Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK my reviews are ALWAYS honest.

<i> 3.5 rounded down </i>

<b> Writing: 4/5 | Plot: 3/5 | Ending: 3/5 </b>

<b> SYNOPSIS </b>

Everyone in this neighborhood is fked up.

<b> MY OPINION </b>

Yes, I rated this 4 stars, but would I recommend it? Not really LOL. First of all, this is NOT a thriller. It's barely a mystery. This is some kind of fked up domestic drama with a lil sprinkle of what's happening here????

This is classic "quirky male writing." I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek observations about liberals and their lawn signs. He said what he said and he wasn't wrong. I don't read a lot of male-authored books, in fact, I often go out of my way to avoid them, because they either 1) John Wick a totally normal mystery 2) write women like they're just flesh and orifices to be entered 3) write characters that are mad at the world for god knows what reason and think being an asshole is humorous. Timothy S. Lane somehow avoids all of these, in fact, I think he did a spectacular job describing postpartum struggles from breastfeeding to feeling like your body isn't yours. Not that I can relate, but from what I've heard from other mothers/read in books authored by women, this sounded pretty on-point.

I hated Adam. Shocker. It's rare I find a male character that I like, and my search continues. I'm not sure if we were supposed to empathize with Adam, but I wanted to beef tf outta him. He really is playing the world's smallest fiddle and loves a good ole self-sabotage. The whole window thing with Ali was absolutely disgusting (ok – this entire section is definitely male authored vibes, even when Ali explains her side you're like.... sure, Jan). He reminds me of that quote from Brooklyn 99: "well, well, well, if it isn't the consequences of my won actions." I double dawg dare him to take responsibility for being fiendishly horny to the point where it ruins his own life.

Tbh, none of the characters were likeable. Sarah is really on some shit, and that whole first scene with Kemp aka Crispin (what kind of name is this??? sounds like a type of low-calorie chip) was 1) classic male author and 2) ??????. Ok random sidetrack but I think I hate male authored books because the way they describe sex makes it seem like they're all sexual deviants and I just don't wanna know. Just pretend to be normal PLEASE. Anyways... Crispin was a freakazoid and we never really get an answer as to why. He's just on some shit and has way too much money. And then there's his mom... the classic Tiger Mom but plot twist! she's NOT Asian. I liked how her pov was written – sorta breaking the third wall. This is difficult to execute (usually comes off sounding "dear diary") but he did it properly so props.

I did see some reviews saying that Ali's pov made readers uncomfy given that she's African American and the author is most certainly not. I can see their point, but from black-authored books I've read, I would say he was pretty dead on with Ali's observations and feelings. It didn't make me feel uncomfy and I'm easily spooked when it comes to white people writing BIPOC povs... but to each their own and I can certainly respect the opinion of other readers.

Anyways. Like I said, I wouldn't recommend this to everyone... I'm not even sure who this is for. Me and my strange ass brain I guess. The prose was different and I liked his introspectiveness about political posturing but this isn't "perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn" like the blurb says. Ya'll gotta stop with these types of marketing blurbs... you aren't fooling anyone and tbh lots of people will dock stars solely based on being promised Flynn and ending up with whatever tf this is 😂

<b> PROS AND CONS </b>

Pros: unique prose, great insights of political posturing, motherhood, and race, distinct povs (not everyone sounded the same)

Cons: not a thriller... not even sure what to classify this as, everyone was punchable (even baby Maddie was painted a bad guy 😂), the ending was unrealistic let's bffr

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Neighbors we Want.
A stay at home dad struggling with fatigue and boredom sees a man go into his neighbors home. And then she disappears.
What happens next will keep you guessing and wondering till the end.
3.5 stars

The Neighbors We Want is written in one of those psycho stream of consciousness styles. Everybody in the story, except maybe Ali, seems to have an issue keeping them on the brink of something horrible. I actually feel a bit sorry for Crispin Kemp who is the villain and said to be an unlovable person who becomes 'too much' when his fascinations become obsessions. Adam hardly seems like the kind of new father I'd want to trust with my baby and his wife Sarah is not your average school teacher. Or a model mother. The twisted tale of these neighbors and their relationships unfolds at a good pace that keeps you reading.

This is not your average upbeat book that leaves you with good feelings. It's dark and not one of the characters is sympathetic unless it's baby Maddie. However, it's a good read for a dark and rainy night (or day). Give it a try!

My thanks go to Tim Lane, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Honestly, I didn't enjoy this one. I didn't like the writing style, characters, and it didn't hold my interest. It just felt poorly executed.

This had huge potential as a psychological thriller but fell flat by the end. The web of connections between characters was fascinating, but the disjointed nature & the (conceptual? poetic?) tone in the writing was not for me. I prefer clear, fast paced thrillers and this just wasn’t one of them IMO. I did like the protagonists in this (I felt their challenges & flaws were well-described) and felt like the whole cast of characters was highly unique.

Nope! Ughhh I hate giving bad reviews but this just wasn’t it! So boring! Characters sucked! Story wasn’t thrilling!

I don't like giving bad reviews but this felt like the author was trying too hard to show you how cool and quirky he is by using lots of big words, and clunky sentences.
The characters were AWFUL and really weird. And not in the cool and quirky way he was aiming for.
I gave it two stars because I did keep reading it even though I didn't like it, so points for being compelling.

The cover is beautiful,

The people/neighborhood are awful in this story so I found it hard to read. Overall I found the book anticlimactic. The married couple were insufferable and I didn't enjoy.

After an egregious violation of company standards, Adam is now an unhappy stay-at-home father with a strange compulsion involving Ali, his neighbor across the street. Sarah, his wife, is a teacher at an elementary school where her principal Evie Kemp’s behavior is erratic and harassing. Evie’s son provides a link between these three characters.

The ironically titled The Neighbors We Want is beautifully written. It reads like a play with characters so well described you can see them and understand what motivates them. However, not one of them is likable (several are fairly repulsive) and their behaviors are twisted and repellent. It is narrated by Adam, Sarah, Evie and Crispin Kemp. None are reliable and all lie to themselves. The action moves from past to present and back again. This is at times confusing but the technique lats the reader see events through the eyes of all the participants. The Neighbors We Want is a difficult book to read. That said, it is almost impossible to put down. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Tim Lane for this ARC.

Book: The Neighbors We Want
Author: Tim Lane
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Pub Date: September 5, 2023

Meh. A very weird book. The first couple of chapters I was starting to get into it and then it just took a weird turn. Every body was sleeping with someone else. There was weird obsessions. There was no character development at all. I just didn’t enjoy it. I don’t recommend it.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is September 5, 2023.

White bro fetishes a Black woman as a plot point? Big nope for me, the married couple were insufferable and didn’t deserve to get away with anything.

Very slow paced with highly unlikeable characters lacking depth. I would say this was hard to get into but I never fully got into it. It was a good idea with a less than delivery. Two Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

This was a slow burn book with some unlikeable people. Overall, a decent read that kept my attention.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for my ARC!

I personally found this book very challenging to get into. It didn't seem to flow too easily and was bit confusing in how the writing changed in the first two chapters.

A small community/neighborhood thriller to keep you guessing!

Adam is a stay at home dad who spies something across the street that makes him weary. He is unsure whether to share this with his wife, as he was recently caught doing things he knew he should not be doing. Adam's wife Sarah is struggling with her job as a teacher and the quiet obsession of her principal. The Principal is obsessed with many things, including her badboy son. Her reports on him in a police questioning are scattered through the book, lending a tension that grows as you read closer to the end. If you like a neighborhood thriller, a domestic tale of doom or just are wondering about the neighbors, The Neighbors We Want is for you!
#TheNeighborsWeWant #TimLane #CrookedLaneBooks

This is a tough one to rate. I was expecting thriller/creepy vibes and while I got a bit of that the rest of it was odd.

I give positive feedback on the writing style since I finished in a few hours and found the pacing fast. I enjoyed the multi POV and didn't find the time hops too confusing.
My negative comes in the characters themselves. All are extremely unlikable. The husband and wife are miserable with each other due to lack of communication. The neighbor, Ali, across the street could have been likable but we never got a full sense of her personality since she was just labeled as Black and big boned, oh and an artist. It felt odd that a white dude was writing from the perspective of a young black female. It didn't feel genuine. Crispin and his mom are freaking weird. The relationship between Eve and Sarah was also never fully explained...not sure I get what that was supposed to be, maybe intimidation?

This could have been a great novel about seemingly normal neighborhoods and all the secrets beneath but it was lost in weird/one dimensional characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Publishing for the ARC.

Nope. Just nope.

I thought this would be a fun and entertaining suspense or domestic thriller – kind of Rear Window-like. Instead it’s just…oddly racist people who can’t control their hormones.

These people are awful. Not in a fun, scandalous way, but in a very much no thank you kind of way.

I semi-liked one character, Ali, but she’s also the least developed of all characters. I mean her main characteristic seems to be that she’s Black and “big-boned”.

Adam is whiny, irritating, and weirdly desperate.

Sarah is whiny, irritating, and (here we go again) weirdly desperate.

Crispin is oddly one-dimensional for someone who clearly has issues. But don’t worry, he’s also whiny, irritating, and weirdly desperate.

And Crispin’s mother (whose name I can’t remember) is just weird. Whiny, irritating, and weirdly desperate and I really didn’t understand the whole relationship with Sarah.

I wanted to kill everyone but Ali – and I only didn’t want to kill her because she was surprisingly a non-entity.

Most definitely not for me.

• ARC via Publisher

The Neighbors We Want
A Novel
by Tim Lane
This was a toughie for me. Everyone was a bit insane. Some more than others. It was odd how the POVs were skipping in a different areas. But, I did stay with it. Yes, everyone except the poor baby had many things they are hiding.

I struggled a lot with this book. I really wanted to like it as the synopsis sounded intense.
Really the book was anticlimactic, a lot of back & forth plot and I didn't like or care about any characters. I felt slightly uncomfortable about the racism and how the writer wrote about this. Hard for me to explain but it just felt awkward. Just not the book for me. 2.5 stars

I found "The Neighbors We Want" to be somewhat difficult to get into as the book has a slower pace. However, I would recommend this for people who are curious about the theme and/or its characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.