You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
I first heard about The Boy Next Door at a blogger event last year, not only did I fall in love with the cover, but I am also slightly obsessed with anything related to ice skating. I live vicariously through reading and watching anything to do with ice skating, even ice hockey.
What happens when the boy next door is everything you want, is perfect for you, but you can't do anything about it or you run the risk of losing the connection you have with them, as your team mate, as your partner. Maddy and Gabe have been neighbours forever, and skating partners for years, however their coach's new idea to dance to Romeo and Juliet is starting to put a strain on their relationship. They have to have the extra oomph in rehearsals, pretend that there is a chemistry between them, but switch it off when the rehearsal is over. But Maddy and Gabe are finding it hard, hard to pretend they don't feel anything for each other, and hard to pretend the chemistry they feel when skating together is nothing between them.
The Boy Next Door was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed reading it, and getting the chance to look up the technical terms online and watch a video or ten to see these moves in action, but I also felt there were some parts that felt too dragged out for me, my enjoyment factor also didn't help when the formatting was slightly off, and I had to go back a page or two to get the paragraph complete, instead of a mix up of two different scenes.
For me the most enjoyable parts about The Boy Next Door were the dancing, the costumes, and reading about what they do. Seeing this duo interact with each other, dance and be as one with so much perfection, I can only imagine how much hard work and dedication it takes to dance the way they do. The story itself did keep me entertained. I needed to know if they would make the finals, what would happen to their friendship that is constantly put to the test, and will they finally see the truth in front of them and ignore influence from others. But the moments between the dancing, occasionally felt like a filler for me, I felt like it was added but didn't really do anything for the story itself, however, I may have been too eager to get back to the skating so my dislike of these parts could have been my eagerness to get back to the good bits.
Final Verdict
The Boy Next Door was an enjoyable read that did keep me wanting more, despite the few little niggles I had with it.
What happens when the boy next door is everything you want, is perfect for you, but you can't do anything about it or you run the risk of losing the connection you have with them, as your team mate, as your partner. Maddy and Gabe have been neighbours forever, and skating partners for years, however their coach's new idea to dance to Romeo and Juliet is starting to put a strain on their relationship. They have to have the extra oomph in rehearsals, pretend that there is a chemistry between them, but switch it off when the rehearsal is over. But Maddy and Gabe are finding it hard, hard to pretend they don't feel anything for each other, and hard to pretend the chemistry they feel when skating together is nothing between them.
The Boy Next Door was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed reading it, and getting the chance to look up the technical terms online and watch a video or ten to see these moves in action, but I also felt there were some parts that felt too dragged out for me, my enjoyment factor also didn't help when the formatting was slightly off, and I had to go back a page or two to get the paragraph complete, instead of a mix up of two different scenes.
For me the most enjoyable parts about The Boy Next Door were the dancing, the costumes, and reading about what they do. Seeing this duo interact with each other, dance and be as one with so much perfection, I can only imagine how much hard work and dedication it takes to dance the way they do. The story itself did keep me entertained. I needed to know if they would make the finals, what would happen to their friendship that is constantly put to the test, and will they finally see the truth in front of them and ignore influence from others. But the moments between the dancing, occasionally felt like a filler for me, I felt like it was added but didn't really do anything for the story itself, however, I may have been too eager to get back to the skating so my dislike of these parts could have been my eagerness to get back to the good bits.
Final Verdict
The Boy Next Door was an enjoyable read that did keep me wanting more, despite the few little niggles I had with it.
So I wrote a whole review for this, but then the page refreshed and I was left with nothing. So all I'm going to say is that this book sucked and it's going down as the Third Biggest Letdown of the Year. I'm starting a list.
~2/5
(Contains spoilers!)
“Because I know what love is now. Love is an intricate filigree band. Complicated but beautiful. Love is three diamonds. For past, present, and future. Love is never giving up even through the Great Depression and two world wars.” (ARC, pg. 342)
I think I have a lot to say about this book. There were some ups… and there were also some downs.
First of all, despite what I say, this wasn’t hard to read. The writing wasn’t too bad, and it went by relatively fast, even with the slow bits. I didn’t hate reading it, even with the faults.
The title is misleading, in my opinion, because many other things could have been used to make it more fitting. Gabe is a huge player, ignores his feelings for Maddy for way too long, and insists on just being her skating partner. None of this make me think of a boy-next-door story. Gave me the wrong impression.
There was a lot of sexual stuff in this book—a surprising amount. There’s mentions of actual sex and a hand job, none of it too graphic, but it's also pretty clear that’s what’s happening. So, I don’t know. Recommended for older/more mature teens.
Which is ironic, given the pretty immature other elements. The first of which is that the school parts, and the other students’ interactions, were very young. They acted pretty close to twelve, maybe fourteen. The other students talk about stuff, and make notes to each other, like they’re in middle school, even laughing at inappropriate words. And then the teacher… She’s portrayed as weak and unable to control her classroom, and then has her students read the plays aloud, and allowing the main characters to kiss during class, because it’s in the play. This is goaded on by the other students, but the teacher makes no mention of it. When that is absolutely not something okay in schools. What the hell?
Then there’s the whole mess with Gabe. He insists on keeping his and Maddy’s relationship a secret until the very end of the book, for absolutely no plausible reason. He talks like he’s going to change that several times, but never actually does anything.
This whole plot reminded me of something I did in early high school (younger than these characters), in a very bad way. It’s just immature and dumb, and I don’t understand why Maddy let it happen. It was dumb of her. And then she has sex with Gabe before he admits to anything, and that didn’t make any sense to me, or seem plausible. I don’t understand why she thought it was a good idea, or why he gave in when he kept insisting not to. That whole thing just didn’t work for me.
And then there were plots that never really went anywhere… There was drama with their friends, Chris and Kate, which I guess stood as an example for Maddy and Gabe of what they didn’t want, but their actual drama and situation never got resolved.
There was a large plot with Gabe relying on Maddy being his partner, that he wasn’t nearly as good as her and if she went on her own, he wouldn’t have anything, since he gave up hockey. That could have been a plot where he grew into his own person, but it never went anywhere. There’s even dual points-of-view, which makes this even more of a disappointment.
Not a lot was explained, also. Pretty much all of the ice skating talk is thrown at you from the beginning, with little-to-no explanation for what any of it means. Given that I know nothing about ice skating, this was hard for me to follow. Especially when it threw in puns in the middle of their talking and thoughts. No explanation for how that worked. Also, Gabe and Maddy have some secret language through flashlights? They blink them at each other through their windows, I guess, and have a cheat sheet that they made when they were little. But we are given no idea how it works, or how they chose what each letter or word means, we are just told what they’re saying. This left me frustrated.
Finally, the ending. There’s a trope near the end of Maddy getting hurt, and that’s why Gabe finally fesses up to his feelings. Then there was the whole drama with Maddy's parents, and how they kept it a secret from her for no real reason. But even throwing that aside, there’s this whole marriage thing. Gabe throws a mock wedding for him and Maddy, and she finds this super sweet. Even though, um, they’re like seventeen? And in high school? And not even actually going out? And then he kind of proposes to her at the end, and this annoys me beyond belief. Jumping that far ahead is ridiculous and not okay, and what kind of example is that?
I don’t even know anymore… I didn’t hate Maddy, even if I didn’t relate to her or like her all that much. Gabe was a bit of a jerk a few times, though sweet with Maddy at the end. There were a lot of missteps with this book, but I didn’t hate it. I definitely thought it would be better, though.
A review copy was provided by the publisher, Swoon Reads. Thank you!
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
(Contains spoilers!)
“Because I know what love is now. Love is an intricate filigree band. Complicated but beautiful. Love is three diamonds. For past, present, and future. Love is never giving up even through the Great Depression and two world wars.” (ARC, pg. 342)
I think I have a lot to say about this book. There were some ups… and there were also some downs.
First of all, despite what I say, this wasn’t hard to read. The writing wasn’t too bad, and it went by relatively fast, even with the slow bits. I didn’t hate reading it, even with the faults.
The title is misleading, in my opinion, because many other things could have been used to make it more fitting. Gabe is a huge player, ignores his feelings for Maddy for way too long, and insists on just being her skating partner. None of this make me think of a boy-next-door story. Gave me the wrong impression.
There was a lot of sexual stuff in this book—a surprising amount. There’s mentions of actual sex and a hand job, none of it too graphic, but it's also pretty clear that’s what’s happening. So, I don’t know. Recommended for older/more mature teens.
Which is ironic, given the pretty immature other elements. The first of which is that the school parts, and the other students’ interactions, were very young. They acted pretty close to twelve, maybe fourteen. The other students talk about stuff, and make notes to each other, like they’re in middle school, even laughing at inappropriate words. And then the teacher… She’s portrayed as weak and unable to control her classroom, and then has her students read the plays aloud, and allowing the main characters to kiss during class, because it’s in the play. This is goaded on by the other students, but the teacher makes no mention of it. When that is absolutely not something okay in schools. What the hell?
Then there’s the whole mess with Gabe. He insists on keeping his and Maddy’s relationship a secret until the very end of the book, for absolutely no plausible reason. He talks like he’s going to change that several times, but never actually does anything.
This whole plot reminded me of something I did in early high school (younger than these characters), in a very bad way. It’s just immature and dumb, and I don’t understand why Maddy let it happen. It was dumb of her. And then she has sex with Gabe before he admits to anything, and that didn’t make any sense to me, or seem plausible. I don’t understand why she thought it was a good idea, or why he gave in when he kept insisting not to. That whole thing just didn’t work for me.
And then there were plots that never really went anywhere… There was drama with their friends, Chris and Kate, which I guess stood as an example for Maddy and Gabe of what they didn’t want, but their actual drama and situation never got resolved.
There was a large plot with Gabe relying on Maddy being his partner, that he wasn’t nearly as good as her and if she went on her own, he wouldn’t have anything, since he gave up hockey. That could have been a plot where he grew into his own person, but it never went anywhere. There’s even dual points-of-view, which makes this even more of a disappointment.
Not a lot was explained, also. Pretty much all of the ice skating talk is thrown at you from the beginning, with little-to-no explanation for what any of it means. Given that I know nothing about ice skating, this was hard for me to follow. Especially when it threw in puns in the middle of their talking and thoughts. No explanation for how that worked. Also, Gabe and Maddy have some secret language through flashlights? They blink them at each other through their windows, I guess, and have a cheat sheet that they made when they were little. But we are given no idea how it works, or how they chose what each letter or word means, we are just told what they’re saying. This left me frustrated.
Finally, the ending. There’s a trope near the end of Maddy getting hurt, and that’s why Gabe finally fesses up to his feelings. Then there was the whole drama with Maddy's parents, and how they kept it a secret from her for no real reason. But even throwing that aside, there’s this whole marriage thing. Gabe throws a mock wedding for him and Maddy, and she finds this super sweet. Even though, um, they’re like seventeen? And in high school? And not even actually going out? And then he kind of proposes to her at the end, and this annoys me beyond belief. Jumping that far ahead is ridiculous and not okay, and what kind of example is that?
I don’t even know anymore… I didn’t hate Maddy, even if I didn’t relate to her or like her all that much. Gabe was a bit of a jerk a few times, though sweet with Maddy at the end. There were a lot of missteps with this book, but I didn’t hate it. I definitely thought it would be better, though.
A review copy was provided by the publisher, Swoon Reads. Thank you!
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
This book was very sweet. I read it in a day and could not put it down! It had the perfect amount of second-hand romantic frustration. I really loved the way the author included the ice skating in this book. It was described in a way I understood and could visualize their dances. The frustration of these two characters feeling for each other, but not wanting to give in for various reasons, was delightfully excruciating. This book does get a little risque at parts, but not in a way that made the book less enjoyable! Overall this book was a great read that I'll probably read again when I'm in need of a cute, but frustrating, romance!
EDIT: After a bit of thought, I've decided to bump my rating down a star.
Well, that was fine, I think?
The pacing was off for me. It felt like the plot moved by pretty fast yet at the same time dragged on too long. If you cut out like half of the misunderstandings happening you'd have a shorter book. The alternating POV didn't help matters but then I've never been the biggest fan of those anyway. Also, please don't change the font for each viewpoint. The chapter heading does enough work.
The author throws you right into figure skating vocabulary but having experience watching skating before it didn't cause me any problems. The passion for the sport comes through on the page. By the end, I was more invested in the skating than I was Maddy and Gabe's romantic relationship.
So, yeah, this was just an okay from me.
Well, that was fine, I think?
The pacing was off for me. It felt like the plot moved by pretty fast yet at the same time dragged on too long. If you cut out like half of the misunderstandings happening you'd have a shorter book. The alternating POV didn't help matters but then I've never been the biggest fan of those anyway. Also, please don't change the font for each viewpoint. The chapter heading does enough work.
The author throws you right into figure skating vocabulary but having experience watching skating before it didn't cause me any problems. The passion for the sport comes through on the page. By the end, I was more invested in the skating than I was Maddy and Gabe's romantic relationship.
So, yeah, this was just an okay from me.
I was so excited to receive my arc of this book in the mail.
I love figure skating so this book already had me before I even started. I enjoy a friends to lovers story and thought it was handled well in this book. The story dealt more with the trepidation of losing each other than the will or won't they that most books focus on. I could not put this book down and i thoroughly enjoyed it.
I love figure skating so this book already had me before I even started. I enjoy a friends to lovers story and thought it was handled well in this book. The story dealt more with the trepidation of losing each other than the will or won't they that most books focus on. I could not put this book down and i thoroughly enjoyed it.
3.75 stars! This was cute and pure fluff. But still fun