After librarian Kat finds herself scammed by an online paramour, she meets Leo, a new library patron reluctant to help. Kat and Leo work together to catch the scammer, but is that all they catch? I really enjoyed this book and found it a quick and refreshing read. This was a super cute, clean, and fun book. It’s a great palate cleanser with relatable characters.

Thank you for the ARC, I unfortunately had to DNF this one.

It felt too wordy and I didn't find that the banter flowed at all. There wasn't a witty back and forth, she was just kind of mean.
I couldn't get past that, as it felt like a chore to read, which makes me really sad because as a librarian I wanted to love it.

This one was… fine. Like a lukewarm cup of tea you forgot you made but still drink because you really don’t want to boil water again.

The setup is promising: Kat is a delightfully earnest librarian (we love her) trying to save her community library and hunt down a romance scammer. Enter Leo, the grumpy ex-cop with trust issues and a moral compass set to “reluctantly helpful.” I was so ready for grumpy/sunshine banter, some romantic tension in the stacks, and maybe a dramatic showdown at a bake sale.

But the chemistry? Eh. It kind of simmers on low the whole time and never really boils. The mystery plot is cute but predictable, and while I appreciated the found family vibes (shoutout to Doris, absolute legend), the pacing dragged a bit in places where I wanted it to snap.

If you're in the mood for cozy vibes with a side of very soft rom-com, this’ll do just fine. Just don’t expect it to sweep you off your feet or set your Kindle on fire.

I enjoyed this story, Kat Fisher has just been catfished and wants to know who it was, so she enlists the help of Leo a former police officer to find out the culprit.

A very nice easy to read romance with the added element of a mystery for them to solve

2.5/5
This was a cute romance between librarian Kat and ex-policeman Leo.
Kat finds herself on the wrong end of an online dating scam and is afraid that ‘Brian’ may be praying on other more vulnerable people too. After the dating app refuses to do anything to stop Brian, Kat enlists the help of Leo to try and track down the fraudster to ensure that he can’t hurt anyone else.
This slow-burn, no spice romance was filled with super cute moments where I wanted to throw my kindle across the room in a good way! I just wanted them to get together already!
The reason I had to rate this 2.5/5 was that the investigation into Brian felt very predictable. Without giving too much away I predicted the culprit very very quickly and I am used to being the last one to figure these things out. I felt that Leo as a former detective should have had a lot more to contribute as opposed to just going along as back up on Kat’s ideas.
Overall, I felt it had so much potential but unfortunately while I loved the chemistry between the couple the plot itself meant I didn’t feel the need to pick it back up and keep reading!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in return for a review.

This one had a really cute premise that had me excited to try the book! I thought that this story had a lot of potential, however, moments of dialogue were just a bit too cheesy for my taste. There were also moments where the characters felt a little wooden, a little too 2-D for me to believe it was realistic. Overall, this impacted my enjoyment. I think this book has an audience out there, but it unfortunately did not land well for me. Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One More Chapter for this ARC.

The beautiful cover really drew me in for this one, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I hoped I would. Thank you for the ARC - some spoilers in the following review.

A (supposedly) shy but romantic librarian is catfished, and enlists a grumpy enigmantic ex-police man to help her track down the culprit.

Unfortunately, there is almost no chemistry between the romantic leads, and the FMC is honestly quite rude for a significant chunk of the novel.

I also found that the author had a couple of points she really wanted to make (romance scams are bad, women can look after themselves, etc) which just didn’t feel natural in the dialogue at all.

I enjoyed the setting of Oxford and the library, the concept of the whole dating app being a scam, and the background characters.

I truly am a a sucker for a library setting where the whole staff and regulars make up the cast of characters. This story is about Kat, a librarian just trying to keep her community safe from an online scam she was unfortunate enough to fall victim to, and Leo, a mysterious former cop who has become one of Kat’s library regulars. This story has a lot of heart, really good chemistry between the love interests and a bunch of cute hijinx. A fun, sweet and clean read that sort of kept me guessing until the very end. 4 stars!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An enjoyable read. I really enjoyed the amusing dialogue between Leo and Kat. Their characters were well written as their back stories were slowly revealed. Their attraction was obvious but both were holding back because of previous events in their lives. I liked the way their closeness was developed slowly. The plot was very topical due to the increase in romance scams. A book with humour, romance and drama. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

**spoiler alert** This review is based on an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review This review may contain spoilers.
"Read Between the Lines" is a cozy, low-stakes romance with a clever concept—librarian Kat Fisher (yes, the name is intentional!) and a grumpy ex-cop team up to solve a modern dating mystery. The Oxford setting and bookish themes gave the story charm, and the idea of pairing a romantic idealist with a grounded, skeptical counterpart had definite potential.
Kat’s dramatic flair and Leo’s quieter presence made for some amusing contrast, although at times their connection felt a little uneven to me. While I didn’t fully buy into the chemistry, the setup was fun, and I appreciated the light comic tone and witty moments sprinkled throughout.
Overall, this would be a great pick for readers looking for a gentle, quirky rom-com with a touch of sleuthing and a bookish backdrop. While it wasn’t a perfect match for me, I can see others really enjoying its escapist appeal.

The description of this book really brought me in. First off I don’t know why but MMC is a cop always sparks my interest . I blame Kristen Ashley for it because of her book “Law Man”😂. With all that being said I thought this book was just eh. I felt the FMC and MMC didn’t have much of a spark. Also the FMC was rude and not likable.

A charming, bookish rom-com set in a Yorkshire village, Read Between the Lines follows Sophie as she uncovers love notes in library books—and maybe her own romance. Witty, warm, and full of heart, it’s a delightful read for fans of cozy love stories.

This book had potential, but it ultimately fell flat for me. Kat and Leo were clearly meant to be the focus, but their romantic relationship never really developed. There was no chemistry, no real buildup—so when they finally got together, it just felt off and unearned. A bit of a letdown.

This was a super enjoyable and cozy kind of romance book that had me turning off my brain and just enjoying it for the fun vibes this book brought! It was cute and the romance was pretty good. Nothing grand or special about it, but just kind of cutesy and easy to read!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC!

A cute, easy breezy read. Perfect little palette cleanser. I found it was a quick read and I enjoyed it for the most part. A little slow in some areas but still enjoyable

2.25 ⭐️

Not for me. The book was very dialogue heavy and usually I enjoy banter between characters, but a story told through dialogue doesn’t give readers the opportunity to get to know the characters. For example, Kat’s entire personality seems to be “I’m insecure” and “I need to catch this fraudster” and I’d expect that a well-written story would provide background as to why she has no confidence and why she has trouble trusting people.

Kat and Leo are kind of a snooze fest and the story only picks up (I'm using this term generously) at about 75% of the way through.
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Thank you to Netgalley,HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter for this ARC
Overall, this was a good palette cleanser in between some more intense fantasy and fiction books.
I love stories which are set up generally around a bookstore. I will admit Kat was a little bitt much "head up in the clouds' for me at stages but otherwise, was quite good. I personally love the grumpy x sunshine trope (one of my favourites). and it was definitely a slow burn.
So overall, a solid 3.25 ⭐️

`✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 2 stars 🌟

arc review 📖

This was a low stakes, comfy romance between a librarian and an ex-policeman. I didn't mind it at the start and was really excited for the chemistry to pick up between them, expecting more of a slower burn.

I found that it was so low stakes that it never really ignited.

I was sadly disappointed.

────୨ৎ────

⋆˙⟡ 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑐

This was my first time reading Emily Kerr, and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was pulled into the story. The setup is fun and original, but it’s the chemistry between Kat and Leo that really carries the book. Their banter is sharp and entertaining, and the gradual shift from uneasy allies to something more kept me engaged.

If you're into enemies to lovers with a side of sleuthing, snappy dialogue, and characters who challenge each other in all the right ways, Read Between the Lines is well worth adding to your TBR.

Unfortunately this is a DNF for me at 60%.

Girl gets catfished on a local dating app and despite having a bad attitude, somehow enlists the help of an ex-police officer to try and track him down.

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

Plot
I picked this one up, not only because the cover is gorgeous, but because the premise sounded pretty compelling. Sweet little librarian meets ex-cop, uncovering the nefarious goings on of a dating app.
However, on reading the story I didn't really understand why she didn't just block this guy and move on - he'd been catfishing people for ages and the relative authorities don't care, it's a shame, but you're not Sherlock Holmes. I didn't feel that the author gave enough rational for the escapade and it fell a bit flat, especially as the bulk of the story is told rather than shown.
I also found the plot to be fairly boring. I got to 60% and we've only done one search-for-the-culprit mission and haven't really achieved anything.

Characters
FMC
I did not like our FMC. She was not the sweet and lovely librarian I thought she would be - she's brash and rude to the MMC (yeah, I know he had his feet on the chair, but after that) and her entire personality revolved around working in a library, without anything else going for her. She also talks to everyone in a really odd manner that I don't know if I can explain - it reminded me a bit of a stereotypical prim and proper lady, overly formal and awkward, and unfortunately along with her dialogue just made her sound like an ass.

MMC
I don't feel that I can like or dislike the MMC, because he has no personality what so ever. He's a tall and handsome piece of cheese, who follows the FMC around for some reason.

The Rest
There's a overly sexual, apparently filthy rich old lady, some other librarians and a homeless guy with a dog that patched into the plot for reasons. None of them were interesting.

The Chemistry
Zero. Zilch. She has more chemistry with her squeaky book trolley.

The Good
The premise of a librarian and an ex-cop teaming up! Fantastique.

The Bad
Pacing, writing, dialogue and character development.

The Ugly
Naming a character in a catfishing Kat Fisher. This is a whole new level of madness I cannot condone.

The Wrap Up
While this story wasn't for me, those who love a small town feeling romance between two unlikely characters could absolutely get behind it.

As always, thanks to Harper Collins and One More Chapter for letting me get my paws on this ahead of release. My review is voluntary and honest.