Sadly, I’m DNFing this one at 27%. It’s just not for me. I was hoping for some good rivals-to-lovers banter, but it came across as immature high school bickering rather than college. The pacing also felt slow.

Dual POV, just one narrator, however she was great!

Two school rivals argue one too many times during their writing class, making a scene. They have to write a book together and blend their opposite genres to prove they can get along, otherwise their professor is dropping them from the course.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced audio copy!

I had the opportunity to listen to this book on audio and I'm so glad I did. This book had one of my favourite elements which is essentially a book about books/the writing process/ and the publishing world. I will read any book about books and this one had a very strong start.
This grumpy-sunshine novel follows Rosie and Aiden, classmates and rivals-turned-forced co-authors as they embark on writing a novel together as a consequence given to them by one of their writer's workshop mentors. The reader gets to watch Rosie and Aiden's relationship grow, their romance bloom, and their banter fly. I am very sorry to say that though this book had an incredibly strong first three-quarters, the last quarter of the story fell a bit flat for me. This book was on its way to being a 5 star for me but unfortunately due to the unrealistic and rushed ending it ended up being 4 stars for me. Still a good read though!
I loved the audio of this book. The pace and narration were great, and I felt that the voices matched the characters. Overall, I enjoyed my audio experience!
Many thanks to the publisher and the author who provided me with an early listener's copy of this book via Netgalley.
4 Stars!

Rosie, a passionate Peruvian-American romance writer, butts heads with Aiden, her ex-crush, enemy, and literary fiction writing classmate. Apparently this is like The Hating Game x Beach Read which I can see. The enemies to lovers rivalry was no joke but the banter and tension were there! (Kind of like a ‘I hate you but I want to kiss you’ way) I loved seeing the two get paired up to write together and go on “dates” as “inspo”and their growth together. There are fears, vulnerability, family, complex relationships, and some spice too.

Thanks NetGalley and Recorded Books for the arc!

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

I immediately made my friend buy this book. I really enjoyed it. I did struggle a bit with the third act like scenes cause they’re so frustrating most of the time. But I just loved the characters and the plot and most of all that they were writing about THEMSELVES. so cute. I recommend.

Not In My Book by Katie Holt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this romcom so much! Rosie and Aiden’s banter was everything. The book in a book theme was a nice touch. Not to mention, my favorite childhood movie was mentioned.

The narrator was amazing as well!

Loved this enemies to lovers romance. I liked the tension between our main characters. Forced proximity for the win.
Something about romance loving romance characters always gets me.

The beginning of this book was phenomenal but the ending was not as memorable as I wish it would have been. I love academic rival tropes and did find myself enjoying the banter. I hope to see more of Katie Holt!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author Katie Holt for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After months of verbal sparring, romance writer Rosie and literary fiction writer Aiden are forced into an unlikely partnership by their professor who gives them an ultimatum, forcing them into an unlikely partnership when she tells them must co-write a novel blending their two genres. Rosie and Aiden begin to open up to each other in ways they never expected. This sweet and funny debut novel is an entertaining, heartfelt read filled with witty banter and a fiery female main character!

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Spoiler: I swear this was one of my god-tier romances last year.

If you loved Beach Read as much as I did, you absolutely need to pick this book up. Two academic rivals, writers, forced to work together? Yes, please, I was sat. It was fantastic.

As you can imagine, they loathed not only each other, but each other's writing genre. He hated romance and she hated literary fiction. So, of course, after some intense bickering during the class, their teachers found herself having to force them to work together in order to really understand and start respecting different genres. After a rough start, they obviously started writing about each other and every new chapter was DELICIOUS. The banter, the semi-confessions done in the name of the story throughout their characters, I ate it up.

The book in itself was very well paced and so easy to read, it was an absolute delight. I had so much fun seeing the journey the protagonists took from hate to finally admitting their love. The chemistry between them was also top-tier. The romance felt very well balanced between cute, swoon-worthy moments and spiciness. Did I mention the yearning? I don't care if I did it already, I have to do it again, because it was amazing.

I'll end with a quote that remained engraved in my brain, and that made me swoon (it still does, who am I kidding?):
"The entire time we were together all I could think was you were better than any dream, any piece of fiction I could ever write."

Not in My Book is the debut novel of Katie Holt, a lovely new voice in romance writing. Rosie Maxwell has left her southern home to study for her MFA in creative writing at NYU. She is also out to prove that her chosen genre, romance, has the same merit as any other writing category. Unfortunately, fellow student Aiden Huntington seems to make it a personal goal to degrade her work. In fact, the bitter back and forth between the two has their professor, normally very easygoing Ida, at her wit’s ends. As such, she has given them an ultimatum that to stay in her class; they must work together to produce their book rather than the individual work originally assigned.

As the two must put aside their animosity in order to accomplish the task and keep from failing the class, they open themselves to learning what makes each other tick. As they uncover each other’s stories, they create a lovely new story of their own! This is such a fun book. But while it will make the reader smile, the plot line also touches on tender subjects. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I enjoyed the audiobook narration. The characters were perfect rivals to lovers. I don’t think contemporary romance book are ever enemies to lovers but the author did a good job at making the characters rivals. The tension between the two characters was amazing. I also loved that the FMC was a POC I felt represented in the book which usually doesn’t happen. The plot was unique and I loved that they were both writers. I also love that the MMC acted as if he was not interested in her but he was actually down bad.

This enemies to lovers trope was amazing and the characters were so amazing and interesting, they kept me hooked till the very end of the book.
The writing style was wonderful and the plot was well paced thus it enhanced my reading experience.

This book follows two aspiring authors, Aiden Huntington and Rosie Maxwell, and can be described as a "romance within a romance." I liked the concept and how it was executed. At first, I struggled with Rosie’s inner dialogue, and there didn’t seem to be much romantic tension between the characters, which felt forced. However, as their relationship developed, the chemistry between them became clearer, and they really started to click.

As for the ending, it felt unnecessary. While I appreciated Aiden’s apology, the reason for their breakup seemed childish. If they had just communicated instead of being stubborn, there wouldn’t have been a third-act conflict.

This book had a really fun premise and I loved the style of writing where we got the FMC’s POV interspersed with sections of the book the two main characters were writing together. Both the family and the found family were charming, and the spice was nice and spicy. The place where I struggled was with some of the main characters’ (particularly the FMC’s) childish behavior. I’m not sure how realistic it was. That said, it was a fun and light romance and I enjoyed it.

3.5 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Katie Holt's Not in My Book is a delightful and refreshing romantic comedy that flips expectations on their head. With clever humor, sparkling dialogue, and characters that leap off the page, Holt crafts a tale about love, friendship, and what happens when the rules we live by are turned upside down. This charming, feel-good story is packed with laugh-out-loud moments and tender, heartwarming scenes, making it a perfect escape read

Aiden and Rosie/Max and Hunter are a couple you can't get out of your head. This is a cute and touching story of two writers. It is a marriage of literary fiction and romance, in a very unique and touching way. It is your ultimate enemies to lovers story. What made it intriguing was the way their real love story and fights were written into the story they are working on. It is really sweet that each chapter starts with an excerpt from the project book. It is hard not to feel all the emotions they describe and root for a way for it to all work out. The ending makes the book!

Not In My Book by Katie Holt was a sweet and funny romantic comedy that had me giggling and kicking my feet from the start. The story surrounds Rosie, a self-declared romantic who is in grad school for creative writing to pursue her dream of becoming a romance writer. Unfortunately for her, one of her peers is Aidan, a talented literary fiction writer, who makes his dislike of Romance, and her writing, very well known in their weekly classes. There is so much banter and tension, leading to a huge argument in their class that their professor forces them to write a book together.

Not In My Book was one of the best rivals-to-lovers stories I’ve read in a while. I was giggling every time they went on a fake date for their book and I loved the way Rosie and Aidan processed their feelings and relationship throughout their own writing, and that also includes the spicy scenes. Two writers taking turns writing a spicy scene is a whole new kind of level of foreplay and I was there for it! 🥵

If you are in need of a good rom com or pallet cleanser, I’d definitely recommend Not In My Book! It had a great mix of banter, spice, sweet romance and character development. I also appreciated the diversity rep with a Peruvian-American with a texan accent, which Frankie Corzo does an awesome job at narrating. It was cool to see how both characters worked through their own insecurities throughout the book.

Thanks so much to RB media, Katie Holt and NetGalley for the advanced listener copy!

Loved this meta take on romance books! I thought writing their own love story through the characters in the romance book they are writing together was such a fun way to get their feelings. Frankie Corzo is such a great narrator. He ability to embody both male and female characters is amazing. I also love that she brought life to the Peruvian accents for Rosie and her family. I love a good enemies to lovers and at one point I was worried that some of their sharp words were going to be hard to come back from, but I think the redemption arc was well done.

Not in My Book is a masterful blend of wit, charm, and heart, and the audiobook format truly elevates the experience! The narrator’s performance was phenomenal—every character had a distinct voice, and the emotional nuances brought the story to life in a way that kept me fully immersed.

The pacing was perfect, and the narration enhanced the humor, tension, and heartfelt moments seamlessly. The dialogue felt authentic and snappy, making it impossible not to get swept up in the story. Whether I was laughing out loud or gripping my seat during the more intense scenes, this audiobook never failed to hold my attention.

If you’re on the fence about whether to pick up the audiobook or the physical copy, go with the audio! It’s an absolute treat for the ears and adds so much depth to an already fantastic story. This is a book I’ll be recommending to everyone I know!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this gem early!

What a fun rivals-to-lovers romcom! I loved this concept of two authors who hate each other’s genres having to write a book together. You could cut their tension with a knife! I laughed out loud and swooned multiple times throughout this novel.

Thanks again to NetGalley and RBmedia for the ALC in exchange for my review!