Not in My Book

I experienced this rivalry in high school, except there wasn't any romantic tension beneath it. At least, not on my side. I still refer to him as “my bully” to people today. I'll never know what was going on in his head. Anyway, that made the first section of this book so hard to read. It was so real. I had flashbacks to the cruel things that were said to me, making me the class entertainment when I just wanted to be left alone. And I got so angry thinking about all the people in high school who thought it would be such a riot if we showed up at a reunion married with kids.

I was determined to hate this book. But it made me cry. Their vulnerability, taking the chance on each other. It felt real in the right way, and I stopped projecting my trauma on them. Genuinely enjoyed this one.

2.5 stars.

The smut was cringe huhuhu. I listened to the audiobook that I couldn't just close the book and roll me eyes. This started strong for me, I like the MA setting and the range was okay, but in the end, Aiden has so much to work on, and I don't think I can forgive that easy like how Rosie did.

And girl, in this economy, just accept it when a guy is so willingly desperate to pay for your food.

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