I’m in love with the characters of this book.....Donovan and Dillion’s story is a sweet romance of two individuals brought together by a loving grandmother after passing. I love that this story was not rushed and you really got to know the characters , which of course makes you want to to read the next in the series....let’s hope it’s not too long a wait. I loved that there was some mystery and a crime added into the plot.....This book is another perfect summer romance read.
Thanks to NetGalley for an and advanced copy, any opinions on the book are my own

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*

Love Next Door is a small town romance set in Pearl Lake, Illinois. Dillion Stitch felt she needed to leave her hometown of Pearl Lake to find herself. She went to college in Chicago and stayed until her brother was in an accident, and she went back home to help out her family and their business.

Donovan “Van” Firestone is the favorite grandson of the beloved neighbor Bee, who has owned the cottage next door to the Stitch family. Since Bee's death, Dillion is the executor of her will and has fielded questions about the subdivision of the property. When Van shows up at the cottage, Dillion inspects and gets more than expected.

I love small-town romances, and the beginning of a new series is always somewhat slow to start, with the introductions of each new character, but take the time to unwind and really get to know them; hopefully, we will see more of them in the future.

This is a really different kind of book than I expected from Helena Hunting but no less beautifully written. I loved the characters, Van and Dillion who were well fleshed out and while generally well rounded. Dillion is coming home to help her family; Van is escaping an awful situation where he is being wrongly accused of stealing. While they were first enemies, I liked their growth and overall, I was amused with their banter and interactions. This did feel a bit slower than I’m used to with her hockey romances (by the way, loved the mention of her hockey stars!!!) but I feel like it was poignant. There was a bit of intrigue, quite a bit of steam and a few laughs. I hope we get to revisit the small town again! Thanks to NetGalley and the Social butterfly team, as well as Helena Hunting for an early read!

Love Next Door by H. Hunting, published by Montlake, is book one in the new Lakeside series. LND is a stand-alone and the introduction to small town life.
Dillion is back home after years away. She's back to help her family out and in the process she gets reaquinted with old friends and neighbors. And then there's Van. He inherited the house next door and while just out of a job he decided to stay awhile.
Both their attraction is insta and through the roof , intense right from the start.
LND is the perfect summer and beach read, complex, highly entertaining, suspenseful, unputdownable.
A read in one sitting story I recommend, 5 stars.

Gosh this book looked so good! From that absolutely beautiful cover to the totally captivating blurb, I was really excited to dive into this one. However, I am starting to think that Helena Hunting might be a hit or miss author for me. And this one, unfortunately, didn't wind up working for me at all.

I felt like the pacing was very slow - at least in the beginning. There was a lot of exposition and internal monologue. I learned a lot about a lot of people, but didn't get any time with the hero or heroine together. It ultimately moved too slowly for me and I lost interest by 20% - making it a DNF for me.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to read and review. This one just wasn't my cuppa.

Love Next Door is a small town romance with big heart. Dillion Stitch and Donovan "Van" Firestone were a fun couple to read because they were both fish out of water in some respects and getting used to a new normal while quietly falling for each other. Each has to also deal with legal maters, medical issues, family drama, friends, and career choices.

Dillion has to return to her hometown to help her family with their struggling business while her brother recovers from a serious injury. She washed her hands of small town life years ago so this homecoming is supposed to be short lived. Van finally took a few days off to check out his Grandmother's property which he inherited. While in Pearl Lake, his life back home gets very complicated very fast so he opts to stick around a little longer.

The meet cute in this book is epic and maybe definitely has some full frontal nudity. Leave it to Helena Hunting to make us laugh right out of the gate. From there the story takes a few unexpected turns that made this book hard to put down. I highly recommend this to all fans of any of the following: romcoms, enemies to lovers, small town romance, sweet/steamy, any Helene Hunting books.

I LOVED getting some name dropping for the hockey players on the other side of the lake from Helena Hunting's Pucked and the All In series and now I'm also hoping that there are more ties to those characters in future books!

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC!

I’ve had this one preordered since she announced it, so I was super excited when it appeared as a “Read Now.”

I did not disappoint! Dillion and Van’s story was one I quite enjoyed. Small town life, family drama, neighbors to enemies to friends to lovers. It’s got a bit of everything and I thoroughly enjoyed the “realness” of their relationship.

It’s refreshing that contemporary romance leads are a bit older and established as opposed to right out of high school.

I definitely recommend this one!

A great start to a new series with lots of small town feels.
The relationship between Van and Dillion has gone through all possible bases- from neighbors to
enemies, then friends turned lovers.
Their love story is filled with banter, heat and tenderness.
I enjoyed this book lots and I’m looking forward to more of Lakeside series!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy this one even though it didn't have that certain Hunting thing in. Noticed most of her regular published books aren't as steamy as her self published and there's nothing wrong with that but, this book was very point A to B and very straight forward. Excited to who are going to be in the next books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was just the cutest little summer read! Dillion is dealing with losing her job, her boyfriend, and her apartment in the big city. The last thing she wants is to move back to her small ass town. She’s only going to be there a few months, help out her families business, and then get the heck out of dodge. Well until she meets the handsome arrogant Van. Van comes to Pearl Lake to deal with his late grandmas place. Life has different idea unfortunately. He quickly finds himself under a wrongfully accused crime. What else does one do when under a lot of stress? Shower. What he didn’t expect is walk out of said shower and find a gorgeous lady standing there staring at his junk. These two clash heads right away and sparks start flying!

This book had everything you could ever want! Enemies to lovers, small town, childhood memories, mental health discussions, a sweet supportive family, family drama, and just those sweet little moments in between. This book comes out July 27th! Thank you Helena Hunting and her team for the ARC. If you have not read her books go do it now! All of them are 5 stars!

When Dillion’s father calls her to ask her to come home to help him with his construction business temporarily, she is wary to accept. Because she currently is in between homes and jobs, she reluctantly agrees to return to the small town that she was so eager to leave as soon as she could. Being back in the small town is everything she would expect: everyone knowing your business and reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances. The one thing she doesn’t expect, however, is Donovan “Van” Firestone. He is there to settle his late grandmother’s estate and although the two have a rough start, they soon see that fate has brought them together for a reason.

This was a cute and heartwarming small town romance. It had all the elements that you would expect from this type of feel-good romance. I enjoyed the small town vibes, where people’s relationships go way back and they are enmeshed in each other’s’ lives. I like that the people of Pearl Lake take care of each other but I also like that there’s tons of drama and gossip to go along with it.

The side story of Van’s family drama added a little extra entertainment value to the story. It was a little predictable the way it panned out but it was an opportunity for another layer to Van’s story.

The ending of this book is a sweet and perfect HEA to Van and Dillion’s story. It had me swooning!

Steam level: 🔥🔥½ - 🔥🔥🔥
⚠: mental illness

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley, Helena Hunting, and Montlake Publishing for a gifted ARC of Love Next Door. Helena Hunting is an auto-buy author for me. She always delivers steamy romances with an interesting storyline.

I loved Dillon and Van's story! I wasn't expecting this to be such a fun, small town romance, but I really enjoyed it! I also enjoyed the character references from the All In Series!

I am hoping that this is a new series, and that we will see other books in this series in the future! If you enjoy steamy, small town romances, I highly recommend this one!

When Dillion Stitch has to go back to her small hometown to help the family business she never thought her new neighbor would give her a mighty shock! Donovan “Van” Firestone is staying at his grand-mom’s home. When new “neighbor” Dillon comes knocking, he might of been in somewhat of a compromised position! LOL. Can they get along after getting off on the wrong foot? This is a sweet and sometimes funny slow burn, small town romance. Dillion and Van’s banter flows well and is very entertaining. They are each dealing with some family issues also that unravel during the book. All in all this is an enjoyable small town romance. Told in dual POV

A slow, yet riveting romance that will surprise all Helena Hunting readers with it's tenderness and realness...

With high anticipation of falling in love with yet another brand new romance novel by Helena Hunting, my hopes were high and for it's rom com appeal when it comes down to her writing, and low for her emotional writing style. But when I say that this was a slow integration between both character Dillion and Van, it indeed was angsty. You cannot dive into the normal rom com that comes with Helena's name. You are signing up for the story of two characters, with a deep past that connect in a very intense emotional level of convenience.

Living in a small town where everyone knows everything and coming back to this small kale community, is not something that Dillion was looking forward to. Especially when she encounters upon Van seeking refuge from family/business drama that spurt all in the moment. When the off chance arises where Van and Dillion have to work together to fix a family death's wishes, things take a turn for another where their just simple encounter turns from being enemies, to friends.

And when a male and female friend are involved, alongside with attraction and lust there is no denying that there will be a physical connection involved. With the slow romance aside, we also get family connection and family rejection something that is truly appealing for those small town romance trope lovers. With that being said, the angsty side of it did not do it for me, hence my rating but everything else was truly a breath of fresh air in which I look forward to seeing more of hopefully an upcoming series.