I loved this story so much, and can't wait for more from the author! Genuinely sweet with complications that felt realistic and reasonable, and both characters felt like real people. 💗

"An absolutely phenomenal read! Katie Holt masterfully weaves a tale filled with heart, humor, and unforgettable characters. The story is both deeply relatable and wildly entertaining, with moments that made me laugh out loud and others that tugged at my heartstrings. Holt’s writing style is fresh, witty, and effortlessly engaging, keeping me hooked from start to finish. The themes of personal growth, resilience, and friendship are beautifully explored, making this book not only a joy to read but also deeply meaningful. Not in My Book is a must-read for anyone looking for a feel-good, empowering

Another cute book that I just couldn’t help but absolutely love. The story was amazing. I don’t want to give too much away but this was really good. The characters were very realistic and the tension. Very much there. You’ll love it!

This book is as a cute as the cover makes it look! I loved Rosie and how funny she was. I liked the serious issues that Aiden dealt with and Rosie made him better! Super cute :)

Rosie has left her hometown of Tennessee to go make it big in New York as a romance writer, her lifelong dream. But she can’t seem to make it through her classes without bickering with her nemesis, Aiden. Aiden thinks romance writing is silly and is constantly giving her a hard time. Finally, their teacher has had enough and decides that their punishment for constantly disrupting the class is either withdrawal or work together on a book for their final project.

The book must be a romance and it must be written together. Together they work to try to figure out the story, writing one chapter at a time. Their teacher recommends pretending to be the characters, go on dates and do things couples would do. But their constant bickering is making it near impossible. But all of this time together is of course bringing them closer and they might find out that they are not actually enemies at all.

This was a cute romance book. I loved the project of writing a book together. The beginnings of the chapters were so fun showing us their current project. I do feel like the chemistry felt a little forced, and wish there had been a little more tension between them for longe

3.5

Not in My Book was the perfect book to start my 2025.

The tension that Rosie and Aiden have through the book, while rediscovering their feelings makes this book impossible to put down. The hate-to-love storyline really gets you hooked, and even though you only get one pov, you can see some of Aiden's thoughts through the experts of their book together, which makes the book 10 times better.

Also, don't be fooled by the cartoon cute cover, the spice is spicing in there.

I really enjoyed this story. The characters were relatable and the banter was really well done. I would definitely recommend this book

I enjoyed every second of this. Real romance is back!!! I found myself smiling during so much of it. Can’t wait to own the physical copy!

In this brilliant and fun dual-perspective modern romance novel, readers join a Master’s level creative writing program in New York City where Rosie, a Peruvian American idealist from Tennessee, and Aidan Huntington, a grumpy and snobby New Yorker who respects “real books” (i.e., not the romance novels Rosie wants to write), as they clash forces in their workshop class. Frustrated with their fights, their professor threatens to remove them from the course unless they cowrite a literary fiction romance novel. Since art often imitates life, it is no surprise that the manuscript reflects Rosie and Aiden’s hopes, fears, and secrets, drawing them closer until the rivalry reignites over a career-changing opportunity that threatens to ruin their manuscript and their relationship. With two brilliantly written and complex characters, Katie Holt has created a fascinating, immersive, and passionate new romance novel that fans of the genre will absolutely love. Tropey in the best ways, Rosie and Aidan really shine in this novel, and their interactions really build up the atmosphere and the tension throughout the story. Deeply enjoyable, passionate, exciting, and unpredictable, romance readers have to read Katie Holt’s new book because the characters will suck them in and not let them go for the entirety of the book.

A romance novel about romance writing with tropes and happily ever afters. It’s easy to fall in love with Rosie and Aiden and their great chemistry and I really enjoyed the love letter to New York and rom coms.

Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Sweetness 🍭🍭🍭

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

Katie Holt you gave us something unique and beautiful here! We are happy we got to not only receive the ARC of the Book, but as well as the Audiobook! Everything about this was 5 stars, the story, the characters, the romance! We loved it all, especially the computer scene! That will forever live rent free in our minds. We can not wait to what you give us Next because Rosie and Aiden so fun to get to know and fall and love with!
Thank you for a 5 star book!

This was a very enjoyable rivals/enemies to lovers romance. The additional element of an academic setting was an extra selling point for me. It really helped drive that rivalry home.
My favourite scene is definitely when they were each working on the story together, but separately - that scene was just hot! In fact, whenever they were together, I could feel the tension through to my bones. The banter was delightful and the insights into each character through their respective story writing was unique and gratifying. The story is told in Rosie's perspective, but through the story they cowrite, you get a good sense of Aiden's perspective as well. There is a very good level of character development for both characters as the story progresses as well.
I recommend this too anyone looking forward to an enjoyable romantic read with loads of tension.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for a digital copy of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Had the opportunity to ARC read this book and I absolutely fell in love with it. I had never read anything like this before and was completely captivated from the start. The only thing I did not enjoy about this book was [ the third-act breakup (the one trope I do not enjoy), but I’m not taking off any stars because I still loved it. Katie did such an amazing job, I never would have guessed this was her first book!! I cannot wait to see what is next for her.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review***

Rep: Half-Peruvian FMC
Tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating

Romance writer Rosalinda "Rosie" Maxwell and literary fiction writer Aiden Huntington have interrupted professor Ida Abarough's novel intensive course at NYU for the last time. To avoid being kicked out of the class completely, they are now forced to write a novel together - a love story without a happily ever after. It is decided that it will be an enemies to lovers workplace romance where the main characters, Hunter Adrian and Max Daisy, have to work on a sales presentation together, and end up falling in love during a work retreat.

In order to improve their novel, their professor insists that they get to know each other better by going on a date as their characters, which turns into spending even more time together figuring out how to make the story come alive. As they focus on writing their chapters, lines begin to blur and fiction becomes reality. They learn about the things that have shaped them into the people they are today and how to receive the forms of care and support they had never gotten.

And Katie, if you're reading this, PLEASE write Mateo and Juanita's love story. I must know how their tale ends.

First of all, thank you so much for this ARC! The first thing that attracted me to this book was definitely the cover, because it's just so cute. Then I read the synopsis and I was very intrigued by it. I really enjoyed the storyline! The only reason why I didn't give the book 5 stars, was because sometimes I found the main characters to be a bit annoying and non-communicative towards each other. Other than that, great book and will definitely recommend it!

Katie Holt’s debut romance book was honestly fantastic. I really loved this book. The writing and intertwining of the story plus the fictional story being written by the characters was perfect.
Our heroine, Rosie has moved to New York to pursue her dream of being a writer, specifically a romance author. A writing class she attends always ends in bickering and arguing with fellow student Aiden, a serious literary fiction writer who diminishes the romance genre every chance he can get.
When their arguing reaches a boiling point, their professor tasks them with working as a team to write their next assignment piece.
It really seems impossible for the pair to get along long enough to write even a sentence, but there are glimpses of great potential.
Eventually, we see that Aiden’s hatred may be masking some other feelings. The banter laced with hatred and comedy is really fun to read and the way Holt intertwines the characters story alongside the fictional piece Rosie and Aiden are writing is brilliant. There were a few instances where the quotes at the end of a chapter made me internally squeal. The small side plots and other characters were really great as well.
Overall, I really enjoyed Not in My Book. By the end, it had me in tears but there were also instances where it made me laugh. I’m very excited to see what Katie Holt writes next.
Thanks so much for the eARC!

This was a cute book. Enemies to lovers is always a fun trope to read.

Rosie (Rosalinda) and Aiden were written so well, in their respective side of the trope. Rosie the lover, Aiden the fighter. Reading their fights was funny at times, but also relatable.

The book (and the book within) gives us the HEA we're all looking for.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. My review is my honest opinion.

A perfect, cozy read for the holidays. Enemies to lovers will win me over every single time! Thank you, NetGalley for a copy of this eARC.

dnf @63%

I’ve tried I really did, I could not seem to care about any of the characters. It was so repetitive and cringy that it all just threw me off. I liked the first 10% of it and then it all started going downhill.





Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Not in my book by Katie Holt


Rosie and Aiden spend most of the time in their writing workshop griping at each other. The other students are used to their antics but their professor has had enough.. She tells them to write a book together, blending their genres together. They both want to stay in the group so they reluctantly do as they are told. The more time they spend together, the more they have to confront their feelings and they seem to be doing just that on the pages of the book they are writing together…. Everything seems to be moving forward until a career changing opportunity reignites the animosity.


I really enjoyed this one. I thought the grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers was done really well. I really liked Rosie… I wasn’t a fan of Aiden. I thought he was one of the major problems throughout the book. I don’t feel he was in the right when the fight happened and his personality isn’t enough to make up for how horrible I still think he is. (sorry)
All in all though the book was great, I was really entertained. It was clever and fun with some really heartfelt moments. I think it did a great job of proving that just because you are very different from someone else, there is always common ground and it’s all about give and take. Some excellent writing here and it kept a really solid pace.
It wasn’t as romancey as I thought it would be and that was actually ok 🙂
4 stars