Not in My Book saved me from despairing while traveling. I had to wait for 40 minutes for my train out of Heathrow and all I had was this book. And the time went by like nothing! Keep reading this book review of Not in My Book for my full thoughts.
Summary
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.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Not in My Book is a pure delight. It’s spicy and swoony, snowy and sensational. I read it while traveling and it made the process I normally hate much more enjoyable. We love good banter. The kind of banter with cutting remarks that get at the hidden insecurities of each other. And this rivals to romance delivers that and more. Romance genre justice! Not in My Book is full of tension. The line blurs between fiction and reality as we see their characters reflected on the page, their own page. But what I loved, in true rivals to romance style, is that even in their rivalry you can see their respect and admiration even in how annoying they are.
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If you’re looking for a romance that will take you back to the holiday season, pick up Not in My Book. It will make you nostalgic to visit New York City, for snowy evenings with cocoa, and for the holiday lights. Don’t even get me started on how much I loved Rosie’s family. I also loved that you can tell in their character work why each of them tick. The character development in Not in My Book is chefs kiss. All in all, this was such a perfect way to end 2024 and I hope you all pick it up this year! Find Not in My Book on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.