this book gave me the feels. i was drawn by the title of the book and then i was sucked in completely. really liked this and want to find more of her books.

This book was very quirky. Like I couldn't relate with Nora at all, but appreciated her heart for causes and making the world a better place.

Fritz also annoyed me a lot too. I didn't appreciate his dishonesty. I was glad when he finally decided to tell the truth but it was way too late

If these things don't bother you and you like the "I'm pretending not to be myself" trope then you'll love this book.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Next Door Nightmare is the third book in the Shut Up and Kiss Me series by Jaqueline Snowe. You do not need to read this series in order, but there are references and characters from the previous stories so returning readers will get a bit more from the experience than newcomers.

Leanora “Nora” Atwood has never grocery shopped or taken public transportation, but to access her trust, she’s required to live in the real world for three months—or marry. Nora has no interest in love, so a paper-only marriage is the obvious solution. And she knows the perfect groom—Anthony Carter, a fellow heir who owes her a huge favor. Fritz, rarely known as Anthony these days, takes advantage of his beard and Nora Atwood’s cluelessness when she mistakes him for a chauffeur. The eccentric socialite thinks her plan to cash in her chip with Anthony and marry him is brilliant, but Fritz almost got trapped in a loveless marriage once before, and it’s not going to happen again. Letting her think he’s someone else seems harmless until she turns out to be his neighbor. Nora, a total fish out of water, suckers Fritz into helping her navigate her newfound independence, and he learns the hard way that opposites attract, but if he doesn’t tell her his true identity before she stumbles on the truth, he’ll risk losing her forever.

Next Door Nightmare is a romance that started off great for me. I liked the quirky Nora, and the wounded Fritz. I liked the initial slow burn and actually really getting to know both of the characters. I liked that Nora general stood up for herself and that Fritz is very thoughtful and so close to the women in his life. I thought he was also a little manipulative, on occasion pushing for something Nora or others just were not comfortable with. The story had some really wonderful moments, and some that fell a little flat for me. I think fans of the series will enjoy it, and I am glad I read it because of the moments that I did love. However, I do not think I will go looking for more.

Next Door Nightmare is a fun romance.

A sweet contemporary romantic read. A millionaire pretending to be a chauffeur to get out of a marriage pact, what could possibly go wrong?

Eleanora “Nora” Atwood has never grocery shopped or taken public transportation, but to access her trust, she’s required to live in the real world for three months—or marry. Nora has no interest in love, so a paper-only marriage is the obvious solution. And she knows the perfect groom—Anthony Carter, a fellow heir who owes her a huge favor.

Fritz, rarely known as Anthony these days, takes advantage of his beard and Nora Atwood’s cluelessness when she mistakes him for a chauffeur. The eccentric socialite thinks her plan to cash in her chip with Anthony and marry him is brilliant, but Fritz almost got trapped in a loveless marriage once before, and it’s not going to happen again. Letting her think he’s someone else seems harmless until she turns out to be his neighbor.

Nora, a total fish out of water, suckers Fritz into helping her navigate her newfound independence, and he learns the hard way that opposites attract, but if he doesn’t tell her his true identity before she stumbles on the truth, he’ll risk losing her forever.

This book was read thanks to NetGalley.


This is a romance book and I liked it a lot, it wasn't my favorite, it needed more development from some areas, and other worked just fine.

I recommend this book for those who love romance and family situations involved.

Normally I love the quirky girl, serious guy trope but this missed the mark. Nora feels like a caricature instead of a well fleshed out person and Fritz is simply not a nice person. Sure, the way Nora initially approaches him is somewhat strange, but then he could have just turned her down. He is super condescending about her being very rich, even though he is just as rich. Just recognizing a problem isn't enough. If he feels bad about having so much while others don't why doesn't he do something? He only volunteers to show Nora that her donations don't do as much as actually doing something herself.
I don't want to critique Nora too much because it feels so mean. Everyone treats her like a child and a ditzy girl that can't do anything. The way she is written suggests as much, but it's no excuse for the other characters to treat her as badly as they do, when she's honestly trying her best.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book can be read as a standalone, but is part of a series. Nora and Fritz , or as he is going by now, Anthony grew up as socialites. Anthony as a favor to his mom, helped pick Nora up from the airport. Nora having not seen Fritz, as she knows him as in a long time, doesn’t recognize him. As Anthony gets to know the Nora before him, the romance begins. I enjoyed this book. The author explains the secondary characters well in a way you do not need to read the others but it does help navigate in my opinion.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by City Owl Press and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

I had a difficult time getting into this book. It was okay I just couldn’t relate.

NetGalley/ARC review--many thanks to the publisher and author for sharing an ARC with me.

Overview: Fritz (Anthony) Carter is a trustfund kid and bored lawyer looking to do more good in the world, but not really participating much in his family's charitable foundation. Nora Atwood is also a trustfund kid, and a spoiled, sheltered princess/heiress type. Nora gets shipped off to work for the Carters' foundation and learn to #adult; if she makes it 3 months, she can have access to her trustfund and start the greenhouse she's dreaming of. If not, she's got to wait until she's 30 to see the money. BUT, there's a loophole--if Nora gets married, she gets the money. So she decides she'll call in a favor with her long-lost childhood friend Anthony--they'll have a marriage of convenience and go on their merry ways. Little does Nora know that Fritz/Anthony was almost duped by a previous fiancee, so when he finds out her plan, he instead lets Nora think he's the scruffy chauffeur and spends the summer with "Anthony" dodging Nora, while Fritz becomes her friend then lover.

Review: I thought this was going to be a enemies to lovers kind of thing, but it was much much tamer than that. There was truly minimal tension or banter, which I found disappointing. Nora's kind of a mess, so Fritz essentially takes her under his wing to teach her to #adult. There are some cute scenes there. He's sort of a mansplainer, though, which I couldn't get on board with. Overall, the plot was slow and the writing was uneven. I'd rate it a 2 star and probably won't seek out this author again.

Thank you NetGalley, Jaqueline Snowe and City Owl Press for the copy of Next Door Nightmare. This is my personal review.
This book sounded like one I would really enjoy reading but it just did not grab my attention and make me connect with any of the characters.

I truly hate to leave this review, but I have tried and tried to get into this story and I just can't get past the character development. Upon "meeting" Fritz I was pretty excited with the banter between him and his sister/mother. He felt genuine, flirty, good-hearted, and a little snarky. Then Nora entered the picture...omgosh...I spent the first 40% of her part of the book trying to decide if she was truly an extremely spoiled, out-of-touch airhead or if she was an extremely wealthy young woman with the mental capacity of a 12-15-year-old. Then Nora brought up having had other sexual partners and Fritz started thinking steamy things about her and it honestly grossed me out a little bit. Nora acts like she's mentally 12 and here is Fritz thinking of nibbling her ear and wanting to taste her lips...GROSS! So from that point on I just couldn't get past Nora's behavior and Fritz's lies and nasty thoughts. I didn't want to read about them having sex so I stopped reading when it started going in that direction. Truly disappointed in this read because the concept had so much potential and the world-building was fantastic, the character development just wasn't there.

2.5 stars for me

This is the 3rd book in the shut up and kiss me series. You don't need to read the other 2 books in the series to read this one. They are within the same world but with a different romance at the center of each book.

With that said this is a story about Anthony "Fritz" and Nora. Both families come from money and Fritz mom called him to go pick up Nora from the airport she was coming to stay for a few months and help with the families foundation. Now Fritz is just coming from a camping trip and lets just say is a little dirty and looks rough. So naturally Nora doesn't recognize him and thinks he's the chauffeur. Its been years since they see each other and before he gets the chance to tell her who he is she goes on and on about how her parents are sending her here to get real world experience and she's been sheltered for to long. But she doesn't want to be here she wants to get her trust before she comes of age for it so she can open a greenhouse so she plans on striking up a marriage deal with Anthony to get her money. So he lets her think he's the chauffeur.

So I had a few red flags for me in this story. Nora grew on me as a charter but in the beginning she was shallow and spoiled and just wanted to use him to get her money. Now did I love her quirky side and her obsession with plants and how she didn't know how to use a microwave yes 100%. I liked her by the end but the author had her be 2 different charters. She was either the nightmare next door who was spoiled and rude. OR she was the Plant loving sweet girl who was clueless. It was like 2 different girls.

As for Anthony "Fritz" I get him not wanting to tell her who he was with the marriage idea. BUT he went from nope get away from me to man i wanna bang her in like 10mins. Once he decided to start up something with her he should of told her who he was. He had everyone lying to her and it was like a real life catfish.

I just didn't like how to romance was handled and I didn't like how Nora was 2 different people. So by the end I just didn't like how it played out and couldn't get behind them as a couple. So I wasn't rooting for them because he LIED to her the whole relationship.

Sadly this was a no for me and took me awhile to finish I just couldnt get into it. Sorry this is a pass for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Heroine is a little, ok a lot, quirky. She comes from a wealthy background and had a privileged life, up until now that is. Her parents think its time to grow up and cut her off of her inheritance until she marries or reaches a certain age. She needs that money to open her dream business (a greenhouse.) Enter the Hero. He is an old family friend, (though they haven't seen each other in ten years or more) also having grown up with the privileged life, except he and his sister know how to survive in the real world. There's a lot of humor, both with his inner dialog (this book is from his POV,) and from her character. She is a fish out of water living away from her family and all the 'hired help' that she grew up with. There is a lot of sweetness and some swoon. There is some steam, but it is somewhat mild. Both of these characters are well likeable and fun. It reads easily and the story flows nicely. It is a generally fun and cute story.

*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

This books starts off with two people who grew up in the same elite circle, who played together until they were about 10. Fast forward 15 years and Nora is not the same little tom boy that Anthony (Fritz) remembers.

Tasked with the job of picking Nora up from the airport, Anthony has his work cut out from him. This pampered princess doesn't know the first thing about life outside of her mansion (doesn't know how to shop, pay bills, cook, etc.).

Nora doesn't recognize Anthony with his beard and borrowed pick up truck. She has to live on her own for 3 months to earn her trust back or get married. Anthony wants nothing to do with marriage, so pretends to be the chauffeur after a mix up.

As Nora learns to be independent and Anthony's feelings about Nora evolve from burden to friendship, a trusting relationship forms. With bad blind dates, plants named George, two people who have been burned before, and Anthony's "secret" identity, what could go wrong when feelings are involved?

This book had me cringing at the beginning with how inept Nora is with anything in the real word; from not know to pay for your groceries, to looking up on YouTube how to cook a poptart; Nora has a lot to learn! As she learns how to be independent, I loved how comfortable she is in her own skin. Nora can't let go of this idea to marry Anthony to get her trust back faster, and Anthony (having already been engaged to a gold digger) wants nothing to do with love or marriage. I enjoyed watching their relationship grow as I got deeper into the book.

The relationships between Fritz and his friends is so whole some, and it's. ute watching Nora learns to be independent as the book goes on. I loved all of Nora's plant ideas, although she comes off as crazy as first. The chemistry between these two characters builds and I was so invested by the end of the story!

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book is just a ball of sunshine and every time I picked this up, it just made me happy. At first, I don't know if I'm going to laugh at Nora or be annoyed with her being so damn privileged she could not function as a normal human being anymore, but she grew on me. I loved that her heart is in the right place and how just adorable she is. This is the first in a long time where I read a great steamy scene in the pov of a guy in a contemporary romance, and it's chef's kiss. This also exudes big Aquarius energy, and I loved that humanitarian aspect and care for the environment message of this book.

I loved this so much! I missed reading light and fluffy contemporary romance with little angst and with quirky, but lovable characters. I would definitely recommend this one and I can't wait to read the author's other books because their writing style is funny and easy to read. I loved how they weaved the story together.

The synopsis for this book caught my eye, unfortunately that was the best thing about the book. I honestly don’t know how to rate this book, the premise of the story was a good one, but the execution was not, and honestly the characters especially at the start were annoying and ridiculous. But what really bugged me is the tagline, “A millionaire pretending to be a chauffeur to get out of a marriage pact, what could possibly go wrong.” There was no pact, the hero owed her a favor from a teenage stunt gone wrong, but there was no marriage pact.
Let’s talk characters, Nora, a spoiled 23 year old heiress who wants to open a therapy greenhouse because she loves plants. She has no life skills, honestly very little social skills, but she assumes she can run a business. Her parents feel she needs to spend time in the real world for ninety days working at her godmother’s foundation and she’ll get her inheritance to open her greenhouse or she can get married which is what she plans to do as soon as she can get in touch with her godmother’s son, Anthony, who owes her a huge favor. Then she can go back to her parent’s home and open her business. I found it utterly unbelievable how inept this character was, I’m sorry I know 6 year olds who can use a microwave and while I believe she was sheltered, writing her at this level of not having a clue how the real world works made it very hard to get into this story or to give a crap about her and her problems. Oh, and let’s not forget she’s a virgin because of course <insert eye roll here.>
Fritz (aka Anthony) is a millionaire who works at a soul sucking job as an attorney. Now don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that he works when he’s got the money not to, but if he’s miserable in his job then get a new one. Open your own practice and take cases that help people. When he picks Nora up at the airport as a favor to his Mom, Nora assumes he’s the family’s chauffeur. She doesn’t recognize him because he has a beard (sure, okay) and he doesn’t correct her because she starts spouting off she need to get in touch with Anthony so they can be married and after a bad breakup where his fiancée was after his money, he doesn’t want to be used again. So instead of manning up and telling her he’s Anthony and telling her he’s not going to marry her because what, his parent’s are going to punish him for the thing he did at 15 where she covered for him? He lies to her, he keeps lying to her after they sleep together, and he keeps lying to her after he figures out he loves her. Yeah, he’s a real prince of a guy.
I didn’t care about these characters or what happened to them. I did finish the book but it was hard to do so. I was pleased to see Nora’s character really grow throughout the book, that was a good thing but for me it was too little too late. I hate that Fritz deceived her throughout which despite the fact he seemed to be a decent guy IMHO this was unforgiveable.
There were some funny moments and some touching ones, but overall this book was just kind of a mess. Oh, and the thing is it is never mention why Nora kept insisting she needed to talk to Anthony after she started having sex and getting feelings for Fritz. That was an ongoing part of this story throughout and it was just dropped.
Here’s the thing, I think the author has a decent voice but character building is not her strong point. Would I read her again? I’m not sure because this book was truly a disappointment.

I adored this book, I read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down! I loved Nora and Fritz!

Thank you to #cityowlpress and #netgalley for a free opportunity to fairly and honestly review this book.

Next Door Nightmare is part 3 in the Shut Up and Kiss Me series. It showcases the story of Anthony ‘Fritz’ Carter and Lenora Atwood. Can a case of mistaken identity designed to protect the human heart lead to the heart’s desire? Find out in this charming yet quirky romance by Jacqueline Snowe. Follow Fritz and Nora as they share experiences, both big and small ,that help them find out who they truly are ,and how much better they are .., together!

The female protagonist was really hard to like at first--privileged, entitled, and clueless--so it's a testament to the story that I eventually did find things to appreciate about her. The male protagonist was better, but it still strained all good sense that he really thought he could explain away his concealing of his true identity and it would all just be OK, especially with as far as their relationship had progressed before the revelation.

That said, their affection and devotion for each other were expressed very sweetly and affectingly. I loved seeing how they both grew and their ending was satisfying.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

“Do I have to?” - From Next Door Nightmare

2.5 stars

This quote is what our girl Nora asks Fritz or Anthony, whatever he is calling himself, about 75% of the way in. When they are together and supposed to be cute. The one narrator you get is a complete jerk; and for me, the book really struggled the most because of that fact. Nora is inconsistently ridiculously inept. At everything. Girl can’t order take out or microwave something. Yet this is the bold girl he knew who hung with snakes and lives in dirt. Yet she’s like, ug camping? How do I do that? He lies to her almost the whole book, because of a ridiculous double standard he has about money. There’s no excuse- he was literally sleeping with her and she didn’t know who he was. The thirst trap ending with her somehow being fine with him just because they wound up at the same spot didn’t do it for me. It had some good spicy scenes, and a few plant ones where the writing really shone through, but the characters largely made this a miss for me.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.