There
is only one thing in life that professional pastry Chef Priscilla
Westcott values more than baking and wine, and that’s honesty. A quality
she soon learns that her marriage lacks when her husband runs off with
their next door neighbor.
Divorced and alone, Priscilla is determined to make changes in her life. She decides to approach her new goals like one of her beloved recipes. Surely with a little time, a dash of patience, and measured planning she can whip herself—and her life—back into shape.
However, when a new—and utterly delicious—neighbor takes up residence in the house that ruined her marriage, Pricilla fears that her careful world will fold faster than a deflated soufflé.
Trent Walker knows what he wants and his sweet, sassy neighbor is at the top of the list. He’s certain that the chemistry between them would be explosive, but Priscilla fears that an affair with him, however hot, could be a recipe for disaster.
Divorced and alone, Priscilla is determined to make changes in her life. She decides to approach her new goals like one of her beloved recipes. Surely with a little time, a dash of patience, and measured planning she can whip herself—and her life—back into shape.
However, when a new—and utterly delicious—neighbor takes up residence in the house that ruined her marriage, Pricilla fears that her careful world will fold faster than a deflated soufflé.
Trent Walker knows what he wants and his sweet, sassy neighbor is at the top of the list. He’s certain that the chemistry between them would be explosive, but Priscilla fears that an affair with him, however hot, could be a recipe for disaster.
Straight out … I loved it. It’s the
second closest I’ve come to recreating that feeling I get when I finish a KA
book – Nicola Claire being the first. To sum it up, Priscilla Westcott is
Murphy’s bitch, Murphy’s Law that is – if it can go wrong, it will …
spectacularly. I spent a good part of the book outright laughing at the
situations Priscilla found herself in because I could so easily relate; case in
point, the fence jumping scene is eerily similar to something I’ve experienced
myself. Sadly though, I cannot claim to have gotten cozy with the sexy neighbor
next door.
I adored Priscilla. Every time life
tried to knock her down, she’d get right back up and keep moving forward.
That’s not to say that she handled the stumbles gracefully or in the most
mature manners, and that’s actually what made her so much fun. Priscilla did
what so many of us would love to do, but don’t and her obsession with egging is
a perfect example of that. So of course I was tickled pink for her when Trent
stepped up his Alpha male ways and pursued her relentlessly. Trent was so
freaking sexy that Priscilla wasn’t the only one engaging in some thigh
clenching. Again, a man who is skilled at wall sex always gets extra points in
my book. Not that Trent needed any extra points because the man wasn’t just
alpha hot, he could be unbelievably sweet when Priscilla needed it. Even though
I saw the flashing “Danger” sign before either of them, I was still devastated
for Priscilla when she and Trent broke up.
Life
Next Door
is a great example of why I love reading romances. Knowing that the couple is
going to get their happy ending is a good thing, but it is the journey they
must take to get there that truly makes the read for me. And Ms. Hollyfield had
done a wonderful job with the journey she has created for Priscilla and Trent.
I loved Priscilla. I loved Trent. What I loved most was Priscilla and Trent as
a couple. Life Next Door was an easy
read and I am so glad that it was a stand-alone book because I didn’t have time
to read book one first, but I will be going back to read Life in a Rut, Love Not Included because I definitely enjoyed the
author’s writing and look forward to reading more of her work.
As I was saying before, if you have
ever sat down and listened to Elvis, you would know he sang a lot about love.
Lyrics, like “let’s make a night to remember” or “love me tender, love me
true,” blared in our household like a family soundtrack. So, when I was young,
love was what I lived for. And at the age of seventeen, all girls know exactly
what love is and that it is going to last forever. Surely Murphy’s Law was
around as well and put in his two cents.
Fourteen years ago. High school. Year
of 2000. Girl meets boy. Boy asks out girl. Girl thinks being easy is the way
to go, no thanks to Elvis, and gives boy her virginity. Boy and girl start to
date and become high school sweethearts. They make plans for the future, defy
their parents, jump the train to the next town over and get married at a
Justice of the Peace. High school ends and both realize they have different
dreams and only one has a college scholarship. Boy goes off to his chosen
college while girl follows him because she is in love. Girl gets job to pay for
local community college while boy has a full scholarship and attends a
university. Four years fly by and before they know it, they are stuck in a
routine: school, work, sleep, repeat.
Time is such a funny thing in life.
It keeps going, no matter what is happening around you. Time doesn’t stop to
give us a chance to figure out what’s missing or wrong in our life or in the
relationship we’re struggling in. So instead of taking time to stop and try to
figure out how to fix it, we just continue to turn our backs to the problem,
hoping it resolves itself. Therefore, instead of waving the white flag and
going separate ways, college boy and girl move back to their hometown of
Richmond, Ohio to start their careers. Girl gets her degree in culinary arts
and a second degree in business, and envisions this great plan for how she’s
going to open up her own bakery. Boy gets law degree and becomes somebody
bigger and better than girl. Before you know it, boy is now a man and girl is
now a woman and neither have anything really in common with the other.
Well, except for the neighbor. In
common means woman lives next to her while man is inside her… Literally.
J.D Hollyfield currently resides in the Midwest with her husband, son and three doxies. As a Creative Designer by day, she enjoys spending her spare time with her nose in a good book. This obsession inspired her to test out her own creative ability. With her love for romance books and a head full of book boyfriends, this encouraged her to bring her own story to life and create her first novel.
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