LOVE NEXT DOOR by Helena Hunting was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 read for me!

One of my absolute favorite tropes is enemies to lovers and these two feuding neighbors did me in!

There was some steam in here and some major swooning!

Dhillon was the perfect feisty, take no crap, heroine. I loved her! And Van…. 🔥🔥🔥. Both of their love for the late Bee, who was van’s grandmother and Dhillon’s neighbor growing up, was so heartwarming. I loved all their stories and memories of her!

I don’t read too many small town romances but I really do need to because I enjoy them so much!

I would highly recommend this one if you are looking for a fun, yet sweet small town romance this summer!

3.5 stars
It is no secret that I LOVE the books that Helena Hunting writes. I love her characters, the setting, and all of it. I think I’ve read just about all of her back titles with the exception of a few books from the Pucked series, and the books she has co-written. Yeah, I’m a bit obsessed. Sorry not sorry. I say that to say, this wasn’t my favorite. I mean it was still good, but I didn’t feel the connection to the characters or the setting. The world building wasn’t there for me, and that bummed me out. BUT, the story was good. The characters intrigued me on their own. I am really curious about Dillon’s brother, as that storyline captured my attention. I wanted to know what was going on, and how that all played out for him. Yes there were aspects of Dillon and Van’s story that had me curious, but not enough. I was curious who was framing Van. I was curious who Dillon had been speaking to regarding Bee’s property. I was curious about the summer kiss, from years prior, that Dillon spoke about. But that’s where it ended. Their actual relationship, well I didn’t feel it. It didn’t seem like the characters fit. Maybe it was me, and maybe I didn’t read this story at the right time.

4 'Forever summer love' Stars!
ARC provided via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.

I love an author that wants to dip her toes in romance sub-genres / troupes she hasn’t tried yet so I was definitely excited when Helena Hunting announced her new series with Montlake, focused on a small town and its residents. This is not what you would normally expect from Helena, but it still has all the aspects you enjoy in her creations. Get ready to fall in love with Pearl Lake and the sweet and slow burn romance between Van and Dillion!

So, Love Next Door is the first installment in Helena’s new series called Lakeside. This is an enemies-to-lovers / neighbors romance between Dillion Stitch and Donovan “Van” Firestone. These two have a rocky start and every time they face each other, the back and forth between them becomes stronger. However, that “hate” is not the only thing in their way since they find impossible not to act on the tension and chemistry between them. Will their summer romance be only that or have Van and Dillion found their home in each other?

“Do you, Dillion?” The end of his nose brushes my knuckle. “Like what you see, that is.”
Another shiver runs through me. “Tonight, I do.” It’s a breathy whisper.
He peeks up at me and grins. “And before tonight?”
“I was on the fence.”
“What changed?”
“Tonight you showed me the real you.”

I do love a sweet romance from time to time and Helena definitely delivered on that with Love Next Door. This is not her typical style, which leans more towards romcom steamy romance. This was a slow burn, simmering love story that started with two characters “hating” each other and it turns into so much more when they realize they have more in common than either expected. Their connection starts from their relationship with Van’s gram and a cottage full of summer memories. I loved how Helena developed the interactions between these two and also the relationships between families and friends. It definitely got me excited to read more and made me enjoy even more Van and Dillion’s love story. These two were so cute together and I am so glad they found this beautiful connection!

“You’re my person, Dillion. You gave me a reason to put down roots. You make this place home. You’re my summer love that turned into forever.”

Therefore, I am rating Love Next Door with 4 STARS because it was a sugary sweet start to Helena’s new series and a wonderful introduction to this world and characters. I am a sucker for small town romance and this series looks it will be right up my alley! I loved Van and Dillion together, I loved the secondary characters and how this love story was developed. I cannot wait to read more and I hope Teagan’s book is next because I need it after those teasers towards the end!

Love Next Door was my first book by Helena Hunting and I am a fan now! I’m looking forward to the next book in this series and I also plan to pick up more of her books very soon.

I have a soft spot in my heart for small town settings and Pearl Lake is the quintessential small, lakeside town. I loved it and I wanted to purchase my own lakeside cottage pronto. I was so interested to learn that the series is based on the author’s family lake cottage in Canada and I found myself looking up similar cottages and getting some major wanderlust!

I was so captivated with Dillon and Van from their first awkward encounter all the way through the progression of their relationship. In addition to the romance, there was family drama and a little mystery mixed in! It was the perfect balance of open door steamy scenes and a Hallmark-style storyline!

Thank you so much to Amazon Publishing and Netgalley for my gifted copies! All opinions are my own.

3.5/5 Stars

This story follows Dillon and Donovan, “Van” for short. The setting for this story is outside the city life, where both characters move from. Dillion is back in her hometown, where everyone knows her business and she isn’t too keen on being back at first.

I think this is a sweet story between the characters, however, it wasn’t a magical connection like I’ve experienced with other Hunting novels in the past for me. I wasn’t super committed to what was going to happen and I found some of the transitions to be a little rushed, while others were drawn out more than necessary.

I think overall this isn’t a stressful read. Dillon is a strong female character and she is good at knowing what she wants. Van isn’t one to lead Dillon on and I liked that dynamic between them.

Overall it’s a simple read but something was lacking for me overall.

ARC provided for an honest review.

Helena is an auto-buy author for me and this is another example of why. Helena wrote the perfect contemporary romance with emotion, laughs, and steam. I can't wait to read more from her.

This was a good quick read, it has its heartfelt moments and definitely some funny banter.
Between the half of the book It was moving a bit slow and predictable for me, but I did enjoy it.
Donovan and Dillon are great characters that had their share of thing going on in their lives and once they really got on the right foot they where sweet and fun together.
Great enemies to lovers, small town read. If you enjoy this tropes you will definitely devour this one.

Helena Hunting's writing never fails when it comes to angsty main characters who fall in love in spite of their emotional baggage. This is an easy to read contemporary romance and the slow burn relationship between Van and Dillion tugged on my heartstrings.

This is a small town romance with a simple story dashed with undeniable chemistry between Dillion & Van and a hint of mystery . Been in a reading slump but surprisingly read this in one sitting cause I wanted to know if my guess to the questions I have as I read it was right, which was wrong btw lol. 🙈

This is a perfect summer read. It’s light, not steamy tbh (unlike her Pucked series, all time fave btw 🤣) It’s somewhat predictable for me and I just don’t really enjoy nosy small town kind of people so annoying but it adds fuel to the book. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good small town romance. Those that got homey feeling and childhood neighbor crushes. Highly recommended. Read it before summer ends or whenever really haha.

Love Next Door is a wonderful story and a perfect summer read. This story is very subtle…the slow burn of a enemies to friendship to lovers, the recognization of a childhood crush finally materialized so many years later and the type of love that doesn’t allow them to stay apart.

This story was just so enjoyable. Dillion moves home to help her family out during a hard time. Van moves to town after her inherits his aunts house. They start out as enemies with the most incredible banter and wit while they argue with each other where it is so obvious that their chemistry is off the charts. They don’t really realize it but you can tell their pull to each other is something that can’t be ignored. But they slowly move to friends and more as they start to get to know each other and develop feelings. I loved how they were with each other…playful and caring.

Like I said earlier this story is subtle….there is some family drama for both Dillion and Van which had me invested in both of their storylines; however, I liked that their story wasn’t too angsty and that I was just swept away in a beautiful love story. The setting was wonderful, the small town feelings made me think of where I live in New York (on a big lake too) and this is a story that very softly burrowed its way into my heart.

Small town romance with a huge heart...
The first in a new series from Ms Hunting and I really enjoyed getting to know these new characters.
Dillion has come back to her childhood home to help her family out for a few months.... Van has inherited his Grandmas house right next door....as sparks fly and chemistry fizzes will these two stop their bickering long enough to see what’s right there?
Loved this pair....their banter and then friendship was really great to read. A little suspense story running along side which kept my interest, some moments where I was thinking ‘seriously?’ and some fun interactions that had me speculating who might be next to share their story.
Small town, gentle romance with heat and heart....a perfect beach read.

This was a really awesome story and romance about two very different people who come from very different families but who loved the same woman, Bee.

Bee was a grandmother to Donavan, Bradford and Teagan but the only one who really visited her was Van. Dillon or as Bee called her, Lynnie lived next door and she loved Bee so much, more as a close confidant and best friend. So when Bee dies, Van comes back to town and Dillon is the executer of her estate.

This was not the most romantic book in the world. I adored Dillon and Van's romance and how they are there for each other and both loved Bee so much. What I loved in this story is the family love. I loved Billy, and how he needs his sister to help him get the help he needs. I loved that Dillon realises that everything she wants has always been there right where she left it. And I loved how Van's family fights for him and tries help him as things start happening that point to someone after what Bee left him.

This story is about love and family and that if they have your back well then you have everything. Its a fun, flirty and wonderful story but it also deals with some more serious issues like death, and mental health.

Love next door is the perfect small town romance and holidays read.
The characters are reliable and interesting. Both Dillion and Van are trying to get away from the big city and it’s stressful daily life while try to find themselves and what they actually want from their life.
Sweet enemies to lovers, lots of humour as expected from the author and some sparkling chemistry, this romance story is perfect for any romantic lover.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for a copy of this book. This was a cute small town, close proximity romance. It was cute and I enjoyed the banter between Dillion and Van. They had great connection and both have some complicated family dynamics. I think there was too much family drama that it distracted from their romance.

Thank you Montlake and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Love Next Door had a different vibe than some of Hunting's earlier romantic comedies, but I still really enjoyed it.

Dillion and Donovan (Van) end up in Dillon's hometown for similar reasons and are quickly drawn together. Van is taking over his late Grandmother's cottage and runs into his next door neighbor and executive of his Grandmother's will, Dillion. They have a brief enemies to lovers relationship that quickly turns into dating. They both have a lot of things going on in their lives, but quickly turn to each other and bond over their love of his late Grandmother. I liked the ending, but it seemed like it wrapped up a little quickly.

i cant wait to read the next book in this series!

I will update with the link as soon as I post on my bookstagram.

3.5 Stars
I need to preface this by saying I usually love stories by this author. BUT, this and the one before it I haven’t really enjoyed like all the others. Not sure why either.
Makes me sad!
These two officially meet when he gets out of the shower and is naked. Ha ha ha! Funny, right? Probably the funniest part about this whole story. I will say I enjoyed the ending.

What can I say, when you want a cute feel good romance, look know further than Helena Hunting. This story ticks all the rom-com boxes:

Small town drama
Annoying but hot next door neighbour
Complicated family dynamics
Oh and lots of spice!
Dillion moves back home to help her family out after her brother is in an accident. On arriving back she decides to check out the cottage next door which previously belonged to Grammy Bee, who Dillion was very closed to whilst growing up and its then that she meets Van. Van has come back to Pearl Lake to escape the family drama back home and to take care of the Cottage his Grandma (Grammy Bee) left him.

I throughly enjoyed this story, its a bit different from what HH normally writes, but I have such a soft spot fo small town romance, I couldn’t put this book down. Dillion and Van are perfectly matched and were an absolute joy to read. There was just enough intrigue and family drama to keep me hooked and the resolution to the story was very realistic.

In a nutshell, this is a well written feel good romance, if you are after some light reading definitely check this one out.

I'm always excited when a new Helena Hunting book is coming up.

The first story of this series and I want to reflect a little on the history of Dillion and Donovan

Believing in destiny and in people destined to be together is something that has always fascinated me and if to that we add the magic of a small town that evokes childhood memories that perhaps all of us saved somewhere we have an incredible result.

The fact that I added the factor of the presence of mental illness and how many times we ignore or do not give the necessary importance touches my heart in a deep way ... it is a subject that many times we overlook

I hope everyone who reads this story enjoys it as much as I do.

3.5 stars. This was a pretty good read, but I felt it lacked the usual Helena Hunting spark. Love Next Door is a stand alone book and is Dillion and Van's story. Dillion is from a small town that she couldn't wait to leave after high school and move to a big city. When her younger brother is having problems, she loses her apartment and goes through a breakup, she returns home to that small town to help with the family business and regroup. Van is in town because his grandmother died, who happens to be Dillion's next door neighbor. He is also having job and family problems, so he too is in town temporarily to fix up his grandmother's house and regroup. When the two meet they do not get a long, but they soon see they have misjudged each other and romance ensues.

The story in this book was pretty good. I did think the first half of the book dragged a bit, but I liked the second half more. At first, I felt like Dillion rubbed me the wrong way, having tantrums and acting like a teenager. She wasn't very nice to anyone or likeable. There were some plot holes that left me with questions and I felt the conversations were illogical at times. In fact, I wasn't sure if I liked either Van or Dillion at first, but by the end, I did like them and thought they were sweet together. I definitely felt a lack of chemistry. But I did find the story entertaining. I liked the way the book ended, even if I didn't love the way it began. Overall, this was not a bad book, but it wasn't my favorite Helena Hunting book.

This was a really cute summer read, it reminded me of being at the lake and I just love HH writing. I wish it had her usual steam, this one was a littler tamer than her usual stuff. But overall cute story!