Not in My Book by Katie Holt is a debut novel that I received as an ARC. This story is blurbed as being for fans of Book Lovers and The Hating Game.
Now, Book Lovers is one of my favorite books of all time. It is what kickstarted my obsession with Emily Henry, and I even have it on my side table to reread soon. But, The Hating Game??? This is one of my most hated books of all time. I still rant about it with my friends to this day (although, of course, we had to have a movie night to watch the film adaptation). While the premise intrigued me, I was nervous about the comparison since the story could easily have gone either way for me.
Even so, I knew I wanted to read this one sooner rather than later. And wow, am I glad I took the chance.
Not in My Book comes out today, December 10, 2024.
GENERAL INFO
Not in My Book by Katie Holt Published on December 10, 2024
Genres: Adult, Romance, Spicy
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
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Rosie writes romance novels and listens to Taylor Swift on loop. Aiden is a literary fiction writer who doesn't believe in happy endings. They're about to write a book together—what could go wrong?
The Hating Game meets Beach Read in this sexy and hilarious enemies-to-lovers romance from a debut Peruvian-Tennessean voice.
Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian American, 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 archnemesis 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 cowrite a novel that blends their genres.
The reluctant writing duo can’t help but put pieces of themselves into their accidentally steamy novel, and 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.
.
Tropes:
- Enemies to lovers
- Forced proximity
The story follows Rosie, an NYU student and aspiring romance novelist who uses the genre as an escape from her challenging reality (relatable, right?).. Enter Aidan, a fellow NYU student who loves to write literary fiction AKA “the sad stuff.” Rosie and Aidan immediately start to clash in their workshop classes together, causing them to almost get removed from the course. The solution? They must co-write a novel together using each of their preferred genres….and things escalate FAST.
“Don’t you two ever get tired of fighting with each other?” We shared a glance as if that was a ridiculous notion. “It’s my favorite pastime.”
The Characters
Rosie: She starts off as a bit much—annoying and overly defensive to the point that I found myself cringing at some of her actions (as someone who teaches, if my students fought like Rosie and Aidan, they wouldn’t have lasted as long as they did in class). But as the story progressed, Rosie grew on me. Her passion for romance and her defending the genre hit home, reminding me of countless conversations I’ve had with people who hate on my own favorite books. By the end of the book, I liked Rosie so much more than I did in the beginning, showing Holt did a brilliant job at developing her character.
Aidan, though. AIDAN. I honestly couldn’t get enough of this guy. His obvious pining. His flaws. His VERY OBVIOUS OBSESSION WITH ROSIE. There was so much about this man that I was in love with while I was reading.
There was one minor…okay major…issue with Aidan that I talk more about below, but as I say there, I am choosing to ignore this victim of the third-act breakup.
The writing
If I had not previously known this was Katie Holt’s first book, I never would have guessed. The prose is sharp, the humor was great, and there were SO many quotes that I highlighted while I was reading that it was difficult to choose which ones to put in my review.
Now, I read a LOT of dual-POV romances because I feel like it’s starting to get challenging to find romances with one narrator. When I first started reading Not in My Book, I was a little thrown off by the single POV. But, man. I can now honestly say I missed it. There were many times that we’d get observations from the narrator about Aidan, and it heightened the tension, making me want to know so much more about him. The lack of Aidan’s POV was almost painful but in a good way. I wanted to know what he was thinking and his backstory. I haven’t YEARNED for a book boyfriend in a hot minute, and I was literally giggling out loud (my fiancé can attest to this).
“Aiden Huntington was better in reality than any sort of fiction.”
This book is unique, though, in that while there is only technically one POV, we get to see Aidan’s thoughts and feelings in his writing. As I mentioned earlier, Rosie and Aidan have to co-write a book together–a romance novel but with a sad ending. Early in the process, it becomes quickly obvious that they are writing about each other. At first, it is yet another way for them to bicker, but it becomes so much more so as the novel progresses. I LOVED the additions of their novel, and let me just say, the SPICE section of the novel (or both novels technically?)?? Chefs kiss. A+. Gold star.
The Plot
Based on the rest of my review, it might be obvious that I absolutely adored this story.
It seems like this novel was about to be one of my top reads of the year, right? Well, I still think it technically is (I mean, four stars does mean I really liked it!), but there was one thing that happened during the third-act break-up scene that made me drop a star.
There are so many things a person can do that are forgivable. It’s a part of life. We make mistakes. We live, and we learn. Now, I am typically not a fan of the third-act breakup in romances, and this book is yet another example of why. So many times, something happens that feels too unsalvageable. I’m sorry – my sweet Aidan said WHAT?? It felt so out of character, and the reasoning was….not good. I am basically blocking out this entire interaction because it would’ve ruined so much of the book for me.
Overall Thoughts
Not in My Book was exactly what I needed this week. The same week I needed my own escape from reality (let’s just say coffee does not mix well with a laptop screen), I happened to choose a book where the main character loves to read romances to escape from reality. Rosie and Aidan’s journey is heartfelt, funny, and entertaining, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for whatever Katie Holt writes next.
Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Those are all of my thoughts on Not in My Book! Is this book something you are interested in checking out?
Until next time, xx