Thank you to NetGalley and Natasha Boydell for this audio-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

This book was described as mystery/thriller and I was very disappointed to discover that it wasn't either. It is a relationship drama. The characters fell very flat, unflushed out, and unlikeable to me. Unfortunately this plot was boring, overdone, and had no twist or spice to it. It fell flat for me.

This book circles around 2 new neighbors and the idea of “is the grass always greener”. I really enjoyed the characters and the idea that everyone can react to a situation differently and all still do what is best for them in the moment. The book had a perfect amount of twist and turns with drama in between!

Reviewed on Goodreads and Instagram (2ofakindle)!

I wasn’t able to finish this one. The narrator was really difficult to listen to, so I was unable to give the story a real chance. I definitely don’t recommend this as an audiobook.

🎧AUDIOBOOK REVIEW🎧
🌟🌟🌟.5 (rounding up because of the unexpected twist)
TBR: Feb 1, 2022
The Woman Next Door by
Natasha Boydell
*
After reading the author’s debut and enjoying it, I was excited to snatch this audiobook. So far, she’s focused on domestic drama, which can be a big draw for me, as long as I relate to some of the characters.

But this second book didn’t grab my attention as the first one did. Although there was a HUGE twist that totally caught me by surprise! The Woman Next Door was a slow build to the mega twist and it stalled for a while, for me anyway. Regardless, the author is a great writer, so I’m looking forward to what she comes up with next! The narration in both books was wonderful.

Two unique wives, married to men with dissimilar personalities, become friends and begin to question their life choices. Soon, flirtations ignite fantasies about the husbands next door. But will either wife act on their attraction? You’ll need to read it to find out!

Sincere thanks to Dreamscape Audio for providing this audiobook through NetGalley. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
*
#thewomannextdoor #natasaboydell #netgalley #dreamscapeaudio #bookreviewer #inexchangeforreview #advancedreaderscopy #justfinished #audiobook #domesticdrama

I wish that the descriptions on books were just honest. People would be less disappointed and would choose books based on what they liked. I would not have chosen this domestic drama. I don’t want to read about the ins and outs of a marriage. I’m just not interested. I don’t like gossip and I’m not really one to find enjoyment in the scandal of infidelity. If you are, this is for you. I was hoping for some kind of mystery. Some thriller. Something to make me think and figure out what is going on. If I hadn’t been expecting that, this story may have not bothered me as much. Honesty would have helped. The writing isn’t bad. It just isn’t for me.

Book blurb: "Two neighbours struggle with envy of each other's lives—and as their friendship grows, their questions do too . . ."

I received this book as an advanced reader copy and it was classified as a mystery/thriller by NetGalley. By the time the book is released, I really hope it is reclassified as a psychological drama because it is in no way a thriller or mystery. A lot of readers will be disappointed if it is left as such.

As a psychological drama -- or even more specifically a domestic drama -- this book was really good. There is great character development. I enjoyed seeing the friendships grow.

A theme in this book is definitely "the grass is always greener..." You never know what is actually going on behind closed doors and you might be wishing for something that is not really best for you.

This was an audiobook and I absolutely loved the work of narrator Mhairi Morrison.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC. I offer my review freely.

Publication date : 01 Feb 2022

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to review this audio.

Genre of this book misleading. NOT a mystery or thriller. I would say this is a domestic suspense.

Angie and Sophie are new neighbors. They go away on holiday, have their kids play,and integrate into each other's lives. Sophie wishes she had Angie's perfect supermom life. However when one of the children stumbles upon a big secret,this story takes a big turn.

Story was ok. Not wowed but decent narrator. Did not like the misleading genre description.

Like other reviewers, I was expecting a mystery/thriller from the way it’s labeled as well as the cover. Knowing it’s not what I had thought, I was able to enjoy the story for what it was. Well-written and lots of depth. Narrator is fantastic.

3.5 stars

This was a pretty decent, family-drama story. I didn’t love it, necessarily, but part of that is my own fault- I should’ve read the description more closely. I didn’t mind the plot or characters, and the storytelling itself was solid. This book was a nice little interlude in between other things that I’m reading!

Struggled with this audiobook. I’m not sure if it was the narrators voice or so many characters to try and keep track of and know who was being talked about at the current moment. Lots of back and forth. Would love to try and read the book to be able to slow down and keep track better, but from an audiobook lover and enthusiast, this audiobook was not for me.

I really enjoyed this book - for some reason I expected it to be more of a thriller, but it definitely wasn't, however I wasn't disappointed at all. I found the look into these two families fascinating and to be pretty true to life at how complicated things can be.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc !

drama/thriller about two neighbors. Is the grass greener on the other side? I totally recommend this book it was so good!!!

Everything about this book points toward it being a thriller: the title, the tagline on the front, the description, even the categorization. Nothing about the content is a thriller/mystery. I would categorize the book as a domestic drama. It’s really just a story about life.

I was surprised by this book. It was about marriage, betrayal, heartbreak, forgiveness, and the past. It had some unlikely friendships and surreal coincidences that change the course of the two families’ lives. I think it was beautifully written and narrated.

I had read some reviews prior to listening to the book, so I knew it wasn’t necessarily a thriller, so I think that helped my opinions while I was reading. If I hadn’t, and gone in still expecting a thriller, I may have been disappointed. I would change the marketing and promotion for the book so that it more accurately describes what you’re getting, but overall I would recommend the book and enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to the audio ARC!

🔊Song Pairing: Affair of the Heart by Rick Springfield

💭What I thought would happen:

Woman missing murder mystery. My favourite…yeah it wasn’t that

📖What actually happens:

Sophie and Alan live an ideal life. Nice home, good jobs, 2 kids…a boy and a girl. Life is good. Until their neighbours move in. They are gorgeous, successful and bring with them 4 kids.

The relationships amongst the 4 adults starts to get more muddled the closer they all become and shit is about to hit the fan.

🗯Thoughts:

I am a big fan of The Missing Husband and had expected that this would deliver the same level of excitement, tbh it felt a little flat.

This is a story of an affair with a neighbour. No blood…no one goes missing…nothing truly awful actually happens except moody teens and infidelity. I think this would have been fine if that’s what I had prepared myself for.

The ending was superb I would say. It pulled at the heart strings in all the weepy places. The narrator was excellent and made for a good quick audiobook but wouldn’t be putting it at a number one read.

I listened to this one during my commute for the past week and a half. I loved it and couldn't stop listening!
I don't always like books that deal with affairs and betrayal, but this was a really good one with a satisfying ending. I really liked the characters, especially Sophie. The narrator had a beautiful accent, too.
Full review coming on my blog, but thank you for my audiobook!

The book is marked as a mystery/thriller on NetGalley however it was more of a domestic drama and a mystery of any kind is a stretch. As a domestic drama, it was a decent book albeit a little too neat and tidy at the end and unfortunately although that makes for a sort of happy ending, it really points out how unrealistic it is. I had really enjoyed The Missing Husband and I was expecting something more along the lines of that.

With that said, Natasha Boydell does a great job at character development. I really enjoyed the characters of Angie and Sophie and hearing about their lives, even the mundane parts of it. As a mother and wife, it was easy to empathize with some of the struggles 0f both women. It’s obvious from the description of the book that something was to go wrong with this friendship but the only mystery in the book was who was to blame and even that was not a mystery as it became clear what the twist was going to be in the middle of the book. When the crap hit the fan, Boydell could have ended the book but instead brings us their lives 10 years later which focuses more on the youngest children who are now young adults and it was interesting to see the ripple effect of what a bad decision made by the parents years ago has had on the direction of their lives. I think there was a missed opportunity here and adding some grittiness or struggle would have elevated the book immensely but for what the book was, it was a nice deviation from what is normally seen in books of this same vein.

Overall I give it 3 stars. It is a good filler read but nothing that will make you gasp out loud or rush to find other books by this author. I would recommend checking out The Missing Husband first.

Great audio book and narrators. Nice insight into the female psyche with husbands, neighbors and children. Lots of surprises, twists and turns. I loved the character development as it gave the reader all of the flaws and perfections for each. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

I received an audiobook ARC from NetGalley and really expected it to be like all the other, "The Woman and the ....." books that are fun but not that substantial. This was not like those. It actually had substance and layers, and took you through decades of two families effected by one event.
You really became attached to the families and when the betrayal happens within both of them causing a rift, it is terribly sad - but you aren't allowed to dwell on it because you jump ahead a decade to when the two younger children meet up at Uni. They fall in love and bring the families back together again! There is more heartbreaking things happening but as one giant family unit they can get through it together.
It normally isn't the type of book I read as I go for the thriller type "Woman with the knife in the bungalow" books - but it was a very pleasant surprise to have a feel good story that I wasn't expecting.

The Woman Next Door
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley + Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

I had an interesting journey with this book! Based on the cover and the title, I assumed this book was a thriller and thought that until about halfway in, when the big “twist” was revealed. At that point, I just thought that I had quite literally judged a book by it’s cover, and that this was actually more a general fiction book with some neighborhood/domestic drama. Once I adjusted my expectations, I did enjoy the end of the book and how everything kind of came full-circle. Until I went to look up what the book was actually categorized as and saw that it was being promoted as… a mystery/thriller. Which was just so confusing to me! There’s definitely some suspense when you’re trying to find out who is really at fault… but I would not classify this as a mystery or a thriller. I thought the story itself was just okay and I did enjoy the audio narration!

Is the grass always greener on the other side? The Woman Next Door explores that question through the stories of Sophie and Angie, two next door neighbors whose lives become significantly entangled after meeting at their knocked-over fence after a storm. Angie is a high-powered attorney and mother of four, Sophie a dedicated mother of two whose writing career has recently stalled. Angie's marriage is full of passion and excitement, while Sophie's marriage is full of comfort and stability. On paper, these two don't have much in common, but can they still find a way to get along? We'll find out in this story of how two seemingly separate lives can become entirely intertwined with just a bit of proximity...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it was great as an audiobook-- had enough detail that I could visualize and was written clearly enough that I could follow along. The plot was quick and fast-moving, keeping me interested the entire time. While there was not an abundance of detail about the characters as individuals, I still found myself rooting for them to find happiness and succeed. This book contained a few twists and turns that I wasn't anticipating, making it hard to put down!

My only criticism is that this book is listed as a mystery/thriller, when it clearly is not. The listing combined with cover and tagline led me to believe I was in for a thrilling ride, though I found little to no characteristics of a thriller in this book. It is much more of a domestic/family drama. That being said, still very enjoyable and enticing!

Thanks to Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review the audiobook version of this story! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for other Natasha Boydell books in the future.