A Cute bookish rom com about two rival MFA majors who can't stand each other. Forced to write a novel together for a grade what could possibly go wrong. I'm a sucker for an enemies to lovers romance. I loved the banter between these two.

Thank you to NetGalley, and the publisher, and author for a copy of this book!

All opinions are my own and freely given.

I really loved Rosie and the way her character was written. I think so many of us who read fall in love with books the way she falls in love with writing romance novels, all at once.

Aiden was a book boyfriend, that’s for sure. I really enjoyed his character until the third act breakup. To me, Rosie deserved more of an explanation and he once again dissed her whole career. It just didn’t sit right with me.

She has traditions, he has none. She loves her family, he hates his dad. She loves love, he does not. They were so opposite and enemies that the love scenes felt more real.

I also cannot stop laughing at how unserious the brick, Ronny Jr was and also … how unsafe it was to have that! But this is fiction!

Loved this meta take on romance books! I thought writing their own love story through the characters in the romance book they are writing together was such a fun way to get their feelings. Frankie Corzo is such a great narrator. He ability to embody both male and female characters is amazing. I also love that she brought life to the Peruvian accents for Rosie and her family. I love a good enemies to lovers and at one point I was worried that some of their sharp words were going to be hard to come back from, but I think the redemption arc was well done.

Cute. A book within a book. The “sex scene” chapter was 🥵🥵🥵. This was a fun rom-com and I would definitely read more from this author.

OMG I did not expect this book to be this fun at all!!
I already knew when I requested in on netgalley (thank you, thank you, thank you for this arc) that it had all of my favorite tropes: academic rivals to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed (and a little bit of spice)... and a bookish girl as a MC!!! (I love you Rosie, and you too, Aiden, no worries), but I didn't expect to love it this much.
It was such a fun romcom, adorable, perfect for any book girlie <3 I'll surely buy a phisical copy now because I want to have my book trophy on my shelves.

Wanted a cute, rivals-to-lovers story but instead was disappointed. I thought this was a YA book because it definitely felt like that.

I had high hopes, but none of the payoff.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Alcove Press for sending me this book to review.

Really wanted to love this book as the premise was very promising but it just didnt work out for me. It was really slow and and I couldn't force myself to love the characters. DMF @18%

5 out of 5 Stars

WOW. I really, really enjoyed this one. The two main characters have such good tension and banter in the beginning and all throughout the book. I think that the enemies to lovers plot developed really well. It was a believable progression of the relationship. I did enjoy the way the love story unfolded. The story within a story aspect of the novel was extremely appealing to me. I enjoyed the side characters that were woven throughout as well. I thought that backstories were interwoven well and the way the two characters got to know each other was very clever and made sense for the story. I found myself getting caught up in the story and didn't want to stop reading. I thought this was a great debut novel and look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Closed door modifications: 17, 24, 26

very enjoyable book, do not have many notes on it. I have not read for this author before but I like the representation and the storyline. the banter and character relationship was fun!

A well paced, adorable, heartwarming book that was so fun to read during the holiday season. I did have a slight complaint with the smut scenes, but I overall had a really good time with this one.

I had a lot of expectations for this book but it disappointed me. I enjoyed the beginning. I absolutely loved the concept of using the quotes/snippets from the book the main characters wrote at the end of each chapter. It helped to know more about the relationship between the main character and was a very unique concept.

What I disliked was that I felt the main characters had zero chemistry. The fight at the end seemed unnecessary.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. Following Leigh’s experience at an MFA program and growth as a poet, this book toed the line of sometimes even too bookish for me. Although i skimmed some of the poetry, i ultimately enjoyed the antics and friendships of Leigh and her cohort of fellow students and writers.

I love the plot so much. These characters are so funky in a way, like enemies to lover, forced proximity, secret crush it has everything. I have enjoyed it very much.

Thank you Alcove Press and RB Media for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

This was an absolute delight of a book. I alternated between the audiobook and ebook because I didn’t want to put it down! Frankie Corzo was a perfect choice for the narration!

Rosie and Aidan are in the same writing class as they work on their MFAs. They are constantly in battle during class and their professor gives them an ultimatum to drop the class or write a book together. Rosie and Aidan can’t help spending more time together as they work on their book.

I loved seeing the parts of their book and how their characters developed as their relationship did. I loved the parts where they wrote the book together especially as they developed a style together. They had such great banter and amazing chemistry.

I really hope we get more books from Katie Holt soon!

Not in My Book by Katie Holt is a witty and lighthearted novel that has its own charm. The protagonist is a relatable character, and the quirky dynamics between her and Aiden create an engaging, cute banter and feel-good read. The enemy to lover is actually cute in here (honestly rival is more suitable for them),

It's a good read but not really my favorite.

You want me to fall in love?

"'I'm a feminist --'
'So am I,' he cut me off"

There. You did it. ✨

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"In my made-up world, I was everything my soulmate wanted, and my soulmate was real."
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I was swooning so much at times, it scared me. Disclaimer - I read Not in my Book in one sitting from 2 pm to 1 am, and only stopped to eat, drink, talk to my roommates, and, most importantly, grin at the wall for a few minutes.

⨳⪻⊹⪼⨳ Stars 4 ⭐ ⨳⪻⊹⪼⨳
⨳⪻⊹⪼⨳ Spice 4 🌶️(in terms of quality, not quantity)⨳⪻⊹⪼⨳

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"She eloquently expressed why women read romance and how it showed women taking control in their lives while still being desired instead of wholly objectified. [...] No matter how bad life got in the romance novels, there would be a Happily Ever After that proved nothing was unfixable."
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This book is for everyone out there that loves stupid romance books that make you fall madly in love with a story that does not exist. It is for everyone that loves romance books so much, they want a romance book in a romance book. This is for everyone into Grumpy x Sunshine. This is for everyone into Enemies to Lovers. This is for everyone not wanting the main characters to be in high school. This is for everyone that wants to read about NYC, Christmas, family, friends, and university and wants to kick their feet into the air because even though it is just ink on paper, the feelings are too much to keep still.

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"I don't want to be everyone else to you."
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I love romance books so very much, but sadly, the ending rarely ever leaves me satisfied. Maybe it is because I, too, am a bit of an Aiden and have a passion for literary fiction that makes your heart ache, your eyes burn, and your breathing stop. It might be this weirdly sadistic side of me. But then again, it might be that the first 70% of the book were simply too good, and the ending could not keep up.

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"But you know what they say about la vie en rose - the red flags look just like all the other ones."
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The ending ruined this (for me personally) to be one of my favorite romance books EVER. But this does not make the majority of the book not one of THE best things ever. I still already want to reread the banter, want to dive back into the chemistry, and reread the book in the book.

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"'Are you at a party? Were you reading my chapter at a party?'
'No, of course not,' he said sharply"
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Aiden and Rosie hate each other. But they are forced to write a book together. Romance. And Aiden hates romance. What could go wrong? Luckily for us - a lot ;)

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"'I knew you were thinking of me when we wrote that scene.'
'As if you weren't thinking of me, too.'
'I only think of you, Rosie.'"
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The insults, the banter, the friendships and side stories, the background stories, the university life, the book. The book. The book. The book. I simply loved it when Aiden and Rosie worked on their book together. And I mean TOGETHER. Sentence for sentence. Those scenes made me grin and giggle. They made me FEEL. Did I mention that I loved them? For those scenes alone, it is worth checking out the book.

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"This was why I didn't have a boyfriend, and this was why I didn't go on dates. I freaked out the minute I got asked out and ruined it. Romance was better in my head and in the books."
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And not only did Not in My Book make me feel utterly single, it showed good old feminist spirit (and who does not love to see that).

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"Let's do all the things we wrote about."
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Oh, and, this has some AMAZING spice. The tension was tangible, let me tell you.

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"Don't act like you haven't been the star of every one of my fantasies."
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Thank you so much, Netgalley, Alcove Press, and Katie Holt for the arc. Check out Not in My Book - it's already out and available!!

Some more quotes beause I apparently could not get enough:

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"I'd always preferred fiction, but now I couldn't wait for the rest of my new reality."
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What a delightful read! Enemies to lovers is not my favorite trope but I found the chemistry and witty banter between the main characters to be so dynamic that I enjoyed this book all the way through! Highly recommended!

I received a copy of this eBook from netgalley for a honest review.

I loved this story about two rivel writers who have to write together to get the grade. Their fights are so much fun and their path to being together is enjoyable. I even enjoyed how they finally made it work. I loved the insights through the excerpts of the story they are working on throughout the book.

Not in My Book is a pure delight. It's spicy and swoony, snowy and sensational. I read it while traveling and it made the process I normally hate much more enjoyable. We love good banter. The kind of banter with cutting remarks that get at the hidden insecurities of each other. And this rivals to romance delivers that and more. Romance genre justice! Not in My Book is full of tension. The line blurs between fiction and reality as we see their characters reflected on the page, their own page. But what I loved, in true rivals to romance style, is that even in their rivalry you can see their respect and admiration even in how annoying they are.

4.25 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC!

Apologies for the late review! I loved this book a lot. It was an enjoyable read and had a lot of banter. The central characters have great chemistry and it was just a fun book to read overall.

I don't know what else to tell you. I love bookish books a lot and 'Not in My Book' did it for me!