I finished this book in under a day, because of how happy it made me to read. What a smart story, where our heroes write their own fate and a book about their alter egos too. For the first 20-odd chapters it's a slow burning clean romance, then wham come the steamy scenes. Loved the chemistry of the protagonists and how real they were written. Story was wonderful, took me to New York over different seasons, and I felt like I was part of the story too. Bravo to the author and narrator!

this debut novel was phenomenal..

life imitating art, and art imitating life was such a great touch in this story.

i loved all the tropes, i loved that they were writers who were talking in length about their different processes.

the audio was also very seamless and it read very well with the tone of the given scenes.

this is one of my new favorite romances, i haven't read a romance this good and i dont know how long.

everything about this book was amazing, i cannot wait to see what else this author comes out with.

Another favorite romance this year- spicy romance book inception! The characters were well developed and the enemies to lovers / secretly pining tropes were well done. Dual writing the spicy scene together was brilliant 🙌 thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for the ARC of the audiobook!

"Not in My Book" by Katie Holt is a fantastic listen. I literally flew through this audiobook in less than a day. I found myself intrigues by the characters interaction and the awesome banter. The narrator's performance brings the characters to life. The combination of spice, romance and anger make this audiobook a hit. Chef's Kiss for "Not in My Book". I'm sad it's over but I enjoyed it immensely.

What a fantastic debut! Rosie and Aiden couldn't be more opposite in their genres. Aiden writes literary fiction and Rosie is a hopeless romantic. They are forced to work together in a creative writing course to forward their careers. Can they work together to create a collaborative story?

This was such an unexpected delight. Thank you to NetGalley and Katie Holt for the opportunity to review an Audiobook ARC of this book. Also, unexpectedly, a holiday read! I enjoyed Rosie and Aiden's banter as rivals to lovers. Their back and forth was hilarious and fun. As the story progresses, they both have layers that I enjoyed uncovering. For those who read a lot of romance novels, everything you love is here including commentary on writing and the process itself. The narrator did a wonderful job balancing dialogue vs written manuscript text that Aiden and Rosie were working on together. A quick and fun read for those who love the romance genre.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

I was cleaning everything I set my eyes on just so I could listen to this book in it’s entirely, I was captivated from the first chapter.

You’ve got angst, tension, slow burn. I frothed this up, like a giraffe at a watering hole. I never wanted this story to end.

If you are a fan of Emily Henry, Abbey Jimenez, etc then you definitely get along with Katie Holt.

Big round of applause to the narrators, I was so infused in this storyline and I loved the idea behind this story, you really got to understand both characters backgrounds and childhoods with the details your given.

And that first spice scene, 🥵, I was shocketh, I was giggling, I was squirming 😜😂, I was kicking my feet I was that giddy.

Also I loved the little exerts we got of their book and then got the title of it at the end, made me have the biggest smile on my face.

This book is told in 1st person perspective from the FMC’s point of view.

I will say the only thing that I will say is when the epilogue came up, it wasn’t made clear that it was one year later then part way through the chapter.

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for this audiobook advanced reader copy of “Not in My Book”. This romance book was the perfect winter read that beautifully took all my favorite romance tropes and found a way to weave them in so naturally. From enemy to lovers to fake dating to the meta of writing a book about a romance in a romance book, it was all so well done. I found the pacing to balance the slow burn without losing the reader — which I think is very challenging to do! I also appreciated the small references to Taylor Swift (as a huge swiftie myself I was lowkey hoping for even more Easter eggs!!).

You follow Rosie and Aiden through their creative writing workshop where you learn quickly that they are definitely rivals. They are faced with the ultimatum of becoming workshop partners to write a book together OR drop the class. Following their relationship felt fun, low stakes, and easy to believe.

From an audiobook perspective, I found the narrator / performer to be fantastic and I thought she executed the switching of voices so naturally. I was a big fan of the performance- I should also admit that I tend to listen to my audiobooks with a multiplier and this narrator checks those boxes for me too!

If you’re looking for a read for the holidays, Not In My Book delivers an engaging romantic narrative that you can fly through in a couple sittings (or drives if you’re listening).

(4/5 stars)

A quick, sweet, but predictable romance between a budding romance writer and her workshop rival, who's into literary fiction. And also rich. And dark and handsome. And etc. This was a slightly novel take on a very common romance storyline. The writing was a little stiff in places (e.g., "do so" instead of simply "do" during sexytimes). But it was enjoyable, and the narration was excellent.

The premise of the story just wasn't that strong. I've read a few books where co-writers fall in love and this one just doesn't seem as well executed. Both characters seem petulant in the beginning over their writing, even over criticism that is constructive. The writer/character parallels between the two main characters and what essentially becomes their avatars just wasn't working for me. Ultimately, both characters just lacked dimension (which is a shame because I wanted to explore her being Peruvian) and spark.

The narrator was also OK. She did a good job doing a male voice for dialogue but when it shifted to the male POV chapters, it seems like she struggled and it wasn't as consistent.

I received a gifted audiobook ARC from Netgalley. I voluntarily read this book and am leaving an honest review.

I am DEVASTATED that this is a debut novel.... Because I can't binge read 10+ other books by this author right now. I loved this book so much. I couldn't put it down and finished it in one listening session.... At 3:12am when I SHOULD have been asleep for hours already.

The tension was incredible. I feel like I really went on this hate to love journey with Rosie because I definitely didn't think I would end up adoring the MMC and want to protect him. After the way he came at romance readers/authors I was ready to fight! But Katie was able to make me completely do a 180 along with Rosie. It was so believable and the characters felt so relatable.

I'm excited to see more from this author in the future.

I was thrilled to receive an audiobook ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions shared are completely my own.

This felt like the perfect plot for a Hallmark movie—it was so much fun and had me smiling and giggling the whole way through!

Two academic rivals are tasked to work together to write a book for their class but they’re secretly writing about how they feel for each other. They basically communicate through their characters.

“Perfect. So we’re not writing about each other.”
“I guess not”
“No reason to read in between the lines huh?”
“None at all”

I felt protective of Rosie and her love of romance books. It really resonated with me, even though I'm not a writer, how hard she constantly tried to prove that writing and reading romance is not a waste of time. It’s really hard to explain to others why reading romance is exciting and valid. I feel like many of us readers have a hard time defending our reading choices and being taken seriously.

“I know you prefer what’s in your books, and I pretend I don't want to be like them, but I do. I want to be the person you picture when you’re reading and dreaming because you are who I picture every time”

The steamy scene they co-wrote while on the phone? 🥵 The tension was palpableeee

This book does include the miscommunication trope at the end, but I didn’t mind it. It helped move the story forward, and I was kind of expecting it after they mentioned a writing competition early on.

I also loved how Aiden wrote the last chapters of their book and basically ended it in a confession, even though he was supposed to avoid a happy ending.

Rating:
⭐️ 4 stars
🌶️ 2 spice

Tropes:
📖 academic rivals to lovers
📖 hopeless romantic x literary snob
📖 slow burn
📖 forced proximity
📖 mutual pining

This book is the perfect mix of Beach Read and The Spanish Love Deception. If you’re just getting into romance, this would be an amazing pick. I know I started with books like these and fell in love with the genre as I discovered new authors.

Congrats to Katie on her debut novel. I can’t wait to read more of her work in the future.

Thank you to RBmedia for an Audiobook ARC. Not in My Book comes out on December 10, so add this to your TBR and don’t miss out on this wonderful story.

This book had me hooked from the first chapter. The banter and the storyline really brings you in quick! The narration was so good I felt I was in NY with them.

Enemies to lovers, slow burn, forced to working together in a book for class, they have been crushing since they met, but were mean to each other. HEA. They both love books and are writers. Different worlds. I ate this uuuup!

Just what I needed book. Highly recommend!

Not in My Book by Katie Holt
I really love this book; it is always amazing reading stories where characters love writing and reading as much as one does. It was a refreshing story, full of love, laughter and chemistry between the main characters.
Without a doubt, it has quickly become one of my go-to books when I need a quick, spicy read. It was easily one of the best enemies to lovers I've read this year. And we can't leave out the friendship aspect where every time something major happens, the group chat changes names - which is so relatable.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this book!!

What a great book! I enjoyed this one a lot!!! I had a hard time putting it down. I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters. Great writing style!! This was a first by this author for me but will not be my last!

Rosie & Aiden

I loved everything about this book. Like so. much. Especially the Christina Lauren shout outs!

Rosie and Aiden are rivals in their writing classes. When their bickering is taken too far, they must choose to either drop the class or co-write a love story without a HEA to gain respect for one another's preferred genres.

Reading books about bookish characters - in this case writers - is one of my favourite tropes. Being required to communicate through the written word is truly what bring these rival writers together. While being tasked with attempting fake dates as their characters as a way to get to know one another better to write more cohesively - said dates start out pretty awkward. Most of their headway of getting to know one another happens while writing their respective chapters following the dates.

Seeing their connection flawlessly transition from dislike to friends to lovers while breaking down one anothers walls make for such an enjoyable read. It had everything I wanted. And, while I typically prefer dual pov, having the excerpts from the manuscript with Aiden/Hunter's pov was enough to satiate that need to get in his head.

There were a couple moments where Rosie started to come off a little bit annoying, but not significantly enough to impact my overall love for the story.

Frankie Corzo's narration was fantastic! She kept me engaged and eager to listen on! So much so, that I finished this audiobook in one sitting!

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media and Katie Holt for the advanced copy audiobook.

"Tell me how it feels, I hummed in response, but he tsked. Use your words baby you're a writer, aren't you?"

This book was EVERYTHING!!!
Two writing majors
An enemies to lovers story
Enemies writing a love story together
Culture, family, and friendship
TENSION!!!!!!
Opening up to love.
And Christmas in New York!!

I loved this book so much. As a romance girlie, this book talks about all the stereotypes within the genre, the hurdles of writing romance as a woman compared to literary fiction from a man. Grief and vulnerability in relationships and life goals. The two main characters were perfection, and the side characters were the best cheerleaders. If you believe in romance this is your book.

I'm adding this to my favorite romance books this year! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I recently read this book as an ARC and LOVED IT but the audiobook?!?! I don’t know how but I feel even MORE in love with these characters. The only flaw (and this is me just being picky) I would’ve loved it more as a duet, like I imagined Aiden with a deeeeeep voice but the narrator did a phenomenal job!! I appreciated the spoke Spanish because some other books have avoided it. I loved the southern accent that was dropped every now and then. Honestly I couldn’t get enough!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE this book so much!!! SUCH A MASTERPIECE

I received an ALC copy of this book from Netgalley.

The fact that Aiden disliked romance so hard to become such an overprotective and loving bookfriend makes my heart happy. These characters are so well written, and I was invested from the first chapter. I could not get enough of their banter. Within this book, a romance book is being written, and we get to witness excerpts from the MC book as their characters fall in love as the MC. I loved it and would not change a thing. I will also be recommending.

𝟒 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 .𐦍༘⋆

this book was really good!
this was exactly what i needed from this book. super fast paced, easy to read & there is nothing i enjoy more than a good academic rivals to lovers story!

i loved that the characters felt like real people, flaws and all. i really enjoyed the topics that this book discussed with the characters’ family & their drives for being in the program.

i did think that the third act breakup that lead to a pretty big decision in the fmc’s life was a bit dramatic and blown up, though i can understand why it’s something someone else would do, it just felt a little out of character for our fmc in my opinion. i loved they way it was all patched up in the end though it was really cute.

i also got my hands on the audiobook and i must say that frankie corzo did such a beautiful job of bringing this book & the characters to life.

This book had several tropes that I really enjoy. I really liked the FMC’s background and familial relationships as well as that of her found family as she lives far from home. I also liked that they were forced to work on this assignment together and write this book which was a bit of a different take in books about two rival authors. While there were many parts of this book I enjoyed, I also felt like it was really similar to others that I have read. I listened to the audiobook version. I thought the narrator did a great job with the FMC but didn’t particularly care for her reading of the MMC. I was able to follow the book for the most part but I think having two different narrators for the portions of the novel being written within the book would have helped differentiate which story we were in- especially since the book they were writing together had dual POV. #NotinMyBook #NetGalley