The Neighbors is a domestic drama featuring two couples who are hiding secrets from each other. Abby and Nate are married and they have a teenage daughter named Sarah. Abby and Nate's lives change when Liam and Nancy move in next door with their teenage son Zack. It turns out that Liam is Abby's ex boyfriend and soulmate whom she's never forgotten. And when the neighbours introduce themselves, Liam and Abby pretend that they are strangers meeting for the first time.

Y'all. This book was wild. I went into this book assuming it was a thriller, but it's actually a domestic drama with a bit of mystery. There's not a lot of action because the story is mostly character-driven. And let me tell you, these characters are messed up. I wanted to slap them all, but I literally could not stop reading. Despite hating most of the characters, I was incredibly invested in their messed up toxic lives. It felt good focusing on fictional characters' problems instead of my own LOL.

I personally saw a lot of the plot twists coming, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment. In fact, I was ecstatic waiting for secrets to be revealed because I wanted to know how the characters would react. The ending was satisfying, but also kind of annoying because there was this one confrontation I was waiting for...but it didn't happen unfortunately. This book is definitely going to stay with me for a long time.

Audiobook:
I listened to this on audio and I enjoyed the narrators' performances a lot. It took me a while to get used to their narration though, but that's a me problem because I'm not used to listening to English narrators.

I think this is a 3/5, but I honestly can't come to a conclusion.

I couldn't quite figure out what this book was trying to be. An interesting take on the complexities of marriages? A mystery/thriller with a hint of daytime soapy drama?

I found the plot overall repetitive, and a little predictable for where it ended.

This is not a thriller.

Really, really liked this one but am still reeling from the ending.... not sure how I feel about it. I loved the many different narrators and their alternating perspectives. I also really liked the flashbacks- I found it easy to follow and always think it adds a great element to the story. I am such a sucker for a good love story, so I found myself rooting for a certain ending... I was extremely surprised by certain elements of the ending, but there were some I did see coming. I am not sure if I am satisfied with how it ended, or if I feel like it was a hasty decision to wrap things up quickly. Overall, I very much enjoyed this book, the ending was the only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars!

This was a decent book. Didn’t live up to the hype for me. I saw all of the “twists” coming from a mile away. It also took me a lot longer to get through than it should have. If it hadn’t been for all the rave reviews, I may have not even finished but I kept hoping it was going to get better.

I've written this review for Really Into This

Check out all of our reviews at https://reallyintothis.com
Happy Reading, friends!

THE NEIGHBORS BY HANNAH MARY MCKINNON BOOK REVIEW
I kept seeing The Neighbors pop up on my Instagram feed & the cover alone drew me in. Once I read the description & saw it featured secrets, unrequited love & neighborhood drama, I had to get in on the fun.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Imagine this. Your old lover shows up on your street. You say hello & make a quiet & complicit agreement to not say anything to each other’s spouses. This isn’t just any old lover either; this is the guy you were planning to move in with the night you killed your older brother in a car accident. Your now husband saved your life & rescued you from the wreckage of that fateful night. He has no idea about your old beau & you intend to keep it that way.

Except, your old lover looks hot as hell, just how you remember him. All of a sudden, you’re in a tailspin. Can you imagine the tension? I can & I love it. This smoldering secret is right under the surface in The Neighbors.



RELIABLE NARRATORS JUMPING BETWEEN THE PAST & THE PRESENT
Hannah finds a way to keep this tension bubbling throughout the book. She expertly jumps between the past and the present to give readers the truth about what happened on the night that changed everything. I also love how Hannah uses multiple narrators (all of whom are reliable, thank goodness) to create more depth. I really enjoy Hannah Mary McKinnon’s writing style.

THE VERDICT
I am Really Into This book! Long after I read it, I continue to think about it. The ending had me gasp (a little) & certainly made say, “Damn!” The Neighbors would make a fantastic Showtime or HBO series. It’s sexy, tense, dark & memorable.

If you’re Really Into mysteries involving secrets & relationships check out Somebody’s Daughter by David Bell and Her Pretty Face by Robyn Harding.

Four stars. The first 3/4 or more of the book was just OK. The end was over the top. Loved it!

4.5 stars. That's not how I expected things to end. :O

*I won a copy of this via Goodreads Giveaways*

I seem to be on a thriller kick lately, since this is the second one I've read in the space of a month. I worried for a minute that I had accidentally ruined this for myself because as I was flipping to my save point in the book, I caught a glimpse of the readers guide and one of the questions spoiled a major plot point.

Not to worry, the twists were still big enough that I was surprised. I don't want to give too much away, so I wont.

I have to admit that I was rooting for Abby and Liam, both times. Nate just seemed too nice, too accommodating. The perfect husband, really. His secrets are relatively minor, compared to everyone else's.

And boy are there a lot of secrets. It seems like everyone has their own cascade of them, and no one is comfortable enough to be their true selves.

The mother daughter relationships in this book can get intense. Abby's mother blames her for Tom's death, and so the don't speak. Abby has taken this to heart and has a strained relationship with her own daughter, Sarah. But, as much as they fight, Sarah and Abby are more alike than you would think. Sarah's twist that ends the book is a perfect example of this.

There is a lot of cheating going on in this book, rooted all the way back, which unknowingly plays a role in Abby and Liam's situation, (or relates, at the very least)

The one thing I thought would have more of a twist was Nancy's role in everything. While she played a role in the collapse of the marriages, it was more the result of her own insecurities than any type of real plot twist.

There are some topics that come up that certain people might find offensive, so I'd warn readers to be open minded.

I'm pretty stingy with my five star ratings, but I'd say this deserved it for sure. I was kept guessing til the end. Then, when I got there, I was audibly saying" Oh my god, oh my god" and I had just a few tears in my eyes. Definitely worth the read for sure.