I love a good "friends to lovers"...it took seeing the other with someone else to realize they were more storyline...but this book just fell flat for me.

The constant shifting of POVs without a heading or explanation made the book feel choppy and I never felt like I had the opportunity to truly connect with the characters or enjoy their evolving relationships.

I wish that Gill and Dinah had a completely separate book of their own because their chapters really took away from Sarah and Rory. The addition of Greg and Sasha (especially Sasha) just felt like it was adding unnecessary drama to either make Sarah's life more complicated or paint Rory in an even better light.

I think if you are looking for a lighter read with a lot of characters, you will enjoy this, it just wasn't for me.

It started really good with a flashback of Rory's life and then I got interested. I didn't know the plot of this book because I don't really like when sometimes the blurb gives you spoilers but tlI was getting kind of bored because nothing was happening and if a book is this short, there should be things happening. So I search the blurb and then when I read it I didn't find it that interesting.

I hate when characters change so the love interest likes them. So maybe it was my fault for not reading the description of the book because it isn't usually something I read but I wanted to give it a chance.

I got kind of confused because the povs weren't stated so every time I started reading a new chapter it was really confusing and kind of tired me to think who may be the chapter about.

Also I felt like nothing was happening and even it was a short book it felt like it was just too long.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for this book.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author and I’m definitely going to read more. I really enjoyed the book, funny but warm and has flawed but likeable characters. Great easy but enjoyable read

1.5 / 5.0 (rounded up to 2 stars because I think there might be some cultural misinterpretations here)

Ok, this opens with childhood trauma. Full stop, the male main’s mother dies and she leaves him with a whopper of an assignment, to be better than his father… become a good guy. That sets the stage for the rest of the PTSD driven, stereotype-laden, dry dialogue spewing drivel that is this book.

It is not well written but it is written well enough to get the point across, except there is no point. The characters are all very cliché and no one has much personality. There is no plot. It isn’t even a cozy rolling plot story, that stumbles into a point, it is just an exploration in someone’s (the author, I imagine) idea of people getting their comeuppance but it is super unsatisfying.

I read the first 10% diligently, the next 30% quickly, and the next 15% desperately searching for a reason to finish this book. Something…. ANYTHING!!

Overall, maybe it’s a British rom-com vs an American rom-com set of expectations, but this was not enjoyable, not entertaining, and extremely “click-bait”-ish. I couldn’t finish it and DNF at 55%… so low rating and no recommendations.

Until Next Time,
MC

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for a gifted ARC of this book- my review is voluntary and my honest opinion.

This is a sweet friends to lovers romance about two people who are trying to figure out what they really want in life and realizing that they already have it in each other.

I guess I understand what Rory was trying to do when he decided to model himself in a more stereotypically “masculine” way. He thought it would help him get the girl (even though she was the wrong girl). But I kind of hate that Sarah (the right girl) ever went along with it, even if she was just trying to be supportive. In all honestly it took a little too long for them to figure it out for me. Or I wish that there had at least been more tension between them in the process. It was clear early on that they were meant to be together, and yet in the end it all felt a little anticlimactic. Gill and Dinah got a bigger moment than Rory and Sarah.

It was an easy and enjoyable read. Good, but I was left wishing for a little more.

I like reading this author so I was excited when I got the ARC. It was a friends to lovers trope, slow burn - a great romcom. As others have mentioned, a few too many POV's and the Gill/Dinah subplot was unnecessary. But all in all a great book. Read it when it comes out.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was charming and sweet and lovely for a beach read. The multiple perspectives did get a bit confusing and some of the plot lines felt a bit arbitrary, but overall a light and fun book.

Just not my cup of tea unfortunately. This was too convoluted for my taste.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This book was a very sweet fast paced friends-to-lovers. It definitely had a ‘Love Actually’ feeling with all the different povs that I was not expecting.
I really enjoyed the journey the characters went on. Them realizing what they wanted out of life and wanting to not be alone but at the same time not seeing what they actually had right in front of them.
The banter between the characters was really enjoyable and all the characters felt really realistic not everything was perfect all the time and they reacted like you would expect normal people to react which was nice to see.
The book ended a little bit abruptly in my opinion.
But Sarah and Rory have an absolutely adorable relationship and I had a fun time meeting all the side characters and seeing how they all fit into the story
Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Mr Right Next Door by Rachel Dove

First of all, the author's note in the beginning touched my heart. I love the message Rachel Dove is trying to convey through this book. It's depressing how many girls and women go for "bad boys" who are mean, rude but handsome rather than the good ones who respect everyone and have good morals.

The thing I loved the most is the multiple perspectives. All the important characters, be it the protagonists, supporting characters or the antagonists- got their point of view when required t explain the situation. And it came out very well. I certainly enjoyed reading the story from many angles.

As promised, it is a hilarious and heartwarming novel. I look forward to read more of Rachel Dove's books.

I think the book got really jumbled as the plot went on. They are were just too many people involved in the love triangle/square/hexagon? Anyways, I LOVED the characters, especially Sarah’s daughter AnnaBelle!

Sarah and Rory’s relationship lacked communication but they made it work so you rooted for them in the end.

I am grateful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

A story with a "Love, Actually" vibe of intermingled characters and complicated relationships.

I liked Rory and Sarah off the bat, as well as Gill and Dinah. The first chapter was heartbreaking to read, but set up the story well. Things did slow a bit after that, and I started to question whether the story would quicken its pace or pull me in... and I'm happy to say I was soon invested in all the storylines (especially hopefully Greg would get his comeuppance).

A fun romcom, albeit crude in sections, with a nice balance of awful people, lovable children, angst and laughter.

NB I received an ARC of this novel.

I really liked this book! Rory tries so hard to be a "good guy" but feels he's always looked over for the cads & assholes by women. I loved his relationship with his best friend Sarah-- he's so loving and supportive of her as a person and single mother, and is just the cutest uncle her adorable daughter. I loved how he realizes his attraction and feelings for her so suddenly, kinda like "oh wow, I think I love you." Rory and Sarah have the most honest, loyal, understanding, loving friendship that blooms into a beautiful relationship.

I had a hard time with the changing perspectives; the book is all written in third person, but it still changes the perspective from many different characters which was a little hard to follow. Overall I really liked this story! Thank you for the ARC!!!

There’s nothing new here,… best friends to lovers, will they won’t they, precocious child, dorky/sassy best friends…. It’s all comfortably predictable and there’s nothing wrong with that. An easy comfy read for this distracted mind.

⭐️ 3.5

Mr Right Next Door is a quick and easy ready for romance lovers!

It’s a good palette cleanser and has multiple points of view which helps keep the reading pace moving.

I thought the ending was rushed. I find it hard to believe the MCs waited this long to realize they were 🫶 made 🫶 for each other.

An irresistible slice of escapism and a joy to read. Compelling, absorbing and highly entertaining. Fast-moving and fun! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A very realistic story about single parent Sarah, who has a deadbeat ex boyfriend, Greg, who reminds me of the narcissistic ex husband of a friend of mine. Very realistically written how you can have an ex who is a lousy father but still stirs up trouble by canceling pickups or not taking good care of the child in question. Sarah had a guilty conscience because she needs to work a lot to provide for her daughter and het elderly mother. I think a lot of people can relate to that.
Rory is your typical ‘good’ guy, more so that he is boring. He wears brown loafers, cream slacks, a white shirt and blue tie, and on top of that a thin, cream cardigan. And he has glasses. In the book somebody says ‘Loïs Lane didn’t want Clark Kent, she wanted Superman’. And that is why not a single girl gives him the light of day. He decides to make a change, so his best friend Sarah takes Rory shopping and to a barber for a modern haircut, and he looks much better after that. Rory and Sarah both decide to get out more. After the makeover Rory finally scores a date with Sasha (who didn’t even noticed him before) and Sarah starts going out with Nigel. Sasha is repping Leon, a boxer, who in turn knows Greg, Sarah’s ex. They all turn up at Rory’s bar so that is how everyone crosses paths. Of course Rory and Sarah have their HEA in the end but it was wrapped up really quickly and suddenly. I missed chemistry between Rory and Sarah.
The secondary characters, Gill and Dinah, were a bit confusing, though. I don’t really see why they were added, since they didn’t really contribute to the main characters.
A very light read with some good parts that I know enough people will enjoy.
I received and reviewed an advanced copy of this book and I am grateful for this opportunity. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First of all, I did enjoy the characters (well most of them). However, this book fell short for me. I'm not sure what it was, but it missed the mark. And the Gill & Dinah story line? Why was so much time spent on their story?
This was a miss for me.

Slow burn, friends to lovers, single parent

This is a difficult story to rate - there were some really great elements (Single Mum Sarah was brilliant and so well rounded), and some elements that didn't sit right with me (The general theme of the bad boys get the girls). The clear gem of the story was Annabelle - an adorable sweet girl who is just too clever.

This story just didn't hit the mark for me unfortunately

Mr. Right Next Door....

We are introduced to Rory right from the beginning, in a setting 30 years from the present time. In that beginning we get to understand who Rory is.
Enter present day, Rory decides he needs to change himself to find love. He hasn't been able to find love before.
Sarah is Rory's neighbor and best friend. She doesn't understand why Rory needs to change himself to find love when he is perfect just the way he is, especially for love.
Rory has always hated every guy that has come into Sarah's life, finally realizing that is is because of jealousy. As Rory changes himself to find love, what he doesn't realize is that maybe it is right next door.
This is a cute story, written in 3rd person. I am not quite used to that but was able to get into the book. You will laugh and fall in love while reading.