Reviewed by Ashley on
The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase’s family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.
HUGE thanks to Michaniya for this book! I feel like My Life Next Door might have been doomed to an eternity on my wishlist if not for her!
The romance in this book was pretty damn close to perfect! It had a wonderful innocence to it. I’m not sure if “innocence” is quite the word I’m looking for, but it’s as close as I can get right now. It was just so sweet and had “first love” written all over it. It’s the kind of romance that makes you smile while reading and hope that it lasts forever.
And Jase.. oh, Jase. He is SUCH A SWEETHEART!! I adored his character so much. He’s just a nice guy. I freaking love nice guys! Bad boys have their place too, but in real life good guys are the ones for me so I love reading about them in books.
I think one of the things I love most about My Life Next Door is that Samantha and Jase never really have any big arguments. I hate it when a book has a great romance but then it’s riddled with some stupid, petty arguments just to “make things interesting” or introduce some conflict. That’s not the case in My Life Next Door. There is conflict in the book, but it’s not so much to do with the romance, and since the romance was so perfect and sweet, I was glad that it remained untouched from stupid annoying arguments!
And the ending! The ending (or at least the conflict that came before the ending) was both exhilarating and frustrating. I love that it got such a rise out of me. I was freaking out. I was sitting there reading and shouting crazy, insane, violent things to my boyfriend (like “OMG I want to skewer this bitch!!”).
I think I do wish there was a bit more closure at the very end though. I feel like things got wrapped up a little too vaguely. There were a couple of unanswered questions and it’s almost like the ending came a bit suddenly. I wasn’t ready for it!
But overall I think My Life Next Door was a great book! I loved the family dynamics and all the different characters. I even liked some of the ones I hated (Tim). My experience reading this book was very enjoyable and memorable; I totally recommend it! I know summer is basically over, but this is a perfect summer read!
The Verdict
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 29 August, 2013: Finished reading
- 29 August, 2013: Reviewed