An enemies-to-lovers bookish romance where two grad school writing students are forced to write a novel together so they can stop disrupting class. Rosie (romance) and Aiden (broody lit-fic) clash constantly, critiquing each other's work so harshly that the professor finally requires them to work together so they can understand each other better. But is this bitter hatred for each other actually a coverup for more than just lust?

Decent character growth, but the "grand gesture" ending was a bit of a letdown.

After I finished this book, only one sentence popped into my mind: I love it so much! Interestingly, I loved Maxine and Hunter’s parts more than Rosie and Aiden’s, even though they are the same characters!

This was such a cute book! Rosie and Aiden were so made for each other and I loved the writing class aspects and them helping each other. As a writer, this was so up my alley and I'm so happy I got a chance to read it early! The only ick I got was them writing every detail of their interactions into the book together... that was just weird in my opinion. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I absolutely adored Not In My Book by Katie Holt. It has rival to lovers, forced proximity, one bed, and a bit of grumpy/sunshine.

Rosie and Aiden are rivals in a college writing class, they take giving feedback to each other to the next level. He writes LitFit and she writes romance. They love to insult each other’s writing but they both secretly are attracted to each other.

Rosie and Aiden are forced to write a book together and it makes them confess their feelings via their characters. I loved this idea because it is first person POV but we get what Aiden is thinking because of what he writes without actually switching POVs. The romance is slow burn but has great payoff. When they write the sex scene together for their characters, I was a puddle.

The cast of characters surrounding our main characters are great. They don’t take away from the main characters or their struggles but add depth and personality to the story. I loved seeing the Peruvian representation. It made me look up recipes to some of the things that Rosie mentioned she liked to eat. My spouse is Colombian so it’s important to see mixed families represented in books.

Overall this was such a great book. I cannot wait to see what else Katie Holt is going to put out, this is probably one of my favorite books of 2024.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

It seems like there are a lot of books recently with authors competing with each other and having to co-write something. It's getting to be it's own subgenre to the enemies to lovers trope but I'm here for it.

Rosie and Aiden are both in the writing MFA program at NYU and have been competitors for years. In their writing workshop, they always have the harshest criticism for each other, the sharpest barbs and endless eye rolls. When it gets so heated that their instructor and mentor threatens to remove them from her workshop class, they have to prove they can write together and pose a united front in their class to improve their work. Naturally, it doesn't go well at first. But the more they speak through their characters and get to know each other through their writing, the more sparks fly. The only issue is trying not to get burned.

I loved it. I couldn't put this book down, I was cranky when I had to people instead of stay in this world of Rosie and Aiden's story. I highly recommend for those who love the grumpy meets sunshine, enemies to lovers, battling writers, slow burn.

#arc
#netgalley
#notinmybook

So so so cute!! A perfect rivals-to-lovers slow burn with ANGST!!! I absolutely adored Rosie and Aiden. Definitely pick this one up if you're looking for a spicy romance in an academia setting!!

Rosie Maxwell and Aiden Huntington fight so much in the writing workshop class they both take that the professor gives them an ultimatum – write a book together or drop out. The two agree to write together, but Rosie wants to write romance, which Aiden hates, and Aiden wants to avoid a Happily Ever After.

As I somewhat anticipated going into this book, there is a story within a story, and those stories feed into each other. The book they write together mirrors their own story, including some typical tropes or versions of them, and is very self-referential with multiple instances of the characters saying something to the effect of “If we were in a romance novel”.

Both of the characters had traits I found annoying and I would go as far as to say both display some toxic and perhaps even emotionally abusive behaviour, but I still felt invested enough in their journey to keep reading and enjoy the experience. I would have liked it to end differently, but that is a minor complaint for an overall good book. It flowed, had good structure, was easy to read without compromising on detailed scenes or character depth, and had a fun plot that is a little different to your usual romance novel.

I will mention the spice level as it is something not everyone is comfortable with. I appreciated that it was only a few scenes, but I felt they were heavily detailed and perhaps a bit much for my personal comfort levels, though this was not something I factored into my rating.

I would recommend this as an option for those who love a good trope or 5 or anyone looking for something a little different to the genre norm without straying too far.

⭐️4⭐️

this was so cute and fun!! i feel like this would be beach read in a diff universe where gus and january end up together in college.

aiden and rosie HATE each other (or do they👀) and are forced to write a book together after getting in trouble in class. and I LOVE that the only time we get any pov from aiden are in the snippets of his chapters. the way they didn’t know how to admit feelings to each other so just made the book characters do it for them was so fun.

this was such a feel good romance read. while it could be a bit predictable, it was sweet and funny and cute, and that’s all I really need out of a romcom at the end of the day.

I received this eArcfrom NetGalley, and this is an honest opinion of the book

I wanted to love this one. The premise sounded so cute, but it just didn’t deliver from the beginning of the book. It was so negative. And I get that it’s supposed to be the enemies to lovers theme. But there wasn’t any hint of a chemistry at all.

There is a lot of “Humming” in the book. It seemed like all the time and in a context sometimes that doesn’t make sense. You probably wasn’t as often as it seemed, but it was often enough that it stood out and was annoying.

And there were so many cringe moments in the book
During spice scenes: Calling it “his member”
A lot of hissing in spice scenes
And the spice interactions do not match the rest of the book. Like the way, the characters behave in the book versus how they behave in a spicy scene does not match at all.
It happens SO abruptly - this switch of behavior- that it seems like a different book/different set of characters
It’s very off putting

The revealing of feelings and the backstory behind their feelings for each other came out of nowhere.
No buildup or even a clue that the feelings were there through the previous part of the book so it seemed false.

I think the idea for the story was cute. But I think the actual writing of it failed in so many ways.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! 3.5

A perfectly pleasant rom-com with a few pretty steamy scenes. It follows predictable tropes and I don't mind that!

As posted to GoodReads

4.5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (rounded down)

๋࣭ ⭑🦋๋࣭ ⭑ I look for you in every crowded street, and when I see you, I smile in pure awe and relief. ๋࣭ ⭑🦋๋࣭ ⭑

'I Knew You Were Trouble' by Taylor Swift playing softly in the background

WHAT. Okay wait, give me a minute to compose myself. (pause) I'm back! I have so many things to talk about this book and by 'so many', I mean A LOT.

Let's start with the negative parts because I know it'll take a super short time for me to run through and I'm feeling lazy right now, all I want to do is absorb this book and engrain it in my head. For a start, this is a personal preference but I wished that there were fewer of those *ahem* scenes and more romantic scenes. I felt that the writing was good, but not groundbreaking and I wished there were more plot twists as the story was somewhat predictable. That's literally all the criticism I have for this book.

There are so many amazing aspects of this book that I can drone on about but it'll probably bore you to death. Firstly, Ms Katie Holt, why did I have whole body shivers and I could genuinely feel my arms tingling while reading this book? What magical spell did you put on it to make me feel that way? Please teach me your ways. And can we please acknowledge the fact that she's a debut author? I would be so proud of myself for delivering such a delicious debut read! I absolutely loved the main characters and I was so invested in them and their story, I'm so grateful that I get to read it before it's published, it truly is an honour. The idea of writing a book within a book is an idea that has never occurred to me and I thought it was such a creative and cute idea, I loved Max and Hunter as well and how their story parallels with Rosie and Aiden's.

All in all, this is such a cute and cozy read that I thoroughly enjoyed! I look forward to more books from Ms Katie Holt! :)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for giving me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

The comparison of it being a mix of Beach Read and Hating Game is so accurate! I wasn't obsessed with Beach Read like everyone else, but Katie did the dang thing here! The plot didn't move super fast, but enough to keep you intrigued and waiting for the rivals to turn into lovers, but not where it's immediate. The tension was absolutely insane in the best way. It had me kicking my feet and giggling. The ending I thought was a bit rushed with how quickly it was rushed but overall I still absolutely adored this book and all the cute quotes.

NOT IN MY BOOK actually HAS some of the best flavors of romance:

Loathe to love
Academic rivals
Forced cooperation
Christmas in NY
Grand Gesture
Scorching bedroom talk
Hidden feeeeelings

NOT IN MY BOOK is for readers who loved the writer/writer romance of Beach Read and the academic tension of The Make-Up Test.

This is a solid rec to anyone that loves the romance genre. Rosie and Aiden are writing a romance story together as their own romance plays out. It's lovely to see how storytelling becomes an outlet for them to explore their true feelings.

Rosie and Aiden may be a grumpy and sunshine pairing, but I love when their layers are exposed. Rosie isn't a pushover, and could use her words to cit straight to the bone. Aiden has a thoroughly developed "villain origin story" that he lays down in the safety of Rosie's warmth.

A few critical notes, the third-act breakup is very late and the resolution happens very fast. There's also a heavy handed use of "I thought you hated me." I get that it's the main hook to the relationship. It just didn't need that level of repetition.

Also, let's be real, Aiden is a Red Flag. But when he talks like that in the bedroom ... red is my favorite color.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

WOW, WOW, WOW! I adored this book. I could not put it down.

This book is so unique and creative. An enemies to lovers romance. Rosie, a southern Peruvian-American who is idealistic and a passionate romantic.. Rosie wants to believe that you can live your life like a romantic novel with a HEA. Rosie likes to look at things through her rose-tinted glasses. She is caring, passionate, and sweet but also straightforward and bold. Rosie leaves her hometown of Tennessee for NY to pursue her dream of becoming a romance writer. She is enrolled at NYU to become a writer and get her MFA. But she meets Aiden Huntington in her writing workshop who is a green eyed, gorgeous man who hates the romance genre. He is an obnoxious literary fiction writer who doesn’t care for romance or Rosie. Their fighting and bantering in class leads them to get kicked out of the class unless they corroborate on a literary romance story.

This was a slow-burn romance. I loved the bantering between Rosie and Aiden. It had me chuckling many times. The story was creative in that it was a story within a story. Rosie and Aiden were assigned to write for the class a romance story. However, the characters in their book Maxine and Hunter (based on their last names) where all about themselves.

It felt like a Nora Ephron story,

I can’t wait to see how this author grows with her next books. I will read everything KH writes. If you like romance, pick this up!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this advanced copy in return for my honest review.

It’s been a while that I felt like I’ve read a true enemies to lovers story. Rosie initially liked Aiden when she first saw him until it was known how much he hates romance as a genre. They take a class together and are always fighting in class to the point that the instructor is requesting both of them to drop the class. They both agreed to write a love story that ends in a tragedy to be submitted at the end of the semester. My first initial reaction about Aiden was that he was a real jerk, he did eventually grew on to me after. I felt that Rosie has this naïve thought of what love was or is suppose to feel like, which I do feel like it's something she's also aware of. I like the progression of their relationship as the story went on. You see how they both are finally starting to work together and come to understand each other. Maybe it's not that Aiden doesn't believe in love and more so that he won't let himself love someone or experience it because of what he saw with his parent's relationship. Whereas, Rosie saw how much love and affections her parents had for each other. There were so many cute moments in this book, my favorite was when Rosie went to the bookstore and saw Aiden in the romance section!!! She couldn't go home for Christmas while all her friends went home and they ended up spending Christmas together!! The conflict at the end, I felt like it got wrapped up too quickly.

Overall, I did enjoyed this debut book and am excited to see future works from this author.

Thank you to netgalley & Alcove Press for giving me an ARC.

This book had such a good premise – aspiring romance author Rosie and aspiring lit fiction author Aidan are forced by their MFA writing tutor to collaborate on a love story. It’s like a reimagining of Gus and January from Emily Henry’s Beach Read when they were in grad school. Alas this is not my kind of book and DNF at 57% (though I skipped to the final several chapters to see the ending and rolled my eyes at the big conflict and half arsed resolution by the character).

I just couldn’t invest in the characters who felt one-dimensional and felt like both characters were better off without each other. Especially Rosie, who, of course listens to Taylor Swift and sees the world only in romance tropes. There's nothing wrong with romance but she would get angry if other people didn't see the world that way and was downright childish. While their bickering in class was amusing at first, it got old and childish quickly. We learn early on Rosie had a crush on Aidan until he decimated her work and a lot of the book she is self-centered in majority of her interactions with friends about Aidan this and Aidan that. Aidan, while had a better backstory was also rude and I didn't understand why Rosie would be into him apart from his peacoat.

While I loved the author inserting excerpts from the book Rosie and Aidan were collaborating on to show their sublimated feelings for each other, it came off as bad writing for supposedly high-level writers. I also found Rosie's demands about their book, such as insisting Aidan write a sex scene ridiculous and over-the-top.

Not my book, but maybe it will be yours. I wish the author every success and, while this was a miss for me, I’d still like to read her future work.

Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

5⭐️
“People say there’s a thin line between love and hate, and you know what? They’re right.”

This book had me staring at the wall, contemplating my life choices, and crying. Is this an overtly sad book? No, but I just connected and loved the characters so much that when they accomplished something I was over the moon with joy, & when they were down in the trenches I was there too. For this being Katie Holt’s debut, I think this was absolutely amazing and I will most definitely be reading what she comes out with next.

“ I felt like the best version of myself around her and I wanted to chase that feeling.”

This book follows Rosie & Aiden, rival aspiring authors. Rosie is a hopeless romantic who aspires to be a romance author, & Aiden writes literary fiction and believes books shouldn’t have a HEA. They’ve been stuck in the same creative writing classes for months, every class they hurl insults at each other’s works. It gets to the point that the professor gives them an ultimatum to drop the class or write a book together for their final exam. Not wanting to drop they decide to put their differences aside to write a love story that Aidan insists will not have a HEA.

“ No one meets the same way and falls in love the same way. Sometimes you know just after an hour with a person. Or it can span decades. The only thing every love story really has in common is that it’s worth it. Love is always worth fighting for.”

What to Expect:
📝 Rivals to Lovers
📝 He falls first & Harder
📝 Peruvian Fmc
📝 Grumpy x Sunshine
📝 Sassy & Witty Fmc
📝 One Bed
📝 Forced Proximity
📝 Pining
“ Know that every single time I fuck up, I’ll come home to you. We’ll work together to make it better because we won’t abandon each other. We’ll make mistakes, we’ll learn lessons, and we’ll be tested. But we’ll come out so much stronger on the other side.“

I love this book so much. I feel that if you love Beach Read by EH, you’ll also really enjoy it. I hope that if you decide to pick up this book you will love it as much as I did. Look at me though actually writing a review in a timely fashion. Bonus Quotes:

“When I am in love, I don’t want to have to wonder if it’s love, you know? I want to know with certainty that there is nothing else I would rather feel.”

“But what makes romance novels so good is the fact that they’re a complex dive into human emotion. There’s so much more to a romance than just love.”

“ I had become addicted to that look. It was my biggest vice— figuring out what words I could say to make her mad, to make her focus only on me, to get the look. “

“I’d always preferred fiction, but now I couldn’t wait for the rest of my new reality.”

“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 love you. In light and dark, in romance and litfic. In this lifetime and the next.”

“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.””


*Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for providing me this digital arc in exchange for an honest review!*

Omg I absolutely loved this book. It was hilarious and the banter between Aiden and Rosie was everything. This book has Christina Lauren vibes and I am here for it. I really loved that the two main characters wrote a book together and some paragraphs of their book was shared within the story! And the fact that their book was a snapshot of their developing love story. Adorable. Enemies to lovers is the BEST trope. The author did an amazing job for her debut novel. I cannot wait to read more from her!

Rosie and Aiden are classmates in a writing program. They are both writers, but Rosie writes romance and Aiden writes fiction. Obviously, Aiden hates romance, so naturally he always has something to say about Rosie’s writings (and not in a good way).

I’m obsessed with rivals to lovers, so I have to read this book! I really enjoyed all the travel from rivals with the discussions in class (a very fun part of the story) to the lovers part. All the process in the relationship had me in love. And the tensión omg!!!

Rosie and Aiden are so cute. It is true that Rosie can be a drama queen, but she loves romance books, is the romantic in her! I loved Rosie and her family. Christmas chapters were my favourites, but maybe the last part was a bit unnecessary.

This book was like a hilarious movie with tropes that all romance readers will love: academic rivals to lovers, he fell first, and the forced proximity bc they have to write a book together!!!

Not in my book is an easy, cute and enjoyable book, Katie Holt debut is for bookish girlies ❤️

the things I enjoyed the most about this book are the Xmas New York atmosphere and vibes and all of that holiday love vibes, and OF COURSE the way they write spicy scenes together clearly thinking about each other even if their relationship was more hate than love: it made me giggles and kick my feet and everything was just SO GOOD. Rosie is hilarious and Aiden is the perfect grumpy MMC.

What made me mad? The 3rd act breakup. Was not necessary (I usually don't mind them) and useless and with no point. I could not justify the MMC for that one and it kinda ruined the whole experience for me.