I, eventually, got on to this story a little. For some reason, it started slow & I couldn’t really connect to any of the characters. It aggravated me that one character kept being referred to by 2 different names throughout the book. Bla.

It was interesting enough. Nothing to write home about, but interesting enough I guess.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was just not what I was expecting after reading the summary.
It really wasn’t a thriller at all. I didn’t care for the characters. The story itself was a bit confusing at times. Definitely not a book I enjoyed at all.

This book had potential, but turned out to be quite strange throughout. Lacking suspense, a weird plot and with little character development, this was just not an enjoyable read for me. All of the characters were appalling and not relatable. This was a dual/listen, but I ended up not liking the narrator because of the storyline. Unfortunately, this is not a book that I will recommending. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC of this book.

Thank you, Crooked Lane and NetGalley, for the advanced copy.

The novel was okay. It definitely wasn’t a thriller. I don’t think I’d classify it as a mystery either. Maybe just contemporary fiction… I wasn’t rushing to devour this novel, but at the same time, the pace was fine enough that I didn’t put it in a DNF pile.

Adam is a stay-at-home dad to a newborn while his wife teaches. As his marriage starts to breakdown, he becomes obsessed with the neighbor. Her sudden disappearance after an odd sighting of her ex at her house leads Adam to try to learn what has happened. Will he solve the mystery and be able to save his marriage?

2.5/3 rounded up.
The Neighbors We Want is the story of a stay-at-home dad, Adam, who has found himself unusually interested in the neighbor across the street. One day he believes that she has gone missing and that her ex-boyfriend has something to do with it. As his investigation grows, secrets and lies begin to come to the surface.

I really did think the story itself was interesting and so was the climax/ending. But the characters were all just so insufferable that it made it difficult to actually enjoy reading it. As the story went on, they each just got worse and worse. I do think that it was intentional for them to be awful and there was a good point in there about how essentially boredom, selfishness, and discontent with life can cause people to do things with awful domino effects they weren't intending. But I wish there had been a character with some redeeming qualities who I could root for.

I am sure some readers will enjoy this book, but this was just not for me. It took a long time to get into and I just took me awhile to get through. This should be categorized as a domestic drama not a thriller. It was just a bit too slow paced for me. Thank you, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3 star

As others have previously mentioned, this book was pretty strange. I didn’t hate it, but didn’t exactly love it either. It took about 30% in until I found myself wanting to continue and see how the story unfolded/ended. I think my biggest peeve was the random little political things sprinkled in that just didn’t have any significance to the story and weren’t necessary. I did end up enjoying the story once it got going even though the characters were pretty messed up in their own ways. While this book might not have exactly been for me and my tastes, I’m sure there are readers out there who will love it.

This one was hard to get through, I couldn't connect with any of the characters and found the suspense to be lacking!

This book was okay. I didn’t think it was amazing but it was alright, it was a little difficult to keep up with the multiple story lines at times.

This book was really difficult to get into. Most of the time I could not keep up with what was going on with the characters or the storyline, perhaps it was me. A stalker type situation between neighbors - a married man and his hot younger neighbor. Just not a huge story line and hard to follow. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

To be honest, I didn't love the storyline of this one. I could have dealt with one couple having an affair but to have more than that, it kind of bordered on over the top. The characters weren't overly likable and while I don't necessarily need them to be, in order to enjoy a book, in this case I found I wasn't too interested in what happened to either of them purely because they were so awful. There were a few good twists thrown into the story however overall, this book was just average for me.

The Neighbors We Want is not what I had expected.

The characters:
Adam, Sarah, Ali, Kemp and Evie.
Sarah and Adam are husband and wife. Adam is a stay at home dad, Sarah a teacher.
Ali is the neighbor across the street. Kemp aka Crispin is her ex. Evie is his mother and the principal at the school Sarah works at.

The story:
Nosy neighbors, peeping Tom's, forbidden relationships.

The writing of the book is not my favorite style. Too many unnecessary words and rambling prose. I was left confused through most of the book. It felt like I started the book in the middle and had no idea what was happening.

Not the book for me. I hope others will enjoy it more.

Thanks to netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the arc

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Audio for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. Unfortunately, it was not for me.

I had a very tough time following the story. It felt like we were dropped in the middle of it, with very little of the backstory explained. At times, the background was addressed as if we should already know. I also have a hard time succinctly describing what this book was about. For me, it didn't have much of a beginning or an end. I wasn't entirely sure where it was going, and it felt a little discombobulated.

Adam is a stay-at-home dad, or SAHD with a silent "H" as he likes to call himself. His wife, Sarah is a teacher. This is where it kind of plops you into the middle of things. Adam is obsessed with his neighbor, Ali, and seems to be somewhat of a peeping Tom. I don't think anything physical happened between them, and Ali seems to be put off by the attention. However, I found it odd that when Ali didn't show up from work and was seemingly missing, her job called Adam as the emergency contact she had listed. The relationship between them wasn't fully parsed out or explained. Adam's creeper status was also heightened because the only reason he was a SAHD was because he got caught and fired for jerking his pickle at his desk at work.

Sarah on the other hand, was having an affair with her boss's son, Crispen. When Sarah ended things with Crispen, he began dating neighbor Ali. Sarah's character was odd because I couldn't get a feel for her personality and just when you think you understand her, there's a personality flip. It felt a little like the author didn't know how to write her.

The whole thing culminates in a massive fire and a death, and a little bit of a whodunnit mixed in with "was it a murder?"

Overall thought is that I found the story incredibly hard to follow.

One thing that absolutely irked me to no end was that this writer had a style of making the characters repeat themselves 3 or more times in an inner monologue to emphasize the point they were dwelling on something.

- What did he do, did he do something, what did he do?
- What's going on, what's going on, what in the world is going on?

It came off like a hyper focused, anxiety induced or obsessive tick because it happened so often. I would have been fine with it, if it was limited to one of the characters doing it, but it was EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER and sometimes not even the main ones. It just bothered me and was so unrealistic that they all had the exact same inner monologue tendencies.

The characters were all unlikeable and you don't get a feel for their entire personalities.

Adam is new to the stay-at-home-dad life and, as his relationship with his wife starts to unravel, he becomes obsessed with his neighbor Ali across the street. One night, through his window he sees something that makes him question if Ali might be in danger and starts to seek out answers.

Ooooof, THE NEIGHBORS WE WANT by Tim Lane was not the story we (I) want 🙃

Rereading the synopsis after reading this book made me question who was responsible for hooking me into this weird, dysfunctional book with that blurb!

This one is very much a domestic suspense (hold the suspense) with a lot of odd sexual encounters and relationships that happen and are then never explained.

I didn’t feel any connection to the characters and am, overall, feeling very hung up on the story and the elements that came into play.

This one, unfortunately, didn’t do a whole lot for me, but thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me a chance to read this one early!

Publication Date: September 5

🏠 The Neighbors We Want - Tim Lane

2 ⭐️ - Ugh I hate to do this but this one just wasn’t for me. Also, why does the book cover match my house? That scares me. I hardly ever give low star reviews, but I also want to be honest with all of you. Please keep in mind that just because it’s not for me, doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it! I thought the synopsis sounded great for fall/spooky season and the book was, just wasn’t for me.

This was not what I was expecting. I thought I was getting a domestic thriller about creepy neighbors. Instead I got a story about a creepy peeping tom neighbor who can’t control his hormones. The main couple doesn’t like each other, they both have weird connected affairs, and a child they don’t really care about? Overall this whole book was a miss for me and just felt so empty. It was definitely a miss and not what I thought I was getting.

🙂 The good 🙂
Domestic drama
Neighborhood full of nosy Nellies
Multiple POV - one of which is done as the person being interviewed by the police
Several intersecting relationships
I want more info about the can collector & why he has that nickname for Sarah lmao

😕 The not-so-good 😕
It was hard to care about any of the characters bc they were selfish, awful people for the most part
Very slow burn
I did expect more suspense and shocks from a ‘psychological page-turner’

Rating: 4 stars, rounded up from 3.5

Thank you @Netgalley and @crookedlanebooks for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Posted to Instagram: 08/24/23
Posted to GoodReads: 08/28/23

This was a thriller for the ages! Kept me on the edge of my seat. I love a book that keeps me turning the pages! Highly recommend.

So, there's this neighborhood, right? And man, it's got secrets—more than you'd expect. And guess what? The whole deal turns into this home detective story that's a total rollercoaster. But here's the thing, it's not one of those jaw-dropping, mind-blowing rides. Nope, it's more like a wild yet sad and real journey. Think less heart-pounding thriller, more like domestic suspense.

Picture this: you're chilling in this normal neighborhood, but bam, there's a hidden world of secrets waiting to be cracked open. The story takes you on this wild ride that keeps you hooked, even if it's not trying to blow your socks off. It's like you're right there with the characters, feeling what they feel.

Oh, and speaking of characters, they're dealing with some heavy stuff. It's not your typical shock-value drama—it's all about those raw, real emotions. You're not gonna get jump scares; you'll get a punch in the feels instead.

Now, this ain't your high-octane thriller. Nah, it's more about peeking behind the curtain of everyday life and seeing the messiness that's hidden there. Relationships get all tangled up, secrets come out, and it's not some big, flashy showdown. It's like you're in on the inside scoop of your neighbor's lives.

So, all in all, this home detective story in a secret-laden neighborhood is one heck of a ride.

The Neighbors we Want was a good book. It took a little bit to get into but got me hooked after a while. What made it difficult for me to really get into this book was that when there were flashbacks, I couldn't tell right away and the story would seem jumbled. Other than that, great read!