This book is a quick read, with some mystery and romance. I feel like it’s more suited for the New Adult genre, as the contents are pretty relative to that demographic. It follows Mallory Taylor, an eighteen year old girl who’s been home-schooled all her life and after a desperate plea, is finally going to high school for her senior year. What follows are her attempts to talk to her next door neighbor, Troy Parker, after starting a new period in her life and a new mindset to achieve a social life. The mystery took me by surprise as I thought it was just going to be about the romance. I honestly didn’t think much about it, but it was still a good touch as to some of the reasons why Troy was ignoring Mallory. There were some comedic moments as Mallory innocence is shown, but she's a very likable protagonist and practical in her way of thinking, although she did have some childish thoughts as well. Troy is alright, he does give in to his feelings eventually, but he does have a pass that coincides with Mal that causes some turmoil. But in the end it does get resolved and is finally out it in the open. Solid conclusion and enjoyed it overall.

OH MY GOSH!
This book had me on the edge of my seat.
I had no idea what was going to happen next.
From spying on her hot next-door neighbor to being spied on.
This book has you turning pages and waiting to see what happens next.
Can't wait to read more by this author.

Mallory is almost 18 and has been homeschooled for many years. One of the few highlights of her day is 4 pm when she can spy on her hot next-door neighbor Troy returning from his run. When she’s finally allowed to go to school, Mallory has to deal with Troy’s silent hostility and try to figure out why he hates her so much.

Overall I enjoyed the book. In certain ways it reminded me of other books in this genre which still in no way diminished my reading experience. The romance was nice and sweet and the relationships between characters believable.

As for the dark twist closer to the end I appreciate the spice it adds to the story but it felt like it came out of the blue. I would have liked it better had the seeds for that revelation been more obvious from the beginning. Or it may be that I just missed them completely. In which case just disregard this whole parapraph.

If you enjoy mature YA romance and are looking for a quick read with an unexpected twist, give I Spy the Boy Next Door by Samantha Armstrong a try.

I received a free eARC of the novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Thank you so much to netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. I think my old 15 years old would have love this. This book follows the story of Mallory, a teenage girl who is homeschooled and has very strict parents. Her only distraction during the day is spying her really hot tattooed neighbor, Harley Davidson. The year before graduating from HS, Mallory finally gets to attend a public high school and trouble starts. To be honest this book is full of cliches, the bad guy with the good girl, the very strict parents, the guy with tattoos and Harley and a really bad attitude.. as I said before I think maybe a younger audience would be interested because it has all of those typical YA tropes. Which is totally fine. I enjoyed the pace of the book , it was very light and the writing is really easy to follow. Overall I enjoy Mallory as a character. She was determined to live her life and experience things and she fought for it. I think she is a great character and the dynamics between her and her family are interesting to read.

I read this book and was frustrated through 99% of it. (I will give 1% since i did finish it)
I was irritated by the lack of memorable characters, original story, and predictable nature of the story. I was frustrated as the "romance" was blah and not realistic to me and truthfully the whole concept of the story was blah and non-realistic. I wanted to root for someone but could not. Very disappointing to me,

I'll be honest and let you know what made me request this arc for review from Netgalley.. The pretty book cover art and the title of course!!

This book is about Mallory Taylor, who has been home-schooled and lives a sheltered life all her life and while it seems all pretty dab and boring, the 4pm spy sessions from her window makes life interesting for her. Her object of spying - the bad boy next door - who she has spoken with once so far and all he gave her in return was a scowl and hate since then. For the last five years, her routine has been the same. But she wants more and begs her parents to continue her senior year in the public school - same as boy next door Troy Parker! Even when she meets him outside of her window, he returns the same glare and she is determined to get to know him.

"If only he knew just how much I think about him, spy on him, I would be up for some sort of invasion of privacy crime."
This sounds like a cliched girl-meets-bad-boy-and-falls-for-him story but its got more than that. There are twists and turns you wouldn't normally find in a YA/NA contemporary and they make the story worth its while.

I enjoyed reading the book in one sitting, something that I've never been able to do these days. I liked the pace in which the story was set, it never got boring in between, although I should say the too-many encounters with Troy  - like "holds my gaze" "his gaze burns a hole in my head" were kinda turning out to be little downer for me. But the story got better and intense and phew!!

This is YA so obviously you cannot expect Mallory to not fall for the guy based on his looks and bad boy vibe, so I tolerated her. But guess what - Troy blew me over. As much as it was constantly ridiculed, I loved Edward from Twilight book series, and Troy reminded me a lot of him. You'll know why when you read it.

Some part of the story felt over the top and unbelievable but i ignored them because rest of the book was good.

I rated the book a 3.75 stars.

First of all, this is Young Adult. Personally, I don't know why it's marketed as New Adult because I've read YA that's way steamier and fitting to the genre than this book was. The only reason that I bring that up is because it may affect readers' opinions- if they go into the book with certain expectations and conventions in mind, they may end up being disappointed because the genre was labelled wrong.
Rant out of the way...
I generally enjoyed this book. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting going into it (for reasons above mentioned) but it was still enjoyable in an easy and mediocre way. I didn't mind the characters but they were, again, pretty average and I didn't overly feel for them. The protagonist, Mallory, was extremely naive and ignorant and it got a little irritating after a while. She was so blindly obsessed and in love with Troy and... I couldn't quite understand why? Sure, he's fit, you've told us a million times but what kind of personality are you falling for? I also couldn't quite feel comfortable with how she was constantly oggling him because it felt a bit stalker-ish and intrusive. Just think, if that was a guy perving on a girl's body constantly, he'd be shamed.... double standards work both ways, people.
And then there was the love interest, Troy, who got better as the book went along, I think. At first, I didn't really like him because he had major mood swings and couldn't seem to make up his mind and, while we got some explanation as to why that was, I don't think his reasons really justified his actions. Nevertheless, once he was past this little bipolar phase, he was okay.
I also wish we'd seen more of the 'friends' that Mallory made at school because we didn't find too much about them and they seemed to be there for the sake of it.
I liked the little twist towards the end of the book- it was unpredictable and a nice surprise. The corporation of witness protection was nicely sprung on the reader and definitely improved my enjoyment of the book.

Overall, this book was quick and enjoyable but I can't see myself ever re-reading it.

Yeah wasn't crazy about it, she was a stalker crushing on her next door neighbor that she was spying on, yeah weird and he was a jerk, so what if he was hot and he was worse than her sneaking into her room at night while she was sleeping, yeah restraining order needed.

The short version - at 85% I wanted to DNF.

Mallory (a textbook Mary Sue) is a sheltered, judgmental, "good" girl. She's been homeschooled her entire life by her overprotective mother, and plans her entire day around spying out the window at her sexy next door neighbor, Troy. She's got his schedule memorized and makes a point to be looking out her window at him at every opportunity. When she convinces her parents to let her go to public school for the rest of her senior year, she's face to face with the guy she's been creeping on.

It's hard not to compare this book to Beautiful Disaster after the outright mention of Travis Maddox in the beginning. Troy is an underground boxer with tattoos that rides a motorcycle. Mallory is a good-girl with not much personality outside of her obsession with Troy. Even the tertiary characters lined up, like Jamie, the gay best friend.

This book to me was borderline toxic. Mallory was full on creepy with her obsession with Troy, both before and after meeting him. The whole romantic storyline seemed so unnatural, one second he won't look at her and the next they're in love forever? Not likely. She was obsessed with needing him, and it was unhealthy and creepy.

Up until about 85% through, this is the entire plot. There's zero conflict and the romance isn't even steamy or compelling enough to make it worth it. Towards the end, there's a rushed, illogical plot point that just boiled my blood. I won't give away any spoilers, but let's just say I just skipped around to get to the end of the book.

This book was predictable, boring, and unrealistic. I'm typically not this harsh with my reviews but something about this just really bothered me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book.
It was very easy to read and was at times, addictive. The two main characters Troy and Mallory, have a lot of chemistry that would appeal to YA readers. There were some aspects to Troy that I found a bit unbelievable in a boy his age, (mode of transport, tatts, boxing etc) but maybe he's older than what I imagine. I thought the story was going to be light and predictable and then all of a sudden, everything is turned on it's head.
There wasn't a dull moment and the plot didn't drag on. A definite romantic take on a sad situation.
3.5 stars

I overall enjoyed the book but the narration turned out to be pretty basic and annoying sometimes.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

Review copy courtesy of NetGalley.

This book was a little too much and I really couldn’t handle it past the “he’s a secret underground boxer” plot twist. I’m sure there are romance readers out there for this one, but it just wasn’t for me.

After being homeschooled all her life, Mallory goes to the public school. It's the perfect opportunity to make new friends. And to see, face to face, her hot neighbour. She has had a crush on him for years. She meets new people and she finds out painful truths.
I thought it was going to be a light book, easy to read. And I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm not going to spoil it for the readers, because one of the best things about this story is that the events are unexpected.
But, give it a try. You won't regret it!

Great story, different and with a secrets you don't expected. Troy is the bad boy and the boy next door, Mallory is the virgin that dream with the boy next door. They watch each other and fall in love. But the secrets they live through that is the good part of the story.
I love this story and you will enjoy reading this book too.
I received a ARC from Netgalley for a honest review.

There's only a handful of tropes that I trip over my feet running to the bookstore fast enough to pick up. The boy-next-door trope is one of them, and the synopsis of this one had me all starry-eyed. It's unfortunate that I not only disliked the book, I came away from it with a migraine wishing I could scrub my brain and erase it from my memory.

Homeschooled Mallory Taylor spends her days under the thumb of her slightly paranoid mother's careful watch, thanks to a childhood scare that has left Mallory with severe panic attacks. Every day at precisely four p.m., Mallory perches herself at her bedroom window waiting for him--Troy Parker; the bad-boy from next door. She's in love with him, and has been since the moment he moved in next door, despite the single, rather unfriendly, encounter they had all those years ago.

Resolute to experience one year of public school before going off to college, Mallory convinces her mom to send her to high school. Her motives might also include coming face-to-face with a certain someone. But Mallory discovers Troy is less than willing to have anything to do with her. With her growing confidence, new friends on her side, and a little recklessness, Mallory persists and seems to break through the walls Troy has built around himself. But secrets begin to unfold, sending Mallory on a hunt to discover the truth behind Troy's actions and how they might change her life forever.

The characters in this story were what I would expect of high schoolers; melodramatic, reckless, and a little over-the-top when it comes to feelings, i.e. sneaking into bedroom windows and watching someone sleep. What is this, Twilight? I couldn't stand Mallory, and as someone that suffers from social anxiety and panic attacks, I didn't connect with her mental health issues in the slightest--although, granted, everyone suffers in their own way. Troy was the stereotypical bad-boy next door, complete with tattoos and a Harley-Davidson. The character was completely unoriginal. And while we're on the subject of unoriginality, neither was virgin-Mallory next door pining for him out her window for no reason other than he was "a total babe." I felt no connection to her "so-called feelings" for the boy next door and even questioned her motives as she continued to "stalk him." Of all the characters in the book, I liked her parents the most despite the incessant need to remind the reader that they are overly-paranoid about her leaving the house.

As for the plot, I'd categorize this story into two sections. The first, about a homeschooled teenager, wishing to enter public school to better handle her social anxieties before going to college, and the relationship she begins to cultivate with the mysterious, moody boy next door. The second half of the plot would be something straight out of a day-time soap-opera, complete with drug cartels, witness protection, murder, and affairs. Honestly, I kind of thought the whole "witness protection, undercover FBI agent living next door with his son" twist was kind of clever--at least I never saw it coming. But it felt like the author kept digging too deep to come up with another, and another, and another plot twist when it quickly became a little ridiculous.

I think there was something really good here--the basis of the idea. But the multiple plot twists, the flat and nauseating characters, and the juvenile writing style left me feeling like I was reading some sort of weird Twilight (sans the vampires) fan-fiction that I had downloaded off the internet. I'm giving I Spy The Boy Next Door by Samantha Armstrong one star.

Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the eARC.

I felt as though the author took a piece from every popular new adult novel and threw it in the mix. Not really sure why the boy next door needed to be an illegal underground boxer, but ok. Sometimes I can overlook cliches if the characters are like able enough. They weren’t. This book missed the mark on so many levels. If you are looking for angsty new adult, there are so many better options out there. Pass on this one.

First of all, I really appreciate the chance to read and review this. It was my second by Samantha, and I gotta say, she's a great writer!

As for the book, there were some aspects I loved and others I wasn't really a fan of..

The first half, I absolutely loved. I was so into Mal and her creeper tendencies! And all the mystery surrounding Troy (not my fave name btw, I'm of the HSM generation and can't help picturing Zack Efron and his Bieber hair when I see that name), his shirtless runs, aloof attitude and sexy tattoos... it was amazing!

The second half was a lot weaker in my opinion. I just lost my connection to the characters. I don't really know what happened, but I wasn't as invested anymore. Maybe it was because I knew there was something fishy going on, so that when the big twist came, I wasn't all that surprised. Plus, Mal's personality wasn't really to my liking so I found it hard to empathize with her.

In any case, this book is a solid, comfortable three stars. Not anything to write home about, but not at all bad either.

I will admit that I stopped reading this fairly quickly. As a mother who homeschools, who knows quite a lot of other parents who homeschool, this portrayal of homeschoolers is tired and ignorant. So much so, it's offensive, and shows a lack of research on the topic

Some homeschoolers try out public school, just to see how they feel about it. So Mallory could have just wanted to check it out, without all the weird "I have no friends because I am homeschooled and thus never allowed to interact with anyone outside my house" crap.

Mallory was whiney, entitled, and self-centered. Doesn't seem to be especially bright either. Skimming through the story, I didn't see that changing over the course of it either.

So, this is a miss for me. Which, honestly, is disappointing because the synopsis had me excited to read it.

Okay....so, I tend to use both female and male perspectives when it comes to books. For example, if a girl did this instead of a boy how would people feel about it. That was in my head while I was reading this book but how would people react if it was a boy instead of girl spying on their neighbor. Plus the book is filled with cliches.
Bad boy and an underground boxing ring, check. Check!
Tattoos and Harley Davidson, check. Ms.Goody two shoes virgin with overprotective parents, Check!
Annoying little sibling who has no purpose or relevance in the story, Check!
Half a decade long crush which seems unrequited only to the girl, but so obvious even to strangers, Check!
I always try to find something different when it comes to these types of books. Something to hold me in their world. This book wasn't that great nor was it bad. It had it's good moments. I admit I used to read books like this when I was 15 and thought it was so cute but now at 22, I know how inappropriate and terrifying that would actually be.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Samantha Armstrong for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.*

emoji rating scale: 😩🙁😐😀😍
I Spy the Boy Next Door rating: 😀

First off, let me just say that this book seemed like a (well written) standard Young Adult (YA) love story but suddenly it took some unexpected turns that had my mouth hanging open! I am SO. HERE. FOR. THAT.

This story follows Mallory, a 17-year-old who’s been home schooled all her life with extremely protective parents (after a kidnapping scare when she was a youngster). She lives for 4:00PM when she can peak out her window and watch her neighbor, Troy, come back from his daily run. *She’s only been doing this for FIVE years, NBD*

Troy is a — hella swoon-worthy — bad boy who doesn’t acknowledge Mallory’s existence. Covered in tattoos, riding a motorcycle, and boxing in the underground circuit, he knows a thing or two about being a troublemaker. *my 16-year-old self would DIE to meet him*

When Mal convinces her parents that it’s time for her to fly the coop and attend public school for her senior year, she thinks it’s the perfect opportunity to *casually* run into Troy and make him fall head over heels in love with her. Little does she know that Troy wants nothing to do with her. *Though she figures it out pretty darn quick*

The first part of this story seemed like a pretty standard — cutesy, romcom — YA story; Mal discovers new things — parties, alcohol, and IRL friends — and navigates the challenges of being a new student during her final year of high school. Then of course, Troy and Mal soon seem to become destined to be, and you don’t totally get it, but you’re here for it. *I SHIP MALTROY SO HARD* *standard, standard, standard*

Then Armstrong knocks you off your feet! The story turns into a mystery with so many plot twists I couldn’t even keep up. I don’t want to give away any spoilers — I’m just not that kind of girl — because that would ruin this story and the experience of someone reading it for the first time. All I have to say is; this book gave me #allthefeels plus more.

Samantha Armstrong is a new author to me, and I was really pleasantly surprised. The writing drew me in and kept me in my seat until the book was over, which I always am a big fan of. I do feel like the back cover throws you off a little; I almost didn’t pick this up because I felt like it wasn’t going to be that interesting of a read. Thank goodness for a really aesthetically pleasing cover and a rainy weekend day.