Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. Lexi and Matt are best friends, they also live next door to each other. Lexi is a wreck in the kitchen and while making a tart starts a kitchen fire. She was going to go home and move in with her parents an hour away but Matt says why not move in with me? And how do you think that is going to go? These two and both in love with each other but afraid to admit it. Loved these characters, Grandma Elsie was a little too much but there always has to be one in the family.....Enjoy this book a new author for me!

Matt and Lexi have been best friends for most of their lives. They are so close they bought houses next door to each other, work together, and even share a dog. After a kitchen fire, Lexi moves in with Matt temporarily and feelings start to change.

I thought this was a cute, quick read. I thought the author did a nice job building Lexi and Matt's friendship. It was easy to see how much they meant to each other. The pacing felt a bit uneven, but I did enjoy the story as friends to more is one of my favorite tropes.

3 Stars
This is the friends to lover story. You have these two doing Everything together since childhood.
The main fear is the possibility of losing the dear friendship that is so important to both of them in exchange for possible love.

Finding Mr. Right Next Door is the second book in the Firefighters of Station 1 series by Sarah Ballance and currently scheduled for release on May 11 2020. You can read each book as a stand alone, but there a few spoilers if you read out of order.

For Lexi Dean, burning down her kitchen was disaster enough. Agreeing to move in next door with her totally off-limits best friend, Matt Freeman, until her house is livable again? They’ve always been close, but this is ridiculous. If she’s not bumping into him at the refrigerator, he’s at the front door giving her date the third degree. And slipping between his borrowed sheets? That’s about as distracting as listening to his shower run, because suddenly all she can think about is rivulets of water cascading down is spectacular body—the one he seems to be going out of his way to make sure she notices. Not that it matters. He can flaunt his firefighter abs around her all he wants. They already share everything—their jobs, their friends, their backyard, even their dog—and that means only one thing: Lexi is not going to risk losing any of it by dipping a single toe in the temptation that is Matt Freeman. Lexi may not know how to handle a fire extinguisher, but this is one fire that just might burn them both if they’re not careful.

Finding Mr. Right Next Door is a contemporary romance that I have mixed feelings about. I felt bad for Lexi on occasion, her friends seem to tease her constantly and self esteem and having an uncomfortable conversation seem beyond her. Matt is painted as almost too perfect, aside from his worries about losing Lexi's friendship. There are some funny moments, some heat, and lots of me shaking my head. I liked the secondary characters and thought some of the book was very well written. However, despite a few attempts at talking it out that were shot down and avoided, I was so annoyed with the fact that two people that had supposedly been best friends forever could not just sit down and talk. I get the fear of wrecking a friendship with a romantic relationship, but how can you even have a friendship if you are not willing to talk to each other?

Finding Mr. Right Next Door is a friends to more romance that will appeal to fans of the author and series.

I love Sarah Ballance and when I have the opportunity, I snap her books up! I love the best friends living to close trope and this book has that. After growing up together from age 5, the two shared most everything. Now as adults, neighbors and co-workers, they share just about everything else, including a dog. She does his laundry and cleans, in return he cooks. Her reputation in the kitchen isn't exactly stellar. After an attempt at cooking sets her kitchen on fire, the sensible thing is for her to live with him during the kitchen reno.
So we begin the story of Matt and Lexi. Living in close quarters probably wasn't the brightest idea Matt has ever had, it just pushed his feelings for Lexi to the forefront and ditto for Lexi. Throughout the story the two fought the feelings. Add in Matt's firebrand Grandma Elsie, who was a total hoot and I loved her and the relationship she had with Lexi. But I ran into several problems with the two main characters along with their co-workers. I had a tough time warming up to Matt and Lexi. Lexi not as much as Matt, but seriously his remarks toward Lexi and at times instigating their mutual friends to what seemed at times to humiliate Lexi over her lack of kitchen skills was a little much and didn't make me like them-at all. I mean at all. Lexi decides to try dating, Matt grills the guy. Matt the serial dater. He was just hard to like, which kind of messed up the whole relationship for me. Had Matt been a little different it would have made me love the book so much more. But that's just me and I am certain there are many who will love the book all the same. Grandma Elsie wins the prize in this one. Great writing, great flow.
3.5 stars from this girl

arc from Entangled and NetGalley for an honest review

While reading this story there were so many times I laughed until I was almost choking and had tears streaming down my face. At one point it was so funny I had to call my sister and read portions aloud to her. Lexi is a disaster in the kitchen always managing to catch things on fire and worst of all she works at a fire station and all her friends are firefighters. Matt is her closest friend, they grew up together and now live next door to each other. They also work together. Iris is Matt’s grandmother and she is a hoot and provides some of the most hilarious moments in the book. This could definitely be classified as a rom-com as Lexi and Matt move from disaster to heat. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to just kick back and read a well written book that will leave you wanting for more while laugh your head off.

Lexi Dean lives next door to firefighter Matt Freeman, they both work at the Dry Rock Fire Department and they share his dog, Waffles. When she accidentally sets fire to her kitchen, Matt offers her his spare bedroom during the repairs. Lexi was already thinking too much about Matt and now decides to try a dating site. When Matt learns that she has a date, from the dating site, he is not happy. He has been thinking more about Lexi too, especially since she moved in to his home. Will Lexi and Matt realize that best friends can sometimes make the best lovers? An enjoyable and lighthearted “friends to lovers” romance. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

**Copy Provided by Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for an honest review**

Lexi and Matt have been best friends since as long as they can remember. They live next door to each other and also work at the same Firehouse.

However it is only when Lexi, who is really bad at cooking, burns down her kitchen and moves in with Matt does their relationship take a change.

With Lexi liking Romance films and having signed up tp a dating site and having her first date with a cop, Matt's teasing eventually becomes jealousy as he starts seeing his friend in a different light. Lexi also starts seeing him different in the way he teased he.

EVERYONE has always seen them as a couple and had bets on when they would get together. IT's a nice lighthearted story and it's

I was lost in the beginning of the story. I feel that the characters were not properly introduced to me. Also, not a fan of the author's third person narration. I was out of place at first.
I started to like the story at around 70%. started to feel it is a rom-com. and I love Lexi and Matt. they are forever.😍 I like Elsie's character.. its like, she knows so much but she is chill about it. and she's cool! Love the ending though..
I will read the author's other work for me to get her writing style.

You know how the classic writing advice is "show, not tell"? That advice was not followed here. The author alternates POV and explains the characters' fairly simple conflict over and over and over... Also, the dialogue between them often turns kind of mean and junior-high-esque, even though they are supposedly lifelong best friends. And speaking of junior high, how likely is it that nothing ever happened between them when they were hormonal teenagers?

Anyway, the supporting characters were the highlight here, especially the fiesty grandma. If you like NSFW nursing homes and hot firefighters, this book might be up your alley.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC to review.

Matt and Lexi have been best friends since they were in diapers. Best platonic friends. Then Lexi had to go and burn her kitchen down and move in with Matt. It made sense, best friend, lives right next door, what could go wrong?

I love their banter and how they torture each other. It had "old married couple" written all over it. Except that Matt could put out the fire in her kitchen and start a fire in her bed instead. And Elsie! Best grandma character ever written! Freaking loved her!

Complementary copy given for honest review and opinion

I love a good firefighter romance but this one took me to a growing up best friend romance direction. I stayed up all night to finish reading it. I loved the humor in the book as well.

Here is another saucy firefighter romance. This is an excellent book if your looking for some friends with benefits

This took me forever to get into. I just wasn't feeling it. Once I did, though, I couldn't stop reading.

The story was cute, a little too slow for me at the beginning, but this is worth it.

Lexi and Matt grew up together and are best friend. They work together for the fire department. However they are just friends. Lexi is accident prone in the kitchen but great at laundry. Matt is good in the kitchen. There are worse trade-offs to have with best friends.Things happen and ... It's a quick read with humor.

A couple of besties, working together, living side by side, families entwined their whole lives how can they not take it further.
A cute quick read, a hot fireman and some quirky characters, what is not to like about this book. Thanks NetGalley for my free ARC

A book about a Hot Fireman what can be bad about this book. Really enjoyed the friend to lovers premise of this book.

I received an advanced reader's copy of Finding Mr. Right Next Door by Sarah Ballance from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book that I have read by Sarah Ballance and I was pleasantly surprised to find an enjoyable new author to follow. [I can't wait to read this series' first novel!!]

Overall, I felt this was a solid romance and I found it to be well written. I especially liked the primary and secondary characters' interactions and found their banter to be amusing. The main characters, kitchen/cooking and Lexi Dean and wicked hot fireman Matt Freeman were so likeable and funny that you couldn't help but root for them to sort out their issues. Lifelong friends, Matt and Lexi had undeniable chemistry for something more than friends from the start. It was entertaining to watch their romance unfold.

All in all, Finding Mr. Right Next Door by Sarah Ballance was a quick, fun read and I would recommend it for any romance fan.

What a great friends to lovers story this was.

Lexi and Matt have been friends for years. Everyone around them has hinted about them becoming a couple but they have always denied it. They both concluded that they want different things.

I liked the character of Lexi. As someone who can't cook I could relate to her on so many levels. I liked the friendship she had with Matt and how comfortable she was with him. I also really liked and admired her desire to put herself out there and start dating. I thought she was very understanding with her first date.

I also liked Matt. He was a man who didn't like commitments and had no plans of HEA. I especially liked reading about him coming to realize his feelings for Lexi. I also really liked Matt's grandma.

Ah! I came into this with the full expectation of angst, witty banter and friends to lovers excellence and that’s exactly what I got. I’m so happy I could fly, no kidding!

Matt and Lexi are by far one of my favourite couples - Lexi as a heroine is witty, hilarious and so so caring while Matt is sarcastic, just the right amount of cocky with that soft spot for our main girl. Oh and did I mention he’s a firefighter? Absolutely sold.

Even the secondary characters were great. I loved Elsie’s hilarious one liners, and the guys at the firehouse with their constant gaslighting deserve an honourable mention. I really do hope we get to hear more from Diego though - I already feel such a sense of protectiveness over him and he honestly deserves the world and more.

The one thing I have to mention however is the flow of the book. While I loved the pacing and found it was very well done, I feel like we were switching between Matt and Lexi’s POV a little too often - sometimes it was mid-scene, sometimes it skipped back to the beginning of the scene - and it got a bit confusing to read. In saying that though, it didn’t take much away from the story which ended up being terrific.

Can’t wait to hear more from Sarah Ballance!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!