Emma is tired of running her parents' bookstore whilst her parents and her younger sister spend time together and ignore her. When her parents announce they're retiring, Emma decides to take a trip to Amherst to learn more about how to be like her favourite poet, Emily Dickinson. She's also sworn off love forever, but when she moves to Amherst for a long holiday, she meets Davis, who might end up ruining her plans...

The premise sounded really interesting to me, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped. It was enjoyable enough if you just want a light and quick read.

I think the romance between Emma and Davis was unnecessarily complicated for no reason. She wondered why, despite their attraction, he was trying his best to stay away from her when the reason should have been clear. There was no communication between the two main characters, and it just made it a bit slow for me.

There was a twist relating to the romance, which seemed strange, and I'm not sure why it wasn't just revealed sooner. It didn't seem like there was much benefit from it being a secret.

I think this just wasn't for me, but it didn't take me long to get through overall. If you enjoy small town romances and references to literature and letter writing, you might enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh.My.Gosh. I don't even know where to start with this book!! TBR list now!!

Emma is dissatisfied with her busy life and feels left out of her own family. She is *obsessed* with Emily Dickinson and rents a manor straight out of the 19th century to embrace her inner Emily. She does not expect the handsome handyman, Davis when she shows up at the manor.

As Emma goes in a journey of self-discovery, she finds much more than she ever anticipated, but at the same time, everything she's ever dreamed.

This book made me tear up, smile, laugh, and had me on pins and needles to see how it would end. This is not my typical genre, but Julie Hatcher knocked this out of the park.

5*

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars
One Liner: Family drama was good, but the romance wasn’t

Emma Rini doesn’t remember the last time she took a break or did what she wanted. Her younger sister is having her first baby and her parents are busy holidaying and planning retirement. Emma is too busy and single, managing the family bookstore with little to no help.
When her parents assume she will take over the shop, Emma decides she needs to get away. She books a six-week vacation at a manor, a place where her favorite poet, Emily Dickson, spent her time. Turns out, she isn’t too great with managing the manor and needs help from the grumbling architect.
What does this vacation have in store for Emma?
The story comes in Emma’s first-person POV.

My Thoughts:
While Emma wants love and HEA, the book focuses more on her growth, which I liked.
The character arc is realistic enough as the FMC tries to copy her role model (Emily Dickson) and realizes that’s not how things are done.
Also, no one is bad or evil. No Reddit stories here though it starts like one (you can tell I’ve been spending too much time on that platform). Everyone is flawed and makes assumptions, something they finally discuss openly. Still, I like that the FMC’s family loved her as much as she loved them.
The setting is lovely as it should be. I like the descriptions of the place and the house. There’s something about old stone buildings, right? Even if you end up freezing in the middle of the night!
There’s quite a bit of detail about Emily Dickson, though at times I felt it got a bit too much. But then, she’s not my favorite as such, so maybe I didn’t feel that interested. Still, it’s not a deal breaker.
The side characters (especially Cecily) were interesting. I wish Grace had a bigger role, though.
So, my main issue is with the love track or the romance. I don’t know what tropes to mention. Grumpy vs. sunshine maybe but I didn’t vibe with it. Heck, I didn’t feel anything except a truckload of annoyance whenever the romantic track appeared.
This leans heavily on miscommunication tropes, lies, secrets, etc. Seeing the FMC excited about some developments feels weird. I still don’t see the connection the lead pair is supposed to have. It was just… all over the place.
The ending is nice enough but I wasn’t interested in HEA by then. I still got it, though!

To summarize, Not Quite by the Book has a worthy premise and some of it is really good. I might have liked it more if the romance had been better handled.
Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This novel is beautifully written and isn’t a traditional romance novel. This novel focuses on the FMC finding herself and it’s the journey of self discovery. This is a sweet and quick read! I would imagine that a lot of book clubs will pick this as a monthly read. A lot of women will resonate with the main character of this novel.

Julie Hatcher’s Not Quite by the Book is a charming and witty romance that blends humor, heart, and just the right amount of unpredictability. The novel follows Emma, who, despite her best efforts to follow life’s “rules,” finds herself in unexpected situations that challenge her carefully laid plans.

What truly makes Not Quite by the Book shine is its balance between romance and personal growth. Emma’s journey is just as compelling as the love story, making for a satisfying read that offers more than just swoon-worthy moments. However, there were moments where the pacing felt a bit uneven, with certain sections moving more slowly than others. Despite this, the story remains entertaining and heartfelt.

Overall, Not Quite by the Book is an enjoyable read that romance fans will appreciate. If you're looking for a lighthearted yet meaningful story with engaging characters and a sweet romance, this book is definitely worth picking up!

Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date: March 1, 2025

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher.

Books, baking, flowers, and a charming, historic town? Sign me up. I’m moving there. Not Quite by the Book follows bookseller Emma Rinni who recently found out that her parents are retiring and giving her the family business. After realizing that she has been too busy to live her own life, Emma runs off to Amherst to find her inner Emily Dickenson.

I thought this book was just adorable and the setting seemed so cozy. I could picture the streets, gardens, people, and historic buildings. One of the things I particularly loved about Not Quite by the Book was that it is also a story of self-discovery in your thirties. Emma goes through trial and error to make herself the “perfect Emily Dickenson.” However, in her quest, she finds that it’s better to just be Emma.

I think I liked the overall message of NQBTB, but the romance really fell flat for me. I couldn’t feel the chemistry between Emma and Davis and felt like they worked better as friends. The chemistry needed to kick off earlier. I also got slightly confused on the timeline. Sometimes Emma says she is staying in Amherst for 6 weeks, but at other times, she says 30 days. So I wasn’t fully sure how long she was actually supposed to be in Amherst.

Overall, it was a quick read with the lesson to be who you are and follow your own dreams. It is great to help other people, but we shouldn’t lose ourselves while doing it.

Such a wonderful story and gave me so much more than i was expecting from it!

I loved reading about Emmas journey and how she grew as a character, her problems felt real and i related to her so much, an absolutely fabulous story that i highly recommend!

I really tried with this one. I love Julie Hatcher’s mysteries and the characters she creates in those. This one is no different. Emma is a fascinating character, as are the friends she makes in hew new town, and her family. But the premise of the book, while cute and a typical coming-of-age story, loses me when she tries to find herself by becoming someone else, particularly someone who is so different who she really is. Maybe she learns this towards the end of the book and embraces her differences. Maybe she resolves the issues with her family. I may not ever know. I couldn’t get through the incessant references to Emily Dickinson and her life. It was overwhelming and I ultimately had to give up on this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy!

A really cute book where I was immediately drawn in and I didnr want to put it down

Not Quite by the Book was a charming and cozy read with a delightful literary touch. Emma’s journey of self-discovery was sweet, and I loved the unique setting of a crumbling manor house, complete with an unexpected (and grumpy-hot!) architect. I enjoyed Emma's journey on how to improve and make her book store her own. While I would have loved a bit more focus on the romance, the story still had plenty of heart and warmth. If you enjoy books about finding yourself, family legacies, and a little bookish charm, this one makes for a lovely escape! P.s. I love Violet!

Solid 3 stars.

I couldn't find myself to like Emma at all. While I appreciated her character growth, she was insufferable for the most part. I didn't enjoy the misunderstanding trope and it was a bit irritating to have to bear with that from the beginning of the book (where it was quite obvious).

Otherwise, loved the premise.

A book about books - always going to be a winner in my view. A bookstore owner, Emma, finds herself in a bit of a rut and decides to take herself off on a long overdue holiday. Her aim is to emulate the life of Emily Dickinson whom she admires greatly. This is an easy to read book where Emma grows from being solely a people pleaser to taking her own dreams and desires more seriously into consideration. The theme is about how withdrawing from life, whilst appealing on paper, was not the answer. The lesson was to learn to love yourself and that when you abandon the quest for love, it may in fact come find you.



“For the record, I don’t think living like some eighteen-hundreds recluse is going to solve anything. You should stay here and be you. Everything else will sort itself out.”

This was the first book I have read by Julie Hatcher. I will definitely read more titles by Julie. Her characters were loveable and identified with Emma and her angst. The author takes Emma’s love of books, especially Emily Dickinson’s works, and uses that world as a backdrop for the modern story. Emma’s self discovery journey was realistic in that it was not a romanticized but imperfect in many ways. This was refreshing as life is rarely without imperfection. Emma’s willingness to give up her regular life to “find herself” was inspiring to me as she was brave and stepped out of her comfort zone in so many ways. I gave this book a 4 star rating as I enjoyed it very much which was in large part due to the character development and a plot that could have been so simple and predictable but, had more depth than that.

Thank you Net Galley, Julie Hatcher and Lake union Publishing for the opportunity to preview this novel. The opinions shared are my own.

Not Quite by the Book is expected to be released March 1, 2025.

This book was so cute. There was the romance aspect, which I loved, but there was also the idea of Emma really finding out who she was. This book had very strong “You’ve Got Mail” vibes and I loved every single minute.

A very special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have loved every book that Julie has written and it seemed like a natural for her to write this book. She is wonderful at making us care about the characters and feel their emotions, I didn’t want the story to end. I want to know what happened next , maybe continue but have Cecily be the main character ….

I look forward to reading all Julie’s future novels and highly recommend to all my book loving friends.

I requested and received an advance reader’s copy from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced.

An absolutely beautiful story!!! I loved every minute of my trip to amhearst and the beautiful story of life. I could relate to the characters, they felt real, the writing flowed like lava and I totally lost myself each time I picked it up. Beautiful!

Not Quite by the book by Julie Hatcher is a contemporary romance about a woman who sets out to find herself after giving up on finding her own true love.

Emma Rini decides to take some time for herself, after being made to feel like her family takes her for granted and no longer really sees her. She rents a house in the hometown of her favourite poet, Emily Dickinson, and decides to model her life after the famous poet.

This was such an enjoyable story. Not only was it a romance, but it was also a story about reconnecting with yourself, and your passions, and resolving issues with family.

If I have a beef with this book it's that there was a lot of deception going happening on the part of Davis. None of the things he was keeping secret were truly awful, but I feel like he should have come clean much earlier in the book. I'm not sure I would have been as forgiving as Emma about some of the things he was keeping secret.

That said, for the most part this was a lovely, sweet, funny read. I really enjoyed it, and it has made me want to read some Emily Dickinson….in fact I ordered a book of her poetry and am currently waiting for it to arrive.

If you love a good romance, then I think you'll really enjoy this book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

*poor communication between characters really detracts from my reading
*writing ‘tells’ rather than ‘shows’

Ultimately, I was never able to connect with characters, story, or writing. This was a miss for me.



Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

Wow talk about slow burn. You don't even actually find out it's him til like 90% in. I mean you can guess it's him. I think they also only kiss once?

I like the coziness of the town. Emma is a personable character that had me rooting for her to find what she was looking for. It did feel, at times, that I was in a literary lecture, which I did not enjoy as much.