Neighbor Dearest by Penelope Ward

Posted August 20, 2016 by Nerdy Chic in Series, Stand Alone / 0 Comments

by Penelope Ward
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Favorite, Romance
Goodreads
five-stars

After getting dumped, the last thing I needed was to move next door to someone who reminded me of my ex-boyfriend, Elec.

Damien was a hotter version of my ex.

The neighbor I’d dubbed “Angry Artist” also had two massive dogs that kept me up with their barking.

He wanted nothing to do with me. Or so I thought until one night I heard laughter coming through an apparent hole in my bedroom wall.

Damien had been listening to all of my phone sessions with my therapist.

The sexy artist next door now knew all of my deepest secrets and insecurities.

We got to talking.

He set me straight with tips to get over my breakup.

He became a good friend, but Damien made it clear that he couldn’t be anything more.

Problem was, I was falling hard for him anyway. And as much as he pushed me away, I knew he felt the same…because his heartbeat didn’t lie.

I thought my heart had been broken by Elec, but it was alive and beating harder than ever for Damien.

I just hoped he wouldn’t shatter it for good.


*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

“I moved next door to you-the one person I was meant to be with.”

I dub this review “the time I fell in love with a beanie”. Can you blame me after seeing that cover? Penelope Ward happens to be one of those authors that I have to drop everything I’m doing to read her book. I did a binge read of all her books in a row after having read Stepbrother Dearest and I’ve been a fan since. And I can honestly say, after reading Neighbor Dearest, this is probably my favorite to date.

So Neighbor Dearest is a stand alone book. BUT, if you read Stepbrother Dearest, you will know exactly who Chelsea is and who Elec was. I know how huge my obsession with this author is when I actually remembered character names. I’m horrible remembering names, real life and in books, and I knew the second I saw the characters, I had to have this. I needed to know where the author was going to take Chelesea’s story. Will she finally get her Happily Ever After?

“As long as my heart is beating, it will only beat for you.”

Chelsea has suffered a horrible break up with her boyfriend who she believed was the love of her life. As she tries to move forward, she meets her sexy and mysterious new neighbor. Drool worthy to look at but with two very annoying dogs that like to bark and a snarky attitude, she quickly thinks of him as the “angry artist”, who ends up being her very sexy, very mysterious, landlord. These two butt heads, big time, at first. Hilariously too. I nearly lost it when I read that bacon scene. I’m fairly certain I did lose it. I giggled like a loon. As time goes though, these two warm up to one another and Chelsea starts to have deeper feelings for him, feelings that Damien is trying hard to fight. He warns her that marriage and kids are not in his future but she isn’t the only one fighting feelings and destiny really can’t be denied.

“You know why it didn’t work out with him?”
“Why?”
“Because God made you for me.”

Swoon. I didn’t know love before Damien. I can admit this. The attraction between these two is poignant and sweet. They are reluctant friends that slowly grow into more throughout the book so that every page is addictive. Penelope Ward is one of those authors that whenever I’m reading, I don’t just feel like I’m reading an amazing book, I’m involved in these characters lives. I’m with them, I am them, from page one. My heart is fair to bursting over this touching book. I never thought about how Chelsea was feeling while reading Stepbrother Dearest and after reading this, I can’t believe how different it looks to get this other characters perspective. And that epilogue was perfection! I couldn’t think of a better way to end it! This is another fantastic, must have book by an amazing author. Favorite Read of 2016

“You only get one true love, one soulmate. Not everyone is lucky enough to find that person in a lifetime.”

five-stars

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