Member Reviews
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Was it my all time favorite romance? No. But was I smiling for most of it? Yes.
What I didn't like:
-FADE TO BLACK. I know some people like clean romances... I am not one of them. I was waiting for the pay off of all that sexual tension and then just.... nothing. I realize this complaint is probably a huge selling point for others; I just feel like the relationship would have been even stronger with a little sprinkle of spice.
-Length of the book. I felt like there were some unnecessary plots, or just too much focus on smaller plots which added unnecessary length to this book. Some parts dragged for me and I think that could have been avoided by taking out some of the minor subplots (or at least shortening them).
-Overdone cheesiness at the end. Listen, I love romance's and rom-coms for their cheesy factor, but there is a line into too much cheesiness and this book did a great job towing that line until the end. I felt like the last few chapters went overboard on the metaphors and it was almost nauseating at that point. But, this wasn't until the very end of the book, so in the grand scheme of things not that big of a complaint.
What I liked:
-LOVED the chemistry between these characters. I was pretty hooked from the beginning and could tell these two would be a great pair to read about.
-FUN, FLIRTY BANTER. I live for good banter in a book. It really makes or breaks a book for me, and this one delivered.
-BETS. I don't know if "making a bet" technically counts as a trope, but it's honestly one of my favorite things to read about in romance books. I feel like when the love interests make a bet with each other there is always great banter and sexual tension to follow. This book was full of it and I loved every second of those chapters. Petition for more books to include this!
-Really enjoyed the tie-in to Ten Rules for Faking It. I think these books are standalones, but they honestly could be part of a series of inter-connected standalones because of all the cameos that Chris and Evelyn made in this book. It was fun to see them reappear and get a glimpse into their happy ever after.
Overall:
Solid 4 star romance read. Really enjoyed this fun enemies-to-lovers (although I don't know if you can really classify it as that considering they weren't enemies for very long). The characters had great chemistry and it was a really easy read.
This was a good read. Nothing outstanding. If anything it was kind of long. I liked the renovation theme of the book. I would recommend.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
When Grace finally decides to move into the house she inherited from her grandparents she must immediately contend with her new neighbor Noah, who is determined to buy her house so he can have a swimming pool.
Honestly, this book is incredibly silly from the start. For unknown reasons Grace has owned this house for a while now but has not moved in and instead has remained living with an elderly man who she has befriended like she is some kind of nurse. And then we get to the "conflict" of the book, which is that Noah wants to buy Grace's house. But really Noah and Grace are into each other almost immediately.
At one point Grace completely loses it and storms into Noah's house and rages at him during a meeting because he has had his property surveyed. If I was a professional like him and doing construction, I'd probably do the same. This was a very strange thing to be so angry about.
There wasn't really ever any doubt that the two were going to end up together, I didn't particularly like the book when they were together, and the angsty drama involving their parents was predicable.
Grace is a twenty-something interior design student taking on odd jobs to make ends meet while she attempts to fix up her grandparents’ old beach house that was left to her in their will. To make matters more complicated, her next door neighbor is a handsome, wealthy real estate developer from New York named Noah, who’s immediately persistent with his offers to buy her house so he can add on to his property. He is stubborn and obviously used to getting what he wants, which means he’s in for a surprise when he realizes Grace is not about to budge in her determination to renovate.
Naturally, there’s an enemies to lovers romance going on and undeniable chemistry between the two once they are sort of coerced into working together on renovations. As an avid watcher of HGTV shows (Good Bones and Home Town, anyone?) and a lover of romance, this book definitely hit some high notes for me, and was an overall cozy and often quite funny read. Fans of Tessa Bailey’s Hot & Hammered series will most likely enjoy this one as well, although if you’re looking for a lot of steamy scenes, you won’t find that here. There’s a good amount of tension and swoon-worthy moments, but it’s kept pretty PG-13.
I do wish that perhaps the book was a bit shorter, and cut back on some unnecessary scenes that added length and didn’t really excel the plot. The ending felt a little too neatly wrapped up, especially after some sudden drama was thrown in. But overall, it was still a fun read that I’ll be happy to recommend to anyone that likes a good enemies to lovers plot and some home renovation hijinks.
***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
I was excited when this was described as an enemies-to-lovers rom-com, but was disappointed when there was very little conflict. I never felt that there was any real barriers to the relationship except for the couple's internal monologue. Loved the remodel aspect, but a little lacking in any real drama/conflict.
A rom-com that starts with lust at first sight, moves to neighbors hating each other, and ends with happily ever after. The first half of the book was fun with the witty banter and escalating attraction, and then it fell into predictable patterns which made it lose some of its steam. I’d be interested to see how brother Wes’ story plays out.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins for the arc.
I really enjoyed this book! I’ve been a sucker for
rom-coms lately, and this was no exception. I cannot wait for this to be published so that I can have a physical copy to read again! If you like enemies to lovers, romance, and a great book, I 10/10 recommend this for you.
Another cute rom-com by Sophie Sullivan. I read the predecessor to this - 10 Rules for a Faking It - and if you did you’ll see several glimpses of Chris and Everly here.
Grace is a strong female lead. She is grounded (why is everyone calling her ‘stubborn’?!). She is kind and generous with her talents and her heart. Noah is a little lost but quickly finds his foot hung thanks to Grace. They share their love for the color gray (Almost every room seems to have gray in it somehow), their internal drive, and their broken home back stories. There isn’t much conflict in this. There are crappy parents but they are mainly peripheral with one exception.
This is a great book for patrons who like rom-coms with low conflict and low steam (closed door).
Thanks for the sweet read!
The first half of the book sparkled however the middle of the story dragged a bit. I think there was some unnecessary conflict which felt like padding to hit word count. The foundation of this story is so much fun and charming.
Received ARC through NetGalley.
I was hooked for about half the book - couldn't wait to see they dynamics between Noah and Grace; really felt the sparks in the enemies-to-lovers dialogue between these two. I love that Grace is a strong, independent female who is out to prove herself. Noah is a bit hard to like initially, but you come around to him (enemy-to-lover for a reason). If we cut out about 20-30% in the latter half of the book - I would've bumped up the rating. It felt like it was adding length for the wrong reasons rather than a true plot need.
I hear there is a first book that focuses on a couple that showed up in this one, so would be interested to read that. Made a cameo appearance in this one, but love the relationship they displayed - seems like they went through a lot to get that solid foundation to flourish.
Overall, I would recommend. Author had a great plot and character development, but got a bit too predictable in the middle with some drawn-out issues.
How to Love Your Neighbor by Sophie Sullivan is an enemies-to-lovers type novel which follows Grace and Noah.
Grace has recently inherited her grandparents home, however it needs a lot of work and updating - something she is excited to take on with her limited budget because she is a design student. Then there is Noah. He bought the house next door to Grace and thinks money can buy him anything - including Grace's home. Noah is looking to step out from his father's business in New York and start his own business on the other side of the country in California and of course, tearing down Grace's home to build himself a pool is a one-way ticket to getting on Grace's bad side.
Right from the beginning, their chemistry was undeniable, even when they were fighting. Noah grows as a person the longer he knows Grace. His priorities begin to change. Both main characters seem to fit seamlessly together - like ying and yang. They just compliment each other and know how to build a relationship when neither really knows what that looks like.
I could of done without the additional drama of Noah's a-hole dad and Grace's mooching mother, but I suppose that is just an another thing they can bond over as a couple - dysfunctional parents! However, I did love the appearances of Noah's brothers (Chris and Everly were featured in Ten Rules for Faking It)
Another great novel by Sophie Sullivan and great read, 4/5 stars!
I enjoyed this book. It was a fun, quick beach/summertime read. Pretty lighthearted. The two main characters are kind of in this classic love/hate journey. Each trying to find their own path in life. It was good….a little repetitive and slightly predictable, but overall a really enjoyable read.
I could not finish this book! I wanted to like it so badly. I just ... couldn't get into it. The dialogue was so cringe and awkward. The characters didn't seem real or believable. Honestly this was a huge let down for me!
Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book.
How to Love your Neighbor is a hate to love trope about Grace and Noah. Grace is an interior design student who inherits a house from her long lost grandparents. Noah is a affluent real estate developer who owns the house next door and wants to buy hers to put in a pool. Tensions fly, some mild back and forth banter, and then they end up teaming up to decorate Noah’s house for a big home design magazine spread.
Overall the book was cute, not super memorable. I didn’t ship them, even toward the end.
I was hoping for a clean sweet romance with some comedy sprinkled in. What I found is a lot of swear words that didn’t need to be included. I prefer my clean reads without the language.
I just reviewed How to Love Your Neighbor by Sophie Sullivan. #NetGalley
What a fun story. Great characters and a sweet romantic plot. A wonderful read for a summer day. I couldn't put it down.
This is a cute, but repetitive, love/hate story between Grace, an interior design student, and Noah, a rich real estate mogul and a million other ventures. The author made their love story easy to follow with clear ups and downs. Their passion for each other was obvious without any sex scenes. However, the parent problems that each of them faced didn't add to their dimension as characters. It was unnecessary to the story. Also, the author kept repeating over and over again that Noah was rich and Grace was far from that. We got that after the first couple chapters. It didn't need to be repeated over and over until youre 70% through the story. It was overkill.
If you need a quick read, it's not bad, just don't expect much.
I recieved this book as an e-arc from netgalley.
If you are looking for a feel-good book with two likable characters, this one is a home run. I like the playful banter between Noah and Grace and at times I felt I was part of their circle of friends, participating in the competition and giving advice on the relationship. A really good read and one I highly recommend.
A well-written and charming enemies to friends to lovers romance, this story has engaging characters with believable struggles and a touch of humor. The novel flows well and hits all the romantic comedy stops as the two main characters navigate the bumpy road to true love, each of them discovering along the way that their life purpose turns out to be different than they had planned. This is a fun, sweet tale that is very enjoyable to read.
i adored this second in the series of the boys trying to make a name for themselves. I adored the romance between Noah and Gracie. loved seeing the brother and his love in the book too. I do hope that Wes gets a book . I love this series .