Across The Hall: A Sweet Inspirational Romance

by Meagan Cooke

Casey

Moving into my new apartment has me feeling all sorts of new and exciting things, but it's just what I need after a bad breakup with my toxic ex-boyfriend. My handsome new neighbor, Officer Mark Bradley, was a pleasant surprise. I could have done without embarrassing myself in front of him the first time we met, but that’s life. Knowing I have a police officer right across the hall sets my mind a little more at ease. The more I get to know Mark, the more I realize that maybe I'm not ready to give up on the idea of love. Too bad I can’t trust my own instincts when it comes to men anymore, because Mark might be just the right one for me.



Mark

I met my new neighbor, and I can’t stop thinking about her. She’s one of the most kind and beautiful people I’ve ever met. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, but I can’t let it go anywhere. I don’t date for a reason. God knows I’ve seen enough relationship trauma in my line of work alone, not to mention my own upbringing. The cycle ends with me.

283 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 4, 2026

Reviews

[Jenifer]

An absolutely fantastic debut novel. The story gripped me right from the first page and held my attention for the entire ride. I felt the emotions of what the characters were going through and so badly wanted to join this friend group that supported Casey as they seem like the best group of friends ever.

I love that Mark and Casey are both facing demons from their past and that they are both dealing with abuse from their past (present for Casey too), and that they both have different ways of dealing with it, moving on from it and accepting it as a part of their history, but that they can also both lean on one another as they take that journey. The humor that's infused throughout the story is perfect and evens out some of the hard topics that the characters face.

I loved that their relationship just kind of morphed from neighbors to friends to more and neither one of them had to "DTR" and make a big deal of the changes in their status. It just kind of slowly evolved over time and I think that built up the tension perfectly to get to that first kiss - which was totally swoon worthy. And I just adored the scene at the end. The picture was set so beautifully and I had the perfect Hallmark scene in my head for it.

[Jessica & Natalie]

We were so honored to be able to read this ARC from Meagan Cooke! Across The Hall releases on August 4th and we cannot recommend it enough!

This book captured us right away! We love Meagan’s writing style so much! It has depth and deals with difficult topics while still keeping it fun, light, and sweet.

You will fall in love with Mark and Casey as well as the side characters, who we are really excited to see more of in future books! The friendships are the kind you want in your own life. They have each other's back and support each other no matter what.

There are some incredibly hilarious scenes and quippy dialogue, complete with nicknames. Having a forced proximity as neighbors lends to so many embarrassingly funny interactions between Mark and Casey that had us belly laughing!

Mark is the perfect amount of protective and swoony. Talk about a green flag! And Casey has such a quiet resilience and inner strength that we all hope to have when going through difficult times. They are both learning to trust and let walls down after being hurt by people they were close to.

We are confident that you will love reading their story! So get ready for August 4th!

[Sandy Sapp]

Great read for all

I was really impressed.and surprised. The story kept me interested the whole time. I finished in 1 day and can’t wait for her next great read.