Finished it. Liked it best when they weren’t getting along the writing had more to it. As soon as they started liking each other the writing became tough for me to enjoy- the inner monologues and character development all got a bit stunted and flat for me :/. The frame was fun though. Neighbors, interior design idea, and the hate love trope were all good ideas for a frame.

Honestly can’t say that I loved this one. While it was cute I think it was slightly underdeveloped. I would give this author another chance though for
Sure.

DNF

I really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately what I read just didn’t work for me.

How to Love Your Neighbor had so much promise. I loved the idea of a home renovation theme, and I am always a big fan of enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine tropes. However, I just couldn’t feel a connection to the characters and found Noah very unlikeable. This wouldn’t have been a deal breaker on its own, but the plot also wasn’t holding my attention. The romance felt secondary to the rest of the story, and it was lacking the steam or angst you would typically expect from a romance novel. Perhaps new romance readers, or those who enjoy light romance as a side plot, may have better luck with this one.

Many thanks to St.Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars

Super cute and charming. It took a bit to warm up to Noah, but he grew on me lol. These two had great banter. I loved that Grace didn't just roll over and give Noah what he wanted. She's stubborn and tenacious and I adored her. Cute read.

Angela - Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

So… I read How to Love Your Neighbor twice this year and even though I forgot so much from the first time I was reading it, I still stand by my rating of 3,5 stars.

The reason I decided to reread this novel was because I realized I forgot too many things and it didn’t feel appropriate to write a review on something I just briefly remember.
How I forgot it so fast and was even surprised I didn’t remember important side characters is a whole another problem and I will call my cards on post covid instead of on book itself.

Still, my main impressions stayed the same: at the beginning I couldn’t stand Noah (the love interest) for the love of me, with his arrogance and expectations to get whatever he wants however he wants. He reminded me of one political party (from Croatia), fathers’ sons who get everything they want in life without ever having to make an effort, that never look back on people they cross over on their way.

Even when Noah had his change of heart (which was purely bc he fell in love with MC, not because he had some epiphany or character development) I still didn’t like him, and if this was a real life and not a romance book, I wouldn’t trust him.

On the other side, our MC Grace was easy to like and to understand.
I even identified with her when it comes to her relationship with her mother in a way (but here I have to stress out our situations are very different).
Side characters were amazing and scenes that involved them were my favourites.

The writing style was good and easy to follow.
The book was entertaining enough to make me want to check other work written by Sophie Sullivan.

If you are looking for a relaxing summer read to pass time and be entertained How to Love Your Neighbor is a good choice.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for a review.

I sincerely enjoyed this novel. It was cute and emotional, dealing with serious issues- parental neglect and emotional abuse; love and trust; healing and moving on.

I found myself wanting to read just one more page… just one more… one more… more. Before I knew it 3 hours passed.

I highly recommend this book to all adults who want to read a real story. Enjoy and happy reading!

I don't read a lot of romantic comedies, so the few I pick up usually are enjoyable for me and have enough twists to make the read engaging. In this one, we have a grumpy rich neighbor who wants to enlarge his empire, and we have a young woman who is just embarking on her interior design career. So, of course, at the start of the story, Grace meets her soon-to-be neighbor comically while she is walking multiple dogs, and he gets out of the water all handsome looking.
Grace inherited a house from her grandparents and soon moved into it with big dreams of making it her own home. But unfortunately, her neighbor, the guy she met earlier, has bigger plans for his home right next door, including buying Grace's home. The comedy inside this story is hilarious from design competitions, a magazine article, and the fact that one is a grumpy guy and the other wants to live her best new homeowner life.
I loved both MCs with parent issues and an eye for design, but one done it herself, the other higher a team, and how they fell for each other as they learned to love their neighbor.

This book was a warm hug sandwiched between two ends. Sophie Sullivan knows just how to hit on all important parts, the enemy's to lovers, the banter back and forth, the drama and more. This book gave me all the good kind of feelings. I wish it included an epilogue! I want more of Grace and Noah!

I had unintentionally missed reading How to Love Your Neighbor back when it was first released in January (can I blame a new school semester?). But once I got into Sophie Sullivan’s novel, I didn’t want to stop reading! It was a super fun read.

Here’s the book’s description:
Interior Design School? Check. Cute house to fix up? Check.
Sexy, grumpy neighbor who is going to get in the way of your plans? Check. Unfortunately.
Grace Travis has it all figured out. In between finishing school and working a million odd jobs, she’ll get her degree and her dream job. Most importantly, she’ll have a place to belong, something her harsh mother could never make. When an opportunity to fix up—and live in—a little house on the beach comes along, Grace is all in. Until her biggest roadblock moves in next door.
Noah Jansen knows how to make a deal. As a real estate developer, he knows when he's found something special. Something he could even call home. Provided he can expand by taking over the house next door--the house with the combative and beautiful woman living in it.
With the rules for being neighborly going out the window, Grace and Noah are in an all-out feud. But sometimes, your nemesis can show you that home is always where the heart is.
This wasn’t a perfect read, though, so I’ll get some of that out of the way first. Grace and Noah both had some serious parental issues. Grace’s mom wasn’t very maternal so Grace left home at 18. Her mom is toxic and continues to reach out for money. Noah, on the other hand, has an overbearing father who clearly wants to control all his children. Those are some deep problems to deal with but it sometimes seemed like it was just a plot point to check off. Like – how terrible can these parents be and how much drama can they cause for the couple before they’re able to rise above their upbringing and rule the day together forever for the rest of their lives? I just didn’t think it added enough to the overall story and every time their parents were mentioned, it kind of pulled me out of the book.

Noah was a bit of an ass when he and Grace first met but he was self-aware enough to (eventually) realize how his actions were affecting her. The book’s description paints this as more of an enemies-to-lovers kind of story. And they were, technically, enemies but simply because of logistics. Noah wanted the house. Grace owned the house. It was completely business, not personal. (But that wasn’t something Grace could wrap her head around, which I get.) So, I was able to get behind the enemies-to-lovers, a trope that’s usually not my cup of tea.

Noah and Grace were lovely humans, once you got to know them. They each have a certain, hard exterior they put up to keep themselves from getting hurt but they don’t realize the full extent of those walls until they start spending more time together. I was totally rooting for them and found their banter too adorable.

I hadn’t realized that this book is part of a series about Noah and his brothers so I’m definitely going to go back to read Ten Rules for Faking It and I’m really looking forward to A Guide to Being Just Friends as well.

And I just loved the design part of this story! It gave me all the best HGTV vibes and it was too fun to read as Grace designed Noah’s house.

How to Love Your Neighbor was a lot of fun to read. Sophie Sullivan’s novel is a great choice for a summer weekend (or evening…or anytime, really!) if you’re looking for a sweet and entertaining romance.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Grace is almost finished with her degree in design. Her skills will come in handy with fixing up the house her grandparents left her near the ocean in California. To make ends meet, she works a variety of jobs. One of them is dog walking. While she is out walking one day she meets up with her next door neighbor. It's not love at first sight since Noah wants to buy her house so he can add on a pool to his fixer-upper house. She is angry and refuses.
They end up working together so the renovations of his house can be part of a big magazine article in a prestigious publication. There are plenty of barbs and banter exchanged between the two as they try to get past Grace's animosity.
It is understandable to see how their backgrounds have led to how they are now. Grace grew up with a very neglectful single mother in a trailer park. Noah has had to deal with a father who has not set a very good example about how to live your life or run a business. Both are driven to succeed. The test of how they work on renovating Jack's house will mean a lot for the future.
The author does a masterful job of developing the two main characters in this contemporary rom-com. The secondary characters fill out the plot well. Grace's mother is a piece of work and you can't help but despise her and feel sorry for Grace and what she had to endure. Noah at first seems and little overbearing, but the reader can understand his motivation and his eventual willingness to cooperate.
The romance is fairly low key in this story, but important as it slowly evolves. I have read many romances over the past twenty years. They have entertained me and given me escape when life was tough. All sorts of tropes appeal to me and this enemies to friends tale hit all the right notes.
Sophie Sullivan is a new to me author. I will look forward to her future novels.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing the digital copy to read and review.

"How to Love Your Neighbor" was a cute enemies to lovers trope book! I liked the interior design aspect, being an HGTV fan myself! This book felt like a cheesy hallmark movie. I am a fan of rom-com books, but I found this one to be just a bit too cheesy for my liking! I found myself laughing or rolling my eyes at some of the things Grace and Noah would say to each other or actions they did for each other.

If you are a fan of hallmark movies, this book will be for you!

I absolutely loved this book! Grace’s personality was the best, and so relatable. The way her and Noah bicker, combined with their intense chemistry is just too good. And I love the fix it up trope in books, and this as no exception. Such a cute and fun read

This is a good story, there is a lot of humour but it also deals with more serious issues like difficult family issues, anxiety problems, money worries, to name just a few. When Noah and Grace properly meet they are next door neighbours, both moving into their houses near the beach, both of which need a lot of work to be carried out. Grace is a student, about to finish her degree in design, and has inherited the house from grandparents she had never met, and her renovations will be carried out by her - she has no money to hire craftsmen. Noah is very wealthy, and he wants to buy Grace’s house - to demolish it so that his house has a larger garden. Little surprise that their relationship gets off to a fiery start!

The main trouble at the start is their characters are too alike, they are both hot-headed, stubborn and determined to have the upper hand, which leads to interesting compromises. Each conflict, between them or individually between them and members of their families, brings them closer together. It is a well written story, perfectly believable, and most of the characters are delightfully described, and add layers to the story

I love all things home improvement, so this was a fun read! I enjoyed the different layers to the story and found myself envisioning what was being created. My only concern was the length, I thought it got very descriptive when it wasn't always necessary.

This is a brilliant enemies-to-lovers romance - I do love this trope, it's one of my favourites, I love that the couple goes from hating each other to falling head over heels plus all the bickering between, which is always fun to read and this is no different.
I really liked the premise of this neighbours warring - I know that only too well, only there is no chance I will be falling in love with my nightmare neighbours...yuk!
The characters are very likeable and relatable. The story is one which would make the perfect TV movie, there is plenty of laughs, and it is incredibly fun and very easy to read which again is a bonus. This is a winner all around and I can't wait to read more from the author.

I am a sucker for an enemies to lovers romance book so this book sounded like just what the doctor ordered. Plus look at that cover! So cute! I didn't hate How to Love Your Neighbor, it was cute. Would I recommend it to my friends? I'm sorry but no.

Another rom com, another flop. It just felt undeveloped, and had promise to be so much better. But the cover is cute

“Why wait if you’ve found what makes you happy? Too often, people waited for the perfect moment only to have it pass them by.”

Grace is a design student and talented handyman who had a horrible childhood with her mother but inherits her grandparents beach house. For the first time she is going to have a home of her own.

Her neighbor Noah is very hot but very grumpy. They hit it off on the wrong foot because he is pressuring her to sell her beloved cottage so he can expand his property for a pool.

This book has a great romance but it also deals with relationships with toxic parents.

I really enjoyed this story. If you’re wanting a closed door romance with a grump and sunshine, this is a great book for you.

How to Love Your Neighbor was such a fun read. I will always be a sucker for the enemies to lovers sort of out-of-touch businessman falling for in this case the very down-to-earth girl next door. There was a lot I liked about this book from the writing style to the tropes used, but for me I sort of didn't fully feel the sparks between Grace and Noah. I don't know if it was a matter of the usage of fade to black, or if it was just, in general, me not really picking up on the sparks but towards the end, I sort of found myself hoping they would work it out but also just because I always root for HEA and not because I was specifically interested in their love story. I think the story is entertaining and cute, and it made me want to read Everly's story because the sections with her and Chris were super cute. I will say at times the book felt like it dragged a little, and it definitely held my interest a little more in some parts than others. But altogether I think it is a cute read that as a whole was entertaining and made me curious to read more by this author.

3 STARS
⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed “Ten Rules for Faking It” and was very excited when I saw the synopsis for this book, but I will say, I didn’t enjoy it as much as “Faking It”.

While I liked the characters, this book is marketed as enemies-to-lovers, but definitely isn’t. There was some tension and opposing goals in the very beginning, but they were never enemies and very quickly became friends who were very attracted to each other.

I did however think this was still a very cute romcom from Sullivan. It had the sassy, witty snark that I enjoy, but also had a bit of family drama in the mix which kept the story interesting.

The character growth of Noah and Grace was what really kept this a good read for me though. There was so much that Grace especially had been through with a toxic relationship with her mother, and she had a lot of things she had to unpack and deal with.

Content: this is a closed-door romance, but not 100% chaste. Lots of sizzling chemistry and heat between the MC’s + some language.

Overall, a very cute read!