"But while Lori and the "baby" brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way. "
"But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girl friend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard...."
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Boys Next Door is exactly the way a summer books should feel. It's light -hearted, filled with bright spirited characters and full of surprises. This is a perfect beach read, a complete summer in a book!
The narrative, in the first person by Lori, is one of the funniest I have read. Her humour is so natural it becomes virtually impossible for readers not to love her. Her personality underpins the whole plot and makes it so ridiculously loveable it is difficult to dislike her even in her worse. And Adam - Mr skull and crossbones Adam is very very cute. Jennifer's characters are always a delight and very distinct, and Adam is no exception - his ADHD helps build him to be a very adorable character. It's safe to say that his imperfections are what makes his actions perfect.
The Vader brothers are a colourful brothers that are as collectively endearing as Lori. Their antics, habits and crazy outlooks are so boy my inner teen could not help but giggle! Their brotherhood is real and hence imperfect. Although disastrous, I particularly like Adam and Sean's rivalry, because it's such a common and sometimes inevitable part of brotherhood. The Vaders even extend these ties to McGillicuddy (Lori's brother Bill's unfortunate nickname) and to Lori herself which really feels welcoming to the characters and readers alike. I found the shared history of both set of siblings establish the story fairly quickly, and it was all down to Jennifer's wonderful talent that really makes the reader feel like they know a lot about this history even without overwhelming amounts of flashbacks. Lori is so comfortable with Adam in particular she just blurts out crazy lines and questions at him without flinching. I loved it.
Now the romance - I would not say smooth, because it's honestly a tangled (very) web of lies, deceit and pretenses, but it was nonetheless good. There were some questionable actions from Lori in terms of her interactions with the Vader brothers, but it was part of the book's charm. I think at every turn Jennifer's characters had me all warm and sighing with satisfaction! There were some powerful, ohmygodsoromantic lines from Adam which I really giggled about too.
They were so many surprises in Boys Next Door, many mistakes, but I should not forget - many romantic and hilarious moments too. Such a fun combination, and I'm sure teenagers and adults alike would definitely enjoy this as their summer read!
I'm so glad the sequel is in my hands already, and in the same book!
FOUR STARS!
Source: pualib.blogspot.com
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