An inherited house that comes complete with a tall, dark and sexy neighbor – it’s a romance no-brainer, right? Until Alexandra Bridges learns of the hundred-year old family feud that makes the hunk next door her sworn enemy for life. The man has a body that makes Alex want to make love, not war. But there is an additional quarter million-dollar inheritance at stake. She’ll have to run him out of the neighborhood to become the legendary feud’s sole survivor – if he doesn’t run her out first.
A native of Chicago’s Southside, Phyllis Bourne began her writing career as a crime reporter for the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. After years of chasing cops and criminals, she left reporting to write about life’s sweeter side.
Nowadays her stories are filled with heart-stopping heroes and happy endings. Phyllis is 2010 RT Book Reviews nominee for Best Multicultural Romance, as well as a two-time Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found at a make-up counter feeding her lipstick addiction. Phyllis currently resides in middle-Tennessee.
Great fun. Two neighbouring families have been running a feud for generations, so their aged representatives have feud clauses in their wills: if a family member is there when the other family moves out or their house is gone, they inherit a chunk of money.
It's a fantastic set up, depending on the participants both being incredibly petty, which they are, but also on the fact they both know how absurd it is and are kind of really enjoying it. They talk in the mornings and have a lot of sympathy for one another and then get on with being pains in the neck. This probably wouldn't work at greater length but it's perfectly judged here--we buy into the absurd behaviour but don't see so much of it that we're forced to conclude either MC is actually a massive jerk. Both POVs are first person, directly addressing the reader and commenting on events, which really worked for me, and the chapter epigraphs are straight up hilarious. Editing is shonky, but the writing is exuberant and enjoyable and I love the cover.
I'm so glad this book came out on a Friday... it just added some icing to the WEEKEND cake! If this book doesn't put a huge smile on your face and make you snicker out loud, I don't even know what to tell you, because Phyllis outdid herself on this one! My fave part was them fighting over that ladder. I might go back and read that chapter again because it. was. perfect. Hehehehehe. Phyl is one of my FAVES and an auto buy. If you want something funny, lighthearted and #bigdumbsexy fun, reach out and touch your kindle and snatch this one up, then put it in your face IMMEDIATELY. You will LOVE it.
This tale was done in pure Phyllis Bourne fashion. It had me laughing from beginning to end. Caution you will laugh out loud and get side eyed stares but I promise you they'll be worth it. I sure hope Ms. Bourne wrote a story for Ned.
4.5 Justice and Alex kept me laughing with their antics. I enjoyed the way they spoke and asked questions as if I were a part of the story. Alex truly gave Justice a run for his money. Ending was great. Good storyline with likable characters.
I often find myself browsing my friends shelves to try out new-to-me authors and boy I am glad I picked this one up. This was hilarious and way too short. I liked the author's voice and am interested to read her back-list.
First, a word of advice: do NOT start reading this book on your morning commute. You will not want to put it down!
This book was so good. The feud was crazy, and the way these two (against their better judgement) get so caught up in it is hysterical, but never over-the-top or completely ridiculous. Love that the characters talk to themselves, each other, and even us, the readers - which is crazy, but totally works in this book.
Such a good read. Phyllis Bourne never fails to bring the funny. And the sexy. Don't miss this one!
I highly enjoyed this novella! There are so many funny moments between the main characters that you will share a smile and a laugh alongside them. If you want a great romantic comedy book, you have to pick up Feud.
So what is Feud about? Two neighbouring families who have had a feud for ages. The younger generation isn't even sure how the feud came to be but if you are a Bridges, the Lawsons are enemy number one. When Alex finds out her great, greay-uncle left her a house, she's so happy about it! But her finding out about this house leads to Justice not getting the money he was waiting for. You see, the feud clause is that they will get a large sum of money if one of them run out the other from their house (or they die and then they have to wait 6 months to collect the money).
So Alex announcing she's the last Bridges when Justice has been waiting for those six months to pass, it wasn't a good thing for him though it was for her. They immediately become enemies because both of them want the money the other house will give them and so they decide to enter a prank war in order to run out their neighbor.
It was really fun and hilarious to read about the pranks these two did. Some of them ended up being plot points to unite them more and made them realize that they are attracted to each other. Sadly, they are from enemy families, so they try their hardest to not feel that attraction or think about the other one. But obviously that doesn't happen and we have ourselves a romance story!
It's a bit short and the story goes a bit fast so I would have liked to have maybe two or three chapters more, but overall this book was very entertaining. I loved that Justice studied in culinary school (so that's like 4 foodie romances in a row for me!) and prepared these delicious plates.
Another thing that threw me off a bit was the narration. It is in first person POV and the characters constantly talk to the reader. They even come up with responses you would give them and answer them. So it was very different for me because I don't usually encounter books with that sort of narration. But after a few chapters, I kinda got used to it. They joked around and made jokes and kinda included you too, so I felt part of the story.
If you’re looking for a cute, quirky novella to read by an author of color, definitely give this one a try. Feud is literally about just that. Alex Bridges and Justice Lawson were born into a decades long feud between their families. The stipulation of the feud is to try to run the other out of their house, cause they live next door to each other, and whomever succeeds inherits hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Both Alex and Justice were quite clever about their tricks upon one another. I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times. The chapters alternate between Alex and Justice and the author also makes it seem like they pause and talk to you, the reader, as well. Throughout the tricks, Alex and Justice are also fighting an attraction to one another. Like I said, it’s a cute, 150 page novella with an HEA ending. I definitely recommend it
Eu peguei o livro porque a premissa me conquistou de cara. VIZINHOS METIDOS NUMA BRIGA DE SÉCULOS DE SUAS FAMÍLIAS E QUE COMEÇAM A SE GOSTAR!!! E eu amei que recebi bem o que eu tava buscando!!! A história é curta, então o final, pra mim, foi um pouco apressado demais (ia ser maravilhoso um romance maiorzinho com mais brigas e mais momentos fofos), eu ainda não decidi se eu gostei ou não das intervenções na narrativa com as falas que seria supostamente do leitor (algumas delas foram divertidas, eu ria muito quando os personagens brigavam comigo, mas acho que faltou um pouco de dosagem). Teve também certos diálogos e cenas que me pareceram forçadas demais (uma cena em especial eu fiquei só oh no!!!). Porém, eu realmente me diverti muito com as brigas do Justice e da Alex. Valeu cada minuto de leitura, mesmo que o final não tenha sido tããão do meu gosto assim.
"I didn't choose the obnoxious-neighbor life. The obnoxious-neighbor life chose me."
I bought this book the day it was released, but I've been saving it because I need to ration my unread Phyllis Bourne romances. It's short and funny--the ladder scene, THE LADDER SCENE, I laughed out loud--and it milks the premise for everything it's worth. (So if you aren't willing to buy into multi-generational feuds and petty pranks, this is probably not the book for you.) I quite enjoyed the fun style in which this was written: dual first-person POV, in which our feuding protagonists talk directly to the reader, and with the response of the reader sometimes included. This worked so well for this book because it demonstrated the characters' own self-consciousness and eye-rolling at the feud they'd been sucked into, their own reactions to their reactions to each other, and it was just cleverly and cutely done. It brought more depth and more voice to such a short book.
"I am above this petty feud my great-grandparents started," both main characters assure us... right before they both dive right into playing stupid pranks on each other, both equally petty and downright dangerous in nature. (His prank threatens her job prospects; her prank leaves him stranded on a roof in the middle of summer with no shade and no water for over an hour.)
The promised morning repartee where they get to know each other from their porches never quite sold me on their growing attraction, and the final outcome of the feud was so contrived as to be ridiculous. (Plus, I question the legality of either of them winning under those circumstances.) I found myself annoyed by both of them - because honestly, if they'd worked together, maybe they could have found a less destructive way of both winning the prize.
This was a cute enemies to lovers read & I really enjoyed it. So glad that they were able to end the feud and be together! But baby that scene where ole girl passed gas..🤣🤣🤣🤣 I was done!! This was a NTM author and will be sure to check out her catalog!
This tickled me. The feud they had going was crazy. I laughed so hard at the ladder feud. It was short. Wanted to see how it went in New York. Good read.
Can I have more like this??? Justice and Alexandra were hilarious! I had to issue a warning to the ladies at the hair salon. There's going to be a lot of laughing from my side of the sink!!! The ladder, afro and vegetarian date pushed me off the cliff laughing. I haven't had that much fun in a long time. Avoid public places while reading this book!😂😂😂
Feud sounded super ridiculous and fun, taking the rivals to lovers trope to new heights. Justice Lawson has been counting down the days until he can claim his inheritance and today is the day! Except it's not, since there's the "feud clause" which states the last family member standing when their neighbors' line dies out or moves away gets the family savings account. It's been six months since old man Bridges next door died, so Justice assumed the money was his. He's in for a big surprise.
Like I said, Feud starts with Justice heading to his lawyer's office to collect on the inheritance his grandmother left him. But he's not the only one. His cranky old neighbor's lawyer found his great niece, which means the century old family feud is still in play. Alex didn't even know about her great uncle Tate, but now she's thrust into the midst of a neighborly war. Justice and Alex both need that money, so they're willing to do anything to get it. It's pretty simple: whoever moves out or dies, loses. Obviously, this is a Romance, no one is going to result to murder, but everything else is fair game. It's quite silly to have adults behaving this way, but it was entertaining.
Then my second favorite trope of all-time kicks in: stranded together! Oh yes! It was the moment we were all waiting for. All of their antics finally pushed them into a situation they couldn't escape from and it was on! I think it's pretty obvious from the beginning how Feud is going to wind up, but I didn't mind at all. It was such a fun ride! I was just a bit disappointed at how abruptly it ended. That's it?! But I want more!
Phyllis Bourne did an excellent job making me laugh from the first to the last page. The modern day Hatfield's and McCoy blacks folks style feuding, was funny as all get out. I hope to see them again soon.. See what happens in NY City....
This was a short, fun enemies-to-lovers romance that's a bit over-the-top and ridiculous in the best way possible.
Unfortunately, there were a few things that prevented me from really loving this. For one, while the feud was entertaining, I thought some of Justice's antics crossed the line into being too mean spirited. Like, it was clever and funny, but he was causing Alex to lose money and potentially a job opportunity that she really needed.
Also, the POV occasionally threw me off. Like, the two of them switched narrating, I think in first person past? Idk, identifying POVs isn't my strong suit. But then out of nowhere, it'd switch to second person and they'd seem to start talking directly to the reader? With some italicized retorts that the reader might be thinking? It was super weird and pulled me out of the story every time it happened. I think it was supposed to be like they were telling their story to the garden gnome? Idk, but whatever was happening, I was not a fan when the characters would all of a sudden start talking to me.
The last thing for me was the ending. I'm actually fine with how over-the-top it was because I think it fit the story, I just really wish we'd gotten to see more of them together. And what exactly are their lives supposed to look like now? Because I have literally no idea.
Mostly this is a fun and entertaining story, so if you're in the mood for something quick and fun, definitely consider picking this up!
An enjoyable romp of a short read, littered with UST and typos -- misplaced apostrophes, punctuation errors, other editing flaws that disturbed my reading flow. All kudos to indie-published authors but it is a good idea to use a professional editor not, as credited in the acknowledgements, "Mr Phyllis".
Still, the neighbour to lovers story is nicely done. It's not too deep, just a bit of fun with two sexy protagonists and mild peril. At the end, the peril ramps up somewhat but it's handled so lightly that the danger is hardly noticeable among the happy ending vibes.
There's some breaking of the fourth wall and direct address to the reader which may put off some readers.
So my boss decided to call in sick at work, so my coworkers and I used that as an opportunity to do absolutely no work at all, and I decided to read this book. Listen, this book is hilarious! I burst out laughing so much that my coworkers started giving me dirty looks (as they polished their nails, talked on their cellphones, or roamed the internet doing nothing themselves), but whatever! Anyway, this author is hilarious and I love her writing style. It's not often that I read a romantic comedy that's actually...funny. And when I say funny, I mean laugh-out-loud, people think you got Tourette's Syndrome funny!!!!
An inherited house that comes complete with a tall, dark and sexy neighbor – it’s a romance no-brainer, right? Until Tate Alexandra Bridges learns of the hundred-year-old family feud that makes the hunk next door Justice Lawson, her sworn enemy for life. The man has a body that makes Alex want to make love, not war. But there is an additional quarter million-dollar inheritance at stake. She’ll have to run him out of the neighborhood to become the legendary feud’s sole survivor to collect the cash– if he doesn’t run her out first and collect the money.
What a treat! This had me laughing out loud. The feud is pitch-perfect; both parties know it’s ridiculous, but it’s also fun, and there are few things in life as satisfying as being ridiculous for the sake of fun. It wraps up rather quickly, but that works for the story too. Any longer and the premise would start to stretch thin.
As it is, a near-perfect bite-sized treat of a story. Hilarious and sweet. Captures the southern thing so well. It charmed me completely.
This book was hilarious from beginning to ending. Justice and Alex was funny as heck. It was funny how they could both be so mean and evil to each other and turn it off real quick when her mother or his friend was around.1 of the funniest parts was when justice brought his date back to his house. I love how the book read as if they were talking to you. My 1st book by this off my definitely not my last.
I think this was my first read from this author and I dug it. It was pretty funny at times, which is always a plus (the bean lady scene GOT me) and I could appreciate the 'talking to the reader' thing. It seemed Justice and Alex were pretty forthcoming with their business for people that were supposed to be feuding, and the ending seemed a little abrupt, but hey. Still liked it, overall.
This was such a funny story! I loved the banter between Justice and Alex. The writing style is what to the humor. Having the characters have a verbal battle with a fictitious audience was brilliant. We all have those moments. I would love an update on the couple in a future book.
I really liked this book. It was different from the usual romance books I read (Francis Ray, Maureen Smith and Brenda Jackson). It was funny and I didn't put it down till I finished it. I liked that the story wasn't super predictable. I disliked how quick it was over. I will definitely check out her other works.