I really enjoyed this book! I felt like we really got to know Leigh and Will as actual people which really just enhanced the story for me. I wish we had a couple more flashback chapters because I wanted to see more of their interactions in high school and beyond. However, I did enjoy how the story progressed and it did feel like they were two people who would end up together! I would read more from this author!

Thank you so much for this advanced copy of You Between the Lines.

While I thought there were some really cute and sweet AWW moments, I was very. frustrated for most of this story. As I get older (38 here) I am turned off more and more by main characters that just cannot communicate with each other in an adult way. Leigh and Will are both almost 30, and I felt like for most of the story they were acting half their age just because they were scared to tell each other how they feel. I want to say that the author was intending for this to be a slow burn build up with a lot of anticipation, but it did not come off that way to me as a reader. Please just talk to each other Leigh and Will before the 85% mark of the story. I did like the way it ended and I think a lot of romance readers will enjoy this story.

I felt all of the feelings!
The pining, relatable self-doubt, chemistry, family drama, the poetry. I enjoyed Leigh + Will. I would recommend this romance!

As a writer, I was excited to read this novel!

Our FMC, Leigh, never expected to get into a prestigious MFA program in North Carolina. Her classmates seem effortlessly literary, and her self-doubt only deepens when she realizes her high school crush-turned-nemesis, Will, is in the program too. Determined to prove herself and land a much-desired fellowship, Leigh refuses to let him shake her confidence; however, their rivalry turns complicated when Will submits a poem that’s unmistakably about her. As they clash in workshop and beyond, Leigh starts to wonder if what’s between them is more than just competition.

I definitely related to Leigh’s struggles at times with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and the feeling of never being "smart enough" or "talented enough" when it comes to working with other creatives. While her insecurities had me frustrated at times, I appreciated that she was actively working on her mindset instead of just wallowing.

I enjoyed the push and pull between Leigh and Will, but there was so much unsaid between them, I kept wanting them to just lay everything out on the table! I always love when characters are like, "What if we just get this out of our system?" because we all know how that turns out. It never works, but it's so much fun to watch. Their history unfolds gradually, and I really liked how their past experiences shaped their present dynamic. Plus, there was a twist with Will that I didn’t see coming, which made things even more interesting.

Also, LOVED the epilogue.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for this ebook!

I really enjoyed YOU BETWEEN THE LINES by Katie Naymon. Two high school classmates who both thought they had unrequited crushes on the other are reunited in an MFA program. He’s your stereotypical lit fic cis white male and she’s a former sorority girl and swiftie with major imposter syndrome. And then they fall in love, duh. This came out a few weeks ago so you can read it now.

Leigh is a poet stuck inside the body of disillusioned copy writer. When she's accepted to a prestigious MFA program for poetry, she takes the opportunity to chase the passion she set aside. However, Leigh knows more about Taylor Swift lyrics than villanelles. Navigating self-doubt Leigh must face her anxiety if she wants to succeed, but a ghost from her past crashes into her plan -- Will, her high school crush she couldn't forget. Can Leigh overcome her fears and step into her potential as a poet? Or will her self-doubt send everything crashing down?

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! As someone who lives for the creative writing requirements for an English degree, stories about poets will always be instant reads for me. Leigh and Will were the ultimate slow burn, will they won't they? The push and pull between Will and Leigh Naymon creates is electric. Leigh and Will are both stubborn who couldn't admit their feelings but once they gave in, sfheiufhfhqjhfbhjrbf. Also the poetry they write is so so good and I enjoyed watching their writing grow as they progress through the program. I loved everything about this, plus its set in Asheville, NC! (Reading this after the hurricanes made my heart twinge. Asheville is an artistic, passionate city and this book reminded me of the rebuilding process artists are going through to bring back Asheville's art culture).

I would recommend You Between the Lines to many who love a slow-burn and for fans of Emily Henry.

“You Between the Lines” by Katie Naymon was such a delightful addition to my TBR. Leigh and Will share a complicated past and find themselves unexpectedly reunited in a graduate poetry cohort. Despite their best efforts to resist, the chemistry between them is undeniable. This romance is beautifully written, with touching poetry woven throughout the story, adding to its depth and charm. If you love second-chance romances with a literary twist, this is definitely one to add to your list! Plus, that cover is just lovely. I need a physical copy as a shelf trophy.
Thanks to NetGallery and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for my honest review.

I love romances about writers but this is PERFECT for me. This is a romance about Creative Writing poetry undergrad students turned professionals entering an MFA poetry program. One of the writers is showing up the program after being disenchanted with working as a copywriter at an agency. This has so many parts of me it's almost scary but it's also interesting to know all millennial poetry majors have lived the same life.

^^If any of these are your parts, you'll fall for this book too.

There's so much vulnerability between these pages. Will is dealing with grief over the death of his 1000% unsupportive father. Leigh is dealing with the recent separation of her parents and her people pleasing needs. We also see Leigh working through a lot of her issues in therapy.

There's nothing more vulnerable though than learning about the characters through their own poetry (yes, there are real poems in this book!). I love how they match the emotional journey of where are characters are and they give me an entirely new reading list (I need to read more poetry after this!).

I'm obsessed with this book and can't wait to see more from this author!

I wanted to love this one....it sounded so cute! But I could not get into it. It took me forever to get through the first 6ish chapters and then I just did not love the female main character, Leigh. She did so much complaining and she had so much hate in her heart. I wanted to root for the characters, Will and Leigh, but honestly, I wanted them not to end up together.

I really wanted to love it. The whole premise had me so hooked, but it fell through in so many areas. I hated the constant push and pull of the same "oh I want you, but you don't want me" vice versa.

I enjoyed the realistic feelings that Leigh had, like not feeling enough as a writer simply because she writes it with pop music in mind. I thought it felt very real as someone who used to write poetry and entered competitions but also lost all interest for it because it felt like no matter what, I didn't right poetic enough. And I related a lot to Leigh saying she hated the college guidelines given but also at the MFA program having no guidelines also is confusing, because wow literally same. William could've been everything, but omg he was annoying too. Like sir, why are you so push and pull, I have a headache. He had some lines that truly were gorgeous, but yeah.

I think this book could have done a lot better as a contemporary fiction rather than romance, maybe? Idk, truly wanted to loveeee it even though I didn't, I definitely enjoyed it! Again, there were lines in the book that definitely pushed my soul!

Thank you so much Forever and NetGalley for the arc, out now!

- Rivals to Lovers
- Mental Health Rep
- He's Her Enemy, She's His Muse
- "Let's Just Get It Out of Our Systems"

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this e-arc!

People pleasing Leigh Simon enters a MFA program where she runs into none other than her ex high school crush William. Tensions are high as we follow these poets as they figure their writing and love lives out.

The concept of this book was super cute and I think the mix of intertwining tension points (the love story and fraught issues with separated parents) kept things interesting. Will also had some banger lines - lots of tension and some especially flirty moments that I ate up.

Unfortunately, I did find Leigh to be insufferable 85% of the time. Being trapped in her head was lowkey kinda vile and horrible - insecure, self absorbed, “people pleasing”, bitchy, petty, I could go on, but I won’t because you get the picture. Luckily she’s in therapy, unlucky for us she’s unhealed for almost the entire book lol.

The pacing could have been better. Also the amount of outfits described in this book was astronomical!! I don’t need to know what every single character was wearing in every single scene!!! Sometimes the small things just bug me.

Anyway, overall this book had potential to be special, but it just ended up falling a little flat. I just can’t get behind Leigh!!

3 ⭐️ would recommend if you’re into fashion, poetry (kinda cringe I won’t lie), and grad school vibes!

Leigh and Will. They knew each other in high school and are back together in a writing program later in life. They both have old wounds that need healing? Can they help one another?

This story was fun. I liked the characters and the plot. Nothing too challenging but that was just fine with me. Thank you Net Galley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for the ARC.

well this was…something…

I unfortunately did not enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I could not connect with the story and the female main character to me was insufferable. she was very immature, insecure, self destructive and just toxic to everyone around her. a lot of the things that she would say was just plain mean and she would acknowledge that it was wrong but then do it again? very toxic.

I’m also not a fan of the amount of pop culture references in this book. I would just prefer if we leave them out of romance books in general but that’s my personal preference. It made it very hard for me to take this book seriously..

overall it just wasn’t for me and that’s okay. 2 stars for will though! his character saved this book.

thank you to forever for the arc!

Yay for creative writing! Leigh and WIll are a couple that I can definitely get behind. I like the angst, and I love that Leigh is going through big difficulties and is still able to make positive life moves with herself in mind. A great message.

Thank you so much to Forever for the complimentary copy of this!

This book is out now!

I am in a buddy read for this one that was spearheaded by a bookstagrammer who made this book her personality which meant I totally had to read it.

I love that this took place in a college and we really got to see the side characters in this. Of course my focus was on our main couple Leigh and Will. The way Will would always have his eyes on Leigh in class and in the library - swoon. And there was a moment towards the end that we learn that he assists her in a task that she was not able to complete that literally made me go "of course he would do that!" The two have been pining after each other since high school and it's very apparent that those old feelings just don't go away no matter how hard you try. Also who knew hooking up in a library would be SO sexy?!

"I can't write a single poem where you don't exist."

I am very torn on how I feel about the HEA in this. Leading up to the end I thought it was more a Happy For Now until both characters took the time to grow separately and perhaps seek therapy. The turnaround time between the 3rd act break up to reconciling was just not enough. They really needed to work on themselves. Leigh was just TOO competitiveness and insecure and I just found it hard to believe that it wouldn't happen again if she would stay with Will while they were still in classes together.

There was a moment with Leigh and her therapist where I thought "Am I Leigh?" There is a moment when the therapist says, "Your first reaction, when someone ignores you, is to assume that there's something wrong with you. You assign your self worth based on your perception of what others think about you. WOOF - I felt attacked when I read it and attacked again as I type this out. I love that the author made it a point to have Leigh see a therapist on the pages. I also thought it was refreshing to show Leigh's parents relationship unfold in adulthood.

I paired my reading with the audiobook. This was narrated by Sarah Beth Goer and I thought she was a fabulous narrator! She was able to bring out the vulnerable Leigh needed and when she would do Will's dialogue, she would have to bring out a softer side to him too.

Ultimately I still really enjoyed the book and was invested on how the story would end. There were parts that had me smiling from ear to ear and giggly over what their future could be (*cough* pumpkin patch*cough*).

This was a debut and I'm excited to see what Katie Naymon will do in the future.

I recommend this book if you are looking for an academia setting, second chance romance with occasional flashbacks.

PS - I often don't fancast while I read but I could not get German actor Damian Hardung (Maxon Hall) out of my head for Will especially after seeing a photo of him with glasses on.

i don’t like this book… i thought i actually would but i hate it and i wish i could erase it from my brain

I totally understand why everyone says this book is for the Beach Read lovers!!! It totally gives similar vibes. Our main characters, Leigh & Will are poets in an MFA program, but also 10 years prior went to the same high school. The pining in this book is top notch! Seeing Leigh and Will respectively come into who they are was played out beautifully. I was not the biggest fan of the miscommunication between the two mc’s. But overall did enjoy seeing them work through it.

This book centers around two main characters in a renowned MFA program. Leigh and Will are both poets with a past history with each other. They went to the same high school but Will was a year ahead of Leigh. She developed a massive crush on him at the time and that hasn’t abated through the years. I have to admit I don’t know a thing about poetry aside from what I had to learn in school so it was interesting to have such a focus on it throughout the book. The secondary characters were interesting. The writing and pacing were good and I stayed invested in the story throughout the book.

This book was a dream—it was the yearning and the romance that I’ve been waiting for. It felt like it was written for the 20 year old me who sat in a creative writing class in sorority letters and wrote a piece about a boy while my classmates wrote about deeper things. I related so deeply to Leigh and her wounds were so fleshed out believable.

The romantic payoff was HIGH!! The pacing kept me engaged and Will was a soft dreamboat with a surprisingly dirty mouth which made him all the more delicious. I will be tuning into whatever Katie Naymon writes next!

You Between the Lines is the kind of book that sneaks up on you—the yearning, the angst, the messy emotions that feel a little too real. Leigh is trying to figure out her next chapter (literally and figuratively), and running into her high school crush-turned-nemesis in her MFA program was not part of the plan. Especially when he starts writing poetry about her.

Will is that quiet, unreadable guy who somehow says everything without actually saying it (sir, please). Their chemistry is the slow-burn kind that keeps you flipping pages, and the mix of academic rivalry, personal growth, and all-too-relatable therapy sessions made this feel so grounded. It’s a story about finding your voice, facing the past, and realizing that sometimes, the person you can’t stop thinking about might just be thinking about you, too.

If you love pining, tension, and a romance that feels like a well-written poem (a little heartbreaking, but worth it in the end), this book needs to be on your list!!