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.

A very emotional story about rediscovering ourselves after going through trauma. Also about starting over fresh and how new starts can bring us what we never thought we'd have.

The authors' voice was very clear and it was like you were next to her listening to a journey, of someone as if you'd call them your friend.

I enjoyed reading Unlikely Neighbors so much! I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. I couldn't put my kindle down until I was finishing reading. This book gave me all that I need in romance and some light hearted moments.

This was a quaint read.

I liked how it felt like a small town read, even though it was based in NY. Maybe it's becuase she's from a small town in the south, but it still felt a lot closer knit than some other novels based in NY. I think that Holly's character got there in the end. At the beginning there was a lot of telling as to what was happening, and I wanted her to have more of a reaction, but her character got there in the end. I also wanted Noble's reaction to him loosing his position to be a bit more impactful.

Otherwise it was a cute romance. Audiobook was good, narrators did a good job.

Thank you to Harlequin Audio, Harlequin Romance and Netgalley for an early copy.

DNF at 31%. I like the ideas here, but I just wasn’t grabbed by the characters. I didn’t feel a spark between them that compelled me to continue.

This is a heartfelt and steamy romance that blends emotional depth with undeniable chemistry. When Holland Davenport unexpectedly inherits a run-down Brooklyn brownstone, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery while clashing—and connecting—with her polished and magnetic neighbor, Noble Washington. Their attraction is instant yet layered with personal challenges, making their romance both passionate and meaningful. The vibrant Brooklyn setting enhances the story, creating a rich backdrop for Holland’s fresh start. With its perfect mix of tension, tenderness, and self-growth, this novel is a captivating read that stays with you long after the last page.

This was my first read by the author and I am looking forward to reading more. I really enjoyed the MMC and FMC, I think their chemistry jumps off the pages and I was so impressed that I am going to purchase the hard copy once it's available in stores.

3.5 🌟
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.
This book took me longer than expected to get through. While I enjoyed it, I was also left wanting more.

Holland is a small town Southern girl, adopted at a young age she sets out to find her biological family. They find her but in the form of an inheritance, she travels to NYC to settle her great aunts estate and hopefully learn more about her family and figure out who she is.
In NYC she meets Noble her handsome and charming next door neighbor. Recently unemployed after starting a company from the ground up, he has his own family things to work on but Holland helps him find that their is more to life than work and makes him want to live life for enjoyment.
While going through her aunt’s belongings and journals she discovers pieces of her past coming together, feeling connected in a way she never has but what she discovers seems like its too much and might break apart all that she’s known.
With Noble’s help she finds herself, and chooses to stay in NYC, which leads her to whole new discoveries about her past.

I loved the idea of the story but was left wanting more, especially from her Aunt’s journals, did she find out where Holland was before she passed or did the lawyers find her after she passed as part of her will.
I wanted a bit more about her Dad while that wasn’t the focus of the story I am glad that she got that piece of the puzzle too.

It was enjoyable but just not enough humph for me.

Also for those that question the spice content, it was there, not closed door but definitely not fully explicit detail either, it was done nicely that you wouldn’t have to skip if you didn’t like spice.

Final rating: 3.75

Cute romance centering 2 people going through big life transformations and trying to figure everything out.

I love how supportive Noble was to Holland and, frankly, how down bad he was over her. He didn't pretend to be too cool to pursue her.

My only issue here is that the whole storyline with Holland's birth mom/family brought a lot of extra stuff into the story overall and overshadowed the romance and it all wrapped up a bit too neatly & too quickly in my opinion.

I think just focusing on two adults trying to navigate career changes and balance life would have been enough.

I couldn't get into Unlikely Neighbors. There were a few things that led to my DNF. I wasn't enthralled by Holland and Noble. I just didn't feel connected to their characters or relationship. Holland and Noble had a lot going on and it felt like the author was throwing too much at us. I think this book would have more depth if there were less things happening. I wasn't drawn into Holland and Noble's relationship. I didn't really feel the chemistry between them. Overall, I just couldn't get into this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the ARC.

City boy meets small town girl. Love next door. Family secrets. I thought this book was going to be all cutesy and romcomy, and it was, but it also had depth. Holland and Noble are both facing life changing challenges when they meet, and they find comfort in each other. I think we all know where it heads. What you don't see coming is the family secrets Holland discovers. I appreciated the author giving both Holland and Noble space to grow independently. The character growth was exactly what it needed to be. The story overall is lighthearted and warming, well written, and was a fun read.

Holland & Noble….what an intense connection from the very minute that they laid eyes on each other!! What a great book, a fantastic story it was hard to put it down & I didn’t want it to end!!! Thank you Renee Daniel Flagler for such an amazing read!