Just Neighbors Book Review: Banter, Spice & Second Chances

Just Neighbors perfectly captures the ‘You are so hot, but I hate you’ dynamic. Chloe hates Kyle, and every time he wishes her a good morning with that smirk on his perfect face, all she wants to do is punch him. Of course, without causing any damage to his Greek God features. Annoying right?

Kyle is also not making it easier for Chloe not to want to punch him. Kyle loves annoying her, loves the way she replies to his ‘good mornings’ with her ‘f*ck yous’.

Their morning ritual continued for months, until one day. Chloe dreaded facing Kyle, who she knew must be waiting at his usual spot, his porch. But boy was Chloe wrong. Kyle was on the front porch, alright, just not his. Hers.

Just Neighbors – Blurb

Every day, my neighbor tells me to have a good morning.
Every day, I tell him to f*ck off.

Kyle Lane is the town’s hottest cop.
He’s also the man I’ve despised since high school.
Each morning, he stands on his porch with an annoying smirk on his perfect face.
He’s made it his life’s mission to get under my skin.

Until one day, he’s no longer on his porch but on mine.
He claims he wants to redeem himself for ruining my reputation.
My instincts tell me to stay away, but with each morning he shows up, it becomes harder and harder to resist his charm.

I was never supposed to fall in love with my neighbor and once he finds out my secret, we’ll forever be enemies.

Characters

Chloe has had a rough childhood living in a trailer park. She had decided that she would walk out of that life and away from her family. Though she succeeded in walking away from that life, she wasn’t so lucky in leaving that family behind. And all through her life, problems, the last thing she wanted was to catch the attention of her annoying neighbor.

The one she has hated since high school. Someone she had vowed to hate all her life. The one she really liked at one point in time.

They are worlds apart. May it be financially, family background, influence, or social life. On one hand, the town judged her for her background, and on the other, fawned over Kyle for – being him. Chloe had known since forever that nothing could ever happen between them. That it would only be a disaster in making, but she tried anyway. A young girl’s mistake, and she would be an idiot to repeat it now, when 2 lives depended on her.

Kyle was the favourite of the town; his family background helped plenty in that. But the only thing he hated was his father. He was a cop and liked to identify himself only by that, not as his father’s son. He knew he hurt Chloe a lot when he was young, a young boy’s mistake. He also knew she would never forgive him, and somewhere between then and now, he was okay with it. Okay with only annoying her from afar and enjoying their morning routine alone.

But that night changed something in him. Even though she still could not forgive him, he wanted to try. This time, put a real effort into winning her (back) over.

Just Neighbors – Vibe

Just Neighbors by Charity gives off a very banter-filled vibe. Chloe and Kyle love head-butting each other over the smallest things. And as funny as their banter is, their backstory is equally moving. The author has struck a balance between the serious parts of the book by adding an equal amount of fluff through their interactions.

The book never feels too serious or too slow. Kyle is the perfect guy who knows what he wants and what matters, and he’ll do everything in his power to achieve that. Whereas Chloe is straight with her priorities, even if they are not the best to choose from. With everything going great between the four of them, unexpected truths come to the surface. Truths and loss that can break all of them.

Let’s talk Spice!

The book has a good amount of open-door smut moments. They are not too explicit or over the top, but enough to leave you satisfied. The spice in the book starts off early and continues throughout, so you don’t have to worry about a slow burn.

Not all the scenes are skippable, as some scenes include plot dialogues, but worry not, skipping them won’t affect the overall story significantly.

Content Warning: loss of a child, infertility, and drug abuse (not by main characters)

Just Neighbors – Takeaway

To conclude, I’ll say it is a pretty nice book, but not a sunshine and rainbows kind. The plot has its hard moments, but for me, I feel like it just adds more to the story. The book takes you on a journey of enemies to lovers, banter, family hardships, and an aunt-nephew/niece relationship. It also teaches us that no matter how much you love your family, sometimes it is necessary to cut them off for your own good and the good of your loved ones.

I liked this book, and I’d like it for you guys to give Charity Ferrell’s book a chance as well.

⭐ 4/5 stars: I liked the book, but it’s not a second read for me.