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Girl Next Door: A Hilarious Sapphic Rom-Com Brimming with Secrets, Yearning, and Heart
“Girl Next Door is everything I love. Complex characters, a prickly love interest, secrets, yearning, questionable decisions, and that glorious HEA. A tender, funny, sexy novel.” — Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn't Care
In this charming debut rom-com, a young freelancer returns to her suburban hometown to uncover why her childhood next door neighbor’s bestselling book appears to be an epic love story about the two of them.
When MC Calloway’s best friend Joe, an editor at the notorious gossip website Jawbreaker, calls her in for an emergency meeting, MC is unprepared for how frantic he is. But when he shows her a copy of Girl Next Door, the steamy, bestselling rom-com taking the literary world by storm, written under a pen name, points to one of the women on the front cover, and says, “that's you,” its MC who begins to panic.
Joe is convinced that the author is Nora Pike, MC's prickly, childhood next-door neighbor, and their former high school classmate – and MC knows he’s right, since the book describes actual events that happened their senior year, down to the tiniest details. But in the book, the characters based on MC and Nora are desperately in love, rather than the awkward acquaintances MC remembers being in real life.
Joe begs MC to go home undercover and get the scoop on Nora. That’s the last thing MC wants to do, especially for an assignment that seems morally dubious at best, but she reluctantly agrees, knowing Joe is desperate to break a big story. Crashing in her childhood home with her older brother Conrad (now married to MC's secret high school crush, Gabby), MC begins untangling truth from fiction, trying to get close to Nora, who is just as hot and prickly as ever – and now suspicious of MC to boot. But the more involved she gets with Nora, the more it becomes clear they’re both hiding secrets . . . and MC realizes she might be in over her head.
Perfect for readers of Delilah Green Doesn't Care and Book Lovers, Girl Next Door is a delicious debut brimming with romance, humor, and heart.
In this charming debut rom-com, a young freelancer returns to her suburban hometown to uncover why her childhood next door neighbor’s bestselling book appears to be an epic love story about the two of them.
When MC Calloway’s best friend Joe, an editor at the notorious gossip website Jawbreaker, calls her in for an emergency meeting, MC is unprepared for how frantic he is. But when he shows her a copy of Girl Next Door, the steamy, bestselling rom-com taking the literary world by storm, written under a pen name, points to one of the women on the front cover, and says, “that's you,” its MC who begins to panic.
Joe is convinced that the author is Nora Pike, MC's prickly, childhood next-door neighbor, and their former high school classmate – and MC knows he’s right, since the book describes actual events that happened their senior year, down to the tiniest details. But in the book, the characters based on MC and Nora are desperately in love, rather than the awkward acquaintances MC remembers being in real life.
Joe begs MC to go home undercover and get the scoop on Nora. That’s the last thing MC wants to do, especially for an assignment that seems morally dubious at best, but she reluctantly agrees, knowing Joe is desperate to break a big story. Crashing in her childhood home with her older brother Conrad (now married to MC's secret high school crush, Gabby), MC begins untangling truth from fiction, trying to get close to Nora, who is just as hot and prickly as ever – and now suspicious of MC to boot. But the more involved she gets with Nora, the more it becomes clear they’re both hiding secrets . . . and MC realizes she might be in over her head.
Perfect for readers of Delilah Green Doesn't Care and Book Lovers, Girl Next Door is a delicious debut brimming with romance, humor, and heart.
335 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 9, 2025
56 people are currently reading
24251 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
July 18, 2025
every single person in this book was a villain. there isn’t a single redeeming quality in anybody??? i’m astounded
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the alc
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the alc
July 24, 2025
If you know what's good for you, you will read this book. I could not put it down.
I felt like I was on a rollercoaster, let me tell you. There were a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of people were hurt. It was written so well MY heart hurt to see these characters hurt. There was so, so much growth for both MC as well as a few others, but Nora and MC by far grew the most.
MC is a people pleaser to say the least, and puts everyone's feelings before her own. She lets people walk over her to get what they want and she'll hold their hand while they do it. Nora is quite literally the opposite, and she doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks about her. There was so much realness to this book, and there were characters I didn't want to like, but couldn't help myself and loved them anyways. What I loved was that MC put in the effort to rebuild her relationship with her brother and reconnected, realizing that she missed a lot more than she thought.
Y'all almost had me at the end, and I NEED MORE. Girl Next Door may ruin books for me for a bit because it's the type of book that makes you feel like "what could literally be better than this one?" I'm gonna need a day or two to recuperate from this 100/10 book, and I WILL be purchasing a copy when it comes out to simply read it again.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, and thank you Rachel Meredith for writing a fantastic novel.
I felt like I was on a rollercoaster, let me tell you. There were a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of people were hurt. It was written so well MY heart hurt to see these characters hurt. There was so, so much growth for both MC as well as a few others, but Nora and MC by far grew the most.
MC is a people pleaser to say the least, and puts everyone's feelings before her own. She lets people walk over her to get what they want and she'll hold their hand while they do it. Nora is quite literally the opposite, and she doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks about her. There was so much realness to this book, and there were characters I didn't want to like, but couldn't help myself and loved them anyways. What I loved was that MC put in the effort to rebuild her relationship with her brother and reconnected, realizing that she missed a lot more than she thought.
Y'all almost had me at the end, and I NEED MORE. Girl Next Door may ruin books for me for a bit because it's the type of book that makes you feel like "what could literally be better than this one?" I'm gonna need a day or two to recuperate from this 100/10 book, and I WILL be purchasing a copy when it comes out to simply read it again.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, and thank you Rachel Meredith for writing a fantastic novel.
August 24, 2025
Girl Next Door is brilliant. Easily one of the best novels I’ve read this year. I related deeply to MC (Mischa Celeste, main character—one of many little metatextual jokes folded into the design of the book). Related to how she struggled to express herself to her family and to Nora. To the complicated selfishness of her people-pleasing. To the moment where she rings the doorbell and isn’t sure if it actually rang, and then agonizes for minutes over whether she should ring it again—which is my life in a nutshell, basically.
There’s another scene, a beautiful sex scene, where Nora asks MC to say what she wants, and MC tries and tries but she just can’t. It made me cry, I saw myself so clearly. Honestly, I don’t know if I can be trusted to judge this novel fairly. I haven’t seen myself reflected so clearly in a book in years.
MC is oblivious in just the way I often feel, where it’s impossible to know how responsible you are. Whether you created this obliviousness because, on some level, it served you, or if it’s just your brain and you couldn’t be otherwise. Hell, she even lived in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn! How am I supposed to be objective, here!?
For a contemporary Romance novel, Girl Next Door is morally gray. It’s not the sexy kind of moral grayness, either. It’s the hard kind, the kind where people hurt each other in ways that can’t be easily justified—or justified at all—and then go on loving each other anyway. Which isn’t to say the novel isn’t sexy when it wants to be (I won’t be forgetting the Matrix scene anytime soon, that’s for sure). It’s also very funny—and the humor is part of how the novel creates meaning in a way not many rom-coms pull off. Although the prose never steps outside the bounds of a typical contemporary romance in any obvious way, it’s wickedly smart at the same time, full of unexpected connections, layers of meaning hiding in odd corners of the narrative.
I stayed up way too late finishing this, and I think I’m going to read it again at Christmas time.
There’s another scene, a beautiful sex scene, where Nora asks MC to say what she wants, and MC tries and tries but she just can’t. It made me cry, I saw myself so clearly. Honestly, I don’t know if I can be trusted to judge this novel fairly. I haven’t seen myself reflected so clearly in a book in years.
MC is oblivious in just the way I often feel, where it’s impossible to know how responsible you are. Whether you created this obliviousness because, on some level, it served you, or if it’s just your brain and you couldn’t be otherwise. Hell, she even lived in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn! How am I supposed to be objective, here!?
For a contemporary Romance novel, Girl Next Door is morally gray. It’s not the sexy kind of moral grayness, either. It’s the hard kind, the kind where people hurt each other in ways that can’t be easily justified—or justified at all—and then go on loving each other anyway. Which isn’t to say the novel isn’t sexy when it wants to be (I won’t be forgetting the Matrix scene anytime soon, that’s for sure). It’s also very funny—and the humor is part of how the novel creates meaning in a way not many rom-coms pull off. Although the prose never steps outside the bounds of a typical contemporary romance in any obvious way, it’s wickedly smart at the same time, full of unexpected connections, layers of meaning hiding in odd corners of the narrative.
I stayed up way too late finishing this, and I think I’m going to read it again at Christmas time.
October 7, 2025
Okay so yes all of these characters were toxic in their own way (minus Gabby imo), but I couldn’t stop reading it. What both Nora and MC did to each other was wrong but they were a perfect match. Really enjoyed how the past was woven into the present. I did feel like at a point I’d had enough of the back and forth and was ready for action, but it didn’t deter me on the mission to finish it. The ending also seemed a bit abrupt and would’ve preferred another chapter to allow for a look further into the future.
Thank you to the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
July 28, 2025
3.5 stars, rounded to 4 stars.
This story was quick and simple, and it sort of gave me Mean Girls burn book vibes.
This story follows MC and Nora.
The two women were next-door neighbors growing up but were never close.
Years later, a book is released with shockingly similar setting to their hometown, and includes characters based off all of their peers.
The story also includes a relationship between MC and Nora, which never actually happened.
Although published under an alias, MC is almost certain that Nora is the author, and she returns to their hometown to discover the truth- and to gather information that will expose Nora.
What you can expect from this story:
- Sapphic romance
- A grumpy main character
- Interesting side characters
I really liked the premise of this.
The idea of two people falling in love after one of them unexpectedly writes a book about their fantasies for the other? That seemed so fun.
This book kind of delivered on that, but I think it could have been executed just a little bit better.
I honestly was having a hard time rating this book, and I could not decide between 3 or 4 stars- but I think I enjoyed it enough to round up.
First of all, I will say that I really enjoyed the romantic encounters between MC and Nora. I just wish there had been more of them.
It was very back-and-forth, and Nora seemed to change her mind a lot. I think this made it a bit difficult to see the connection between them for a big part of the story.
I think I just expected there to be a lot more yearning, given Nora writing an entire book about being with MC.
However, the moments when they are on good terms are quite nice, and I was rooting for them.
The side characters here are definitely a bonus.
I don’t typically care too much about side characters, but this was an exception.
They have quite a developed storyline of their own, and at times I felt just as invested in what was happening with them, as I was with the two main characters.
Overall, it is a fine read. It is not a super fluffy, sweet romance, but the plot is interesting and keeps you engaged!
Thank you to Natgalley, Harper Perennial and paperbacks and author Rachel Meredith for providing me with the eARC of “Girl Next Door”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: September 9th, 2025
This story was quick and simple, and it sort of gave me Mean Girls burn book vibes.
This story follows MC and Nora.
The two women were next-door neighbors growing up but were never close.
Years later, a book is released with shockingly similar setting to their hometown, and includes characters based off all of their peers.
The story also includes a relationship between MC and Nora, which never actually happened.
Although published under an alias, MC is almost certain that Nora is the author, and she returns to their hometown to discover the truth- and to gather information that will expose Nora.
What you can expect from this story:
- Sapphic romance
- A grumpy main character
- Interesting side characters
I really liked the premise of this.
The idea of two people falling in love after one of them unexpectedly writes a book about their fantasies for the other? That seemed so fun.
This book kind of delivered on that, but I think it could have been executed just a little bit better.
I honestly was having a hard time rating this book, and I could not decide between 3 or 4 stars- but I think I enjoyed it enough to round up.
First of all, I will say that I really enjoyed the romantic encounters between MC and Nora. I just wish there had been more of them.
It was very back-and-forth, and Nora seemed to change her mind a lot. I think this made it a bit difficult to see the connection between them for a big part of the story.
I think I just expected there to be a lot more yearning, given Nora writing an entire book about being with MC.
However, the moments when they are on good terms are quite nice, and I was rooting for them.
The side characters here are definitely a bonus.
I don’t typically care too much about side characters, but this was an exception.
They have quite a developed storyline of their own, and at times I felt just as invested in what was happening with them, as I was with the two main characters.
Overall, it is a fine read. It is not a super fluffy, sweet romance, but the plot is interesting and keeps you engaged!
Thank you to Natgalley, Harper Perennial and paperbacks and author Rachel Meredith for providing me with the eARC of “Girl Next Door”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: September 9th, 2025
March 20, 2025
It’s gay and it slaps! My penchant for queer romance has led me to read a lot of just okay books, but every so often I hit a gem. Girl Next Door is one of those gems. The premise is fantastic: M.C. 's best friend Joe, a culture writer, discovers that the anonymously-published bestselling book “Girl Next Door” is essentially a direct retelling of their high school years with M.C. 's analog starring as the love interest opposite her real-life neighbor Nora. The kicker? Nora and M.C. never dated. According to M.C., they were barely acquaintances. Joe, desperately looking for the big story that will save his career, begs M.C. to return to their small town and get the scoop on Nora so that he can reveal her identity for clicks. This reconnaissance mission goes awry when M.C. finds herself catching real feelings for Nora.
All of the characters in Girl Next Door felt incredibly real. Our main love interests and the supporting cast all had history and the relationships between them were complicated and messy. Girl Next Door doesn’t just explore a burgeoning romance – it also explores the complexity of sibling relationships and the lack of direction that comes from being in your mid-twenties.
It's also a rare feat to craft a third act breakup that doesn’t piss me off so kudos to Rachel Meredith for that.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
All of the characters in Girl Next Door felt incredibly real. Our main love interests and the supporting cast all had history and the relationships between them were complicated and messy. Girl Next Door doesn’t just explore a burgeoning romance – it also explores the complexity of sibling relationships and the lack of direction that comes from being in your mid-twenties.
It's also a rare feat to craft a third act breakup that doesn’t piss me off so kudos to Rachel Meredith for that.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
September 13, 2025
According to my Goodreads account, in the 10 years I’ve been tracking my reading, I’ve read around 200 romances. I’m happy to say GIRL NEXT DOOR offered something a little bit different so it didn’t feel like the same old same old. It’s a great thing when writers develop other parts of the characters’ lives rather than just focusing on the love story.
MC Calloway is shocked to discover that she might be the inspiration for a character in a best selling rom-com. Although written under a pen name, MC is pretty certain the author is her childhood neighbor, Nora. In the book, the characters based on MC and Nora are in love but in real life MC considered Nora as more of an acquaintance as their interactions were pretty awkward. Did Nora have a crush on MC in high school? MC is a writer for a gossip site and has been tasked with getting the inside scoop on Nora. Easier said than done.
I liked how this one had a unique premise and a cast of characters with strengths and flaws. Give me people with messy and complicated lives any day. Yes, it means you might question certain actions and decisions but hey, people make mistakes. It’s the aftermath and whether or not you grow that defines a person. It made for an interesting and relatable read.
Recommend if you enjoy romances that have humor and well-developed characters.
MC Calloway is shocked to discover that she might be the inspiration for a character in a best selling rom-com. Although written under a pen name, MC is pretty certain the author is her childhood neighbor, Nora. In the book, the characters based on MC and Nora are in love but in real life MC considered Nora as more of an acquaintance as their interactions were pretty awkward. Did Nora have a crush on MC in high school? MC is a writer for a gossip site and has been tasked with getting the inside scoop on Nora. Easier said than done.
I liked how this one had a unique premise and a cast of characters with strengths and flaws. Give me people with messy and complicated lives any day. Yes, it means you might question certain actions and decisions but hey, people make mistakes. It’s the aftermath and whether or not you grow that defines a person. It made for an interesting and relatable read.
Recommend if you enjoy romances that have humor and well-developed characters.
April 18, 2025
I honestly would give this a higher rating if I could. And Lucia I will apologize if I'm blowing this out of proportion and you hate this. AND MAYBE this reviews is based on the simple fact that I am starving for good w|w content and that's fine. But I have not read a w|w this good in a long time. I devoured this actually.
One of the things that kept going through my mind while reading this was that this was just a genuine experience. The characters and the story telling all felt so real. MC could be seen as a little annoying and if someone said that I would agree but I also found her character charming because she was so hapless but also always wanting to do the right thing. I think MC was such a real depiction of floating through life with this idea about yourself and the world, when other's see you as the main character, or the MC if you will. Which Rachel Meredith I don't know if you did that one purpose but hilarious if she did.
Nora was more confusing to me but I understood herself doubt and loneliness on a spiritual level. Honestly Nora and MC I related to a lot. Their relationship was easily described as messy and confusing but I think that's what made it so great to read about. No one had the right answers and they just accepted that sometimes things are going to be messy. Growing up and learning about yourself is just like that. At the end I truly felt that MC and Nora were made for each other which is what I want when I read a rom com.
It's built on a silly goofy inciting incident which I actually hated and Joe can go to hell I don't care if he apologized. I hated how this rom com started because I hate when character lie to each other. I did feel it all should have resolved better than it did but I'm also a talker and wanted more out of the confessions and apologies. However even when we finally collided at the point where all secrets came to light, it felt real and honest rather than a lot of contrived nonsense people put into rom coms to make the big fight at the end make sense. Their's felt deserved and they're make up felt earned.
But honestly other than that 10/10 will buy asap and reread again.
If anyone cares, if you like this book read Late to the Party or I Kissed Shara Wheeler because it's same vibes just in YA.
I got this as ARC from Edelweiss.
One of the things that kept going through my mind while reading this was that this was just a genuine experience. The characters and the story telling all felt so real. MC could be seen as a little annoying and if someone said that I would agree but I also found her character charming because she was so hapless but also always wanting to do the right thing. I think MC was such a real depiction of floating through life with this idea about yourself and the world, when other's see you as the main character, or the MC if you will. Which Rachel Meredith I don't know if you did that one purpose but hilarious if she did.
Nora was more confusing to me but I understood herself doubt and loneliness on a spiritual level. Honestly Nora and MC I related to a lot. Their relationship was easily described as messy and confusing but I think that's what made it so great to read about. No one had the right answers and they just accepted that sometimes things are going to be messy. Growing up and learning about yourself is just like that. At the end I truly felt that MC and Nora were made for each other which is what I want when I read a rom com.
It's built on a silly goofy inciting incident which I actually hated and Joe can go to hell I don't care if he apologized. I hated how this rom com started because I hate when character lie to each other. I did feel it all should have resolved better than it did but I'm also a talker and wanted more out of the confessions and apologies. However even when we finally collided at the point where all secrets came to light, it felt real and honest rather than a lot of contrived nonsense people put into rom coms to make the big fight at the end make sense. Their's felt deserved and they're make up felt earned.
But honestly other than that 10/10 will buy asap and reread again.
If anyone cares, if you like this book read Late to the Party or I Kissed Shara Wheeler because it's same vibes just in YA.
I got this as ARC from Edelweiss.
August 31, 2025
3.75/5
Massive points lost with a shitty and manipulative best friend to one of the FMCs… I don’t know if it’s petty of me or what but lost a star for him alone. Every scene he was in felt SO gross, to me.
Everyone in this book was just hiding things from everyone else and to be honest quite a few of those things were just incredibly unnecessary. I think we could have gotten to the same ending while avoiding the majority of the drama. I will say that I did more easily enjoy this read and the other characters with their lack of good judgment whenever Joe was forgotten. I am actually disgusted that he remained a friend til the end. Dude should have been dropped and never thought about again. In my opinion.
I will definitely read something else by this author in the future, I think Joe’s character really ruined my experience with this book.
I was provided an eARC of Girl Next Door from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Massive points lost with a shitty and manipulative best friend to one of the FMCs… I don’t know if it’s petty of me or what but lost a star for him alone. Every scene he was in felt SO gross, to me.
Everyone in this book was just hiding things from everyone else and to be honest quite a few of those things were just incredibly unnecessary. I think we could have gotten to the same ending while avoiding the majority of the drama. I will say that I did more easily enjoy this read and the other characters with their lack of good judgment whenever Joe was forgotten. I am actually disgusted that he remained a friend til the end. Dude should have been dropped and never thought about again. In my opinion.
I will definitely read something else by this author in the future, I think Joe’s character really ruined my experience with this book.
I was provided an eARC of Girl Next Door from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
November 2, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️ moderate
MC Calloway is surviving as a freelancer in NY, and things are just fine. That is, until her best friend and gossip website editor, Joe, reveals that a new book called Girl Next Door is rocking the romance world even with an anonymous author. Joe is convinced that the author is Nora Pike, MC’s reclusive neighbor from childhood, and that the main love interest in the story is thinly veiled MC. Joe begs MC to go undercover to see if Nora really is the author. Nora returns home to suburbia to live with her brother, Conrad, and his wife/her high school bestie/crush, Gabby. MC starts to peel back layers, only to find Nora is just as thorny as she was before, and that everyone is hiding their own secrets. Will MC figure out if Nora really is behind the book, and if so, how can curmudgeon Nora be so enamored?
This was such a fun debut novel from Rachel Meredith! I loved the #NeighborsToLovers sapphic trope and the book-within-a-book storyline, and the not-so-undercover aspect of MC returning home to “out” Nora as a secret romcom author was truly icing on the cake. There’s some emotional depth to the characters beyond just their Elphaba/Glinda sapphic vibes: overcoming betrayal and self-depreciation, engaging in personal growth beyond the toxicity, and yes, binge-worthy romance. I can’t wait to pick up whatever Rachel Meredith writes next!
Reviewed as part of #ARC; many thanks to Harper Perennial for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. #harperperennialpartner
Read this book if you:
👩💻 love fan fic about The Matrix or the Byzantine Empire
😬 engage in self-deprecating humor or exist as an anxiously awkward
📚 like sapphic books about sapphic books
Follow me on Instagram for more book reviews!
🌶️🌶️🌶️ moderate
MC Calloway is surviving as a freelancer in NY, and things are just fine. That is, until her best friend and gossip website editor, Joe, reveals that a new book called Girl Next Door is rocking the romance world even with an anonymous author. Joe is convinced that the author is Nora Pike, MC’s reclusive neighbor from childhood, and that the main love interest in the story is thinly veiled MC. Joe begs MC to go undercover to see if Nora really is the author. Nora returns home to suburbia to live with her brother, Conrad, and his wife/her high school bestie/crush, Gabby. MC starts to peel back layers, only to find Nora is just as thorny as she was before, and that everyone is hiding their own secrets. Will MC figure out if Nora really is behind the book, and if so, how can curmudgeon Nora be so enamored?
This was such a fun debut novel from Rachel Meredith! I loved the #NeighborsToLovers sapphic trope and the book-within-a-book storyline, and the not-so-undercover aspect of MC returning home to “out” Nora as a secret romcom author was truly icing on the cake. There’s some emotional depth to the characters beyond just their Elphaba/Glinda sapphic vibes: overcoming betrayal and self-depreciation, engaging in personal growth beyond the toxicity, and yes, binge-worthy romance. I can’t wait to pick up whatever Rachel Meredith writes next!
Reviewed as part of #ARC; many thanks to Harper Perennial for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. #harperperennialpartner
Read this book if you:
👩💻 love fan fic about The Matrix or the Byzantine Empire
😬 engage in self-deprecating humor or exist as an anxiously awkward
📚 like sapphic books about sapphic books
Follow me on Instagram for more book reviews!
October 14, 2025
LOVED THIS BOOK like so so much. i’ve never read a worst ending though🙃 also mildly anticlimactic in terms of the characters relationship, BUT it was such a fun read and i would definitely suggest it i swear it’s worth it
July 27, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars was because I wanted more in the end. I needed an epilogue. It wrapped up but I feel like more could’ve been told and I wanted to know more about their plans etc.
I devoured this book and stayed up late reading it. That’s how good it was. I was not only interested in the MC’s storyline but the side character’s storylines pulled me in as well. The plot was refreshing and interesting. I will definitely be checking out other work by this author!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the ARC!
The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars was because I wanted more in the end. I needed an epilogue. It wrapped up but I feel like more could’ve been told and I wanted to know more about their plans etc.
I devoured this book and stayed up late reading it. That’s how good it was. I was not only interested in the MC’s storyline but the side character’s storylines pulled me in as well. The plot was refreshing and interesting. I will definitely be checking out other work by this author!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the ARC!
September 29, 2025
MC and her best friend Joe work in publishing, and she has just learned that there is a new RomCom bestseller by an unknown debut author. But the situation is very familiar, she realizes that the book is about herself and her neighbor. Therefore she has the ability to expose the author to her fandom and also go home to find her to find out what is up. She takes the train to her hometown and reconnects with her brother and his wife, who she had a giant crush on in high school.
How great is that symbolism, MC is the main character. I am such a sucker for the "you can't go home again, or can you" trope bringing someone from the big city back to their hometown. MC is a great main character, she is likeable yet flawed. There is a 3rd act miscommunication/breakup and lots of interesting side characters.
Read if you like;
Second Chance Romance
Identity issues
Funny Dialogue
Queer Romance
Book industry setting (publishing and library)
Winter time (but not Christmas) setting
Letting go of the dog eat dog lifestyle
Thank you to @harperPerennial for the gifted finished copy. Available now!
How great is that symbolism, MC is the main character. I am such a sucker for the "you can't go home again, or can you" trope bringing someone from the big city back to their hometown. MC is a great main character, she is likeable yet flawed. There is a 3rd act miscommunication/breakup and lots of interesting side characters.
Read if you like;
Second Chance Romance
Identity issues
Funny Dialogue
Queer Romance
Book industry setting (publishing and library)
Winter time (but not Christmas) setting
Letting go of the dog eat dog lifestyle
Thank you to @harperPerennial for the gifted finished copy. Available now!
August 10, 2025
I really loved the premise of this story and the tension build up between MC and Nora. An assignment turned feelings and pushed feelings from being burned too many times. The attraction always there though (I know, infuriating) just a beautiful mess.
You had awkward relationships across the board: best friends, siblings, mom/kids and "actual" dating/married relationships.
The friends-to-lovers meets slow burn concept in this story was so cute. You were really rooting for all of the underdogs. There were many mistakes to be made and forgiveness to be found.
I enjoyed how the story progressed, it felt a lot like a "Meet the Parents" at times where things that could go wrong, did. Ultimately, I gave a 4 because it was a bit too slow/repetitive at times.
Trope Me Up 👇🏻
~ Friends to Lovers
~ Found Friendships
~ Slow Burn
~ Small Town Romance
~ Hometown Vibes
~ LGBTQIAP+
Congrats Rachel, on the fantastic RomCom Debut!
You had awkward relationships across the board: best friends, siblings, mom/kids and "actual" dating/married relationships.
The friends-to-lovers meets slow burn concept in this story was so cute. You were really rooting for all of the underdogs. There were many mistakes to be made and forgiveness to be found.
I enjoyed how the story progressed, it felt a lot like a "Meet the Parents" at times where things that could go wrong, did. Ultimately, I gave a 4 because it was a bit too slow/repetitive at times.
Trope Me Up 👇🏻
~ Friends to Lovers
~ Found Friendships
~ Slow Burn
~ Small Town Romance
~ Hometown Vibes
~ LGBTQIAP+
Congrats Rachel, on the fantastic RomCom Debut!
August 15, 2025
I started reading this for 10 minutes, with a million things on my to-do list. It’s now several hours later, I’ve finished the book, and I’m finally taking a breath. This is a fantastic novel. It’s a queer romance but it’s not formulaic. It feels real. I, too, submitted awkward anonymous poetry to my high school literary magazine, and the characters in this book could easily have gone to my high school, too. But writing just that totally undersells this really well-done, layered novel. I loved it and you should read it, ok?
I was lucky enough to receive an advance reader copy from the publisher and NetGalley. But if you read my other reviews, you know I’m honest. I really did love this book.
I was lucky enough to receive an advance reader copy from the publisher and NetGalley. But if you read my other reviews, you know I’m honest. I really did love this book.
September 15, 2025
(rounded down from 3.25)
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I couldn't quite work out whether I would classify this as a Contemporary fiction book or a Romance, and I landed on Contemporary Fiction because there's a lot going on, and the romance subplot was the least compelling of them. At no point did I feel like Nora actually liked MC (the name also grated on me as the book went on because it mostly felt like a stand-in for a better name later for the Main Character). MC and almost everyone around her is oddly compelled to keep pushing her and Nora together. Honestly, if someone avoided my company as hard and explicitly as Nora avoids talking to or spending any time at all with MC, I would simply leave town. For me to root for a romantic pairing, I need to see how they actually like each other, and I'm afraid Nora is too abrasive for no reason for 99% of the book, so I gave up.
More compelling, I thought, was the relationship between MC and Conrad, her older brother and resident Golden Child. The idea of MC being besotted with Gabriella, who has no idea and is in love with Conrad, and the subsequent strained relationship between all three was honestly more interesting to me than the entire romantic subplot here and renders the whole thinly-veiled book plot moot.
This would have worked better for me if it were focused on MC and her own growth and recovery from excessive people-pleasing. We get some insight into this, but not enough for me, with all the focus being on MC's sudden intense obsession with Nora, despite literally never giving her a second thought for most of the time they were in high school together and since then.
TL;DR: Unconvincing romantic subplot for me, and the characters are not likable (which I don't mind), but I would have preferred this to be Contemporary Fiction with a more organic romance subplot rather than making that subplot the focus for most of the book.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I couldn't quite work out whether I would classify this as a Contemporary fiction book or a Romance, and I landed on Contemporary Fiction because there's a lot going on, and the romance subplot was the least compelling of them. At no point did I feel like Nora actually liked MC (the name also grated on me as the book went on because it mostly felt like a stand-in for a better name later for the Main Character). MC and almost everyone around her is oddly compelled to keep pushing her and Nora together. Honestly, if someone avoided my company as hard and explicitly as Nora avoids talking to or spending any time at all with MC, I would simply leave town. For me to root for a romantic pairing, I need to see how they actually like each other, and I'm afraid Nora is too abrasive for no reason for 99% of the book, so I gave up.
More compelling, I thought, was the relationship between MC and Conrad, her older brother and resident Golden Child. The idea of MC being besotted with Gabriella, who has no idea and is in love with Conrad, and the subsequent strained relationship between all three was honestly more interesting to me than the entire romantic subplot here and renders the whole thinly-veiled book plot moot.
This would have worked better for me if it were focused on MC and her own growth and recovery from excessive people-pleasing. We get some insight into this, but not enough for me, with all the focus being on MC's sudden intense obsession with Nora, despite literally never giving her a second thought for most of the time they were in high school together and since then.
TL;DR: Unconvincing romantic subplot for me, and the characters are not likable (which I don't mind), but I would have preferred this to be Contemporary Fiction with a more organic romance subplot rather than making that subplot the focus for most of the book.
August 7, 2025
I legit could NOT put this book down, Nora and MC might just be two of my fav, complex main characters I’ve read this year. There is so much happening during this book, incredible lows where not even the secondary characters are spared, but the ending was sheer perfection.
The story centers around MC, a people pleaser who puts everyone else’s needs before her own, and has a complicated relationship with her parents and brother and Nora, a firm, no nonsense, does not give a damn about other’s opinion baddie. The two were somewhat close in Highschool, but in the last 10 years have drifted… that is until Nora writes a book under a pseudonym about their non-real relationship and MC is tasked to write an expose on her. I am SO BAD at synopsizes, pls just trust me that it’s good.
Girl Next Door was such a surprise that I genuinely cannot wait to read the finished print of this book and I hope it becomes one of those books I see a million times on my Insta feed. Please read this ASAP.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!!
The story centers around MC, a people pleaser who puts everyone else’s needs before her own, and has a complicated relationship with her parents and brother and Nora, a firm, no nonsense, does not give a damn about other’s opinion baddie. The two were somewhat close in Highschool, but in the last 10 years have drifted… that is until Nora writes a book under a pseudonym about their non-real relationship and MC is tasked to write an expose on her. I am SO BAD at synopsizes, pls just trust me that it’s good.
Girl Next Door was such a surprise that I genuinely cannot wait to read the finished print of this book and I hope it becomes one of those books I see a million times on my Insta feed. Please read this ASAP.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!!
September 4, 2025
This was honestly pretty terrible.
How can you write a book with not a single nice character? Every single person in this book is vicious and only out for themselves with no regard to how they treat others. Additionally, the motivations behind their actions don’t seem to make much sense.
I also don’t really know who this story is supposed to be about. Obviously from the blurb we know our two main characters are MC and Nora but the book as a whole didn’t feel theirs. Conrad and Gabby’s arc overshadows everything and their cheating storyline was wildly unnecessary. I also have a huge issue with MC and Conrad’s mom - she didn’t really add much to the story and when she would pop up it felt jarring.
WHERE WAS THE CHEMISTRY? Nora and MC basically just fight the entire book (even their couple of hookups always end with them storming off) and there isn’t ever any real indication that they like each other? I mean they say they do sometimes but their actions and constant bickering paint a whole different picture.
The pacing is another huge issue I have. This story jumped all over the place, oftentimes leaving me confused as to how we got from point A to point B. A lot of it was rushed through and I think it would have been better to spend more time developing the characters instead of pushing them through the story at light speed.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST - HARRY POTTER REFERENCES HAVE NO PLACE IN ANY STORY LET ALONE A QUEER ONE THANK YOU 😠
How can you write a book with not a single nice character? Every single person in this book is vicious and only out for themselves with no regard to how they treat others. Additionally, the motivations behind their actions don’t seem to make much sense.
I also don’t really know who this story is supposed to be about. Obviously from the blurb we know our two main characters are MC and Nora but the book as a whole didn’t feel theirs. Conrad and Gabby’s arc overshadows everything and their cheating storyline was wildly unnecessary. I also have a huge issue with MC and Conrad’s mom - she didn’t really add much to the story and when she would pop up it felt jarring.
WHERE WAS THE CHEMISTRY? Nora and MC basically just fight the entire book (even their couple of hookups always end with them storming off) and there isn’t ever any real indication that they like each other? I mean they say they do sometimes but their actions and constant bickering paint a whole different picture.
The pacing is another huge issue I have. This story jumped all over the place, oftentimes leaving me confused as to how we got from point A to point B. A lot of it was rushed through and I think it would have been better to spend more time developing the characters instead of pushing them through the story at light speed.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST - HARRY POTTER REFERENCES HAVE NO PLACE IN ANY STORY LET ALONE A QUEER ONE THANK YOU 😠
September 16, 2025
I need to stop reading books where 28 year olds go back to their hometown to find their lost love.
October 19, 2025
WHY WAS THIS SO FUCKING CUTE !! also what a good story i was INVESTED. i found myself reflecting on the things we never say and the assumptions we make about one another. this book really surprised me! thanks for the recommendation lola!!
November 20, 2025
it is exceedingly hard to find a good queer love story where the characters not too busy having a woke off to be flawed and complex and real. in a sea of AI-generated slop romance with manufactured stakes and little friction, please read Girl Next Door instead. it’s an easy read without being too simple; it’s sexy without being cringe; and it’s gay without being millennial Love Is Love Girlboss #Lesbian. you know? i would highly recommend (if i recommended things).
August 29, 2025
I seem to be in the minority on this, but I just didn't vibe with this one. I really DID NOT like Joe. I think he is a terrible friend and he in no way made up for how he treated MC. Conrad sucked. The only character I really liked was Gabby. Nora was way too mad at MC when she kind of started it (though MC def shouldn't have been spying on her)
Like I said, it seems like a lot of people really enjoyed this but the characters just weren't fleshed out enough for me, which I think impacted the romance between Nora and MC.
Update: I can't believe I forgot to mention the Hagrid tshirt! It is 2025, JKR is a disgusting transphobe, I don't want to read Harry Potter references! ESPECIALLY IN QUEER WORKS!
Like I said, it seems like a lot of people really enjoyed this but the characters just weren't fleshed out enough for me, which I think impacted the romance between Nora and MC.
Update: I can't believe I forgot to mention the Hagrid tshirt! It is 2025, JKR is a disgusting transphobe, I don't want to read Harry Potter references! ESPECIALLY IN QUEER WORKS!
August 21, 2025
I stayed up to read this lol. God, I'm a such sucker for a pine-y romance where one of them is oblivious majority of the time. MC and Nora might be the best flawed, complex characters I've read in a romance in recent history. Nora feels like she was built in a lab to entice me and I would gladly read an entire novel solely from her pov.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 22, 2025
this really really worked for me!!!
super unique concept to start with: an old kinda friend from hs has written a romantic comedy about our mc (hilariously named MC) and her bff is forcing her to write an article about it to save his job (which reminded me of a much worse novel i read and a good book with a plotline around writing an article about someone… but this had less second hand embarrassment thank god). there’s super cozy small town vibes (also the book roughly follows holidays which makes it extra cozy!!) and soooooo much banter. their banter was amazing, top notch. the li is jewish and you can tell with her specific brand of wit (i’m rlly not joking about this one). there’s a super complicated and morally gray plotline about her brother and his wife, multiple things honestly and greatly complex relationships there. i loved all of the conversations around writing and stories which originate from so many different representations of writing throughout the story. there’s a great sense of humor here and just beautiful attention to detail. amazing sex scenes, best ones i’ve read in a sec. great running jokes, lovely dynamics and character development, just really beautiful lines. one of those books that starts with a great concept but then develops it way past the concept so that it really becomes about the people and the complexities of the world. brilliant, cozy, warm, lovely, sexy, funny, touching novel that i just ate up!!!
super unique concept to start with: an old kinda friend from hs has written a romantic comedy about our mc (hilariously named MC) and her bff is forcing her to write an article about it to save his job (which reminded me of a much worse novel i read and a good book with a plotline around writing an article about someone… but this had less second hand embarrassment thank god). there’s super cozy small town vibes (also the book roughly follows holidays which makes it extra cozy!!) and soooooo much banter. their banter was amazing, top notch. the li is jewish and you can tell with her specific brand of wit (i’m rlly not joking about this one). there’s a super complicated and morally gray plotline about her brother and his wife, multiple things honestly and greatly complex relationships there. i loved all of the conversations around writing and stories which originate from so many different representations of writing throughout the story. there’s a great sense of humor here and just beautiful attention to detail. amazing sex scenes, best ones i’ve read in a sec. great running jokes, lovely dynamics and character development, just really beautiful lines. one of those books that starts with a great concept but then develops it way past the concept so that it really becomes about the people and the complexities of the world. brilliant, cozy, warm, lovely, sexy, funny, touching novel that i just ate up!!!
October 1, 2025
this book was a mess from start to finish
every single character is out for themselves. every single character is a villain with the exception of gabby who really ended up being the victim of everyone else’s selfish actions.
nora was a miserable character & i really didn’t care about her, or for her. her & MC never even talked in high school & i’m supposed to believe 10 years later there’s lingering chemistry? NOOOOOOO.
nora had anger towards everything and everyone which made her scenes feel rushed and boring. there was no tension here whatsoever.
there were no endearing scenes that made me think “these two should be together.” the author wrote in such cringey awkward encounters including the nasty winnie the pooh costume scene, the sister in law asking nora on a date for MC, the beer explosion in the basement, etc etc.
the only drama i was interested in was gabby and conrad’s marriage. then, 60% through - the drama erupts & my interest fades completely because as i was ready to say goodbye to all of these terrible characters, there was still 75 pages left.
so much of this didn’t work for me & i really struggled to power through and not DNF it. this sucks to write because i honestly thought this would have been a slam dunk 5 star read. how wrong i was.
i am so so disappointed. thank you harper perennial for the galley :(
every single character is out for themselves. every single character is a villain with the exception of gabby who really ended up being the victim of everyone else’s selfish actions.
nora was a miserable character & i really didn’t care about her, or for her. her & MC never even talked in high school & i’m supposed to believe 10 years later there’s lingering chemistry? NOOOOOOO.
nora had anger towards everything and everyone which made her scenes feel rushed and boring. there was no tension here whatsoever.
there were no endearing scenes that made me think “these two should be together.” the author wrote in such cringey awkward encounters including the nasty winnie the pooh costume scene, the sister in law asking nora on a date for MC, the beer explosion in the basement, etc etc.
the only drama i was interested in was gabby and conrad’s marriage. then, 60% through - the drama erupts & my interest fades completely because as i was ready to say goodbye to all of these terrible characters, there was still 75 pages left.
so much of this didn’t work for me & i really struggled to power through and not DNF it. this sucks to write because i honestly thought this would have been a slam dunk 5 star read. how wrong i was.
i am so so disappointed. thank you harper perennial for the galley :(
September 11, 2025
Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Perennial and author Rachel Meredith for this fantastic ARC opportunity. I am happily leaving my honest review.
The title of this book definitely caught my eye and grabbed my attention right away. I love a sweet, simple and lighthearted love story about falling for the sweet and simple girl next door but that is not what this is. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great story, but there is nothing simple about it. This is a wonderfully layered story of finding love in an overlooked place. There's a messiness about it that somehow just works so well. We get deep and realistic characters with all of the flaws, stubbornness and rough edges we’d expect in real life.
MC is convinced by her BFF Joe to go undercover and investigate a recently published best selling sapphic book. He’s convinced that it is about MC and written by her highschool classmate and nextdoor neighbor. Upon review MC is also convinced that this sexy sapphic story is indeed written by Nora, her former high school acquaintance and the girl who lived next door to her during high school. The twist is, MC remembers Nora as a surface level friend at best but this book that has Joe’s panties in a bunch is much more salacious. It paints MC and Nora as a couple of deeply in love young women experiencing love and life together during high school. MC is hesitant to re-enter Nora’s life under false pretence but Joe is rather convincing and a bit conniving. Plus, MC is more than a little curious about the truth of it all. She has to find out for herself and sets off to crash at her parents house, in her childhood bedroom no less, and suss out the truth.
Spoiler alert (only not really because I think we all saw this coming) it is Nora that has written the book in question! That I believe was to be expected but what I didn’t see coming was how quickly MC began to have feelings for Nora once she was back in her life. It is actually really sweet because MC begins to reevaluate her high school experience and her relationship, albeit it limited, with Nora. She begins to see qualities in Nora that she resonates with and kinda falls hard. Nora is a bit guarded and understandably so. Interestingly she doesn’t seem largely taken aback by MC’s arrival in her life and really takes everything in stride. She isn’t one to jump right in, which seems off since she has basically been pining for MC for years. Her best selling book kind of feels like the projection of a desired life and when it looks like she could have MC for real you would think she’d jump on the chance. Despite a series of ups and downs, our girls get there eventually. I was rooting for them from the beginning! Who amongst us doesn’t have a girl from high school that we were secretly in love with? I was happy that eventually they got of their own way and made it through the mess of lies and untruths and all the crap. I was so happy when they got to a happy place together.
The writing was just really good. This author was able to bring to life not just our leading ladies in MC and Nora but a whole host of complex side characters. She explores a great deal of real life subjects complete with complex sibling dynamics, selfish friends, being true to oneself and, the biggest, love. MC was a delightful and sweet character who was all heart and sometimes clueless. I loved her! She felt real and like someone I’d want to know in real life. Nora was fabulously complex and lovingly flawed…but in such a relatable way. They do have such great chemistry together and really do compliment one another. I felt like they reconnected and found each other again at just the right time in their lives. Timing is everything afterall!
There is angst and pining and a love story that feels real. I absolutely recommend this really great debut by Rachel Meredith and will certainly be anxious to read whatever she comes up with next!
The title of this book definitely caught my eye and grabbed my attention right away. I love a sweet, simple and lighthearted love story about falling for the sweet and simple girl next door but that is not what this is. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great story, but there is nothing simple about it. This is a wonderfully layered story of finding love in an overlooked place. There's a messiness about it that somehow just works so well. We get deep and realistic characters with all of the flaws, stubbornness and rough edges we’d expect in real life.
MC is convinced by her BFF Joe to go undercover and investigate a recently published best selling sapphic book. He’s convinced that it is about MC and written by her highschool classmate and nextdoor neighbor. Upon review MC is also convinced that this sexy sapphic story is indeed written by Nora, her former high school acquaintance and the girl who lived next door to her during high school. The twist is, MC remembers Nora as a surface level friend at best but this book that has Joe’s panties in a bunch is much more salacious. It paints MC and Nora as a couple of deeply in love young women experiencing love and life together during high school. MC is hesitant to re-enter Nora’s life under false pretence but Joe is rather convincing and a bit conniving. Plus, MC is more than a little curious about the truth of it all. She has to find out for herself and sets off to crash at her parents house, in her childhood bedroom no less, and suss out the truth.
Spoiler alert (only not really because I think we all saw this coming) it is Nora that has written the book in question! That I believe was to be expected but what I didn’t see coming was how quickly MC began to have feelings for Nora once she was back in her life. It is actually really sweet because MC begins to reevaluate her high school experience and her relationship, albeit it limited, with Nora. She begins to see qualities in Nora that she resonates with and kinda falls hard. Nora is a bit guarded and understandably so. Interestingly she doesn’t seem largely taken aback by MC’s arrival in her life and really takes everything in stride. She isn’t one to jump right in, which seems off since she has basically been pining for MC for years. Her best selling book kind of feels like the projection of a desired life and when it looks like she could have MC for real you would think she’d jump on the chance. Despite a series of ups and downs, our girls get there eventually. I was rooting for them from the beginning! Who amongst us doesn’t have a girl from high school that we were secretly in love with? I was happy that eventually they got of their own way and made it through the mess of lies and untruths and all the crap. I was so happy when they got to a happy place together.
The writing was just really good. This author was able to bring to life not just our leading ladies in MC and Nora but a whole host of complex side characters. She explores a great deal of real life subjects complete with complex sibling dynamics, selfish friends, being true to oneself and, the biggest, love. MC was a delightful and sweet character who was all heart and sometimes clueless. I loved her! She felt real and like someone I’d want to know in real life. Nora was fabulously complex and lovingly flawed…but in such a relatable way. They do have such great chemistry together and really do compliment one another. I felt like they reconnected and found each other again at just the right time in their lives. Timing is everything afterall!
There is angst and pining and a love story that feels real. I absolutely recommend this really great debut by Rachel Meredith and will certainly be anxious to read whatever she comes up with next!
August 27, 2025
Having read this debut novel by author Rachel Meredith, I'm excited to have this new author on the queer rom/com scene and look forward to future books!
Three things I particularly liked about this book were:
1) The book within a book device. The arc of the story surrounds a novel, written by one of the main characters, with the same title as the actual book. The ways that the fictional book is woven into the story and the way that it is used as a foil to their actual relationship are both very creative and add to the richness of the story.
2) As another reviewer said, the supporting characters we meet throughout the course of the story are so much more fully developed and complex than these types of characters often are - so much so that I found myself wondering whether this was the beginning of a series where other books would speak to the other characters and their love stories. I could totally see one that picks up with Conrad and Gabby where this book leaves off.
3) Their love story was messy in a real way. The characters made mistakes and hurt each other multiple times. They went through periods where it just didn't seem like it was going to work. The author portrayed the genuine challenges of being flawed humans in relationship with one another - and how both complicated and beautiful that can be.
Thank you so much to Rachel Meredith, Harper Perennial, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!
Three things I particularly liked about this book were:
1) The book within a book device. The arc of the story surrounds a novel, written by one of the main characters, with the same title as the actual book. The ways that the fictional book is woven into the story and the way that it is used as a foil to their actual relationship are both very creative and add to the richness of the story.
2) As another reviewer said, the supporting characters we meet throughout the course of the story are so much more fully developed and complex than these types of characters often are - so much so that I found myself wondering whether this was the beginning of a series where other books would speak to the other characters and their love stories. I could totally see one that picks up with Conrad and Gabby where this book leaves off.
3) Their love story was messy in a real way. The characters made mistakes and hurt each other multiple times. They went through periods where it just didn't seem like it was going to work. The author portrayed the genuine challenges of being flawed humans in relationship with one another - and how both complicated and beautiful that can be.
Thank you so much to Rachel Meredith, Harper Perennial, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!
November 16, 2025
The writing and plot were strong, but my main struggle was with the characters. Most of them felt pretty unlikable, and while a few had redeeming moments, not all of them were written with that nuance. I disliked Joe’s character entirely and I don’t think he deserved the redeeming arc he was given. Because of that, I found myself putting the book down a couple of times before continuing.
That said, the author’s storytelling ability really stood out. Even with my mixed feelings about the characters, I can’t deny how compelling the writing was. I’d definitely be open to picking up another book by this author.
That said, the author’s storytelling ability really stood out. Even with my mixed feelings about the characters, I can’t deny how compelling the writing was. I’d definitely be open to picking up another book by this author.
December 26, 2025
all of these characters were selfish and awful and I relate to every single one of them
September 19, 2025
Henley from TS;DW brought me here
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