A review by jessicareadsit
How to Love Your Neighbor by Sophie Sullivan

3.0

How to Love Your Neighbour is a meet-cute rom-com packed with headstrong female leads, family drama, and a deliciously slow-burn romance.

This book picks up after Sophie's previous book, "Ten Rules for Faking It" which I absolutely adored and focuses on the other Jenson brother- Noah.

I empathized with Noah trying to shed his carefree persona and get his family and the world to see him as something more than the funny Jenson brother- but as a serious real estate developer with strong community ties. I liked how despite his wealth and privilege he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty or admitting when he's in over his head.

His polar opposite and neighbor Grace has had a pretty rough life growing up and to see her fighting to pursue her passion for creative design was inspiring. Grace is a self-taught gal and I couldn't help but giggle at certain scenes where she was Miss Fix It and Noah was totally blown away by her competence.

This reversal of roles- Grace being the hand gal while Noah learns from her was entertaining and I really wish more authors would pen headstrong females who aren't waiting for a man to fix their fence!

Noah and Grace had their ups and downs and I admired how Grace was constantly calling Noah on his bullshit in a way nobody has challenged him before. He needed the tough love almost as much as Grace needed the tenderness and companionship of Noah.

I immensely enjoyed the inclusion of some of the older characters, specifically Morty, who added a different dynamic to the book. Older characters always tend to be the shoulder to lean on or the advice-givers and let's just say Morty gave neither but brought his comedy game!

I did think the book was a bit slower than its predecessor and slightly longer than I usually like but it was a great story about making a house into a home and finding family in those around you.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.