Off the cusp of finishing a steamy book by Lauren Blakely, Sophie Sullivan takes me to the opposite end of the spectrum with a wholesome, fun, heartwarming enemies to lovers (with a splash of grumpy vs sunshine) tale about two neighbors so much alike, they can’t help but fall in love.

How to Love Your Neighbor follows the life of Grace Travis, an interior design student/dog walker/barista/impromptu home health care aid (think Jennifer Lopez in Monster-in Law) that has inherited her grandparents’ home. A natural people pleasure, Grace has put off moving into her new house until she finally decides Morty (her surrogate grandfather) will be just fine on his own. The problem is, Grace have left the house unattended for so long that her neighbor Noah Jansen believes it is abandoned. Having eyed the uninhabited lot next to him, he has envisioned expanding his property and building a pool, reclaiming some of this favorite memories from his childhood. 

Trouble arises when Noah, who is used to getting his way as a shark-type real estate developer and negotiator, is faced with someone who believes in the sentimental value rather than dollar signs. Not wanting to take “no” for an answer, Noah is determined to persuade Grace to sell her property, not realizing he has finally found a worthy adversary. Noah is in over his head as nothing is life has prepared him for what’s about to happen when he goes toe to toe with Grace.

This is truly a slow-burn romance. I felt as if the book moved at the exact pace of the relationship. For this reason, it did feel a little drawn out, losing my attention at moments but quickly bringing it back with a witty comment or an “aww”-type heart clinching sentiment. Sophie does an phenomenal job providing the reader with a full glimpse into the minds of the main characters; however, I did feel like some storylines were introduced but then abandoned or haphazardly concluded. 

We are introduced to such an array of supportive characters, Morty and Tilly, Rosie and Josh, Rob and Stacey, Chris and Everly, Hugo, and Shane. Most of them you happily accept as just background players to help move certain parts of the story along; however, I felt like an opportunity was missed with Shane. Asides for creating unwarranted jealousy for Noah and helping with projects, he was a “throw away” character equivalent to Kyle but he was introduced as if he could have been so much more.

Going deeper, I would have liked to have known why the focus was on Leo when Noah met the kids. Was there anything significant about that one particular character? Is it because he reminded Noah of himself? What ended up happening between them? Did Leo ever come around? I feel like as the reader, we were supposed to simply accept that the development of the community center resolved that storyline but with Sophie’s attention to detail, I did feel a little cheated. There was a part of me that was hoping the family member Rosie was talking about (who’s parents were going through a divorce, causing him to have a lot of attitude) was Leo, building that connection and providing more insight. Same with Grace’s mother Tammy. I felt like there was a lot of build up to that final show-down and then Tammy just accepted the outcome and that was that. Did anything happen afterwards? Did she just disappear? This women went through a lot of trouble to get a lawyer to sue and said she had a case, was that just lip-service? I felt like that story arc was more of a rush to resolve ending that the reader just had to accept and forget about. Same with Noah’s dad. He went to New York to face him, it didn’t work out so he just came home but cut his Dad out of his life and forfeited the warehouse property? We were learning that his dad was undercutting him when it came to deals he was doing in California, causing him great difficulty in trying to establish himself on the west coast. Did the magazine magically resolve this issue?

While the story between Grace and Noah was lighthearted and gave the reader the “warm and fuzzies”, the deeper, character developing arcs that may have been created to give the characters more range and emotional growth, were a little shortchanged – creating a void of what-ifs, what happened, and what could have been instead of resolutions and conclusions.  

This book is perfect for someone who doesn’t want the gut wrenching suspense or heart splaying, emotional drain of some romantic comedies or the steamy/lust field scenes of others. How to Love Your Neighbor is great for anyone who wants to keep it light and just needs a reminder that anything is possible, there is someone for everyone, and friendship is what makes the world go round.