Cover Image: I Spy the Boy Next Door

I Spy the Boy Next Door

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Member Reviews

This book was a good effort, but it fell flat for me because it was sort of a mess developmentally. It felt like I had reader whiplash - suddenly this happened, but wait! Then this other plot line suddenly came out of nowhere, etc. The writing does have a lot of promise and potential, if the developmental issues can be sorted out via a good editor and everything is really tightened and perfected. I could see what the author was going for in the story, but it got muddled by a lack of clarity in execution. That said, I would definitely give the author another chance.

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📖 I Spy The Boy Next Door📖
🖋Samantha Armstrong

Much thanks to NetGalley, Xpresso Book Tours and Samantha Armsteong for this complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own.

BUY THIS BOOK: Amazon ● Book Depository ● Barnes & Noble

📚 Series: No
📚 Genre: New Adult : Romance
📚 POV: First person.
📚 Cliffhanger: No.

⚠ Content Warnings: Spying/stalking. Descriptions of injuries/blood. Panic attacks.
⚠ Read if: you are into cheesy and cliche reads.

I Spy The Boy Next Door is about Mallory Taylor, a homeschooled girl who has a 5-year long crush with Troy Parker, the bad boy living next door. She is finally allowed to attend highschool because she is now 18, and to her surprise, Troy also attends there and is actually there in one of her classes.

This is a light and easy romantic read, with all the clichès that I was addicted to when I was 14 to 16, basically 10 years ago. Bad boy meets clueless-virgin-turning-wild-child.

A few pieces of freedom and she's lying to her parents, sneaking out, partying, watching underground boxing and even letting a boy sneak up to her room.

I hated all the cliches. I hated sleep-stalking a la Edward Cullen and just barging into her room without consent. I hated lines like this:
There was just so much blood, and before I knew it, I was on the ground. . . and in his arms. SCORE! Maybe having panic attacks and getting nauseous at the sight of blood isn’t such a bad thing.
and this:
I never would’ve thought the help I would need would come from a gay guy and a chick as blunt as they come.


A redeeming part would be the plot twist toward the end, I guess.

Still, it is an okay read, I'm sure many would find it great. Also still looking forward to author's future works.

☁ THE CRITERIA ☁

🌻 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Hero:⭐⭐
🌻 Heroine:⭐⭐
🌻 Support Characters:⭐⭐
🌻 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Character Development:⭐
🌻 Romance:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Pacing:⭐⭐
🌻 Ending:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Page Turner:⭐⭐
🌻 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐⭐

☁FINAL VERDICT: 2.45/5 ☁

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Theme: A mature first-love YA/NA contemporary romance with a mysteriously dangerous edge, comparable to Abbi Glines or Erin Watt.

Warnings: Some cliches (but I know I love them), some violence and teen angst, talk of grieving, self-harm, mental health issues, domestic violence and criminal activity.

Mallory Taylor has been home-schooled and sheltered by her overprotective parents, but that doesn't stop her from spying on her hot neighbor, Troy Parker, everyday. Deadly hot, full of tattoos and tortured secrets, Troy is a gift Mallory wants to unravel layer by layer. But when her parents finally agree to send her to public school, and Mallory confronts Troy, he proves to be more troubled and confusing than Mallory hoped.

As Mallory navigates the new world of high school, and boys, she can't seem to stay away from the one next door. And Troy doesn't want to stay away from her, either. But high school is nothing if not dramatic, and soon Mallory and Troy are testing the limits of their relationship- and the secrets they never wanted to share.

When I was reading the first half of this novel, it was full of tender cliches and super-awkward experiences. Sheltered, good-two shoes: check. Hot, troubled boy: check. Insta-love romance: check. Bad boy has deep dark secrets: check. Comic relief best friends: check. At one point, I made a judgement and wrote in my notes: A hilarious recipe for a romantic catastrophe, with a dash of mystery and many heartwarming elements blended in (it was a cooking scene! haha). But I loved every second of this lively novel anyways.

Little did I know, the last 30% ish, shit really hit the fan. By this point, we already explored the characters and revealed some secrets that allowed them to bond, and Mallory really seemed to grow as a character and was coming into her prime. But no one could have prepared me for the bomb-dropping that occurred. Looking back, there were clues that lead up to this, so it was well planned if you ask me. It turned this beautiful, cliche romance to the next level. I was so shocked, confused, and completely absorbed into the ending of the book.

I don't want to just define this novel by the ending, because I absolutely loved the whole story. But if you take anything away from this review, know it's more than a romantic comedy. It has so many deeper levels and so many good reveals that keep it interesting. I absolutely LIVED for this story, and I wish I could go back in time and experience this all over again.

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I really enjoyed this book! It didn't take me long until I was fully engaged in the book. The characters were well-developed and I found myself immediately drawn to the relationships in Mallory's life. The only downside is that I felt it was somewhat predictable, However, was still pretty enjoyable. Would definitely recommend it.

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This book really took me by surprise. There were things that bugged me a bit–which I’ll get to–but for the most part, I loved this story.

I’ll start with the things that I was a bit annoyed by …

Our heroine is homeschooled, and along with that came all the “homeschooled kid” stereotypes. She’s naive, very unsocialized, and so awkward around other people that I actually cringed while reading it. Now, I’ll be honest; this is a huge trigger for me because I was homeschooled. All growing up, my peers would ask me how I could understand how to interact with people if I didn’t go to “real school” or my friends’ parents would express “concern” over my not going to a school building every day. I’ll admit that every time I hear someone is homeschooled, I cringe, just waiting for the sarcastic remarks and not-so-witty quips about that person being naive, unable to socialize, and unable to interact with people in a normal way. As I said, this is a trigger, lol. BUT, I will say, the reason behind her homeschooling and super strict upbringing is brought up again later and given much more explanation and I was satisfied with it. It was just the initial “I’m a lonely, homeschooled girl who can’t figure out how to talk with people” that terribly frustrated me. It probably wouldn’t bother me if I didn’t have the experience I do, but I want to make sure I write my reviews authentically and let my readers know what was going through my head while I was reading. In any event, I’ll move on now, lol.
TL;DR: I was homeschooled and reading about the stereotypical naive, socially awkward homeschooled kid is super annoying and slightly offensive.

Aside from the initial impression, I actually really liked Mallory. She’s a sweet, curious, intelligent, and sassy character. While spending time in her room, she’s watched her next door neighbor, Troy, from her window for the last several years–pining for him from afar. The only interaction she’d had with him was when they were younger, and it wasn’t a great one. In fact, she’s convinced that’s the reason he stays away from her–although she thinks it’s rather silly of him to hold a grudge for something so insignificant. But Mallory has a plan; she wants to spend her senior year in public school, and she’s determined to get the sexy bad boy next door to notice her once and for all.

The interaction between the two at the beginning is somewhat predictable; she tries to get to know him and he tells her to stay away from him. She refuses, he’s surly and somewhat mean to her, and just when she starts to give up, he decides he can’t stay away from her any longer. This is kind of YA Romance’s MO, but honestly? I am SO here for it. I absolutely love the boy ignores girl/girl tries harder to get his attention/boy tells her to stay away/girl gives up/boy realizes he can’t stand not having her around trope. I know some people are tired of it, but I still love the teenage angst and I loved the slow build up between these two.

And speaking of the characters, Troy is so different from what I first expected. When you first meet him, he’s brash, rude, obnoxious and seems just a hair too into himself. Honestly, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, he’s definitely got the bad boy, rebel without a cause thing going for him; he’s an underground fighter, rides a motorcycle, takes no shit, and he’s definitely played the field plenty of times in the past, but there’s much more to him than what you see on the surface. I was pleasantly surprised with his character and he’s quickly become one of my favorite book boyfriends <3

While the first part of this book was frustrating for me, I found myself greatly enjoying the rest of it. The main characters, after their initial resistance, have such amazing chemistry and the love they share is so beautiful and raw. The secondary characters were also explained well and were given fantastic and distinct personalities. I enjoyed the friendships between each of the characters and the relationships never felt static or unrealistic. They were genuine and fun and I liked how most of the first impressions of these characters ended up being wrong. There’s also extraordinary growth that we get to see in Mallory and that was impressive to me; she learns that she was too quick to judge and had been selfish in the past and she vows to change her ways. It’s extremely admirable and I love a story where there’s a good lesson involved–this one, in particular, I think everyone should be reminded of, regardless of age.

Also…there’s a major twist in this story that I didn’t see coming at all. And the way the author tied in all the various characters involved was absolutely amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the young adult genre :)

Happy reading!

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I Spy The Boy Next Door is a delicious, heart-rumbling, heart-warming whale of a tale.

I mean if Troy could just pin me down with those ocean blues, that’d be great.

I’m very much a fan of the boy doesn’t want the girl (pretends not to), but the girl wants the boy, boy fights it, but they eventually wind up together trope.

Mallory is homeschooled and home-bound. But, that doesn’t stop the crush she has on Troy, The Boy Next Door.

Every day around 4, she watches him come running down the block all sweaty and hot. She’s fine with that, for now. But, her 18th birthday is approaching and she wants to go to school. Real school. The kind that requires she leaves the house. Much to her parent's chagrin, they let her go.

It’s in this letting go that Mallory finds herself and she also discovers that her crush is not so one-sided.

Troy was a boy of few words. But when he spoke and moved, it was arresting. From the way the author describes his come-hither stares, his just-barely-there smiles, I practically melted into a puddle of goo.

The romance in this one was an excruciating slow burn that had me panting for the hookup. When it does happen, it’s slow like the pouring out of ketchup in a class Heinz bottle.

But, it’s so good. So painstakingly good.

All of the characters are three dimensional and fitting and perfect for the story. I really enjoyed how the author built up relationships so efficiently and timely.

The story itself is perfectly paced and well-written, very.

And the climax to the story was surprising, I definitely wasn’t expecting it—and it gave the story a nice mystery quality.

Unpredictable, and stimulating, TBND is a great read—with an even better writer at the helm. Very enjoyable, I can’t wait to read more from this author.

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Read the full review here: https://3mmakatariina.wordpress.com/2019/05/21/review-i-spy-the-boy-next-door

e-arc provided by netgalley and the lovely publisher for providing this copy in exchange for an honest review

This by far is one of my favourite arcs i’ve read, thank you netgalley and the publisher! I really needed some fun and light ya contemporary to get me back to wanting to read. I have had some struggles after finishing the fourth Harry Potter and trying to get into another arc, but have failed many times for now. But now after picking this one up, i just want to devour my romance and contemporary books and read nothing else!

Okay, so we learn that Mallory, or Mal for short, has been home schooled and for her final year she wants to go to real high school. After convincing her parents, she starts her high school year feeling confident, but anxious as she doesn’t have any friends except Nicole, who lives in Texas. But it turns out to be okay, as she befriends with Evie and Jamie, who i absolutely loved. They were the type of best friends, who have been friends for ages and just taking Mal into their friend group felt really heart warming. In addition, i enjoyed reading about Mal’s all the new experiences like partying and sneaking out after curfew.

read more at https://3mmakatariina.wordpress.com/2019/05/21/review-i-spy-the-boy-next-door

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Every story has its up and downs and I'm still a little on the fence of where I land on this one. There were parts I really enjoyed and parts that left me a little unfulfilled. Let me try to capture my feelings.

Mallory is an interesting character. While I sympathize with the whole home-schooled, live in a bubble, upbringing it seemed overused as an excuse for her naivety. One of her main character traits is her impulsiveness: sneaking out, drinking, fights, snooping, etc. which seems contradictory to her very sheltered outlook. For me, it seemed like two extremes that didn't quite make sense in my brain. I understand the venturing out for the first time excitement, but with her anxiety and panic attacks I feel that she would have more trepidation doing all these things. The fact that she was spying on her neighbor for 5 years while pining for him is a bit creepy as well, but let's hope that was just her naivety and social anxiety.

Despite the slightly weird "I know you've been spying on me for years" vibe that Troy has, his character is very well written. He is guarded and has several reasons to be. There's a lot of family history that makes him who he is and I really enjoyed the reveal of his angst and guarded-ness with Mallory. Forbidden fruit you might say.

There were some surprises and I did enjoy how things ended up between Mallory and her friends and family. There were some plot holes that never quite got filled but overall it was an interesting coming of age story. Learning about life, love, and how sometimes are parents are right.

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I completely and utterly loved this book! I read it completely in a day I was that drawn in by the characters. This isn't your normal teen romance it had twists and turns that kept you in the dark until the very end, and what an ending! I've never read any of Samantha Armstrong's work previous to this but I've already downloaded her other publications. Its been a while since I've been sad at a book ending but this one has. Mallory and Troy are definitely staying with me for a while yet!

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Maybe it's me, and I've outgrown this type of book, but I could barely get through this one, and skimmed a lot. I understand Mallory is homeschooled and sheltered, but unless she lived in a commune with no electronics her level of naïveté was astounding. And the set up to have her attend public school was laughable. So maybe I was just so annoyed at the start that I never connected with the book. But it was loooong and nothing happened until everything happened all at once near the end. Just didn't do it for me.

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****4 out of 5 STARS****

This book was filled with twists and turns I wasn't expecting. It was breath of fresh air! I like to think I'm usually a pretty good guesser of story lines, and although I had a few hunches, this one left me surprised.

I Spy the Boy Next Door had elements that reminded me of some of my favorite romantic reads, it took me back to the indie community back around 2013ish.

There were a few parts that were a little slow for me. I felt that the MC's had depth but other characters were slightly lacking.

Overall though, I loved the story! And Troy, did I mention TROY?! *le sigh* I found a new book boyfriend y'all. He was that perfect broody, mysterious bad boy.

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This was my first ARC that I requested and was approved to read through @netgalley ! I was really excited to read the book and felt disappointed ☹️.
Synopsis: Mallory is about to be a senior in high school and has been homeschooled her entire life. She sits at her window most days and spies on the boy next door, Troy Parker. She convinces her parents to let her go to high school for one year and finally sees Troy up close and personal. But is Mallory the only one doing the spying????
The story takes a while to “get going” with most of the dialogue consisting of Mallory’s observations and longings for Troy, short conversations between the two of them, and Troy mostly grunting as he pulls a hand through his hair. The interaction between the two main characters reminded me a little of Twilight 😐. The plot didn’t really pick up until the last quarter of the book and then felt rushed at the end. However, I did not see the twists in the story coming, so I felt excited about them! But then let down that there was only less than a quarter left in the book and knew this would all wrap up too quickly. Overall, I was left wishing I had more; in particular, more character development and a more developed plot line.
If you want a quick mystery and has the typical teenage angst and a plot twist that comes out of nowhere, this is your book!

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To be honest, I was looking forward to reading this book, the blurb seemed cute and i liked the simple cover. However, while I do like reading books about highschool and cute love stories, this felt less nostalgic and more like the kind of book that was probably intended for a younger audience. That being said, I do feel the novel had too many things it wanted to be but nothing felt really developed properly, from the characters to the relationships. Unfortunately, for the most part this book fell flat for me and I kept speeding through it. The plot felt disorganised and a bit slow but then suddenly the last 1/3 of the book had several plot twist that felt too rushed and underdeveloped. I keep thinking maybe I'm just not the audience for this book. Although if this was for a younger audience I would prefer some content warning, like murder and domestic violence also can we all stop romanticising a guy sneaking in to someone's bedroom to watch them sleep, its not cute or sexy or romantic.

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Funny, thrilling, laugh out loud teenage drama with loads of twist and turns. Reading this was an experience. I wish my teenage years were filled with so much excitement. Great characters, great story. Enjoyed every minute of it. It was a great book. Just can't wait to read more of samantha armstrong's books.

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Mallory Taylor is a naive, homeschooled, virgin who spy's on the hot, tattooed, motorcycle-driving boy next door. This book was a total cliche taken from stories we have heard many times before. From Mean Girls, (the homeschool girl becoming friends with the edgy girl and the gay kid) to the bad boy fighter that is seen in so many stories. While all these tropes seem unoriginal, this story is executed fairly well with quite an original plot twist though it was predictable.

I had mixed feelings about this book. It was too all over the place for 200 pages and it just felt like this book didn't even know what it was. Our protagonist goes to her first party, gets her first hangover, gets the flu, sprains her ankle all in a matter of a couple weeks. And honestly that is the least of her problems. There was no flow to the timing of this book and it became confusing. The writing was amateur at best and I feel like the relationship between characters formed way too quickly. And there was no depth to these characters. "You like space. Cool." That's it. With most books, you want to jump into it and feel like you are apart of their world. With this book I was like, "...nah. imma chill here. i'm good." It did not have the pull, but I believe with a few minor tweaks it could have been there.

Mallory is quite clueless is some of the most crucial points in her life and there is no real backstory as to why she makes these decisions. It is almost like they author just puts the blame for her being homeschooled for not knowing how to act, but yet this character is so bold out of no where. There was just no sense of self.

Did I like this book...eh. I did not hate it. But would I recommend it. Not necessarily. I would give I Spy the Boy Next Door 3 out of 5 stars.

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Holy crap, I'm kind of in shock!

I totally judged this book by its cover. The pretty design and title suggested that it was a sweet boy next door romance. Gosh, I was wrong.

While it does drag for the first half of the book I encourage you to power through. The second half is not what you would expect and will leave you gripping onto the edge of your seat.

I spy is a romance with a touch of mystery, but soon moves into a series of dark and twisted plot twists.

The sex scenes between Mallory and Troy were perfect. For the genre, they were not too descriptive and were realistic for a guy with experience and a girl who is a virgin.

Yes, this book is filled with cliches (bad boy with tattoos, a virgin goodie two shoes, annoying little brother, overprotective parents) but the plot and unpredictable twists make up for it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Samantha Armstrong for providing me with this ARC.

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I really liked the start to this book and couldn't put it down through the 50-60% mark. However the plot twists that came with the second half, felt like a bit of a stretch in unbelievability. I think i would have been ok with a couple of the thematic elements but it felt like too many all at once and out of nowhere compared to the first half of the book.

Spoiler:
Also it annoyed me that the author had the Witness Protection program being oversaw by an FBI agent. It might seem like a minor thing, but it would have been easier to check accuracy and make the father a US Marshall who are the ones who monitor that program.

I think this will be a fun summer read for high schoolers but its not anything spectacular.

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I enjoyed this. I connected to the character and it felt like I was right there with her, especially during her more embarrassing moments haha. All the other characters (secondary as well) were great and likable. The story held my attention until the end. Overall a good YA read!

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This started off good with a 17 year old girl who has a huge crush on the boy next door that she would spy on from her bedroom window. While I thought the book was good, it got to point where it took a huge turn and then I felt it was rushed. I wish the suspense had been there more and could have had time to build instead of being thrown at me. However, I would suggest this book for YA readers. It was a good read.

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My thoughts on it?

this book had so much potential. I loved the concept of a girl how’s been homeschooled, spying on her hot neighbor, it just has something hilarious to it. I expected it to be a super funny story, and super lightweight and easy to read. It definitely has some really funny things in it, and i love mallory relationship with her best friend nic. It remind me of me and my best friend.

Troy Parker is your typical bad boy who is actually a real softy from the inside. He rides a Harley Davidson, participate in illegal fighting, and from the outside he is a real bad boy. But when it comes to Mallory Taylor he will do everything to protect her and make her happy.

I thought this story put every teenage problem in it that we know of. we have Mallory's anxiety and her parents who are really overprotective but are fine with the fact that she closes her door and locks it? and they don't have a clue that the guy next door slips inside her bedroom at night? i mean come on really?! I thought it was a bit creepy that at the beginning Mallory has been spying on her neighbor for five years and totally otterly in love is with him, even if they never talked before. why because he is hot? and when they actually meet, he absolutely hates her and wants nothing to do with her. But at the end he falls head over heels for her?! yeah very realistic.

I did flew threw this book but the last 30 to 25% it was a bit heavy and heart breaking and a bit confusing why some stuff happened. I had a lot of mix feelings about this story and i wasn't sure if i liked it. I did like some parts of it even loved some parts. it has definitely a lot of humor in it. but there were also a lot of parts were i got frustrated with the story and parts were i only could roll my eyes at.

How many stars?

I gave it 3,5 stars, most part because i did enjoy the genre of Young Adult and New Adult which are my faves. And because there were very funny en lovely parts in it that out rated the bad ones.

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