By Any Other Name
by Lauren Kate
out March 1, 2022
ISBN: 9780735212541
★★★★★

A charming comfort-read for fans of sweet (ie: not steamy) romance.

Lanie, a romance editor, has based her romantic life on the ideal man she has put together from the books of her favorite romance author, Noa Calloway -- a formula that doesn't work out well in real life. The author, Noa, prefers strict privacy, and Lanie has only interacted with them via email -- but they've grown quite close over the past seven years that Lanie has worked for Noa's editor. Lanie imagines Noa as a secretive but kind older woman hiding in a New York high rise.

However, when Lanie is unexpectedly promoted at work, she becomes Noa's editor, and discovers that Noa is actually much younger, male, and handsome than she had thought. He's also suffering from severe writer's block.

To try and stimulate his creative process and keep her promotion, Lanie and Noah travel to some of Lanie's favorite spots in New York City to find the right setting for his newest novel. Along the way they learn that there is more to romance than popular romance novel tropes.

You can see the ending coming a mile away, but that's okay -- you're reading this book for the HEA, enjoy the ride there.

arc received for review