"Sorry Adams" I say once Ruby loosens her grip on my cheeks. "But you're going down."
And then maybe later, he can go down again...

-enemies to lovers
-small town

I'm a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope so there was no doubt that I was going to love this one. Collins and Nate have a history that they can't seem to shake as they become neighbors in this new rom-com. Will they stay rivals or form a new type of bond?

Who would have thought that an HOA could be so sexy, competitive, and so fun? Alexa Martin nailed it with Next-Door Nemesis. Martin brought to life characters that were authentic and real. The character growth of Collins Carter was the feel-good moment I needed. Collins was a fantastic main character.. and the side characters, particularly her two friends, were a joy.. I'd love a book from Ruby's pov.
If you love a return to a hometown, a friends to enemies to lovers rom-com, you will not be disappointed with Next-Door Nemesis.

I read and reviewed a complementary digital copy provided by netgalley and the publisher. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

The premise of this sounds a bit bananas. Two ex best friends, current enemies, are in a battle in a heated HOA election. Does this sound completely like fiction to you!? Well let me tell you I live in the suburbs and I could see a highly contentious HOA battle happening irl! Anyway, I loved so much more about this book.
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Collins comes home from LA after losing her career, her boyfriend and her home. Here are the things I love. I simply adore her parents who she returns to. They love her. They support her. They push her and they just want her happy. I adore her best friend Ruby who is 100% there for her in the good, the bad and the ugly. I love her new friend Ashleigh and her unwavering support and I love Nate her arch nemesis/ love.
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I love the way Martin writes. She writes with so much humor and so much heart! This one really worked for me !
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Thank you @berkleypub #berkleybesties and @netgalley
for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, fast read!

Collins and Nate were very good friends as kids and had a falling out which caused Collins to hate him from that point on. She got out of their small town and went off to LA to become a screenwriter. After her life implodes from a viral video gone wrong, she's forced to head back home and lick her wounds in that very same small town she vowed never to return to. She's not surprised to see Nate still living there, but she takes issue with him being Mr. Popularity and a beloved member of the HOA in their neighborhood especially when she thinks he's the worst. She decides then and there to do everything in her power to get revenge, even if it means running against him for HOA president when she had no intentions of staying home to begin with.

Collins was a really entertaining character and Nate was actually quite sweet after they came clean to each other. Their banter throughout the book and the chaos they created together was hilarious. I loved Collins' parents and her friends as well.

If you like enemies to lovers rom coms in a small town setting, this is right up your alley! This was my first Alexa Martin read and I'll definitely be checking out more of her work! Thanks to Good Girls PR and Berkeley Romance for the early copy!

This is Alexa's best work honestly. It is funny, it's deep, complex. Asks you to question how you treat others and how you treat yourself. How you can build your confidence back up. And it's dirty with a FILTHY hot talking nerd who backs up that nerdiness with khakis and vests. I am obsessed with him. Both characters feel fleshed out. I wanted them to succeed - both in their lives and in their loves together. Plus the backdrop of small town shenanigans and a HOA president battle was SO FUN. Really a great enemies to lovers.

Let me start by saying I devoured playbook series during covid (shout out my girl Brynn) and you should read that if you love sports romance. anyway, next door nemesis was cute. makes me feel exactly my 33 years bc I related hard to the hoa although my hoa is pretty low key but let me tell you when the hoa bought new pool furniture I was like a kid at Christmas. The book started a little slow for me but picked up at like 40-50%. I was dying to know what happened between Collins (love that name) and Nate and Collins and Peter like what was this sudden exodus from LA all about anyway!? But Nate is so sweet and the banter between him and Collins was hilarious. Also Collins inner monologue so good. I also thought the book wrapped up a little quickly but it was cute.

-3.75 stars

Collins is the type of heroine that makes reading rom-coms FUN. She is smart, witty, slightly flawed, comfortable with herself, and not afraid to sprinkle truth bombs. After her boyfriend pirates her screenplay and then an embarrassing video goes viral, Collins is forced to flee LA. She lands back in her childhood bedroom with her parents in the burbs of Ohio, and thinks things can’t possibly get much worse, until she learns her childhood best friend turned nemesis, Nate, has bought a house down the street, is on the HOA board, and slaps her with a fine for planting a tree in her parent’s yard. This launches Collins to start her own crusade to run for the HOA president to thwart her nemesis from his ‘tyranny’ forcing them both to get reacquainted whether they want to or not. LUST enters the chat 😂 and Collins’ attempt at a smear campaign becomes increasingly difficult to manage when Nate makes khakis look so darn good AND he seems to truly love and care about his neighbors.

I’m going to level with you; I almost DNF’d this book around 30% in, due to Collins’ second hand embarrassment and to how Nate treated Collins in the past (seriously, MEAN) and how immature Collins responded to Nate’s current life status as a suburban home owner (let the man live, Collins!). BUT, I’m such a glutton for hate forking that I decided to push forward and phew was it worth it! Also, as more was revealed about each character’s backstory during the years they spent apart it become easier to root for them to stop thwarting each other and get on with loving one another. I think rom-com readers will have strong feelings about this book, but I can comfortably say that any reader who relishes in spiteful enemies to lovers books with sizzling spice will enjoy Martin’s newest release!

Thank you to Berkley publishing, NetGalley, and Good Girls PR for my e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Collins is living the hustler's nightmare. She is blocked, with writing, relationships, and independence. Moving home to her parents to hide out was not where she ever saw life headed. Luckily, she finds inspiration and the will to get out of bed when she crosses paths with her long ago nemesis, Nathanial. Collins would just love to one-up him one more time and what better way than to steal his glory with the HOA.
This started out with such a funny hook: "If I hear live, laugh, love one more time, I'm going to die, scream, rage." What followed lived up to the beginning and this childhood nemeses to lovers brought me that Alexa joy I loved in her Playbook series (which I'm still not so subtly wishing for a spin-off of). I'll never say no to Alexa's sense of humor.
Thank you to Berkley Besties and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Quick Synopsis:
I’m guilty of hating the idea of HOAs, and I thought I would enjoy this one for that reason alone. The quick synopsis is that the MC, Collins Carter, is forced to move back home with her parents after an embarrassing video went viral. Upon returning home to Ohio, her previous best friend, now nemesis, Nate, confronts her with an HOA issue. This complaint infuriates Collins and forces her hand to run against Nate for HOA president.

Characters:
Every archetype of an Ohio suburbanite seems to be included in the seventh novel Next Door Nemesis by Alexa Martin. The characters are 100% likable. I adored the way Alexa Martin portrayed Collins’ best friend, Ruby. I also loved her relationships with her parents.

Storyline/Pacing:
Next Door Nemesis is a fast-paced, character-driven romance. This is both an enemies-to-lovers trope while also being a second-chance romance. I seem to be finding a lot of these lately, and I’m starting to think the enemies to lovers trope might not be for me, anymore.

Author:
Alexa Martin’s Next Door Nemesis has several sarcastic one-liners that I loved. Her dry wit was a welcome addition to the book.

Overall:
I recommend this to anyone who loves enemies to lovers or second chance romance tropes. Ohioans may find this a fun read as its setting is Columbus.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫stars

Disclosure:
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing for the Digital Review Copy of Next Door Nemesis. All opinions are my own.

Next-Door Nemesis is a lovely, fun contemporary romance that will put a smile on your face and provide a few hours of escape from the stress inspired by the oncoming holidays.

They were once best friends. Collins Carter and Nate (Nathaniel) Adams were nearly inseparable during their elementary school years, but high school saw a rift form in their relationship when Nate became popular and essentially ghosted Collins. That was just one of the many reasons she was thrilled to leave her suburban Ohio town and become a writer in California. But after going viral for having a screaming tantrum where she threatens to bury her lying, thieving ex while wearing nothing but stilettos and a silk robe, her years of screenwriting experience mean zilch. She’s jobless and with LA prices as they are, rapidly homeless as a result and therefore back at her parent’s house in their saccharine sweet small midwest town. In her mind, it’s a stopgap before she moves on to better things, but a small, dark piece of her soul fears it may turn permanent. Fortunately, she’s made a new friend in former classmate-turned-next-door-neighbor Ashleigh. Unfortunately, Nate still lives there, and they still can’t stand the sight of each other. He’s now a well-known and beloved realtor in their community, as well as an HOA board member for their neighborhood. Avoidance isn’t just futile, it’s literally impossible. They run into each other everywhere.

Then Nate comes up with the genius plan to force Collins to leave town by using the subdivision bylaws against her and her family. He promises to allow her father to keep his against-the-regulations landscaping if she scoots back to California. Collins is horrified by Nate’s lack of scruples (me, too) and is determined to fight fire with fire. She already allowed one man to steal her dreams, drive her from her home, and wreck her life, so she sure as hell isn’t going to let that happen twice. Her solution? If Nate wants to use the HOA to force her out, why doesn’t she use the upcoming election to become president of that body? She can both strip the tyrannical Nate of his power and maybe smear his (unearned) goody two-shoes reputation in the bargain.

Things don’t work out quite as planned, however. The more Collins and Nate bicker their way through the campaign, the more they realize how perfectly matched they are. Could their opposition really be hiding an irresistible attraction?

As a writer, Martin does several things very well. One of them is her secondary characters, and here she does an absolutely fantastic job with Ashleigh, Collins’ other bestie, Ruby, and Collins’ parents, especially her mom, Kimberly. Each of these women has a unique, interesting personality that serves as a great foil to Collins without them in any way being simple sycophantic cheerleaders for the heroine. They all challenge her to be better, but each has a different way of doing it. They also fit naturally into the story and don’t show up only to solve some problem but are an everyday, realistic part of Collins’ life. I loved them and hope to see them all again in a sequel.

I thoroughly enjoyed how Martin depicts suburban life as well. It’s a lot more 1950s sitcom than 2023 reality, but in a good way. It showed neighborhoods as we would like them to be, gives a charming sense of community to the story and provides a reason for both Collins and Nate, who grew up there, to be as wholesome as they are.

Martin weaves some wonderful humor into the tale, too – there’s a scene involving a flamingo and an inflatable Ben Franklin that had me literally laughing out loud. The underlying emotion of the story is an effervescent cheeriness that makes it fun to peruse.

My quibbles come with the moments that clash with everything I’ve written about above. Collins and Nate, as mentioned, are wholesome, down-to-earth midwesterners who are typically amiable, well-adjusted adults. I loved them and loved their low-key everyday romance, except at the start of the story, when they both act like unhinged lunatics, and their relationship is so childish it’s almost cringe-worthy. It’s as though they suffer from multiple personality disorder that is (mostly) miraculously cured at the thirty percent mark. Typically, when a big misunderstanding such as the one that caused a rift between them in high school occurs, I feel the author blows it out of proportion. In this case, I felt it was underplayed a bit. The underlying issue of communication, which, frankly, crosses over into their interactions as adults for the first portion of the book, wasn’t addressed quite to my satisfaction. Also, if you are in the nerd zone, it’s less easy to join the popular crowd than it is made to seem here.

Martin writes that new hybrid type of narrative, which is part women’s fiction, part romance. She’s brilliant at it – the female friendships she creates are awesome, and she does a simply fabulous job of giving her female leads a life. Collins has family, friends, acquaintances, work, opinions, and hobbies. Too many romances are just about lust or about getting consumed by love, but a believable HEA requires the couple to have a life connection, which requires actually having a life. Collins is definitely given that. However, a small problem arises from that which impacts the romance – an almost absentee hero. I loved what I saw of Nate, and he seemed like he would be perfect for Collins, but for the first half of the story, Nate is essentially missing in action. Aside from the rather slap-sticky moments we see of their feud, he just isn’t present in a way that allows the reader to really get to know him and understand why he’s a mentally unbalanced jerk around Collins (in fairness, she’s a crazy bitch around him, but at least we know why). Fortunately, that problem is more or less solved in the second half of the story, but we still had too little of him for my taste.

Not being perfect doesn’t mean you aren’t pretty darn good, though, and that is certainly the case with Next-Door Nemesis. If you are a fan of the author, a fan of humorous contemporary romance, or just looking for a good book with nice vibes, this is the story for you.

Next Door Nemesis has unforgettable banter and a quick wit. Nate comes off strong in the beginning but I eventually really grew to like him. Collins made me laugh and I felt for her. I was rooting for her throughout. I am a sucker for epilogues and this one was done really well. If you’re looking for a fun read with emotions, this is going to be for you.

I discovered Alexa back in 2020 and have been excited for this release.

Collins was hilarious, and the banter in this book had me laughing so much. And I am pretty sure this is the first book I've ever read that involves a Home Owners Association. Add in her childhood friend turned enemy Nate and things are surely going to turn just a little petty and messy. You'll surely get plenty of laughs with this one. My only drawback to this story was I found the conflict of why Collins and Nate became enemies to be underwhelming. And something that could have easily been figured out with a simple conversation at some point.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my complimentary eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Next Door Nemesis was a fun steamy enemies to lovers/ second chance romance read. The animosity between Nathan and Collins was top notch. While they were able to act civil while in the company of others, boy oh boy, when it was just two of them WATCH OUT.
I actually cringed when they were hurling insults back and forth.

The race for HOA President was a fun and new concept for a book and I really enjoyed it.

The payoff when they finally gave in was worth it. Once I finally heard the reasoning for Nathan’s ghosting I felt so bad for him. I really liked the ending.

Perfect if you enjoy
Steam
Enemies to Lovers
Second Chance

I never thought a battle for the homeowner’s association presidency could be so entertaining. But these childhood best friends turned rivals bring it! There were secrets, a smear campaign, petty battles of one-upmanship, and a blurring of the lines between love and hate.

I laughed and smiled throughout Collins and Nate’s journey from wanting to pulverize each other to admitting their hidden feelings and ultimately finding happiness together in their small Ohio suburban hometown.

Next-Door Nemesis is full of witty banter and great characters to go with a wonderful story of finding happiness where you least expect it.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for a copy of this book.

It’s kind of sad to be writing this, cause i really had high hopes for this book. But, I couldn’t finish it.
I got through halfway the book and it was because I was skipping a few parts of it.

I started this book thinking it would be a rom-com but I didn’t find any rom nor com.

I felt the characters a little off, never connected with them, nor liked them. They were 29 years old, but it was like they were kids, childish is the word.

I want to get back to it eventually, but for now it is a DNF for me.

This was so good 4.5 stars for me the enjoyment I had reading this book is crazy but I loved it. I loved both main characters, Nate, and Collins I loved their drama. I loved their chemistry. It was amazing and it was hilarious all at once. Honestly, this book was just pure entertainment And Alexa knows how to write a book. I will say I would love a book on because I also loved all the side characters in this book the side characters were so good and so amazing. The HOA storyline is hilarious it was just I don’t even know how to explain it. I was smiling the whole time, laughing the whole time it was so good.

There was also depth to the main characters with the history that they had and I am also happy that they never had miscommunication like they talked things through. They fixed their shit and talk things through and that was also one of my favorite parts because most of the time when it comes to essentially second chance, they have a miscommunication part, but these two didn’t they communicated how they were supposed to after they got together they never lied to each other they were there for each other, he fell 1st and I think he fell harder that they have for each other even even before they said I love you was so good and so perfect. I hope that there’s a book to this series. I would also love to read more about the two of them.

I love that in the end, Collins didn’t have to give up the stuff that she loved when it came to everything because she was so betrayed by one person that she thought she would love forever that she was so upset when she had to move back to Ohio. But then she realized that she had this love for Ohio that she didn’t even know that she had because since she was young, she wanted to move out and leave and go to Los Angeles. Then in the end it turned out best for her to stay in Ohio, and she ended up being the happiest she had ever been anywhere else. She got to have her dream job and the man that she has always loved

Collins Carter is over the top, dramatic, and the person you want on your side in a fight. I think Nate figures this out pretty quickly when she challenges him over everything. As they argued (and argued, and argued) their past was revealed and you could tell how hurt Collins was over her ex-best friend ghosting her when they were kids. Despite that, I was watching the page numbers wondering how long it would take before her witchy friendliness turned them from frenemies back to friends. It took a touch too long but when it did happen I finally settled into the plot. I love sassy heroines but Collins was next level!

Nate couldn’t have been any more the opposite of Collins. He was a khaki wearing, straight laced, steady, calm man. Actually, very similar to her own father now that I think of it. They complimented each other well and once they got over their hurt with each other they suited each other. I kind of wished he was a little more heroic maybe, but there wasn’t anything wrong with a normal guy as a hero. She carried all the attitude in that pairing that’s for sure.

I thought this was a fun, quick read, pretty similar to other novels by this author. I can think of a few that touched my heart a little bit more but this was an entertaining weekend read!

4.5 stars
2 Spice

I never imagined I could care so much about a campaign for HOA presidency, but here I am.
Collins returns home after her life in LA gets uprooted. Watching her journey to accept a home that you once couldn’t wait to leave was really impactful to me. I LOVED her parents and friends. They were so fun and supportive! I loved the banter and the hijinks of running very different campaigns while trying to undermine each other.

I struggled a little with how fast the enemies switched to lovers. It felt a bit sudden to me and I wasn’t sure how I felt about Collins forgiving Nate so quickly, but like he said, he was a teenager when it all happened. That being said, I really liked their communication and how their dynamic changed throughout the story.
Some people might argue that there was a third act break up (I know, stick with me here), but it’s not your typical third act break up. It didn’t feel so much like a break-up to me and it was over so quick.
I will definitely be checking out her other books!

Tropes: Small Town, Close Proximity, Childhood Friends to Enemies to Lovers

New book alert!!
4 ⭐️ and 1🔥

Alexa Martin wrote a fantastic rom com here with a hilarious plot plucked right out of Hollywood, because only on TV do people campaign to become HOA president (as opposed to real life where someone reluctantly gets drug into it).

Collins is a screenwriter who has been betrayed by her scummy boyfriend and finds herself back in her hometown with her former best friend who ghosted her in high school.

After a few run-ins with Nate, she finds herself running against him in the race for HOA President. Will she get to the bottom of why he abandoned her or will they fight all the way to the polls?

Throughout this, there is some scathing commentary on MLMs, the patriarchy that is Hollywood, and the realities of growing but now outgrowing your roots.

I would have loved some additional character development for Nate, as parts of the story felt like the drug on and parts felt like we brushed straight over some important plot.

However, read this for a good time and a quick read if you like romcoms, Rivals to Lovers, and small town gossip.

Thank you to @good.girls.pr and @berkleyromance for the chance to ARC read this. All opinions are my own.

After her career imploded and her breakup became a viral tiktok, Collins has left life in LA behind and come back home, to her parents’ house in Ohio. As an extra blow to kick her when she's down, her former best friend and now nemesis is on the HOA board and has just issued her a citation and a fine. Nate has been living a content and quiet life until Collins showed up again and suddenly the two are running against each other for HOA president.

I love Alexa Martin’s writing and her rom coms have it all - the banter, the steam, the laugh out loud moments. Next-Door Nemesis was a fun read from the first line on. I thought the HOA storyline was a fun one and made for some great moments. But it was all balanced with some really sweet and tender moments, especially as we learned what really happened in both Collins’ and Nate’s pasts. I also loved the side characters - from the neighbors, to Collins’ parents, and most importantly her friends Ruby and Ashleigh, each side character really added to the story.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.