The Guy Next Door by Kate Palmer

The Guy Next Door by Kate Palmer

On the surface, Eva Black's life seems practically perfect. The small-town kindergarten teacher is set to wed ambitious lawyer Sean Langley, and their plans for a dream wedding are well underway. Eva accepts that she will soon live life in the spotlight as a member of the prestigious Langley family, but can she overlook her fiance's tendency to dominate the details of her life and push the limits of her standards?

Mere weeks before the wedding, Eva is thrown into a traumatic, life-changing event that changes her view of family commitment and creates a sharp contrast between her ideals and Sean's. With her engagement to Sean in jeopardy, Eva finds herself relying on the support and encouragement of Peter, her kind and attentive next-door neighbor. Faced with a choice between her penitent fiance and the increasingly mysterious Peter, Eva is unprepared for the consequences—and peril—that come with her decision. (amazon summary)

I really liked the way the author wrote the two love interests in The Guy Next Door. Sean was a decent smart guy that Eva could have built a life with. I like that he and Eva disagreed, but  that he never really turns evil. He kind of is a jerk when Eva adopts her baby niece Melody, as he had a different opinion about children than she does, but he doesn’t ever turn into evil guy. I like how the author shows the layers of their relationship to the reader so you can see the strengths as well as the weaknesses of it so the reader finds it believable that they break up without being cliche or too melodramatic.

I found it refreshing that Peter wasn’t the typical cookie cutter Mormon love interest. He’s got long hair, a goatee, and a suspicious job. I liked how the author showed how comfortable Eva felt around him and found their love story to be super sweet. Though, I found it a bit unbelievable that Eva wasn’t more suspicious about his job, and thought that should have been less of a big reveal, as I felt it was obvious. Perhaps there could have been some hints as to non-disclosure contracts and all that to give Peter more of a reason to stay silent about his “consulting business.”  I just felt like he should have given her a more solid reason as to why he wouldn't discuss his work.

Other than that I was sad that the novel was over. I wanted to read more about Peter and Eva and the special relationship that was blooming between them. I wanted to discover if they really found one another as compatible as they first thought, and how Peter’s job turned out.

Overall, I really liked this unique romantic suspense novel that portrayed unique and layered relationships. I am glad that I had the opportunity to participate in the blog tour and receive a e-copy for review.  

As part of the tour, Kate is generously offering a grand prize giveaway of a copy of The Guy Next Door plus Junior Mints (Eva’s favorite candy), and a copy Eva’s lemon chicken recipe.

To enter to win these prizes, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form provided. (Each tour stop will have the same Rafflecopter form)

• Open from October 2 to November 2.
• Must be 13+ years of age to enter
• US mailing addresses only

Earn entries by doing any/all of the following:

• Leaving a blog post comment
• Liking Kate’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/KatePalmerAuthor)
• Tweeting about the giveaway (once per day)
• Subscribing to Kate’s blog (http://www.katrinapalmer.com/)

a Rafflecopter giveaway