Jackson Schmidt is the biggest jerkity jerk ever. They should totally erect a statue to commemorate his jerkityness, jerkdom— Ugh! There are literally not enough words for ‘jerk’ to depict the man. Unfortunately, Jackson is also the most gorgeous specimen of manhood I’ve ever laid eyes on. One look at him and I want to jump and climb him like a tree. But whenever he opens his mouth, his status as … his status as the biggest bastard on the planet is immediately reinstated. It’s impossible for the man to say anything remotely nice – at least not to me. To my best friend, though? To her, he’s Mr. Perfect Gentleman. Did I mention he’s carrying a torch for my engaged best friend?
My libido does not give one flying hoot Jackson is a dick who has a crush on my bestie. Nope. Not at all. No matter how much of a schmuck the man is – and trust me he takes schmuck to the next level – I continue to pant after him like a nerdy freshman crushing on the prom king. If I want to keep my sanity, I’m going to have to keep Jackson at arm’s length.
Sanity is totally overrated.
At Arm’s Length is book 2 of the Love in the Suburbs series but can be read as a standalone.
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I don’t read a whole lot of romance books, I’ve really enjoyed the 2 books on this series. Grandma makes me laugh with her inappropriate questions and match making. Book is well written, characters are great. I can’t wait to read Baileys story.
At Arm’s Length by D.E. Haggerty is the second in the Love in the Suburbs series. It is an enemies-to-lovers scenario. Even though I read the first in the series, I had a little trouble getting up to speed with this book. It did come, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Jackson is Frankie’s partner in an event planning business and the biggest jerk ever. Frankie is still recovering, very self-conscious about her scars, and totally in love with her physical therapist. Jackson is so good looking and totally in love with Shelby’s engaged, best friend. He is never nice to her, in fact, is often snarky and critical. Frankie’s grandmother, Nancy is by far the best character in this story. Now that Frankie is successfully engage, she is looking to set up Shelby and the antics are hilarious, to everyone but Shelby.
Meanwhile Shelby is being forced to grow up…a prospect that she finds distinctly unappealing. But, if she means to make a success of her business, it is going to take more that talent. She’s going to have to start dressing and behaving the part, starting with her wardrobe. When I say she is pulled into the process “kicking and screaming,” it is not exaggeration. This story is heavily dependent on interesting characters, of which there are an abundance. Haggerty creates some interesting and real-world characters with whom we can all identify. They are what makes the book work. It is a fairly common scenario but with the characters it becomes something more special. At Arm’s Length is not a deep book, but it is totally entertaining and I recommend it for that reason. Enjoy.
I received a free ARC of At Arm’s Length from the author through the Cozy Mystery Review Crew in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are totally my own.
This fast-paced, fun and feisty read immediately grabbed my attention and I felt like Shelby was telling me her story. I just couldn’t put the book down until I read the last word. I loved Shelby and her dynamic with the other engaging characters especially gorgeous jerk Jackson Schmidt and Grandma who knocked the story out of the park! If you enjoy well-crafted enemies to lovers romantic comedy, don’t miss “At Arm’s Length” by gifted author D. E. Haggerty. I received an advance reader copy of this book from BookSirens and am voluntarily leaving my review. I enjoyed it so much, I purchased a copy to read again later.
Shelby has a big problem. Her hormones think she’s in love with Jackson. No matter how much she tries to convince them otherwise, they turn her body into goo whenever he’s around. She combats these feelings through snarky comments and eye rolling. He’s a jerkity-jerk whenever he gets the chance. There’s no way he likes her. Right? But men can be sneaky about feelings and when their pent-up feelings make you feel oh-so-satisfied, what’s a woman to do? Can Shelby let down her walls and let Jackson in? More importantly, can Jackson show her how fantastic love can be or will he break her heart into a million pieces?
D.E. Haggerty has hit it out of the park with this one. I am not a big enemies-to-lovers romance reader. Most of the time, authors go overboard with the hatred and there’s not enough love part (i.e. the couple gets together at the very end). But in At Arm’s Length, D.E. Haggerty weaves the ‘enemy’ part of the story with the ‘lovers’ part in plenty of time. The sparring isn’t too spiteful which I thoroughly enjoyed. The inner dialogue of Shelby made me laugh uproariously throughout the book. This book is spicier than I’m used to in Haggerty’s books, but I enjoyed it. Well-written with endearing characters, delicious romantic tension, an overload of snarkiness and heart-pounding love. There’s also Grandma Nancy matchmaking prowess at work and you know I love me some Grandma Nancy. Highly recommend!
Favorite Character/Quote:
Shelby. I loved her in About Face (book 1) and I was thrilled when she got her own book. She’s feisty, snarky but 100% lovable. She had an artificial limb but doesn’t let it stop her from grabbing life by the balls and having a helluva time. Watching her continually try to talk herself out of falling for Jackson was so. much. fun. A role model but not in a Stepford way. Relatable. Honest.
My Rating: 5 stars
At Arm’s Length is another fun, fast, entertaining read from D.E. Haggerty. The Love in the Suburbs series is a bit sexier than the cozy mysteries I’m used to reading from her, it makes for a nice change of pace!
Shelby is such a fun, feisty character. I’ve been a fan of hers since she showed up to give Frankie what for in About Face. She’s so strong, but has this vulnerability about her that she doesn’t let many people see, most of all Jackson, Frankie’s business partner and the man she is harboring major feelings for. With Jackson, she lets the sarcasm and smart remarks fly- a way to protect her heart, as she thinks he still has feelings for Frankie.
There’s a lot of back and forth between Shelby and Jackson, teasing and smack talking, which was quite enjoyable. Their banter was entertaining and I liked seeing these 2 circle around each other. Apparently Grandma, Frankie, and Brody did as well!
Since this is told in Shelby’s point of view, we know why she keeps her feelings to herself, but with Jackson it was harder to know why he did, although we do eventually find out. And once the truth came out it was easy to understand why he kind of held things close. I was happy when they finally opened up to each other-as they really were a good match.
These two had some great chemistry and when they came together, wowee!
This is a fun series, with Grandma back to her match-making ways- I do believe the lady knows what she’s doing!
Grandma Nancy is at it again!!! She
thinks of herself as matchmaker. She
has already matched her granddaughter,
Frankie. Now the object of Grandma’ s
shenanigans is Frankie’s best friend,
Shelby.
Grandma uses her family dinners to lore
her prospects together. If one doesn’t
work out, Grandma will find another but
her sites are set in setting Shelby and
Frankie’s business partner, Jackson
up together.
Jackson is a very professional business
man. He always dress in suits. He is an
adrenaline junkie who been hurt in a
previous relationship. He loves working
with people planning events
Shelby is an introvert. She fixes bugs in
computer gaming programs. Her mode of
dress consists of tee shirts, ripped jeans
and Doc Martens.
While Grandma is matchmaking, Frankie
needs to help Shelby to look and become
professional to obtain a job with a large
nationwide gaming company working as
their consultant.
There is definitely chemistry between
Shelby and Jackson even though Shelby
tries to keep Jackson at arm’s length.
Both were well fleshed, realistic and
relatable main characters. All the
supporting characters were colorful
and well written.
This is book # 2 in the Love in the Suburbs
series. It can be read as a stand alone. I
look forward to reading the first book.
Grandma is a real trip!!!
I volunteered to read At Arm’s Length.
Thanks to the author via the Review Crew.
My opinion is voluntary and my own.
This troublemaker spitfire gives the Suburban wiley, matchmaking Grandma a run for her money
If you need a romcom fix, look no further. Any book by this author is a shoe in for romantic comedy entertainment.
At Arm’s Length: an enemies to lovers romantic comedy (Love in the Suburbs Book 2) by D. E. Haggerty is a wonderful romantic comedy with a lead character that I absolutely adore for her sass, tenacity, confidence, humor, and troublemaking twinkle in her eyes that rival the original troublemaker of this series, Grandma. Shelby may be small, but she is big in all the other ways that count; friendship, loyalty, and the biggest heart once she lets you in.
This enemies to lovers romance is fraught with misunderstandings. All the early antagonistic interactions between Shelby and Jackson are often mean and hurtful, but Shelby’s inner dialogue as she deals with Jackson’s idiocy is hilarious. As they clear the air between the two of them, the hilarity continues, but the heat Shelby and Jackson generates quickly becomes an inferno.
Overall, Jackson becomes Shelby’s worthy hero as her protector, challenger and main supporter, but best of all he is her love and HEA.
A funny quirky story. Shelby is like a fairy on steroids. The energizer bunny has nothing on her. Grandma takes her job as matchmaker seriously and is devious in her schemes. Jackson is getting over a broken engagement. He is a total stud. This story is funny as Jackson and Shelby work out their issues and realize their attraction. Fun times!
Her Own Worst Enemy
At Arms Length is an entertaining rom-com with a fabulous and unique protagonist. Shelby’s antics and opinions will keep you entertained from the first to the last page of this fast-paced romance novel.
The Opening
The opening quickly establishes who the main characters are and the conflict that exists between them. I didn’t really get into the story until chapter two when we meet Grandma. That’s when the story begins to get interesting and the reader becomes immersed in the humorous events.
The Characters
I believe that D.E. Haggerty’s greatest gift is found in the way she creates such a strong voice for her viewpoint protagonists. Shelby is another great viewpoint character in her arsenal. Her worldview makes this story more interesting and entertaining.
Shelby is a sympathetic character but not necessarily a likable one. In many ways, she is her own worst enemy. Much of the conflict in the story is derived from her understandable anger at the world and the people around her.
I did like Shelby, but I didn’t like her aggressive attitude toward characters other than Frankie and Grandma. However, that attitude enables an interesting character development arc through the novel, which I did enjoy. Shelby’s bad attitude also makes her more interesting than the average viewpoint protagonist.
Shelby’s discussion with Bailey concerning her work issues does enable Shelby to pass the Bechdel-Wallace Test. At first, her general negative attitude toward younger females was a bit worrying, but this improves toward the end of the novel and is part of that overall interesting character development arc.
Something that I didn’t like was that Shelby is only named once in the opening chapter, and that is in the second to last paragraph. Thankfully, she is named several times in the second chapter. However, at the beginning of the story, I had no idea what her name was.
Jackson isn’t as well developed as I would like. We do discover that he’s an adrenaline junkie at some point in the story, but we don’t get to learn much about his background or interests when compared with Shelby.
I mean, by the end of the story, we know all about which movies Shelby likes best, all her hobbies, and a great deal about her career. I feel that we get to know her inside-out. However, although there’s an interesting and important fact mentioned about Jackson’s dating history, it is never really explored in detail. It is shown that it’s a shock to Shelby, but we don’t really get to hear his side of the story about why his life was like this.
Grandma is by far my favorite character. She makes this book work. If you read this book, you will soon learn why. This series shouldn’t be called Love in the Suburbs. It should be called The Matchmaker.
Luke is my second-favorite character. He is awesome. Strangely, I felt I knew him better than Jackson by the end of this novel. Luke has everything going for him, but he’s not a jerk about it. I’m pleased that there are hints he’ll be around for the next book.
The Plot
The main conflict is based around the enemies to lovers trope. However, the more interesting conflict revolves around Shelby’s attitude toward other people. She has a chip on her shoulder that strongly influences how she behaves and then causes interesting conflicts.
The ending is sweet, especially with respect to the non-question. You’ll understand what I mean when you get there. The set-up for the next book is also nicely constructed without being overdone.
The Setting
It’s always clear where we are in the story and the locations are adequately well described. However, I would have liked to have seen Jackson’s place. A person’s home is a reflection of who they are.
For example, it’s great that Shelby spills Cheetos on her sofa. She is a “gamer chick”, and her “den” reflects this part of her personality. We even learn about her neighbors and how her personality has caused past conflicts with them
Shelby’s wardrobe also reflects her character. We get to learn a lot about who she is from her home, her internal thoughts, and smaller details such as her feelings about her cosplay outfit.
But we never get to see Jackson’s home, so a large part of him remains a mystery. We don’t know anything about his socio-economic class, his family, or his hobbies. We learn that he likes thrills and is not a geek, but that’s about it. If we saw his home, so much of his background would be better filled in.
The Prose
As I said earlier, voice is D.E. Haggerty’s gift. Shelby has a wonderful voice throughout this novel that is distinctive, entertaining, and interesting.
The prose is clear and easy to read and shows rather than tells the story, making this novel a page-turner. The only sentence I noted that may be an error is in chapter 4 where we read: “Get you behind moving and get in here.” I wasn’t sure if “you” was Grandma’s accent (which it well could be) or a typo.
My Opinion
At Arms Length is a unique narrative with an interesting protagonist and a sweet HEA ending. It is certainly funny and will keep any romance reader entertained.
However, I would have liked to learn much more about Jackson and was disappointed that we didn’t get a deeper look into his past and his life beyond the plot. For that reason, I’m only going to award this entertaining rom-com 9 out of 10, which will be reflected as 5 out of 5 on Amazon and Goodreads. This is an excellent romance novel but, in my opinion, could have been better if Jackson were more three-dimensional.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Jackson Schmidt is the biggest jerkerity Jerk ever.
Shelby is a computer programmer. She is 5’ with a prosthetic arm. She dyes her hair whatever color she wants and doesn’t care. She wears glitter pink sneakers and is a force to be reckoned with. She is a spitfire who says what is on her mind and doesn’t care what anyone thinks. Unfortunately, Shelby is very attracted to great-looking Jackson Schmidt. He is 6’++ and Shelby wants to climb him like a tree. However, Jackson never has a nice word to say to her ever. He’s always nasty and they always end up fighting and trading insults. Shelby thinks Jackson is secretly in love with her best friend Frankie who is married. Shelby is anticipating a huge computer programming job from “Rockstarazoid.” and doesn’t need Jackson to make her life even worse than it already is. Or does she?
This book was a surprise to me. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I didn’t know what to expect. This book has everything. It is funny and sexy as it breaks your heart. lol. The characters reminded me of my own friends with all their quirks and hangups. They are still loyal and love Shelby and will protect her from anyone who hurts her. Shelby’s and Jackson’s chemistry was off the charts. It sizzled as they traded insults. It is well-written. I especially liked how the supporting characters are just as interesting and well-rounded as the main characters. I loved how Shelby “Adopted” Grandma and how Grandma was a matchmaker who just wanted to see everyone happy and in love. lol. I am so happy I found and took a chance on this author. She has a new fan. I received a complimentary copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I loved this story, it is a diferent take in the usual stories with very interesting characters. Sunday dinner’s at grans had me laughing out loud. Shelby and Jackson are great together. The hole story is romantic, steamy, funny and heartwarming.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE NOT ALWAYS TRUE
I received this book for free and am giving my honest and voluntary review
This is a cute story of a snarky handicapped woman, Shelby, and a confused man, Jackson, trying to find a way to express his feelings for the woman and making himself into nuisance. The matchmaking grandma is the ultimate in the story.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
At first look at the blurb for this book, it appears to be a classic enemies to lovers tale. Not so fast. It took a minute to see it was not that cliche. I got a kick out of the headings before the start of each chapter. The twist on the song lyrics was so cool. Definitely had me chuckling out loud.
Shelby’s character was fun to read. She’s a wisecracking little dynamo. I felt like she sometimes harped on her size a little much during her internal dialogue. I was unsure about Jackson, but he won me over. His behavior with Shelby seemed juvenile to me but ends up being explained.
The relationships between the circle of friends that end up at Grandma’s for Sunday dinner are a riot.
The dialogues are funny. I found the story more engaging the more I read. I will say that I would have like to have Jackson’s point of view in the book.
I liked the character of Francine’s Grandmother Trudy. She had her little schemes and ran them regardless of what anyone said. She was determined to do what she felt needed to be done. I will definitely look for more books by this author.
This is the first time I’ve read this author ,,,,, I enjoyed the book ,,,,
Shelby Hayes is 5 foot nothing and skinny as all get out and she has no figure ,,, but she as exotic looking eyes due to her having an Indonesian Grandma ,,,, and her hair is long, thick and wavy and naturally brown but is usually dyed blue or pink or whichever she feels is appropriate for that outfit or outing ,,,, but one thing is missing ,,,,, she is missing her right forearm and right hand , she has a prosthetic forearm and hand ,,,, has had since birth ,, and she is an only child ,,,, she’s very good in writing computer code and she makes her living freelance coding for RPG and other gaming ,,,,, her best friend is Francis (Franky) McMillan whom she met 5 month’s ago when Frankie was recovering from an horrific car accident in which she still refuses to tell the story of ,,, she still has scaring on her face and leg and she considers herself deformed ,,,, Frankie met a physical therapist named Brodie, whom is now her fiancé,,, Shelby is going to visit Frankie at her new office space for her new business she and Jackson Schmidt are in called F&J Events ,,, but Shelby cannot stand Jackson ,,,, he is such an idiot and Shelby knows he is stuck on her best friend Frankie, even though everybdy knows she’s happily engaged , ,, but Shelby, she doesn’t trust him in the slightest,,,, so, why does she feel that jolt of electricity whenever they touch ,,,,,
Jackson Schmidt has blond hair styled to look like he just gotten out of bed and beautiful baby blue eyes, a strong, clean shaven jawline, tall, lean and lithe ,,,, he was once engaged to his high school sweetheart, who was with him thru college and living together after that ,,,,, he proposed, she accepted and everything was peaches and cream until she left him b4 the wedding, then he found out she had been seeing another man since college and Jackson never knew anything ,,, now he thinks he’s hung up on his business partner, Frankie,,,, but he knows she is taken by her fiancé Brodie ,,,,,he has this new business doing party planning with Frankie and lately, he has been invited to Frankie’s grandma’s house for Sunday dinner, which they get together for every week,,,, Frankie, Brodie, her grandma Nancy and Grandpa Bill and when he walks into the house, there are 3 more empty chairs ,,,, one person coming in from the living room to the kitchen is Shelby Hayes ,,, and there are 2 others not there yet ,,,, Frankie’ s grandma is kinda a matchmaker ,,,, and now he has a feeling that he’s going to be one of those people ,,, but somehow he needs to find a way to get Shelby interested in him,,,,
I really enjoyed the writing of D.E. Hagerty ,,, this is the first I’ve read from this author and I rather enjoyed her writing ,,,, there was some action, adventure and some very hot and steamy scenes in between ,,,, I would so totally recommend this book to anyone,,,,
I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
Excellent: Characterizations. Story. Superb: Dialogue.
This was an absolutely delightful novel to read. Charmed. Thank you Ms. Haggerty! Indèd, I will be checking out the other novels you have written in this series. Excellent characterizations, story line and superb dialogue (both of an external nature and an internal nature as well). A sensitive subject matter was brought to light and was handled in a very sensitive manner. Good stuff!!
I voluntarily received an advance review copy of this novel from the author via BookSirens and I am leaving an honest and unbiased review. I have no affiliation to this author.
Romance, humor and steam! What more could you want??? Everyone needs a meddling matchmaking grandma in their lives and the grandma in this series does not disappoint. I thought the first book was good, but this book had me rolling in laughter even more! You absolutely can enjoy this book as a stand alone, but you would double your enjoyment if you read the first book in the series as well. I absolutely can’t wait for this author to write the next book in the series and will be impatiently waiting! The author has a wonderful ability to weave serious issues through a humorous romance and create a well written story that has you invested in the characters outcomes. Seriously, when does the next book come out?
This romantic comedy had me laughing out loud. I loved Jackson. Yes, he was a jerk to Shelby. But he was nice to everyone else so he wasn’t all bad. It was funny how Shelby was obsessed with Jackson but couldn’t stand him at the same time. She was driving herself crazy. Physically she liked him but once he opened his mouth, not so much. I liked how she didn’t care what other people thought of her looks. If she wanted blue hair (or pink), she got it. You had to love Grandma – she was obsessed with matchmaking. Almost annoyingly so. It was hilarious every time she had a “family” dinner there were always extra place settings for the guests she invited to match with someone. This time it was either for Shelby or Jackson. Some of those guests were hilariously horrible!
If you want a romantic comedy that has great characters and makes you laugh out loud, then this book is for you!
I volunteered to read and review this book. Thank you, D.E. Haggerty, for sending me a copy.
This book was adorable. It’s not the way I would normally describe a book, but it fits. Jackson and Shelby are a great couple with true friends trying to help them through their issues and get them together, despite a series of mishaps. While it wasn’t laugh out loud funny, there were multiple times I found myself smiling, between grandma’s antics and the blurbs at the beginning of each chapter, it would be hard not to bring a smile to your face.
If you are looking for a book that is cheery and upbeat, this is definitely a must read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…
D.E.Haggerty’s novel, At Arm’s Length, covers all the bases for snarky, frenemies-to-lovers contemporary romance. Thirty-somethings Jackson and Shelby are each working, professional people with education, skills, and a clientele – she in software development and he in event planing. Trouble is, neither has outgrown the persona they created back in high school. Jackson is still the tongue-tied and emotionally clueless boyfriend, and Shelby is the textbook snarky alt/geek Ms. Independence. Their personalities clash on an epic scale, despite matchmaking efforts on the part of friends and family. Haggerty’s story lets us witness, through Shelby’s eyes, their metamorphosis into confident, mature adults, and lovers. There’s a lot of painful truth in the tale, but it’s well-balanced with sarcastic wit, guffaws and giggles. Neither Shelby nor Jackson is the least bit pitiable as they surmount challenges and stretch their newly adult understanding of life, work, and love. Superbly written, totally recommended. This is a voluntary and enthusiastic ARC review.
Will they or won’t they?
Although this book centers primarily on Shelby, we do learn a little about Jackson. She is a force unto herself with her computer skills that have developed to the point she is in demand. Her personality is definitely take it or leave it, and she really doesn’t seem to care if people “like” her as long as they appreciate her skills. Jackson seems to “get” her, and the two of them have an unusual although perfect for them relationship. Grandma is another force and the interplay between the two strong women makes for a lot of laughs.
If you like lighthearted and funny stories this is a definite must read!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.