How to Love Your Neighbor
by Sophie Sullivan
Publication Date: January 18, 2022
★★★☆☆
Grace is a determined and creative woman who discovers she's been left a home by her late and estranged grandparents. She moves in excitedly, until she has a run in with her new neighbour, Noah. Noah is dead-set on buying the lot in order to expand his own property to include an ocean-site oasis with a pool.
Little do these two know, they are in for a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Covered in muted hostility, paint and past trauma, will they be able to shed their differences in order to live in peace?
This was a very cute and endearing introduction to the writing world of Canadian author, Sophie Sullivan. Did I love it? Not entirely. But I didn't hate it either! It was a sweet addition to my rom-com collection, and it definitely helped break up some of the series binges I've been on.
I can appreciate a story about a woman fighting for her own independence after years of familial trauma. Grace's studious nature and high will to succeed closely mirrors my own. Mix that with a need to please others that is clumsy and is generally bull-headed, you basically have me. Is Grace a Taurus too?
I will admit, the first part of the book was a little hard to get into. There were times where I felt the writing limped along with the aid of a thesaurus - similar to when I'm trying to make up a word count for a paper. I really don't think it warranted being as long as it was (>350 pages) and some of the lengthy sentences and added on words made it drag. The dialogue felt forced, and there were some errors in grammar and idiom usage. That being said, as I passed the halfway mark, it felt like the author finally felt her rhythm and it felt more natural and fluid.
I wouldn't entirely call this book an enemies-to-lovers story. There were small elements of that, but it felt more like a clashing of personalities that was quickly resolved with amicable interactions suffused with humour - whether through witty remarks or physical comedy. Beyond the initial dislike between Grace and Noah, what with Noah's background with money and his need to acquire Grace's new home, I don't feel as though there was too much conflict between the two outside of general miscommunication. The fact the story progresses over six weeks felt a bit unrealistic for those relationship goals. The romance was very clean and fade-to-black, which I know would appeal to a large crowd that don't necessarily appreciate some of the heavier aspects of contemporary romance novels.
I did like the design elements and felt like that focus was well thought out. Enough detail was given to visualize the spaces that Grace and Noah were working on. It was pretty vague on what Noah did exactly, but the lack of attention there meant the story more so focused on Grace's struggles and successes.
The one element that really spoke with me was the dynamic between Grace and Noah and their respective parents. With Noah's experience, I related to some aspects of not living up to parental expectations and competing with siblings to be the "golden child". With Grace, I can understand the feeling of needing to get away from a familial situation and put distance between oneself and a negative influence. A lot of her interactions with her mom remind me of my own struggles with my birth mother and other family members as well. There were moments during scenes involving her mom where I felt uncomfortable, due to the fact that what was being said between the two closely resemble conversations I've had myself - and I admire Grace for having a backbone, partially because I still have yet to find mine.
A part of me was a little disappointed that a book written by a Canadian author was based in a large American area (LA, California). I would've loved to see this story moved to woodsy and ocean-sprayed coastal BC, the Maritimes, or even to the interior of BC where lakes and vacation homes abound. But that's just me.
All this being said, this was a very quick palette cleanser and I truly believe that it would transform well to TV, as it had very strong Hallmark meets HGTV vibes. Though there are some moments with strong language, it's something that a larger group set would appreciate, especially young adults trying to find their way in life, academics and romance.
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