Book Review: By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate

Posted February 25, 2022 by WendyW in Book Review, bookblogger, Uncategorized / 33 Comments

By Any Other Name
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

by Lauren Kate
Publication Date March 1, 2022
Published by Penguin
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Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 304
Format: ARC

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.


My Review:

By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate is a book about books, that has a lovely romance and is a feel-good book that I just loved.  

Laine has a successful career as an editor for romance books and is engaged to be married to a man who meets all of her list of 99 traits for a successful mate.  Then she is given a provisional promotion to editorial director, but in order to get the promotion permanently, she must get their biggest selling author, Noa Calloway, to send in her next manuscript, which is already four months late.  

Noa is Lanie’s favorite author, and the reason she became an editor.  However, Noa is a recluse, and nobody has met her in person.  In fact, Lanie has only corresponded with Noa via email and has never met her in person.  But with the provisional promotion, Laine becomes Noa’s main editor, and she’s granted a meeting with her in order to help her overcome her writer’s block.  But nothing is as it seems as Laine tries to save her job and get Noa to write her book.  

As I said before, I just loved this enemies to lovers romance.  I enjoyed the look inside a publishing house, as well as what an editor’s life is like.  The romance between Laine and Noah was a slow burn, but lovely too.  This is one of my favorite tropes, where they were corresponding for years without ever meeting, and then falling in love in person.  There is plenty of flirty banter and some laugh-out-loud moments, but mostly this book is about Laine and Noah, and their romance. 

The author’s love of New York City was also evident in this book, Laine and Noah explored little hidden gems in the city and it was fun to explore the city through their eyes.  Their love of the city turned to love for each other.  

I have one minor issue with the book and, it’s the cover.  I don’t believe the cover is a good representation of the book.  Yes, it’s a romcom, and it’s a fun book to read, but it’s mostly a book about love, and this cover just doesn’t represent the book very well.  (this did not affect my review) 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book.  The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

UK Cover:

I think this UK cover is much better than the US cover.

About Lauren Kate

Lauren Kate is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Fallen novels, the Teardrop novels, and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. Her books have been translated into more than 30 languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Have you read By Any Other Name? What do you think of these covers? Which one do you prefer?

33 responses to “Book Review: By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate

  1. It’s funny that you mentioned the cover in your review because my first impression off the cover was that it was YA. If it wasn’t for your review I probably wouldn’t have looked twice at this one and it sounds like one I’d really enjoy.

  2. Looks like another cute contemporary romance. I wonder why these are so big right now. Maybe because we were starved of human interaction for so long? Now we like reading about human interactions?

    • Good question, Kami. I think you may be right. I think with a world in turmoil, it’s just nice to read something pleasant and positive too.

  3. It’s funny how the covers can be different from country to country or from generation to generation. As I read The Chronicles of Narnia, I was fascinated by the choice of focus of various publishers for the artwork over the years. I assume it is the publisher that makes that decision. Do you know?

    • I try to review everything. Most of what I read are ARC’s so I have to review them. When I read my personal books, I try to review those too, but I get behind on those reviews.

  4. I always have an issue when the cover doesn’t represent the story to a notable degree but I do, generally, love books about books ❤️ This sounds like a delightful read. Excellent review, Wendy!