How is this a debut romance? 🤯 Wow! It books is amazing and I loved the enemies to lovers trope! I am a sucker for a book in a book plot and to make it better both MCs write it together!!!! This was such a heartwarming love story that had me near tears towards the end.

While I read my physical copy for most of the book, I did give the audiobook a try near the end. They were both perfection! I highly recommend that you add this great romance debut to your TBR, I don’t think you will be disappointed!

****Many thanks to Alcove Press and RB Media for my gifted copies!

4.5 stars rounding up to 5 stars on Goodreads.

3/5 Stars

Thank you to RBmedia and Penguin for providing me with an arc.

I dnfed this 7% in. I hated both of the characters and they were very annoying to me with their rivalry. It felt forced at times and the insults between the two really put me off from this one. I picked it up 3 times trying to get further into it and it just didn’t work for me sadly. I can see why it does work for a lot but these two were quickly getting on my nerves not in a fun way.

3 stars

This book has a great premise with a book within a book and I love that. What I didn't love was how childish our characters were. Maybe interact like adults? Also I didn't like that as soon as the spice started, the romance started lacking. At that point I was cheering more about the character from the book within the book rather than our own mcs.
The narration was fun and I like that it add to the vibe of the story.
Overall this was good but could have been great if not for the characters miscommunication.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had previously read an ARC of Not In My Book, and I was so excited to be able to revisit this amazing story with the fantastic audiobook. Frankie Corzo did a great job as the narrator. She found a way to make the story even better.

Rosie and Aiden's story kept my attention from the very beginning, and I couldn't put down this book. Rosie and Aiden are both graduate students at NYU, and they are in the same creative writing course. When it comes time to give feedback about classmates' writing, Rosie and Aiden have negative feedback about each other's work. They have been antagonizing each other for months, and finally, their professor has enough. She gives them an ultimatum- write a book together or they are out of the class.

Aiden writes literary fiction, and Rosie writes romance. Their writing styles clash, but they have to work together. They pore all of their feelings about each other into their writings, and suddenly, they are writing down all the things that they can't say out loud.

The NYC setting is so much fun. They go book shopping at The Strand and experience so many amazing things about the city.

This is a slow burn romance, but then, it gets spicy!

It's like a "meta" book. Because I did the audio - sometimes I wasn't sure if the book was about the actual characters or if it was an excerpt from the characters' book. I'm not saying it was a bad thing! I really enjoyed the characters and their stories. I also loved that it takes place in NYC and the author's places in NYC are real!

If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. This is arguably one of my favorite romances I have read this year. Katie absolutely smashed it out of the park with this romance. I cannot believe this is a debut book. There were multiple parts of this book that I thought to myself, "that's it... this is altering my brain chemistry for future romance books." I wouldn't change a thing. The book isn't perfect and I still wouldn't change a thing. Yes, there's some immaturity to the characters... But I need everyone to remember how that sets up the book and what part of their life they are in. Putting your writing out there is incredibly vulnerable and the level of protective you would be over your own words... That's real. That's how people would act. It isn't perfect, it's so so messy. That's the point. It's so believable. There are so many quotes, so many scenes, that will live rent free in my head for a while.

“I know you prefer what's in your book, 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're who I picture every single time. I love you. In the light and dark, in romance and litfic. In this lifetime and the next." Like please... I can't.

This has a similar feel to Emily Henry's Beach Read, HOWEVER, it goes a completely different direction. They write the book together in the most delicious enemies to lovers way. The audio. Hold on, we need to talk about the audiobook. The narrator is INCREDIBLE. Absolute knockout of an audiobook narrator. Her voice for Aidan... swoon. It was that good. I am going to push this book on every single person I know until everyone has read it and feels the same way I do. This story was so believable and honestly I think the audiobook is the reason I loved it so much. The narrator really brought this story home. She made the pacing, the conversations... the MOMENTS, all so believable. Even if you are not an audiobook fan, you need to at least give it a shot. This narrator does what Julia Whelan does for Emily Henry, and it's bring to life this incredible story that doesn't let you go till it's over.

I could keep gushing about this book. But honestly, I just need everyone to read it. It took me days to write this review because I wanted to do this book justice. But I don't think I'll even get close. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you NetGalley and RB Media for giving me the privilege of reviewing this before it comes out.

Tropes:
Enemies/Rivals x Lovers
Two Writers
One Bed
He Falls First

I was not only fortunate enough to receive an early copy of the book but when I saw the audiobook for request I knew I had to have one. I love Frankie Corzo and she did a fantastic job with this book. I love this book by Katie Holt and am so excited that this will be her debut.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think Rosie and Aiden will live in my mind forever ! This book was ridiculously cute! With many moments of just pure laughing, cheesy smiles and all the rest of the emotions. Both characters soooo relatable which captivates you from the start ! I love that they are aspiring writers and just everything about it was amazing. I got to read the book but also listen to the audiobook and I loved it so much! The narrators did an amazing job even captivating the emotions for Rosie and Aiden!!!

Forced Proximity
HE falls first (hella hard)
So muchhhhh angst!!
Rivals to lovers
Holiday scenes 🥰

“Love fights through dark and light. It’s not always easy, Rosie. The fights, the disagreements can hurt, but at least you know you're fighting for something. It's not the biggest war you'll ever fight, but it can be a battle sometimes."

Please take this review with a grain of salt because I, unfortunately, didn’t finish this audiobook nor will I plan to finish it.

After two weeks of struggling to listen to one of my most anticipated novels, Not In My Book, I have to admit that I just couldn’t get into this audiobook, so I dnf 30%.

I don’t know if it was the narration or I simply didn’t like the characters - specifically the MMC, but I couldn’t listen to this book. I think I will read it once it is available in Libby, but I had to tap out from the audiobook.

However, just from the 30% I did listen to, I think the Beach Read comparisons are a bit off putting because I found that this book pales in comparison. I found the MMC too harsh for me to root for. I’m aware that the book will take a turn and I’m sure I will root for him the further I listened but I rather read it.

I think it will be harsh of me to rate this a 1 star when I didn’t even finish it - and I do plan to pick it up again just in paperback format - so I will rate this 3 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for providing the audiobook ARC of Not in My Book by Katie Holt, narrated by Frankie Corzo, in exchange for an honest review.

Not in My Book is a debut contemporary romance that delivers a charming and lighthearted story, filled with classic romance tropes, but with a clever twist. The tropes are playfully embraced, especially since the female main character (FMC) is a romance writer and a hopeless romantic at heart.

The story centers around Rosie and Aiden, two rival writers enrolled in a workshop at NYU. Aiden, a vocal critic of romance, is a literary fiction writer, while Rosie, an unapologetic romance author, can’t help but clash with him at every turn. The tension between them escalates until their professor, frustrated with their constant bickering, assigns them to write a literary fiction piece with a romantic element. Cue the enemies-to-lovers trope. The chemistry between Rosie and Aiden is palpable, and I couldn’t wait for the moment when they finally acknowledged their growing feelings for one another.

Frankie Corzo’s narration was excellent, capturing the voices of both Rosie and Aiden with distinct energy and emotion. Her performance really drew me into their evolving romance. While I found some of the more intimate scenes a bit awkward to listen to (perhaps due to the medium), this didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the story.

Overall, Not in My Book is an adorable and refreshing romance, featuring a Peruvian American FMC and offering a unique spin on the enemies-to-lovers trope. It’s a fun exploration of romance book clichés, and a perfect pick for fans of the genre.

rosie is a graduate student at NYU, with big dreams of becoming a romance writer. whereas she knows romance is a wonderful genre, though, not everyone seems to agree, especially when it comes to her archenemy and ex-crush, aiden. she thinks there’s nothing worse than having writing workshop with him…until she and aiden are told by their professor that they have to draft a manuscript together, or else they’ll get kicked out of the class. but as rosie works with aiden, she realizes that maybe he’s not so bad, after all…and that maybe her crush never fully went away.

i was shocked to randomly get the netgalley widget for this one day, but after a friend read and loved it, i was convinced to go ahead and download it. i’m so glad i took her advice, because this was so lovely! although i do enjoy romance, it’s more common for them to get four stars from me, so the fact i gave this one five stars says a lot. i just really loved rosie and aiden🥹 they weren’t perfect by any means, but that’s what made them so real. and although i don’t have the same money problems as rosie, her depiction as a poor graduate student really struck a chord with me. she worked so hard to achieve her dreams, and she had family backing her all along the way (though i would’ve loved to see even more of them).

narration: frankie corzo did a phenomenal job bringing this story to life! there was so much emotion in her voice, which helped me connect with the characters even better. i highly recommend the audiobook!

After constantly arguing in class, Rosie and Aiden get paired to write a book together. However, the book turns into their only personal feelings which I loved! The narrator was great and I really enjoyed the storyline! There was definitely some miscommunication and banter towards each other as well! I do recommend checking this one out!

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced listener copy! I was so excited to be approved.

GENRE
• Standalone
• Adult
• Contemporary romance

SUMMARY
Rosie is a romantic, in her writing and in real-life. Aiden strictly writes literary fiction, bonus points if the main character dies in the end. Both students in NYU’s MFA Creative Writing program, they’ve become fierce rivals. When they take their verbal sparring too far during a workshop, their professor sets them a challenge: to co-author a manuscript with a romantic plotline and a sad ending. As their characters grow closer, so do they—until a writing competition turns them into rivals once again.

REVIEW
This book was a light and easy listen! It’s fun and silly, with good banter and quirky side characters. That being said, I think sometimes drama was prioritized over character consistency. After Rosie and Aiden put in so much work to grow both independently and within their relationship, it was rather disheartening and unconvincing to see them behave so poorly toward each other in the third-act conflict. Still, the ending did a good job of making up for it.
3/5

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

Thank you so much to RBmedia | Recorded Books for the ALC of Not in My Book! These are my honest thoughts!

Okay, I freaking adored this story. Rosie and Aiden are in an MFA program together, and they are RIVALS. Enemies in the most competitive way. They're battling it out, as one does, because they both have a crush and don't know how to communicate that. The premise boasts "The Hating Game meets Beach Reads," and it's SPOT ON IN THAT ASSESSMENT. I loved both those books and was HUGELY EXCITED to read this book. I'm so glad it didn't disappoint.

There are some complex layers to these characters that I appreciated so much. When their bickering becomes too much for their workshop, they have two choices: drop the class, or pair up (and shape up).

Of course, they pair up, so now we've got this forced proximity situation that DAZZLES. They're required to take turns writing chapters and working through their problems prior to coming to class, and in doing so, they're able to take the criticism and shift it into their work in progress. And at the same time, they actually get to know each other.

Things I loved about this story:
- Conversations within their book in their Google doc
- Using their characters to open up
- Forced fake dates for "writing purposes"
- The Christmas vibes in NYC
- Learning to share (like, literally sharing a table, sharing kind words, sharing their history, sharing the burden of work)
- Opening up after loss
- The way this book feels like a love letter to romance in books
- The way this book feels like a love letter to romance in movies
- The way this book feels like a love letter to romance in real life
- THE ENDING *chefs kiss*
- The family dynamics
- The friend group (Rosie) vs the loner (Aiden)
- The rich history of Rosie's upbringing, and how that shapes her story
- The audio, with the excerpts from the untitled work of Rosie and Aiden, the various family members, friends, classmates, mentors - it was all really well done

Honestly, this gets 5 stars just for the feelies, but also the vibes, the execution, the story, the writing, and the performance... it's all 5 stars. Out next week (Dec 10th), so definitely check it out!

I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. While it is your "standard romance novel" there was also something really fresh about it. I absolutely loved getting a glimpse into the actual book that Rosie and Aiden were writing together. If you are a fan of cute, sweet romcoms with a touch of spice, this will be one you should read!

This was a great book. Turned out so much better than I was expecting. You got the grump and you got the "sunshine". They are supposed to co-write a book, one loves romance, the other pretty much hates it. I loved how they had to work together and their banter.
The book was well written and held my interest. It was a bonus that Rosie was from Tennessee and that Johnson City was mentioned , since I live 90 minutes from there in South west VA.
In all this was a cute feel good book. :)

The audiobook was well made and I enjoyed the narrator.

Good narration showing character emotions.

The story starts out slow but with lots of banter/bickering. It’s truly predictable but so sweet and enjoyable. A little spice towards the end.

I 'read' Not In My Book in audio format. The narration was well done, and the transition between characters/chapters/scenes was smooth and easy to follow. The writing was well done to be read as an audiobook.

The storyline is fun and romantic. The characters are likable. And for those who like spice in their reads, this one has it.

Sweet. Fun. Expected.
Full of all the best romance tropes. It was exactly what I expected to read. The audiobook was sweet to listen to. I would read this again and definitely recommend this to other romance fans.

Thank you NetGalley and RBMedia for the audiobook eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

GOLLY I FREAKING LOVED THIS SO MUCH. The relationship dynamic between Aiden and Rosie, the plot, the protectiveness of Aiden, their character development, and just how freaking cutie this book was absolutely killed me!!! I loved this so much and am absolutely obsessed.