I really loved the premise of this story and the tension build up between MC and Nora. An assignment turned feelings and pushed feelings from being burned too many times. The attraction always there though (I know, infuriating) just a beautiful mess.

You had awkward relationships across the board: best friends, siblings, mom/kids and "actual" dating/married relationships.

The friends-to-lovers meets slow burn concept in this story was so cute. You were really rooting for all of the underdogs. There were many mistakes to be made and forgiveness to be found.

I enjoyed how the story progressed, it felt a lot like a "Meet the Parents" at times where things that could go wrong, did. Ultimately, I gave a 4 because it was a bit too slow/repetitive at times.

Trope Me Up 👇🏻
~ Friends to Lovers
~ Found Friendships
~ Slow Burn
~ Small Town Romance
~ Hometown Vibes
~ LGBTQIAP+

Girl Next Door is a sweet and engaging romance that captures the charm of unexpected love blossoming right next door. Rachel Meredith’s writing is warm and relatable, with characters who feel genuine and easy to root for. The story strikes a nice balance between humor and heartfelt moments, making it a comforting and enjoyable read. It’s the perfect pick for anyone who loves cozy, feel-good romance with a touch of nostalgia.

I legit could NOT put this book down, Nora and MC might just be two of my fav, complex main characters I’ve read this year. There is so much happening during this book, incredible lows where not even the secondary characters are spared, but the ending was sheer perfection.

The story centers around MC, a people pleaser who puts everyone else’s needs before her own, and has a complicated relationship with her parents and brother and Nora, a firm, no nonsense, does not give a damn about other’s opinion baddie. The two were somewhat close in Highschool, but in the last 10 years have drifted… that is until Nora writes a book under a pseudonym about their non-real relationship and MC is tasked to write an expose on her. I am SO BAD at synopsizes, pls just trust me that it’s good.

Girl Next Door was such a surprise that I genuinely cannot wait to read the finished print of this book and I hope it becomes one of those books I see a million times on my Insta feed. Please read this ASAP.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!!

Thank you NetGalley!!! I LOVED THIS!!!

I think the only thing that could have made it better would have been wrapping up Conrad and Gaby’s story! I loved how developed and diverse all of these characters were. I felt all the feels!!!

Girl Next Door was a cute, quick sapphic rom com. It had lots of tropes I like — second chance romance (sort of), small town, grumpy/sunshine, and lots of yearning. I think it could have been interesting to get Nora’s POV too, but I still really enjoyed seeing the story through MC’s perspective. Because of MC ulterior motives for getting to know Nora again, there were genuine stakes to the story, which I think made the third act all the more successful.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC of Girl Next Door.

This was such an enjoyable read. It follows two former next-door neighbors who barely knew each other in high school—other than working on the lit mag—before life pulled them in different directions. Years later, they’re brought back into each other’s orbit when an anonymous bestselling romance comes out that feels a little too close to home.

I loved the setup and the way the story let their connection grow slowly instead of forcing a big, dramatic history between them. The chemistry felt real, and I found myself completely wrapped up in their back-and-forth. I finished it in one sitting.

The only part that didn’t quite land for me was the third-act breakup. It lingered longer than it needed to and slowed the momentum. Even with that, I closed the book smiling; it’s the kind of rom-com that makes you want to curl up and keep reading long past bedtime.

I’m going to give this one a 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I have mixed feelings about this one. It is a super quick read and I really liked the pacing of the book. However, every single character did something bad, which doesn’t necessarily make them bad people but I was just so frustrated with them!! I wanted to call them and yell at them or grab them by their shoulders and shake them!! I thought the characters were well developed, which is why I kept getting so frustrated with them. I do think that this book would benefit from an epilogue of some kind, there were just a lot of loose ends from all the characters that I would have loved to have seen resolved. All in all, the book was beautifully written and I would be super interested in reading another book by Rachel Meredith!

Thank you to Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and NetGalley for this eARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for this ARC!
I wanted to read this one because the plot really sounded interesting, a girl from high school just published a novel, in which you are the love interest. I know MC wanted to help everyone, but it just felt like there was so much lying going on, especially since high school had been so long ago. MC should have come clean to Gabby and Conrad a long time ago and she should have set her intents with Nora as soon as they started to get involved. That being said, it did keep me guessing how this was all going to work out in the end. I also thought it was an interesting choice to title the book the same thing as the fictional book, unless this is the plot of the fictional book as well. Either way, I'd say it was a pretty okay read.

2.75/5
Thank you so much Netgalley for early access to this one!! I had moments where I really enjoyed it. And I truly love representation of the LGBTQIA. But it was definitely hard to get through so many of the will they, won't they moments.

2.5⭐️

A MC, Joe, su mejor amigo y jefe le encarga la misión de investigar y escribir un artículo sobre una de sus excompañeras de la escuela ,Nora, ya que está convencido de que ella es la autora de un exitoso libro, pues todos los detalles coinciden con lo que vivieron en el pasado. MC acepta sin cuestionarse que está mal exponer la identidad de alguien sin su consentimiento. Se acerca a Nora, desarrolla una relación con ella e incluso se enamora, pero en ningún momento considera decirle la verdad o, al menos, informarle con un simple: "Oye, hice una estupidez… sabía que eras la autora y acabo de escribir un artículo revelando tu identidad. Lo siento."
Para mi gusto, Nora no debió perdonar a MC.

Pasemos a Conrad, el hermano de MC. El tipo tiene un amorío con su jefa a quien incluso invita a cenar a su casa. ¡Su casa! Donde vive Gabby, su esposa. Cuando Gabby se pone a lavar los platos, estos dos descarados aprovechan para pasar tiempo juntos. Peor aún, Conrad invita a Jae (la amante) a una fiesta familiar. Ambos son terribles, y la relación termina únicamente porque Gabby queda embarazada. Lo más indignante es que quien termina la relación es Jae, no Conrad, quien todavía le rogaba y decía que el embarazo fue un accidente. Es decir, si no fuera porque Jae lo dejó, él habría seguido con la aventura.

Cuando Gabby se entera, Conrad se hace el arrepentido y dice que quiere recuperarla. Ajá, sí, que te crea el diablo, porque todas sus acciones decían lo contrario. Como fue dejado, se dio cuenta de que siempre había tenido a Gabby y era su lugar seguro y decidió arrastrarse para volver. Pensé que Gabby no lo perdonaría, pero lo hizo. Al final del libro no viven juntos, aunque se da a entender que eventualmente lo harán, solo que ella quiere que él siga demostrando su supuesto cambio.



Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

I wanted to like this book. As a fan of Ashley Herring Green’s books, one would think that I would be okay with the roller coaster-y-ness of this book. But alas, building on lies, feeling like every character is out for blood or holding secrets, it just made me feel gross reading it. The redeeming quality is that this is a very well written book but alas something that I cannot give more than 2 stars based on those items.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

The premise of Girl Next Door is what originally hooked me and had me requesting an early copy, and I must say this actually held up to the hype I created in my head. This was so fun!

3.5 rounded up. I really appreciated how nuanced and layered these characters were. This book proved you can do bad things and still be a good person, with a really sweet romance with lots of delicious tension along the way. That being said, there was so much going on that some things felt a bit undeveloped—such as MC’s relationship with Joe as well as her friendship with Gabby, and even the past beef between Joe & Nora could’ve been explored more. I also think this book could’ve really benefited from an epilogue. But it was a fun read and I very much enjoyed it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & the publishers for the ARC!! :)

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Meredith, and Harper Perennial for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an addictive read. I just had to know what was going to happen next after some of the dramatic moments. That being said, there was a bit more drama in this book than I prefer. That's the main reason it's not getting 5 stars from me. I thought the characters were well developed. I wish we had received more information on Nora. I found her character to be relatable. I wondered why she was the way she was. I enjoyed the fact that these characters are still trying to figure out their lives. I also would have loved an epilogue to see where the characters are now. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it!

This was one of my anticipated reads for the year, so I was very happy to receive an ARC! If there's one thing I love, it's a messy plotline, and this one definitely fit the bill.

There were so many moments in this book that felt real, things that happened that weren't picture-perfect, that just felt like life. I liked that the characters were all flawed, but they all loved each other anyway.

I enjoyed the romance between Nora and MC, it was gradual and sweet. I did wish at times that they would settle together faster, and there were points where I wondered if they would ever happen at all. However, I was fairly satisfied with their story by the end of the book.

Overall, this book is messy, angsty, emotional, and real. 4.2/5 stars.

3.5 stars, rounded to 4 stars.
This story was quick and simple, and it sort of gave me Mean Girls burn book vibes.

This story follows MC and Nora.
The two women were next-door neighbors growing up but were never close.
Years later, a book is released with shockingly similar setting to their hometown, and includes characters based off all of their peers.
The story also includes a relationship between MC and Nora, which never actually happened.
Although published under an alias, MC is almost certain that Nora is the author, and she returns to their hometown to discover the truth- and to gather information that will expose Nora.

What you can expect from this story:
- Sapphic romance
- A grumpy main character
- Interesting side characters

I really liked the premise of this.
The idea of two people falling in love after one of them unexpectedly writes a book about their fantasies for the other? That seemed so fun.

This book kind of delivered on that, but I think it could have been executed just a little bit better.
I honestly was having a hard time rating this book, and I could not decide between 3 or 4 stars- but I think I enjoyed it enough to round up.

First of all, I will say that I really enjoyed the romantic encounters between MC and Nora. I just wish there had been more of them.
It was very back-and-forth, and Nora seemed to change her mind a lot. I think this made it a bit difficult to see the connection between them for a big part of the story.
I think I just expected there to be a lot more yearning, given Nora writing an entire book about being with MC.
However, the moments when they are on good terms are quite nice, and I was rooting for them.

The side characters here are definitely a bonus.
I don’t typically care too much about side characters, but this was an exception.
They have quite a developed storyline of their own, and at times I felt just as invested in what was happening with them, as I was with the two main characters.

Overall, it is a fine read. It is not a super fluffy, sweet romance, but the plot is interesting and keeps you engaged!

Thank you to Natgalley, Harper Perennial and paperbacks and author Rachel Meredith for providing me with the eARC of “Girl Next Door”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: September 9th, 2025
Reviewed on Goodreads: July 27th, 2025

This book took me forever to get into - I think my mindset was off and that it was far less about the niche quirks of the book and more about the time frame of me reading it. That being said, I initially didn't like anyone but the Joe character. but once I got to chapter 8, I was really into the story and the very complex characters.

4.5 ⭐️

The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars was because I wanted more in the end. I needed an epilogue. It wrapped up but I feel like more could’ve been told and I wanted to know more about their plans etc.

I devoured this book and stayed up late reading it. That’s how good it was. I was not only interested in the MC’s storyline but the side character’s storylines pulled me in as well. The plot was refreshing and interesting. I will definitely be checking out other work by this author!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love romance novels, I really do, but there's something about perpetually forgiving unforgivable acts that makes me like romance novels less.

Concentric circles of betrayal in this book and it's all just...fine. I admit these are issues I'm just very sensitive to but I spent the whole time feeling like I was being punk'd because there's just no way.

The writing was fun and effective, and I am eager to read the next book that will hopefully involve fewer deal breakers so I can enjoy it all the way to the end.

Three stars.

I had a good time the first 30% and was intrigued by the meta concept of book within a book but quickly became disinterested. I really don't care for the amount of dishonesty and fake behavior. I was trying to excuse it in the first case but when it became evident every character was just lying and fake I checked out. I was pretty over it at 70% and tempted to DNF. I really wasn't rooting for any of the characters as a I finished it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.