My Hero Next Door: A Forbidden Love Sweet Romance Novel (Lyrics of Love Book 1)

For I can’t help falling in love with you.

Ella follows her meticulous, efficient boyfriend David to University. The opposite of David. Ella has no real plans for her future. She is shy and withdrawing where David is more outgoing and ambitious. Ella is only bold and confident when she sings in the shower. One day she hears another voice singing from the other side of the shower. Ella and the stranger sing in perfect harmony only to fall in love. Cole rushes out to find who the person on the other side is to find out they had run out of the campus shower before he can find out. The next day Ella meets David’s best friend Cole, not realizing Cole is the phantom voice singing with her in the shower. I love this story. I read the original ”Fever” and loved that too. The only difference with this version is the author took out the sex scenes. The story is still sweet and romantic with or without the sex scenes. It reminds me of Cinderella in a way where the shower is the glass slipper. Lol. I love the end. I laughed and cried. It just grabs you in the heart. So, if you want an old fashioned sweet romance, that you will remember for the rest of your life. Pick this book up to read this weekend. I received a complimentary ARC by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I just loved this story. The plot is engaging, as is the story of Ella and Cole.
After the death of her parents when she was fifteen, Ella was sent to live with her aunt in Los Angeles. Luckily for her, she soon befriended her neighbors, Morgan and Jody, and the three became practically sisters. When Morgan went to UChicago, Ella and Jody stayed in LA, and she started dating David.
David is an extremely focused guy with his goals, and Ella got used to others making decisions for her, so when he convinces her to transfer to UChicago, she goes, despite being scared to death.
Little did she know that her life was about to change completely.
Ella is extremely confident when she sings, and when she’s in the middle of singing in the dorm shower, she immediately starts a duet with a guy on the other side of the wall. The two are quickly attracted, but she is committed to David and doesn’t accept meeting the guy in person.
Meanwhile, Cole is David’s roommate, and when he meets Ella, he feels an immediate attraction to her and, as they spend a few moments together, he really listens to her.
When secrets are revealed, will they be able to overcome life’s upheavals and be happy?
I just loved the story and all the characters. I highly recommend the reading.

I have read other books by one of this author’s other pen name and I was excited to dive into this series now that they’re gettign re-published. I really like this author’s writing style as this book was no exception. But sadly the plot line of this book didn’t fully work for me.

Ella lost her parents when she was young and her boyfriend of 3 years helped her deal with life without them. Now’s she finally joining his at campus in Chicago. This is a big change for her and she struggles to adjust. When one days she’s singing in the shower, a guy joins her in a duet and from that moment everything changes. She also develops feelings for her boyfriend’s best friend and roommate Cole, who is actually shower guy as well, she just doesn’t know it yet. While she slowly grows closer to Cole she has to choose between him and her boyfriend David.

I liked the set-up with the whole mysterious shower guy and girl and how they meet while singing and have a connection while only having heard each other’s voices. I thought this was such a fun and intriguing way for them to meet and I like how they have that connection while singing. I also liked seeing Cole and Ella get to know each other. They are so sweet together and it’s clear they are great for one another.

What I didn’t care for was all the plot surrounding the fact Ella already has a boyfriend. Her boyfriend, David, clearly isn’t right for her, but he also isn’t a bad guy. Honestly I felt bad for him. Ella remains with her boyfriend and tries to make it work, but she doesn’t really try to make it work in my opinion. I wish she opened up to David or told him about her doubts or struggles. Tried to confide in him or improve their relationship. As most of the book she sticks with him, but then never opens up to him. I honestly couldn’t see why they were together, except for the fact that they had been together for years. That seemed to be the only reason they were together and I didn’t feel their romance or connection. David also didn’t really seem to try harder to let Ella in or improve their relationship. I would’ve liked to get at least a glimpse of why they cared for each other or really see them try put in the effort in their relationship. Now David and their relationships just felt like a plot device and one I didn’t particular like. I think I might’ve liked this one more if it felt like a love triangle where the girl really struggles to choose as now it’s obvious David isn’t right for her and she just can’t see it as she doesn’t want to hurt him and he gives her stability. It just didn’t really feel like a compelling reason for her to stay with him and she ended up hurting both guys.

I actually liked Ella for the most part and I thought it was realistic how lost she sometimes feels and how she struggles to adjust to this new change. She has very low self confidence, but I thought this was interesting to see in a main character and it just fit her personality. Cole was a likeable guy as well, he thought he didn’t want a real relationship, but when he grows closer to Ella he realizes he really wants someone to share his dreams with.

While I liked Ella and Cole together and seeing them grow closer. I didn’t like how Ella and Cole are falling for each other while she’s till in a relationship. I get this sometimes happens, but the whole book is about that point and it also gets resolved very late on in the book. I would’ve liked to see more of Cole and Ella their relationship without the cloud of her current relationship hanging over them so I could really get a feel for how they would be together. While I didn’t like the main premise and angst about the situation there were some great scenes. I liked how Cole was there for Ella and really saw her. I also was glad they at least felt guilty for their feelings with Ella still being in a relationship. I thought Cole was a good guy for Ella, but due to the shadow of her current relationship I just didn’t fully warm up to their romance.

One of my favorite parts of the book is later in the book when Ella finally goes and figures out what it is she wants from live. She also stands up for herself and says no to something while this is obviously hard for her to do as she hurts others with it. She really shows some growth in the later part of this book and I think this part was so important for her to go through. I just wish it had lasted a bit longer or come sooner so we really can see her change and deal with this.

There are some interesting side characters, some of which clearly will get their own book. I liked how close Morgan, Jody and Ella were and how they are there for one another. I am not a fan usually of best friends who push the main character out of their comfort zone, but it seems that was what Ella needed at times.

To summarize: I liked the writing style and the set-up, but the sort of love triangle plot line didn’t work for me. I got frustrated with Ella sticking with her boyfriend, while at the same time it felt like she didn’t try and make their relationship better while she was falling for Cole at the same time. Cole and Ella did make for a great couple, but I never fully warmed up to their romance due to the black cloud of her current relationship hanging over them. There are some great scenes between them and I liked how Cole is there for her and they get to know each other. There is a part at the end where Ella really tried and figure out what it is she wants and she grows a lot and that was great to see. I just wish there was more of that and that part had been a bit longer. All in all this book didn’t fully work for me, but I hope I’ll enjoy the next one more.