Thanks to Avon Books for the ARC!

Ginny and Cassie are two very different women, but at the same time they also have much in common. It was interesting to read a story about two women helping each other, learning with each other, making new beginnings and developing a very unlikely friendship.

This is Nicola Gill's first book and I think she did a good job. I'm hoping to read more from her in the future. Can't say this is my favorite book ever, but it definitely made me smile a few times.

In this era of “ageism” it is wonderful to see a book about two women with roughly two decades of difference in their ages come together in a celebration of friendship.

Ginny is a thirty-something woman who is struggling with her place in life. She feels unfilled in her job but has no idea how to get a different and better one. When she walks in on her live-in boyfriend shagging her boss – in Cassie’s own apartment – she is forced into looking at life from a different, jobless perspective. She is good at what she does – marketing and PR – but she isn’t always on her game when it comes to job interviews.

Her neighbor, Cassie, is a fifty-something, well known actress who, sadly, has sabotaged her career over time with her boorish behavior, uncensored mouth and worse. She desperately needs an agent or PR consultant to help her get her life back in gear but no one will touch her, not even with a ten foot pole!

Cassie talks Ginny into helping and soon the two realize, well, they have absolutely nothing in common and barely can tolerate one another. As they work together, however, they realize that one doesn’t always have to have similarity as a foundation upon which to build a great friendship. Both of these women learn from one another, help each other turn their weaknesses into strength and, ultimately, they form a beautiful friendship.

The Neighbours is a humorous, witty look at relationships of all types and illustrates how each of us have something to offer to one another, despite our differences. And yes, in today’s world where differences are highlighted and maligned, it is a joy to see how our lack of sameness can be a strength. This is a wonderful, well written story of friendship that is perfect for readers of all genres.

The premise of this book- two women from very different walks of life trying to band together to get their lives back on track- called to me. I was really excited to read this, and I have to say... it delivered! This was in parts a fun, fast read with soulful bits that tore at me. I laughed, I cried.... I wanted to throw the book in a fit of frustration with the characters. In short, I loved it.
The characters of Ginny and Cassie were both really well done and, while there was a lot of things they did that I disagreed with, I found myself rooting for them. Cassie, especially made me laugh on her "good days" with her charm and self depreciating witt. Her bad days broke my heart. Watching the two women interact and try to get their lives back on track was interesting and heart warming. The way Cassie was taken out of context in parts seemed far too real- in the world of Instagram, YouTube and paparazzi it's easy for things to be misconstrued and a simple misstep can break you.
The cast of characters here were really well developed and memorable. My favorite was Nic and I might have a bit of a book-crush on him if I am honest. He was so charming and patient, supportive of Ginny and accepting of her need to take care of Cassie. I respected that. The romance between Nic and Ginny made me smile... it just felt so natural! This was a four star book for me, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more of her books!
On the adult content scale, there's some sexual content, substance abuse (?) and language. I would give it a three. While definitely geared toward adults, I would hand this over to my teen niece without issue.
I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Avon books in exchange for an honest review. My thanks!

The Neighbours starts with Ginny, a 34 year old woman who works in PR and whose life is about to be turned upside down. Her roommate and best friend, Nancy, is moving to the US and when Ginny comes home from work she expects to come home to an empty apartment. But instead she finds her boyfriend Jack cheating of her with her boss Annabel. She dumps Jack and she quits her job.

Cassie is Ginny’s downstairs neighbour. Cassie is a 55 year old actress who is suffering from a reputation-damaging and embarrassing TV-show appearance.

Ginny and Cassie paths cross and an unlikely friendship develops. At first they don’t seem to have a lot in common, but the more they get to know each other, the more they begin to see they can help and support each other.

The story is written from Ginny’s perspective. She feels as though she should have accomplished more at her age. She isn’t where she wants to be career wise and relationship wise. I thought Ginny’s inner dialogue felt real, believable and relatable.

The Neighbours deals with some difficult and heavy subjects. Mental health (depression), disappointment and insecurities.. Nicola Gill did a wonderful job on writing about these subjects in a sensitive way. The story is light-hearted and filled with humour, but it never feels like the subjects are trivialised.

But this is not just a book about mental health. It is also about friendship, love and finding happiness. Both Ginny and Cassie’s characters grow over the course of the novel. Ginny learns to be more confident and Cassie finds peace with who she is and where she’s at in life. They grow and they support each other.

The Neighbours shows the importance friendship and it’s a heart-warming story that made me tear up and laugh out loud.

I enjoyed this book very much. It was well written and especially the latter half had some really funny, laugh out loud sections. The main character Ginny was very likeable and I particularly enjoyed the telling of her friendship with Cass. The romantic storyline didn’t quite ring true for me but I liked the way it was all tied up in the end.

Fab read about helping others even when things go wrong, and finding friendships with perfect you wouldn’t expect you. Thoroughly enjoyable book, well worth adding to you reading this for this year. Thank you for letting me review this book x

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4.

I believe I picked this book up on NetGalley because I thought the cover was so cute. When I started reading it, I wasn't even sure who the author was and I immediately assumed it was Mhairi McFarlane because the main character reminded me so much of her characters and the writing felt super similar. When I finally looked, I realized it wasn't Mhairi at all.... BUT if you like Mhairi's novels, chances are you'll like this one from Nicola Gill, as well!

Ginny is a 34-year-old Londoner who has just ended a serious relationship in a terrible way. Not only that, but she's lost her job (in large part because of it!) and is constantly being reminded of how successful all of her peers are in terms of their careers, love lives, and families. Really, it's a tale as old as time, but Ginny is such a likable character, which made it an enjoyable read. Throughout the book, Ginny befriends her washed up celebrity neighbor, hunts for a new job, and ventures into the dating world.

The Neighbours isn't the kind of book that's going to change your life (and honestly, I don't feel like the title is very fitting), but it is a nice escape read that almost made me feel like I was spending time with a friend.

3,5 stars rounded to 4

Ginny and Cassie were neighbours who quickly became friends. Ginny walked in on her boss and her boyfriend in a comprising position. She ends up loosing her job. Cassie is an aging star who suffers with depression. Ginny tries to help Cassie get her life back on track and becomes her PR.

I don't know what I was really expecting when I started reading this book. Its told from Ginnys point of view. I liked Ginny, she's made mistakes, but who hasn't? It touches on a lot of difficult topics ut it also has some humor. There were parts that seemed to drag on a bit. It's well written and fast paced. This is an easy book to read with a storyline that's realistic and characters that could live next door to hou.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author Nicola Gill for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is so much packed into this novel, it's really surprising that it's Nicola Gill's debut!

Ginny is in her mid-thirties and, as part of a relationship for the last couple of years, is waiting for THE proposal. Shame no-one told her partner. Ginny also has the boss from hell and when she discovers the pair of them 'in flagrente', her world implodes on both fronts and she finds herself without either of them. And so she gets to know her neighbour . . .

This is a skilfully crafted book, and one which kept my attention throughout. There is a good range of characters, each with their own stuff going on, all with a serious side but the story is sprinkled with humour all the way through. Each thread is tied off leaving no doubts about what happened to anyone - just as I like it! I imagine that this is far from the author's first work - although it is her first published novel - as the writing is accomplished and polished, and I really enjoyed everything about it. It unfolds into a very entertaining tale, one which made me smile and giggle! Most definitely one I'm very happy to recommend, and I consider this well worth 4*.

My thanks to publisher Avon for my copy via NetGalley; this is, as always, my honest, original and unbiased review.

Ginny has a lot to cope with, an ended relationship ,no job, and a bad tempered celebrity neighbour. Really engrossing, well written,realistic, sad times but also with laugh out loud moments. Perfect reading for a cold ,wet,winters day or a holiday in the sun.

Sorry not my type of book. I tried hard to get into the story and like the characters. The story seemed to be too long and not as interesting as I hoped it would be.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Finally, I’ve read a decent book this year. I was beginning to wonder whether it was going to be possible and whether I’d used up all my good book tokens in 2019! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this; it was the breath of fresh air I was after. It encaptured me, and I was even thinking about it when I’d put it down and was doing other things. It was continually drawing me back into its depths and world.
I, like most people who have left reviews, had thought that it might be a Psychological Thriller based on the title and a bit of the blurb. I had read a similar one about neighbours last year which didn’t turn out quite so happily ever after! This is definitely not a PT, through. It is an uplifting, blossoming and charming story. It does touch on some tough subjects, but they are handled delicately and are in keeping with the storyline.
I really liked the author’s style of writing. I can understand why some of the reviewers couldn’t get on board with it. I suppose it could feel a little disjointed. I felt, however, that it wasn’t littered with unnecessary scenes and detail. We were left in places to fill in the blanks. For example, Ginny sends a text to a client. The author could very easily have regaled us with a full-blown conversation that went backwards and forwards, tying that part of the story up in a neat bow. However, all we get is that the text was sent and Ginny moves on to the next thing in the story, we don’t really get to find out what the client thought or whether there were any repercussions. However, we would have done if there were any, we didn’t need this spelling out for us. This is just one small example that I can give without giving any significant spoilers. I thought this worked really well, and I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time reading things that I didn’t need to be reading, and I could get on with the story that mattered. However, I’m not sure it quite worked with the very very end, which did finish very abruptly. I turned the page expecting just a little more and was shocked to find the acknowledgements. I’d been wrenched from the world quite abruptly, oh well.
I loved the characters. Cassie was superb. I wish I could be more Cassie and not give so many cares! Ginny’s transformation and growth in confidence really transpired as the book went on, but oh my days I really felt for her curly fringe at the awards ceremony. I wanted to stand up and ask anyone if they had a brush for her!
I received a bag of Cadbury’s Twirl Bites in the post as part of the promotion for the Blog Tour for this book; I thought it was random as I’d not yet read the book. They were very welcome though, as the day I received them was a very stressful day and chocolate, as we know, solves everything. Now I’ve read the book they don’t seem so random. So thank you Avon Books for making my day with a little bag of goodness, I’m certainly glad they were Ginny’s favourites and weren’t some nasty vegan celery!
Overall, a fantastic read and I am sure this author is going to go to do absolutely amazing things! I can’t wait for her next book!

Neighbours Ginny and Cassie meet at just the right moment in their lives, in this charming romcom from Nicola Gill.
Ginny, in her mid thirties, suddenly finds herself out of her PR job having discovered her boyfriend Jack in a rather compromising situation with her boss Annabelle. Oops!!
Cassie, a once lauded actress of stage and screen is keen to make a come back after her initial disastrous attempt in the jungle reality Tv show. Who better than Ginny, who whilst in between jobs and determined to become a published writer, could help her achieve her dream??
That’s the premise for this novel which is lighthearted with some hilarious scenarios. Struggling to find another job and clearly failing in the relationship department, these two neighbours become unlikely friends and as their friendship develops we get further insight into what makes these women who they are.
I think I almost prefer the character of Cassie over Ginny, for her outspoken behaviour, cynicism and tendency to say the wrong thing landing herself in hot water time and time again. As a once famous actress she has some great anecdotes about the showbiz world and is still incredibly glamorous if (almost)completely self centred. On the other hand Ginny is the typical thirty something looking to find The One and her biological clock is ticking loudly, a fairly predictable character of this genre. She doesn’t have much self belief, either in her own creative writing abilities or in her role in PR, even when she lands another great job at a media agency. Both these characters symbolise some of the internal struggles we all face as women, lack of confidence, desire to find true love, hang ups about our appearance and fear of becoming old and forgotten. This makes Ginny and Cassie very relatable characters and they are easy to like.
Predictably, even when Ginny meets Nick, an eligible perfectly lovely man, the path of true love is littered with obstacles. Surprise surprise!! However, whilst this is on the face of it a breezy uncomplicated read, the author does tackle the real problem of depression albeit with a lighthearted touch so thankfully it’s not entirely fluffy and nice throughout!
I found this novel immensely pleasurable to read, easily caught up in these two fictional women’s lives and their unlikely friendship. Friendship is such an important part of everyday life and this storyline proves that often people come into your lives at certain times when what they have to offer is exactly what you need. Heartwarming and a perfect excuse to escape reality, this romcom will put a smile on your face and satisfy a need for a happy ending.
My thanks as always to the author and publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

There's a 20 year age difference between Cassie and Ginnie but they have so much in common- and they find that they can help one another. Ginny threw a plant at her boss, who she found in bed with her boyfriend and now she's not got a job or a boyfriend. Ginnie was a Bond girl who lived a vibrant life filled with men and scenes but a stint on reality TV torpedoed it all. She's coping (not always well) with depression. Cassie, a publicist, takes her on as a client and along the way, these two grow. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read that's a little more serious than you might expect.

A bit wishy washy to start, The Neighbours is all about who you let into your life, and how you get back your groove after everything comes crashing down around you. I love the way Nicola Gill tackled discussing mental health, and how blood family is not always as strong a bond as the family you make around you.

Sometimes you just need a great chick flick... in book form! That’s this book. I couldn’t put it down once I started and I’m thirsting for more!

Ginny Taylor works in PR. Or at least she did until she came home and found her boss and her boyfriend together. Now she is jobless and boyfriend-less, and no prospects for either one. Her downstairs neighbor Cassie Frost is an actress who, after a long string of bad publicity, is finding it hard to get new roles. So Cassie hires Ginny to help her clean up her image.
I have mixed feelings about this book. The first half of the book seemed to drag and several times I seriously considered just giving up. I am glad now I didn't because by the second half Ginny's character became more likeable and the storyline picked up. If you are a fan of chick lit then you may want to give this one a try.

3.5 Stars ~ Rounded

Told from the point of view of Ginny, now 34, working for a boss she abhors, in a flat relationship that she thinks will bring her the “dream”, but won’t ‘correct her boyfriend’s bad behavior, losing a flatmate to the hustle and bustle of New York, and generally thinking that she’s stagnated when others have moved on. Oh – and she has MASSIVE baby fever, with all of the engagements, pregnancies and ‘promotions’ that scroll across her social media daily. But walking in on her boyfriend in a compromising position with her boss tosses everything to the wind – and she’s soon unemployed after a colossal scene, and retreats into a pity party for one, appropriate behavior optional.

And we have plenty of these pity party moments from Ginny, who has one of the strongest self-sabotaging voices in the world, that constantly tap on the little self-esteem she has, and have her second guessing everything. When her downstairs neighbor, an aging actress just off a stint on a reality show that went pear-shaped for her coaxes her into performing a bit of ‘PR’ to polish up her image, Ginny reluctantly steps up, in between several failed interviews for new jobs, a promising ‘future’ possible opportunity through a friend, and much (make that CONSTANT) self-flagellation over her own perceived ‘failures. Through a solid boyfriend after several tossers, an up and down relationship with Cassie’s needs for ‘attention’ and her stuttering star, and then Cassie’s near abrupt dive into a serious depression, Ginny is pretty self-absorbed while wanting to do the right thing: even when her own experience is lacking.

And Gill handles the second guessing, the depression and the support from Ginny with flair – showing Ginny’s hopelessness in the face of Cassie’s illness and lack of response. But there was just something not quite accessible in Ginny. Obviously she was good at her job or people wouldn’t follow her and look to see her succeed – but even a ‘can you come to my office’ sent her into instant thoughts of being fired, her lack of openness with the ‘good’ boyfriend left her spinning her wheels in regret and impulsivity, and through it all, despite saying it – never really found that ‘steel’ within herself to move forward and be confident. And there was so much I wanted to really Like about Ginny, or really wanted to see her just ‘man up’ and move on without overthinking, which made her so frustrating, and perhaps a bit too real? We’ve all had the moments, and compare ourselves and our lives to those we see on Social Media – and maybe, in many ways, this floundering from Ginny is what is more needed by everyone. At any rate, despite the low self esteem and the clinical depression that were both key elements of the story, it was easy to read and engaging, and the voices were clear, if there were several places where the ‘getting to know” Ginny and her background could and should have been cut down as they wandered and dragged without enhancing the ultimate story.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=’https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aCn /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This is the first book I have read by Nicola Gill which was based on friendships. I found this to be a pleasant and easy read.

The Neighbours is story of unlikely people who become a part of each others lives. They share laughs, fun times, bad times and everything in between. I had fun reading the story, only negative - it is a tad too long,and that's why it's a 3.5 *** for me.