I am not the biggest romcom reader, but I'll always make an exception for a sapphic book. And while I am not much of a fan of fake dating, I enjoyed it in this book because the two characters are estranged childhood best friends, which added to their depth and relationship. The "love square" situation--where both characters' exes are dating each other after cheating on them--was another twist to the format.

Cleo was a very driven character, knowing what she wanted from the beginning for her college career and beyond. I enjoyed how the book threw that into question, not only because she had envisioned her future with her ex, but also because of her family situation. There was depth to all the characters, too. The exes are not villains.

I can't say this book stuck with me, but it was a nice coming-of-age romcom with a satisfying romantic story.

Thank you!! This definitely filled my queer romance and fake dating trope needs!

Cleo and Marianne used to be besties until they drifted apart. Marianne started dating Kiki, a cheerleader, and got swept into the popular crowd while Cleo started dating Daniel, a film nerd like herself. Last summer, they both endured a heartbreak when their significant others starting dating each other! They hadn’t talked in years until Cleo needed a ride on the first day of school. Now, things feel semi normal again, but neither are over their exes. That’s when Marianne asks Cleo to homecoming, devising a fake dating plan that she’s sure will win back their exes. But what happens when Cleo realizes that Daniel isn’t the one she wants to be spending all her time with? Marianne begins to take over her thoughts, but does she feel the same?

This isn’t just a story about two girls falling in love. It’s also about acceptance, finding yourself and learning that maybe the worst things imaginable aren’t that bad. I related to Cleo and felt her ups and downs. I loved the side characters as well, Chris especially. Everyone needs a bff like Chris. I also loved how being gay or bi or straight were just things-no one made it into a big deal. Those are my favorite kind of stories.

This was witty, funny and captivating. I consider myself a bit of a bisexual horror film nerd as well and this checked all the boxes for me!

I would summarize this but I've read this 5 days ago and can barely think of names and/or anything specific that happens sooooo...

This wasn't bad, but it also wasn't good. I was just a bit bored, it read like something I've read many many times before. It just melted into the mass, it was just another girl next door story, I didn't feel like it brought anything new. The characters felt a bit flat and I was entertained for a moment but I forgot everything about it the second it ended.
I also listened to this and did not like the narrator, the voice sounded robotic and overall off and I just hate when narrators read "ugh" as "hug" without an h. The h in Ugh is not silent, it has to come from your soul. And the mc did say and thought ugh a lot sooo.
Basically, this wasn't for me but if you're looking for a sapphic yet classic girl next door story with a dash of fake-dating, you might like this.

Super cute queer romance! Nothing special or that hasn't been said before but still enjoyable. I liked the slow attraction for this one but couldn't go without the unnecessary fight at the end.

Cute writing and great cover. Loved the storyline and what not. Enjoyed it very well. Thanks for letting me read

The story follows Cleo, having been dumped by her cheating boyfriend prior to the start of senior year. The girl he cheats with was girlfriends with Cleo's net door neighbor (and former best friend) Marianne, so Cleo and Marianne concoct a scheme to fake date each other in the hopes of winning back their former paramours. I do love this trope, despite it being a terribly predictable one in terms of its beats. This story is really no different; it unfolds exactly as one would expect with the revelation of the lie, the fallout, and the eventual reconciliation. It's a little disappointing that there are no surprises and while most of the book was zippy and "fun", the last several chapters take on a much more serious, introspective feel and seems a little out of place. I loved the movie-obsessed characters and that this was a YA book with much of the angst centered around school and college acceptances. On the flip side, because it's YA, emotions are exaggerated and relationships seem to be all over the place in terms of whom is friends with whom or dating whom. However, none of these are deal breakers and even though there's not a whole lot of build up and "growth" to the Cleo/Marianne fake/real relationship, this is still a pretty cute book.

This was a really fun story. The most well written parts came during the emotional parts which is when it's most needed. The only thing is that the breakup was surprisingly mature for high school students, think it would've been more drama filled in actuality.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very cute rom-com with some very relatable characters, even if the plot itself was maybe less relatable (what kind of high school shoots a soap opera on the grounds as a sanctioned school activity? Because that is freaking awesome, sign me up, please.). But again, I have to say, I do not come to romance for realism, I come for escapism, and this provided it in droves.

Although… while I do like the cover, don’t get me wrong, I had a slight disconnect at first glance. Did anyone else get more thriller/mystery vibes from the cover? Or was that just me?

Sapphic YA Contemporary. Need I say more?? The girl next door follows our main character, Cleo in her senior year of high school, she has a plan and its going to work out perfectly, that is until her boyfriend leaves her for another girl. Total damper on the plans man! That’s okay this means that Cleo gets to spend more time on herself right? Wrong. She is supposed to be sad, but instead she sees her old best friend and suddenly she’s getting an idea. Instead of being sad, they should date! This is perfect, the perfect plan to rub in her ex’s face. Only, when she actually starts to fall for her friend, it might not be so perfect after all.

I thought that this was cute, it didn’t blow me away and felt very YA. But it is sapphic and we could always use more of those stories! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my arc!

I'm a SUCKER for fake dating. Like anything with fake dating, GIMME. And this book, didn't disappoint. There's angst, unexpected love. Literally all the goodies. The Girl Next Door is the PERFECT coming of age sapphic novel. Also, as a theatre kid, I love the throw in of Film, and the importance of it in Cleo's life. It helped me as a reader connect with the character even more! Over all I loved this book and would give it a 3/5

This was a great queer romance! I am a sucker for the fake dating trope and this book did it so well. I loved the relationship between the main character.

Fake dating, film club, and a sapphic romance, oh my. The Girl Next Door came ready to deliver a small-town sad girl story, and I found it delightful. Cecilia Vinesse wrote this for every small-town sapphic who fell in love with the girl next door; Cleo and Marianne have a relationship that makes me want to play Lucy Dacus on repeat. Having a female protagonist who has such a desire to create a film that is taken seriously was refreshing, as was Marianne's love of cheerleading, not making her seen as vain or entitled. Overall I loved this book and recommend it to every small-town girl who ever fell in love.

This is a fast paced thriller by popular author, Jennifer Dugan. I haven’t read any of her prior novels so I was excited to get into her books with this one. The cover is gorgeous and I really liked the premise. The mystery elements were really fun and threw me for a loop at times. Despite this, I really didn’t enjoy the main couple. I found them to just not be healthy and their depictions of trauma was just a bit problematic to me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC,

The Girl Next Door follows high school senior and aspiring filmmaker Cleo after her boyfriend and creative partner cheats on her and dumps her for her next door neighbor Marianne's ex girlfriend. After Cleo finds out that she must co-direct the project that would be the cherry on top of her NYU application with her ex, Cleo and Marianne decide to fake date in an attempt to win back their respective partners.

This was such a cute book! There really is nothing like a coming-of-age romance, especially a coming-of-age queer romance, and this one in particular was such a joy to read. The characters were compelling, the conflict was refreshing, and it is one of those queer romances that presents the characters' queerness as a simple fact of reality -- these queer characters get to experience romance without being bogged down by a homophobia plot, and without having to discover or justify their sexuality. As important as it is for books to talk about those kinds of experiences, it's also just as lovely to have a queer romance that gets to treat its characters on par with characters in a straight romance; their sexuality is important to the story, but it is not the whole story.

I loved this book! It was such a complex YA book that really explored the emotions and motivations of the characters. I loved seeing Cleo react to different circumstances and learning more about her thoughts, feelings, and motivations. She almost felt more like an adult than an 18 year old girl, but that made her even more interesting.

The Girl Next Door is a sapphic YA Contemporary by Cecilia Vinesse.

I really ended up enjoying this. Cleo is fantastic with her obsession with Horror movie's, her bisexuality, and her relationship with her dad. (OMG her dad was absolutely precious) Seriously no complaints, she's a strong narrator and acts like a teenager but not in an obnoxious way. She messes up and avoids her problems a bit, but I mean who doesn't lol I loved her fake turned real relationship with Marianne. Both girls are layered and more than the face they show their peers. I loved the drama and the quirky members of the Film crew. Cleo's best friend Chris, popular secret nerd Kiki, and even lame Daniel , each added to my enjoyment of the book.

Overall, The Girl Next Door is a sapphic YA contemporary with great Bisexual Rep, mental health rep, a fake relationship, friendship, baked goods, homecoming, film club, first kisses, and an ending with a bright future.

A fantastic rom-com! I loved the fake dating and the way it was used here. Just really enjoyed overall! Will absolutely highly recommend!!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The Girl Next Door is a fun sapphic romance with a great mix of tropes, chief among them fake dating. I’m a sucker for two people coming together to fake-date to get back at exes who dumped them or cheated on them, and this book absolutely met my expectations. Combined with the childhood-friends trope, it made for a great story.
I love Cleo’s interest in film and how it comes through in everything from her ultimate goal of going to film school to the little references she makes in conversation and in her internal monologue. While it can be a bit much to someone who isn’t as much of a film buff, I personally enjoyed seeing her be so passionate about something.
The romance was really cute too. She and Marianne drifted apart over the years, but I like how they came back together due to their common goal, and reconnected in the process. And even though the premise is that they’ve both been cheated on/left for the other’s ex, I like how the dynamics for their relationship and their interactions with their respective exes are nuanced, and it’s not a clear case of one side being the good guys, and the others pure villains.
The one weakness is that it does take a little bit to get into the story, especially initially, what with grasping Cleo’s internal monologue and the overall pacing of the narrative. However, once I got into the flow of the story, I really enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed this book, and I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a sapphic YA romcom, especially if you enjoy the fake-dating trope.

The Girl Next Door is a sweet coming of age story from the point of view of a high school senior who finds her dream senior year threatened when her boyfriend cheats on her with one of the most popular girls in school, and breaks up with her. She finds herself in a fake dating situation with the popular girl's ex girlfriend, who is also her neighbor and childhood friends. I enjoyed the author's use of the fake dating trope, and thought it was smart to include the childhood friends aspect, because I felt like it built their relationship up faster than it otherwise might've.

It did take me about a quarter of the book to really get into the main character's monologuing, especially because she so often thinks of things in terms of movie making, especially horror films, something I have little interest in. But Cleo was very likable to me, and she had flaws that were realistic, and she acknowledged them which sometimes doesn't happen with YA romances. Loved seeing her really grow as a person regardless of the romantic subplots. Her relationship with her dad was lovely.

I do wish that the 'Girl Next Door' herself Marianne, was explored just a bit more, especially because the ex boyfriend gets quite a bit of character exploration, but she was a dreamy love interest.

There are a bunch of side characters, who though they didn't monopolize much of the writing, were all fun to get to know and I was actually able to remember most of them easily which I sometimes have trouble with when reading YA books that take place in high school. There's a lot of queer rep in this, but in an organic way. Sometimes I feel like representation can be forced in just for the sake of representation, but not in this case. There is no closeting or homophobia present in this story.

The plots were fairly predictable, but that's not always a bad thing, and I recommend this for people who enjoy high school queer romances. It's a quick and fun read.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC

When Cleo’s boyfriend Daniel cheats witj and then dumps her for cool neighbor Marianne’s girlfriend, Kiki, she decides that pretending to date Marianne would make them both jealous. Marianne and Cleo were best friends as kids and haven’t really talked much since then. Cleo is a film nerd and is working on her college application screenplay, and Marianne is a swimmer who is a lot more popular than Cleo.

This ex-friends to friends to lovers fake dating book is hilarious, adorable, and touching. It is fun to take cliche tropes and make them queer, but that said, it is pretty cliche. There are a lot of tropes that are fun, just pretty well used.