3.5
How to Love Your Neighbor is a cute, enemies to friends to lovers romance that is fun and lighthearted with a little home renovations. It had humor and would be an excellent light buffer between a heavier read. I also enjoyed the banter and the light chemistry they had in this close-door rom com.

I did feel the character development fell a little flat for me as well as the chemistry. The romance was lacking or maybe just felt off to me.

Overall, How to Love Your Neighbor is certainly not a bad read, as many absolutely love it, but it fell a little too flat for my liking.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Thank you so much SMP Romance for sending me an ARC to read, share, and review!
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This book was not for me.
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Small spoilers ahead!
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I did not like the male love interest at all. He angered me so much because he lacked self-awareness, was insensitive, manipulative, and just mean. He really had no redeeming qualities.
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I love me some good enemies/nuisances to lovers stories IF done right. It is one thing to not like someone or be annoyed at someone, but it is another completely different thing if you are just straight up a not good person being manipulative and insensitive for all intents and purposes.
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The main characters lacked the development. They have no chemistry, there was no tension nor buildup to their "romance".
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At one point the woman called him out for being manipulative towards her but he insisted he was not (the audacity and the lack of self-awareness!). But suddenly out of nowhere in the next chapter right away he finally said yes he was. But he did not know how to apologize because he was new to it (?). So he asked his friends how he should do it (you are an Adult but okay, help is fine i guess) but afterwards he still does not know how to do it so he brought her pots of flowers and wrote a two sentence "apology" letter. And then they kissed.
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I was disappointed. Nothing else to say.
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I am wary to recommend this because of those reasons. But if you still feel the want to read it, go ahead! But it was not for me.

A book that was definitely on my radar was this one from the lovely @authorsophiesullivan . I had the pleasure of talking to her via Insta when her first book "Ten Rules for Faking It" came out in 2020 and she was so kind to send me some bookmarks that I use all the time! I was new to insta at the time and a real author was talking to little ol me! I was truly amazed lol.

In this cute enemies to lovers trope, we meet Grace who happens to inherit her grandparents home with a sweet view of the beach. It is a fixer upper, but she was up for the challenge (thanks for bringing back Trading Spaces...I loved that show on TLC) using her interior design background. But then there's Noah, the next door neighbour whose hoping to buy her property in order to make his backyard larger. What are they both willing to do in order to get what they want?

The story was funny and Noah and Grace had such great chemistry. I devoured this one in no time and was sad when it was over. I look forward to Sophie's upcoming novels. If you haven't started following her, please do. My favourite are when she sneaks into stores with her daughters and film herself signing her own books. Do you ever get questioned??

Available TODAY! Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress for the advanced digital copy

Thank you for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. How to Love Your Neighbor is a fun enemies to lovers romcom, I love the neighbor trope and the romance is fade to black. Sullivan convinced me of the characters chemistry!

How to Love Your Neighbor stars Noah, brother to Chris from [book:Ten Rules for Faking It|53137916].
Noah is a real pain to start out with but comes through and ends up deserving his half of the HEA in the end. The story really gets fun when a design magazine challenge starts up and the pair and their friends start competing. ( I especially liked the trading spaces style challenge). How to Love Your Neighbor was a good enemies to lovers romance. All in all an enjoyable read.

ARC via NetGalley courtesy of the publisher - release date 1/18/22 - this is an unpaid review

How to Love Your Neighbour is a meet-cute rom-com packed with headstrong female leads, family drama, and a deliciously slow-burn romance.

This book picks up after Sophie's previous book, "Ten Rules for Faking It" which I absolutely adored and focuses on the other Jenson brother- Noah.

I empathized with Noah trying to shed his carefree persona and get his family and the world to see him as something more than the funny Jenson brother- but as a serious real estate developer with strong community ties. I liked how despite his wealth and privilege he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty or admitting when he's in over his head.

His polar opposite and neighbor Grace has had a pretty rough life growing up and to see her fighting to pursue her passion for creative design was inspiring. Grace is a self-taught gal and I couldn't help but giggle at certain scenes where she was Miss Fix It and Noah was totally blown away by her competence.

This reversal of roles- Grace being the hand gal while Noah learns from her was entertaining and I really wish more authors would pen headstrong females who aren't waiting for a man to fix their fence!

Noah and Grace had their ups and downs and I admired how Grace was constantly calling Noah on his bullshit in a way nobody has challenged him before. He needed the tough love almost as much as Grace needed the tenderness and companionship of Noah.

I immensely enjoyed the inclusion of some of the older characters, specifically Morty, who added a different dynamic to the book. Older characters always tend to be the shoulder to lean on or the advice-givers and let's just say Morty gave neither but brought his comedy game!

I did think the book was a bit slower than its predecessor and slightly longer than I usually like but it was a great story about making a house into a home and finding family in those around you.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The book is framed as an enemies-to-lovers rom com, and it certainly starts out that way. Some of the petty antics I was hoping for was present along with the banter I've come to enjoy when this trope is headlining. However, the trope is somewhat short-lived--at least the enemies aspect of it. The book is more than just about two bickering neighbors who are attracted to one another as it tackles deeper topics such as toxic relationships, learning to lean on others, and trusting yourself. As the book progresses, it becomes more heart than humor, morphing into a story of two people trying to capture something that has eluded them both and finding love along the way.

Seemingly mundane things have more meaning to both Noah and Grace because they've never quite had it in their lives. It's this need to have a place they can call home that drives each of their actions and leads to their individual character growth. Sullivan spends much of the book not only giving them these moments but having them experience it alongside each other, making it all the more meaningful. Once I allowed myself to step away from my initial expectations about the book, letting the story unfold rather than trying to guess what would happen next, I was able to appreciate the pace, which slows considerably in the middle, and the hurdles, both internal and external ones, to Noah and Grace's happily ever after. What is a home then? Through their interactions, Noah and Grace begin to realize it's more than just a place but the people, or more specifically the person, we surround ourselves with. (3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars)

“There were a lot of things Grace was ready for in this life. Noah Jansen was not one of them.”

Throughout my reading “career” I’ve ranged from giving out five stars to every single book, to leaving the full five stars to books that actually captured me wholeheartedly. How To Love Your Neighbor was my second five star book of the year thus far & it’s so very well deserved.

Noah and Grace captured my heart from the very first line & for this to be the very first book from this author that I’ve read, I can’t believe how I’ve missed out on this author’s writing. Going from a practically spoiled man-child whose used to getting everything he wants in the business world (disregarding his evil dad here of course) hearing the word “no” is not something Noah Jansen is used to. When he gets it into his head that he must buy the small bungalow house next to his own home to put in a pool (disregarding that the beach is in his literal backyard) he is not ready for Grace, his next door neighbor whose just moved into her family home and is definitely not looking to sell despite the amount of money her next door neighbor tries to throw at her.

From chopped up hedges to property lines and fences, these two go to war in trying to one up the other. What they weren’t expecting was for the woman in charge of putting Noah’s renovated house in a home magazine, to fall in love with the dynamics between Noah and Grace & insist that Grace be the interior designer in Noah’s home.

Despite fighting the chemistry between them, it isn’t long before the furniture shopping trips & the friendship brewing for the relationship between Grace and Noah to turn into more. How To Love Your Neighbor was easily one of the sweetest love stories I’ve read to date & I cannot wait to hear more from this author.

This was a fantastic, sparkling slowburn romance that I can't wait to get my hands on in physical form. The chemistry between Grace and Noah was phenomenal and the whole premise of the book was unique and interesting too.

3.5*

Grace is out there living my dream, if I'm being totally honest. My degree is in interior design and there are times like this, after reading How to Love Your Neighbor, that I wish I had continued in the field. But having worked for 2 completely flaky designers after graduation, I ended up moving on. But damn, if I don't want to be Grace, at least in some ways! Although I'd prefer to be left a house in the mountains, rather than the beach. How awesome to end up living next to a hot neighbor, lucking into a design job working for him, and featured in a magazine? What more could you want!
Well, both Grace and Noah deserved better parents, that's for sure.

How to Love Your Neighbor was a fun, somewhat frustrating, yet entertaining read. The frustration came from Noah, who in the beginning wasn't that likeable of a character, due to the way he treated Grace. Grace is a very capable, self-sufficient woman, but Noah really came off as an ass towards her. Thankfully his tune changed pretty quickly, and once he finally opened up, he ended up being a really good guy. Both he and Grace had parental issues, which kind of colored how they approached relationships, but it was nice to see them come to an understanding, and work through things together. The story wrapped up with a sweet ending.


*Side note- I kept getting a feeling Noah's brother Chris, and his girlfriend Everly, had their own book so at one point I stopped reading to come to GR to check it out. And sure enough, they did- it was Ms. Sulliavan's debut novel, Ten Rules for Faking It. I understand author's wanting books to stand on their own, but when you have interconnecting characters I kind of feel cheated when it's not made clear - I would have liked to have read their book before I started this one.

Calling all fans of home improvement shows! This is the romance for you. How to Love Your Neighbor is a fun enemies to lover romance. Though it’s closed door, they had a lot of chemistry. A delightful read!

3.5/5 ⭐️
🌶/5

Grace is about to start adulting for real. After years of working odd jobs to make ends meet, she’s at the finish line of her design degree and start her career. And to sweeten the deal, she’s inherited the perfect fixer-upper from her grandparents. The only problem to this dream come true might just be next door. Noah is starting over in California and the first step of his new life is developing his dream home. All he needs to finish is the house next door for a pool. Too bad his new neighbor refuses to sell. And it really doesn’t help that both of them may want to be more than just neighborly 😏.

This was a fresh spin on some popular tropes. The magazine storyline provides a unique setting for a work enemies to lovers relationship. And Sullivan does a good job of adding the design details into the plot without overwhelming the reader. Also the chemistry between the characters develops at a good pace so whereas the full book might feel like it lags a little, their relationship holds it’s own. The banter and bets make it a lot of fun too.

I really liked Grace. She’s like a jack of trades between her many jobs and interior design & renovation skills. Her fears & insecurities clearly connect to her motivations, making her character well defined. On the other hand, Noah is not so cut and dry. One of main issues is that all of Noah’s insecurities are based on surface level assumptions people have made about him. We don’t see any concrete examples of people blowing him off or him earning this reputation. It feels disproportionate to his obsession of not turning into his father.

And on closer inspection, the plot leaves some things to be desired. Noah’s work with Rob’s program doesn’t get a satisfying wrap up (out of the blue funding wasn’t enough). Also, the climax would’ve been strengthened if we got to see Noah’s confrontation with his dad like we did her Grace and her mom. And not sure if this is a problem for anyone else but personally, I was disappointed this book didn’t have an epilogue. I enjoy that small look into the couple’s future. It’s got decent bones but just leaves the reader wanting a little more.

Overall, this was a good book. It’s light and easy to read; I finished it over the course of a red-eye flight. I like the HGTV elements and imagery behind them. All in all it’s a guaranteed HEA with a few good laughs. One of the best things about this book are the smaller moments. For example, the date Noah puts together is very unique and sappy in the best ways. And the bets they make add to their chemistry.

Tropes: enemies to lovers, sunshine/grump, close proximity

A little slow moving for me. I think someone who really loves HGTV and home redesigning shows would really love this story. I can't say that either character really caught my attention. I felt Noah was a little more annoying than anything. I think if we had seen more of his time with the basketball team, he started working with than it would have made him more personal. Instead near the end he just mentions how much working with the kids has changed his outlook. It would have been nice to actually read those experiences with them. I don't understand Grace's conflict with her mom and why she insisted on doing it alone, especially after she JUST had the conversation with her friend about asking for help. She had no problem asking for help in other things so why was this any different? It just didn't really add up for me. It was really just an ok read for me but I think others that have more of an interior design interest and likes romances would really enjoy it.

Grace Travis’ life is finally going in the right direction. She is moving into a home her grandparents left her, she is almost finished design school and life could not be any better. That is until she meets her rich, single, gorgeous grumpy neighbor Noah Jansen whose main goal is to buy Grace’s house to expand his yard, and that is when the feud begins. Why can’t things work out just once for Grace? Will she be able to charm Mr. Grumpy pants, or will Noah finally get what he wants?

This is such a charming story by Sophie Sullivan. I could not help but fall in love with Grace and her quirky friends. I loved the banter between the two main characters and the dialogue had me giggling repeatedly. The story moved along quickly, but the romance took time to develop which I enjoy in a novel. All in all, this is a solid five stars for me. If you are looking for a humorous sweet romance, I hope you pick this one. Thank you to St. Martins Press for an advanced readers copy to read and review in exchange for my honest opinion and to the author Sophie Sullivan for writing and amazing book.

This was a cute, fun Rom-com. We follow Grace and Noah; Grace is a student who is almost finished getting her degree in interior design who keeps her heart tightly guarded after a lifetime of being let down by her mother. Noah is trying to find his own way after leaving his fathers company when he realized his father was leaving behind everything his grandfather had built. Noah settles into this beach house on the west coast and is determined to buy the neighboring house so he can put in a pool. Grace has decided to finally move into the house her grandparent left her. They automatically get off on the wrong foot, when he does everything he can think of to get her to sell her new home to him. When an opportunity to further both of their goals lands at their feet, they must work together to remodel his new home, but the more they work together the more sparks fly.

This is a perfect example of an enemies to lovers trope. I loved it, the plot was interesting and the characters were so well done you’d want them living in your neighborhood.

Grace inherited her grandmothers house even though her estranged mother thinks it should have gone to her. She’s an interior design student and can’t wait to get going on fixing up the house.

Next door is Noah, a developer, who moved from NYC to build his business on the West Coast and get out from under his father’s thumb. He has plans for Grace’s house, he wants to tear it down and use the lot for his pool.

Of course, he made plans without meeting Grace first, who is adamantly not selling her house. There is no price that would convince her. Once they meet, they’re attracted to each other but can’t get past their differences. They start spending time together while Grace designs the interior of Noah’s house for a magazine photo spread and article, and in true enemies to lovers trope style, they get together.

I highly recommend this book, it’s well written and the characters are fun and quirky. I really enjoyed the interior design aspects of the book, very educational! 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Enemies to Lovers are always my favorite tropes in books and while this one was cute it was just ok. This one follows Grace who inherits her grandparents house and her next door neighbor Noah. Grace is finishing up her last semester of design school and is ready to start her next chapter in life but her neighbor Noah is making that difficult. Noah is used to getting everything he wants and he wants the house next door but Grace will not sell it to him. What starts off as a contentious relationship ends up being a woking partnership. Noah lands a spread in a Home Decorating magazine highlighting the renovations on his new house and Grace ends up as his designer. I really enjoyed the decorating aspects of this book but felt more meh to the main characters. I grew up watching Trading Spaces on HGTV and Grace and Noah with the help of their friends decide to do this in the book and it was one of my favorite parts in the book. Overall it was cute and fun but maybe not very memorable for me. Thank you St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy for review.

While this book was a fun and cute story, it got kind of boring. It basically was the same for the entire book with a few small conflicts that resolved quickly. Sometimes it's nice to read a book that doesn't give any stress, but this is ⭐⭐⭐ for me. It is a closed door romance, so if that's what you're looking for this might be good for you.

Grace has inherited her grandparents house on the beach. Being a design major, she is excited about the opportunity to fix the house up exactly as she wants. But, her new neighbor, Noah, has other ideas. He wants to buy this little beach house next door. Grace has no intention of selling!

Now, I was not a huge fan of Noah. I found him a bit overbearing and just plain rude at times. But, I know this is his design flaw! He does get better as the novel rolls along. And I definitely loved Grace. She is a go getter and she does not like to lose! So, these two have some pretty good bickering sessions. And…this leads to better things…onward and upward!

Need a cute fixer upper…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Ten Rules for Faking It was a 5 star read for me, so I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect at all with the story. I kept waiting to have some interest in the characters or plot and by 40% it still hadn’t happened. I never found myself rooting for the MC or the LI, so I chose to DNF. Because I enjoyed Sophie’s first book so much, I would still read another book by her.
I did a mix of audio and ebook. The narrator did a good job with the cast of characters. I liked that Chris and Everly (from the first book) were included. Morty was a funny character who added some grumpy spunk. I wish I had enjoyed this book, but it just didn’t happen this time.

Thank you to SMP Romance for a digitial ARC and to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook. All thoughts expressed are my own honest opinions.