Review: Not in My Book

Not in My Book by Katie Holt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rosie is a poor student, studying at NYC, trying to write a romance. She loves everything about her classes, except a guy in her class, Aiden, who sneers at romance (because he writes lit-fic) and gives harsh feedback on every chapter Rosie reads to the class.

When their bickering threatens to derail the class their tutor offers them a stark choice, both leave the class and try to enrol in another, or write a novel together. Knowing their chances of being accepted into another class are slim, they reluctantly agree to work together, writing alternate chapters. In an effort to irritate Aiden Rosie's first chapter features a hero who resembles Aiden and gives him a name loosely based on Aiden's surname. Aiden returns the favour and makes the heroine a barely disguised version of Rosie. Their plot is two rival co-workers forced to work together on a presentation.

This was opposites attract to the max. He's a New Yorker, she's from Tennessee. He's rich, she's poor. He write lit-fic, she writes romance. He's cold and distant, she's a friend to everyone. He has a bad relationship with his father, she has a warm and loving family.

I found this a bit disappointing. The conflict was signalled very early on (practically Vegas flashing lights) and frankly there was no need for the subterfuge. Both Rosie and Aiden behaved irrationally and then 'blamed' it on their fight or flight mechanisms. Also I have a very personal ick about a guy in his early twenties calling his girlfriend baby in bed and some of the other things Aiden said just felt unnatural for someone of his age.

Overall, I felt I'd seen/read it all before, it was a bit clichéd, and I didn't really like Rosie or Aiden.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews