A former sorority girl starts a prestigious poetry MFA program only to discover that one of her fellow grad students is her high school crush-turned-nemesis–who can’t stop writing about her.
No one’s more surprised than Leigh when a prestigious MFA program in North Carolina accepts her. A former sorority girl, Leigh’s the first to admit she knows more about the lyrics of Taylor Swift than T.S. Eliot, and she’s never been able to shake the “all-style-no-substance” feedback her high school crush made in their poetry workshop. Bad enough that her tattooed, New Yorker tote bag-carrying classmates have read all the right authors and been published in the country’s leading literary journals, Leigh’s insecurities become all too real when Will, that same high school crush-turned-nemesis, shows up at orientation as a first-year in the program, too. And now, he’s William, exactly the kind of writer Leigh hates, complete with his pretentious sweater vests and tattered Moleskine. Leigh’s determined to prove herself–and William–wrong by landing the program’s highly-coveted fellowship. But Will’s dead-set on it, too, and in a small cohort, they can’t keep apart for long. When Will submits an intimate poem (that’s maybe, probably, definitely about Leigh) to workshop, they’re both forced to realize there’s more to the other than what’s on the page. And what’s between the lines may be even more interesting.
Read: August 7, 2026 – August 8, 2026
Final Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) – really liked it
How pretty I am like this, how he knows I need it, how crazy I drive him in workshop, how he can’t write a single poem where I don’t exist. In his stanzas, his lines, his words.
I’m always a fan of a rivals-to-lovers romance and I quite enjoyed You Between the Lines! There was a good amount of tension, pushing and pulling, and we don’t get their first kiss until ~50% of the way through the book, though they are obviously attracted to each other. I am not a poetry critic by any means but I do like that we see the characters pouring their emotions into their words and then using those to share their feelings with others.
Despite her flaws, I kinda identified with Leigh’s character when she was opening up about being constantly accommodating and then secretly resenting others for doing the same; or how she felt about writing being her escape; or when she was struggling with no longer loving writing for what it was/hiding behind a persona instead of her real voice. Her character arc isn’t perfect but she does apologize and seems to change and I appreciate that.
It’s also clear that Leigh’s trauma stemming from her parents’ separation is impacting how she views the world around her, and it translates into her being rude and immature not just towards Will but the other people in her class. I do like that she starts to grow out of it and stop projecting onto others.
For two people who are good with their words through writing, Leigh and Will were frustratingly unclear with each other at key moments in the book. I kept wishing for Leigh to stop assuming and seek clarity, and for Will to speak up and actually say how he felt. Especially during the third act conflict, it was clear that there was intentional miscommunication and misunderstanding and I was actually irritated — it also didn’t feel as though they were in their late twenties/early thirties with how childish they were behaving.
Overall, I did like most of the progression of their relationship. Leigh started to let her guard down and realize that her parents not working out didn’t mean she had to self-sabotage all her relationships; and Will started to use his words and be forthright about his feelings and what he wanted. I also appreciated the setting of their university and MFA workshop-I could actually picture the sessions and the campus feel (though I do wish the fellowship they were working towards ended up meaning more than it did at the end). I would recommend if you’re interested in rivals-to-lovers, romance between writers, and serious tension between the romantic leads.