and on the characters of their own book - Max and Hunter.
I'm not a huge fan of romance, though I do love a good cute story from time to time. I'm giving this one a 3-star rating because I did like it on the whole, especially the first 60%-ish of it, but the last third was a bit disappointing.
A couple points I’m thinking of:
- The third act conflict was very weak and I barely felt anything when it was presented.
- I guess we can consider this novel a slow burn, but after the aforementioned conflict the pace of the plot seemed broken, it was very rushed and chaotic and the little flash forward as the very end didn’t fix much (I would even say it made everything worse, it was really unnecessary).
- I know no one really wants to read books about healthy people who go to therapy and can actually talk to each other but with Rosie and Aiden it sometimes was just… too much. They are postgrad students, meaning they’re somewhere in their late 20s but I felt like if they were college freshmen or even highschool students practically nothing would change in terms of their behavior.
- The spicy scenes felt like they were pasted from some other text because the characters felt totally different and were acting weird. BUT I’m not a tiniest bit of an expert here, I very rarely read something spicy. I loved that the general romantic-cute-cozy atmosphere prevailed though, it felt more natural for the setting and the characters.
All in all, I liked the idea of the story and the initial atmosphere of studentship and this winter-fall coziness reminding me of my favorite early 2000s rom-coms. The rest caused a lot of questions but I do see how it can easily be a few nice evenings with a pretty good romance novel for the right audience, maybe just not exactly for someone like me.

Thanks Netgalley, Alcove Press and Katie Holt for the opportunity to get a copy of “Not in my book” in exchange for an honest review.

I just got an email for a physical ARC, and would like to read it that way instead, so I can annotate it! I’m so excited though, I love seeing a POC main characters, and based on the inspired titles and the plot it seems like it will be a great romance read!

Not in My Book by Katie Holt is an irresistible, sexy, and spicy romance that hooked me from the first page! The characters are amazing, and Aiden Huntington is the perfect leading man—broody, sexy, and so much more. The chemistry between him and the heroine is electric, and their fiery banter kept me flipping pages well into the night.

Set in New York City, the city itself plays a vivid, dynamic role, adding to the magic of the story. Both Aiden and Rosie are students in an MFA program, and the tension between them is palpable, especially with the rivals-to-lovers trope in full effect. Aiden despises the romance genre, while Rosie is a passionate advocate for it. Sparks fly when they’re forced to work together on a project, and their rivalry turns into something much deeper.

This book feels like a true love letter to romance and the genre itself. It’s full of swoon-worthy moments, sizzling tension, and heartfelt reflections on love, writing, and passion. If you love witty banter, slow-burn romance, and spicey-sexy-fun, Not in My Book is a five-star must-read!

Not in My Book is a spectacular exploration of creativity, friendship, love, and unexpected ways people can find each other. Rosie and Aiden are forced into an unlikely pairing to co-write a novel together, setting them up for growth and conflict. As they work through their differences, their relationship blossoms into a truly beautiful friendship, which turns into a beautiful love story between Rosie and Aiden. I think the best work in this novel is their dynamic. They are such different characters who are so uniquely themselves, and I adore and relate to both of them. I loved reading their story, and this lovely take on the romance genre. It shows their growth as individuals and as partners, reminding readers that destination is only as good as the journey.

This was FANTASTIC. The banter between the characters and the depth of their relationship was beautifully obvious. The slow-burn romance made the whole thing better. The interplay between the real storyline and their book was fun. The book was spicy but it was well-done and didn't overtake the plot. This won't be the only book I read by this author.

This was what romcom dreams are made of! I loved the tension, the opposites attract, the build it! It was so cute and I bet would make a great audiobook!

Ugh. I loved it. So swoony, so enemy meets lovers. If I had to describe my fav book, it would be a book like this

Not in My Book by Katie Holt @readinromance

Romance author 🤝 Swifties unite

This book stars Rosie, a romance author vs Aiden, a litfic author, they are in a writing class, a true enemies to lovers with fantastic banter! They critique each other for the better and even argue about whether Pride & Prejudice is actually a romance 😭. I love a NYC setting, especially over Christmas with The Strand bookstore as a focal point was just uhh 🫶🏼. High-key very jealous I am not in NYC for the release to get myself a signed copy but a girl can dream.

Not in My Book is sprinkled with feminist values, I read most it with a grin on my face, I was embarrassed when Rosie got embarrassed, I even fist pumped the air at certain scenes. I love Rosie’s Peruvian background, she is stubborn and a little immature for a 25yo with the mention of tears 49x (I looked it up on my ebook) and she isn’t confident with Aiden’s intentions. In saying this, the character traits were well thought-out and in line with her story so nothing was taken away from enjoying the book. There’s a bit of Spanish which I cannot comment on because I don’t know the language but all of the comfort food talk only made me want to try some too.

Now we all know how much I appreciate details on the book cover to character description, not only am I not disappointed, but the choice of name for the MMC being none other than the most heartbreaking story in NYC;- AIDEN from SATC was so on point 👌🏼.

Overall, Not in My Book is written for every romance reader & writer, there are so many lines I will continue to quote to justify why romances are good for the soul. Not in My Book is everything I want in a romance novel and more. I loved Rosie and Aiden’s story and I am looking forward to whatever Katie Holt comes out with next.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book releases JAN 2025. Thank you @alcovepress @penguinbooksaus and @netgalley for my review copy. All opinions are my own 🫶🏼

4.5/5 stars
2.5/5 spice

Tropes:
Enemies to friends to lovers
Work together
Writer MCs
Forced proximity
Protective MMC
Grumpy/sunshine
He Falls first
One Bed
Banter/ tension
Latinx representation 🇵🇪
Single POV

Boy did I have fun with this one. Couldn't put it down! The banter, the tension, the writing they did together... OMG. So many great moments it's hard to choose my favorite. Highly recommend for fans of enemies to lovers and forced proximity. This was my first book from this author but won't be my last.

Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

I’m not using a fan of enemies to lovers but wow this book handled it great. Rosie and Aiden had great chemistry and their relationship seemed realistic and I loved watching it grow. I found myself hoping they would end up together through the twists and turns.

I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Such a cute and sweet slow burn/ enemies to lovers romance!

The book follows Rosie and Aiden, who are both authors. They both are forced to partnered up in a writing class and have to work together to create a book together. Throughout the book, the more time they find themselves spending together the more they become closer. It was so fun and cute seeing their relationship developing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Romance

The vibes: two authors, enemies to lovers, if he could he would

I could not stop reading this book. They are both writing students at NYU. They hate each other. They tear each other’s writing to shreds and call each other names during class. It got so bad that the teacher said she was going to fail them or they can work on a book together. They have to write a romance book. At the beginning of the book they are writing about each other and throwing in digs and unkind things. When it comes to the romance part they go on lackluster dates but when they write together how they really feel comes out in a way they would never say in person. Loved it.

#netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyarc #notinmybooks #notinmybookkatieholt #katieholtauthor #romancebookstagram

4.5⭐️
I LOVED this book!! I went in with no expectations and I absolutely adored it. It had me giddy and kicking my feet up in the air. I hadn’t read such a cute romance in awhile and it was exactly what I needed and wanted. It was a bit predictable but I personally don’t care about that. The ending was also a bit rushed which was unfortunate because I love long endings where we get to see lots of moments of the couple being happy and I would’ve loved to see a second epilogue or a couple of chapters between the last one and the epilogue.

Loved it!! The characters were perfect rivals-to-lovers! Rosie and Aiden were so cute. Definitely recommending!

This is an enemies to lovers romance set in New York City with the two main characters completing a writing workshop at a prestigious masters program.

Rosie is a spunky and hard working Peruvian-American who leaves her small town in Tennessee to pursue her dream of writing soul lifting romance novels with happily ever afters.

Aiden is a grumpy, misunderstood literary fiction writer who believes that romance and Rosie are beneath him.

The two immediately clash in their creative writing workshop and after a particularly public spat in front of the entire class the professor asks them to drop the class 🫨 They come to a compromise. . . write a romance/literary fiction novel together & no more public disagreements.

As Rosie & Aiden begin to write together, they also spend time together during the holidays and into the spring. This novel tackles some difficult issues such as family dynamics, finances, and grief/loss but I felt it drew the reader in and made the characters more relatable.

I couldn't put this novel down and I think it's a lovely "not holiday" but kind of holiday romance you should add to your TBR list this year 🥰❤️

4.25 🌟
this book gives all the New York City Christmas vibes and I’m sooo here for it!! I felt like I was right there. One of my favorite aspects about this book was the found family! Since Rosie moved from Tennessee to NYC, she really depended on her friends and they always came through for her! The character growth throughout this book was also immaculate! Although it was technically nally single POV, I really enjoyed how we got Aiden’s POV through the book they were co-writing!

My only problems were that I felt like when they “hated” each other if felt extremely childish, the 3rd act conflict felt like they were 12 years old not mid 20s and also there were at least four full chapters of spice which I felt like is a lot for a book that isnt super long or marketed as a spicy book.

4.5 stars!!!

ahhh okay first this is another amazing take on rivals to lovers (they could not go a week without fighting or having banter lol it was top tier. Which sounds awful, in the beginning it is much but i did not mind bc it felt like a TRUE slow burn. I can't wait to go to Barnes and get a copy to annotate ex:

“I know you prefer what’s in your books, and I pretend I don’t want to be like them, but I do. I want to be the person you picture when you’re reading and dreaming because you’re who I picture every single time.”

“I’ll wait for you, Rosie. I swear it. I’m in it for the long haul. I want all your tomorrows. Every single one you’re willing to give me.”

We have Rosie a hopeless romantic romance writer and Aiden a grumpy lit fic writer. They are in a writing class and their argument lands them a new assignment to co-write a book. Now I loved everything abt this concept except for the fact that they wrote in their relationship and FIRST KISS and a few other things i found immature overall nothing crazy bad

but again this is an amazing debut I have been in love w katie and her booksta for so long I have been so excited to read this for awhile now. And so excited to read more from her thank you netgalley for this eARC!!!

3.5 - this was a fantastic debut! The pacing was good & I enjoyed the rivals to lovers aspect!

I will say that we maybe needed some Spanish translations. The FMC is half Peruvian, like the author, and though I could try to infer the meaning, it did take away from the story by having to try and figure it out before continuing on.

Also I know this was an ARC (thank you to NetGalley for proving me with a copy in exchange for my honest review), but there were a lot of mistakes. More than I’ve ever seen in an advanced reader copy before. There were also issues with continuity, for example Aiden thrust the final chapter pages at Rosie and didn’t put them away after she failed to take them, but then he suddenly had to fish them out of his back pocket for her & that wasn’t the only time things like that occurred. Hopefully those were all fixed before publication, but they were hard to ignore.