This was a slow burn for me. It took me a long time to finish and I'm not sure why.. I expected the romance to happen a lot faster. I felt there was a lot happening that kept my head on a swivle. Holland, great name by the way, wants to leave her hometown. Then we learn she had a health scare that adds to her motivation to leave, Then she inherits a house from a long lost aunt, Then she learns about her maternal side the of the family and goes to NY to claim the inherited home. She discovers her lineage and a few secrets. Meets her hot neighbor who also has a storyline with drama too. Noble is blindsided and asked to step down from his company. Hie has a strained relationship with his father.. Ms. Elsie is the most fun because elderly people are unfiltered truth tellers. Lol! I would read more from this author now that I know what to expect.

This one wasn't good but it also wasn't bad. I think there premise of being neighbors and meeting at a time when you're working through trauma is interesting, but there was so much negative happening that it didn't feel like any one topic got enough attention. The romance also didn't pull me in fully.

Unlikely Neighbors was such a fun, feel-good read. From the moment Holland inherited that Brooklyn brownstone, I was intrigued. The story had a great balance of romance, personal growth, and just enough spice to keep things interesting.

Holland and Noble had a natural, believable connection. Their differences created tension, but their chemistry felt real and well-paced. I appreciated how their relationship developed alongside Holland’s own journey… adjusting to a new city, renovating a home, and uncovering unexpected family secrets.

As a Brooklyn native, I loved the setting. It felt authentic and added a layer of comfort and familiarity to the story.

If you enjoy opposites-attract romances with depth, charm, and a little heat, this one’s worth picking up.

3.5 stars. I almost gave up on this book, but I don't like DNFs, so I finished it. Didn't connected with the main characters even though the premise was fantastic.

3.5 stars. Romance with some steam as well as some heavier-hitting issues that impact the main characters. Holland finds out she’s inherited a house from someone she doesn’t know. Noble gets fired from the company that he founded. Turns out, he lives next door to and was well acquainted with the woman who left Holland the house and now unexpectedly has time on his hands to help her clean it out. Proximity works it magic and sparks fly. However, as Holland is cleaning out the house, she finds some unsettling information about her family, and that journey provides good substance to the plot. Some things that didn’t suit me -I listened on audio and didn’t love the male narrator-the female narrator was much better. I wasn’t a fan of the insta-lusty start to the romance between Holland and Noble, and I thought a few moments that should have had a lot of heft weren’t given their due in the writing. Overall, though, this was an entertaining story. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for an early digital copy of this book to review.

There needs to be a content warning that this book deals with cancer. It sometimes bothers me but I was able to get through the book with no problems. It may bother others.

Holland was moving away from her small town to try and find herself. A recent cancer scare has her looking at her life differently. Then she finds out she is inheriting a house in Brooklyn from a great aunt that she never knew. She knew she was adopted but didn’t know anything about her birth family. She travels to Brooklyn and begins her journey to discover her past.

Nobel is a CEO of a beverage company he founded with a friend of his. The board decides to let him go and now he has to figure out what to do with his life. He has a difficult relationship with his father.

Holland and Nobel are neighbors now that she has inherited the house. Their attraction was instant. They connect and are there for each other as they both deal with difficult situations in their lives.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Things happened fast for these two but it seemed very natural. This was a well done story.

This was such a cute opposites-attract story that kept my interest from the very beginning. Holland and Noble’s connection starts off as a simple spark of attraction but quickly grows into something deeper and more meaningful.

As Holland leaves her small-town life behind, she finds herself unexpectedly inheriting a brownstone in Brooklyn—and with it, a mystery surrounding her adoption that turns her world upside down. I really enjoyed how her personal journey of self-discovery unfolded alongside the romance. Noble, once a busy and driven CEO, now has more time on his hands—just in time to meet the intriguing new woman next door. His kindness, patience, and thoughtfulness gave their interactions a sweet and touching vibe that felt genuine.

This was my first read by Renee Daniel Flagler, and I really enjoyed it! Unlikely Neighbors has a great mix of heartfelt family themes, friendship, and steamy romance, with a strong dose of self-discovery. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys emotional romcoms that tug at your heart while making you smile.

Thank you to Annette Galli, the publisher, and the author for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very satisfying read. I appreciated how Ms, Flagler brought Holland and Noble together as emotionally mature adults that were also at crisis points in their lives. It was fascinating to follow their journeys as they coped with various job and family related situations, all while navigating their attraction to each other. Ms. Flagler has a wonderful way with describing their intimate encounters - very evocative without being wildly specific, which really worked for me. I also enjoyed the secondary mystery plot about Holland's family, which certainly made the cleaning and renovating of Holland's inherited home more interesting. Holland and Noble both did some self-discovering and improving of their communication skills as the story progressed, proving that it isn't too late to learn as they found their way to their happily ever after. Ms. Flagler is a new-to-me author that I will be reading more of soon!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for this ARC. I am happily volunteering this review.

I love a good close proximity trope and really liked the MMC. I liked that this book dealt with some heavy topics in a nice way. I loved the found family in this book. However, I was a little bored at times and had to force myself to go back to this book.

Holland has a plan for her life but of course hiccups happen along the way. It was interesting to have Nobel, the MMC also deal with some bumps along his life. As they met each other ins this turning point in life it felt like it allowed them to open themselves up to an opportunity they might otherwise had overlooked. Likeable characters with an emotional story that drew you in.

A small-town woman chasing a fresh start and a successful CEO with a carefully curated life are thrown together in unexpected ways. With undeniable chemistry and clashing worlds, their story is a slow burn full of heart, growth, and just the right amount of tension.

Hollands health scare sent her life to bloom into something she never expected. Thrown into a world she was always a part of but never knew existed. We dread losing our lives but Holly realized she had nothing to lose and in order to live a life she was granted she had to get one first.

Flagler has a hard time with the beginning exposition of the story but once the story come together it’s a time of hope and reflection.

“Unlikely Neighbours ” by Renee Daniel Flagler was a lot deeper than I thought it would be when I read the description. It has many elements of your typical romcom but with this deep underlying current of family and how it impacts us as adults. There is the element of how to deal with trauma as well. Noble,the MMC, is dealing with being forced out of his company that had been his entire life and his fathers failing health all while struggling to connect with him after he left him and his mother in his teens. Holland who has come to stay in the house beside his. It is her biological great aunts house to get to know her history but she ends up uncovering secrets that she might not have wanted to uncover. They comfort each other all while slowly falling in love and discovering or rediscovering New York City.

Their chemistry was great and I loved how both MC’s treated each other. Their banter was amazing and I loved the secondary characters like cousin Amy and Elsie. The story was well written and there were enough twists and turns to keep me hooked. I especially liked their adventures into parts of New York. There was an element in the book of Holland having one foot out the door that I didn’t love but Nobel was committed to fighting for their relationship that redeemed that character arc. Overall a really fun read that I enjoyed thoroughly.

"Unlikely Neighbors" by Renee Daniel Flagler is such a great read! The characters feel real, and the story pulls you in from the start. It’s the kind of book that keeps you turning pages because you just want to see how everything unfolds. The writing is smooth, and there’s a perfect mix of emotion, romance, and personal growth. It’s one of those books that leaves you feeling satisfied but also wishing you could spend more time with the characters. Definitely worth picking up if you love a heartfelt romance!

4⭐️ If you like found family, family healing, big city romance, and opposites attract; you’ll want to give this one a read. Holland wants to make it in a bigger city. She’s got a plan, but it doesn’t include handling the estate of a family member she never knew. As she decides what to do with the money pit brownstone, she meets Noble. The attraction is instant. He’s a strong and confident man on the outside, but he too has his struggles. The company he built is laying him off. Now he needs to figure out next steps.

4⭐️s to the narration by Keisa Parrish and Jamal West. I really enjoyed them as a team telling Holland’s and Noble’s story.

Thank you to @netgalley @harlequinbooks @harlequin_audio and @reneedanielflagler for the opportunity to read and review.

🎧 Audiobook +📗 eBook: Unlikely Neighbors-a standalone

Cover: love POC rep!

✍🏾 Author: Renee Daniel Flagler-new to me author

📃Page Count: 288

📅Publication date: 4/1/25 | Read: 3/27/25

🏃🏾‍➡️Run Time: 7:13

🌎 Setting: Florence, SC to Brooklyn, NY

👆🏾POV: 1st person dual

Genre: AA Interests, Contemporary Romance

Tropes: small town/city, opposites attract, inheritance, next door neighbor

⚠️TW: kidnapping, adoption, foster kids, breast cancer, alcoholism, death of family members, parental abandonment

🗣️Narrator: Keisa Parrish and Jamal West voice all the characters with standouts from Noble and Holland. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrators worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrators paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.


Summary: Holland has inherited a brownstone in Brooklyn from her great aunt-whom she never met. Ms. Elsie and Noble are both her neighbors and knew her Aunt Goldie. While renovating the place to sell it, Holland and Noble become friends and lovers. Holland is faced with the decision - follow her heart in the big city or return to the slow Southern life she knows?


👩🏾 Heroine: Holland Davenport-29, social worker, adopted
👨🏾 Hero: Noble Washington-30, CEO of Push beverage company

🎭 Side Characters:
*Tim Billin-Noble's father figure/mentor
*Aunt Goldie Mar Williamson-gifts Holly her brownstone
*Patience-Holly's adopted sister
*Amy-Holly's BFF
* Tyler Keen-Noble's BFF
*Yona Reeves-Holly's birth mother
*Patricia-Holly's adoptive mother
*Miss Elsie-neighbor who knew Holly's family

🤔 My Thoughts: This story brings up the desperation to be a mother with Patricia. Adoption and foster children were represented by Holland and Patience. Noble had father issues that hit home for me. Not having a relationship with him left a void in Noble's life, and I loved their reconciliation.

Range of Emotions 😊😭🤣😔
*Spice: 4/5 🌶️
*Emotion: 5/5 🥲
*Couple: 4/5 🧑‍🤝‍🧑
*Rating: 4/5 ⭐

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin-Romance |Afterglow Books by Harlequin, Harlequin Audio, and Renee Daniel Flagler for this ARC & ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

UNLIKELY NEIGHBORS – Renee Daniel Flagler
Harlequin After Glow
ISBN: 978-1-335-57494-7
April 1, 2025
Contemporary Romance

New York City – Present Day

Holland Davenport is on a journey to discover her beginnings after learning out of the blue that she had a great aunt—who recently died and left her a brownstone in Brooklyn. She knew she’d been adopted but her adopted mother told her that her biological mother was dead and didn’t mention any other relatives who might be alive. Holland plans to clean out the rundown brownstone and then sell it. She arrives and soon runs into her next-door neighbor, Noble Washington. He is friendly and offers to help her in any way he can. How can she turn down the oh-so-handsome man’s offer? She will be there for a few weeks before putting it up for sale, so a friendship with Noble is a nice way to enjoy her time. But she soon learns that her past—specifically the adoption—isn’t what her adoptive mother told her.

Holland has always lived under the protective eye of her mother and thought it was time to spread her wings. She has already rented an apartment in South Carolina and taken time off work. But now, as she soon discovers in Brooklyn, her past is murky as she reads through her great aunt’s journals. It’s clear early on while reading the journals that her adoptive mother knew her biological family. Yet, none of this was explained to her, especially why she wasn’t allowed to be in contact with her great aunt. As readers delve further into UNLIKELY NEIGHBORS, they will learn more about what happened and become sympathetic toward Holland.

Meanwhile, the friendship with Noble continues. As the story opens, he is relieved of his CEO duties at the startup company he founded because the board wants to go in a different direction. He now feels adrift because he is not sure what he wants to do next, and he feels like a failure because of what happened to his CEO job. Spending time with Holland is a welcome distraction. He wants to take their relationship to the next level. She is more reticent because she is unsure about herself. That overprotectiveness of her mother has kicked in. But they continue to build their friendship.

UNLIKELY NEIGHBORS is an intriguing and entertaining tale that will pull readers into the lives of Holland and Noble. They mesh well together and when they decide to have a fling, knowing she is leaving in a few weeks, they let things happen. Yet, as Holland’s life turns into a mixed-up mess due to the things she is discovering about her past, she can’t help but pull away. Will she come to terms as to what she finds? If you love a book about family drama mixed with a sizzling hot romance, then UNLIKLEY NEIGHBORS is the perfect read for you.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

This book was more than a romance but it was also a story of found family and self-discovery. After going through a health scare, Holland Davenport decided she wants to start fresh and move to Charleston, South Carolina; however, before she makes it there she gets information of a brownstone in New York that her great aunt, who she did not know, left for her in her passing. Once she goes to the brownstone she learns more about her great aunt as well as her grandmother and mother who she did not know about since she was adopted. Other revelations are made as well with her adopted mother that she has to deal with. With all that Holland is learning about her family, she learns more through one of her neighbors who was friends with her great aunt and she also meets Noble who is her other neighbor.

Noble is going through his own situation with his company and being forced to now reinvent himself as well and start fresh. Upon meeting Holland, he is attracted to her and she is attracted to him but she knows she doesn't intend to stay in NY and is only there to get the house in order to sell so she can get to Charleston. Noble offers to help her out and the more time they spend together the more the attraction goes and once they cross the line, you are rooting for them to be together.

I liked the chemistry between Holland and Noble although at times it seemed they were only using sex to ease the pain of what they were going through in their lives but you could also see that they genuinely cared about the other and wanted the other one to be happy. I also liked the role Ms. Elsie played in the book. While I enjoyed the book, I would have liked to see more of Noble and Holland as a couple once they decided to actually be together and I would have liked more on the whole job situation and what happened with Noble's offer. This was my first read by this author and I will be looking for other books in her catalog as well.

Thank you to the publisher Afterglow books by Harlequin and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I never thought I could fall in love with a rich, CEO MMC, but I stand corrected! I fell in love with Holland and Noble, the small town southern belle and city boy had perfect chemistry. Their story felt so grounded and organic. The family tea was piping hot, and the self discovery journey was so realistic. Every word had me falling in love with them more and more and now I need to plan a trip to NYC.

This was a cute quick read..
it’s a slow burn but a good slow burn.
I enjoy the cuteness and sweetness of this story.

I enjoy a small town moving to a big city vibe.
Holland is searching for a new start and come across long lost family. She inherits a brownstone in NY from her biological mother side. She meets the handsome neighbor Noble who they just feel this instant connection. I love their cute vibes.

Now there was some family dynamics too that will shock you.
I enjoy the plot of the story.
It had some emotions and depth to the story. It will definitely keep your mind going.

I love the personal journey these two had.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc copy in exchange for my honest opinion.