My Life Next Door

Goodreads:

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Release Date: June 14th
Publisher: Dial Books
Where to buy: Barnes and Noble, Amazon

Review:

*This review is based off of the ARC, thanks to ATWT Tours.

This book is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Realistic fiction that is actually believable. Samantha Reed is a heroine that you can be proud of. You understand her love, her trust and her pain when she is put in one of the most difficult situations I can imagine. She is honest, and brave, the kind of heroine you want to be like yourself.

Jase Garrett, probably one of the most adorable and handsome male leads of all time. He puts all the bad boys to shame by making them look exactly that, like boys. No girl could ever resist him, even if they are not into the good guy type. He is perfect, literally perfect in every way. Just the thought of him climbing up my terrace at night makes my heart flutter and skip a few beats.

The reason that their love is kept a secret at the start is because Sam's mom is very strict. She has looked over at her neighbors for the last ten years and seen constant mess. Sam's mother expects things to be held to a very high standard and the Garrett's fall far, far, far below that standard. So when their relationship starts Sam keeps it to herself, even hiding it from her so called best friend. Which you might be able to imagine is weird if you are a Garrett and everything is out in the open, and it is even acceptable to engage in mild PDA in front of your parents.

Basically, Mrs. Garrett and Mr. Garrett are the parents that you should have, the ones that love you for who you are and accept that teenagers will be teenagers. Another bonus is that this book had great length. Most realistic fiction, romance YA's top out around 300 pages but this one is almost to the 400's. It made it there without ramblings and drawn out thoughts. It was beautifully written and artfully crafted. The plot had me questioning what could possibly go wrong but not in a way that was unplanned and just thrown in there. There was a lot of depth and thought put into the steps each character will take that lead us straight through to the end.

The only thing that I was dissatisfied with was the last ten pages or so, because it was not as magnificent as the whole story. I felt I was left a little hanging on the ending, but that is my inner greediness asking for more and more. Because, truthfully, that is what you will be asking, you will want more of Sam and Jase, more of the assisting characters, George, Duff, Alice and especially Tim. Everyone played an important role and it was all purposeful not just thrown in as a space filler. I love this book and as I have to return this ARC I will be in Barnes and Noble on June 14th purchasing my own copy of My Life Next Door so I can read it for years and years to come.

I anticipate many great novels from Huntley Fitzpatrick. This was a beautiful debut and I hope I hear more about when her next novel will be released very soon. Her name is definitely a name to remember, and will certainly be on the best sellers list.

Rating:

And it deserves every single one of them, I would give
it 500 stars if I had that many!

Recommended for people who enjoyed:
Catching Jordan or Along for the Ride

This book is so fantastic I just want to keep reading it!