This is why I read YA books – to get this feeling of joy, of happiness, of love.. Because I simply LOVE feeling my head so light and having my heart skip a beat remembering how it felt to fall in love for the first time (and every time after that).
I really like stories like this, that get you through every stage of a young relationship; that make you hold your breath for the romantic moments, for the first kiss; that make you smile at all the silliness and cuteness of the couple; that make you ache for them when they are in trouble and fall apart; that make you love them more when they get back together, much stronger as a couple, much more in love, knowing themselves better, accepting each other with the good and the bad, feeling their love grow with every page, with every word…
I guess what I mean is that this is a very sweet romantic story that went straight to my heart and doesn’t plan to leave too soon!
There were so many emotions radiating through these pages, with all that drama and those tangled situations that I almost didn’t see a way to end the story well. It was all so full of substance – there was so much to laugh about, to smile about, to care about… So much to enjoy, so much to love.
And yes, the romance is absolutely lovely: This is how first love feels like: a bit clumsy, out of place, unpredictable (and supposedly world-shattering), but also damn cute. It made me smile, scratch that, it made me giggle like a child. I like their sweetness and their cuteness and I could savour this love-story forever.
The characters were amazing as well.
I loved the main character, Samantha. There was something about her dreamy way of being, about the way she thought about and watched from afar the family next door so opposed to her own, the way she started to feel so loved by some people that she barely knew, the way she needed to live for once after all that watching-other-people-live-their-lives thing she’s been doing.
Also, I liked how she always wanted to help, how she worked even though she didn’t need to, how she tried to stick to the truth even thoug it was supposed to break her.
I am not sure what would i have done in her place. I love my family and I guess i would stick to them no matter what, but I definitely hope not to find out this on my own.
Then we have Jace.
He was the best first boyfriend you could have. Smart, cute, funny, and patient. I liked how open he was and honest, how he treated Sam so well even when things got rough. Also I loved how he was there for his siblings, for his parents, and I loved how he kept fighting for his dreams (figuratively speaking) even though there were such slim chances for them to come true.
There’s only one thing that I missed – I wanted him to play a song for Sam, as i love guys paying guitar.
My favorite character is probably little George. I mean, how could you not love him? He is the cutest boy ever!! He is smart and sweet and so damn lovely; I wanted to kiss him, to hug him, to take him home and adopt him. He made me laugh so damn much and he deserves all the love and the fans he can get.
And as we’re still at it, there was one more character that I loved – Tim.
He was troubled, but he was such a nice guy. I didn’t know he was supposed to have so much impact in this story, so it was a great surprise and I loved all the moments with him. He was such a good friend (when he was not being a jerk and when he was sober).
This brings me somehow back to his sister, Nan – the very opposite of him. We didn’t get to know how things eneded with her, but things like this happen all the time. You have friends until one day you don’t have them anymore.
Things like ‘best friends forever’ are easier to say than do, and the truth is that you don’t need to work on keeping close a friend, you just have to be there, to enjoy the friendship.
This being said, this book was awesome. I loved it and i can’t wait to read more from this author. I still wonder what would I do in Sam’s shoes. I am definitely not sure.
I know that when you fell in love you think that you deserve happiness (and you probably do), and when something so dark comes upon your love you need to have all the luck on your side to make things right again. Again not sure if this was the way to do it. I agree that these things can be handled privately – scandals and fights are so not my thing, but anyways it is a shame that someone might need to get to something like that, that someone might suffer (not only one person, but many more; not only one family, but two).
So, let’s welcome Huntley Fitzpatrick in this fabulous world of books!
I really can’t wait for more awesomeness written by her, so…
Happy writing Huntley and happy reading you guys!
Favorite quote:
Oh well, this makes sense only if you’ve read the book.
Wow! What a great review, with pictures and quotes! I feel like I’ve already read a part of the book (besides the quotes!). I enjoy cute love stories, and anything that made such a lasting impression on you must be fabulous! I can’t wait to go out and pick it up. I haven’t heard of it, but it seems like the perfect summer read. And I’m a sucker for cute siblings:)
Thanks for sharing!!!!
-Jenna @ Fans of Fiction
It really is the perfect summer read (at least for me) and I hope so much that you will love it as well if you get to read it.
Little George was the cutes boy ever, so if you like really funny side characters he might get on the top of the list in an instant (I wish I had a little brother like him).
Thank you too for stopping by 😉
I’m SO SO happy you reviewed this book. I was really waiting forward to it (because I can trust your words,always) and I’m planning on reading this book soon. And after this review I think it’s gotta me sooner! Fab review! Really enjoyed this. : )
Hehee, I really hope that you will love it too. It really too cute for words!!!
Also, I just finished Moonglass and oh, how I loved it as well. I still have to write some reviews before I get to it, but I wanted to let you know how great it is 😉
Okay,now I seriously can’t wait. It’s like, more than the book I enjoy your cute,amazing reviews. So glad you’ve also been posting more frequently! : D
I wish too that I could post more often. The problem is that if I have to choose between reading and writing a review (that takes the same amount of time, if I think about it, as I have to choose the quotes, find images to match them and write a proper review.. phew, that sounds like a lot, LOL!), somehow reading wins the battle. But I try to catch up when I have some free time ;)) And it make me so happy when people get to enjoy my reviews ;))
Oh Ari! I just finished My Life Next Door and your review perfectly portrays what I felt about the book! The pictures and the quotes in your review = PERFECTION! I LOVE MY LIFE NEXT DOOR! It’s so sweet, heart-warming, beautifully written and makes me all gooey inside! Jase and Samantha was such a cute couple!
Awesome review, Ari! ♥ So glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much, Celine. I loved the book, loved the scenes from the images,I loved creating them and thinking again about this cute story… Yes, it was amazingly sweet and I still get all gooey only for remembering it ;))
What an awesome review! I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this one but after this, I feel like I may not have a choice. It sounds lovely!
Oh dear, I hope you will like it then, I wouldn’t want to be making you read a book you wouldn’t enjoy. But the truth is that I loved this one (and I guess it shows)
This looks so cute! I can’t wait to read it. Great review, Ari. 🙂
Thanks, Maggie! I hope that you will love it as much as I did 😉
This sounds really mushy and romantic but also cute! With your review i really want to read this. The characters in this book sound really fun.
Awesome review! 🙂
Thanks!
It really is a fun read, and definitely a very cute one. I really hope that you will love it as well!
Hey!
You definitely got me interested in this book but I just have one question.
I always loved the romance story in Anna and the french kiss (big fan of this book), it was just so sweet and perfect, and I know that you cant really compare this book to it, but I was just wondering if this love story is just as sweet and cute or maybe even better?
Oh, that’s a tough question because I’ve been looking for the same feeling ever since I read “Anna..”
So I am not sure what can I say… “My Life Next Door” is cute and sweet, and funny, and romantic and all, but don’t expect the chemistry from Anna, probably because at first there were not many things standing between Sam and Jace. But it is a lovely story and you might enjoy it as well. And who knows… maybe for you it will be the next Anna 😉
(as a side note: Not even Stephanie could write a book as great as the first one, so I guess we shouldn’t keep our expectations so high when it comes to romantic stories 😉 )
Totally agree with your favorite quote! The black eye and the split lip are the best. I finished this book days ago, I’m still smitten now.
Every time I remember that scene I smile ;))
I got this one when I was on vacation and I NEED to read it! I’ve been on a romance kick this year – not complaining. ha ha!! Right now I’m reading Take Me On by Katie McGarry (sp on last name?). It’s 500 pages!!! That’s intense for a romance Novel. But I’m already almost 100 pages in and the narration changes kinda annoy me when it happens every two pages. But we will see!
I have an ARC of “Take me On”, didn’t get to finish it though *sigh* Maybe I’ve outgrown that story, I don’t know, i couldn’t connect with the characters and the guilt thingy seemed so forced (since another person was driving, so I still wonder why all the blame on the poor guy)
Anyways, “My Life Next Door” is a cute story, it gets a tiny bit more heavy near the ending – it is not all fluff and rainbows, LOL, but I do remember loving it as also my rating from above states.