A very enjoyable and refreshing writing style, with sizzling chemistry between the characters. Extremely enjoyable.

This book had an interesting premise, but it didn’t fully live up to its potential.

I loved Aiden’s character and his vulnerability. The writing style is engaging, and the humour was well-balanced with the emotional moments.

That being said, I found the constant back and forth between the Rosie’s and Aiden’s story and book they were writing quite repetitive. Rosie’s character felt quite immature to me and that thought was solidified by her behaviour in the third act conflict, which I found very lacking.

Overall, this was a light read, but there was just something missing for me to make it memorable.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK/ Transworld Publishers providing this review copy!

AD- arc | 4.5⭐️ This book was everything! The concept & plot was so unique & I just love books about writing books, especially with the enemies to lovers trope sprinkled in! I adored the character development & following Rosie & Aiden’s relationship. The drama & tension was there throughout & I was here for it😅👀 “The entire time…all I could think how you were better than any dream, any piece of fiction I could ever write”🥹
S

Sweet but nothing special.
It gave me a bit of nostalgic vibes from the first days I started to read again in adulthood, so that's why it felt like the perfect read for me. But it still wasn't something I could say I would re-read. Besides that I enjoyed it! Amazing characters, forced proximity and a hint of 'enemies' to lovers.

I had a good time with NOT IN MY BOOK! I loved the NYC setting, and I enjoyed the process of Rosie and Aiden falling in love while writing their book. It was fast-paced, which worked well for most parts, but at other points I did feel that it was moving very quickly. I also was a little skeptical of the whole ‘boy likes girl and so boy is mean to girl’ trope that played out a little bit, but I was able to forgive it mostly because Aiden was such a great love interest. Their date in the Strand and with the frozen hot chocolate was my favourite! Overall, a lighthearted and sweet read.

I never read the arc because of how it was formatted( not for kindle ) however I did read the book when it came out and I absolutely loved it . . I absolutely devoured it and I think it was a perfect read. . I mean I gave it 5 stars afterall . I will definitely be reading anything this author writes in the future.

Wow. Katie Holt has officially become one of my favorite authors! Not in My Book had me completely hooked from start to finish—I genuinely struggled to put it down. Every moment between Aiden and Rosie, even their fights, had me fully invested in their story.

The third act hit me hard—it made me sob, it made me rage, but I loved how deeply this book made me feel. Rosie’s character resonated with me so much, especially her hopeless romantic nature. Reading this book felt like a reminder that love—real, messy, and beautiful—is possible, and that I’m worthy of my own happily ever after.

What an absolutely gorgeous book! The banter! The hatred! The passion! It is very difficult to read a proper contemporary enemies to lovers without being taken aback by the sheer vitriol spewed by the characters, but Katie Holt has certainly succeeded! An absolute delight, and Katie Hold will forever be an auto-buy for me from now on!

I recommend for fans of The Hating Game and The Spanish Love Deception.
An easy romance book you wont want to put down.

I devoured this in one day, I could not put it down. Very much like Rosie, I love a romance and it really can't be helped. Rosie and Aiden are in a writers workshop together at NYU (the dream, honestly) and are rivals on the first day; Rosie a romance writer, and Aiden, a literary fiction write (and romance book hater). They are forced to work together on a book, where they inevitably fall in love, but it's never that easy...
It has all of my favourite tropes; enemies to lovers, misscomunication, forced proximity and of course a happily ever after.
I loved it and loved the Peruvian representation. Hope to read more from Katie Holt!

The digital version provided by NetGalley was unreadable due to formatting errors, so this review is based on the published version I bought.

3.5-4*?

I think this is the first book from a Peruvian-American recent NYU graduate, and it's very much a write what you know romance. But it was good and more polished than other debut novels I've read lately, though the smut scenes felt a tad off. Additionally, while it was clear the characters had chemistry, it felt like they gave in too easily at the end (and it's not really properly explained why her mentor and bf lied by omission).

I get the urge to be petty, and I think most of Rosie's actions are justified, like I would do the same and take things to heart if I were in her shoes, but sometimes it just looks ridiculous from the outside. That being said, Aiden didn't really tow the line between asshole and good guy. He was just kind of a dick, and I get the attempts at justifying his behavior, i just dont think it worked. If felt like he would have been more at home in a dark romance where you expect the MMCs to be an alphahole, and he's only kind(ish) to the FMC.

I kind of forgot about the smut, it's wasn't great, though I did love the writing scene. Everything else I could've done without, closed door would've worked just as well. And that's usually the opposite of what I say.

The Hating Game parallels are very clear, and this was just as fun a read.

-----------Spoilers--------

Would've liked to know more more abou what happens to her schooling, she was clearly on the verge of burnout and didn't get the scholarship she lost to Aiden, so it's not like the breakup was he only reason she went home. The assumption they just went back to NYC and she threw herself into working and studying again, is kinda sad (for a romance book ending imo).

I love Rosie and Aidan! Their story of enemies to lovers, the level of bickering and fun, this book is a sexy romp which will not disappoint.

🎧 Audiobook Review🎧

#adprproduct

I want to thank Netgalley for approving me for an ARC of this book.

I knew from the title that I would love this story and it was so much fun to listen to. When Rosie and Aiden, rivals in the classroom, have to team up to write a book together you could feel the tension. It's inevitable that they will become so much more and their story was beautifully written.

The inclusion of the excerpts from their unwritten book were great as it gave us Aiden's POV too. I love a grumpy, protective MMC so I was in my happy place whilst listening to this one.

A great story filled with fun, spice and romance.

🌟🌟🌟🌟.25

I still haven’t figured out what it is about book covers like this that make me instantly want to give open them and give the book a go. A lot of the time, they’re really not that great and yet I’m still reading these cutely packaged romances!

Rosie is a romance loving, aspiring writer with an arch nemesis in Aiden, a literary fiction buff in her creative writing class. They regularly rip each other’s work apart, so their tutor decides to set them both the ultimate challenge -to write a novel together. A romance novel without a happy ending. As the writing process progresses, Rosie and Aiden put more of themselves into the book and their true feelings slowly start to reveal themselves. But when they’re both up for a potentially career-changing opportunity, their rivalry rears its head again. Which side of the love/hate line will they end up on?

I love how seriously this book takes the romance genre. It’s a genre that is extremely commercially popular but is constantly dismissed as frivolous, brainrot fodder. It’s an old school of thought but unfortunately a very prevalent one. Yet both Rosie and her tutor are big romance lovers and I really enjoyed how they celebrated its complexities and why so many people love it. I know a lot of romance readers and writers will appreciate this and it’s something I’d love to see more often.

The romance itself was also quite enjoyable. It’s a classic enemies-to-lovers, will-they-won’t-they situation and while I’m not drawn to specific romance tropes, I do find tension and irritation between love interests entertaining. Rosie tries so hard to convince herself and her friends that she isn’t into Aiden but it is very obvious to both the reader and the other characters that she is. Of course, as it’s a romance novel, it does make the whole thing very predictable but sometimes you need that!

Not In My Book is a generic, tropey romance but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There wasn’t much uniqueness to it and I wasn’t really wondering what was going to happen next. I would have liked to see more of Rosie’s Peruvian culture, which we did see a little of but she could have leaned into it a little more. I also wanted more from the side characters, as there was another romance brewing between two of their friends that we only really saw peripherally. Maybe that’s for a companion book though, so I’ll hold back the whining about that!

Enemy aspiring authors who roast each other at every writing class
slow burn

Tropes & Themes:
enemies (or rivals) to lover
I hate you but I love you
daddy issues (MMC)
country girl/big city boy
only one be
who hurt you?
grumpy/sunshine

This was such a good debut!
I was worried that with the main characters writing a book, within the book that it would get cringey or irritating, but I was pleasantly surprised.

This did remind me of The Hating Game which I loved, and you could tell a lot of inspiration was taken from it, but the characters were their own and drew me in in a different way. I liked that Aiden despite being prickly was sweet and quite sheepish at times. His family dynamic also added to the depth of his character and I think allowed the reader to see both his soft side and the fact that not everything was as perfect for him as it seemed. Rosie on the otherhand seemed like the eternal optimist but was also quite insecure and unsure on how/if she's ever reach her goals. I liked that they brought out a different side in each other.

I thought this was very well written and even within their book, it felt intimate and vulnerable and even though i could see the 3rd act break up coming from a mile away, it still hit really hard and I was absolutely gutted for them.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, excited what is is to come from this author.

I love an enemies to lovers and holt wrote it so well. I loved the bickering, the tension and the build up of the 2 main characters. The grumpy x sunshine trope was written very well- I didn’t expect the slow burn to be as as slow as it is. I also dislike third act breakups and the miscommunication trope - felt like it would’ve been much better without

Nevertheless the characters redeemed it for me- I loved rosie and Aidan.

(I did have formatting issues however moving past that it was an enjoyable read)

What a fun read this was!

I absolutely loved the main two characters and their constant bickering in the build up to their blossoming relationship.

The exerts from the novel they were writing were also great little pockets of build up and ideally enjoyed seeing life mimic the novel they were creating.

The setting over multiple seasons was also really enjoyable and helped keep the timeframe and story flowing.

This didn't quote hit the 5 star feels for me mainly because I saw the catalyst of the breakup from a mile away and the reasoning behind it felt a little hollow.

Overall this was a great debut novel and I most definitely will look forward to reading more by this author in the future!

I really loved the premise for the book and there definitely were some great moments - mutual story writing
But overall it was just not quite what I was expecting from the story.
The romance didn't progress smoothly for me and it felt like they went from hate to love very quickly. I wasn't a fan of the open door scenes at all as they felt like two totally different characters in those chapters!
The first half of the book was quite repetitive, lots of very similar scenes. Luckily the end third of the book did pick up but then wow, the third act breakup.
Major
from Aiden, I actually don't think there
would be any coming back from that.

Thank you so much to publisher for sending me this book. I was so excited to read. Unfortunately the formatting was corrupted which made it very difficult to read.
For the few chapters I received I loved the writing. The banter was perfect and I loved the premise of the book. I was sad to find out I had so many missing chapters and could not finish.