Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: The Jerk Next Door

AUTHOR: Mia Monroe

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 209 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 19, 2021

BLURB: 

He might look like a daydream, but he’s anything but.

My life is perfect. No, really. Dream career, great social life, a fantastic condo, and I’m easy on the eyes. It’s just that I’m a little bored with it all. 

Until my new neighbor moves in. He’s unfriendly, uptight, and unwilling to compromise. Looks like annoying him just became my new hobby. 

Poor guy has no idea who he’s up against. The Jerk Next Door just met his match.

The Jerk Next Door is a standalone romance featuring two warring neighbors, unexpected favors, an awakening of epic proportions, and very thin walls. It is low angst, high heat, and even higher snark.

REVIEW: 

In the words of Robert Frost, “Good fences make good neighbors.”  But if that “fence” is a paper-thin apartment wall, being a good neighbor is a challenge. Especially if one neighbor likes to complain and the other likes to irritate. The resulting conflict can turn into an emotional conflagration of the best kind, though, if you’re talking about two gorgeous neighbors with immediate and intense chemistry.  In other words, if you are talking about Ace and Reign, the main characters in Mia Monroe’s latest gem, The Jerk Next Door. 

This spicy romance combines several tropes into one delicious story told in the inimitable Mia Monroe style. Enemies to lovers, opposites attract, bisexual awakening, and even a little fake boyfriend for good measure. Next door neighbors Ace and Reign have a magnetic attraction from the moment they lay eyes on each other.  However, they get off on the wrong foot due to preconceptions and assumptions wrongly made by each side.  Ace and Reign have keen observation skills when it comes to muscles, eyes, and tattoos, but not so much when it comes to reading body language and interpreting social cues. 

Reign quickly decides that Ace is an uptight homophobe. Ace rapidly surmises that Reign is a rude, inconsiderate layabout with a revolving door of men that he boisterously entertains one, or sometimes two, at a time. Neither of them gets it right.  So it takes some time – and a whole lot of laughs for us – before they untangle their misconceptions and see each other clearly.  Once they do, though … get your fire extinguisher because these two burn it up. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

The Jerk Next Door oozes Mia Monroe goodness. It’s an authentic romance with emotional complexity, multi-dimensional, endearing characters, and a thoughtfully crafted story arc.  Then she adds smokin’ hot sexy times, swoony romantic declarations, and a rewarding HEA.  Ace and Reign’s dialogue is snappy and on-point, laced with snark and innuendo. Their internal monologues have all that plus some seriously funny, sometimes poignant, and always insightful introspective moments.  And let’s not forget Ms. Monroe’s clever turns of phrase.

The core of The Jerk Next Door, though, lays in the subtext.  Ace and Reign’s relationship epitomizes the perils of prejudice and the power of love. These two men got in their own heads, jumping to conclusions that interfered with their ability to open up to and accept the other. Narrow-minded thinking also kept Ace locked in confusion about his bisexuality and burgeoning desire for Reign.  He assumed since he’s always been straight, he’d always be straight, so his reaction to Reign couldn’t mean what all the signs pointed to.  Similarly, Ace and Reign’s respective exes inflicted pain that drove each of them into a defensive headspace, disengaged from the heart’s capacity to love, trust, and accept without limitation.

“You might be surprised by the capacity of the heart to accept new things
once we get out of our heads.”

Once they get out of their heads, they get out of their own way, and it’s all downhill from there. Although Ace and Reign’s relationship unfolds quickly, the speed makes sense in context. Their honesty with each other opens the door to understanding how wrong they were to indulge those initial, incorrect assumptions.  It makes clear how that almost cost them love and happiness with the perfect partner. But it also highlights love’s resiliency and determination to thrive despite the walls we construct out of fear.

“You love me and want me the way I am.  Happiness is natural and easy.”

I highly recommend The Jerk Next Door with Ace and Reign’s saucy, sweet, sexy, swoony romance.  Falling into this love story is easy.  Wanting to dwell in it is natural.  Loving it is unavoidable.  Enjoy. 

💕💙💚💛💜🧡💕

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon