book bruin's Reviews > Love Next Door

2.5 stars

This was a cute small town romance, but unfortunately it lacked that usual Helena Hunting spark that I love so much. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with the characters, but I just didn't feel invested. It was a very slow start and it wasn't until the 30-40% mark that things started to pick up. The enemies trope felt very forced and though the banter between Dillion and Van was playful, the progression of their relationship didn't feel natural. There were also a lot of characters and subplots to keep track of that bogged down the central romance. The overall story was entertaining, but it was very formulaic and some of the subplots (especially the ones concerning Van and Dillion's families) wrapped up very quickly and conveniently after so much build up. The epilogue was very sweet though and I appreciated that both Dillion and Van made compromises to find their happily ever after. I'm curious about Van's sister, Teagan, and her sparks with Aaron, but I'm not sure if I'm curious enough to continue on with this series.

CW: death of loved ones (aneurysm, complications from surgery), DUI and drunk driving accident (minor), mentions of cheating (not the H/h), mental illness - bipolar disorder and paranoia, blackmail/fraud

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*