I love romances that are home renovation focused. This one wasn't forced proximity but neighbours instead with Noah trying to buy Grace's house from her before she settles in. Turns out Grace is a fabulous interior designer about to graduate school and is the perfect choice for Noah to hire to decorate his home for a magazine feature. It helps that they have amazing chemistry and interview/photograph well together.

This was a 3.5/5 for me because it was cute but I think more could have been done with Noah's family. His one brother and girlfriend were well represented but his dad especially could have had more.

How to Love your Neighbor was a sweet, easy read. Loved the interior design theme! I feel. like that's something I haven't seen much of before. Grace and Noah were deep enough characters that you were pulling for them both, and there were several moments that pulled at my heartstrings! Sweet love story, also loved the supporting characters!

How a House Becomes a Home

ARC received from St. Martins Press for honest review.

Our story centers around Grace Travis, a multitasking powerhouse design student with a knack for everything, and Noah Jansen, a real estate mogul stepping out of his father's shadow. Grace inherits the house next door to Noah. He makes numerous, persuasive, offers for her to sell the house (he wants a pool of course) but she consistently says no. They fight and bicker with all that enemies to lovers passion and some times in front of reporters. One reporter in particular who decides to do a three part article in a popular home magazine on his home renovation if, and only if, Grace is his designer.

What follows is a whirl wind romance with a strong theme of learning to trust, keeping promises, and letting people help you. Both MCs are recovering from their parental trauma. One of the biggest things I loved about this book was that they both ultimately told their parents to shove it. They chose their family and it didn't have to revolve around blood.

How to Love Your Neighbor was a perfect read to fit in with all those cute romcoms Booktok and Bookstagram obsessed over this summer (ie. the Unhoneymooners and everything by Emily Henry).

Overall Rating: 4/5

Characters - 5/5
This book is largely character driven. If you're a big fan of dialog and a strong character arc, you'll enjoy it.
Plot - 4/5
I am a cynic so feeling like any part of a romcom is realistic is hard for my to believe but the story line was adorable. I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers and some good mutual pining tension.
IT factor - 5/5
This will be such a popular book and I will definitely be recommending it. It has so many tropes the book community loves. Its also paced really well to keep you hooked the whole time.
Writing - 3.5/5
There was almost no description of the characters. The majority of descriptors was given to decor and the setting. I couldn't tell you what color hair Grace had because I'm not sure if it was mentioned. Also if Noah said "I've never met a woman like you" any more times, I was gonna slap him.
Other - 4/5
I felt like their were some inconsistencies between how the characters acted in their respective chapters. Like Noah from his point of view was very different than how he seemed during Grace's POV. But that also makes sense in a way because people see others differently than they seem themselves. Also, I just have to say, Noah is a man who's been to therapy. He was conscious of his actions (though occasionally after the fact), he expressed what he was feeling, and he knew where he could potentially fail in a relationship and worked to fix it.

Thanks to SMP, this ARC was a joy to read and I can't wait for everyone else to experience it!

This was a really cute romcom! I loved the banter between Grace and Noah! I laughed a lot and enjoyed the story. There wasn't a huge climax and not much drama, but it had enough content to keep me intrigued,

If you are looking for a light, fun read definitely read this!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to #smpromance and #netgalley for the ARC

I didn't read the first book in this series (this is #2), so I wasn't familiar with any of the characters. This was enjoyable enough - light, fluffy, clean - but it just didn't click in the way I hoped it would. There were moments of cute banter and competition but the pacing was a little off in places and a few things the characters said to each other came out of left field because of it. I loved the supporting cast of characters - looking at you Morty and Tilly - but all in all, it felt a little bland. I'd add an extra .5 star if you're a fan of DIY shows.

Quote: "Which house is that?" "Whichever one you're in. Wherever you are, that's where I'll be."

Song for Grace and Noah: Bones by Maren Morris (which is a little bit of a cheat), “When the bones are good, the rest don't matter, Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter, Let it break 'cause you and I remain the same; When there ain't a crack in the foundation, Baby, I know any storm we're facing, Will blow right over while we stay put, The house don't fall when the bones are good."

oh I LOVED this book. It had me laughing out loud multiple times. These two are the perfect neighbors. Enemies to Friends to Lovers, it is written perfectly.

(2.75) Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC! This was your (very) average romcom. I didn't have anything I disliked about this book, but it's not something I'm going to remember. I don't really understand the enemies-to-lovers aspect of this book, as 1) they didn't ever really dislike each other, and 2) the reasons they had beef were super strange and not believable. Like dude, she doesn't want to sell her house. Chill.

Enemies to Lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this one did not disappoint! It was a quick, lovely read and a great escape! I will be purchasing this for our library and recommending it to others. I'm also going to look up her other book now. This will be an author to watch out for.

All the warm and fuzzy feels with this book, and what was not to love about it. Enemies to friends love; an independent, confident, and aware heroine; a sweet and romantic hero that learns and apologizes 😝; and so much more!

Briefly and without spoilers, the book is about Grace (a fun-loving soon to be interior designer) and Noah (a persistent real estate developer) that become neighbors and, after a rough start, fall in love while making there houses a home. This book was so fun and sweet and lovely 🥰 major swooning! Going to go put some more Sophie Sullivan on my TBR now ♥️

How to Love Your Neighbor: A Novel is meant to be a short, cute story for fans of HGTV, the beach, and G-rated romances.

The book alternates between the perspectives of Grace and Noah, whom although share a fence line, share little else if looking at their current circumstances. Grace has grown up with very little and worked hard for what she now has: a small home she inherited from grandparents she never knew, a design degree almost earned, and a small unit of people she considers her family. Noah, on the other hand, has grown up with immense wealth and privilege yet wants to settle down and create something meaningful on his own, without his overbearing father. As their lives keep on intersecting, they learn they might not be that different after all. (You like that bloggy book description??)

I can see why this romance may resonate with some, but it didn't for me due to a few things.

First, I felt the story was a bit all over the place in terms of pacing and the relationship between Grace and Noah. For example, it started off seeming like it was going to be an enemies-to-lovers romance but then within 25% of the book, they both just decided to start liking each other. A little after half of the book, the romance building virtually stopped. Instead, it was filled with lots of introspection about the relationship. This would've been fine if this was meant to be a deep, thought-provoking romance. But that's not what we got here. Instead, there were so many parts that I wish it would've kept developing instead of being completely disregarded, such as Leo (a troubled kid Noah starts hanging around with but then virtually drops off the face of the earth).

Second, I was not a fan of the dialogue and most of the interactions between characters. I can't tell whether it was too realistic or too unrealistic, but having the characters ask "tell me something no one knows about you" repeatedly didn't tickle my feathers. I felt channeled back to my middle-school years, which made me think of the bright red highlights I had back then... which didn't put me in a good mental place.

Lastly, this was clearly meant for people who like HGTV, DIY, home improvement shows, etc. which isn't my cup of tea, but even it was, would feel a bit underwhelming. There's a scene, for example, where we're supposed to believe they painted, arranged furniture, and decorated a room in 3 hours... I don't even watch Chip and Dale... no, Chip and Joan...Chip and someone, right? and even I know painting, alone, would take longer than that. Plus, the "amazing" interior decorating really just means everything gets painted blue.

I don't mean to be harsh. This romance is clearly not the type of romance for me, but I could see others liking it (see the beginning). Either way, thanks NetGalley, Sophie Sullivan, and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for this advanced digital copy.

this one was enjoyable however i felt it was a bit harder to sink into like i normally do when reading. the book was still definitely worth the read.

This book was absolutely adorable. I loved the enemies to lovers/sunshine and grumpy tropes, with a bit of forced proximity since Grace and Noah had to spend quite a lot of time together working on the same project. I really liked the contrast between Grace and Noah’s personalities, it made their banter incredibly entertaining every time they interacted.
Grace grew up learning to do a lot of things on her own so she has an incredibly varies skill set. She’s quite the handyman and ins’t afraid of doing everything herself which comes from having to fend for herself as a child living in a trailer park with a neglectful mother. On top of the skilled handyman Grace is going to design school while working multiple jobs and overall living a very busy life. I love Graces determination and motivation with everything in life and her passion for fixing up her new home. I found her to be quite the loveable character. Same with Noah on a different end. He seems cold and tough on the outside, but there’s definitely layers to him. He can be just as passionate about his work, when he finds the right project, and loves giving back to the community. I loved seeing the different sides of his personality and seeing the sweet side that he certainly has.
Both Grace and Noah had fears and troubles with relationships as growing up they both had less than adequate examples of them. Neither of them want to end up like their parents - for Noah his dad, and for Grace her mom - and that was obviously something that held them back from getting serious in a relationship. I liked that they were able to work through their fears even if it took them a while.
It was easy to see that Grace had a rather strained relationship with her mom, but being the only biological family she had left was the little piece that kept them connected. It made me glad that she eventually did stand up to her mom and not let her get away with what she had been doing. I liked that there was solid conversation between Noah and Grace about knowing that it’s okay to ask for help, and just because it a family matter doesn’t mean she has to handle everything on her own. Asking for help was definitely a hard thing for Grace to accept let alone go through with but I’m glad that she did eventually allow it.
With both Grace and Noah I enjoyed seeing the character development throughout the book. They both grew as individuals and as duo.
Something I was not expecting in the book, but did like is the fade-to-black scenes. When it comes to adult romances I’m always prepared for the romance scenes so it was a nice change to not have them this time. I liked how it kept the focus on the non-physical aspects of the relationship.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it had me going through all the emotions the entire time. It was a super cute and easy read that I found perfect for when I wanted to sit down and read a book in one-sitting. I will absolutely be reading this again and can’t wait until it comes out in January. 4.5/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

How To Love Your Neighbor follows Grace, a design student who recently inherited her grandparent’s house, and Noah, her neighbor who readers may recognize as the brother of Chris from Sophie Sullivan’s other novel, Ten Rules For Faking It. Noah wants to buy Grace’s house in the beginning, which causes tension and rivalry between the two of them. This book is enemies to lovers, but the enemies part of it doesn’t last for very long. I enjoyed Ten Rules For Faking It, but found myself becoming uninterested while reading this book. I didn’t connect with either of the main characters and struggled to see the romantic connection between them. This book reminded me a lot of a Hallmark movie, and I think many people will enjoy it, but it was not for me.

*thank you to netgalley and the publishers for Sand advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a cute fun read but I wasn't super impressed or invested in the characters honestly. Didn't hate or dislike anything but also wasn't blown away. I feel like it didn't go deep enough for me to feel much for them, despite giving them each some backstory.
I also felt like Noah switched super quickly from being annoyed by her and just wanting money and business to being head over heels for her. Must have been a crazy awesome bedroom makeover!
It also seemed a little unrealistic/unbelievable that Grace had enough income to fully pay for school and start fixing up her place, even after she started working for Noah. There was also a lot of furniture building...seemed like Noah would have gone for higher quality than Ikea.
Overall, though, a fun read that was exactly what I expected and needed.

Enemies to lovers? Sunshine and grump? NEIGHBORS? Hard not to love. I liked the way Noah grew from being pretty selfish to being such a loving character. And that Grace was able to separate herself a bit from her mother. It was a bit predictable at the end but I thoroughly enjoyed the will-they-wont-they dynamic. I now want to go back and reread Ten Rules for Faking It!

I absolutely LOVE the grumpy/sunshine trope and I love Sullivan's novel TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT, so I was ecstatic to get this one. It was so fun! I did not stop smiling the entire time I was reading. Her characters are so fun and I loved the banter in between them. The steam, of course, was great, too, but I love that Sullivan doesn't sacrifice plot of smut. Truly such a fun read.

3.7 - this was a tried -and-true cute romance about the hostilities of the hot neighbor next door. Grace has inherited her grandparents house and can't wait to make it her own. Noah has moved in next door with aims to buy her out and expand his property, but neither is budging. They are both dealing with parental issues (Noah's dad the control freak, and Grace's irresponsible mother). The chemistry is there but would've loved a little more spiciness. I enjoyed the interior design reality show aspect of it, but thought it was missing just a little more pizzazz. I may read her first book now, seeing as how the characters have cameos in this one!

This book is supposed to be an enemies to lovers book, but the entire basis of the enemies didn’t make any sense to me. I kept wanting to understand the animosity between them, but it just made me irritated with the characters.

So she won’t sell her house? Okay, I don’t think that’s cause to be a sick.
So he had an inspector come check the property lines? That’s well within his rights as a home owner to do that…why are you so betrayed by this?

Then it all just goes away immediately to just being happy neighbors. There wasn’t any tension pulling the characters apart so it just became a book of two people dating. Which is…fine. But not very engaging to read. I like tension and chemistry and this book fell flat on both, making me put this book down for days before picking it back up.

The writing kept telling us they loved each other but we didn’t see it. I’ve always thought that books that don’t show physical intimacy have to have a lot of emotional intimacy to make up for it. And I wasn’t feeling that with this book.

Really, there’s nothing wrong with this book if you’re looking for a couple dating and falling in love. I personally need a conflict driven book to keep me engaged in the characters and storyline and this one didn’t have a lot of that for me.

I received a copy of this book on NetGalley from the publisher, review is my own.

A fun, romantic book by Sophie Sullivan, How to Love Your Neighbor is a pleasant way to spend a weekend. Grace Travis is an interior designer just finishing school and inherits a fixer-upper in a prime location. Her new neighbor, Noah, is of course gorgeous, and as it happens, he is fixing up his house. The problem is, he wants to acquire Grace's property to put in a pool.

Noah and Grace each have their own baggage to sort through: Noah has to prove something to himself (and his dad), while Grace's mother is enough to make anyone lose their religion. There are just enough complications to keep the pages turning and Sullivan peppers every page with realistic, fun dialogue.

Loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for inviting me to read this title ahead of the 1/18/22 release date.

Grace is a design student with big lofty dreams but when she meets her new neighbor, Noah a real estate developer sparks fly. And not the good kind at first. I was intrigued by the plot and set up. Grace is a more likeable character than Noah. I mean, have you ever had an irritating neighbor? But a hot one. Intriguing. I would have liked the ending better if I hadn't just read a few cute enemies to lovers trope. Maybe I'm tired of the stale trope but I enjoyed the writing. 3.5/5 rounded up to 4 stars.