Review: Love Next Door

I'm always excited when a new Helena Hunting novel is released. The Canadian romance author has a knack for creating really enjoyable (and often steamy) reads that are lots of fun. Love Next Door is her latest, which just published at the end of July, and I was really looking forward to it. Ultimately, it was good but there was something about it that I felt was lacking.

Here's the book's description:

When Dillion Stitch left her hometown, she had no intention of going back. But when her brother gets into trouble, Dillion reluctantly agrees to return home to take her place at the family business.
Being back in Pearl Lake after all these years feels familiar, but also brings a few surprises. She’s quick to notice that someone new has shown up at the cottage next door. Dillion gets more than an eyeful when she goes to check out the newcomer and meets Donovan “Van” Firestone—her beloved neighbor’s grandson—in all his unclothed glory.
Having gotten off to a rocky start, it’s not long before they begin bickering with each other all over town. All that back and forth inevitably sparks an undeniable attraction. But Dillion’s family has issues, Van’s family resents him, and neither Dillion nor Van feels truly at ease in the small town. For these Pearl Lake exiles, home isn’t just where the heart is—it’s where things get complicated. 

Just like Dillion and Van got off to a rocky start, I think their story was rocky for me at the beginning. I thought Dillion was an idiot for wearing high heels while driving a moving van to a super small lakeside town. Does any woman really love high heels that much? It was like she had something to prove, like just because she was leaving the city didn't mean the city was leaving her. And who decided that high heels were a city thing? It did not endear me to her right away and it was really hard for her to win back my affection. And how on earth did they never spend time together when they were teens if Dillion was as important to Van's grandmother as we're led to believe? At the very least Van would know who Dillion was when he was emailing with her and wouldn't assume it was a dude. There were just too many boneheaded moves right at the start and it was hard to come back from that.

In addition, the issues with Dillion's brother seemed to come out of left field. I think it is extremely important to normalize discussions around mental health and getting the help one needs with no stigma but...the actual way this all came about? Left me scratching my head. It's really hard to explain but it was just like I couldn't believe that Dillion was the only one to pick up on the issues and I also didn't really think that she had. It was really strange.

All that being said, the relationship between Dillion and Van, once they realized that they were not mortal enemies, was super hot. Their (annoying) bickering at the start turned into something that was real and I was rooting for them. I knew they'd have to have a Happily Ever After (duh, this is a romance novel) but I really wasn't sure what that was going to look like. I was really happy with the way things all turned out. 

I also loved the setting. Technically this is set in a small town outside Chicago but during a recent Zoom chat with Hunting and my bookstagram friends, she mentioned that it was totally inspired by the small town in Muskoka (cottage country in Ontario - though some people will say there are other cottage locations in the province, I grew up just south of "true" Muskoka so it totally has my heart). It definitely made me want to drive north to find a cottage near my hometown (curse you, COVID!) but it was a testament to how talented Hunting is in setting the scene so you could really feel like you were there (and really wish that you were in front of a lake while reading it!)

I didn't love Love Next Door - I don't even know if I particularly liked it - but I'll still read Helena Hunting's next novels. Her stories are never the exact same and I like that she writes all sorts of different romances. This is the start of a new series and I think I'll still check out book two.

*A copy of this novel was provided by Thomas Allen & Son, the Canadian distributor, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*