Not in My Book - Review

Not In My Book

By: Katie Holt

Publication: December 10, 2024 by Alcove Press

320 pages

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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Goodreads description--The Hating Game meets Beach Read in this sexy and hilarious contemporary romance from a debut Peruvian-Tennessean voice.

Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian-American who has grown up without strong ties to her culture, leaves her Tennessee hometown to pursue her dream of making it in New York as a writer. But her plan is derailed when she ends up in class with her arch-nemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington—an obnoxious, surly, and gorgeous literary fiction writer who doesn’t have much patience for the romance genre, or for Rosie.

Rosie and Aiden regularly go to verbal battle in workshop until their professor reaches her breaking point. She allows them to stay in her class on one condition: they must co-write a novel that blends their genres.

The reluctant writing duo can’t help but put pieces of themselves into their accidentally steamy novel, and as they slowly get to know each other, they try to put their differences aside. Meanwhile, their manuscript-in-progress provides an outlet for them to confess their feelings—and explore their attraction toward each other.

When Rosie and Aiden find themselves competing against each other for a potentially career-changing opportunity, the flames of old rivalry reignite, and their once-in-a-lifetime love story is once again at risk of being shelved—unless they can find a way to end the book on their own terms.

I don't often read a book and say the description was 100% on point. But the description for Not in My Book tells you pretty much everything you need to know about what happens in this book. As stated, Rosie is doing her best to get her degree, but she can only afford to take one class at a time. She's also working a part-time job every spare moment (except the weekends). And she's writing in her off time as her dream is to become an author. But she's been struggling to be vulnerable in her writing. She needs this class. To begin with, she worked hard to get into this class. She really respects the teacher. Rosie also reluctantly admits that Aiden is a talented author. She saw him read a piece of his writing before they officially met, and she immediately developed a crush on him. He was cute and talented. But when they are in a previous class together, Aiden responds negatively to Rosie's preferred genre--romance--and boundary lines formed marking them both clearly in enemy territory. Now, their repeated disruptions of heated arguments in class have the professor ready to force them both to drop the class. Reluctantly, Rosie and Aiden agree to work together on their writing project for this class. The criteria is that they must have a romance with a literary fiction ending--meaning no happily ever after. 

This book was so fun. The banter between Rosie and Aiden was on another level. I mean heated. And the tension was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. I loved seeing how uncomfortable Aiden was with trying to write a romance. Yet, Rosie annoyed me because she was even more against literary fiction and stories that end unhappy or unresolved. There was one scene in particular that was so intense because the two of them wrote it together. If you've read the book then you know the one. And this is coming from someone who has a lower tolerance level for explicit scenes.

Favorite quotes:

-Aiden had an annoying editorial eye that ended up making everyone around him a better writer.

-There's so much more to a romance than just love.

-I wanted the kind of love you treated gently, like it could break. The kind that was intense and real. The kind you fought for, not against.

-"We get close but not close enough to get burned, right?"

-The best part of my day was fighting with him.

-"When I am in love, I don't want to have to wonder, if it's love, you know? I want to know with certainty that there is nothing else I would rather feel."

-I just...wanted to be loved so badly that I thought being hurt was part of the deal.

-"What do you want for Christmas?" .... "Right now I feel like I have everything I need."

-"You know, ever since your family arrived, you've developed a southern accent."

-"Love wouldn't seem worth it without the risk of losing it."

-The love I had read in romance novels was so epic and monumental. I'd spent a lifetime craving grand gestures and sweeping proclamations. I hadn't known the small moments like this would feel as good.

Any other quotes are spoilers. 

I did notice a few small inconsistencies. For example, at one point Aiden criticizes the phrase often used in romance "eyes darkening" and he wonders what that even is. But in one of his sections of writing for the joint project, he uses the same phrase. I don't know if this was an accident. Like, it was overlooked by the editing. Or if this was done purposefully to show that he's grown as an author to include things he never once would have considered. But I lean toward the first option as he didn't seem willing to compromise what he considers good writing to fit a specific genre. I think there was another small inconsistency, but I didn't see it highlighted when I went back to look so I can't remember. 

Overall, I devoured Not in My Book. I've read several books now that focus on the love of writing in various forms. I have adored them all. But Not in My Book was focused on a love for the romance genre, as well as writing in general. And I'm here for it. Not in My Book gets 4.5 Stars and is easily one of my favorite reads of 2024. Have you read Not in My Book? What did you think? Let me know!