The Cul-de-Sac War is a book I was really looking forward to reading and, while I liked it, I didn't love it as much as I had expected to.

I thought the book was written well and I did laugh a few times, but some of the characters actions/pranks went a little too extreme and were just silly to me. I also found certain aspects unbelievable.

The romance was cute and I did like how Chip at one point did something very selfless in order to care for/help Bree (trying not to be specific in order to avoid spoilers).

All in all, I liked The Cul-de-Sac War. It was a fine one-time read.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

I loved this book! It's the rom-com love/hate trope. BUT, it's done so well that I never felt like I had to suspend disbelief to enjoy it. The pranks! Oh my goodness. It was a delightful read!

The narration was great but I did not really like this story unfortunately. It just wasn't for me! That is a personal issue though, still give it a chance if you like the blurb.

This is one of those romcoms featuring a lovable, captivating Hero and an annoying, irritating Heroine. Fortunately, Chris is so entertaining that his strengths overcome Bree's weaknesses, making this a pretty fun read overall.

The titular "war" turns out to be a series of pranks between Bree and Chris, neighbors on--you guessed it--a cul-de-sac. They meet cute when she has a wardrobe malfunction while appearing in a play in town, but her interest quickly turns sour when she decides Chris is The Enemy. There isn't much mystery as to whether these two will fall for each other; Chris's feelings for Bree are immediate and clear, as are hers for him. But first they have to act like they hate each other, which leads to a sort of oneupmanship in pranking.

The heat level in this book is pretty low, but if you want feelings and reactions to feelings, Melissa Ferguson takes care of you. You will laugh out loud during some parts, and you may join me in wanting to shout at Bree to JUST STOP.

I listened to the audiobook, and Kate Rudd did a solid job. I enjoyed listening to her, and there were times she almost made me forget how irritating Bree could be.

Oh, my, Melissa Ferguson created such a fun novel, with so much humor and romance!

This was just such a fun and engaging clean rom-com. If you're looking for a story that will keep you smiling, with a truly hysterical escalating prank war. Bree and Chip's instant hate/instant attraction was just what I needed to keep laughing.

I loved every minute of this listen. and Kate Rudd was such a perfect choice to narrate this book.

I somewhat enjoyed the story but didn’t connect with the audiobook. I likely would have enjoyed the story more if I had read the print book.

This one left me a little underwhelmed. I was hoping for a bit more steam & I wasnt a fan of both leads being in relationships (which they were unhappy in) throughout most of the book all the while youre sensing all the build up & chemistry between the two. I just felt like it could have been so great if things may have been tweaked just a bit & a lot more romance was actually thrown in. I did really like the build up between the two but wish it didnt take so long for them to actually get to being together. I also felt like the ending was rushed. In terms of the audio the narration was done really well & it was an easy listen.

I really loved and flew thru the audio of this book! The pranks and enemies to lovers is right up my alley and I loved so much of that chemistry. Especially when you throw in a large drool happy dog! I would have loved the climax of the relationship between Bree and Chip to happen a little bit sooner in the story. The ending felt a little rushed. I am not a fan of epilogues that try to make the romance complete the full circle. However I really did enjoy the story and would recommend to others.

This book had a lot of promise, and in many ways, it lived up to that promise, however in other ways, for me, it missed its mark. Ferguson promised a book with a sassy and strong female character, and we got that in Bree. Bree was willing to stand up to her family to protect herself, and that was great. Also, Chip was a great romantic foil for Sassy. They have several charming moments together. I enjoyed their interactions and, I enjoyed their slow-burn romance. However, I didn’t enjoy their suburban war. The beginning of their interactions was enjoyable, but as the book progressed I grew very tired of their hijinks. Also, as their prank war heated up, I became very fed up with their childish behavior. There was at least one prank that I believe would have resulted in a court case. Basically, half of this book was a cute romance filled with charming moments, but the other half was a slightly annoying, childish book about adults behaving like children. Anyone who considers reading this book must decide if they can take the good with the bad.

This book was a fun and cute read!

I went into it not knowing what to expect aside from what the title offered (I like to go in blind) and was pleasantly surprised by the 'war'. I love a good enemies-to-lovers and, while I wouldn't say the main characters were truly 'enemies' they did seem to push each other away relatively well.

I think one thing I struggled with while reading (listening) was that Bree seemed so quick to judge Chip and the issues that create the first friction are never really discussed afterward.

But, I did get a laugh out of some of their more ridiculous interactions! And I really appreciated something that Chip said (in a deeper capacity) about this life not being "everything" to us.

All in all, a fun and easy read that will likely make you chuckle at some of the more ridiculous things that these characters put themselves in.

My rating: 4*

This was an audiobook review read for me - thanks to the publisher for this copy.

I was totally influenced to read this one by the super cute cover! An enemies-to-lovers plot, with pranks, is right up my alley. Unfortunately it never hit the mark for me. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the main characters (other than the first chapter) and I didn’t enjoy the storyline. The audiobook I listened to was quite monotone, so that may have also contributed to me not really enjoying this book.

I enjoyed this warm hearted romcom. The war between Bree and Chip was fun to read about and some of the pranks were hilarious! I felt like there wasn’t quite enough romance between Bree and Chip though. I would’ve liked to read more about their relationship once they worked things out.

Finally finished this book. It took me a little bit more than two months to listen to this audiobook. It’s not even a long book, I just really didn’t get into the story. I think I’m not really made for romance. I mean I like them when they’re really cosy and cute but it wasn’t the case here in my opinion. Hence, this review is going to be quite negative.
First, the characters. I liked Chip though he was sometimes annoying. However, I didn’t like Bree. She was really always complaining and I just didn’t like her personality. I think it is supposed to be a sort of enemies-to-lover trope but I am not sure as I understood the story like only Bree thought of Chip as an enemy while Chip tried to be a good neighbour and then pranked her. Now, the story. It is a romance so of course; you know from the beginning what is going to happen at the end but it is often interesting to see the in-between. In this book, it’s kind of like a ping-pong match: Bree pranks Chip, Chip pranks Bree, Bree pranks Chip… It is just too long. The author tried to talk about cancer through the characters of Bree’s niece and Chip’s brother but it was quite quick and I completely forgot about it for the rest of the story.
A positive point was the narrator. I liked her voice and she illustrated the characters very well. She is part of the reason why I finished this book. I don’t recommend this book but maybe if you are a big fan a slow-burn and light romance, this might work for you.
2/5

The Cul-de-Sac War is the perfect light-hearted listen for 2020. Bree Leake and Chip McBride are each trying to establish themselves as adults. She accepted a challenge from her parents to hold down a job for one year and be financially stable in order for her to keep her deceased grandmother's house as her own. The problem is she is a theatrical actress and not a very talented one. Her neighbor, Chip, is attempting to start a construction business on his own without using his powerful family name and money. The lives intersect at Abingdon, Virginia's Barter Theater where Bree is fighting for a role and Chip is bidding for a renovation of the theater and of course at the cul-de-sac as they are also neighbors. As each torments the other with humorous pranks, it is obvious that Bree and Chip are not mortal enemies but two people falling in love.

The Cul-de-Sac War is truly a LAUGH OUT LOUD romcom! I listened to the audiobook and loved every second. I love the pranks and antics of Chip and Bree, their delightful frenemies-to-enemies-to-romance journey, and the little bits of realistic heart-truths in this story. Most of all, I loved the way I couldn’t predict what crazy thing would happen next or how much I would be surprised by the way it comes together. I especially like how it’s centered on two people who have no idea that each is the answer to the friendship and encouragement they are seeking.

So many aspects of this novel line up to result in such perfection. A short list:

-the cast of supporting characters: Bree’s off-the-grid obsessed roommate, her matchmaking obsessed parents, and Chip’s pretentious family, just to name a few.
-relatable humor: Subarus. Duct tape and home remodeling.
-quaint-but-still-real-life setting: just go Google The Barter!
-random farm animals: I’ll leave this comment a mystery until you read it for yourself 😉
-a dog named Russell: so prolific, he deserves his own category. His Slim Jim obsession is award-worthy.
-finding purpose in life: a major theme here!
-a surprising, heart-tugging story thread with Bree’s family — and the way Chip relates

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy. This is my honest review.

I enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers romance. I like it better than Melissa Ferguson’s other book The Dating Charade - maybe because this felt more realistic. 🤷‍♀️ This is a cute story and a quick listen!

A fun lighthearted romance with lots of laugh out moments for me. I lost count of the times I laughed out loud while listening to the story. The narrator of the audio was very good and made the listening aspect very enjoyable. The end was cute and overall I enjoyed the story. Some of the pranks they pulled on each other was a bit over the top but that's my only minor complaint of the story. This a great story if you are looking for a quick, funny and light romance.

The Cul-de-Sac War was just down right fun and entertaining but provided me no connection point. I can't really say if it was the story or the narrator. I was just ready for it all to be over with.

Cul-de-sac War by @melissafergusonauthor was our pick for last week’s buddy.

🎧 I listened to 2/3 of this book and read the other 1/3 📖 I hate to say this, but I don’t recommend the audiobook 😔 It was hard to follow and everyone who listened kept missing stuff. The physical book on the other hand, was good! So I’d love to reread it for sure!

8 ⭐️

What I loved ❤️: The notes (totally missed that in the audiobook btw) were the best! ❤️ The pranks, they were so funny! ❤️ It was a super clean book, no cursing, no funny business.

What I liked 👍🏼: Her parents were the cutest and I love how they meddled. 👍🏼 Russell, the dog, he was the best! 🐶 drool and all!

What I didn’t like 👎🏼: I felt like maybe both characters were dealing with too many things at the same time, instead of just exploiting just a couple of problems/ventures 👎🏼 They were both dating other people when they fell for each other.

💎 They were tons of funny moments but I feel they would be spoilers. So I’ll just share this quote, and I’ll dedicate it to my husband:
“You need to keep on moving until you find the one who makes you want to stop”.

Thank you Netgalley for this audiobook.

Ever think you had already written a review for a book, and then when going through your Netgalley feed a month later, you realize it never happened?

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Thank you to @thomasnelson and @netgalley for the ALC of The Cul-de-Sac War by Melissa Ferguson and narrated by Kate Rudd! If you are looking for a cute enemies to lovers rom-com to get you through the Winter season, this might just be what you need!

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Synopsis from the publisher: Bree Leake doesn’t want to be tied down. She’s had more jobs than she can count, and she plans to move as soon as the curtains fall on her less-than-minor stage role at The Barter—the oldest live performance theater in the US. But just when it’s time to move on again, Bree’s parents make her an offer: hold steady for a full year, and they will give her the one thing she’s always wanted—her grandmother’s house. Her dreams are coming true … until life at the theater throws her some curve balls. And then there’s Chip McBride—her handsome and infuriating next-door neighbor. Chip just might be the only person whose stubborn streak can match Bree’s. She would move heaven and earth to have him off her cul-de-sac and out of her life, but according to the bargain she’s struck, she can’t move out of her house and away from the man who’s making her life miserable. So begins Bree’s obsessive new mission: to drive Chip out of the neighborhood—and fast. Bree isn’t the only one who’s a tad competitive, and Chip is more than willing to fight fire with fire. But as their pranks escalate, the line between love and hate starts to blur—and their heated rivalry threatens to take a hilarious, heartwarming, and romantic new turn.

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This book was fun and super cute! While the relationship between Chip and Bree felt forced in a lot of places (why did the parents have to be pushing him on their daughter?) they did have a fun competitive chemistry throughout the book. I also loved the backstage theatre aspect of this story as a former theatre geek. Also Kate Rudd is a fantastic narrator! I listened to this one easily at 1.4x

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3.75⭐️’s