Emma trabaja en el negocio familiar, una librería. Desde niña, ha hecho todo lo posible para que su familia esté bien: los ayuda en todo, ha sacrificado cosas que le gustaría hacer para que sus padres y su hermana no tengan que preocuparse y puedan llevar una vida feliz y tranquila. Ella está bien con vivir de esa manera hasta que se da cuenta de que sus padres dan por sentado que ella se hará cargo de la librería. A pesar de que pide ayuda, no se la ofrecen, y, por si fuera poco, descubre que tienen cenas familiares a las que ella no está invitada. Entonces se da cuenta de que ha tenido suficiente y que es hora de empezar a vivir su propia vida.

Disfruté el 70% del libro. Me gustó cómo se fue desarrollando la historia y fue entretenido, pero la última parte se me hizo repetitiva y, para colmo, no hay epílogo.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to reading a bookish romance and Not Quite by the Book definitely delivered on that promise. 

Emma and Davis, the two MC’s, are relatable, have a great dynamic and feel like they actually (could) exist. 

The first 2/3rds of the book meander along nicely, but are quite predictable, if you read a lot of romance. There was a bit too much repetition of the main set-up (Emma trying to live her best Emily Dickinson life in order to make changes in and step back from her actual life) to my taste, but I did really like the premise and the building up of the world around the old manor and bookstore. I felt like walking through Amherst in fall!

The final third sped up and had a few minor plot twists and resolutions that felt satisfying and realistic. I am still rooting for the MC’s! I am also still frustrated by Emma’s family dynamics, so be warned. 

Overall I really enjoyed this read and would read another Julie Hatcher romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book, this is my objective review. This was a quick read that drags a bit in the middle but ends with a satisfying resolution. Our fmc is Emma, who runs her parents' family bookstore. She is over-worked and under-appreciated by her family, and she's dissatisfied with her love life. She spontaneously takes a long-overdue vacation to live like Emily Dickinson for six weeks, before settling down to take over for her parents when they retire. Overall, I enjoyed the main message of this book of getting to know one's self before you can move forward with your life. Emma's frustration with not being heard by her family resonated with me, and I found myself becoming frustrated with their attitude towards her when she tried to communicate her needs to them (and them labeling her as overly dramatic when she tried to do so, and accusing her of not asking for help). Although she persevered and ultimately felt more assertive with telling them how unhappy she was, the collective family attitude really bugged me. I will say that the author effectively communicated just how unhappy and frustrated Emma was with how her life was currently playing out. I think I was just kind of aggravated with the poor overall communication between characters in this book, as it also echoed in her blossoming relationship with Davis (although the communication problems were more from him keeping things from Emma rather than vice versa). Davis felt a little under-developed as a character, but considering the book was primarily focused on Emma's journey of self-growth and breaking out of old patterns, it feels appropriate. The romance was nice but very slow burn. Overall I enjoyed reading this earnest love letter to books, reading, and Emily Dickinson. Publishes 3-1-25.

Emma loves Emily Dickinson’s poems and runs a family bookstore. She has no time for vacations. Emma is a people pleaser and she feels burnt out from taking care of the family bookstore. She never asks for vacation, and she has given up on love too. One day, she gets a chance to spend some time at a historic manor in Amherst, where she can embrace her inner Emily and take a break from the bookstore and her old routine.

I really enjoy it when a character embarks on a self-discovery journey. I admired Emma for standing by her decision to spend a month in the manor, despite her sister’s anger and her parents’ unpreparedness for her to leave the bookstore. I found Emma’s personal growth and self-discovery journey, as well as the new people she met in Amherst, to be very compelling. She didn’t give up, even after trying and failing at some new activities.

I love other things in the book like letter-writing, bunnies munching on Emma’s garden, mysterious flowers, and letters for Emma. The romance was a slow burn in the book.

Overall, this book was an easy read, and I love the descriptions in the book. I enjoyed reading this book.

A cute story and an enjoyable read but I found Emma frustrating. Slow burns are less enjoyable when one character is just not seeing the obvious - It was obvious very early on who was who!

This book was a bit boring. I found the FMC a little bit of a pushover and silly. Like really, I understand wanting to discover your path, everyone gets lost sometime in their life, but thinking that living like an age old character like Emily Dickinson is not going to get your there.

I also felt that it was so obvious that Davis was the one, writing, expressing and loving, but Emma's blinders or clueless nature did not get her there fast enough.

Overall a very okay read

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC!

Julie Hatcher's Not Quite By the Book is really cute - it's a charming novel about self-discovery and unexpected love. Emma is overworked and overlooked, and has been running her parents’ bookstore for years. When her family assumes she’ll take over the shop without asking her, Emma decides to prioritize herself instead. She rents a manor in Amherst, hoping to channel her inner Emily Dickinson, but predictably she finds herself fumbling through baking, gardening, and of course there is Davis Sommers, the gruff handyman restoring the estate to fall for.

The story focuses a lot on Emma’s journey toward self-love. As she learns she’s valued for who she is, not just what she does for others, her character growth feels relatable and empowering. The Gilmore Girls small-town setting gave me the fall vibes I love at this time of year, but there wasn't a ton going on with the side characters. While the middle drags slightly, I still liked the story overall.

OK, so I mostly enjoyed this book.

Emma needs a break from being treated as her doormat and books to go and sta y in a historical home in Emily Dickinson's home town. She meets Davis, the grumpy nephew of the woman who she is renting the house from, and it is instant chemistry.

This was a cute book and I really enjoyed the slow burn. Both Emma and Davis were flawed and I loved reading about how they improved on themselves. The book is from Emma's POV and there are some lovely relationships throughout. This book is filled with love - familial, platonic and romantic- and it was really nice to read something that wasn't entirely focusd on the romantic side of things.

As always, I would have enjoyed an epilogue, mostly because I just like to see how things turn out.

I have one complaint about this book and it's a big one: the pure gay erasure of Emily Dickinson. She is talked about a lot in this novel as the story is set in her home town, Emma is a big Emily Dickinson's fan and one of Emma's new friends is writing a dissertation on Dickinson too. Despite the fact that there are letter writing classes, a romantic theme and a lot of talk about Dickinson's life, there is absolutely no mention of the fact that it is believed that Emily Dickinson had a romantic relationship with her sister-in-law. They even mention her friendship with her sister-in-law. I just feel that anyone who does even the bare minimum of research into Dickinson's life would have to blind not to see the evidence that suggests she and Susan were lovers and it feels deliberate to leave that out.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but erasing Emily Dickinson's sexuality means that I can't give this book more than 2.5 stars.

Bookish main characters are just made for me, and her being a recluse was such a fun and unique element! The book itself was very cute a well written, so I'll read again!

This book was sweet and cute. It captures the essence of fall, in this small town reads. I enjoyed how we saw Emma grow and go on this personal journey. She’s not someone who gives up easily, and I enjoyed that the romance didn’t occupy so much of the book, to the point it would have comprised the journey that Emma goes on. There are some small grammatical errors near the end of the book.

✔️ small town
✔️ You’ve Got Mail vibes
✔️ family drama
✔️ kisses only
✔️ bookstores
✔️ the cottage from The Holiday, but older

If any of these appeal to you at all, pick this book up immediately!

Not Quite By the Book by Julie Hatcher
This was a fun romance that included bookshops, letter writing, and dogs, a perfect combination!
Emma Rini runs the family bookstore and it has become her whole existence. Her sister is having her first baby, her parents are preoccupied with retirement and she feels excluded.
Emma is way overdue for a vacation and romance. She is frustrated with her parents’ expectations of assuming control of the book store and lack of consideration for help. She runs, taking six weeks off to channel her favorite author, Emily Dickinson. She tries every avenue to become Emily and dismiss love from her life expectations. A handsome architect, new friends, and a crumbling manor house challenge her plans in this sweet story. It is filled with romantic suspense and sweet friendships.
The characters are so well developed and the story just sweeps the reader in and carries them along. What a great book! 5/5⭐️s

I absolutely adore when romance books focus on character development and Not Quite by the Book impressed me to no end. I enjoyed reading Emma find and discover her place in her life.

Not quite by the book: Julie hatcher

This was a super cute and cozy bookish romance perfect for lovers of classical romance.
I loved that Emma was such an old soul, wanting to find herself by living like Emily Dickinson for 6 weeks for a break from reality. Not expecting to find love, with only the goal of finding herself.
You could feel the relationships and bonds of friendship formed between the character’s as Emma was on her journey, which left me wanting to know about every single person. The entire book had such an adorable small town feel & was such a cute read!

Thanks to NetGalley, lake union & Julie Hatcher for providing me with an ARC of this book!

An eldest daughter’s journey to self discovery and people pleasing recovery.
This is definitely one for the more classic romance book lovers, especially those who love Emily Dickinson. The story follows eldest daughter Emma who is struggling to break out of her people pleasing ways (relatable). It was a very cute clean book which was more about Emma finding herself and then getting a romantic ending. I did yearn to see a little more relationship development between the two main characters.

Not my favorite book to be honest. The summary/blurb of this book made it sound so cute. It had a cute cover, but I found myself being unable to finish.

I did finish, but I really didn’t want to lol.

I get that these characters are often into books and writing, and that was no different for Emma. She’s this overworked and overlooked character who loves Emily Dickinson. and while I knew that the Dickinson references would come often given her goal to live more like Dickinson, it got sooo repetitive and I found myself groaning and cringing every time she was mentioned. Sometimes it felt like it was mentioned jsut to not forget that Emma liked Emily Dickinson.

Some of the dialogue was disjointed and I felt like the story had a lot of promise but wasn’t written the best. I would try another from Hatcher, but this wasn’t for me.

Julie Hatcher's first book club read is a delight. Emma Rini has been toiling away at her parents' bookshop for years. As the only person running the store, she's working around the clock, from the moment she wakes up in the apartment above it to the moment she crashes. She's disconnected from her parents, and her sister is starting a family. Meanwhile, Emma can't find love either. So when she finds a creaky old mansion in Amherst, Massachusetts, she decides to take six weeks off and live like Emily Dickinson. There's another bookstore owner there, so it'll be perfect for her sabbatical. Emma's family grumbles--after all, her parents have to start working again!--so Emma takes off without a look back.

Emma brings a list of Emily's favorite things to do, but she fails miserably, burning baked goods and getting her garden overrun by bunnies. And then there's the last item: give up on love. It's hard for Emma to do that with a hot handyman running the mansion. Davis Sommers is grumpy at first but reveals himself to be much more than he seems. As their bond grows, Emma wrestles with the next direction for her life.

If you've read any of Hatcher's mysteries, specifically those under the name of Bree Baker, you'll know how sparkling and funny her writing is. However, here she gets the chance to go deeper, not having to rely on a formula to grow character. Emma's journey is the heart of the novel. Davis is a dream, of course, and their story dovetails with Emma's. But this book is really about a woman reclaiming her life from what others expect of her. A fun, easy, yet complex read.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book before it's release! As always, all thoughts, opinions, and comments expressed are my own.

Author Julie Hatcher's “Not Quite by the Book” is a charming and witty tale about self-discovery, family obligations, and unexpected romance. Main character Emma Rini manages her family's bookshop, but she yearns for something more in her life. Overcoming her inner turmoil, Emma makes the bold decision to break free from her mundane existence and seeks refuge in a manor near Amherst, hoping to find the poetic essence of Emily Dickinson. However, her plans quickly unravel as she becomes entangled in a series of comical and heartwarming events. From battling garden bunnies and planting flowers to engaging in verbal sparring with a stoic yet undeniably hot architect, who wants to renovate the historic manor, Emma's retreat takes on a life of its own. To add to the chaos, she receives mysterious floral messages from a secret admirer. The book is an easy-pace with extremely likeable characters. Through it all, this novel seamlessly combines literary charm with a lighthearted exploration of personal growth. Way to go, Ms. Hatcher!

There’s a lot to unpack with Emma’s Adventures. First, that it was a journey of self-discovery in your thirties—well at least, I imagine that she is. I was once in her shoes when I reached a point where I found myself in a crossroad, asking myself, “Where should I go from here?” Like me, Emma had to go through a lot of trial and errors—from baking, to gardening, to writing letters. It was a paradox of what life should be like in Emily Dickinson’s era but in a romantically catastrophic way. How I wish I could also do that kind of sabbatical while not putting everything at stake.

Second was how Emma’s life was quite a dream if you see it in a different light. Her family owns a local bookstore that she was expertly managing and running. It was every book girlie’s dream. This reignited that passion I’ve had since I was a kid and inspired me to go for it also as Emma did. One day, I hope.

Third was I did enjoy the descriptive world building as Julie established the climate of the story. You will really feel the historical element the author was trying to convey to connect it to the present time. The community felt very Gilmore Girls-ish, wherein people is tight knit, knows every single townsperson, and receives snail mails.

Fourth, I liked the characters. I think they were the typical characters you would want to see and live with in a community. Every single one has their quirks and perks, making Emma’s world more enjoyable and filled with warmth.

Here comes the part I’m kind of iffy with. The fifth point was story-wise, I think it was too vanilla. The plot was really interesting and had so much potential, but the narration just sometimes felt short or ain’t cutting it. I don’t want to spoil anyone but just for context, during my reading journey for this book, I knew when the story was about to hit climax but it didn’t really go there. It fell flat towards the middle and didn’t gain the momentum it needed not until I was in at least last 4-5 chapters. I got even surprised when all the conflict that I was waiting for to explode happened towards the end and it didn’t even peak for me. I wished the author went all out just to keep the reader’s blood running.

Overall, Not Quite By The Book is still quite an easy read with a lot of lessons to be uncovered especially if you’ve been looking for the kind of independence that will free you from all the restraints you have in life. Enjoy the characters, the setting, and the bookstore dream in between.

Thank you, Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book before its release.

Emma Rini is disappointed in love and overburdened by managing her family’s bookstore. The tipping point comes as her happily married sister is expecting a baby, and her parents are contemplating retirement offering her ownership of the business. Emma impulsively decides to take a six-week sabbatical in an historical manor in Amherst to embrace her “spinsterhood” and emulate the life of her favorite poet, Emily Dickenson. Life, however, has other plans for her as she discovers/uncovers truths about herself and embraces new possibilities – including romance.

I enjoyed Emma’s journey of self-discovery as she sorts through her beliefs about who she is and her place in the world. There is humor as well as pathos as she navigates her attempts to align herself with Emily Dickenson’s lifestyle. The romance angle felt a little drawn out and the protracted references to Dickenson were balanced by an assortment of interesting characters and Emma’s comical failures at achieving the tasks she believed would bring her closer to her goal.

Overall, this was an entertaining read and prompted me to think more about the lost art of writing letters in our high-tech culture.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.