Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher - Book Review

Publication Date: 01st Mar 2025

Genre: Women’s Fiction, Romance 

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. 

#NetGalley #NotQuiteByTheBook