4⭐️ This book was EVERYTHING. Think The Hating Game vibes mixed with the emotional depth of Beach Read and it totally delivered. Rosie and Aiden’s enemies to lovers chemistry is off the charts and I was hooked from their first snarky exchange in the writing workshop. The banter was hilarious. The tension was deliciously slow burn. And don’t even get me started on the steamy scenes sprinkled into their co-written novel. I may or may not have reread those parts.

Katie Holt perfectly balances humor, heart, and cultural exploration in this debut and I loved how Rosie’s Peruvian American identity added so much depth to her character. Aiden is your classic grumpy writer with hidden layers and honestly I fell for him right alongside Rosie.

If you’re into swoon worthy rom-coms with all the feels, Not in My Book is a must read. Huge thanks to RBmedia and Katie Holt for the advanced copy. I cannot wait for everyone to experience this gem when it releases December 10.

Not in My Book was a delightful romance story and an even better audiobook experience. It took me some time to get used to Frankie Corzo's voice, but once I did, I discovered a new audiobook narrator I could return to!

The book blurb describes it as "The Hating Game meets Beach Read in this sexy and hilarious contemporary romance from a debut Peruvian-Tennessean voice" and I can confirm that it delivers on that premise. Perhaps the premise was Beach Read, as Emily Henry fans would understand, but the vibes were amazingly Book Lovers-esque. The best way to explain this to a layperson is that people with literary careers develop empathy for each other, and learning more about each other is paving the way for them to fall in love, with a happy ending guaranteed.

It has all the components of good romance books: it is replete with favourite tropes (enemies-to-friends, forced proximity, grumpy meets sunshine, friends to lovers, fake relationship, opposites attract...in gigantic or minuscule whiffs, but an abundance of tropes nonetheless. The tropes don't feel forced, though, which is great because Adrian and Rosie are just as strong as individual characters as they are as a couple.

The book has so much heart, so much humour, so many endearing characters — I find myself hoping Katie had just as much writing it as we had reading it.

What I see is a book that will delight readers, and avid consumers of the genre will find comfort in their favourite tropes, the fine balance between the familiarity and the novelty that comes with the storytelling for this audience.

I think Katie might well become my next favourite author of the genre!

OMG, this book was an absolute delight and had me squealing, swooning, and grinning like a fool! 😍 Not in My Book by Katie Holt is hands down the feel-good romance of the year! Huge shoutout to the queen of witty banter herself, Katie Holt, RBmedia, and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC! Frankie Corzo’s narration? Chef’s kiss! 🎙️💋 Listening to this 10-hour-and-30-minute masterpiece felt like being wrapped in a cozy, heartwarming hug. Also, can we just appreciate the genius of those book excerpts at the end of each chapter? They added so much extra magic to the story! ✨ This gem releases on December 10, 2024, so set your alarms and grab your highlighters because you DO NOT want to miss out! 📅


✧ Enemies to Lovers 💘
✧ Forced Proximity 💗
✧ Opposites Attract ⚡
✧ Slow Burn 🔥
✧ Book Within a Book 📖
✧ Rivals to Lovers 🥊
✧ Fake Dating (yes, a thousand times YES) 💕
✧ It’s Always Been You 😭
✧ Writer Romance Vibes ✍️

Rosie and Aiden? Absolute PERFECTION. 💕 Rosie is your sunshine-y Peruvian-American romance writer, a die-hard Swiftie, and an all-around dreamer extraordinaire. 🌞 Meanwhile, Aiden? Oh, he’s the ultimate broody, grumpy, “romance is beneath me” literary fiction writer who had me swooning with his too-cool-for-love attitude. 🖤 Watching these two polar opposites butt heads and eventually fall HARD for each other? Pure serotonin. ✨ The tension? Off the charts. 📈 The banter? Sharp as a knife. ⚔️ The slow burn? Agonizing in the BEST way possible. 🔥🔥

And let’s talk about the New York winter setting. ❄️ It was like stepping into a magical, Hallmark-level dreamscape. From glittering holiday lights to cozy frozen hot chocolates at Serendipity, the entire vibe was nothing short of enchanting. 🏙️☃️ The way their co-writing project doubled as a battlefield for their feelings? BRILLIANT. Those steamy scenes they "accidentally" wrote together? 🫠🔥 Yeah, I had to pause just to scream into my pillow.

Bonus love: The “book within a book” twist with Maxine and Hunter? SO GOOD. 💕 Their story was a beautiful parallel to Rosie and Aiden’s, and every time they showed up, my heart did little happy dances. But let’s be honest, Rosie and Aiden’s dynamic was the true MVP here. 💖

FINAL VERDICT:
This book is EVERYTHING: heartfelt, hilarious, cozy, steamy, and utterly satisfying. If you’re a sucker for swoon-worthy romance, next-level banter, and characters who feel like your besties, RUN to add this to your TBR. 🏃‍♀️📚 Katie Holt, I’m officially your biggest fan, and I cannot wait to see what brilliance you give us next! 🙌 Thank you for this absolute gem! 💎💕

3.75⭐️
I thought this was really unique of
Having two writing students have to team up and write a book together despite having very different genres that they write.
In all it’s a book within a book where they basically write their own story.

I listened to the audio ALC which I think made me enjoy it more so than had I read the physical book. It was very entertaining and I enjoyed listening to them fall in love.
It was very much a “hallmark” type story however like the ones on Netflix instead . You know the ones that have a little more “meat on the bone” type.

I did speed it up to 1.75x to listen quickly as there were parts that dragged a bit and were repetitive as well as predictable. But it held my attention and was enjoyable.

I am thankful to have gotten an audio ALC for free from Netgalley and Recorded Books to enjoy which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.
The title comes out on Dec 10, 2024
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Not in My Book is a dynamic collaboration for Katie Holt’s debut novel, and narrator Frankie Corzo..
I listened to the audiobook over a period of two days and cheered each stage of the characters relationship. Rosie is a relatable, hardworking grad student in NYC, pinching every penny to make life work. I could relate to “always having money for romance books”! Aiden was the perfect match to counter Rosie’s romantic spirit. Their forced proximity to write a novel grew my desire to see how the two of them found their HEA, As they moved from enemies, to friends, and ending as lovers. The conflict to their HEA was built well, and I ended the book with laughter. Looking forward to more books by Holt in the future,.

#notinmybook
#netgallery

It was a two for one romance, the MCs are forced to write a novel together after getting into one too many arguments class. They write characters slightly based on each other, which we get excerpts in the beginning of each chapter. Gives a lot of fictional life imitates art vibe.
Has everything that makes a great enemies to lovers story, banter, slow burn, witty and very angsty. It was extremely HOT when they individually wrote in the same document at the same time, that very spicy scene while also talking on the phone. Also that third act breakup really hurt deep so be prepared.It reminded me of Julie Soto’s “Forget Me Not”, the writer’s version.

4.5⭐️ Coming December 10th! There is something special to me when I read a book where the main characters are authors. This had all the tension, banter, forced proximity, and so many swoon worthy moments. Loved the narration my @frankie.corzo. The tense moments were so well portrayed, and I couldn’t help be feel it all.

Rosie and Aiden can’t help but verbally battle at every turn in their writing workshop. Their professor has had enough and they are to the point of being kicked out of the class. Unless, they can write a book together. Their butting heads are the only problem. Rosie writes romance and Aiden writes fiction literature. While these two genres can go beautifully together, Rosie and Aiden will have to put some differences aside. As they write a chapter at a time, they slowly learn more about one another. Could Rosie still find that spark of attraction she had during Aiden’s first reading? Can Aiden learn to open up and be less harsh?

Thank you so much for the advance listener copy of Not in My Book @netgalley, @readinromance, and @r__bmedia

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for approving me to listen to the advanced copy of the audiobook. All opinions my own.

Katie Holt!! You’re a debut author?!? My goodness this is such a good debut, also so good if it wasn’t a debut. I was hooked from the beginning to the end.

This book is enemies to lovers at its finest. Rosalinda and Aiden are MFA students in NYC and they don’t get along, BUT THEN they are assigned to write a romance book together. They flirt through their writing of the characters in their own book. Brilliant! Steamy! Sweet!

The blurb on this book doesn’t lie about being for fans of the Hating Game and Beach read. If you loved those, this is a book for you!

Spice alert: While this book has a great plot and great character development, it’s bringing the spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.

I wanted to love this, it came so highly recommended to me, but unfortunately it was just fine. I’m wondering if maybe it being in audio format made it not as enjoyable. I definitely struggled with the book excerpts of their writing. One, in audio it was really difficult to discern, especially with the names being so similar, what was in the book and what was happening. This would’ve been a much bigger issue if the book was that different, but the excerpts just felt redundant since they were using the same exact dialogue. The ending fell extremely flat for me as well. Aiden did not redeem himself in my eyes. As an avid romance reader, hearing the MMC constantly berate her about her writing was really disappointing. Every single time they argued, he jumped to insulting her work, and never once truly apologized for it. It was hard for me to believe he had any respect for her craft by the end of the book, I was just left thinking she deserved better.
Now let’s talk about what I liked. The concept of the book worked really well for me, and I genuinely enjoyed about 70% of the book excerpts the Christmas Eve scenes were really heartwarming. I really enjoyed the domestic parts of the book and them being together. I loved seeing them admit things to each other and be vulnerable in their writing, it’s not often we get a good look at the craft side, and what they’re actually working on, and I really enjoyed getting to see the different ways they learned to work together. Overall, I had a good time, but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to recommend.

I love this book. So. Much. It is sexy, sweet, a great concept for a romance, and the writing the sex scene together? Good lord.

❤️ forced proximity
❤️ enemies to lovers
❤️ bookish romance
❤️ Christmas/ New Year setting

The characters
I am literally in love with these characters, how can they not be real? The way they interact with each other and the tension?!? I’m screaming! But on a more serious note, their backstories? I’m cryinggg… They felt so real, I just wanted to grab them and hug them to save them from everything while also pushing them together cause they're so cute. ❤️

The Plot
The plot of this book was what first caught my attention, a creative writing class with two enemies forced to write a book together? Literally what more could I want. It literally gave me the best time, with each moment that pushes them together and pulling them away just messing with my emotions.

The writing
The writing for this book felt so fast and easy to fall into. I loved some of the descriptions in this book.

The audiobook
I listened to the audiobook for this book which isn’t something I would normally do, but this is one of the only audiobooks and one of the only narrators that were able to keep my attention and not annoy me with their speaking and breathing. I loved how easily I was able to tell who was speaking even without dual narration. It truly felt like I was there experiencing every moment of these characters lives with them!

Thank you to Netgalley and Katie Holt for the ARC audiobook, I really enjoyed it! All opinions are my own.

ima be so real rn. this might be my favorite romcom that i’ve read the ENTIRE year. the romance between rosie and aiden was SO sweet and watching it unfold as they were writing their novel together is hands down my favorite thing. this is a MUST READ!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Katie Holt, and the publisher for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

3.5 stars

I thought this was a good debut novel. I enjoyed the concept of having the pair working on a book while falling in love. I do feel like the romance was switched from hate to love very quickly. But I still loved how their relationship came together. I also would have loved more insight into the two main characters' thoughts and feelings. I look forward to reading Katie Holt’s next book.

Audiobook 4.5 stars- it was very well done.

Ahhhhhh! This book really took me by surprise! I loved it! I don't know what to call this new trope where the couple can only be honest about their feelings for each other through the book they are co-writing together but it's a new fave. Beyond Aiden being a complete grumpy dream to Rosie's sunshine, I just adored him as a love interest. And I really loved the way Rosie was written, it was the first time I've ever seen myself represented in a Latina character. I can't wait to read more from Katie Holt <3

This was a delightful read about two writers moving from absolute loathing to well, you can imagine. After pushing through a stilted feeling first few chapters, I was drawn into the characters and their story. I loved all the literary and classic movie references throughout the book, and the pacing was on point. It was a steamier read than I personally prefer, but that’s my own taste.

The audiobook narrator was *perfection* and wonderful in managing dual POV changes in the narration.

Thank you RB Media for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

“People say there is a thin line between love and hate, and you know what? They’re right”

Rosie is a romance writer who believes in HEA, Aiden is a fiction writer who believes in “realistic” endings. They are constantly at each other’s throats during their writing workshops, so much so that the professor decides to dismiss them from her class. Rosie can’t afford to fall behind in her MFA and pleads to the professor to let her stay in the class, the professor proposes Rosie and Aiden work together to write a novel blending their writing styles, if they agree they can stay in her class. Can these rivals work together??

This was such a cute read. I loved this book more than I thought I would. This book is perfect for anyone whose love language is picking on their partner 😍 I loved the back and forth banter and teasing.

They collaborate on a 🌶️ scene for their book and it was 🥵
10/10, no notes!

BIPOC FMC
Forced Proximity
Rivals to Lovers
Grumpy Sunshine
He Falls First
Secret Crush
Swiftie
Takes place over the holidays

This book has it all!!

Thank you to Katie Holt and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rosie and Aiden are in a writer workshop together. They're both attracted to each other and then Aiden says some dumb shit because of past trauma. Then they both just dive into a hate/hate relationship. They disrupt class. They act worse than toddlers. The teacher makes them write a book together. Just when you think we are getting somewhere, we aren't. They're both the worst sort of person honestly. I know that this is all to show Aiden's growth and whatever, but I still sort of hated him in the end. Rosie wasn't all that much more mature, honestly. I'm glad it was a HEA, but to be honest I was starting to think it wasn't going to happen. I feel like I know how the back half was supposed to make me feel but it just missed it for me.

Aiden loves Pride and Prejudice so that saved him, in my opinion.

Overall, I'm not sorry that I read it but it isn't likely to go on my reread list. Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this story. Frankie Corzo did a really good job narrating this one.

A solid 3.5 stars. I think with a little more editing this one would have been a solid 4 stars. It has a lot of potential, but some elements were weak enough to detract from the overall reading experience. I thought the romance book within a romance book was a cute idea, but at times it was confusing as to when it was the book and when it was not (let me also say that I listened to this on audio and I'm guessing the print version uses different fonts to help with that). I liked the characters of Rosie and Aidan for the most part, but at times Rosie's character arc was a bit weak and her actions veered too much from what the reader was led to believe her character was like (particularly in the last quarter of the book). This one was very slow to start, but it picked up halfway through. I liked the plot more in the second half (until the end when it was just meh). Some of the steamy parts were a bit cringy while others were much more well written. Overall, this was a mixed bag, but I would by willing to try more by Holt in the future.

This was, dare I say it, the perfect romance novel.

I loved everything about this book. I could not finish the book fast enough. It kept me intrigued from start to finish. I loved the MFC personality and the fact that she wasn't white! (Coming from a white girl, it's so refreshing to see diversity in main characters) Our MMC is just the right amount of moody.

The book's premise was smart. Two authors taking a course together, like different genres, are made to write a book together. The excerpts from their book at the end of the chapters were a nice touch.

The spice scenes were great, her insecurities were so realistic. I also really enjoyed her friend group and her dynamics with her family. There were zero unlikable characters in this book.

I was given early access to the Audiobook from NetGalley and I really liked the narrator. I think she did an excellent job adding the country twang, the latina accent, and the male voices.

*Okay, so I just read the author's little about me blurb on Google, and she definitely put a lot of her own life into this book. It's such a good debut novel. I can't wait to see what else she releases in the future.

A classic enemies to lovers story:

Rosie and Aiden are academic rivals in a writing workshop who are forced to work together on a manuscript combing their two genres, romance and lit fic. When the characters they are writing start to represent themselves more and more, they use the writing to better understand each other and find deeper feelings for each other.

I overall like this book, but there were some spots that it felt a little repetitive and slower. Their banter fell a little flat for me, which is what I really love in a romance book. I liked the use of their manuscript as a conversation between each other for the things they couldn't say in person. I listened to the audiobook, which was well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the ALC for review.