This book has brought me out of my reading slump!

Not in my Book is your classic academic rivals to lovers about a romcom writer and a literary writer constantly fighting. I have seen this book as being described as enemies-to-lovers, but I do not agree entirely. Yes, the characters do not get along, they only dislike the other based on the writing they do and they do not know the other well enough to change their ways, but it is hard to describe a book as enemies-to-lovers when it is in a modern day setting.

The characters felt very relatable, and REAL! Rosie and Aiden didn't just have problems to progress the plot, no, their problems were worked on and they had great growth.

I did think this was a YA novel due to the book's description and cutesy cover, but after reading that both of them are in their mid 20s, maybe a little older, then I wasn't so surprised that there were sex scenes, which I didn't read but as I skimmed them I thought they were written kinda well.

Honestly, I could predict most of this book and the source of tension, and I do wish it was mentioned earlier to make it that much more dramatic, as it only is focused on in the final act, but it still worked for this book.

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed this book. The humour was great! The characters were believable! And I am always done for a book being written inside a book :)

Thank you NetGalley and Transworld for this e-arc in exchange for a free, honest review.

This book is such a fun read, especially if you took some creative writing classes yourself! It follows two writing students who can't stand each other - Rosie's all about romance novels, while Aiden's a literary snob. After their rivalry gets out of hand in critique, they are forced to choose: write a book together or drop the class. Neither of them can drop the class, and literary hijinks ensue.

Tropes-wise, this book has Enemies-to-Lovers/Slow Burn/Rivals/Forced Proximity/Grumpy x Sunshine. Spice-wise, I would rate this a 3/5 🌶️.

The back and forth between the characters was believable and funny. I would have been kicked out of class for fighting like they do, but it felt real. It was cute to have the two characters write a romance together while falling in love, and while it can get a little repetitive it is still an excellent concept (the scene where they write a spicy chapter together, oh my goodness!). I love that it was set in NYC. I am only a tourist to NYC but this book made me want to visit again. You will like this book if you like reading about writers, a slow burn, and enemies-to-lovers. If you love watching two people who are "definitely not falling in love" fall in love, this is the book for you.

I have to mention that this didn't feel like a debut novel, but it is, and it is great! I am looking forward to what Katie Holt has coming out next.

Thank you to Transworld and NetGalley for providing a review copy!

I loved this book so much! The chemistry between Aiden and Rosie was so perfect! I loved the build up, and how slow their relationship developed, it felt very realistic. I loved that he wanted to change for her, and how protective he became of her. I loved how Rosie is so close with herfrie ds and family, and I love how motivated she is when it comes to her writing. I loved how the book Aiden and Rosie were writing was incorperated into the book, and I love how they showed their feelings through their writing!

Another compulsive read from an author who seems to do no wrong. I absolutely devoured this one… You will want to clear your afternoon to read this one straight through, so riveting are the love twists and turns. Recommended

So much better than I was expecting from this debut au5or.
I loved reading Rosie and Aiden writing their book and having a story within a story. Their classroom battles are pure romance enemies to lovers and the tension is clear.
This reminded me of The Hating Game and Beach Read, so is exactly as described and if you liked those two books you’ll enjoy this!

I received this book as an ARC and provide and honest review

Thankyou for the opportunity to read this eARC.

I really wanted to love this book as on paper, it includes all of my most loved tropes - enemies to lovers, academia, forced proximity. Maybe I’ve read too many romance books recently but I did feel like I was reading something I’ve already read before. I wasn’t gripped like I want to be when reading. I liked the main characters to some extent but disliked Aiden for what he did to Rosie - it didn’t sit well with me and perhaps influenced how I felt about the novel? If I’m not head over heels with the MMC then the romance doesn’t quite hit for me.

Perhaps it’d resonate more with another reader which is why I’m rating 3 ⭐️- this means I am happy to recommend even if it wasn't quite for me.

This was a cute and cozy New York romance that gave off Nora Ephron vibes! I loved Rosie's family and friends and getting an insight into her world, struggling to balance work and writing and her family. I felt like Aiden was your typical romance hero and I loved that we got to see him open up.

This book contains excerpts of a book the main characters are writing together, and I have to say I didn't love this. It started off too close to reality, and just became the story told twice, which I think did not demonstrate how excellent Katie Holt is at world building. I don't think Aiden was a particularly fleshed out character and I really wanted more character development and less repetitive book scenes. Rosie's Peruvian heritage felt less realistic and more something thrown in last minute, and I don't think I really understood Ida's motivations enough to suspend my belief that she made a date homework.

I loved the overall vibe of this book and I enjoyed the characters; I would have appreciated more depth because Katie Holt is an exceptional writer!

3.5 stars

This was a fairly strong debut. I was initially concerned that it seemed very similar to things I’d read in the past, but it quickly started to feel creative and unique in many ways, helping it stand apart from some of the titles it could be compared to.

Not In My Book follows Rosie and Aiden, two creative writing students at loggerheads in their workshop class because of their affinities to seemingly opposing genres: romance in Rosie’s case, and literary fiction for Aiden. Their professor eventually gets sick of them throwing insults at each other in the classroom and tasks them with co-writing a novel to better understand the other’s genres, and help them to develop their own writing styles.

The mechanic of reading snippets of Rosie and Aiden’s novel within the book had mixed results for me. When it shone, it was incredibly effective and felt super unique. I enjoyed when it was used as a tease for upcoming moments, seeing them use it as a communication tool, to take digs at each other in the early days and then to slowly open up about their feelings towards one another. There were two scenes in particular where this felt so damn creative. I was hooked, kicking my lil’ feet, doing those silent girly screams, the whole shebang. My rating bumped up a whole extra star for these moments alone.

On the other hand, these snippets of the novel didn’t always knock it out of the park - sometimes they were just *there*, and when we got those unnecessary glimpses it slowed the momentum a little. They were shoehorned in, sometimes seemingly just to demonstrate that the author could write in different styles, and the flowery, sickly sweet tone of some sections was too much for me. I was glad those bits were short at least.

In terms of the characters, I liked the main couple. They weren’t the most well rounded I’ve ever read in a romance, but they weren’t completely flat either. It would’ve been nice to know a bit more about Aiden’s current life outside of Rosie. Even with the book being told from Rosie’s perspective, and Aiden being a bit of a loner, it was still pretty far fetched to believe he was spending every day, including the holidays completely alone in a city where he’d lived his entire life: there wasn’t a single friend or relative that could’ve helped give him some more dimension? We met Rosie’s friends and family and I enjoyed them as side characters but they felt very distant at times too: they could’ve been used better in my opinion.

Together, I believed them as a couple and was glad that they didn’t abruptly lose the sharp edges to their relationship like in most enemies to lovers situations. The third act break up wasn’t a silly inconsequential issue like is sometimes the case, but it was still a little frustrating - I didn’t fully understand why they ended up in that situation in the first place.

Overall I had a decent time with this. It was a fun and creative debut, and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for future releases by Katie Holt.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC of this book for review.

This book exceeded all of my expectations. All. Of. Them.

The writing was beautiful! You really got to see Aiden and Rosie as well thought out characters who didn’t feel like I’d read them before. The premise of the story was so unique and I loved how it worked so well for the plot. I was shocked when I learned this was a debut novel. It doesn’t feel like one as you read it, the story was written so beautifully and felt like a breath of fresh air.

I just loved the main characters so much. Their flaws were written so perfectly but you feel how they love each other which left me swooning. I want an Aiden. I wanted to be Rosie the whole book.

Also loved the fact that it hyped up the romance genre!! Big point scores there.

IM SWOONING. Honestly I was obsessed early on this incredible slow burn rivals to lovers was more the I could have expected. Forced to work together to create a book which led to them communicating through the pages to each other. I cannot get over how much I loved this and when they decided to write scenes together it was so raw and sometimes HOT. An incredible book.

A really well written enemies to lovers book. The characters were wonderfully written and I look forward to this authors next book.

I don't know how to begin this - this book is not only beautiful, but life changing. How is this a debut? Katie Holt, I am utterly blown away. Simply put, this is the kind of romance novel that makes you believe in love again, even if you already believe in it.

This had all of the good tropes.
Close proximity, enemies to lovers, the lot!
I felt Rosie and Aiden were both very romantically suspicious people. Like they had both had bad experiences, therefore this has affected them moving forward.
I loved seeing them both open up to eachother and to slowly fall.

I really enjoyed this! It's perfect for aspiring writers and romance lovers.

Great pacing, well-rounded characters, compelling love story and encouraging plot.

The chemistry and banter between the protagonists were done so well, and I appreciate how much of a slowburn it was as often authors rush to get them together. It makes the wait worthwhile!

Aiden and Rosie were a great couple, they had an interesting and fun dynamic and I was hooked on their love and the writing plot. As an aspiring writer myself, I found it inspiring and often encouraged me to keep writing my story (which is also a romance). I also loved the conversation about the snobbery around writing romance. It's a shame that we have to feel belittled or embarrassed for writing or reading it.

I think Katie Holt is an author to look out for and and I'm definitely excited to see what else she brings us! I'll certainly pick up her work again in the future :)

Thank you for letting me read the book early!

Enemies to Lovers - my favourite kind of trope and this book didn't disappoint....

Rosie and Aiden both attend NYU and are attending a Creative Writing Class, and it is determined from the very beginning that they both hate each other. Rosie is a full on romance writer whilst Aiden loved literacy fiction, and makes his feelings known to Rosie about anything she writes for the class. They are very, very vocal towards each other and their Lecturer gets to the point of threatening to throw them off the course, much to both Rosie and Aiden's dismay.
They are therefore given an ultimatum - to write a story which involves both their areas of expertise and present it to the class. They of course agree to this demand, and in true enemies to lovers style, things do not start smoothly.

Eventually though they begin to start opening up about themselves, talking about their lives, go on a couple of 'fake' dates, finding out more about each other, and it is through these events their feelings start to change, soon becoming friends and then when Rosie find out why she thinks Aiden hates her, she discovers that things aren't quite what they seem, and then they become so much more😘

Rosie has been hurt in the past and Aiden has his own reasons as to why romance is not his favourite subject area, so their relationship takes its time, but once they get to that point, it is revealed that Aiden has been hiding something from Rosie, which breaks her, and it is then up to Aiden to go against his beliefs of what romance should be in order to win Rosie back. Will it be enough?

This is such a delightful story and I was so happy to be given the opportunity to be an ARC reader for this book, and fell in love with Rosie and Aiden, and really enjoyed their character development throughout.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading the excepts from their story throughout, with my favourite parts being them writing the love scene which got them abit hot under the collar 🥵 and their eventual declarations of love near the end 🥰

❤️Enemies to Lovers
❤️Grumpy x Sunshine
❤️Close Proximity
❤️Fake Relationship
❤️Third Act Break Up
❤️Guaranteed HEA
❤️Slow Burn

A well written office romance !! An amazing read really enjoyed it and will certainly be looking out for more from this author in future!!

A fresh take on an office style romance. The tension builds from the beginning - she loves romance, he hates it,

A fun office style romance.

Lots of chemistry and tension between the main characters and it was fun to read their banter.

A great rom com.

This is a great exploration of the enemies (or perhaps 'rivals') to lovers trope, both from a Watsonian and Doylist approach - basically, it's super meta and a lot of fun!

Rosie and Aiden are classmates in a creative writing seminar, and after one too many argument that threatens to derail the group, their tutor threatens to chuck them both out - unless they agree to co-write their novel in an attempt to learn from one another and understand each other better. Of course, their combative chemistry lends itself to an enemies-to-lovers story, and as they're forced to get to know one another in order to write better as a duo, life starts to imitate art...

This was a unique take on a classic trope, and also a great story for book lovers and writers in general. Getting the snippets of the novel as the 'real life' story unfolds in tandem is a neat touch, and while I found the third act breakup a bit of a step back for Rosie's character, I guess it plays into the formula that the book explores. The banter is smart and the supporting characters good fun, too, and I liked the nods to Rosie's connection to her Peruvian roots as a third-culture kid.

Definitely recommended for fans of Nora Ephron and Emily Henry alike!

Great chemistry and banter, the dialogue is top tier. Another novel that skilfully uses the old cliches (cliches are cliches for a reason!), and it was one POV, which I always prefer, I think it helps build increase tension! Plus Rosie is very likeable, so you're not reading it wanting to tear your hair out. The last fight though was unnecessary, it felt awkwardly placed.