Angie
Written on Nov 8, 2013
Neighbors is a romantic novella that just didn't work for me. It's not bad, just not for me. It's all about Rena, an interior designer, who loses her biggest client yet. She's also got a new neighbor, Riker, who isn't the most pleasant fellow around. Of course, Rena tries to drown her sorrows in whiskey, Riker takes her back to his place since he can't get her back into hers, and from there they start to get to know each other and flirt a lot. Enemies to lovers is my favorite type of romance, but it doesn't really work here, at all. Riker is a super jerk, but only to Rena. He's actually a really nice guy with PTSD, so I didn't really understand why he's so rude to her before they started hanging out. I also found it strange how he was conveniently everywhere she went, but I guess coincidences are an easy way to get people together in so few pages.
The main reason that Neighbors wasn't the romance for me, was that it took too serious of a turn. The blurb seems light hearted and fun, but things get quite heavy. There was less of a focus on the romantic aspect and more focus on Riker's experience in the Marine Corps. I honestly have zero interest in the military and anything military related, so this shift was a big negative for me. We see the affects of Riker's PTSD, him getting honored for his service, and he talks about his goals concerning his role as a Marine after losing his leg. It was just a turn off, since I wanted to see more of the chemistry between him and Rena. Also, the sex scene is of the "fade to black" variety which was quite annoying for someone who loves her some sexy times in her books.
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