Overall this was a cute book. This felt like an enemies to lovers with a bit more kick in the enemies than what we tend to get in the market right now. While the dynamic of the characters writing a love story IN THE TELLING of their love story was a pretty interesting take. I'm not too sure if it was successful, but I was able to see where the author was going.

"Not in My Book" follows the journey of Rosie, an aspiring author, and her classmate Aiden, as they navigate their tumultuous relationship in a workshop setting. Initially at odds with each other, their teacher intervenes, assigning them the task of collaborating on a novel. Despite their mutual disdain, they reluctantly join forces to fulfill the requirement.

As they delve into the writing process, Rosie finds herself increasingly unsure whether Aiden's contributions to their work reflect his genuine sentiments or merely fictional characters. Amidst their witty exchanges and tender moments, the narrative delves into the pressures of pursuing a writing career and the complexities of familial relationships.

The novel balances humor with poignant insights, offering readers a delightful rom-com experience that resonates with themes of ambition and connection.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I throughly enjoyed Not In My Book. I love the slow burn between the characters and how the events are played out. The way the scenes take place and how the communication between characters is written is just so well done. I never felt like something was unrealistic or so far fetched.

The characters have good banter that genuinely made me laugh while reading. Rosie has a lot of spunk in her and I feel like a lot of people can relate to her. Rosie’s character is determined and strong willed never giving up on her dreams and desires. She is a strong female lead who also shows her emotions. Aiden is a hard to read strong male character. He has his walls built up and as Rosie chips away at them the real Aiden is revealed. Aiden’s backstory and his present life are so well done.

I have never read a book where the main characters communicate through writing a book together and I could not be more pleased with it. I found it so endearing and sweet. They’re both good with their words when typed but hard to find the words to speak.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for letting me read this ARC novel.

"Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian-American who has grown up without strong ties to her culture, leaves her Tennessee hometown to pursue her dream of making it in New York as a writer. But her plan is derailed when she ends up in class with her arch-nemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington—an obnoxious, surly, and gorgeous literary fiction writer who doesn’t have much patience for the romance genre, or for Rosie."

Enemies to lovers is a trope I am always on board for. As is books within books, I love books about writing books, selling books, reading books.

This particular book is well written, it has everything to keep a romance reader reading, it is funny. interesting and the friction between the two main characters makes for a heated read.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this ARC for my honest review.

Releases: December 10, 2024

3 🌟 1 🌶

This book was pretty good and I did read it in one sitting which typically means it was easier to read.

What I liked:

The manuscript written within this book. Honestly I liked it better than the book itself.

What didn't work:

I did not believe that the 2 MC's were "enemies". I thought the MMC was just rude for no reason and it wasn't in a cute "banter" way.

Huge miscommunication issues, which I hate.

Also I feel like it's really inaccurate that the FMC would do what she did at the end of the book when she had already put in so much work.

Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian-American who has grown up without strong ties to her culture, leaves her Tennessee hometown to pursue her dream of making it in New York as a writer. But her plan is derailed when she ends up in class with her arch-nemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington—an obnoxious, surly, and gorgeous literary fiction writer who doesn’t have much patience for the romance genre, or for Rosie.

Rosie and Aiden regularly go to verbal battle in workshop until their professor reaches her breaking point. She allows them to stay in her class on one condition: they must co-write a novel that blends their genres. The reluctant writing duo can’t help but put pieces of themselves into their accidentally steamy novel, and as they slowly get to know each other, they try to put their differences aside. Meanwhile, their manuscript-in-progress provides an outlet for them to confess their feelings—and explore their attraction toward each other.

A book about writing a book with your arch-enemy? Count me in! The romance side of this was a little slow to start, but omg does it get spicy! I loved the premise of this. I loved the banter. The characters were a hoot for me! Definitely recommend if you like to read books about books!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Enemies forced into co-writing something is a new trope
Not sure this one is ultimately believable given the characters back story but the pace and dialogue were good

Super cute romcom! Predictable but enjoyable nonetheless.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I had a really hard time getting into this and ended up putting it down at 30%. I found myself skimming very early on. There wasn't anything in particular that wasn't working for me. I loved Beach Read, but wasn't a fan of Hating Game. I could definitely see the comparison.

This book was amazing and everything I could want in a romance book. Enemies to lovers and, most importantly, enemies to lovers who are academic/writer rivals! I love that trope, and it is so great to see. I think both Aiden and Rosie were great characters and their chemistry was amazing. The pacing in this story was great and perfect for keeping readers on the edge of the seats on how the relationship would develop. I love how the two of them are writers in different genres, and that leads to their original views of one another. It was such a great book, and it had so many tropes and details that I loved. It was a great writer enemy to lovers' books, and as someone who is a writer and secretly has always wanted that type of relationship with an academic rival, I loved reading it and wishing to be like Rosie.

It wasn't offensively bad, but the characters lacked emotional depth and the intimate scenes contained dialogue that didn't feel right from said characters. So, you know, meh.

"Not in My Book" is a quick, fun read with enemies to lovers and fake dating. I enjoyed the fun banter and loveable characters. Side characters were developed well, too. The story revolves around characters in a writing program in college. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves rom-coms.
Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC of this book! This one got a slow start for me but on the end I really enjoyed it! It definitely plays up the enemies to lovers trope, albeit a little overdone. Overall, I think the writing was fun and I liked it!

Rosie is a writing student at NYU. She's a southern belle with a dad from Tennessee and a mom from Peru. She says what she thinks and leads with her emotions. She is a romance reader and writer. Aiden , a fellow writing student, is her exact opposite both in what he writes and I'm how he acts. They are in a writing workshop together and are constantly fighting until their professor challenges them to write a book together. Their mutual loathing turns to love and it was a fun progression. I really enjoyed how the author includes excerpts from the book they are writing together inside the text of the book. I would recommend this one!

blowing kisses to this book cuz it's so good
nobody can convince me otherwise
katie's writing style is sooooooo good

I can't believe how good this book was. I loved the vibes and Katie's writing style is *chefs kiss*.
The way she seamlessly blends the MCs story within the romance that they're writing themselves? Top tier. The tropes were hilarious and well done, it never felt forced or over the top.

I loved every minute with Rosie and Aiden.
Rosie was a relatable FMC who you couldn't help but cheer her on and want to be her friend.

Aiden was a swoon worthy enemy to lovers book boyfriend who I'll be thinking about for a long time. He definitely felt Chuck Bass coded and I LOVED it.

He dislikes you because he wants you so bad?
he knows you better than you know
yourself?he wants you to have everything
you've ever dreamed of?he has a brownstone
in NYC?always wears a peacoat?

he's just a little hottie and I'm here for it.
I can't tell you enough how good this book was.
Go read it as soon as you can! It releases
12.10.24. Just in time for the holidays

Thank you, Alcove, NetGalley and Katie Holt for this arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

I apologise to all Emily Henry fans for saying this, but this book was better than Beach Read. I said what I said *shrugs*. Not in My Book is similar to Beach Read in the sense that two academic rivals hate each other. Yet, it's different because it has an academic and urban setting (NYU in NYC) and the mcs have to co-write a novel and blend their genres. As readers, we don't only get to experience Rosie and Aiden's story but also read excerpts from their novel. Writing a book is hard enough, especially a debut, and the author didn't just write one book but a story within a story, which I think is very admirable.
I LOVED the tension between the mcs and their banter! Rosie was such a sweet character, I totally agree with everything she said about romance books and I loved that she was Peruvian (we need more diversity in books!). Aiden was the perfect "enemy" and it was great to read about him giving love a chance and opening up. Also, Aiden saying “I’ve gotten good at pretending I hate you, but I can’t pretend I don’t know how you taste anymore.” made me melt and I loved his dirty talk.
Even though the conflict was a little predictable, it totally made sense for the plot and I really enjoyed how the main characters' relationship developed, how they learned to let go of their grudges and trust each other. And the spice was perfect 🔥

This was definitely one of the best romances I've read this year and I'm definitely keeping an eye out for future Katie Holt books!

I frigging fvcking LOVE THIS BOOK! A unique idea of book within a book. Of a dreamy girl and grumpy guy. Of enemies to lovers and academia rivals. Of sweet poetric prose. Gosh, the banter: foreplay. The friends and characters: witty and funny. The romance: high on my list of loves. New york? Bookstore? Cafes? Brownstones? Romance books? Romance movies? This is like the perfect book!

This is this author's debut I think and she definitely nailed it with this. I have no other words but I truly loved how well it was written, life got in my way while trying to finish this, but I devoured it in some seatings I tried to squeeze in, in days. They aren't perfect characters, but they are so human with their emotions, the last 20% i frigging ugly cried my heart out. To find a love like in the books and what more to find someone who loves you like your characters in your books, to find someone waiting for you and yearning and longing. How innocent their love is, god, i don't really know how many "god when?" I have left in me.


Thanks netgalley and publisher for the trust and eARC

4.25⭐️

this was everything and aiden and rosie were EVERYTHING as a self proclaimed number one fan of beach read and emily henry’s works i went into this book thinking i was going to get a shoddy replica that was just going to leave me rolling my eyes and wishing that i just picked beach read back up but im so happy that this was its own piece of work that stood on its own and pleasantly surprised me!

the banter was amazing and had me laughing out loud, giggling and literally kicking my feet. Katie gave both our mc’s so much depth so much character and it was just such a joy to read about two people who didn’t feel one dimensional on paper. their chemistry was insane from the get go and only got better.

katie’s writing is fantastic, i loved the way she really made new york feel like its own character in a way and the setting descriptions were just brilliant. it’s obvious she poured a lot of love and time into this book and it shows it was wonderfully executed and kept me engaged.i finished it within 7 hours because i couldn’t put it down.

its very seldom that i would want to read a book within a book but i kinda wanna read all of aiden and rosie’s make believe novel now?

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for sending me the arc!

The book explores the chemistry between two writers, Rosie and Aiden. Rosie, a romance novelist, dreams of living in New York, while Aiden, a literary writer, is focused on pursuing his own ambitions. The story illustrates how these two individuals collaborate on a story and share other experiences together.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was a little skeptical about this book but the main characters just hooked me fairly quickly. I didn’t think I would get invested in the story of Hunter and Maxine but it worked so well to advance the story line and get to know our main characters better.. I found myself smiling at their chemistry and rooting for Rosie and Aiden. Also, being half Peruvian myself, it was so fun to read the cultural influence of her mom. Congratulations to this talented young writer! I cannot wait to see what she does next. I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I truly enjoyed this book.