Title: My Life Next DoorAuthor: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Series: My Life Next Door #1
Publisher: Dial BFYR
Publication Date: June 14th, 2012
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time."
The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.
As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase's family embraces Samantha - even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha's world. She's suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.
I think it all has to do with characters, and I didn’t love Samantha. I liked her well enough but I could have liked her more. The romance between Jase was adorable for the most part, but there were some awkward almost forced moments. And quick.. I mean I know she’s stared at him for years from afar, but I would have liked if they had gone a little slower physically. Slow burn is awesome, and I didn’t get that with this story. They were still cute though, and I loved them together.
Other than that, this was a solid fun summer read. I loved all the interactions with Jase’s family. His younger siblings were hilarious.
And whoa, what all goes down, I was not expecting. And Sams mom, wow. She’s a piece of work. That whole situation was just F’d up. It’s funny as I’m reviewing this I realize there were not too many people in this book that I liked. Lol. I enjoyed hating them though, and that’s what really counts.
I'm going to keep this review short because it's been out for a while, and plus I'm lazy! lol. There isn't much I can say about it that you all haven't heard already! :) If you like contemporaries, you will probably love My Life Next Door.
About the Author:
Huntley Fitzpatrick grew up dreamy and distracted in coastal Connecticut. She flourished in a family of bookworms where everyone always had their nose in a book. She kept an exhaustively thorough journal which frightened her boyfriends but has proved very useful in her career as a writer. Her debut contemporary Romance, MY LIFE NEXT DOOR, was published in June of 2012 by Penguin-Dial for Young Readers. Now she laughs with and eavesdrops on her six children who provide her with perspective and material. She is represented by the amazing Christina Hogrebe of the Jane Rotrosen Agency.
Find Huntley:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Goodreads
I was totally not expecting what all went down either! Here I was enjoying this cute little romance and then THAT happened and I was like o.O WHAAAA? It was completely out of left field!
ReplyDeleteOh, by the way, I think you've mistakenly added the description for a different book :) I think that's for Huntley's other novel!
Haha! Yes I did. I forgot to change it. I was rushing around last night to get it scheduled while my family was still here. Thanks for the heads up. I knew I was forgetting something. I'll change it in a bit 😃
DeleteI've seen a lot of people rave about it...so I'm interested. x) Pity it wasn't all the hype raved about for you though!! Gah, I hate it when hype lets me down. The mother sounds...odd. >-<
ReplyDeleteI still liked it, it was a good book. :) The mother was a bit strange. lol
DeleteI read this when it first came out and loved it. I have it on audio so I can relisten. Did you know Tim is getting his own book next year. I really liked him :)
ReplyDeleteI did see that, and I didn't really like him, so I'm not all that excited about it :/ I will probably get it though, cause I'm curious about how everyone gets on afterwards.
DeleteGlad you loved it! This book begs to be re-read over and over again. :)
ReplyDeleteI liked it but I don't think this one will be a re read for me no matter how much it begs. lol.
DeleteHaha! I have so many characters that I love to hate too. This sounds like a great summer read.
ReplyDeletehating characters is the best! lol. :)
DeleteAw, I loved this one. I'm hesitant to rec her new one if you didn't love this one because it's not been as well-received as MLND. But I let my sis borrow it, and she's only a few pages in and really enjoying it so far. But she also really liked MLND. :P
ReplyDeleteI really liked it.. I truly did, but honestly I think the real problem for me was that I was listening to Since You've Been Gone while reading it, and that book was just phenomenal. If I had read it before hand, or while listening to a book that wasn't so good, maybe I would have liked it more? I"m very fickle like that, and it was a good book. No doubt, just not my favorite. I already bought What I Thought Was True. Jess and I are planning to buddy read it later this summer. Maybe I'll love it, since I wasn't as blown away by MLND. Who knows. I"m such a moody reader sometimes. All it takes is one stupid character to blow it for me.
DeleteAw, I'm sorry this one didn't work for you as much as you hoped! It's probably my favorite summer romance of all time. I read it before I really started blogging, so I didn't have any expectations, and I ended up loving it. I've re-read it so many times. :P Have you read What I Thought Was True? I hope that works better for you. :)
ReplyDeleteNo worries! It was good, and maybe going into it with all the hype ruined me a bit for it. I kinda miss the days of reading without any expectations, but I'd never change it for the world. I haven't read What I Thought Was True yet, but I do plan to later this summer. :)
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