An adorably banter filled enemies to lovers romance with a fun house renovation plot! I love when two characters work to build something up while also building a relationship and how the metaphor lines up nicely. It created lots of opportunity for silly situations like painting fails, hedge disasters, and lots of laughs. For an enemies to lovers story, it felt very light and happy if that makes sense. Great for people who love:

Closed door romance
fun banter
enemies to lovers
forced proximity
workplace romance
low angst

I enjoyed the community that the author built and didn't realize this was the 2nd book in a series until I was half way through this one so now I look forward to reading the earlier book. The author did a great job of creating truly abysmal parental figures and used those toxic relationships to build the character arcs. So although the relationships both on and off page were tough I appreciated how the characters themselves used them to grow.

How to Love Your Neighbour is an enemies to lovers (sunshine and grump) rom-com with full HGTV “Trading Spaces” “Fixer Upper” “Dream Home” vibes.

Grace has her life planned. Finishing school to get a degree for her dream job in interior decorating and even better she will have her own house to fix up and call her own. Enter neighbour Noah Jansen. Noah is a business man through and through. He knows how to make and close deals. So he knows he has found a gem of a property. One he might even call home. He just needs to expand by taking over the house next door. The house that happens to belong to Grace.

This book doesn’t have the main characters instantly falling in love and it’s not steamy (which if you know me I’m all for steam and open doors) but this book really dug deep into subjects such as toxic relationships with a parent (both characters), relationships of all kinds, asking for help, societal norms, self discovery and more. There were some slow spots but the rest of the book and the dynamic between Noah and Grace was wonderful. Even with these heavier subjects they truly drew the top of them together.

I will be honest I enjoyed this one more than “Ten Rules For Faking It.” I don’t know if it was when I read it or if these characters and the settings worked better for me but I loved how both characters learn to expand their comfort zones, and how their relationship evolves over time. It was heartfelt and had all the romance feels even for this “steamy” romance reader.

How to Love Your Neighbour publishes January 18th 2022. Thanks to NetGalley, Sophie Sullivan, and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

so sooo good this is my first book by this author and will not be the last, who doesn't love a good enemy to lovers, that is one of my favorite tropes ever. This story really rolls out the love and how to love yourself and love others around you in your life. funny part with dogs had me laughing out loud. Garce and noah are adorable together, they really lean on one another for the support and Grace is someone that Noah needs in his life. also loved this because my dream i mean hugeee dream is to own a beach house one day so to see this visual painted in the story it was special. Love this book.

when i first started this i had no idea it was a sort of companion to ten rules for faking it but imagine my surprise when previous characters were mentioned!

i don’t really read books about home renovations but they’re always so fascinating! this book felt dragging until about the 30% mark when the home renovations started that i finally got into this book

as much as i wish i enjoyed this book, i just felt nothing for the characters? i liked the friendships but the relationships just felt… off?

i look forward to more from this author but this book was just not for me

I loved this book. It was such a great enemies to lovers story. I enjoyed the teasing and jabs between Grace and Noah. Each of these characters has their own struggles. Eventually they give into their growing attraction to each other and find that they learn some life lessons from one another. They are able to realize what is really important in life and most important what makes a house a "home". The book was also full of other engaging characters like Morty, Tilly, Rosie and Josh. This is a really sweet story. I would recommend it; I think I will go check the first Sophie Sullivan book I see people talking about.

Two people find themselves nose-to-nose over a property that Grace has inherited from her grandparents. Unfortunately, her real estate developer neighbor, Noah Jansen, wants the property for his purposes, and so does Grace's mother for her own reasons. In attempting to make a deal with Grace, Noah crosses a line but Grace has had many years of warding off her mother's manipulative tactics and is thus able to see through his gambit. Noah has his own parental problems, and ultimately this brings him and Grace together in more ways than one. Reaching a compromise, one in which they both win, Grace and Noah find common ground and a way forward, in spite of the difficult problems they still have to face with their respective parents. The plot is good and there is a sweet romance that blossoms, however, I found the story moved very slowly at points, getting lost in details. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s and Netgalley for my review copy! This was a cute-ish book with an independent female MC, which I appreciated. I didn’t like the male lead so that made the point of the rom-com kind of difficult for me. Slow paced. Not much character development throughout the story.

Good writing, but wasn't the story for me, unfortunately.

This was a fun, wholesome, enemies-to-lovers story that hit some really great spots. I loved Noah’s journey to becoming the kind of man that can make a commitment, and I loved Grace for standing up for herself against everyone who doubted or belittled her.

Grace has her life planned out, until Noah moves next door.
Storyline was good.
It took me a little to get into this story, but when it did.
I enjoy it.

Interior designer Grace is looking forward to remodeling her grandparents' old home and bringing it back to its former glory. Unfortunately, real estate developer Noah wants to buy it from her, and he's not above bullying her to get it. Could this combative relationship lead to love?

This is not the "frothy, effervescent romantic comedy" I was looking for. It's high angst, not funny, and Noah is despicable. DNF at 13%

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

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<p>"How to Love Your Neighbor" is the sophomore novel by Canadian author Sophie Sullivan where two stubborn neighbors initially butt heads. Through what can only be divine intervention, Grace and Noah, both stubborn in their beliefs, are offered an exclusive partnership that could be mutually beneficial for their careers and their future. The only thing they have to do is learn how to work together and trust each other. </p>
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<p>Grace and Noah are newly acquainted neighbors who haven't quite been seeing eye to eye. Grace inherited a small house on the beach in California, and before she even has a chance to unpack all her boxes her next door neighbor Noah is at the door trying to negotiate the sale of her property. Why? So he can demolish it and put in a pool. </p>
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<p>A pool! On the coast of California! </p>
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<p>This New Jersey girl can't comprehend someone wanting to demolish a house to put in a pool when there is literally paradise in your backyard. Hello, Property Taxes! I digress. Grace declines the offer over and over again, but Noah is persistent and will do what it takes to get he wants. </p>
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<p class="has-text-align-left">Have you ever made a bad first impression, but the more you try and fix it the further you dig yourself into a hole? That's Noah in a nutshell. He's been in business with people who are only looking out for their personal bottom line for so long that he doesn't know how to manage personal relationships without resorting to business warfare. He and Grace must work together, but he can't help but undercut her at every turn. Their relationship starts off awkward, and in Noah's case, unprecedented, and neither know how to navigate the turbulent waters. </p>
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<p>Sophie Sullivan's writing reminds me of a conversational stream of consciousness. She paints a picture of the world through her main characters' eyes that allows readers to feel like we're in on a secret. Grace's inner monologue and musings are where the character arc and developments really shine.</p>
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<p>I found myself really looking forward to the interactions between Grace and Noah, especially those angsty moments when you couldn't tell if they were going to fight or make out. I would have loved a lot more of those moments, but who wouldn't? </p>
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<p>There were a few items that I found really interesting but also that might have detracted from the main plot lines, and I wish that these would have either been developed a little further or left out so that the other things could take more precedent. Specifically, there were family dynamics on both Grace and Noah's sides that I think could have been pushed more to the forefront of the story, especially when they were seemingly so important to character growth and the relationship that Grace and Noah were building. I would have liked to have more interaction between Noah and his father, as well as Grace and her mother, and more dialogue so that the reader could be in a position to back them both and root for them.</p>
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<p>"How to Love Your Neighbor" would be an excellent choice to pick up if you're looking for any of the following: found family, a sweet closed-door romance, interior design shenanigans, or just living vicariously through two people who are lucky enough to live with the beach in their backyard!&nbsp;</p>
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3.5⭐

How to Love Your Neighbour is pure chic-lit, which is no bad thing it just isn't my usual cup of tea. But it made a nice change of pace to read and it was certainly light-hearted, easy and super cute, and with some family drama, plenty of sweetness and likable characters it was an engaging read. And I'm sure fans of the author and the genre will love it.

This book was cute. I adored the witty banter and the enemies to lovers/neighborhood romance. But ultimately this book just wasn’t my thing. Contemporary romance tends to be hit or miss for me, and I just didn’t love this one. I think contemporary romance fans will appreciate though!

Facebook was really cute I enjoyed it a lot and I've already recommended it to a few friends who have added it to their to be read list. I think I will be ordering myself a physical copy soon.

Meh.
By the time I got to 50% and wasn’t super invested, I knew that something FABULOUS would have to happen to bring this home for me.
And then nothing fabulous occurred.

It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great. I honestly doubt I’ll remember much from this book in a short time, so that tells me everything I need to know.

Sunshine/grump and enemies to lovers are usually home runs for me, so I think this was just a case of the characters.

Rosie & Josh were super cute though.

Grace bursts on the scene with a pack of dogs that seem to rather walk her than the other way around. She bumps in to a really cute surfer guy, but she quickly has to return the dogs and heads off to another job (she has multiple jobs to make ends meet). Grace is a student who recently inherited an old house on the beach from her grandparents. She has grand pans to renovate, but she soon learns someone else is out to get her house...and it is none other than cute surfer guy!

Noah has a history he is not proud of. He has gotten out from under his father's image and trying to make a better one for himself. As a real estate developer, he buys a fixer upper and wants the house next door to expand. Turns out, it belongs to Grace. What starts out as a seemingly war of the neighbors quickly turns in a fun and playful "make love not war" story.

How to Love Your Neighbor was a quick, fun and sweet read. I highly recommend it to all!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

I love this author and all of her novels. This sweet contemporary romance will instantly grab you and keep you reading and smiling throughout.

I received a copy of this from the publisher in exchange for fair and honest review.

YES YES YES!!! Loved this book. It is a heartwarming and funny romcom that takes place in California. It is a wonderful story about relationships as well as a great enemies to lovers book. Noah and Grace have wonderful chemistry and their storyline was engaging and fun. This was a great book to start the year on a happy note.

If you are looking for something light-hearted and fun in the closed door romance, this is definitely a book you should pick up, especially if you enjoyed the first book in this series. You get to see the previous characters in a large capacity, however, it can be read as a standalone. With hints of HGTV, I really enjoyed the home renovation parts of the book. The sparring neighbors gave me Trading Spaces vibes, with fun banter and sexual tension.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me. There wasn't anything in particular that I disliked about the book, but the story and the characters just didn't really grab my attention. There was conflict and struggles between the main characters, but their relationship and chemistry felt almost forced and too quick, at times.

How to Love Your Neighbor
by Sophie Sullivan

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my #gifted copy in exchange for my review.

Are you an HGTV or Magnolia Network fan? Hooked on the design and reno shows? I am, and this book gave me the remodeling and decor idea vibes that I love!

Grace Travis is an interior design student, top of her design class at Cal Tech. She’s nearing the big 3-0 🎂 and her life has not been a smooth ride. She’s worked hard for everything. Leaving her home in her narcissistic mom’s trailer at 18, she set out for California. When Grace inherits a small beach cabin from the grandparents she never knew, she’s ready to fix it up and find a place to belong. When she moves in, her neighbor with the large property next door, Noah Jansen, makes it clear he wants to buy her land, and raze her cabin to put in a pool. But Grace is stubborn and determined. So is Noah. What develops is a meet cute/enemies to friends to lovers romance that rom com fans will enjoy.

I enjoyed this one, but it seemed to drag at about 75%. I think I would have liked it more if it was a little shorter, without as many side plots. This is definitely a closed door romance, heat scale = mild jalapeño. The “Grace is klutzy” theme got a little tiresome, too. Overall, I ended up ranking it a 3 ⭐️ on Goodreads, which I’d round up to 3 1/2. Overall, it’s a fun romance with deeper family and personal issues to explore and resolve for both characters.

Recommend 👍🏻 and ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Pub date: Next Tuesday, January 18th