I just didn't love this. I wanted to - but the more I read, the less I liked it. Honestly - I felt like Skylar deserved better. I also felt like Cullen deserved better too. Parker Jax is not a bad guy - but he felt like a fairly immature alpha - and even though he clearly loved Skylar and Cullen - he was not ready to put them first in anything. There were several parts of the book that didn't make a lot of sense to me either - which might have been because I wasn't invested enough to read closely - but still. As a side note - this book definitely needs a trigger warning for some unexpected content <spoiler> drug use, child neglect/abuse, and loss of a child and spouse. </spoiler>.

The premise of this book had a lot to offer - but the characters just didn't deliver for me.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

The premise of this book was great - but I did not enjoy how the book was written. The author explained every single step of every single line and did not leave anything to the imagination. It would be great for the author to leave some of the details out so we can weave the story in our minds as we read.

Rating 3.5 Stars

This book was a little shaky for me. It got off to an OK start, the middle had me frustrated but the end was very good.

As a Marine myself, Parker wasn't quite right to be a Recon Marine. His military persona was alluded to but never came across like a true Marine. I had picked the book up for the Marine and biker aspects. The bike turned out to be a small bit of Parker's life but it wasn't necessary to the story so no worries there.

Skylar is so closed off. It's understandable when her story comes out and it builds great tension between the pair. Parker's mom, child and ex-fling all add a ton of aspects to create issues between him and Skylar and that's all played out pretty well.

The end though was every girl's fantasy. A guy so in love he doesn't take the rejection and let it be their end. His search for Skylar and his declaration to her are swoon worthy. It's such a happy moment when Skylar gets out of her own way!

The book struggled but was a worthwhile read.

I thought this book looked like just the distraction I was looking for but just a few pages in I realized I had made a mistake. The writing style was off putting to me and despite a cute premise the story itself wasn’t strong enough to overcome it. There was nothing particularly interesting or well executed. The typical evil ex and unsympathetic parents combined with a heroine who judges the women the hero associates with (can we please do away with slut shaming. It doesn’t make the heroine look better) and the hero’s friends treating her better than the women they spend time with because she is not like other girls even though they have barely spoken to her- just a lot of lazy and uninspired things thrown together with a ton of telling and not showing. Not the book for me.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to this book by both the cover and blurb. But once I started it, I couldn’t get into it. The characters had little to no chemistry for the majority of the book but every now and then they would have some. I found myself rather bored and skimming the book just to get to the end of it. I really wanted to like this book but I found Parker to be annoying, entitled, and just overall not great.

*I received and eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. *

A captivating, spine-tingling, toes-curling romance that will have you on the edge of your seat. Readers are drawn into the dual-narrator accounts of both Parker: a military Recon man home doing rehab, and Skylar: his fiercely independent next door neighbor.

**I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Her Marine Next Door by Aliyah Burke.....what a yummy neighbors turned lovers story! Skylar is a single, artist who enjoys the eye candy next door. Parker is a Marine, home, doing physical therapy so he can rejoin his team. They both enjoy the views, but never talk more than to complain about the parties Parker has or for him to ask to borrow something. Everything changes when a one night stand shows up on Parker’s porch with a kid. His hare-brained idea throws Skylar and Parker together and what unfolds is a story of trust, love and steamy scenes. In the beginning I felt there wasn’t a good flow to some of the story but overall it was a page-turner that once again kept me up way too late! Since I got this ARC from the publisher for my review, I’m looking forward to more from this publisher as well as the author. This was my first Aliyah Burke book and I’m excited to read her others!

I thought the book was fine but I was turned off by the attitude toward women, i.e., at the party, calling the baby mama a bitch all the time.

There is a lot of angst in this book. Skylar put up with a lot more than I would have, and that was in the first couple of chapters. I have to say though that I keep reading (ok I skipped a few pages) so that I could find out how it ended. So, angst and all, I give this 4 stars.

This book was a fast fun read! I really enjoyed the premise even though Skylar and Parker’s relationship developed too fast and in an extremely unrealistic manner. I felt like some of the transitions felt a little disjointed and wished that some of the more important conversations didn’t take place “off screen” but all in all I can say I enjoyed this story. Definitely will be reading more from Aliyah Burke!

3 stars

I was so drawn to this book because I love the blurb and the cover was stunning but within the first couple of chapters, my liking started to wind down. I didn't like Skylar, she felt too like a teenager and I get what she went through was hard, her attitude especially when she was around Parker didn't help for me to end up liking her. Now, Parker i didn't dislike but he had some bully attitudes that I cringed while reading. I get the alpha male hero but this wasn't that.
This book has this rating for the end, I find it sweet and cutesy and I enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was looking forward to loving this book. I loved the cover and the blurb caught my attention instantly. However, as the story progressed and I got to meet the main characters, I felt my interest waning. Parker didn’t do it for me. I understand the take-charge, broody, alpha male attitudes, but Parker came across more like a bully when it came to his approach towards getting Skylar to give him a chance. As for Skylar, I tried giving her the benefit of the doubt once I learned where she was coming from, but in the end I couldn’t really connect with her on any level. I found myself skimming through her POV cause she kept on going around in circles and repeatedly stating the same thing. In the end, skimmed through everything that wasn’t dialogue. I mean, I couldn’t even be bothered to read the love scenes, which means I’m definitely wasn’t interested in the story.

All in all, a great concept, but not the book for me.

I really enjoyed Parker and Skylar's book. It was a wasy read. They secretly admirer each other from afa as neighbor but both struggle with actually letting each other in. Parker ropes Skylar into an elobaroate scheme to pretend to be his fiance. At this point they star tto get to know each other and give ito their attraction. Good read that sucks you in from the beginning. Parker had me laughing out loud a few times throughout the book!!

Sorry, this just wasn’t for me. I tried hard to keep going and give it a chance but I really just did not enjoy the writing or storyline. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

This was a fun book to read. Spicy and sweet. A curve ball was thrown when Cullen came into the picture but he grew into our hearts as the story went on.

I really enjoyed this story- it has 3 of my fave romance tropes: military/ neighbors-to-lovers/ fake relationship to real relationship. The author did a really good job of developing the relationship between the MC’s. I loved Parker and Slylar together, the chemistry was off the charts. And I loved the little boy too. Ooooh, and the friends, very supportive. I loved it all, and will be looking into other books by this author.

Leaving reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

What first drew me to this book was the cover. It's simply amazing and I love it. And when I read the blurb I was even more excited to read the book. It started off really great but then the more I read the less I liked it and about half way through I started skimming just to get to the end. Based on the blurb I was expecting a different story. Once Parker's ex was introduced the book took a turn I didn't care for. On top of that I had a hard time connecting to Skylar from the get-go. And I also wasn't a big fan of Parker, the hero. He made some questionable decisions in my opinion. And the chemistry between Parker and Skylar, I did not feel it, at all - but, they were sweet together in the end. I enjoyed some parts of the book anyway. But other parts were a catastrophe for me and I didn’t enjoy them at all. It was disappointing because it was either really good or really bad. There was no inbetween. I also feel like the plot was not flowing. That's why the book dragged and I had to push myself to finish it.
Oh well, I loved the concept but I don't think the execution was the best. I’m still looking forward to reading more books by Ms. Burke but this one didn’t quite excite me as much as I had hoped.

3.5 stars
This is my first book by Aliyah Burke. And I definitely will be reading more.
I loved how clueless Parker was, as he was falling for his neighbour.
I’m hoping the other Marines get their own stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review.

My first by this author, but not the last! The cover and the blurb got my attention. In an enemies to lovers story that moves quickly, we have Skyler and Parker. He is the carefree bad boy, and she is the reserved artist with the biggest heart. As neighbors, they have been on each other's radars, but have not acted upon them. Parker’s world is turned upside down while he is home recovering from injury, putting Skylar in his path. As the two make nice for others, the pretend become real. Will their pasts prevent their future?

This was a great, easy read. A real enemies to lovers story.
Parker is the bad boy marine who lives next door to Skylar. He is always throwing loud parties with lots of woman and little regard for her privacy or property. But life throws Parker a huge curveball and he recruits Skylars help. Pretending to be his fiancé for just a short while will soon feel more real than fake. But Skylar and Parker each have a lot of in their lives they must work through in order for them to find a happy ending together.
Great characters, and I enjoyed the story.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.