This was a unique story that focused on the neighborly dynamics between Salma and her husband Bil and neighbors Tom and Willa. Salma and Bil are new to Blenheim and very quickly find themselves the victims of a neighborly spat when their Black Lives Matter banner is knocked over by their neighbors. The story goes from there. The story follows the increasing escalation between these neighbors and their teenage sons who are caught in the middle. Things quickly get intense and violence follows. I was not sure what to expect in this book, and I was not disappointed. I enjoy a neighborhood setting, and I found the British setting to be interesting as well. I found myself looking a few things up to understand some of the cultural differences as well. I love when I feel like I learn some new things in a book as well. Not a traditional thriller, but fast paced as it were.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*

A great thriller - I would recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed reading this book as i enjoy thrillers. I am not sure if it was just me or that i’m reading to many but it reminded me of something I have read before. overall it was. a good book though

This book fell flat for me. It just never seemed to find its footing. I kept going with the hopes that the story was going to pick up, but in the end, I wish I had put it down at about 20%. I can see what the author was attempting to do, but the execution felt disjointed and awkward to me. I certainly would not call it a thriller, and some of the twists felt very unbelievable.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #PenguinGroupPutnam for a free copy of #PerfectlyNiceNeighbors by Kia Abdullah. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the author 𝘒𝘪𝘢 𝘈𝘣𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩, publishers G. P. Putnam's Sons, and also to NetGalley for an advance digital copy of PERFECTLY NICE NEIGHBORS. All views are mine.

ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛʟʏ ɴɪᴄᴇ ɴᴇɪɢʜʙᴏʀs is a book whose full meaning and significance didn't strike me until almost halfway through the book.
Suddenly, I noticed how high the stakes are and for how many different people beyond the characters in the story. I love how the narrative unravels, love the ending. Really recommend this slow burn suburban drama-thriller.

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. This book is so weird, like total Stepford Wife vibes. Everyone acts just slightly irrationally, and their rationale always sounds almost rational. It's so creepy!

2. The character work in this book is excellent. Characters are well designed, and maybe more importantly, they feel authentic on a detailed level.

3. I really love how Zaine and Jamie's relationship is like a barometer for the waves of the book's conflict.

4. This book definitely gets how to advocate for family with disabilities, especially if they are institutionalized. Some beautiful, heartwrenching paragraphs in here.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I am not a huge fan of huge casts. I recognize some stories need them, for one reason or another. But I always have trouble keeping track of who is whom, especially when the perspective changes, and even more so when all perspectives are written in first person.

Rating: 🏘🏡🏠🏘🏡 / 5 little neighborhoods
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: Sep 15 '23
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
⛈️ thrillers
🤪 weird neighbors
🪢 twisty stories
🥩 high stakes

This book was amazing. It really makes you think about discrimination. I thought I had the lot all figured out and BAM…..I was totally wrong. I recommend this book highly. I can’t wait to read this authors other books

OK, wow this author isn’t afraid of big issues. I had a hard time knowing who to believe and who was honest in this shocking story of neighbors bad behavior. Working for a state government I have been told that perception is reality and that escalates in this one.

This one really had me thinking. What makes someone neighborly? What is acceptable neighborly behavior? How much control do you have in what goes on in your neighborhood?

This one had me changing my mind over and over until the very end. While Next of Kin is still my favorite, this one is thought provoking and a great book club read.

This story is frightening and timely, with a look at all the big issues and microaggressions that can make a "perfectly nice" neighborhood feel like a dangerous place. Kia Abdullah masterfully ramps up tension, with shocking twists and an ending that, while appropriate to the story, doesn't leave readers with any warm fuzzy feelings.

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I put this book down to focus on something else because it was putting me into a book slump.
I recently picked it back up to finish it and unfortunately it was not for me.

I loved the premise of it but did not enjoy the execution. I seem to be in the minority on that so I'm sure my library patrons will enjoy it more so than I.

Thanks to the publisher for the copy!

QUICK TAKE: Loved this slow burn domestic suspense...like a snowball from hell that just rolls down a hill and builds into something unstoppable. really solid read.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a good read full of THRILLING plots and twisty turns at the end. I was actually shocked at the ending. Thank you to NEtGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I highly recommend this great read!

The Short of It:

It doesn’t matter how nice a house is, or how wonderful the neighborhood is, if you have horrible neighbors living right next to you, none of it matters.

The Rest of It:

The Khatun family move to Blenheim hoping for a better life for their teen son Zain. But after placing a BLM sign in their yard, the Huttons take matters into their own hands by removing it. When Salma and Bil relocate it to their window, they are beyond surprised when Hutton paints over their window to cover it up. To think that someone could step onto their property, vandalize it and then go about their day as if nothing has happened is too much.

To further complicate things, Zain has befriended the Hutton’s son so trying to navigate all that tension while maintaining a friendship proves to be nearly impossible.

This was an interesting read for me. It’s filled with tension and NONE of the characters are likable. At all. And yet, I had a really hard time putting it down and read it in one sitting during all my Thanksgiving prep. These types of books definitely have a place on my shelf. Quick, engaging stories that get you thinking.

If you are looking for a quick read to get you reading again, this might be the book for you.

I was intrigued by the premise, but didn't quite care for the execution. I felt that things went a bit far in ways they would not have otherwise, didn't believe or care for the characters nor did I feel sympathy where I should have.

Thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam & NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is about new neighbors, Salma & Bil Khatun and their young adult son Zain, who move into a new area. Zain and the neighbor boy make fast friends and get along well, but Salma and Tom get off on the wrong foot immediately and then it's exacerbated by Tom' s removal of a BLM banner from the Khatuns' yard. Things escalate quickly from there, and it gets BAD.

While this is an intriguing portrayal of race relations in modern Britain during a time of inescapable social media retribution, it goes way over the top in terms of shoveling hardship after hardship onto both families in the aftermath of an unpleasant incident. Very few of the characters are likable; Bil and Zain are OK but we don't get much of them, mostly settling on Willa and Salma, who are both very strong-willed and pretty unkind overall. Tom is essentially a caricature (although of course people like him exist, but his portrayal could have done with some nuance IMO).

Overall a bit of a chore to read and just overloaded with bad stuff (including potential harm to a dog which I just can't even).

2.5 stars rounded up

Thank you PRH audio for my review copy.

Intense book about racism, misunderstandings, misunderstandings, and most of all being human and making mistakes. I felt really uncomfortable reading certain parts of this book and I think that’s what makes a book great. You cringe, you drop your jaw in disbelief and in the end you think about your own interactions and the ways you would handle things. It was tense if ugly.

I very much enjoyed this overall. The book does a great job of exploring racism and hate in a realistic way, making the characters likable but also unlikable. It’s not hard to relate but also feel gross about their actions, which I think is the point. It’s rare to read a book that captures all the little nuances so well, and I applaud the author for not making this easy on the reader. Good people can do bad things, and bad people can do good things. Good and bad are subjective, but one’s inherent nature isn’t cancelled by their actions. I especially liked the parallels between Salma and Willa, and the way they were both given full internal dialogue so you could examine their actions and your own feelings about them.

On the critical side, I did think it might have been a little too long. Not that it’s super long but I felt like it started getting a little repetitive and then it had to keep upping the stakes. It reminded me a little of the show Lost in that it was so solid but backed itself into a corner and ultimately might have gone a bit over the edge to keep up the momentum. That said, I loved the fjnal section and some of the reveals, if only because they drove home the message of the book very well.

Very solid read and recommended if you’re interested in exploring these topics with a writer who clearly has feelings about them but also has a good sense of the complexity of these situations.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Lets just get straight to the point.. Kia Abdullah, has done it again, I present to you, the 2023 book of the year..

drum roll please...

Perfectly Nice Neighbors

Take it Back and Truth Be Told, are two of my favorite books. so it came as no surprise that I would fall head over heels in love with Perfectly Nice Neighbors. Although, I will say, there was something completely different about this book in comparison to previously published books.

Jam packed with twists and turns, this book will give you mental whiplash.

Perfectly paced with characters you will love and some you will love to hate. There is no shortage of shock factor. This is a book you finish in one sitting.

Don't take my word for it, check out this teaser :

Salma Khatun is hopeful about Blenheim, the suburban development into which she, her husband, and their son have just moved. The Bangladeshi family needs a fresh start, and Blenheim feels like just the place.

Soon after they move in, Salma spots her White neighbor, Tom Hutton, ripping out the anti-racist banner her son put in the front garden. Avoiding confrontation, Salma takes the banner inside and puts it in her window. But the next morning, she wakes up to find her window smeared with paint.

When she does speak to Tom, battle lines are drawn between the two families. As racial and social tensions escalate and the stakes rise, it’s clear that a reckoning is coming . . .

And someone is going to get hurt.

WOW! That was a heck of a ride. Kia Abdullah is a master at writing a fast paced thriller but lacking a punch with social commentary. This did not disappoint.
Classism, racism, the double edged sword of social media… all because of a sign. *chefs kiss *

Woah. What the heck did I just read?? This is a very fast paced book, and tells a story of how seemingly harmless pranks or comments can snowball into a much larger issue. Everytime I thought, okay this is where people finally get reasonable, another twist was thrown in. Definitely a good read!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.