This was a very quick and easy read. Didn't feel very long at all.

I am on the fence about it though. The ideas seemed quite original and interesting but it did come across very like average fan fiction. There was just something about the style of writing I struggled to contact with, but I am not sure what.

I didn't ever understand why Jeremy felt such responsibility to a random person next door...talk about a saviour complex...it just seemed really odd.

It is very different than other books which is a positive.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Exciting book to read. Lots of twists and turns to keep you interested. I couldn’t put it down. Good plot. Well written

I really like this book! From writing my own novels in the same space as this one, I found this a refreshing and gripping read!

Intense and compelling, it's a story that injects adrenaline into your veins. With a beginning that didn't convince me much, but with a fast-paced development that stuns all the senses and makes you shudder, it's impossible to stop reading Shane and Jeremy's story until you finish it. Some scenes and descriptions seemed to me to be too much, plus the characters are not as complex as I expected coming from Rick R. Reed, but the plot itself is amazing and brought me to the brink of collapse more than once, especially with that ending.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
A sharp and emotive thriller where nothing is as it seems. The writing is well done and witty at times as well as relatable. There is plenty of action and drama which started from the very first page.
Please note that there are upsetting scenes which may be triggering and not suitable for younger readers.
Overall, a good read.

So it's not the darkest, or the most scary, thriller I've read recently (thankfully), but Rick R. Reed's The Couple Next Door is definitely the most fun!

The whole way through I'm thinking, "there's no way this guy could be so stupid", and "there's got to be so much more going on behind the scenes"... well, of course there is!

Rick R. Reed does a marvelous job building the layers here. Literally, to say anything more would give too much away so I'm not going to do it. But if you're reading the opening scene and thinking you know what's coming, well you're probably wrong.

Great story, wonderful characters, and written in Rick R. Reed's lovely style, The Couple Next Door is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller.

I found this book intriguing but hard to get into the romance at first. I found one character to be a bit too weak in my eyes. And he also didn’t seem to be emotionally weak which didn’t fit well with his physical weakness. However, about a third of the way in, I was invested more and happy I stuck around. I ended up liking the characters and the story but would like to have seen more consistency in the “weaker” character.

There were definitely twists and turns! The story was definitely interesting and kept you wondering what was going to happen next. I wasn't a huge fan of the more romantic aspects, though. Friendship, maybe, but the way it goes from zero to one hundred was a bit much for me.

This was a twist and turn type of romance and family book. A slow build of tension - in a few ways. A good book to read.

OMG, my reactions while reading this book were all over the place!

I've been a fan of Rick R. Reed's writing for a few years, but I admit I've stayed away from his "darker" books. Nevertheless, I went with certain expectations and I was not disappointed in what I found.

I enjoyed most of the different aspects brought to the story. The twists and turns at every corner and the constant guessing of what the hell was happening kept me well past my bedtime. In the beginning, I didn't really connect to the MC and thought him a fool to be getting involved in this convoluted story, but ultimately I decided to just go along to where Mr. Reed wanted to take me without analyzing it too much. This plan worked well enough, I got lost in the story and enjoyed my journey through this crazy situation the author had played out for the MC.

The one thing that didn't work well for me was the romance. I could understand where their connection stemmed from but for it to lead to love felt like a stretch -- very "insta-love" in my opinion and not developed enough throughout the story.

Regardless of if I bought the romance or not, the story was engaging and very well written. Just as I expected.

What an intriguing and twisty book.
I went into it semi blind and wow it definitely wasn’t what I was first expecting.
The author did a fantastic job of keeping me on my toes, grossly fascinated with what would happen next in the narrative

Every time I thought I had figured out what might be happening or how the plot would develop i was blindsided by another twist or price of information. This book really doesn’t let your mind rest, instead it’s constantly speeding towards more revelations.

Overall this book was interesting if a little shocking in places and I don’t regrets reading it. However I don’t think I will be picking it up for a re read any time soon.

Jeremy is An out-gay man living in Seattle in his mid-20s. His squalid apartment is all he can afford as he works days cleaning other people’s homes and imagining he will finally write the next great American novel. His love life is lackluster and he’s normally not even willing to settle fo Mr. Right Now...unless he’s super hard up.

Jeremy comes home from yet another spectacular failure of a date and find his newest next-door neighbors fighting in the gangway. He witnesses one of the men being brutally knocked down the staircase and is really upset by the situation. This poor man is 100% gorgeous and Jeremy is afraid to get himself involved in what seems to be a domestic drama. However he cannot forget the young man who has caught his eye.

Jeremy, as a child, helped his mother a victim of domestic violence cope with the batterings that his father doled out. This situation is a huge trigger for him. The man who is tossed on the stairs, Shane McAlester, is his next-door neighbor. And Jeremy will not abandon him. He helps Shane escape from his attacker a person who seems to be called “Cole.” Yeah Shane says he lives with a man named John. And chain seems to be reciprocating Jeremy’s attraction. This is all very confusing for Jeremy who does not like cheaters or people who are dishonest.

Shane stories for his past and also his experience with John and perhaps Cole seem very flimsy and also a partially dishonest. This is upsetting for Jeremy whose attraction seems to grow the more he assists Shane. He tries to step away from the situation, but he keeps getting embroiled deeper and deeper despite his best efforts to stay away.

This is a interesting romantic thriller as we learn the depths of John/Cole’s situation and how Shane is involved. Jeremy cannot truly stay away, due to his caretaking history with his mother’s battery. He wishes that he could’ve helped her more even though he was just a child. Now that he is a grown man he feels a need to protect Shane from his affection is continually growing. Shane reciprocates these feelings. And it’s a big huge conundrum about how to escape what seems to be a very violent streak in John/Cole.

There is a lot of danger here, but there is also happiness satisfaction and a happy ending. Jeremy and Shane do match up quite well and they overcome the handicaps of Shane’s acquaintance with John. It seems as though the worst is going to happen however, John Jeremy will not allow his happiness to be ruined by another brutal man in the his life. Expect drama, and Shane to hide John’s nature, and John to pull unexpected shenanigans to keep Shane from finding happiness with anyone besides himself. I won’t say more because I might give away the most important parts, and I don’t want to spoil the story. I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it for readers of romantic suspense and contemporary suspense thrillers with a dash of romance.

Wow, I’m still shaking, what a thrilling narrative! I didn’t expect this at all, awesome!

Jeremy has new neighbors, two guys John and Shane. When Jeremy talks with Shane his own past rings in his ears. Denial, denial of the situation.
The only thing he can do is just be there for Shane after his partner is abusive, again.

Saying It’s all very complicated is an understatement.

“once a thing is known, it can’t be unknown.”

Jeremy asks himself more than once what he’s gotten himself into. Even more, how to get out.
Being attractive to Shane doesn’t help either. John and Shane their relationship has secrets, dark ones.
When the three meet up at a bar Jeremy understands another side of John.
After that it’s all gets more disturbing and chilling.
And suddenly Jeremy is over his head into an intoxicating situation.

“You love so much, Jeremy, you lose yourself.”

I must say at times I got really irritated by both Shane and Jeremy, the further in the story I could put it aside. I did understand, once you commit there is no way back.

What a story! I sat on the edge of my chair and couldn’t read fast enough. I inhaled this story.
Amazingly entertainingly written, unpredictable thrilling suspense. An absolute winner!

The Couple Next Door is a conflicting book for me to review. On the one hand Rick R Reed is a very good writer, the story was gripping, the action scenes felt paced and it had lots of twists and turns!

I was genuinely shocked by some of the later developments and couldn’t stop reading as I needed to know what happened 🤓

However, this is a dark book with themes of child abuse, assault, domestic violence and murder being scattered throughout. The narration also feels unreliable, everything is shifting and it is hard to trust anything. It made for a gripping read but a vibe that is not typical for a romance novel 🤷🏻‍♀️ Or perhaps it’s just that I don’t really read romantic suspense romances!

For me the romance suffered because of the criminal elements and focus on the ‘mystery’. The connection between Shane and Jeremy felt very insta-love... and borderline unhealthy with how obsessed Shane became. They barely spent anytime together and yet suddenly Jeremy could only think of Shane. Personally I didn’t buy it.

I’m giving it three stars as it was a very intriguing, well written psychological thriller... Just not a typical gay romance!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam: 🔥
TW: Child Abuse, Mental Issue, Domestic Violence, Emotional Manipulation, Assault

Thank you #NetGalley and NineStar press for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review 🥰

Well, Rick R. Reed has done it again. He's sucked me into another one of his crazy dark stories with The Couple Next Door. Although this is another re-release (the author has had a lot of those recently) since I didn't catch it the first time around, it's new to me.

Since there's so much that happens... so many twists and turns and so much suspense, I don't want to risk giving away too much- so I'll apologize in advance for my vagueness. Just know that nothing is quite what it seems and... well... that pretty much covers it.

As far as the characters go, I'm not sure anyone except for Jeremy would have stuck with Shane as long as he did. I questioned his sanity more than once. He actually tried to walk away from the drama more than once, so he did have some sense of self preservation. I got just as aggravated at Shane as Jeremy did at times for keeping himself in harm's way. As for John/Cole/Vera? Well, there just are no words....

There were times that reading The Couple Next Door was like witnessing a train wreck - one that I couldn't walk away from. It definitely kept the pages turning - if for no other reason just to find out if any of the characters would make it to the end. Prepare yourself before going in - this is definitely not one for the faint of heart.

It's edgy and dark but I really enjoyed it. It comes with a disclaimer because it needs one but it could be something you read so definitely check it out. Well written and characters that stay with you. Happy reading!

Is Shane for real? Taut thriller😲

🎣Author Rick R. Reed hooked me with this suspenseful psychological thriller about Jeremy and his odd new neighbors. I felt uneasy about the outcome right from the beginning. Neighbors Shane and John just had too volatile a relationship for some deep-seated secret NOT to color their actions and rock Jeremy's ordinary world. As the story progresses I felt it grow more urgent and just could not stop reading.

Some might say, like his sister, that Jeremy was just looking for trouble by befriending Shane and getting involved in his problems. But Reed has constructed a past for Jeremy that precludes him from just watching from the sidelines or ignoring Shane and John's twisted dynamic. I too, would have scolded Jeremy for getting involved yet understood why he could not do otherwise.

This story gave me the same shivers I had as a teenager immersed in Gothic romances. I really get a taste for some horror in my reading on occasion and Reed provides a good, scary and twisted tale. He does a superb job building the suspense and at a certain point, he had me questioning every word and action, waiting for some more horrid truth to be revealed. Riveting stuff!

Thanks to publisher NineStar Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

A bit different and definitely a bit twisted but I did enjoy the ride even when I thought I was losing my mind. Falling for someone should never be this hard (there is a pun in there somewhere I'm sure lol). Jeremy is a good guy with a bad habit of maybe trusting others who need help. He would never just let someone fend for themselves if he could help even a little bit. It may, however, come to bite him in the bum with his new neighbors. Are they a couple? What is wrong with them? Should Jeremy walk away? A few twists and turns in the story kept me up at night. 3.5 stars

Jeremy Booth leads a simple life, scraping by in the gay neighborhood of Seattle, never letting his lack of material things get him down. But the one thing he really wants—someone to love--seems elusive. Until the couple next door moves in and Jeremy sees the man of his dreams, Shane McCallister, pushed down the stairs by a brute named Cole.

What the actual f**k??
What a genuinely creepy, scary book I have ever read. Jeremy Booth, an ordinary guy who falls for his new neighbor, Shane, who has secrets.
Plot twist after plot twist, false identities, super close calls. Once you start you do not what to let hot of the book. Be warned!

Reed made the characters come to life in the wonderful book. My stomach dropped a million times, my nerves were in a thin line. How I love both Jeremy and Shane. John was a bit of a handful, you never know what to expect from him.

The romance aspect was relatively mild compared to the mind-f**king blowing drama the new neighbor brings to Seattle. This is my first book that I have read of Rick R. Reed. I am definitely gonna get my hand of the rest of his books for sure.

This was the first book, in a LONG time, that I couldn't put down. Holy crap! No spoilers here... let's just say, if you are looking for a M/M Romance- you may want to make a different choice. If you want an intense, nail-biting page-turner- You've found it.

With each book I read by Rick R. Reed, I'm more and more impressed. His ability to spin a tale is pretty incredible.

The Couple Next Door took it to a whole new level of fascination. This is a dark, seedy, twisted tale. MC Jeremy could never have imagined this journey.

I received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.