“Cameron’s cleverly conceived and brilliantly executed contemporary romance is elevated by her superb character development and flair for delivering exquisite sexual tension.” –Booklist New York Times bestselling author Chelsea M. Cameron delivers the opposites-attract, sweet-and-sexy small-town romance you’ve been waiting for. Iris Turner hightailed it out of Salty Cove, Maine, without so … out of Salty Cove, Maine, without so much as a backward glance. Which is why finding herself back in her hometown–in her childhood bedroom, no less–has the normally upbeat Iris feeling a bit down and out. Her spirits get a much-needed lift, though, at the sight of the sexy girl next door.
No one knows why Jude Wicks is back in Salty Cove, and that’s just how she likes it. Jude never imagined she’d be once again living in her parents’ house, never mind hauling lobster like a local. But the solitude is just what she needs–until Iris tempts her to open up.
A no-strings summer fling seems like the perfect distraction for both women. Jude rides a motorcycle, kisses hard and gives Iris the perfect distraction from her tangled mess of a life. But come September, Iris is still determined to get out of this zero-stoplight town.
That is, unless Jude can give her a reason to stay…
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This is not my first book by this author, but it is my first sapphic story by her. I hoped it would be a touch steamier than it ended up being, but all in all it was a super cute, super fluffy romance about a couple of women who go running back to a small town in Maine for different reasons and end up finding each other.
Iris and Jude were adorable together and all the food talk really made me hungry. I requested a copy of this to review from Netgalley. All opinions are my own and haven’t been influenced.
This is really a sweet story. There’s a very slow burn, but the payoff is worth the wait. Iris and Jude have a beautiful connection, even though Jude is fighting that connection with all she’s worth.
While this story is more centered around Iris, it’s Jade who has the deeper wounds. But Iris still has a lot to learn, mostly about herself. It’s not necessarily her intent, but Jade brings out a different side of Iris and helps her to see what she wants and who she is beyond all those expectations she put on herself. Iris was on a path she had set a long time ago, feeling if she veered even slightly off course it was a failure. Jade helped her to realize that it’s okay to change your mind and your dreams.
From what I gather, Jade didn’t have it easy growing up. Her parents were never understanding or supportive of her and couldn’t seem to bother getting to know her at all. If she wasn’t going to be what they had pictured in their minds, they didn’t have a use for their own daughter. On top of that, Jade went through something terrible with no support system to back her up. My only problem with her storyline is that it just skimmed the surface. I felt this could have gone so much deeper.
There were a few times the timeline got choppy to me. It was toward the end and during a part of the story I felt was being a bit rushed. As much as I often enjoy a slow burn, I felt this story went 0-60 pretty quickly when it finally happened, and then the sequence of events after that didn’t line up correctly in my mind.
All that being said, I really enjoyed this author and found myself interested to read more. Even with my pickiness about timelines, I can’t complain about her characters. They are all beautifully written.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
3.5 Stars
Author Chelsea M. Cameron says she is an author of “tropetastic romance”. Using The Girl Next Door as a yardstick, I’d say that’s pretty conclusively true. This sweet, small-town-girl-next-door love story—the first in Carina Press’s new Carina Adores line—offers up some Hallmark movie style feels with the happily ever after romance readers expect.
Iris Turner and Jude Wicks’ love story is one of opposites attract, but it’s also one of hurt and comfort which added a touch of pathos to the development of their relationship. Iris has moved back to Salty Cove, Maine—the place she’d left and vowed never to return—to get back on her feet again after a disappointing setback. The high cost of living in Boston was more than she could manage, and so she’s had to swallow her pride and return to her childhood bedroom in her parents’ home until she can save enough money and find the right job in Boston to move back again. Preferably ASAP.
Why Jude has moved back to Salty Cove is teased out over time, but there is little doubt it was something impactful that instigated her return. The most anyone seems to know about her is that her parents gave her their house when they retired to Florida, she’s a lobsterman, and she prefers to be left alone. That is, until Iris and her lovable dog Dolly Parton infiltrate Jude’s defenses and gradually insinuate themselves in her life.
There’s enough pining in the build-up of Iris and Jude’s relationship to categorize this as a slow-burn romance, even if the story takes place in a relatively short period of time. It’s clear they’re attracted to each other—we see it more so in Iris than Jude at the outset—but Jude is carrying the weight of a heartbreak that weighs so heavily on her she’s vowed never to love someone, anyone, again. She’s in clear self-preservation mode and it’s her standoffish nature that makes it difficult to know her, let alone warm up to her, for a good while. This is purposeful but was not necessarily helpful in making an emotional connection to her character. I did, eventually, it just took some time. Thankfully, Iris and Dolly were there to be endearing and keep me engaged and invested until the turning point in the romance, when Jude finally allows herself to be emotionally vulnerable to Iris. There were also some instances where I felt that the showing of certain things would have been helpful in supporting their attraction to each other. For example, Jude tells readers Iris is funny, but if Iris was ever funny on page, I didn’t catch it. She was sweetly awkward at times, no doubt, but not necessarily comical, and I’d have loved to see some of that humor coming shining through.
As is par for the romantic course, no-strings-attached sex always means there will be strings attached, and I was glad when Jude was able to trust herself, and Iris, enough to accept that she’d fallen in love with the girl next door. Theirs is a story about reclaiming joy, about belonging, about giving yourself permission to be happy, and that grabbing hold of a new love doesn’t mean forgetting how lucky you are it has been gifted to you more than once in a lifetime. It’s not about flashy drama or grand gestures. It’s is a simple story about finding home in a person as well as a place. In spite of a slow start, I warmed up to this sweet, tropey romance, and enjoyed watching Iris and Jude find their happily ever after.
The Girl Next Door was somewhere in the fair to middlin range for me. I didn’t exactly dislike it, but I didn’t love it either. It’s one of those books that enjoyable enough if you’re looking for something quick to read that won’t require too much of an emotional attachment from you. Jude and Iris are both likable, and their attraction is instant – one half of them doesn’t readily admit it, but the author does make it pretty clear. The reason for that hesitance is also pretty clear from early in the story, but we aren’t given the details until almost the end. The book isn’t particularly long, but to be honest, it felt longer than it actually was, and I think a big part of that is because the whole story is basically on an even keel from start to finish. There really aren’t any surprises, good or bad. Instead, it’s predictable as it moves along. There’s really no question about why the attraction isn’t acted upon sooner just the same as there’s really no question about whether or not Iris is going to stay in town or why that might be. In the end, I’d have to say that this one is just an okay read. It was a sweet romance with a bit of steam between two likable enough characters. It wasn’t bad, but it’s not something I’ll be thinking about later either.