Neighborly: A Novel

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Kat and Doug felt like Aurora Village was the perfect community. Minutes from the city, affluent without pretension, low crime with a friendly vibe—it’s everything Kat never had, and that she’s determined to provide for her infant daughter. Snagging a nice bungalow in this exclusive enclave was worth all the sacrifice. But everything changes overnight when Kat finds a scrawled note outside their front door.

Neighborly Vacation (Getting Neighborly Book 6) eBook A Neighborly Vacation (Getting Neighborly Book 6) eBook

Characters in this book are dislikable… actually I’d go so far as to say detestable. Kat, our main character, is a new mum, has moved with her husband into a new house and village, and is desperate to escape her past. She wants to make new friends and move on with her life and her perfect little family. Super cliche, but sounds likable, right? As mentioned before, this really is one of those ‘throwaway thrillers’, I can assure you I will have forgotten the story or the characters within a few months, even though I semi-enjoyed it while reading. The plot for this one is nothing unique but it is quite gripping at times and I did enjoy the guessing game of who the baddie was going to be. I had my suspicions about parts of the plot which ended up being correct, but at no point did I have any clue who was leaving the notes… until the chapters begin changing POV. Monago continues to keep the identity of the person undercover, but it becomes really easy to work out who they are, and so even that last reveal becomes dulled by the long drawn out process of officially finding out who they are. Fortunately her husaband with the Zoey Daschnell* smile is there to sort of support her while mostly just being an adolescent man-baby who needs attention, what with the wife being so distracted by the other things and gross baby stuff. Also, this ruggedly masculine but still charming man with Urban Outfitter good looks has to be pressured to do anything and will whine like an child whenever asked to contribute. Other than that, totally supportive and worth fighting for!A not-to-be-missed novel of suspense about the secrets hidden in a young couple’s new neighborhood. The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.” Kat and Doug have moved into a new neighborhood called Aurora Village. It is certainly a dream come true, even if it cost them every penny they had. From a threatening note found outside their door to deep, rather disturbing secrets, Kat instantly becomes extremely worried. Also, they are the new parents of Sadie and this brings on challenges of its own, including the distance that has developed between Kat and Doug. More than one thing is off-kilter. As for side characters, there’s about 3 million. To be honest, they all merged into one in my head and I couldn’t actually remember who was who whenever a name popped up, apart from Andie, who had a bit more of a developed story than the rest of them.

Neighborly by Ellie Monago | Goodreads

Vince Vawter, author of the beloved, Newbery-award winning novel Paperboy, will be talking about the process of turning his book into a musical. You don't want to miss it! The whole neighborhood of swingers thing was predictable but I think it was supposed to be. It was cheesy, in ways, but kind of interesting thanks to the extra dialogue that reflected the psychoanalysis I mentioned earlier. I could never do spouse sharing but this book subtly made cases for or against it, that made it feel a little less smutty.But then the big reveal happened. Whomp Whomp. It felt too dramatic, too perfect and too over-the-top. I don't believe it had to end with murder. I don't believe the person killed was really all that bad, given how she was portrayed in the rest of the book. Taking her out of the big reveal completely would have felt much more natural to me.

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The book will be loved by those who can overlook some of the things that just didn't sit with me. Not enough suspense for a book billed as suspense, the fry pan in the face with the sex talk that would make Dr. Ruth blush. F bombs not included. Kat to Guilty Party: “Hello there, long time no see. I finally figured it out! Nice cosmetic surgery by the way. You poisoned my daughter!”The neighbors could have done with some more character development, I had problems keeping some of the characters straight and remembering the individual couples correctly. If topics such as open marriages/partner swapping offend you, you may want to miss this one, as several reviewers seem to have been put off by some of the content.

Neighborly: A Novel - Kindle edition by Monago, Ellie

I wish the book had done a better job of fleshing out Kat and Ellen��s childhood friendship. I didn’t care that they reconciled or not because I didn’t have any insight to their history. The storyline is brilliant. If you love suburbia that's got a twisted side under perfect facades then this is for you. The book is paced perfectly and when the first reveal hits, even if you sense it coming, its still deliciously naughty and thrilling! A story with so many twists and turns, and turns and twists, and then a real bender, and character perspectives and sudden format changes and herring so red even Agatha Christie would be jealous that it is almost exactly like reading a mystery novel. And in case you missed that at one point the author tells you that many Agatha Christie novels have, in fact, been read and this is just like that. The issue is that none of the characters are properly developed, and that could even be said of the main protagonists. We know nothing really about any of the neighbours beyond a snapshot, we learn next to nothing about Doug and Kat comes over as more neurotic than sympathetic a lot of the time, so as a reader I wasn't much invested in the outcome by the time it was all over.So Kat and Doug are super excited to move into the coveted neighborhood of Aurora Village, AKA the AV. What they don’t know is in the AV lies something sinister behind that Stepford facade and all of the gushy, ‘be my bff’ ‘no, be MY bff’ goodness. So who is behind the notes and threats and will they find out and disclose Kat’s secret?? Kat and Doug have used literally all their money to buy a house in the "perfect" neighbourhood and basically, right from the outset, things are not as perfect as they seem. There's something odd about the street and the inhabitants but this idea initially comes from Kat who isn't the most reliable of sources. That is the first half of the story. What happens thereafter in Neighborly is equivalent to a sharp right turn on a curvy road. The story shifts directions and touches on many issues, including Kat's childhood trauma. Not only that the person behind the notes steps up and that scenario is detailed through another perspective. The danger Kat faces is suddenly life-threatening. Kat is a struggler, she struggles with just about everything like her self esteem, her marriage and sex life, money, her successes and/or failures as a mother, her new home, her new neighbors/friends and her in laws whom she does not like. Oh and there's that secret she struggles with on the daily.