By Any Other Name

by Lauren Kate

From # 1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Kate comes an enemies-to-lovers romance about an editor, her bestselling author, and one life-changing secret.

What she doesn’t know about love could fill a book.

With a successful career as a romance editor, and an engagement to a man who checks off all ninety-nine boxes on her carefully curated list, Lanie’s more than good. She’s killing it. Then she’s given the opportunity of a lifetime: to work with world-renowned author and her biggest inspiration in love and life—the Noa Callaway. All Lanie has to do is cure Noa’s writer’s block and she’ll get the promotion she’s always dreamed of. Simple, right?

But there’s a reason no one has ever seen or spoken to the mysterious Noa Calloway. And that reason will rock Lanie’s world. It will call into question everything she thought she knew. When she finally tosses her ninety-nine expectations to the wind, Lanie may just discover that love By Any Other Name can still be as sweet.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Adult

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2022

About the author

Lauren Kate is the author of novels 15 novels including the FALLEN series, now a television series on AMC+. Her forthcoming angel-focused romantasy trilogy, WHITE LIGHTS, will publish in June 2026. She lives in Laurel Canyon with her family.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww! I realized happy tears of a person also look smudgy and ugly! I keep dropping them nonstop! This book is magnetic, heartfelt, magical! It awakens your soul and gives you enough hope to chase your own happiness!

Lanie lives her own dream: thriving career as romance editor, working with her all time favorite author Noa Callaway, having a full filled relationship with her fiancée who checks 99 boxes she’s created for finding man of her dreams.

After two decades she still misses her mother who gave her the real life purpose: chasing the love of her life and never letting him go!

Now she gets the promotion she’d worked so hard: she becomes youngest editorial director of Peony Press but there’s a catch: this promotion is only trial for three months. They didn’t get any manuscript from Noa Callaway for four months and if Lanie cannot get NY Times bestseller- worthy manuscript out of Noa during her promotion period, she will be sagged!

But she says she can do that! But she knows it’s truly hard to connect with her favorite author in person. Noa Callaway is the publishing company’s powerhouse author with forty million books in print around the world. But she’s also the rare publishing phenomenon who doesn’t do publicity. Nobody knows how she looks like instead of Alice De Rue: Lanie’s ex boss who retired after her maternal leave.

Even she never saw her face: Lanie believes they have a unique connection with the author. They are playing online chess for years and Noa always sends her inspirational and entertaining text messages.

What could go wrong? Well, she didn’t count two things: Noa is having a terrible writer’s block and Noa keeps a scandalous secret from them for seven years which shake Lanie to the core and make her question everything she believes in love. Because she wrote that those 99 boxes inspired by Noa’s novel. But what if everything she believes about love is full of lies like Noa has been telling them for years.

Overall: I loved the main characters a lot. But BD is my favorite, smart, entertaining supporting character. I also enjoyed to read Rufus and Meg’s parts.

Romance parts were slow burn and magical. The author’s location choice of Gapstow Bridge Central Park couldn’t be so right. Me and my husband shot a movie in NYC and we also chose this location at the ending tear jerking, emotional scene of lovers! That’s also my favorite place in the city!

I always love to read books about books. The end of Elizabeth and Edward’s story was amazing. I wish the author wrote a real book about them.

Only thing I didn’t like much was lack of enemies to lovers troupe: because at the beginning MCs’ first encounter gives us that vibe. But they quickly made truce and moved on. I wish the main characters spend more time together. And there were more chapters in this book showing they’re discovering new places in NY together.

I loved the slow burn romance idea and conclusion at the end. But I wish we see more chemistry and intimacy. We only see those parts from Lanie’s perspective. But we didn’t know what’s going on in our hero’s end till the end of the book.
I’m giving my romantic, big apple, books in books, romance reader, smiling, feelgood stars.

Special thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

[Whitney Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy publishing day!! This one is now available!!

This book was adorable!! I was drawn to it first of all, because I love reading books about books and secondly, I also love a good romance story. So I was happy to start this one and had high hopes going in. Once I started reading it, I wasn’t able to put it down. The storyline was fresh and entertaining. This book was super predictable but that’s okay because it made for a light and easy read which was exactly what I needed. I loved Laneys character but I think my favorite is Alice, the tortoise! So fun! This book left me with happy, feel good vibes.

Thank you Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC in return for my honest review!

[Lit with Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing: fine | Plot: ......??? | Ending: umm WUT WHERE'S THE REST OF THE BOOK??

SYNOPSIS

Lanie loves romance books—so much so that she'd made it her career. And now she has an opportunity to work with Noa Callaway, her favourite author of all time... But will Callaway's secret break her heart?

MY OPINION

Have you ever gotten to the end of the book and think: I MUST have a misprint because ain't no way we're into Acknowledgements. How about you acknowledge these unresolved major storylines??? Ima need another 50-100 pages because there's no way we spent 3 out of the last 10 pages describing the Amalfi Coast scenery instead of addressing the big, fat, earth-shattering gender-reveal in the room?????? If I want to know what colour the water is, I'll Google it. But where else am I gonna find out what kind of fallout Noa faces after the reveal????????????????????

At some point Lanie says "I think I missed the segue in this conversation", which is ironic because I feel like I missed about 30 segues in this book. It was jumping all over the place and I found myself flipping back to see if somehow I had missed a major 'reveal'. I didn't. This was just written like a paint-by-numbers picture without any numbers. Good luck!

And Lanie............. girl should pick up triple jump the way she was leaping to conclusions. When she learns Noa's big secret is that she is actually a he using a pseudonym, she calls him all types of names from narcissist to asshole to fuckface (okay maybe not that last one, but it has the same energy). Now, it's not clear if Noa was bopping about pretending to be a woman, or if readers just assumed Noa's gender and his publishers said STFU and lie by omission. It's not a great look either way... especially as Noa became more famous and it was obvious people thought it was a woman. Whatever the case, Noa did nothing personal to her and he wasn't rude to her in the slighest. It felt like the author really wanted this to be an enemies-to-lovers tale, but really it was Lanie's assumptions-to-lovers story.

Ugh and don't even get me started on her relationship with Ryan..... nvm, I'll start. Lanie had so many strong opinnis and truly believed she was always right, but the fact she was blinder than a bat to the several, bright red flags Ryan had coming out of his orifices was sad to say the least. All because he met all the things on your 'love list' that you wrote.....in college.............. ................

Anyways. Not great. Her upcoming romcom looks cute but I'm scared lol

PROS AND CONS

Pros: some funny moments

Cons: some risque jokes lol, felt like massive parts of the story was missing, one of the major plot points wasn't fully resolved (not even partially tbh), romance felt forced — didn't really feel the vibes, Lanie was extremely annoying and unlikeable (#freeNoa)

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I went into this with pretty low expectations bc I didn't enjoy the Fallen series back in the day, but this was DELIGHTFUL. I'm so glad that I gave this a shot because this was exactly what I look for in an easy rom-com. My only real issue was that the romance took longer than I felt like it needed to to actually get going, but this was still so fun. Def recommend giving it a shot if the plot sounds interesting to you!

CW: death of a loved one, alzheimers/dementia

[Lacey (laceybooklovers) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This... wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be! Not that I thought it was going to be the worst, but I just didn't know what to expect going into Lauren Kate's very first adult romance. I liked it for the most part, and it honestly could’ve been a solid 4 stars if it wasn’t for the ending.

By Any Other Name is a bookish book with a heroine who works as a romance editor and gets a promotion to become editorial director, but only if she can get the publisher’s biggest author, Noa Callaway, to turn in her 4 month late manuscript in the next 3 months. I loved the publishing aspect and I loved how NYC-centric the story was! Lanie is genuine and sweet, and she's honestly living the bookish dream working in publishing and getting to work with her all time favorite author.

The romance is really sweet, but I don’t know if it’s supposed to be as obvious as it is who the hero is. I can’t really say anything without spoilers, but you can easily guess who the hero is and what the mystery identity is when you start reading. I did like that the romance is almost an epistolary type of romance that began through emails, which is always fun. So the majority of the book worked well for me, but I just wish the ending didn't end so abruptly. It ends on such a strange note, like right before this big event that’s supposed to happen, so we never get to see it! Besides the ending and the secret identity aspect, I did enjoy this book and would definitely try more romances from Lauren Kate!

*****

Lauren Kate, whose YA angel romance books I read as a teen, is coming out with an ADULT ROMANCE? ....I’m listening.

[Jeeves Reads Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most compelling part of this story is completely omitted from the blurb, and barely touched upon in the actual book - the fact that these two have been friends via email for SEVEN YEARS. They've connected while editing love stories, exchanging jokes, and playing online chess together. They've never met in person, and our heroine has always assumed that she was communicating with a woman her mother's age... but what was our hero thinking? The story is told exclusively from the heroine's point of view, so this sweet, cinnamon roll of a hero remains a mystery throughout. I wasn't a big fan of the first half - there's almost zero romance, our heroine has a major overreaction, and she's engaged to another man - but the second half ended up being refreshingly great. I'd love to rate this higher, but the best parts are completely underdeveloped.

The story follows Lanie, a book editor who is finally getting her big break. When her boss quits, it becomes Lanie's job to handle her company's biggest client, reclusive romance author Noa. While the two have been exchanging emails for years, Noa has never missed a deadline - until now. With the future of the whole company in jeopardy, it's Lanie's job to get Noa writing again. The only problem? Once they meet in person, Lanie discovers that Noa is not the sweet older woman that she always envisioned - he is a young, attractive guy who knocks Lanie off-balance. She feels deceived and lashes out, causing plenty of friction in their ever-changing relationship. But as the two work on finding Noah's inspiration, their connection grows.

Part of me really wants to rate this as four stars (for the concept), but the other part of me knows the execution doesn't warrant more than three. The author knows that she's got a great concept buried within the story, but she didn't do enough with it. The first half was just a lot of Lanie - Lanie talking about her job, Lanie's relationship with her fiancé, Lanie whining that Noa is a man. It's not until the second half that her relationship with Noah even goes anywhere, or they even spend any time on the page together. I would've loved to have seen some of the emails they wrote to each other in the past, experienced the friendship they had developed before things shifted. Lanie's reaction is so over-the-top that she forgets that Noah is a human being with feelings. I needed more insight into him, not just small observations from Lanie's point of view. I get what the author was trying to accomplish - and would've absolutely LOVED it had it been done well - but it wasn't entirely successful. The ending is jarring but very solid, and left me wanting THAT book - the one I didn't get to read. I received an early copy and am voluntarily leaving a review of this women's fiction / romance crossover.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lanie gets a huge promotion, but there are strings attached. Author Noa Calloway's book is already four months late. Lanie has just three months to get that manuscript delivered. Oh, and there is also an NDA. Noa Calloway only communicates via email and through their assistant. Thus begins this romcom that has a book within a book. Some of the things I loved about it: the NYC-centric plot with one of my favorite places--the Cloisters, the chemistry between Lanie and the Leading Man, and the Leading Man himself (swoonworthy in the best way). Lanie can be very closeminded at times, so she had to grow on me. Overall, though there is so much to love about this new title.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

This book was adorable! I honestly wasn’t sure about the first 40-50%, it had a few things I didn’t love in it, but the last half was fantastic! I loved the writer/editor aspect and the friends to lovers storyline. I do wish we got chapters from Noah’s perspective. I think it would have truly made the book. Lanie and Noah’s romance was very much a slow burn and this is a wonderful adult debut from Lauren Kate.

Audio book source: Libby
Story Rating: 4 stars
Narrator: Brittainy Pressley
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 7h 31m

[Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up.

Man, I really wanted to love this, but unfortunately it just did not do it for me. Thank you to Edelweiss for providing a digital ARC for an unbiased opinion and review.

I DNF’d at 62% which I felt was pretty generous; I gave it plenty of opportunities to turn around before jumping ship.

To start, let’s talk about what went right with this: Lanie, our assistant editor, living in New York and working to pursue her dreams of helping unique and special books make it from first draft to publication. I enjoyed her passion and her advocation for diverse stories, her hunt for one of a kind books, and the love she spoke of protecting an authors dream.

Unfortunately, that was about it.

The story starts with Lanie engaged to Ryan and there were so many issues I had with their relationship (and the way it ended.) it felt rushed and opportunistic, and conveniently timed that she ends things right after meeting “Noa Calloway.”

There were multiple moments that enacted a whole body cringe for me, the first being within the first 30 pages of a crass joke about “joining a mental hospital just to hang out with the main character of a book.” The use of mental health (and treatment of depression/suicide) felt ill timed. Then Lanie makes a public joke about a man at a book premier, insinuating that he was there to buy a copy for his wife. (This would be unprofessional and rude — he could be getting it for himself, or a sister, mother, boyfriend, any number of things. The man ends up being “Noa Calloway” which was an even bigger YIKES.) there were a few cringe moments about religion or relationships that I breezed past.

In addition, it’s pretty clearly stated that “Noa Calloway” is a private person and there’s no photos or interviews of them online. From my understanding it was never made clear their gender. But when Lanie finds out Noa Calloway is actually Noah Ross, she flips out. In an immature unprofessional way. She had been prejudiced and stereotyped the unknown author into HER ideal person and when she found out her assumptions and expectations were wrong, she threw a tantrum.

This was marketed as enemies to lovers but from the beginning Lanie was rude and dismissive to Noah and I didn’t buy into their chemistry at all; their banter felt fake and forced and their “flirting” was stilted.

Really, this was a 2.5 star rating and I only kept reading as long as I did because I kept hoping it would get better. It didnt.

Once again, all opinions are my own.

[aleksandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

Enjoyable, but I will probably forget about it after a week.

"If faith in love were a source of energy, you could power a small planet.”

"I’ll go anywhere,” he says, and kisses me again. “So long as you go with me."

[hamna · Rating 1 out of 5]

i can’t believe i’m saying this but this book needed to be longer. but i’m so glad it wasn’t, because it was absolutely horribly executed, and even one more page would've had me expired. it’s been 8 years since i last read lauren kate, and i don’t think she has still really acquired the skill of actually writing a book. all of her books (that i’ve read) seem to me, have the hint of an idea, that’s then badly thought out and hurriedly jotted down as if it’ll collapse if there’s time taken to develop it?, which is honestly so telling on its own.
the first half of the book might arguably be the most redundant thing i've ever read: just gibberish that went on and on and on. predictably then, the second half was cramped/info dumped, with so much happening (none of it interesting, mind you) across mere sentences it gave me whiplash.
the plotline itself felt dull and underdeveloped, the character dynamics awkward and frivolous. the romance- should i even call it romance? the only thing i got from this novel was almost 200 pages of first-hand embarrassment.
i wouldn’t say this book was completely horrendous, or a pain to read. it was just annoyingly boring and densely typical. it was, however, unbelievably short and would be a recommendation if you just wanted to sit around and waste a couple hours, without focusing much on the story content.

[Kremena Koleva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ааах , какво ли нямаше в тази книга! Омагьосващия за всеки страничен наблюдател свят на издателския бизнес; срещата с обещаващ автор, нетърпеливото очакване на новото заглавие ; фенове, представяния, автографи, редакторски перипетии...
Имаше ги онези трепетни ритуали, с които някои от нас се глезят в часовете за четене :
" Телефонът ми е изключен.Вратата ми е заключена. Имейлът ми е в режим * Извън офиса *. Дъждът навън е бонус, а от шумоизолиращите слушалки се носи успокояващо ромолене на река.
Паля ароматна свещ * Диптик * , приглушавам осветлението и си сипвам чаша чай от ройбос от гигантския чайник, който съм приготвила. По този начин обстановката за първия прочит се доближава до блаженството. Готова съм да напусна този свят, с всичките му тревоги, и да влязя в света на Едуард и Елизабет. "
Имаше и пътуване до онова омайващо кътче Позитано. С гледките от криволичащите над брега пътища на Амалфи,италианско капучино , студено просеко и усещания mamma mia!!!
И атмосферата, и стилът на писане на Лорън Кейт, и леката ненатрапчива, но едновременно с това завладяваща нишка на действието ми подействаха силно. " Под всяко друго име " е чудесна книга! Аз , като читател, много добре знам как една книга, прочетена в подходящия момент, ме е променяла, отваряла ми е очите, завихряла е обстановката около мен и как в края не съм се познавала... или най - накрая съм се опознавала. Ролята на редактора, ролята на агентите , рискования бизнес план на издателските къщи ; жаждата , нетърпението и критичното око на публиката се смесват с образа на писателя, около когото се върти всичко. Колко от характера и съдбата му е в творбите му? И колко необятно и богато е въображението му?
Харесах книгата! Не го очаквах. Не знам защо се бях подготвила за това в края й . Но всъщност останах очарована! Четох я по време на кратка отпуска, оставила работата, напрежението и динамиката далеч. Бях заобиколена от ароматните свещи, чийзкейк в чаша на терасата в морски град. В слушалките звучеше Ocean Deep на Thomas Newson и Tim Van Werd / много й подхождаше, особено в края!/ , а в другия край на хола виждах как дъщеря ми учи след края на разходката ни едно прекрасно място с атмосфера на аристократизъм, българска история и интелектуален капацитет. Мисля, че създадох обстановка, подходяща за света на Лейни и Ноа....

* " Занижените ни очаквания не предполагат разочарование. Те са приемане на несъвършенствата ни. "
* "Посланието, както го разбирах, бе , че някои хора могат да се взират в бездната , без да губят от поглед себе си или онова, което обичат. Без да се страхуват прекалено от онова, което лежи от другата страна. "
* " Има предвид, че никой човек не може да задоволи абсолютно всички нужди на друг човек. Поради което съществуват книжните клубове и бабите. "

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so cute and I enjoyed it. I flew through this super quick. I’m realizing that I enjoy the enemies to lovers trope.

Lanie seens to have it all. She is engaged to the perfect guy who has everything on her list. She has a booming career as a romance editor, and she gets to check perhaps the biggest items off her wish list; to work with bug tine author and inspiration Noa Callaway.

If she can cure his writers block she can secure her promotion. Sounds simple right? What could go wrong? Noa is hiding a secret and this secret will shatter Lanies’s world.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

[Vane · Rating 4 out of 5]

El punto que le falta es por pequeños errores en la edición y la falta de un epílogo o al menos un capítulo más. En general es una historia muy linda, un amor sano que se cuece a fuego lento y por eso queda un pequeño vacío al no extenderse un poco.

[maddison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know it's supposed to be an enemies-to-lovers story, but I didn't get the impression that they were enemies whatsoever. Nonetheless, this is a nice and entertaining rom-com. The relationship between Lanie and Noa was fascinating to read about.

Lanie works for author Noa Callaway as a romance editor. She recently received a promotion at work, but the only issue is that Noa Callaway's manuscript is four months late. Lanie is keen to assist Noa in overcoming her writer's block. The only problem is that no one has ever seen Noa, with the exception of a few people. But what happens when she discovers who the actual Noa Callaway is?

*thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*

[Anabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Tengo que confesar que nunca he leído a la autora, pero que a partir de ahora necesito más de ella, la pena es que este es el único libro de ella que hay en español y de romance.

- Me ha encantado la forma de narrar de la autora, desde un principio me he visto metida en la vida de Lane y su trabajo, y es que ella trabaja para una editorial en la edición, ella es la secretaria, pero unos acontecimientos fuerzan su ascenso, lo que hace que tenga que conseguir que la autora que más ventas reporta a la editorial escriba, pero nadie nunca la ha visto, excepto la jefa de Lain. Todo se complica cuando conoce en persona a la autora, porque ella no se esperaba para nada lo que se va a encontrar.

- El libro no contiene una historia de estas que dejan una huella imborrable pero me gustaron los personajes y su historia y necesitaba un libro así. Yo sin duda lo recomiendo, de hecho le he dado un 4,5 en Goodreads porque lo recomiendo si buscáis una buena lectura, una en la que encima se hable del trabajo que hay detrás de editar una novela-

- En lo que respecta a los escenarios nos encontramos uno idílico como es Nueva York, la autora nos demuestra que sus calles pueden ofrecer escenarios de ensueño a la vez que lugares apasionantes.

- Lo bueno de este libro es que tendremos también su trama de amor, por supuesto ya que es una novela de comedia romántica, y es que este amor me ha resultado tan bonito que me ha hecho suspirar. Me he dado cuenta gracias a su lectura que me apasionan las novelas con un romance que se cueza lento y de forma bonita, ya que no encontraremos en sus páginas ni una sola escena sexual.

- Lo bueno de este libro es que como os digo es comedia también y es que me he reído mucho con algunos diálogos y escenas, sobre todo con el protagonista masculino, me ha encantado, ella también pero es que él es genial.

- El final me ha gustado, es uno de los que te dejan buen sabor de boca y a la vez me deja satisfecha, de cerrar el libro y decir, me encanta vamos a por otra lectura, es de esos libros que te vuelven a enganchar a leer y leer sin querer parar.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think my biggest complaint with this book is the pacing of the romance, because when we finally got around to it I loved it. By Any Other Name follows an editor and her bestselling anonymous bestselling romance author who turns out to be a man. When she meets her idol for the first time, he isn't what she expected and that contributes to the nagging problems in the relationship she has with her fiancee.

The romance doesn't really get started until like halfway through the book, but then it was incredibly sweet and charming. I enjoyed a lot of the side characters as well, like the MC's grandmother who is hilarious. A solid, enjoyable romance where the couple were friends via email before they ever met, so they actually know a lot about each other. This is also deeply steeped in publishing, so we get a lot of detail on the job side of things. I just wish the romance had started earlier in the book and feel it took too long to do all of the setup. It's also worth noting that this is not a steamy romance, but it does have several swoonworthy moments. I received an advance copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, my heart, By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate is one of those books you just want to give a big hug to once it's over. I loved the storyline of Lanie being an editor and finding out one of her clients isn't what she expected. I read the synopsis again after I was done with it and saw it doesn't actually mention what this was, so I will try to keep it out of this review as well. It was a fun surprise, and I loved how it played out in the story. This is Kate's second adult novel and I believe first romcom, and I really hope she writes some more! I found the book very entertaining and lighthearted but there were still plenty of times I could feel my eyes getting a little misty, and I absolutely loved Alice the tortoise!

There is also a bit of a love story within a love story thanks to Noa's book, and it made me wish Kate would write an actual book about those characters! I listened to the audiobook and was really excited to see one of my favorites narrating. I honestly think Brittany Pressley is perfect for every book, but she was definitely the right person for By Any Other Name and I found myself reading in her voice for another book I was reading which was weird but also fun! I always love a book set in NYC which this one is, and the author brought it to life in such a way I felt like I was back there. I also loved the inclusion of the trip to Positano, Italy and I HIGHLY recommend grabbing a copy of the physical book because it has a really great conversation with the author at the end. This made me appreciate the story and the characters even more, and if Kate writes another romcom I am definitely here for it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Maria Yankulova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ако кажа, че очаквах да харесам тази книга ще
ви излъжа. Сладникава, предвидима, но някак историята и героите ми влязоха под кожата. Тук няма да откриете пиперливи, еротични сцени, по които всички припадат, а по-скоро old school влюбване и бавно развиващи се отношения.

Има Ню-Йорк, с всичките ми любими места, има Позитано и Амалфи, просеко, разходки в Сентрал Парк, книгоиздаване, авторски блокаж, автор под прикритие, редакторски неволи, щура баба, най-добра приятелка, гей - всичко. И някак цялата тази смес от образи, места и теми сработи и мога да кажа, че това е абсолютната изненада в графа романтика за 2023. Разпуснах чудесно!

Много съм доволна и от засегнатите теми около книгоиздаването и по-специално линията с блокажа около писането. Дадох си сметка колко притиснати могат да бъдат авторите с голяма читателска аудитория и очакванията, които идват с тях.

Едно от най-хубавите неща е книгата в книгата, за която нашето момиче се бори. Историята е толкова мила, трогваща и романтична, че буквално изтръпнах от вълнение.

[Nina Draganova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Понеже трудно намирам толкова приятни книги, си я прочетох пак , насладих й се отново.Много,много ми харесва.
Абсолютно зашеметяваща ! Толкова много ми хареса, че не исках да свършва. Интелигентно, умно, красиво , различно, интересно и още не знам какво, написана книга. Няма нито едно клише. Скоростта е такава, че не можеш да смогнеш да схванеш всяко едно скрито послание. Наистина не ми се разделя с тази книга.

[Julie - One Book More · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lanie is a romance editor who has just been put in charge of the company’s best-selling and most popular novelist. Noa Callaway is way behind deadline and super elusive and Lanie’s favorite writer. Though they haven’t met in person, they’ve been friends for years, playing online chess together and chatting, and Lanie is beyond thrilled for the opportunity to serve as her editor. But when they finally meet, Lanie is stunned by what she learns, and she begins to question everything she knows about love, life, and her relationships.

Throughout the story, Noa struggles with writer’s block, and Lanie helps to inspire the author by taking them to various beautiful and inspiring places throughout New York. What results is a wonderful exploration of the city. New York is such a fabulous backdrop to the story, and I love that they visit some of their favorite places and things to do.

Lanie is a fun and layered protagonist who wears her heart on her sleeve and enthusiastically believes in love and happily-ever-afters. The way she feels about books and reading and literature in general speaks to me on a deep level. My entire life has been influenced by books. I’m a former high school English teacher, I run a book blog, I’ve named my children after literary characters and authors, and the librarians at my local library greet me like I’m an old friend (which, at this point, I am. Lol). Lanie lives her life by meaningful insights from her favorite books and speaks passionately about her love of literature and the publishing business. Her career is devoted to this passion, and she uses her favorite romance novel as inspiration for her love life and choice of a partner. .

Lanie learns a lot about herself throughout the book, and I enjoyed her personal journey. One such lesson she learned is that just because a man seems perfect, it doesn’t mean he’s perfect for you. Lanie has an idealized idea of what her relationship is, and she ignores a lot of the signs that suggest she’s not as content as she professes. I think she takes a hard look at her life, her dreams, her future, and what she really wants for herself. She shows tremendous growth and really takes charge of her life.

The relationship between Lanie and her love interest is slow-building and lovely. They have such great banter, and their fun outings are so sweet and charming and fun. I also like that they support each other through some difficult and painful times. Breakups, ill family members, work-related pressures, writer’s block, and more burden them, yet they are repeatedly there for each other. There is a quiet strength in their relationship and an amazing foundation that has slowly strengthened over the almost decade-long work relationship. There’s also a comfort level throughout the book that wouldn’t have been there if they’d just met. They connect on a deep level, and I think that helps Lanie deal with the shock and feeling of betrayal when they first meet.

By Any Other Name is a charming contemporary romance and one I highly recommend. It has great characters, the love story is romantic, and it’s a love story to books and writing and New York. Thanks so much NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

So you know how romance and cozy mystery share the truth that you can always find your flavor? I think one of mine is people who work in publishing. Not authors themselves (that is almost too common) but editors and interns and publishers. Thanks, Younger.

Lanie is moved up to the editor role of a publishing company's number one romance author, the reason she got into publishing in the first place. But the author is a mystery and has not been delivering like she usually does. Something must be up! And Lanie's personal life isn't going great either - her fiance uses every opportunity to try to get her to quit her job and move to D.C. to support his political ambitions.

This is an instance where I was happy to get to the obvious HEA (happily ever after) but wanted to read the rest of the story too. It's ironic considering one plot point of the story!

[Sally Hanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a sweet book, and so well written. I loved the slow burn, the writing style, the idea behind the story, and the characters. It was very realistic, and I read through the whole thing in one go because I wanted to find out what happened. The added Italian scenery was a lovely plus.
If you've been looking for a book that's better than most of the other chick-lit, fade to black books you've read lately, this is the one to pick.

[elise]

dnf @ 37%

I really enjoyed the editorial and books aspect of this, but I can't stand Lanie's overreaction when she finds out Noa Callaway is a man and how she made a joke about a man being there at a book premiere just to buy a copy of a book for his wife. Where the story starts she is also engaged to somebody so I don't want to see how that pans out.

[Katie Shavers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book way more than what I was expecting! Such a fun, refreshing read!

[Valery Tikappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adoro i libri ambientati in casa editrice, ma questo non mi ha convinta del tutto...

Lanie è una redattrice a cui viene data l'opportunità di una promozione e di lavorare con un'autrice di fama mondiale: Noa Callaway.
Per ottenere la promozione Laini deve solo curare il blocco dello scrittore dell'autrice.
C'è solo un problema: nessuno sa chi si celi davvero dietro il nome Noa Callaway e, quando Lanie lo scoprirà, rimarrà sconvolta.

Avevo alte aspettative su questo libro, perchè ho adorato la serie Fallen della Kate.

Purtroppo però, mi ha abbastanza delusa.
C'è poco di tutto: poco approfondimento, poca costruzione della trama, poca introspezione, poco romance, poche interazioni fra i protagonisti e soprattutto poca chimica!

Lanie, soprattutto a inizio libro, è davvero irritante e drammatica senza ragione.
La parte che più mi ha fatto storcere il naso, però, è che il romance è quasi inesistente. I due protagonisti sono in scena insieme per pochissime volte e per pochissimo tempo. Parlano e interagiscono poco, non si percepisce l'attrazione nè il crescendo del rapporto.
E il finale, di conseguenza, risulta veloce e campato in aria.

Il fatto è che il libro è troppo corto e non ha letteralmente il tempo nè di sviluppare la trama nè di caratterizzare bene i personaggi.
è una lettura carina, che si fa in mezzo pomeriggio, ma che una volta conclusa non lascia nulla.

[Kiret · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light and easy read, not much substance. The story was predictable and the romance was meh.

[Izzie (semi-hiatus) McFussy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took four days to cool down enough to write this review in a cogent manner… which basically means, four days for amnesia to set in. Fortunately or not, my past self left notes. Will limit what I disliked about this story to three statements.

😡Not an enemies to lovers story as promised by the blurb. What it was: a freak out by the heroine when she learned the identity of the author.

😡Not a romance as promised by the blurb. What it was: The promise of a relationship when the MCs finally kissed in the last chapter.

😡As to the issue that plagued the third act—no resolution.

To summarize: Shallow. Shallow. And. Shallow.

[Lisa (Remarkablylisa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good solid read but the romance lacked for Me. I enjoyed the enemies to lovers aspect and the whole editor background

[Beary Into Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4
Author: @laurenkatebooks
Publication Date: 3/1/2022

This was an extremely quick romcom that was funny and cute. I read this book in one day and I would recommend it. This book centers around the two main characters trying to find inspiration to write a romance novel. This book is extremely light on the romance side. I’m talking about extreme slow burn and even then not your typical slow burn. Also, don’t expect any spice or butterflies in your stomach from this one. There is almost zero romance in this but I guess it depends on how one looks at it. Instead of romance this book focuses on two people who are forced to work together and the relationship that is built on the way. It’s described as an enemies to lovers but I never saw them as enemies personally. The characters start off as acquaintances that annoy one another then they grow to be friends. This book is about a love story and how it first started instead of actually seeing the relationship while they are together. I’d be curious to see if the author makes a followup so the reader can actually see these two characters date and interact more. That is my only complaint with this book is that I feel like due to its short length several things were left out.

Overall, even though this wasn’t the romance book I was expecting I still really enjoyed it. The writing style was easy to follow and flowed really nicely. Both main characters were interesting and had their own flaws and quirks. I also really enjoyed the addition of the side characters. As a reader, I loved reading a book that dealt with the publishing company and how authors struggle to be inspired.

**Thank you so much @PutnamBooks for the #gifted copy on #NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **