You know when you’re reading a book, and you can see why other people love it, but at the same time feel like it might not be for you? This book was objectively good. It was well written, I liked both Will and Leigh, and their relationship felt realistic. I also think, for my personal taste it was a little bit slow. I think the things I didn’t love about this book were the same things I don’t love about poetry in general.

Overall I would recommend You Between the Lines.

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC

Thanks to Netgalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for access to this E-ARC! This was ok. Wasn't a big fan of the main female character. Liked the pacing and the main guy though. Would give this author another shot.

More of a 4.5.

What an excellent debut. Self assured and confident. I loved that not only was this a love story it was about succeeding in a field dominated by white men and a certain kind of writing. The imposter syndrome was too real. I will definitely be reading this authors next book!

I always end an ARC review by thanking the publisher and author, but I’m starting with a HUGE thank-you to Katie for writing such an amazing debut novel. Debut?! How is this even possible???

You Between the Lines took over my life until I flipped the final page. This book easily jumped to my top read of 2024. I have no idea how another book will topple it.

This sweet, adorable story centered around Leigh and Will, MFA students with a shared history. My only complaint…at times I felt as if I were cheating on Abby Jimenez and Julie Soto—my two favorite romance writers—by loving this book so much.

Oh, and the pinkie touch!! *thud, swoon*

Katie, I love you and can’t wait for your next book!!

Thank you to Forever Publishing, Katie Naymon, and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this incredible book!!

4.75 ⭐️

I honestly couldn’t tell it was a debut novel … it was so good and so hard to put down . The tension the characters shared was so intense and honestly I lived for their moments they shared.

Leigh and Will since high school always had a pull for each other. I was so glad we got to see their will they or won’t moments. They had so many and when they finally got together I was so happy.

Will and Leigh reconnect after getting into the same MFA program and honestly seeing how protective and wanting Leigh to do a good job in the program had me giddy. I related so much to Leigh and Will. Their characters really spoke out to me .

Thank you so much to netgalley, forever and Katie for the arc 🩵

I loved this book! There was so much tension and forced proximity between Will and Leigh, and I completely ate it up. I really enjoyed the academia setting, and I was surprised at how much I loved reading the poetry. This will be one of my favorite romances of the year. Thank you, Forever Publishing, for the advanced copy!

I’m actually at a loss for words. This was such a stunning a debut. For a book about poets the writing did not disappoint. Leigh is such a mirrorball girl and her fears of being an imposter within her writing group is SO REAL. I just love this book so much and I need more from Katie IMMEDIATELY.

I really loved this. This had so much potential to be a 5 star. This book has nearly everything I love: rivals to lovers, history between the two MCs, tension, banter, an academic setting, and a little bit of found family. It was fast paced, easy to read, and so entertaining. Leigh and Will’s *will they won’t they* had me on the edge of my seat wanting them to just GIVE IN!!! The tension was so good though. I loveddd Will, I thought he was such a sweet mmc. I enjoyed Leigh’s character and found myself relating to her pretty strongly with the people pleasing and never feeling good enough for others.

“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.”

OKAYYYY call me out I guess!!! While I could really relate to her character, she started to drive me insane. Instead of feeling like she was doing something about all of these negative feelings, I felt like she kept throwing herself pity parties and it was frustrating to read. (It also made me do some self reflection lmao.) Other than that, I really loved this whole book and think it’ll be a hit when it releases. Definitely recommend adding to your tbr!!! 💜

I finished the book the other night. Or, rather, the book finished me.

We are a month away from the end of 2024, and this book is already a contender for my favorite of 2025.

Let’s start with Leigh. What makes her stand out among the other characters in the MFA program is that she is “just like other girls”. She loves Taylor Swift, finding the perfect outfit for every occasion, and getting her makeup just right. She struggles with imposter syndrome, saying sorry too often, and editing herself to make other people more comfortable. I felt like I was sitting right there with her in her therapy sessions or in poetry workshop as she compared herself to everyone and kept convincing herself she came up short. It’s these elements of Leigh, not just the things she likes, that make me feel so connected to her. It’s something I’m realizing is much more universal that I ever thought and I think it’s a common feeling experienced by a lot of us in this community. That’s why I know this debut is going to knock everyone’s socks off.

And then there’s Will. Will who meets Leigh where she is. He encourages her without pushing her and supports her when she wants the support. I live for his comments in the margins. I am sustained by the press of his pinky of hers during that keynote address. And don’t even get me started on the tote bag.

I’m so impressed by Leigh’s character arc and the growth she experiences through the course of the novel. I love the way she learns to take up space as her truest self. Anyway, Katie Naymon is a genius. I cried my eyes out at the end of the book. I could cry again just thinking about it now.

Read if you like:

✏️ perfect fucking books, man idk
✏️ academic rivals & second chances
✏️ flirty banter in the literal margins
✏️ every era of Taylor
✏️ suffering through graduate school
✏️ manual transmissions
✏️ green cable knit sweaters
✏️ praise, literary or otherwise

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an early copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good academic setting, and even more so when it's in the humanities! Granted, I am stupidly biased as a graduate student getting my own Masters in Writing, but I just say that that makes me the perfect audience for this delightful book. From beginning to end, this was such a sweet and lovely story filled with humor, heart, and beautiful poetry!

Leigh was a very compelling protagonist, and I was so invested in her emotional arc throughout the book. She felt so relatable and grounded, and I saw a lot of myself in her as she fought to own who she is and her place in the literary world. Her voice was also just so dang entertaining! And as for Will... I adore a man who is head over heels from day one (and it's clear to see, he just adores Leigh!). He had a quietness and kindness to him that created such a nice dynamic with Leigh, and I loved how he played a role in her journey and supported her through it, but he let her go through the necessary revelations and changes herself and honored that well. Their chemistry was wonderful, and it was one of those book couples that I truly could see making it "out in the real world" (I love a good idealistic book couple, but it is so fun to find a realistic one, too!). Their communication was great, and I appreciated how they worked through their issues-- maybe it was because they are writers, but whatever the reason, it worked!

Also, I absolutely adored the poetry! It added such dimension and intrigue to the book, and it was neat to hear Will and Leigh's respective poetic voices. It was also a nice romantic touch as they fell in love through each others' words and notes.

This was such a delightful debut, and I cannot wait to see what Katie writes next. Thank you so much to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to read this as an ARC. I cannot wait for the world to discover this wonderful story and author!

3.5 rounded up!

Almost a legally blonde of the literary world.

Leigh is a poet who looks (and acts) like she should be at a sorority house instead of the MFA program with the other tattooed, museum tote bag, loafer wearing students. But she's here and she's ready to prove herself. What she doesn't expect is Will, or William as he goes by now, her high school crush and the man who's rejected her one too many times. Struggling with her identity, her parent's separation, being in close proximity to a man she's never stopped thinking about is the last thing she needed.

While I really did enjoy this, I wanted a bit more out of the romance side. If you're really into poetry and higher education, this book is probably for you. I tended to zone out a bit during the poetry breakdowns - but that may be more of a me issue than anything else. While Leigh and Will had amazing tension - I wanted to see how their love story built out. I felt like it was a lot of talking about feelings, talking about why they couldn't be together to hooking up. Seeing the 10 years of tension would have done a lot for me, I think.

Overall - a joy of a book!

Thank you NetGalley and Katie Naymon for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for an early copy.

Katie Naymon's debut follows Leigh and Will, former high school classmates, who mutually had crushes on each other, as they reconnect in their MFA poetry program. The two left things on the wrong footing, and their reunion starts to boil when Will starts submitting poems that are clearly about Leigh.

This book was a delightfully, entertaining read. I enjoyed reading from Leigh's POV and seeing her internal struggles with her writing/feelings/relationships and feeling imposter syndrome in the MFA program. The main tension with Leigh and Will's relationship does boil down to miscommunication/lack-of-communication, but I think Naymon handled it in a well throughout way.

This book!

This book took me by surprise.
I was expecting something cute, cause look at that cover!
This exceeded my expectations, in every way.
Beautifully written, funny, witty, sweet.
Was like a warm fresh cup of coffee on a cold sunday morning. Loved it so much, highly recommend!

This was a very cute romance. I thought Leigh was extremely relatable regarding her people-pleasing and insecurities in her writing abilities and comparing herself to her classmates. There were times that I thought Leigh was a little annoying about how judgemental she was towards her classmates and how “pretentious” they were compared to her. But it was all important to her character development which I loved how she managed to work through her issues and open up to write about her feelings.

Although it wasn't a dual POV, I loved how we were able to see some of Will’s insecurities with himself as well. I also loved the inclusions of the poetry, it definitely went way over my head but I still loved it.

I also thought the mental health rep was really well done. Especially the open conversations between Will and Leigh about taking antidepressants and seeing Leigh’s therapy sessions with Bridget and working through her insecurities.

I think the one thing I didn’t love was how their fight happened. I really didn’t see how they could come back from that but they managed to work through it.

I really loved this book! I loved the development of Leigh and Will as individuals and as a couple. I loved the poetry included and them as writers. Thank you for the advanced copy! I definitely recommend!

4.5 stars

You Between the Lines was wonderful.

Admittedly, some of the poetry/discussions on poetry went over my head, but that didn't affect my enjoyment in the least.

Leigh was like me in many ways, both good and bad. I saw myself in so much of her insecurity and self-doubt. Her skewed perception of how people saw her, and felt about her. Always assuming the worst. It was tough to read for me.

Will is struggling in his own ways, and though we don't get his POV I still felt that the author did a fantastic job of allowing the reader to slowly get to know him through Leigh's POV. He doubts himself just as much as Leigh doubts herself.

A romance between two people who feel like they aren't good enough, while the other sees them as way out of their league. It created such great tension between them.

The Spice. It was slow, and dreamy and so damn hot! The mirror?! Honestly, I love when spice isn't flashy or too out there.. this was just beautifully written, intimate and sexy.

This is such a truly fantastic debut novel. The writing was beautiful, the pacing just slow enough to have me aching for more and characters I loved.

This debut romance from Katie Naymon is an interesting look into the lives of writers in an MFA program, specifically focusing on Leigh, a female poet that seems to have a version of imposter syndrome regarding her place in the program, and Will, her high school crush turned aborted college hook-up who Leigh feels looks down on her writing. As the two sit in workshops, attend parties, and work shifts at the writing center together, their walls start to come down and the two begin to let each other in. Things can't be that easy for two brooding poets though, right?

Leigh was a fascinating protagonist to read. There were times where she was so relatable and there were other times where I just wanted to roll my eyes that a twenty-seven year old could be that self-centered about her parent's divorce. I thought the sessions with Bridget, Leigh's therapist, were some of the best scenes because it allowed for some great insight into her psyche and helped propel her forward in ways that she would not have been able to do on her own.

This is definitely an author that I will look to read more from in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

I cannot breathe over how obsessed I am with this book. It is my new favorite romance I’ve ever read.

This is the 109th book I’ve read this year, & I don’t think I’ll be recovering any time soon.

It was THERAPY for me. It was so healing. As a child of divorce. As a people-pleaser. As a woman. As a closet-poet.

The way that every single thing was made to feel important. Every little look, every almost-touch, every word had me clinging on for dear life.

The side-characters being so different from each other, yet sharing this one common interest— writing. Was such a fun & unique way to explore how we as humans connect with each other. The idea of these preconceived notions & ideas & rules that we create for our own lives being only one small piece of a much bigger pie…

Too soon to reread after literally just finishing it?

You Between the Lines is an absolute delight—a sharp, witty, and heartfelt exploration of love, ambition, and the art of baring your soul on the page. Leigh’s journey from self-doubt to self-discovery in the cutthroat world of MFA poetry programs is the perfect mix of laugh-out-loud moments and gut-punch vulnerability.
Leigh’s voice is refreshingly relatable—equal parts sassy sorority alum and secretly brilliant wordsmith. And Will? Oh, he’s the literary nemesis you’ll love to hate...until you don’t. Their chemistry is fire, their banter crackles, and the poetry? Swoon-worthy. Watching them spar in workshops and unravel their complicated history feels like being at the front row of a masterclass in romantic tension.
Whether you’re here for the academic rivalries, the heartfelt self-reinvention, or the sheer joy of seeing someone dunk on sweater vests, this book will have you hooked from the first stanza. This debut is as clever and passionate as Leigh herself—proof that great stories, like great poems, often hide their brilliance between the lines.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Leigh isn't happy with her current job working as a copywriter. Leigh had dreams of writing poetry in high school, but her high school crush - Will - obliterated her dreams when he criticized her poem in front of the entire class. Leigh hasn't forgotten what Will said all those years ago. So what are the chances that they are both accepted to the same MFA program? Will they be able to form a tentative relationship when they have to see other almost daily?

I picked up You Between the Lines and read the book fairly quickly. I liked that there was history between Will and Leigh and wanted to know what happened to them in between high school and when they meet again 10 years later. Clearly they both have a lot of trauma to work through that makes their relationship so thorny.

While I enjoyed the poetry aspect in this book, I wasn't quite sold on the relationship between Will and Leigh. I didn't get the angst that I wanted. They were both unlikeable at times and I get that they each had their own emotional turmoil. But I still wanted to feel more for them as a couple. I will say that the author did bring the spice and she did it well! I loved how sweet Will was with Leigh.

I would give You Between the Lines a solid 3 stars.