When Bea Foster tells her sister/roommate, Riley, that she wants her girlfriend to move in with her, Riley finds another apartment. As Riley and her dog Cari are moving into their new home, she meets her next door neighbor, Kim, and her nine-year-old son Tyler. It doesn’t take long for Tyler to fall in love with Cari thus drawing the two women into a friendship. It also doesn’t take long for Riley to become attracted to Kim and to begin telling herself not to be attracted to a straight woman.

Sommers has written a sweet romance between two strong women. Kim is clueless about her attraction to Riley and Riley is struggling with her attraction to Kim. The story moves along at a spritely pace and, thankfully, there is very little angst involved. The two main characters are well drawn and likeable. The secondary characters, except Tyler, remain amorphous throughout the book, but then they don’t play a major role in the story either.

If Sommers is an author new to you, start with this book and you’ll be a fan for a long time.

My thanks to Ylva and NetGalley for an eARC.

The characters were very well developed and easy to love. It was a slow burn but I was rooting for them the whole time. I love when a dog is a character in the book. It adds to the charm. It was a great and satisfying ending to a sweet love story. Definitely worth the read!

I really liked this book. Since it is a story of mature women. The two women came from different backrounds, but in the end they hopes for same things. Love, compansion. They beginn with friendship and maybe there wil be more.

This was just ok. I liked the slow development of the relationship and the realization for Kim. Other than this it was slow and there just wasn’t enough angst for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

This is a story about Riley, a tattoo artist who moves to a new apartment next door to Kim and her son Tyler. Kim is a co-owner of a bakery and a single mom. She’s an easy going person looking for a relationship with a man. She’s been dating a bunch of guys who are all weird and not to her liking. Riley is quiet and a hard worker who dropped out of college to raise her younger sister. Riley and Tyler become friends over her dog and their love of soccer.

Over time both women start to develop feelings for each other and this upsets them both. Riley doesn’t want to be hurt by having a crush on a straight woman. Kim is in denial over her feelings and doesn’t want to loose Riley as friend. These feeling bring the small amount of angst to the story.

I’m a fan of Rachael Sommers books and this one was a quick and easy read. She does a good job of developing her characters and their dialogue. I look forward to reading more of her books.

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity read and enjoy this arc.

5/5 stars, this book was the perfect slow burn friends to lovers. I loved seeing the relationship between Kim and Riley form, and also how great Riley and Tyler were together. The only thing I wish was different was that Kim had given more indication of romantic feelings toward Riley sooner, rather than coming to a sudden realization. Other than that, the book was excellent with fleshed out characters and tons of scenes between the two MCs. Definitely worth the read!

This slow burn, "toaster oven" read with an adorable kid, Tyler and a lovable dog Cari pulls you right into the story. Riley Foster, tattoo artist with her dog Cari, moves into a new apartment across from her cute and straight neighbor Kim Jackson and tries not to fall for her. Kim has been divorced for five years and has been busy raising her son and building her bakery business with her best friend, Tina.

Communication and self-discovery are an important part of this read. Also, important are the secondary characters: Riley's sister Bea and her girlfriend Ash as well as Kim's best friend Tina, Kim's son Tyler and her ex-husband John and his fiancee' Rebecca. I like that there is much support around both women. Really enjoyed the connection between Riley and Tyler and Tyler and Cari. So very sweet.

An entertaining read with characters that are hard not to like.

I really liked this book. The two main characters Kim and Riley are loveable and they have interesting, non-common professions: a baker and a tattoo artist. Riley moves in next to Kim and they develop a cute friendship that turns into something more (hence the title). They are into each other from the beginning but need some (read: a lot) time to realize it. I enjoyed the different kinds of representation of the characters and of course the dog heightened this book to the next level!

Please make a movie out of this book.

Thank you Ylva Publishing for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Love Next Door by Rachael Sommers is such a cute friends-to-fake dating-to-lovers romance between a tattoo artist and her new neighbor. Recently moved Riley meets her new neighbor, Kim a single mother and co-owner/baker of a nearby shop, on her move-in day when the neighbor's 9-year-old son immediately takes to Riley's dog, Cari. They all become fast friends. This is a well-written story with a clean, easy-to-read style and though there isn't much unexpected, it is absolutely entertaining, and I was never bored. Both mains are fun and friendly, and very easy to like. They spend a lot of time together as friends and get to know one another so the relationship develops organically and never feels forced. There are mature conversations and clear consent, which I appreciate. The supporting cast is diverse and interesting. The well-meaning team interferes just enough to help the story along but so much that it is overbearing. I find that sometimes the friend/family groups can be overly intrusive and pushy. Not the case here. I happily recommend this sweet book and will be reading more by the author.
#singleparent #soccer #transrep #dog #disapprovingfamily #foundfamily #kid #tattooartist #baker #toasteroven #gayforyou #fakedating #HEA #midtolowangst #mildspice #consentissexy

Can a new next door neighbor change your life? Kim is a divorced, straight, single mom to 9 year old Tyler. She co-owns a bakery and is starting to try dating again. When Riley, a tattoo artist, moves in next door with her adorable pup Cari, they strike up a friendship. Over time, their friendship blooms and Riley finds herself in over her head, crushing on Kim. Kim, meanwhile, leans hard into the friendship, but does not see anything more for a long time. This is definitely a sloooooow burn toaster oven romance, with a side of fake dating.

The characters had a lot of chemistry and the relationship that develops between Tyler (Kim’s son) and Riley is lovely to watch unfold. I also really appreciated that both MCs figured out how to make their own way in their lives, after overcoming their own adversity and expectations put on them. The other side characters were also well-developed - Riley’s sister Bea and her girlfriend Ash were great (and I appreciated the trans rep), as was Kim’s bestie, Tina. Cari the dog was also an important character, especially as a Tyler-magnet which helped keep Kim and Riley close in the early phases of their friendship. Finally, the relationship that Kim has with her ex and his new partner is drama-free, which is refreshing - additionally they seem to see what is brewing between Riley and Kim even before Kim is aware of it and don’t make a big deal of it at all.

Thank you to Netgally and Ylva Publishing for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

A sweet sapphic romance. I love how Kim and Riley went from neighbors to friends to lovers. Really sweet story with such likable characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ylva Publishing for the chance to read and review Love Next Door.

Very engaging book with a nice plot line. I enjoyed the slow burn romance. The side characters were well written.

This was a heartwarming friends to lovers romance with some fake dating thrown into the mix by author Rachael Sommers. The relationship between Riley and Kim was fresh and not a typical romance. Kim’s son Tyler and Riley’s dog Cari added to the family dynamic. The only negative that I’ve noted in multiple Sommers books is her tendency to label a person’s skin color when introducing a new character to the story. I believe this is totally unnecessary and doesn’t add anything to the book. 4 stars for Love Next Door.

I received an ARC from Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This has been a sweet story, between a girl, Riley, who rents an apartment right next to that of a woman, Kim, who lives with her 10-year-old son Tyler. The woman has been divorced for a year and has joint custody, so her son goes back and forth from her father's house to hers. Riley has a dog, Cari, who from the beginning is the link between the two women, through Tyler, who becomes attached to the dog and at the same time to Riley herself.

Riley is out and proud and Kim is straight as an arrow, so the chances of Riley's crush coming to fruition are nil to zero. Or maybe Kim isn't so straight after all. In addition to Riley's attraction to Kim, things arise that make them have an increasingly constant relationship, basically one of friendship and good neighborliness. And close contact breeds affection, so…

It has been a fun, entertaining, easy to read story and that is why I recommend it to you.

"Love Next Door" by Rachael Sommers is a delightful, angst-free tale that beautifully illustrates how love might be closer than one expects – perhaps just next door.
The first time they met Kim and Riley met, they were just neighbors where Kim’s son was fond of Riley’s dog. Soon, they became friends. Friends who go to rock concerts, watch a medical drama, see soccer plays, and fake date each other to get Kim’s mother to stop harassing Kim for her single status and life choices. But… what happens when the line between fake and reality gets blurred? Could love be much nearer than they thought it was?
This book is a charming choice for readers who appreciate the slow, steady build of a relationship, witnessing how two individuals seamlessly integrate into each other's lives and provide unwavering support. I also enjoyed how the author portrayed the interaction between Tyler and Riley, since when a person with a child dates someone, one of their important standards is their child and lover’s interaction and compatibility. And the author nailed it here. The way Riley cares about Tyler as her own family melted my heart and gave more sound reasons why Kim fell in love with Riley.
However, as a person who needs challenges and twists and turns in the story, this book was sweet, yet too bland. Everything was too smooth sailing, unlike reality, though some might say that is the reason why people read books (which is true too!). It is probably a matter of preference, so I give this book a total rating of 4 stars. Perfect for a day of reading without angst and full of supporting love.

This book is lovely. Sommers has a writing style I really enjoy and just reads easily.

Our main characters are fun and very different, but absolutely caring people. If I were to raise a negative it would be how late in this book our mains get together, after the 80% mark. We all know my absolute hatred for the dark moment at that point. I might find this worse, also because I loved seeing them as friends and rooted for their romantic relationship.

Excellent friends to lovers with a little fake dating thrown in.

Not my usual read but really enjoyed it! Loved all the characters and could feel the angst! Lovely cute heartwarming story!

A great love story!

Kim meets Riley when she moves in next door, and because Kim’s son Tyler is instantly taken with Riley’s dog, Cari, there’s no avoiding each other. Forming a friendship, Riley soon finds herself playing Kim’s fake girlfriend until it’s all getting a bit too real for Kim and she has to address her feelings.

This is one of those love stories that steals your heart and leaves a lasting impression. I adored the friendship that developed between Kim and Riley, and just how great Riley was with Tyler while being reserved about the attraction and feelings she quickly developed for Kim, and in turn Tyler. She was absolutely great with them both, creating so many cute moments that had me grinning away as I read this story and fell completely in love with it.

The push and pull of emotions between Kim and Riley was great, Riley was holding back to be respectful because she made assumptions Kim would never be interested in her because she was straight. However for Kim this was an experience that left her questioning a lot of what she thought she knew about herself. She had a lot at stake losing their friendship if her feelings lead her into a situation that then went wrong, and at the forefront of her decisions was the affect it would have one Tyler, which Riley also shared, and I admired them both for this.

Lots of great moments were packed into this truly amazing story! There was a lot of fun, light-heartedness, and some deeper more emotional moments, that made it really special. There was a great amount of representation for different family models and not judging a person by their looks and appearance or situation that really added something more to the story. Looking forward to reading this again in the future, and it is definitely a must read for any romance lover.

Another enjoyable story. Sommers took the typical girl next door trope and put her own spin on it which worked pretty well.

Kim is a single mom trying to raise her 9 year old son, Tyler after her divorce. She is focused on her bakery and her son and has dipped her toe into the dating pool with no luck. That is until Riley moves in next door with her adorable dog and becomes a good friend. Kim ends up telling her family they are dating and Riley goes along with it to help her out.

Riley is a tattoo artist and is living on her own after raising her sister. She meets her neighbors and is instantly charmed by Tyler and gets a crush on Kim. They dance around their feelings and she knows its a bad idea to pretend to be her fake girlfriend, but Riley does it anyway.

This was an interesting read, but I wouldn't call it a fake relationship book, because that was barely part of the story. This was more about a woman who comes to terms with liking a woman and all the feelings that are associated with it. I adored Tyler and Cari and the buildup to Riley and Kim finally admitting their feelings. It was a very slow burn and when they finally got together, the book ended, so that was a downside.

Overall, I liked it. I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reserved tattoo artist Riley Foster has just moved apartments and can’t take her eyes off the single mom who lives next door. Riley is trying very hard not to succumb to the cliché of falling for the straight girl as she gets to know Kim Jackson, an outgoing baker with an adorable nine-year-old son. A friendship forms and Riley even finds herself roped into playing Kim’s fake girlfriend to get her meddling family off her back.

What could go wrong…except for Kim suddenly questioning whether she’s not as straight as she thought! As the sexual tension slowly builds, it’s hard not to wonder whether they’d be good together for real. But is it worth risking a great friendship if Riley doesn’t feel the same way?

SLOOOOW burn, but so worth the heat! I always tell myself I hate those stories when the straight girl falls for a woman, because—really? But Rachael Sommers pulls this off in a delicious, believable way. I love getting to know Riley and Kim and watching their friendship and feelings grow. This was a total delight to read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!