The Neighbor War

Only in Atlanta #2

by Katie Bailey

Aiden Shaw is the smuggest, most infuriating man I’ve ever met. Ever. He’s also my next door neighbor.

We’ve been at war for four bitter years. But last night, Aiden crossed a line.

The worst part? My public humiliation was caught on camera, and the video’s a viral sensation.

Now, the entire internet is raving about our “off the charts chemistry” and “crackling sexual tension.”

Apparently, everyone is delusional. And blind.

Yet when Aiden turns up on my doorstep, asking me to pose as his girlfriend, I find myself saying yes. Even if that means taking a couples vacation with him. Yup, couples vacation. With my mortal enemy. Who I have to pretend to be madly in love with.

Great.

I can put our war on ice for a little while, Aiden Shaw.

But in the end, someone’s gotta lose.

And it’s not going to be me.

The Neighbor War is a laugh-out-loud funny, swoony, closed door romantic comedy. Expect some mild language and suggestive jokes alongside sizzling hot chemistry and tension you could cut with a knife—all without the explicit scenes.

Genres: Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Fake Dating, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Rom Com

310 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2021

About the author

Katie Bailey is an Amazon top 25 bestselling author of rom coms with relatable characters and tons of chemistry. Her aim with every new love story she writes is to give readers a good laugh, maybe even a bit of a cry, but definitely leave them with a new book boyfriend.

When she’s not busy writing, Katie spends her time chasing twin tornado littles, cursing the cold Canadian winters she endures each year, chugging coffee by the bucketload, and crushing on her husband, who’s the real life inspiration behind all of the fictional men she’s written.

You can connect with Katie on Instagram @authorkatiebailey

Reviews

[✨Julie✨]

✩ 1.75 stars ✩

What to expect:
➼ Enemies to Lovers
➼ Fake Dating
➼ Best Friends Brother
➼ Forced Proximity
➼ Neighbors (Obviously🙃)

I generally enjoy the enemies to lovers trope, but this one was a bust. She literally decided she hated him because of one look from a stranger. Girl bye. 🙄 I am tired of heroines who jump to conclusions and act cuckoo bananas and still get the guy. She also projected a lot of her own insecurities on him which wasn’t a vibe. This is the kind of person who is simply not ready to be in a relationship, so I had a hard time rooting for them.

Aiden was mostly nice and normal, and as a result, I didn’t really feel the tension between them. It wasn’t “enemies to lovers” so much as her being mean and him occasional responding in kind. This author writes closed door romance so there wasn’t much in the way of sexual tension either. I have been on a quest this year to give authors second chances, but this was another miss for me.

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

Pre-read: I HATED The Roommate Situation, so I have literally no clue why I’m reading this, but here we are. 🤷🏼‍♀️😅

[Elisa ♡]

Frenemies + fake dating!

after reading the first book i was super excited for this one, and it did not disappoint!
after a video goes viral they have to fake date, but not just a normal fake date, they have to spend a weekend together at this romantic resort while doing couple stuff.

they both are scared of being in a relationship due to their walls, but slowly they realize that maybe being together isn't that bad.

if you like a hero that when he falls, he FALLS this book has it!

[Mia]

I had to pushed myself to finish, mostly I was bored.

[Nainika Gupta]

Aha! Certainly better than the first - for sure - I loved these two, particularly because enemies to lovers is the best sort of trope :) Though, I did wish that the dogs were more of a feature in the story....

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation]

Cute story, just lost steam along the way. Likable characters and I enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope.



Content Rated PG
Kissing, mild innuendo, mild language, no violence

[Tejomai (bible_and_books)]

4.5💫
If you need a pick me up..I just wanna zone out and forget about everything that's bothering me for a few hrs and laugh out loud and enjoy a good read
Then - pick this up!!

On second thought, just pick it up and have a great time with Aiden & Courtney

What I liked:
Firstly I would like to give extra points for the clean, absolutely enjoyable and full belly laugh promising comedy!
The writing
Characters we're so touching
Swoony clean romance
Best side characters
Enemies to lovers - how they came from really hating to getting to know and loving each other


What I didn't like:
It's not like didn't like it..more likely a Lil sad abt how it ended fast and the last 1/4 part of the story felt fast-paced kinda thing 😂 I hope I'm making sense

Okay, though but this is an absolutely like really really enjoyable Rom-com
A great pick
You'll not regret it 😊😁✌

Ping me when you're reading it..let me know how much you're enjoying it 😁😌

[Oceana Reads Co.]

There were some serious laugh out loud moments and I like the writing a lot.

The enemies to lovers trope got old about 50% in.

Still plan to explore more titles from this author!

[Sarah | Kerosene.Lit]

I've been thinking about the feud between Courtney and Aiden since reading The Roommate Situation. Having their banter, pranks, and misunderstandings developed in their own romance was an absolute joy.

Although neighbours for years, Courtney detests Aiden, the brother of her best friend. With her overly quirky personality, Courtney was a little over the top for me at times, especially with her irrational judgement towards Aiden, but I truly appreciated her story as her insecurities are peeled away.

As the two are forced to set their differences aside in a fake-dating scenario, I adored seeing Aiden ensure Courtney saw how beautiful she was, something she struggled with accepting. Also including representation for Type 1 Diabetes, I loved the message of celebrating your flaws. This was adorable!

[Taryn]

I’m so tired of reading about immature 30 year old women.

[Suzie]

1 out of 5 steam level- only kissing

It was nice reading Courtney and Aiden's story after The Roommate Situation, but I felt like this book had more issues than the first one. Courtney is way too insecure and then suddenly gets over it completely right at the end. I also didn't like how her diabetes was never mentioned in the previous book and also not addressed until several chapters into this one. It was a major part of her insecurities, so I wish the author had brought it up earlier. I found the chemistry a little lacking, and the viral video was kind of lame. Overall, I liked the theme of loving your flaws and following your dreams, but I was left wanting more from the characters and plot.

[Gabriella୨ৎ (semi-ia)]

━━━ઇଓㅤ⤸
꒰ 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 ꒱

𝟐.𝟕𝟓-𝟑 ✩

“𝒫𝒾𝓃𝒸𝒽 𝓂𝑒,” 𝐼 𝓂𝓊𝓇𝓂𝓊𝓇.
𝒜𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃 𝑜𝒷𝓁𝒾𝑔𝑒𝓈.
“𝒪𝓌!” 𝐼 𝓈𝓆𝓊𝒶𝓌𝓀.

꒰ 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: ꒱
Okay, not my favourite, but I did have a good laugh!!

Is it bad that I love the couples in this series as side characters, not main? I’m so sorry, but I enjoyed Conor and Jess more in this book than their own, and vice versa with Aiden and Courtney. Something about having 300 pages of them instead of the brief scenes where they’re fighting just didn’t hit. Might just be me, but I hope others who’ve read this series can relate in some way.

Courtney is the nosy neighbour who makes questionable (and sometimes–most of the time–inedible and undrinkable) concoctions, and is a mom to her golden retrievers and dachshund. She lives next door to her best friend’s brother and arch nemesis of four years, Aiden, where they exchange mixed-up mail and steal parking spots just to spite one another. After a video of them goes viral, Aiden reaches out to Courtney to propose that they fake date, only for one night. But when that turns into a full-on couples vacation, where they’re supervised and graded, they must get their act together and play “happy and in love.”

Personally, the reason as to why she hates him seems petty and miscommunication-y. Everyone’s got their own issues–trust, love, a shitty childhood–but as an adult, it just seems childish. For four years they traded hateful remarks and silly pranks, and only after a few days on an island together doing yoga and getting lost in the jungle do they finally realise they don’t hate, but love, each other. I had the same issue with the first book–how it seemed rushed and unrealistic to fall in love with a person you only met a few weeks ago. They do have several years’ worth of rivalry, but we don’t get to see that. So, in reality, it’s just two people who only know the basics about one another, falling in love in a week.

On that note, the characters themselves seemed shallow, their story as plain as a piece of stale white bread. I had no clue up until more than halfway what Aiden’s job was, I knew hardly anything about his family besides Jess (obviously) and that his parents are travelling the world. With Courtney, her own issues make an appearance later in the book with subtle, barely-there hints as to what she was going through. You’d have to be the world’s best spy to pick up on it. I don’t want a trauma dump in the first chapter, but I’d like the characters I read about to have some flavour and colour and actually know what their jobs and background are.

The couples vacation was fun to read about. Although, sadly, it skipped a lot of the activities they did. For example: yoga, jungle walk, spa, massage, dinner and dance. There were mentions of said activities, but not many–to any–scenes of them actually participating. It would’ve added a whole level of connection between them, where they explored their attraction and budding feelings. Made the love confession feel less like an obligatory scene, because it’s a romance book and romance books need to have confessions, and more like they actually felt that way.

I did, however, like that Aiden tried to prove to Courtney that he wasn’t the womaniser who leaves a trail of broken hearts that everyone thought he was, and instead opening up about his fears of committing and showing her that he really did like her for her–imperfections, flaws, illnesses and all. Sometimes gestures–actually doing–have a stronger effect than saying you love someone. And, like the first book, Courtney’s journey of self-worth and learning to love every part of herself was beautiful and uplifting. Very relatable as someone who struggles to see past the imperfections of myself.

Overall, I didn’t love The Neighbor War. It was a severe letdown and lacked in the execution and scenes I had hoped to get. I think her more recent books have improved–writing, plot and enjoyability–but I decided to give her earlier ones a go and I’m glad I did. Because, even though there were many moments that fell flat and the overall romance didn’t quite hit as well as others, I laughed and smiled and swooned and teared up. A solid 3 stars (a pretty good rating) in my eyes.

꒰ 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: ꒱

Manners don’t cost a thing.

I stick to romance books, live vicariously through the heroines on my Kindle.

I’ve never seen her like this. This picture in front of me feels like a snapshot of who she really is.

She’s a rainbow–a blaze of strong, individual colors that shine together as an unexpected, but beautiful whole.

I simply stare into the transparent, crystal blue of her irises, and I see her. Really see her. I want to dig deeper, learn more.

Courtney always acts like nothing bothers her, like she’s bulletproof. And before now, I’ve never gotten close enough to peer through the chinks in all that battle armor of hers. But, for the first time in four years, I’m seeing her in a new light. She’s not as hard as she likes to act. Rather, she’s a paradox. Tough and soft, sweet and sour, strong and delicate–all at once.

“Staying away from love feels like the safest way to live.”

Because the world didn’t end when I finally allowed myself to feel something. In fact, it got a little brighter. She makes it brighter.

But, perfect is a lie. We’re all human–riddled with flaws and imperfections.

“What if I’m not enough for you?”
“Courtney, you’re everything I never knew I could want. You are more than enough.”

A smile brighter than sunshine spreads over his face. And I just love him all the more for it.

━━━

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝: 18/5/2026
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 20/5/2026

-𝓖

[bee (they✧them) ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ♥]

this one was worse than the first one and I deducted a star just because of the use of the word doggo

[Braylon]

This was actually SO WELL DONE. These people felt real. It was a little cringy sometimes as far as references go, and the mc was a little annoying, but honestly aren’t we all.

[Amy]

Okay, Katie Bailey. I think I'm officially a fan.
Cheesy romance story unapologetically embracing the enemies to lovers trope (even when the animosity that makes them enemies makes no sense) in a way that was fun and clean. The heroine's inner turmoil got on my nerves, but the solution to the Big Looming Misunderstanding™ made up for it.

[gia]

first of all lemme preface my saying it really did start so well and i 100% went into the book with super high expectations. and for like the first 70% of the book was good, not great but it was alright, like the unhoneymooners vibes which i enjoyed. then they did the whole relationship thing at 80% and it kept going and going. like the got together and it just didn’t stop?? for like the whole rest of the book they were all romancy and stuff but in a weird way, like ALL their previous tension was completely gone. could this potentially be bc i’m scared of vulnerability and actually relationships - totally, but also the book kinda sucked. i did learn a bit about diabetes which was cool and there wasn’t anything spicy which i enjoyed. in some parts i really like how the characters were written and then in others, the fact that they were indeed 30 year olds kinda stuck out. ALSO courtney said girlboss like 5 times in the first few pages, like 🤔. overall i think the enemies to lovers lacked tension and only lasted like 5 pages bc they both really liked eachother for most of it anyways. the last part of the book was pointless and i skimmed past it. kinda disappointed bc it had a lot of potential 🙁

[Laura Thompson]

Oooof. This one bothered me a lot. Mostly about the unrealistic depiction of someone with diabetes. I hate that this distracted from the actual story and I couldn’t enjoy it.


1. No diabetic is secretive about it because they can have serious complications that other people will need to help with
2. Diabetics don’t eat fresh fruit/fruit juice constantly like Courtney does because it’s so high in sugars
3. You wouldn’t have an implantable insulin pump because insulin is a protein and the body heat alone would cause it to denature and not work. It has to be refrigerated.
4. Implantable pumps are difficult to refill and not realistic
5. Insulin pumps have to be rotated every few days otherwise the patient will have fat necrosis in the area
6. Even if patients have a constant glucose monitor, it has to be rotated Q24 hrs and calibrated

[Hannah Nosbisch]

not quite as good as the last one but still adorable. i wish the enemies would’ve become friends a little sooner but that’s alright

[Lisa (Two Bookish Brits)]

I LOVE THEM!!!!

Oh my gosh! I’m an absolute mess for an enemies to lovers but add in a fake dating relationship and you’ll catch me being a puddle on the floor! It’s an absolute weakness.

The Neighbor War is everything I love about an enemies to lovers. There was fighting, flirting and realisations that had me shouting FINALLY.

Aiden and Courtney’s book has been an absolute hoot.

She’s fun and quirky and extremely loveable but underneath her quirky self there’s self doubt, low confidence and a woman always second guessing things. She’s always been by herself and doesn’t know anything else. Nothing lights her up more than tormenting the guy next door, the guy who just happens to be her best friends brother.

He’s smart, career focused and always has a different woman never lasting more than two days. Underneath his style and happiness is a man sketching for the thing that makes him happy, makes his life complete be it work or his sneaker collection. The highlights of his day is irritating the woman next door, they bicker like no other.

Their banter, their insults, just everything is hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud a few times, they’re an absolute hoot.

I loved the fake dating aspect of the story as that’s where all the juiciness comes in. The moments where they see each other in a different light, it’s the greatest.

I need to give a shout-out to this author for mentioning the Jonas Brothers too because YASSS! Lol

This author did an incredible job with these characters and their story, I was simply mush for them. I loved them so much!

[Anna]

Nie wiem, czy dać 3 czy 4 ⭐️? to było zabawne. Trochę przypominało mi książkę The Hating Game, bo główna bohaterka miała tak genialne riposty. I były pieseczki 🐶 Butch, Cassidy i Sundance (mam nadzieję, że dobrze napisałam ich imiona, bo słuchałam audiobooka i nigdy nie wiem).

Tropes: sąsiedzi, enemies to lovers, fake dating

[Anna Jason]

LOVE!!! I absolutely love the story line of enemies to lovers, i’ve never read anything quite like this. Y’all know I’m a sucker for love so this book did it for me. I seriously lol’d so many times and I loved the Friends references

[kenners?!]

3⭐

cute. simple. dogs.

[Angie H ( Angie Slowly Reads)]

This one was a fun read! It's definitely my favourite of the two.
3.5 🌟

[Marie :)]

Ughhh it was boring.

And the female MCs self image was horrible. The shame about her Diabetes and herself was hard to read. She can't go out without her "armour" (meaning pounds of makeup and fake hair), but conviniently forgets her makeup and all at home for the trip...
Everytime Aiden looks at her she is like: "oh no, I'm so ugly, so imperfect"
But they get each other. Too bad we don't really get a dialogue where the reader gets that.

Plus, it is sooo unrealistic that they get recognised from a stupid viral video with the amount of video going viral every day...

Maybe enemies to lovers is not the best trope for Rom-Coms. Their reasons to "hate" are always so stupid. She really just saw a hot girl in his driveway and thought: " I am going to hate this man"

All in all, I forced myself not to DNF and it was not worth it

[Meredith]

I really like Katie Bailey's style. I know when I pick up her book, I'm going to get humor, sass, kisses, and a good flowing story. I like it. And you should too. Go ahead, read the book. You'll regret nothing. I imagine. But if you do, please don't come at me. 😅😉

Now, book notes:
- Courtney and Aiden
- this book starts off with a bang!
- fake dating 👌👌 although, why would you fake date someone you hate. It's a reoccurring theme and it confuses me.
- language
- sneakers. I love it.
- good banter
- the yoga- I feel his pain
- slow and steady attraction sure is fun
- the dance!
- holy kiss Batman
- big storms. I'm so conflicted on storms.
- pancakes. There's another book where they make pancakes together and it's sweet and romantic. Pancakes. Who knew 🤔

[Tiffany ♡]

✨“Aiden,” I say seriously. “I never want you to give up anything on account of me…” “Don’t you get it? I’d give up anything in a heartbeat for you. Anything.”✨

When I first started this I was expecting the most hilarious neighbor wars and I was slightly sad because we didn’t get to see too many of their wars but it’s fine I still loved it + the wars we did see= amazing. Rip to Aidens favorite fancy shoes that are now covered in cake batter 😂

I really liked this book though-enemies, pranks, fake dating, animals- literally everything I like. Plus seeing Jess and Conor appear just made everything better, I LOVE THOSE TWO

And also Blaze Crescent Moon is literally crazy but it’s hilarious and I just want to say: all of Courtneys celebrity sayings—I can’t even😂

[Deborah]

4.5 ⭐️

Worth the wait! After reading the first book in this series I could not wait to read this story. These two stole the show in the first book. I knew this story would be a winner and I wasn’t wrong! There were laugh out loud moments that I still think about and chuckle! Aiden and Courtney were greAt characters. How they were thrown together(since they were of course enemy’s) was creative and I loved it!

The only thing that kept it fell five stars was the story lost of little steam towards the last 25% of the book. It was still good, but there was too much inner dialogue and not enough funny/swoony interactions.

Such a good book! Read it people!

[Aimee]

Fun Diversion, Great Ending

Enemies to fake to more. It was quite the journey. I've decided that the enemies to lovers troupe isn't my personal favorite. I do enjoy a fake to real though. It's just that early on mean stuff that I have a hard time with. This story was a fun diversion with some great build up. The kissing was yummy. It was nice to see old friends from the first book. I want to go to the Bahamas now! The ending was my favorite because, no drama. Just believing. That made my heart happy. 💙
Content: frequent mild swearing, making out

[Gazelle]

DNF @ 37%

Notes from my reading journal:
- Why do they keep using food related idioms? - ex. "sweeter than pie."
- Why does clean romance = no swearing? If you don't want to add swearing than just don't put any in. Why are you putting in alternate terms and phrases but then explaining how that's not actually what the character said. That's so unnecessary and juvenile.
- An adult romance can be clean and still have mature characters that deal with more mature topics. This is basically aimed at young teens.
- The description says, "sizzling hot chemistry." Where babes?

[Christi]

Absolutely loved it! Courtney and Aiden are hilarious in their battle against each other. This book does get a bit deeper than book one (the roommate situation), but it definitely still keeps up the humor of a good romcom. I seriously can’t wait for Katie Bailey’s next book to come out! I’m so in love with her writing style and the absolutely adorable characters she’s created! 😍

[Andreea Burton]

Couldn’t finish, legit thought the two main characters were teenagers because of the maturity level. Gave it my best but had to stop. I’m all for enemies to lovers and juvenile feuds between the main leads but I just couldn’t stand this one.