Cute easy to read closed door romance, which felt a little more of a women's fiction than romance. No real complaints about this one just fell a little flat for me and was ready for it to wrap up by the end. Would rate it 3 stars. I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC.

I was super excited to read this because the plot had the book/bookstore element, which is always my favourite type of read. Unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations. There wasn't a lot of chemistry between Davis and Emma. It just wasn't an enjoyable read overall. Quite predictable, as well.

Not By The Book is a warm and cheerful read which had me yearning to book an extended holiday in a drafty Victorian mansion.

Emma and Davis are delightfully earnest and kind, each on their own journey of self discovery. Emma’s energy and introspection was contagious and empowering. Whilst I found the plot a little scattered at times, with occasional lulls in the pacing, overall this was a quaint and warm read.

I enjoyed the many literary references, and the obvious homage to You’ve Got Mail. The town of Amherst made for an atmospheric and romantic setting, and the letter writing classes such a quaint setting. A lovely read for anyone looking for a cosy and bookish romance.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you for accepting this arc from me. I want to give an honest review, this book attracted me with its premises but the reading seemed too slow and failed to capture me. that is, I found everything a bit surreal and I would have liked the protagonist to have had a bit of character from the beginning. Dnf at 31%

This story has a very intriguing angle - a bookstore owner goes to stay near Emily Dickinson’s homestead for a few weeks to take a pause and finally get a chance to focus on herself. Especially as someone who went to college in the area, I was curious to see how it would be depicted in the book!

Unfortunately I struggled to connect with the FMC. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right space for the book and I’ll try again another time!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love books about books, and this one was an absolute joy to read.
A young woman’s journey to find herself leads to a beautiful exploration of self-belief and love. With beautiful writing, a charming setting, lovable characters, and a story that will capture your heart, this book is truly a delightful experience.

This was honestly pretty disappointing. The characters are slightly insufferable and the story was kind of mediocre overall. This book depended heavily on the miscommunication trope and blowing things out of proportion. I just didn't feel invested in any of it

Emma Rini needs a reset for her life. Her people pleasing ways have let to her parents taking advantage of her and her pregnant sister being resentful. She currently runs the family bookshop with little help from her family and they are content to push the responsibility on to her. When her parents announce they want to fully retire she surprises everyone by announcing she is taking a six week break. She rents a run-down manor house outside of Amherst and makes a list of things she wants to accomplish during her sabbatical.

What she finds is that she likes people and makes local connections in the town. I found living like Emily Dickinson a bit tiresome, but I’ve stayed in some iffy AirBnbs. I did like Emma’s journey in figuring out what she wants. Sadly the romance didn’t work for me. Miscommunication is one thing but actually lying and sabotaging are a hard pass. And I think more had to be done to redeem her relationship with her parents. Yes mom said a few of the right things but dad was hardly involved at all. That was disappointing to me as her parents and family were her most important relationship.

Listen, I love smut as much as the next red-blooded romance reader, but what I especially appreciated about this book was that the romance wasn’t the whole story—it was just one piece of a richer, more layered narrative.

Love rode shotgun alongside questions of family, identity, the future, and where she truly belonged. The crumbling manor setting was both picturesque and atmospheric, making me wonder—could I survive six weeks without modern conveniences?

It was cozy, charming, literary, and utterly lovely.

And thank goodness the author has an extensive back catalog.

Emma Rini is in a rut. She finds herself hiding in her family bookshop, never taking a holiday, and has no love life. When her parents assume she’ll take over the shop for them without a break, she realizes she needs to get away—back to the nineteenth century. Channeling her favorite poet recluse, Emily Dickinson, Emma rents a crumbling manor house outside Amherst where she can learn how to be quietly, blissfully alone. Yet, the reality of the situation that she finds herself in is very different. She is constantly arguing with Davis, the architect who is renovating the manor, but that turns into something that she hadn’t anticipated.
An entertaining and sweet read, but I wasn’t quite sure about the romance. I liked seeing how Emma takes her life into her own hands and finds a solution out of the doldrums.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is such an entertaining and enjoyable read. It’s not just a romance but about life choices, following your dreams and ultimately finding yourself and happiness.
Meet Emma. She runs her parents’ bookstore and is obsessed with Emily Dickinson. While her little sister is very pregnant, and her parents are talking retirement, she often feels left out and overwhelmed. She’s not even capable of maintaining a proper relationship. Yet she is a people pleaser and puts everybody before herself. So everyone is shocked when she announces that she has decided to take a 6-week vacation in Amherst, MA. In her favorite poet’s hometown, she wants to live like Emily Dickinson, embrace her solitude, do some writing, baking and gardening just like Emily and give up on love for good. Her plan does not exactly work out as expected, partly due to the handsome handyman, Davis.
I absolutely loved Emma’s energy, outgoing personality and busyness and admired her idea of taking a sabbatical when she felt stuck and needed to find herself and her purpose in life. The cozy town in New England is a perfect setting. I adored all the animal references, the towns people and the little cafes and parks as well as the historical element with 19th century poetry quotes and the old manor Emma rents for her vacation. The book certainly provides plenty food for thought and makes you think about what you really want in your life. I wish we could all be a little like Emma. I loved the writing especially the development and growth of the characters, including Emma’s family. This book calls for a sequel!
I would like to thank Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Ms Julie Hatcher for the opportunity to read the advance copy. I truly enjoyed it and the above is my honest review and own opinion.

This story is so charming.

Books about books is my absolute favourite thing, so right away, we start off strong.

I loved the crumbling manor setting.

I, weirdly, loved that the romance was a big part of Emma’s story, but not the ONLY part.

I loved the self-reflection I did as I made my way through this story.

I loved everything except the bunnies. It’s stew for you furry lot.

The leaning into Emily Dickinson, the Language of Flowers, and all the Grumpy Neighbour Goodness, has me itching to track down more from this author.

Overworked and disconnected from her family, Emma Rini takes a six-week sabbatical in an Amherst mansion to live like Emily Dickinson. Determined to embrace solitude, she struggles with failed baking attempts, a chaotic garden, and an unexpected attraction to grumpy handyman Davis Sommers. As their connection deepens, Emma must decide what she truly wants from life. Julie Hatcher’s novel is a charming, heartfelt story about self-discovery, independence, and unexpected romance, blending humor with emotional depth.

I could have stayed in this book with these characters so much longer! The whole book was satisfying and refreshing to read with the fun of bookish characters, bookish inspiration, book stores, letter writing, and just the perfect small town rom com. There were some areas that made me want to yell at the characters, some that made me clap and cheer for them, others that made me aww and giggle out loud. This was so good and so fun.

#arc
#netgalley
#notquitebythebook

I got sucked into this story, even though there were parts that annoyed me. This was essentially the plot of Youve Got Mail but with a FMC who's unnaturally obsessed with Emily Dickinson and trying to live like she did. The plot felt really predictable and slow moving.

The characters got together so quickly in the last pages, I was like that's it??? The FMC was a bit annoying, especially with all of the forcing herself to do hobbies that she didn;t enjoy, and I didn’t see chemistry with the MMC. There was also so much hemming and hawing about who the letter writer could possibly be, but she never talks to any of the other “contenders” or builds up tension with them. It was a foregone conclusion from the beginning.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an early copy of this book in exchange for. my honest review.

This was quite a fun read with a lovely setting but it didn’t really hit the spot for me. I liked the idea of Emma being at a crossroads in her life and needing to take some out to think about what she really wanted. Her obsession with Emily Dickinson and trying to create her life style was fun especially as she gradually realised that she wasn’t actually that person. The culinary disasters were amusing.
Sadly, I found the romance part of the book to be fairly pedestrian and far too predictable. I never really got the feeling of chemistry between them and didn’t ever feel that his dishonesty was relatable. I was far more invested in her friend and younger sister than I was any of the possible romances.
While there were parts of the book that I did enjoy, I don’t think that I will be reading any more of the author’s romances.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

* I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. I was a big fan!

This was a fun romance that included bookshops, letter writing and learning to put yourself first.
Emma decides to take a break from like and find herself. This is a romance that was easy and quick read and it is Emma's way of finding herself and finding happiness again.
Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve read so many of this author’s cozy mystery books, and I was very excited to read this one. I really, really loved the story; however, if you are expecting the content to be like her cozy mysteries, be forewarned that it’s got a few F-bombs. That’s the only thing I wasn’t crazy about because my mom loves her cozy mysteries too, but there’s no way she’d read this. Anyway, if you can handle that and you love contemporary romance, I think you’ll love this book.

It did take me a little while to warm up to Emma, but the more I read, the more I liked and understood her. Her quest to become like Emily Dickinson is what drives this novel. As she goes through her list, she begins to realize that though she loves Dickinson’s poetry, her life wasn’t one to emulate. Emma thrives by being around people. I love how her character grows throughout the novel. By being away from her hometown and family, her decision making becomes clearer.

Davis, the “grumpy-hot architect” who’s renovating the manor that Emma is staying in, is very swoon-worthy. I enjoyed watching him interact with Emma and watching their relationship grow. The side characters are well-written, and I really became attached to them. I hope to “see” them again!

There is so much to love about this book! The setting, characters, and plot really kept me turning the pages. I’ve seen several reviews where readers didn’t finish the book. They gave up too soon! Don’t make assumptions about it based on the first several chapters. You’ve got to keep going to get the whole picture! It’s a 5 star read for me!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

🩷This book was so sweet!

📚Emily is fed up with her life and with her family taking advantage of her. She works nonstop at her family's bookstore, while her parents and sister get to enjoy their lives. She decides to take a 6 week trip to Amherst, MA, the home of Emily Dickenson, where she'll spend time embracing her inner Emily and forgetting about her lifelong dream of falling in love. What she doesn't plan on is Davis, the nephew of her online friend Grace, and her temporary landlord. The two of them initially don't get along but develop a sweet friendship. Meanwhile, Emma keeps getting love notes and flowers from a secret admirer.

🩷At first I didn't really feel much chemistry or connection between Emma and Davis. The first 2/3 of the book were more about Emma's personal transformation and her quest to repair her relationship with her family and figure out who she is and what she wants in life. But by that last third, I really bought into the feelings between the two of them. I loved how it wrapped up, although I would have liked a little bit more of them and their interactions. I honestly was planning on rating this 3 stars but the ending was so sweet that I bumped it up to 4!

📚If you enjoy sweet, kisses only romance with main characters who love books, definitely check this one out! Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Press for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.