I really enjoyed the writing style, multiple perspectives that this book offered. The character development was great and the story and plot twist were equally so. It was definitely an easy read that kept me engaged from the start.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of The Woman Next Door by Natasha Boydell.

The narration was great in this telling. Great tone and inflection.

Sophie is a wife and mother of two children, content in her role and life. So when a new family moves next door, her and her children are delighted to have potential friends and playmates. But Angie is worlds different from Sophie. She is high powered in her career, her children are talented and strong willed, and they come from the metropolis where life was much more sophisticated.

But despite initial insecurities and differences between the two women, over time they develop a strong friendship. Soon their families are vacationing together and even sharing a gate into each other's backyards. But over time, the women's friendship starts to feel strained, especially as sexual tension rises between one of the friends and the other's husband. It's enough to change their relationships forever.

I love messy family dramas, but I don't love infidelity, or hints of it. However, I have to give props, the author had me making a big eyed head exploding emoji face a few times, which I love. I also liked how this is a story that plays the long game, and demonstrates just how big a few choices can effect lives.

Definitely don't consider the story a thriller. I give it a middle of the road review, didn't hate it, but won't be highly recommending it. Big thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this in audiobook format.

Opphh this book is real. It touches on situations, drama and the horrors that families are known to face. It's not overly dramatic and the pace of the book fits perfectly with the story. When the book reached the pivotal point of the story, I was expecting it to end not too long after that. Unlike most novels with this type of story, it carried on to show the fallout and where the characters ended up. It's as though the second half of the book is one long epilogue and I really enjoyed it!

The narrator of the audiobook has a lovely voice, however, the way she speaks makes her sound oddly robotic when the narration speed is increased. I definitely would have been able to fly through this book if I was able to listen to it at 1.75x without cringing.

Pick this one up if you enjoy familial/friendship drama that interweaves multiple POVs spanning over a decade. The conflicts may not cause you to be shook to the core, but its realness will take hold of you and keep you reading until the end.

*Thanks Netgalley, Dreamscape Media LLC and Natasha Boydell for the advance audiobook copy. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

4⭐
Is the grass always greener on the other side of the garden fence?

The Woman Next Door follows 2 couples living next door to each other in London.
~ Sophie & Alan and Angie & Jack
6 kids between them and a broken fence help them form a bond. Soon they’re walking to school together, vacationing together, walking into each other’s houses without knocking…among other extra curricular activities.

It took me a bit to get accustomed to the narrator and I do wish it was 2 different narrators since the story is told by both Sophie and Angie's perspective.
There was a bit of a twist I didn’t see coming, which always thrills me ~ however, I didn’t really get “thriller” vibes with this one.

I was very pleased with how the whole story wrapped up 10 years in the future.

TW: cheating

Follow me ~ www.heatheradoresbooks.com

Thank you NetGalley for an audio ARC.

This was definitely not my typical read, but I did enjoy it. It was a great mix of friendship, marriage, family, and work life balance. The characters all had their own mix of issues that were woven together to create an enthralling story line.

It was definitely a slow burn with some twists and turns. The audio was excellent to listen to.

I really enjoyed this book. A few twists in the middle, but the ending was fantastic and unexpected. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

This book is ok. It wasn’t horrible, but not overly memorable either.

It was listed on NetGalley as a mystery/thriller. I hung on until the very last page, but never found the mystery it thriller aspect. It was just a family drama type story turned love story.

The story is about neighbors and the secrets they keep. It then talks of how the secrets change their friend dynamic.

I think I would have rated this 3.5/3.75 stars if I knew it was just a light chick lit book. Like taking a drink, expecting sweet tea, but getting unsweet. Not awful, just different than expected.

I do appreciate the author sharing the audiobook with me on NetGalley to review. I will try another try this author.

This review is for the audiobook of 'The Woman Next Door.'

Unfortunately, this book's genre was misrepresented as a mystery/thriller, which it is not. That can definitely have an adverse reflection on a review, but since it probably wasn't the author's fault, I'll review the book as if that didn't happen.

'The Woman Next Door' is the story of two families living with an adjoining fenceline. When the fenceline breaks in a storm, the families form a fast friendship that ends up becoming dysfunctional. While the story is kind of a simple, Natasha Boydell does a geat job of truly developing the characters and allowing them to grow throughout the progression of the novel. This was an intriguing read (listen) and once I hit about halfway through I didn't want to stop listnening :)

Thank you to Natasha Boydell, Dreamscape Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book because, based on the cover and title, I assumed this would be a domestic thriller. Instead, it was a sweeping story that takes place over the course of 10+ years and explores the complicated nature of marriage and family.

Two sets of neighbors grow close together and their lives become more and more interwoven over the years. As kids grow up and relationships change, so does the relationships especially those of the two woman, Sophie and Angie.

This is a story that is so simple in the way it is told but it’s so effective. I really hope others find this novel and I cannot wait to read more from Natasha Boydell.

I listened to this audiobook and it took me a while to get into the book. The accent and start to the book were slow, however about ⅓ of the way through it picked up and I didn’t want to stop listening.

The book follows two neighbors, Sophie and Angie and their families. Despite their differences and envy, the women and families develop a close friendship. Over the years, their bond continues to grow. However, both women question parts of their own lives when they see how the other lives. The risks they take in life bring them to a place they least expect. Will their relationship survive? Is life really that much better on the other side of the fence?

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC.

I am sorry to report that I did not finish this. I wish “Family Drama” were a genre of its own because many of these are listed as thrillers, as this book incorrectly was.

The Woman Next Door had an intriguing, behind-the-scenes premise and I was interested in that enough to continue once I understood it’s false categorization.

I listened to this on audiobook and perhaps that contributed to my dislike, but I found the narration a bit monotonous and kept having to rewind to know which of the two main characters was the focus.

I also became bored with each woman’s “story,” but the book itself lacked any propulsive narrative.

Somewhere I had read that this was a thriller but it’s not. It’s more of a book about marriage, friendship, and family. That sort of stuff but it’s very good regardless of the type of book. I just figured I would let you know it’s not a thriller in case you came across the same thing I did.
Sophie married, happily, and the mum of two children. She’s pretty content but then one day she gets a new neighbor. Angie is not only successful she is also extremely beautiful. She is the married mum of four. At first, the two women have minimal contact since they seem to be a world apart. However, a storm comes and it brings the women together. Their children quickly bond which, as any parent knows, means the women will be getting to know each other whether they really wanted to or not. Luckily, they find that they get along very well.
As the women spend more time together and in each other’s orbit they begin to reassess themselves and what they have. Angie’s success makes Sophie look at herself closer and Sophie’s uncomplicated marriage makes Angie take a look at her own more closely. Both of the women decide they need a change but will it be for the better?
This book isn’t a complicated story but it’s so well written that you become absorbed in the story and what could possibly happen next. When something does happen it changes the tone of the story. The story then picks up ten years later and again in a nice wrap up. Each and every part of this story is almost addicting as you find yourself hanging on every word, thought, and decision each of the characters makes.
I recommend this book to you, whoever you are, that got to this point in this review (thank you so much for sticking with me!). I may not have been able to express how good this book is like I wish I could but it’s definitely worth having a read.
Also, I received the audio book for this book from NetGalley and I have to say that I absolutely loved listening to that while reading along. The narrator is fantastic and really brings the story to life. I definitely recommend you give it a listen if you are an audio fan.

Zippadeedooda! 😳😯

Well my heavens! This was such an enthralling novel about two women. I couldn't put this down and enjoyed the narrator and story. This was an excellent twist to a common "envy of another woman" type novel. Gosh almighty! We always want what someone else has. Two neighbours, Angie and Sophie are both married with children. Angie was successful with a handsome husband, and Sophie was a stay-at-home mom. The families & neighbours become close and soon each mother starts to wonder about their own lives, insecurities, family, etc. As both women vow to change to get what they want, it may not go how they expect and plan. The ending was fascinating and wonderful and I adored listening to their own stories. Even though you may see some of it coming and even anticipating it, it still amazed me how it played out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio ARC.
Release Date: Out Now

I give this 4 / 5 snowflakes! ❄️

I was looking for a lot more from this book than domestic drama. The Woman Next Door? C'mon that screams thriller! Mystery! Something! The characters were flat and gave me no reasons for doing what they did. I was disappointed. The narration was great though and the ending was actually good. But the whole middle, the "drama" was not very believable. Seemed extreme.

3.5
Sophie is a happily married mom of two. When Angie and her family move in next door, the women and their families become close friends. Maybe a little too close.

My first issue with this book was the title. In a year, I will not remember if I read this book or if I read The Woman Upstairs, The Woman in the Window, or one of the many other books with the SAME title! Clearly, I am not alone in this thought. When I opened Netflix last night and saw the show titled "The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window," I could not stop laughing!

My second issue was that this book was categorized as a Mystery/Thriller. I really felt that the misclassification did this book a huge disservice. Had I gone into it expecting a domestic drama, I would have enjoyed it so much more. But expecting a thriller and not getting it felt disappointing.

I love any storyline that examines whether or not the grass is ever greener on the other side of the fence and this book did exactly that. What I want in a domestic drama is to see how families deal with the good, the bad and the ugly parts of life. With a big jump in the timeline towards the end of the book, I felt that I missed out on some of that "life" and I wanted to read more about the messy parts.

Having said all that, I really enjoyed reading this book and how it had me wondering if I would handle things in the same way as Sophie. I would like to say more but feel that if you choose to read this, you should go in blind. Happy reading!

When a new family moves in next door, a wonderful bond of friendship between the mothers, fathers, and the children begins. Unfortunately, life gets in the way and life isn’t always fair or nice.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the audio ACR. #netgalley #thewomannextdoor

Narration not the greatest, but the plot was interesting and I enjoyed this book overall. I'll certainly be looking to read more from this author.

3.5 stars

This book was definitely not what I was expecting. The description says thriller/mystery, I would characterize it more as drama. Nonetheless, I did enjoy it.

As the family drama unfolds I was surprised by the situation that occurred midway through the book. I wasn’t expecting this exact thing to happen with the individuals it did.

This book has 2 parts, once the “twist” happens, we move on to part 2. Which in my opinion, you could see coming. But I still enjoyed how it played out and the way the book ended.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It kept me interested and I liked the narrator as well.

***thank you Netgalley for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

This story was not what I thought it would be. The description and title make it sound like a thriller but it wasn't. This was a family drama that moved so slowly and jumped around a bit in time periods that I had a hard time keeping track of where we were (would have been much easier with a print book). The characters were likeable enough but did not hold my interest; I almost gave up on this several times because of how slow it moved. I kept waiting for a twist, something major to happen but even the "event" was glossed over and only brought it in the future. After all that build up, I think I would have enjoyed more about their feelings on it rather than ignoring it.