My Life Next Door by Huntley FitzpatrickPublished by: Dial on June 14, 2012
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 400
Source: Gifted
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Rating: ★★★★½
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!!”). View Spoiler »
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 View Spoiler » ). 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
Sounds soooo sweet. I don’t know why, but when I first saw this book I felt like it was going to be really good.
So many people have been raving about this book, and the romance is one of the most praised aspects of it. Apparently, it’s a very realistic portrayal. That, and many love the love interest.
Great review, Ashley!
Dropped by for a visit today !
I’m glad you had a more positive experience with this one than I did. A lot of readers felt like you did about Jase, but while I appreciated the love interest being a nice guy instead of the usual bad boy, I felt like he was just too perfect. I couldn’t name a single flaw. I had similar issues with the relationship: it was just too perfect.
I do agree about the lack of closure, though. I wasn’t a huge fan of the conflict anyway, but I definitely didn’t like the resolution.
Sounds like a book I have to read! Adding it to my TBR list. =)
Everyone keeps saying how awesome this is. I have to pick it up! Idk how I feel about that ending though.
I loved this one so much and I can’t believe we have to wait until 2015 for Tim’s book.
There is *supposedly* a sequel in the works. No idea what it’s about but I saw something on Twitter about it being a book about Tim, which would make me happy because he SO came through in the end. I loved this one, and want to own a copy to re-read it. Agreed that the romance was close to perfect – realistic yet swoon-worthy. And I LOVED the Garrett’s as a family and their dynamic.
This book is on my wishlist since forever too!!! Everyone keeps gushing about it and everytime I tell myself to go and grab a copy!
Oh I must read this romance, it sounds so wonderful and sweet and right up my alley!
I read this a long time ago and loved it! Tim was an ass but I had a soft spot for him. I’m so excited to read his book. I LOVED Jase!
This book sounds so adorable! I can’t wait to read it!
I have been so eager to read this book so I’m pleased to see you enjoyed it.
The characters sound great as does the story-line.
A fabulous review!