I loved this book so much! It made me smile while reading which is always a good sign. It had romance, humor, and the HEA we all love!

This was fairly middle of the road for me. I think it had a lot of potential but I felt like there were parts that dragged on. The premise was compelling and I loved how well the design details were highlighted- made me want to grab some design magazines, but ultimately it fell a little flatter than I had hoped.

I really wanted to love How to Love Your Neighbor. This novel has everything I typically love in romance stories—an enemies-to-lovers trope, a contemporary meet-cute, an idyllic setting—but in the end it was a struggle to keep reading. The characters don't quite mesh together, the story is a little too ambitious for its execution, and the ending is a little too neat.

First, the positives: Sullivan doesn't skimp on the interior design details. Grace is a professional interior designer, and it shows in the detail Sullivan pays to the decoration in both Grace's and Noah's homes. It's believable that Grace knows what she's doing, and that level of expertise is always helpful in putting the reader at ease and immersing them in the fictional world. The secondary characters are also quite lovable: Morty (not of Rick and Morty fame, for better or for worse) perfectly fits the curmudgeon-with-a-heart-of-gold archetype, Josh is a good counterbalance to Noah, and Rosie is a loyal friend. Sullivan's writing shines best in the moments that involve primary and secondary characters playing off each others' personalities.

However, this novel suffers from an odd gait when it comes to plot and to character development. The plot never truly climaxes anywhere; it stays at the same relaxed level throughout the novel, even when Grace and Noah debate their relationship status. Moreover, as the novel progresses, Sullivan continues introducing new aspects of the characters' pasts—aspects and details that would have been best confined to the exposition. In short, it feels as if the reader never truly knows Grace and Noah. New information is constantly unearthed, information that feels critical to know yet odd when introduced in the later stages of the story, as it too often is.

That being said, obligatory disclaimer: most readers enjoy this novel greatly! I can't exactly count myself among them, but if you're thinking about picking this novel up, please don't let me stop you.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

How to Love Your Neighbor ​is out January 18, 2022.

Well, this one didn't give me anxiety so there's that. I will say I enjoyed this one more than its companion. Noah and Grace's relationship was developed really well. I thought Grace was such a good character with so much growth. It was cool to see her being an older college kid finishing up school. I enjoyed her relationship with Morty the most. I miss my grandparents and it was the kind of relationship I wish I had with either of them.

I'm hoping the author does the elusive brother Wes next because I keep reading about him but he's like a unicorn in both books. Doesn't show up in either one, just a few conversations on the phone. Also this sister... Ari. This is two books now, and while they mention her, neither brother actually talks to her so like idk, maybe include her. It would be nice to finally read about her, since they kind shit on her and make her seem like an air-head. Also, I need to see this dad, I mean someone needs to beat this dad’s ass. That’s what I meant.

As for the story, I think the best part of both Ten Rules and How to Love Your Neighbor is the theme of found family. In both books, the main characters have a strong sense of loyalty and familial bond with their friends. In How to Love your Neighbor, Grace’s mom sucks. A nice example of manipulative and toxic traits with a dash of gaslighting. I absolutely love the role Morty has on Grace and seriously that was my favorite relationship in the whole book.

Overall, this was a good book that I can’t wait to be released. And while Ten Rules may be a little triggering, what made that book enjoyable easily was continued in How to Love Your Neighbor

Grace is moving up in this world and working hard to achieve it. She has finally moved into her own home after assisting an elderly man after a fall. She has grown to love him as family, but still thinks it's time to move into her own place. Her grandparents that she never met have left her their home after they passed away, so this is the time to seize the opportunity. As she is going to design school, she is working on her home as money and time allows. Her mother comes into the scene when she finds out her daughter inherited the home and she didn't. She expected the home, even though she never even introduced Grace to her grandparents and had nothing to do with them. Grace's biggest obstacle is the rich neighbor that will not stop trying to buy her home from her. She suspects he's just an egotistical rich kid that won't give up until he gets what he wants. But, she may have a way to get along with him AND expand her design business. But, will love get into her way?

I loved Sophie Sullivan's last book, so I was excited when this follow up came along.

This novel made me want to find a local to calm in love with. So funny too! It moved a little slow at parts but for the most part, a light and vibrant read.

This was exactly the book I needed right now
It was cute and light and it made me really happy.
It was a story do two enemies turn into lovers so if that is the genre you enjoy I think this book will be just what you need

Synopsis: Grace Travis studies to complete her degree in design while building a life in the house her grandparents left her. Grace’s life is on track to finding her dream job until her next door neighbor, Noah Jansen, insists on buying her property. As a real estate developer, Noah’s confident he can convince Grace to sell her house, yet his pushiness leads to an all-out feud between the two.

Review: This book is the companion novel to Ten Rules for Faking It with some of the characters interwoven into this book, but you don’t have to have read it to enjoy this. Grace and Noah have a sunshine/ grumpy character dynamic, and while there’s no spice, there’s lots of good tension. Some of the tropes in this book are forced proximity, light enemies to lovers, having to work together, and the miscommunication trope, which I wasn’t a fan of. My only dislike of the book was that the pacing lagged at times, but the storyline was really sweet. I liked getting to see Grace and Noah finding common ground through their differences.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress | @macmillanusa for the ARC copy!

When I think of romantic comedy, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day. This one took by surprise!

How to Love Your Neighbor is a laugh-out-loud story that gives you hope for the underdog to win.

Grace Travis is the jack of all trades; she is a dog walker, a barista, student of interior design; she is a live-in caretaker for a man called Milton. Until she decides that she will move into the house that her grandparents had left for her.

Noah Jansen is the handsome neighbor next door who knows how to make a deal, and he wants to buy the house next door to knock it down to add on to his home. he finds out that some things are not for sale, no matter what the deal.

Cute read! My first book by this author and I really enjoyed it.
Grace is in interior design school and she ends up being offered the opportunity to fix up the house next door.
Noah just wants to get his hands on the house next door so he can expand his property. But he didn’t realize that he would end up falling for the girl next door.
Grab this book and enjoy!

"How to Love Your Neighbor" takes place in the same small coastal California town as Sophie Sullivan's first novel, "Ten Rules For Faking It," and features Noah, the brother of radio station manager Chris Jansen. In "Ten Rules," Chris found love with producer Everly Dean and we learned a bit about the Jansen family's stern patriarch, who presides over a real estate empire in New York. Like Chris, Noah moved to California in large part to get out of his dad's sphere of influence.

Noah is very well off thanks to his own real estate deals, so he buys a large house near the ocean. There's just one problem... the shabby little house next door, which has been unoccupied for a long time. Noah wants to buy it and expand his property, but then one day Grace Travis turns up. She's inherited the small house and intends to renovate it. Noah is convinced he can get her to change her mind.

I was concerned at first that Noah would be too much of an unmitigated asshole to root for, but he's really more of a classic romcom grump who just needs a sunny, sweet woman to change him for the better. Grace is just about to graduate from design school, and through a series of plot machinations, winds up redecorating Noah's house, enabling the pair to spend lots of time together, and, of course, develop a strong attraction to each other.

Like "Ten Rules," "How to Love Your Neighbor" feels maybe 50 pages too long, but it was still a very pleasant read (and is particularly recommended to readers who prefer fade-to-black instead of steamy sex scenes). Both Grace and Noah learn and grow over the course of the book, helped by a lovely group of friends and relatives (including Chris and Everly). There is still one Jansen brother left, Wes, who is still in New York and working directly with the patriarch; perhaps Sullivan's next book will feature his story, and we'll learn a bit more about the dysfunctional parental relationship which has burdened at least two of the Jansen boys.

This was a cute romcom! I really enjoyed all the competitions and the fun dates/projects throughout the book. I felt the steam and chemistry between the characters, but was left disappointed when the door slammed in my face!! I also wish we got a little bit more to the ending with what happened with the houses and after the magazine.

Read this if:
- you enjoy home DIY projects
- love enemies to lovers
- want closed door romance
- you enjoy multiple POVs

Thank you so much SMP and Netgalley for my early copy in exchange for a honest review!

A fades-to-black, enemies-to-lovers romance... This one is full of great supporting characters. The main characters are fine too, but nothing really special. The story is sweet but I will say the ending was a bit too 'true love monologue-y' for me.

How to Love Your Neighbor is a charming (closed door) contemporary romance. I did not read Sophie Sullivan's first book, but this story was fine as a stand alone.

I thought Noah and Grace had great chemistry and I loved how she handled the subplot of difficult parents and striking out on your own. And I also found the interior design element to be super engaging - it was detailed enough to show the author knew what she was talking about, but wasn't so down in the weeds as to be boring.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's, and the author for the eARC in exchange for my review.

I did not love the first chapter of HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. I don't know, it just gave me a bit of a pause. UNTIL we meet Morty who is Grace's pseudo grandfather, roommate, boss, BFF, etc. And he is the cranky old man with a heart of gold character that you instantly love so, yeah, at that point I did a 180 and it was only uphill from there.

This was such a lovely, lighthearted, book and I enjoyed every minute. It made me laugh out loud (again, Morty was HILARIOUS but also Grace was so snarky and did not pull her punches and it hit perfectly). I loved the chemistry with Grace and Noah. There was lots of bickering, frustration, and attraction that you look for in a quality enemies-to-lovers. The pacing worked really well for me; this wouldn't be a slow burn but also wasn't too fast that the reader couldn't enjoy the characters slowly realizing they weren't enemies anymore. I loved the home renovation plot and the "making a house a home" underlying theme.

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for fun enemies-to-lovers, quality side characters, a home renovation plot, and closed-door romances.

Grace was a strong female character but at times she did annoy me with her jumping to conclusions. I liked Noah and how he was trying to better himself even with Grace treating him so harshly sometimes. Their banter was good but it was in spurts. Some of the book was slow to me and I had to keep going to get to the next good part. The secondary characters were enjoyable and the idea of the remodeling.

There just wasn't anything special or unique about this book. The writing was just "OK" and the characters weren't well developed. I found myself forcing my way through the book and just overall not enjoying it. Also, any adult romance book that is straight "fade-to-black" is an automatic no in my book.

The story was too fluffy and not particularly satisfying. I do like the "enemies to lovers" trope, but there just wasn't a spark between the two main characters. Would not recommend to others!

“You are the most stubborn woman I’ve met.”

“Awesome. You’re the most irritating man I’ve met.”

What You’ll Find:
✔️Contemporary Romance
✔️Enemies to Lovers
✔️Neighbours
✔️Closed Door
✔️Dual POV

How To Love Your Neighbour tells the enemies to lovers story of Noah and Grace. Noah, a rich real estate developer, looking to make a name for himself outside of his fathers world. And Grace, a interior design student, busting her butt to make ends meet and her dreams come true. When she inherits her grandparents cottage on the beach, and meets her new neighbour Noah, things quickly turn into a feud. A feud that eventually grows into much more.

I love an enemies to lovers romcom. So I was excited about this one after reading the synopsis. And I mean, this cover completely drew me in. Unfortunately though, it just didn’t work for me. The pacing was off. I didn’t like the MC’s, especially the hero. There was no growth or depth. The chemistry and tension you usually feel in an enemies to lovers was completely missing. It lacked not only chemistry but romance, and quite honestly was just bland. I hate writing these kind of reviews, but unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend this one.

*Thank you to St. Martins Press for the ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and given freely.

"I don't make promises I can't keep," he said, his throat unexpectedly dry. "But I can tell you I've never felt this before or wanted anyone more than I want you. Not just for a night or two or three. I don't know what the future holds but you're all I see, Grace."

My first renovation romance! How to Love Your Neighbor by Sophie Sullivan has me hooked on a new trope! Not only that, but it's enemies to friends to lovers *insert hear eyes emoji here* AND found family, both which get me every time! Misunderstood Noah & sunshiney Grace were such fun characters with undeniable chemistry from the very beginning. I have so many highlighted lines about how they feel when they're near each other and when they kiss. Got me right in the feels! I love how even when one of them messed up, they would apologize and talk through their problems or issues, and they grew as a couple even as they grew as individuals.

Not only was this book fun and flirty, but it touched on insecurities that both Noah & Grace were working through. I do think that it was emphasized a little TOO much at times, but it did not take away from the story. Noah & Grace both went through incredible growth and character development.

There were a couple "that's what she said" jokes that really didn't make any sense to me. Most of the dialogue was good, but there were a few times where it felt like the humor/jokes were forced and the banter was unnatural. But that could be part of the ARC process and not ironing everything out yet, so take that with a grain of salt.

Overall this was such a fun read, and I didn't realize that her first book, Ten Rules for Faking It, is about a couple of the side characters in this novel! I will definitely be picking that one up soon!

I'm not a huge fan of the star system when it comes to books, as everyone's opinions vary widely. For the sake of this review, I will explain my rating system and why I gave it 3 stars. I reserve 5 stars for books that really hit me on an emotional level and I get totally invested in. 4 stars are for books that were sooo good but not quite 5 star material. I gave this one 3 stars because it was so cute, but I personally couldn't relate the characters too well, and it was just a normal rom com, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and the detail Sophie put into the characters and houses, which were so integral the story they were almost characters themselves.