A review by patelyne
Dad Next Door by Willow Dixon

4.0

Quinn is beyond busy - working at The Club, filming spicy online content, building his new business as a contractor, and now he’s bought a house. Luckily he’s got his friends and family to help fixing up the house, and a friendly new neighbor to help him settle in. 

Neighbor Tristan has a lot on his plate - the understaffed the veterinarian office he works for keeps him busy at all hours. He’s a single dad with a dumpster fire of an ex who does more harm than help. Other than his sister he has no support system and feels very alone. 

When Quinn comes running to help Tristan’s son find their escape cat, a thank you visit starts a friendship. Quinn agreeing to a fake date for a wedding where Tristan’s ex (and his ‘Tristan from Wish’ replacement) leads to a not fake relationship. Meant to be low key, it gets deeper in no time. 

I enjoyed how this was a story of new beginnings - a new (and unexpected) relationship, joining friend groups and mixing family, rebuilding professional lives. Tristan’s ex was almost cartoony villainous so doing all that while navigating tension with him - and undoing the years of damage a controlling ex can leave behind - was very impressive. I liked seeing how supportive they were of each other, trying to be exactly what the other needed. 

Thanks to GRR for the arc