Update: As of 4/6/2021 I have changed my rating to 5-stars!
After finishing Bad Boy Best Friend and feeling unsettled with my reading experience, I went for another similar read with Holly Renee's Trouble With the Guy Next Door. Little did I realize this wasn't quite as quick as a read as expected. I'm not complaining. As a side note, I have listed under the new title and cover, but when it was originally published in 2017, it was under the name Bottoms Up. This is the first in her Rock Bottom series.
I absolutely loved this book and plan to at the very least read the rest of this series. This evolves around new neighbors Tucker and Kennedy. Tucker and his friend Liam move in next door to Kennedy and her best friend (really chosen family) Brooke. Tucker and Kennedy kind of hit it off right away and start dancing around each other. She's more denying her attraction to him (at least more verbally) and tries to be enemies and then friends. I loved Tucker. He really saw Kennedy for who she was and knew exactly how to read her. Oh, the swoony feelings I got when with one glance he knew something was wrong despite her brave face.
The reason I went 4-stars instead of five is the third act conflict. First off, I knew immediately that the girl that he was with was his sister. When Kennedy sees this though, she's reeling from her horrible family and runs. Then she decides to hurt Tucker in return instead of being an adult and communicating with him. I feel like it they confronted each other pretty quickly, but I didn't like how long their separation lasted, especially with them obviously pining after each other. Kennedy was very relatable and I loved that she was a plus-sized character. She had insecurities, but it was so well written that they weren't specifically on her weight, but more that and everything else she was and not feeling good enough to her family. I also loved the smattering of humor spread throughout the book. Holly Renee really hit a good balance of humor, steaminess, angst and cozy feelings for me.
I'm also super intrigued by the next couple books, which will focus on Tucker's sister and his friend Jase and then Brooke and Liam. I hope the fourth friend in his group gets a book too. Maybe with Chloe? Even though I was knee deep in fantasy romance for FaRoFeb, I really enjoyed this sojourn into contemporary and can't wait to get to the rest of the series soon! Plus I really enjoy the look of the covers. The font is so gorgeous.
Have you read Trouble With the Guy Next Door?
Bookishly Yours,
Stasi🍎
STATISTICS: Trouble With the Guy Next Door, Holly Renee, 5-stars, 2 days, eBook, 304 pages, published 2017
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