Grace Travis is an independent woman trying to finish design school by working odd jobs. Noah Jansen comes from money and has moved to California to jump start his career away from the family. Little did he know that his next door neighbor is no pushover. She says the word no to him. They give each other challenges. Nothing like two competitive people. One trying to save the family home and the other who just wants it. There are a whole host of characters that add to the story. In the end Grace and Noah have wormed their way into each other hearts. They have also figured it out that their lives were similar. His father and her mother are two of a kind. By severing the ties, it opens up the pathway for their HEA.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC of Sophie Sullivan’s new novel, HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR.

Like her education as an interior designer, Grace Travis is a work in progress. After a series of tough breaks in her life —sometimes the result of her absentee mother, other times literal breaks that involve her moving in with Morty, a surrogate grandfather while he heals from hip surgery — Grace is finally ready to settle into adulthood and independence, which means moving into the house she inherited from the grandparents she never knew. The only problem is that Noah Jansen — rich real estate tycoon and her new neighbor — has other ideas. Namely buying Grace’s house, knocking it down, and building a pool on the land. Neither Noah nor Grace knows what to make of the other, both finding their counterpart cold and stubborn. Navigating the world as anything but a series of business transactions is a foreign concept to Noah, who makes every attempt to subtly undermine and manipulate Grace into selling her property, and Grace nearly falls for it until she is reminded of his shark-like savvy, leading her to awkwardly storm Noah’s house just as he’s in a business meeting with a fancy home design magazine editor who could alter the course of Grace’s career. Noah has never actually apologized for anything before, and in all honesty, it doesn’t seem like Grace has been apologized to for much of anything, either. But, Noah decides there’s something different about Grace, and it becomes a story of a man changing for the love of a good woman, albeit a woman with as much emotional baggage and trust issues as he has. He decides to entrust his renovation and design to her, and their love quickly grows, patching their hearts the way Grace patched Noah’s fence.

The premise of the novel is cute, and undeniably charming in light of a generation of HGTV darlings who have made America swoon over both shiplap and their love. Though framed with the possibility of chemistry, the two feel like they fall a little short. The stakes don’t really feel high enough for either of them, and they go from “we’re working together so have to just be friends” to throwing caution to the wind a little too quickly. Grace has her doubts and repeats that she’s trying to protect her heart and just have fun, but Noah seems to have no such troubles and is quick to tell Grace he wants only her; his declarations felt rushed and underdeveloped given his history. The two definitely have sweet moments, but the middle 50% of the book felt like a series of montages that all include Grace having doubts and Noah assuaging those doubts. And while I appreciated that the third act breakup was more toward the fourth act, it once again felt a little flat— we know Noah is frustrated by his father’s general asshole personality, but seeing more of the struggle would’ve been interesting. I also wished we would’ve had more tension with Grace’s mom resurfacing. The parental subplots for both characters sort of missed the mark for me.

All in all, HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR is a sweet, grand gesture, closed door romance. It will leave readers feeling gooey and warm like the brownies Grace loves, even though sometimes (just like brownies) you want just a little bit more.

This is a delightful rom-com that had me smiling.

Grace is on the cusp of completing her studies to become an interior designer. She has big plans for her future, and they include fixing up the cottage her grandmother had left her. Noah and his family are big names in real estate development. He has big plans for the big house he had bought far away from his father’s influence. These plans include the property next door, which happens to be Grace’s cottage.

Grace and Noah have a super sweet meet-cute, but their interactions soon devolve into a competition when Noah persists on asking Grace to sell her house. Noah has always left the actual development work to other people, so he was bowled over by Grace’s ability to fix anything. Their stubborn confrontations take an unexpected turn when the magazine journalist in charge of writing the feature on Noah’s house suggests that he hire Grace to be his designer. Here their animosity starts to change, and they become closer as they work together and learn more about each other.

Mostly I enjoyed the back-and-forth between Grace and Noah. It was clear from the start that they were attracted to each other and they fought it for as long as they could. They came from completely different worlds and had to fight their way through their insecurities to be together. I really liked Grace and Noah, as individual characters and as a couple. The secondary cast of characters added to the enjoyment of the story.

I can definitely recommend this if you like romantic comedy. The chemistry between Noah and Grace is palpable, but this is a clean romance and we don’t get all the details of what goes on behind the bedroom door.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I don't read straight out romance novels that often and I'm not particularly keen on the enemy-to-lover sort of trope as this one appears to be. However, that cover was just brilliant that I really couldn't resist. Yes, it's a case of read it for its cover and it's not a bad decision at all. I actually quite enjoyed it once I got into it.

Both protagonists have plans for their future and are driven to succeed. However, the one they didn't anticipate was each other and how they'd affect each other's plans. While this story began with a bit of head-butting between the two, they weren't quite enemies. They were just sort of in the way of the other's future's plans. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, they also couldn't deny the attraction they felt for each other and as they got to know each other better, they found there could be more than just the physical chemistry between them.

How to love Your Neighbor is a very light & cute read if you're after something that doesn't require much brain power. Some of the romantic gestures received some terrific eyerolls from me but it's a sweet dreamy tale in a non-COVID world (yeah!).

My thanks to St Martin's Press for ecopy of book via NetGalley in exchange of my honest thoughts

This was my first Sophie Sullivan book and it was such a cute story! If you are looking for an enemies to lovers trope, this story is for you! It is a sweet romance that will make you laugh and smile. I loved the secondary characters that pop in.

Grace is fun and easy going while Noah is a workaholic and is only worried about wanting more. These two become neighbors and they begin to bump heads right from the start. But just like every great love story, they are forced to be together and they realize the attraction they have for one another.

If you are looking for a sweet, cute romance, this story is for you. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins press for this cute story in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was super cute, but not compelling enough to hold my interest the whole way through. If you're looking for a low angst, sweet, closed door romance (a few sexy kisses that we know lead to more), then this might be right up your alley. There's nothing that I didn't like about the story, there just wasn't enough to keep me hooked. The vibe is light and playful, with likable characters and a friendly feud between new neighbors. I think I liked this one better than the first book in the series (not required reading), and I was close to giving a 4-star rating. All in all, a sweet yet forgettable read with romance at the heart of it.

The story follows Grace, an aspiring interior designer who is finally ready to move into the house she inherited. It needs plenty of renovations, but Grace is up to the challenge - and excited to make it her own. The only problem? Her sexy and infuriating new neighbor, Noah, a wealthy suit and tie kinda guy who wants to buy Grace's new home. The two clash over renovations and differences of opinion, but it's not long before these neighbors become fast friends with the hint of something more. As they work on renovating their respective houses, the two realize that it takes more than a redesign to make a home.

I really enjoyed the low angst, easy feel, though it gets a little TOO low angst after awhile. Typically, an enemies to lovers romance has more tension and bickering, while this was all lighthearted. Not necessarily a bad thing, but there wasn't enough friction to keep things interesting. Really, the only things keeping these two apart were their own hangups, so it was a low stakes romance. I did love Noah and how sweet he was, and I liked that he wasn't the typical broody businessman. There are so many cute scenes, and the romance was kinda swoony. I found myself bored and it was easy to put down, but I enjoyed the book as I was reading it - and there was nothing major standing in the way of a higher rating. It's the kind of book that I'll probably forget about sooner rather than later, but sometimes that's the kind of low angst romance readers are looking for.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

How to Love Your Neighbor is the perfect romance for fans of HGTV. When Grace inherits a beach bungalow, she decides to put her interior design degree to use before even graduating. However, her neighbor, Travis, is a real estate developer who wants to buy Grace’s house. Enemies to lovers trope is alive and well in this one.

This was a very heartfelt read with great characters and a fun storyline. However, I wasn’t as invested in the romance as I wanted to be and the pace was a little slow. I really enjoyed all the decor descriptions and the entire vibe of the story.

Overall, this was a cute, fun, and sweet romance.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to be posted on release date.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/St Martin’s Griffin for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Considering my neighbor is in the middle of an entire rebuild, this story about neighbors embarking on home improvements with an enemies to lovers romance makes me wonder if I should be more invested in their project in case it could parallel this book! Just kidding - but all jokes aside, this is a fun story for any fans of home improvement or DIY interior decorating TV shows. It’s not all fun and games - there are some serious portions around dysfunctional families and how to grow up to not be like the parents who raised you. I also liked that both main characters had to learn how to ask for help - as a teacher, it’s one of the things I try to help my students realize is important to learn and practice!
How to Love Your Neighbor comes out on Tuesday, 1/18, so add it to your TBR!

This enemies to lovers romance follows Grace and Noah who have just become next door neighbors. Grace is graduating from design school and recently inherited her house from her estranged grandparents. Noah recently relocated from NYC to California in an attempt to get out from under his father's thumb. Noah likes his house, but he'd like to also have Grace's and he's ready to make her an offer way over market value. But Grace isn't giving in that easy to the smooth talking and stuffy businessman next door. But when a home designs magazine wants to do a story on Noah's home renovation project, Noah hires Grace as his interior designer and the two start spending much more time together and find out they have more in common than they initially thought. I really enjoyed this read and loved the progression of Grace and Noah's relationship. Enemies to lovers is not my preferred trope, but this book had a really solid middle section where they really became friends first before transitioning to lovers and I think that is exactly what they needed to do. There was a ton of emotional vulnerability on both sides and I really adored the lessons about healthy communication we see them learn (especially Noah). I did think the pacing was a little rough at the beginning but after about the 40% mark, we were into pretty solid friends to lovers territory and I felt that the narrative pacing flowed a lot better after that point. The cast of characters surrounding our main couple are perfection and I really enjoyed the amount of time Grace and Noah spent with these other characters. This really was really low angst between the main couple, but there were a good amount of outside pressures that they had to overcome in order to be together.

CW/TW: emotionally abusive/manipulative parents

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC

Expected publication date: January 18, 2022

I am really loving this series from Sophie Sullivan. Ten Rules for Faking It was one of my favorite books. This one sucked me in just as quickly. Grace and Noah run almost literally into one another in a meet cute that had me smiling right away only to find out later that they are neighbors. Noah is new to the west coast and trying to branch away from his father's development business in NYC and make a name for his own but is having a hard time buying the land he wants next door to his own home. He soon finds out the neighboring landowner is Grace and he's beyond frustrated that she refuses to sell.

I'm always up for an enemies-to-lovers and this one does not disappoint. I loved the natural way these two came together and that they were always quick to apologize when warranted. The chemistry was great and I loved seeing them work together. I'm a huge HGTV fan so really enjoyed the fix-it-up concept throughout the book. There was even a Trading Spaces part which brought back memories of one of my favorite shows. The secondary characters are a lot of fun. I especially loved Grace's pseudo grandfather, Morty. While it was a blast seeing people from the first book, this book reads completely as a standalone. I would recommend to anyone looking for a fun, entertaining romance with a side of home reno.

4/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I have to say I absolutely adored this book. It really surprised me. I enjoyed the interactions between Grace and Noah. It was cute and tension-filled, and I loved every second of it. I will say that the tension build-up is not to a major smut scene so if you're expecting that... well don't. However even with that scene not in the book, making it more of a clean romance, I can also say I didn't really need it. I will also admit that there was a lot of forgiving too easily for things that I feel should've had some groveling involved. Other than that as I said I did have a great time. It was an easy romance to read and enjoy. I would completely recommend giving this a read.

"There are no guarantees in life. Just chances to jump at happiness when it’s offered."
How to Love Your Neighbour was a much needed laugh during these January blues. The tension and slow build with Grace and Noah's relationship as palpable. I really enjoyed the growth of both characters and the pace of the novel. It made it hard to put down.

HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR – Sophie Sullivan
St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN: 978-1250624185
January 18, 2022
Contemporary Romance

Harlow Beach, California – Present Day

Budding interior home designer Grace Travis loves living in Harlow Beach. Her grandparents gifted her a small home there, but she has been unable to move in as she has been taking care of an old friend of theirs. Now she’s ready to move, but it will require baby steps as she is on a limited budget. As Grace is in the process of moving in, the next-door neighbor comes over to offer to buy it. Grace has no intention of selling…ever...to her neighbor, Noah Jansen, or anyone.

Noah loves the location of his house and is in the process of rebuilding it but would like to expand it. In order to do that, he needs the property next door. No one has lived in the rundown property during all the time he’s lived in his house and figures it would be an easy buy, especially if he offers good money. But Grace turns him down and instead, moves in. He annoys her and she annoys him. They have a love-hate relationship, even though they could actually help each other fix up their respective houses. After a home and garden magazine writer arrives to interview Noah and witnesses his interaction with Grace, the writer proposes a tempting offer. The two of them work together on the remodel of Noah’s home and she would give them both plenty of PR via a magazine article. It would do wonders for Grace’s career prospects. How can two people who don’t like each other work together?

Both Grace and Noah are determined to succeed in HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, but can they do it together? Noah’s family has all kinds of money, but his father wants to control what Noah does. Noah has moved to the west coast—away from his father—and sees a fresh start in Harlow Beach. His property would be perfect except for the land being small. He wants to expand, and the house next door should be his for the taking. However, Grace refuses to sell, so Noah embarks on a campaign of annoying her. It might work, except it turns out that they could be yin and yang. Because the promised publicity by being featured in an article is so tempting, they decide to work together. Will they kill each other before the project is done? Not when the sexual chemistry begins to heat up between them.

HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR is a fun read that has the enemies-to-lovers vibes. After Grace moves in next door to Noah, the ‘intrusions on privacy” war begin, with plenty of grievances on each side. Yet even their friends can see the sexual tension between Noah and Grace, which results in plenty of teasing. How long will it take before they give in to the attraction? Will it end up with them making love—and not war? Will Noah’s house get finished? If you love a romance with some hot, sexy banter and fun times, then grab a copy of HOW TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. You won’t be sorry.

Patti Fischer

A cheeky story of finding love in a very awkward place. Her neighbor a grumpy, rude and unhappy man who turns out to be a beautiful soul she can't help but fall in love with. The struggles they overcome together will help

How to Love Your Neighbor is a sweet, enemy to lovers, slow burn rom com. This adorable story focuses on Noah, a grumpy transplant from the east coast who meets a sunshiny Grace from the west coast. How to Love Your Neighbor is a read that is an easy escape to and is a make you feel good light read. This was my first read by this author and I will be going back to read her last book Ten Rules for Faking It.

I received this book as an ARC by NetGalley and agreed to accept and voluntarily read and review it. Great choice!

Thanks for letting me read this it, it was so cute, I loved it I loved the witty banter bickering the slow fall the remodel and Noah and grace were so much fun to read about I couldn't put it down

Three and a half stars

This was the perfect book for me to pick up after my last heavy non-fiction. How to Love Your Neighbor is the first book in a long time that I’ve managed to finish in one sitting. This is a funny closed door, enemies to lovers romance – although light on the enemies – and BONUS, found family, which I always love. I enjoyed the HGTV angle as well.

What I didn’t love was that I thought it was too long, at about 75% I was ready for it to start wrapping up. At times I found it to be slightly repetitive. While this is a standalone, I was disappointed to realise that characters from Sullivan’s previous book Ten Rules for Faking It are in this book. Had I known that I would have read Ten Rules for Faking it first.

Thank you @smpromance for the digital ARC.

Grace Travis has it all figured out. She'll finish her degree, get her dream job and, most importantly, she'll find a place where she can truly belong, something she never had growing up. So when she inherits her grandparent's house she has the opportunity to fix up and live in the little house on the beach, Grace can finally see her plan coming together until a problem named Noah moves in next door. Real estate developer Noah Jansen knows when he's found something special. Somewhere he could even call home. Except his plan involves taking over the house next door - Grace's new home.
A well written book that made me smile. I really liked both Noah & Grace, their attraction sizzled & I loved their banter. I loved their road to a HEA & the grumpy / sunshine trope
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Je ne connaissais pas la plume de Sophie Sullivan mais c'est le résumé et la couverture qui m'ont convaincue de sauter le pas et de découvrir cette comédie romantique. J'ai passé un très bon moment en charmante compagnie. Nous allons nous délecter des joutes verbales ou paris en tout genre de nos héros mais nous allons aussi ressentir de belles émotions grâce aux thématiques énoncées.

Grace Travis est une jeune femme de 28 ans qui est sur le point de finir ses études de designer . Avec son amie Rosie, elles se soutiennent dans cette dernière ligne droite et j'ai aimé découvrir le lien entre elles. Grace a la main sur le coeur et c'est le genre de personne qui ne sait pas dire non. On la découvre au début du roman en pleine promenade avec les chiens du quartier et sa rencontre avec notre héros sera fracassante. Elle a pris sous son aile ( ou n'est ce pas l'inverse) Morty qui va lui léguer sa maison . Elle devra la retaper de fond en comble mais elle en est tout à fait capable. Elle va se heurter à son voisin qui pense que tout s'achète avec de l'argent et qui n'a jamais dû relever ses manches dans la vie. J'ai aimé découvrir l'histoire de cette jeune femme qui va se battre pour obtenir ce qu'elle désire et qui va devoir lutter une fois de plus contre le côté nocif de sa mère. En effet Tammy n'a jamais été une mère pour elle et elle va encore et toujours tenter de la taxer. Elle a donc une emprise néfaste sur Grace et on espère qu'elle pourra aller de l'avant et de défaire de cette plaie ambulante. Parviendra t-elle à trouver un terrain d'entente avec son voisin? Formeront ils une équipe viable et durable?

Noah Jansen est notre héros de 33 ans et le moins qu'on puisse dire c'est qu'il n'est pas habitué à ce qu'on lui dise non. Il est entouré de ses frères qui sauront le remettre à sa place en temps voulu et qui vont prendre un malin plaisir à le voir enchaîner les erreurs avec Grace. Il pense qu'il parviendra à la charmer suffisamment pour obtenir gain de cause. Quand il va se relever les manches et accepter de mettre la main à la patte , il va se rendre compte qu'il a non seulement des personnes sur qui compter mais qu'en plus , il ne ressemble en rien à son père. La pression paternelle est telle qu'il va commettre des impairs mais ses envies de développements prouvent qu'il est un homme avec un bon fond. J'ai aimé les défis qui vont permettre à nos héros de ses rapprocher mais aussi la bonne influence que notre héroïne aura sur lui. Il a ce côté un peu macho quand il ne conçoit pas qu'elle puisse faire les réparations de sa maison elle même . Il se fera renvoyer dans les cordes pour notre plus grand plaisir et ce sera un régal de compter les points. Cette rencontre inattendue lui ouvrira les yeux sur sa vie mais aussi sur celui qu'il est au fond de lui même.

Bref, j'ai passé un bon moment de lecture et ce roman fut une belle découverte. J'ai aimé la plume de l'auteur qui nous plonge dans une comédie romantique comme je les aime. On va rigoler des échanges de nos héros , être émus par les retournements de situations et on va s'attacher à ces héros qui sont en pleine recherche d'eux mêmes. Une belle découverte VO que je vous recommande.

This was a very cute and endearing introduction to the writing world of Canadian author, Sophie Sullivan. Did I love it? Not entirely. But I didn't hate it either! It was a sweet addition to my rom-com collection, and it definitely helped break up some of the series binges I've been on.

I can appreciate a story about a woman fighting for her own independence after years of familial trauma. Grace's studious nature and high will to succeed closely mirrors my own. Mix that with a need to please others that is clumsy and is generally bull-headed, you basically have me. Is Grace a Taurus too?

I will admit, the first part of the book was a little hard to get into. There were times where I felt the writing limped along with the aid of a thesaurus - similar to when I'm trying to make up a word count for a paper. I really don't think it warranted being as long as it was (>350 pages) and some of the lengthy sentences and added on words made it drag. The dialogue felt forced, and there were some errors in grammar and idiom usage. That being said, as I passed the halfway mark, it felt like the author finally felt her rhythm and it felt more natural and fluid.

I wouldn't entirely call this book an enemies-to-lovers story. There were small elements of that, but it felt more like a clashing of personalities that was quickly resolved with amicable interactions suffused with humour - whether through witty remarks or physical comedy. Beyond the initial dislike between Grace and Noah, what with Noah's background with money and his need to acquire Grace's new home, I don't feel as though there was too much conflict between the two outside of general miscommunication. The fact the story progresses over six weeks felt a bit unrealistic for those relationship goals. The romance was very clean and fade-to-black, which I know would appeal to a large crowd that don't necessarily appreciate some of the heavier aspects of contemporary romance novels.

I did like the design elements and felt like that focus was well thought out. Enough detail was given to visualize the spaces that Grace and Noah were working on. It was pretty vague on what Noah did exactly, but the lack of attention there meant the story more so focused on Grace's struggles and successes.

The one element that really spoke with me was the dynamic between Grace and Noah and their respective parents. With Noah's experience, I related to some aspects of not living up to parental expectations and competing with siblings to be the "golden child". With Grace, I can understand the feeling of needing to get away from a familial situation and put distance between oneself and a negative influence. A lot of her interactions with her mom remind me of my own struggles with my birth mother and other family members as well. There were moments during scenes involving her mom where I felt uncomfortable, due to the fact that what was being said between the two closely resemble conversations I've had myself - and I admire Grace for having a backbone, partially because I still have yet to find mine.

A part of me was a little disappointed that a book written by a Canadian author was based in a large American area (LA, California). I would've loved to see this story moved to woodsy and ocean-sprayed coastal BC, the Maritimes, or even to the interior of BC where lakes and vacation homes abound. But that's just me.

All this being said, this was a very quick palette cleanser and I truly believe that it would transform well to TV, as it had very strong Hallmark meets HGTV vibes. Though there are some moments with strong language, it's something that a larger group set would appreciate, especially young adults trying to find their way in life, academics and romance.