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Playing for Keeps

(Neighbor from Hell #1)

R.L. Mathewson (Goodreads Author)

4.06 · Rating details · 100,696 ratings · 5,333 reviews

Alternate-cover editions for ASIN B004YQBXIE are located here, here, and here

Done with being the world's biggest pushover, Haley decides that things are going to change starting with the aggravating neighbor who has too much charm and not enough restraint. What she didn't expect was to sucked into his world, but Haley has a game plan and she won't let herself forget just ...more

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Kindle Edition, 332 pages

Published April 29th 2011 by Rerum Publishing House

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Feb 04, 2012 ♡Karlyn P♡ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-humor, genre-contemporary, read-2012, steam-hot

O.M.G.! What a funny and sexy contemporary romance! It was over-the-top silly, but it made me laugh so many times! And best yet, the steamy parts were HOT.

Jason is Haley’s next door neighbor from HELL, but in truth he really is a fun and misunderstood kind of guy. Sure, the neighborhood started ~~a few~~ many petitions trying to get him to stop doing this or that, but he means well. And his shy little neighbor has never once complained. However, Jason is pretty clueless when it comes to things ...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Ann has a dirty mouth rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Sometimes when I read other people's reviews, I think "Did we read the same book?"

Anyways, the good- this book is very well written, esp by the standards of self pubs. It flows well and is very engaging. I had fun while I was reading it and kept turning the pages. It really lost me in the last third though.

The bad- this book is about two idiot adult children who take immaturity to a new level. Hayley starts dating her neighbor Jason when they are trapped inside her house by a swarm of killer Sometimes when I read other people's reviews, I think "Did we read the same book?"

Anyways, the good- this book is very well written, esp by the standards of self pubs. It flows well and is very engaging. I had fun while I was reading it and kept turning the pages. It really lost me in the last third though.

The bad- this book is about two idiot adult children who take immaturity to a new level. Hayley starts dating her neighbor Jason when they are trapped inside her house by a swarm of killer bees. They hit it off and start hanging out as "just friends" for several months, a relationship that soon includes tons of platonic sleeping. Before long, they can't sleep alone. Jason wants to fuck Hayley, but he is sure that she would never want to be with a man like him. If there are any men reading this, here is a hint- if a woman lets you sleep in her bed every night for three months, then she is probably also willing to fuck you. I'm just saying.

However, the real reason that Haley hasn't sealed the deal is because she is a virgin and saving herself for the man she loves. However, even though she isn't sure she loves Jason, she sure likes him a lot, so they begin an epic months long spree of oral sex that lasts like 200 pages. Luckily for Hayley, Jason enjoys eating pussy more than a JR Ward vampire crossed with Lil Wayne crossed with Cookie Monster. There is trouble in paradise though, when one of her asshole friends tricks Jason into doing the horizontal polka before Hayley is ready. Haley is hurt and tries to dump Jason but he just won't take no for an answer. In his defense, I don't think that I would assume that a 30 year old woman would be a virgin either. Through the power of forgivness and buttercream frosting, they get over it.

Anyways, what kills me about this story is that there should have been no story. Two unattached, normal consenting adults shouldn't have had this much trouble. Just not enough conflict outside the characters unexplained immaturity. Jason especially was hard for me to figure out.

However, this book does contain several things that seem to be trends in new romance novels, including platonic sleeping, animal nicknames and an extremely long epilogue. All of these things piss me off, especially the platonic sleeping. If you like it though, good for you. I would rather read about real adults. ...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Mimi Smith rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance

5 stars

It's been a long time since I've loved a book this much, so I'm spreading the word!

You know how they say "Don't judge a book by its cover"? Well, let's be honest:We all do. A pretty cover will get me to buy a book faster than a tempting blurb. I know, I know-it could be just me and my shallowness or I'm a plain old book cover snob, but it's a fact of life. Now, if this book wasn't recommended to me I never would've picked it up. So, to all my GR friends who share my book cover ...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Jill Paige rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Unfortunately, I only got to page 39 of this book before I gave up on it.

The blurb implies it's a enemies-to-lovers trope, but the hero and heroine are only enemies for (literally) the first pages of the book. Very soon they're instant best friends--which we are TOLD, not shown--so the book is really a friends-to-lovers trope.

The friends-to-lovers trope wouldn't have put me off, but adding to the book's woes, it was poorly edited. (I have since read that the author is having her books edited ...more

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Aug 17, 2013 xrysa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary

Caution:You will laugh out loud!

I mean it!

I hate reading funny books but this one was a random pick which turned out to be sooo good!

Enter,Jason

He is 31 and definitely the biggest jackass on earth,or at least he seems to be.He is every householders' nightmare.We can see what a prick he is from Haley's eyes.

How would you feel if your idiot neighbor destroyed your bed flower?

I dont know about you but I would have KILLED HIM!

Well in our story his action brings them closer which is good since ...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Lady Gabriella of Awesomeness (On Hiatus) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-favourites, soft-n-fluffy, swoon-worthy-hero, love-thy-neighbor, hilarious, read-n-reviewed, 2014-favourites, best-couple-banter

This book was amazing and after a lot of after-thought I finally decided to go for a 5 star as the rating ;)

'Playing for keeps' is a novel that provides a perfect example of how important it is to NEVER judge a book by its cover..and I'm glad I chose not to with this one.The stellar reviews this book received from book besties,left me curious enough to pick this one out.So an applause for their fabulous review :D And now I'm just another reviewer hoping that I recommend this book good ...more

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Nov 29, 2014 Beverly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Beverly by: Jennifer Kyle

5 LMAO Stars

This is such a fun read! I told my friend I needed something light and she recommended this one, and it is perfect.

The story is about two neighbors who through little misunderstandings and some bad actions despise each other.

Of course, once they are forced together one day and able to communicate things are cleared up. They immediately see they are perfect for each other and become best friends.

Naturally their attraction for each other gets in the way and things escalate.

I liked ...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Beverly rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-star

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Everything was cliché: she has a rich family that doesn’t appreciate her, the grandma is tough and she automatically approves of the ‘boyfriend’ even though she never has before, the son is the spitting image of the father, they have to wrestle in the mud to be close to each other upon meeting, he’s instantly turned on by her to the point of being unbearable, she’s amazing at foreplay even though she’s never done anything before, THEIR BEDROOM WINDOWS ARE LITERALLY LESS THAN TWO FEET APART FROM Everything was cliché: she has a rich family that doesn’t appreciate her, the grandma is tough and she automatically approves of the ‘boyfriend’ even though she never has before, the son is the spitting image of the father, they have to wrestle in the mud to be close to each other upon meeting, he’s instantly turned on by her to the point of being unbearable, she’s amazing at foreplay even though she’s never done anything before, THEIR BEDROOM WINDOWS ARE LITERALLY LESS THAN TWO FEET APART FROM EACH OTHER – how convenient, she has a confrontation with an old ex of his, he gets jealous about an old ex of hers, all the men who are not taken are deemed perverted assholes, all the girls but Haley are bitchy.

He’s forced to use her shower, even though he lives next door, because they are trapped by bees – really? They surrounded the ENTIRE house? – and so he is forced to interact with each other where they discover they are not as bad as they thought they were and they go on to have the best friendship in the world. All so terrible.

Haley was a total Mary-Sue. She’s a 29 year old virgin who has had, by what the book implies, literally hundreds of men trying to ask her out in her lifetime. I doubt not one of those men was good enough for Haley, the perfect prize. She’s apparently stunning, sexy, intelligent, sports-savvy, quirky, and humble. She’s every perfect characteristic packaged into one beautiful, lovely woman. Her only fault isn’t even about her, it’s the fact that she has a rich snobby family that doesn’t appreciate her. She’s made to seem like she was dealt with a hard life but she prospered despite her neglected childhood. She even refuses to receive help from people just because she needs to do things on her own. I mean, I understand wanting to do things on your own, but to literally pitch a fit because someone lied about how much a cabin they’re renting out for you cost? “Oh, no, she spent way over the $1000 limit I gave her! How dare she?”

I hate this idea that a girl will only have sex with her one true love and that the man-whore will only settle for the innocent girl. Men are wild you can’t blame them for having sex with every model-like girl they meet and since girls are whores if they sleep with more than one guy then she needs to preserve her innocence in order to satisfy that one man. If you want to save yourself for marriage, fine by me whatever, but when they portray Haley as this completely innocent, good-natured girl and then couple that with her being a virgin, what does that really say?

Jason is very immature, I find it hard to believe that he would ever be a good teacher, I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten fired. The food stuff was kind of entertaining in the beginning, but as soon as it was established that it was his thing it got annoying. He acts like a two year old yelling, “Mine!” and nearly crying whenever anyone goes near his precious brownies. Seriously?

Even more so with the innocence and Mary-Sue stuff, Haley apparently doesn’t know that she’s beautiful and she’s unaware of all the attention she gets from guys. She’s so innocent she doesn’t even notice when men flirt with her. For a 29 year old, she seems pretty naïve. Also, Jason claiming to be a playboy and asserting over and over again the fact that he doesn’t let women sleep in his bed or cuddle with him? It was obvious they only put all that in there just to let Haley defy all of it and show that she was special! They don’t even really know each other and after claiming that she hated him for five years, they just go ahead and do it anyway! What kind of development is this? For people who were so adamant in their beliefs that they let them define them, they sure do break their own rules pretty quickly.

I didn’t understand the whole ‘little grasshopper’ stuff. I get that he thinks it’s because he’s teaching her stuff, but what did he really do? All he did was invite her to a party where she branched out on her own. He left her alone for most of the time and it was only when he decided subconsciously that he wanted to sleep with her that he made himself her ‘coach’. She decided on her own to become less shy and he didn’t do anything regarding that.

This idea that they’re such special soul-mates and whatever that they can’t even sleep if they’re not together???? Are you kidding me?? She literally says she hasn’t slept in five days because she needs Jason there with her. Can anyone, in real life, tell me if this has ever happened to you? I understand a day or two of having difficulty falling asleep because you’re sad about them, but to go DAYS without sleep because of it is just ridiculous. Going along with that, can you imagine if you moved houses and changed your workplace every time you broke up with a guy who lives/works nearby? Ridiculous. The entire ending was pretty dumb. It was just a bunch of groveling, stubbornness, and playing cat and mouse. They just went back and forth with their feelings and it got very annoying very fast.

1/10 would not recommend.
...more

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Jul 08, 2013 SueBee★bring me an alpha!★ marked it as to-read

Shelves: to-read-cr-stand-alone, g-contemporaries, series-ready-4-me-2-read, series-g-contemporaries, kindle-freebie, own-but-not-read, next-2012, series-cr-stand-alone, to-read-contemporaries, kindle

FREE on Amazon US today (6/4/2015)

Stand-alone book 1.

BLURB:
Done with being the world's biggest pushover, Haley decides that things are going to change starting with the aggravating neighbor who has too much charm and not enough restraint. What she didn't expect was to be sucked into his world, but Haley has a game plan and she won't let herself forget just what the bad boy next door is capable of.

The last thing Jason expected was for his little shy neighbor to go Rambo on him over some ruined ...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Stacia (the 2010 club) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: made-me-laugh, adult, cute, contemporary-romance

3.5 stars. Rounding up because Jason is such a rock star.

She quietly said good night, rolled her eyes as Jason mumbled, "I love you" to his brownies, and headed off to the bathroom.

I picked up Playing for Keeps because it was getting some attention and I was curious to see why a seemingly unnoticeable book (have you seen the cover?) was starting to cause a stir.

What I was expecting : Neighbors who don't get along spend half of a book torturing the living daylights out of each other before ...more

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Feb 27, 2014 UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: enemies-to-lovers, holy-hell-that-was-hot, must-read-author, snobby-bitchy-parents, 2014-reads, man-ho-hero, first-in-series-trilogy-duet, series-neighbor-from-hell, funny-sexy-romantic, must-read-series

4 ‘I giggled, I snickered, and fanned myself' stars!!!

Playing for Keeps is the first book in R.L. Mathewson’s Neighbor from Hell series and one hell of a funny story.

Description…

Done with being the world's biggest pushover, Haley decides that things are going to change starting with the aggravating neighbor who has too much charm and not enough restraint. What she didn't expect was to be sucked into his world, but Haley has a game plan and she won't let herself forget just what the bad boy ...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Wendy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, contemporary-romance, favorites

I haven't read a book this funny in a while. It got to a point, where I'd just burst out laughing. Which led to strange looks from my family...priceless.

Jason and Haley make an adorable couple and the bantering between these two are hilarious. Not to mention the secondary characters being Jason's friends are an added bonus.

This is a real feel good, pick me up type of book, that'll have you laughing in no time. Loved it!

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Feb 11, 2013 Susanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-other-romance

Gah! This book was so freaking amazing and then it had to fall into the CR-trap. Yes, I made it up right now. Beware, the second part of this review will contain mild spoilers. I will let you know when.

The first part. So incredibly funny! I laughed so much on the train that the people around me thought I was crazy. It was brilliant!

Haley. Sweet bookish heroine who is done with being a pushover.

She was always the shy girl with her nose buried in a book, hoping no one would notice her.

Who knew ...more

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May 31, 2019 Nenia ⚡ Aspiring Evil Overlord ⚡ Campbell rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-freebie-graveyard, kissing-books, harder-to-get-thru-than-labyrinth

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest

DNF @ 15%

I wanted to like this book. A lot of my friends rated PLAYING FOR KEEPS very highly. Now, I'm questioning that, as I couldn't find anything that really called to me about this book. Haley and Jason are both incredibly immature. The book starts out as an enemies-to-lovers romance but they get over being enemies really quickly and then it becomes a friends-to-lovers romance instead. I felt like their reactions made them feel like ...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Belle Aurora rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book was absolutely hilarious!
I was laughing the whole time...when I wasn't crying that is.
Loved it.
Get on it.

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Jul 09, 2012 Akanksha❤ Søren♰ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone who wants a good laugh

Shelves: favorite, baby-kid, all-time-favorites

LOVED. THIS. BOOK.
So cute and funny and sappy!

You cookie thieving bastard
Jason and his father were suchhhhhh food sluts!

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Mar 23, 2012 Emily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: author-m, bad-boys, author-r, series, humorous, full-figure-women, fiesty-heroine, friends-to-lovers, virgin, own-kindle

Always a glutton for punishment, Haley Blaine believes she can tolerate anything her jerk of a neighbor can dish out. After five years of his antics, she has had enough and flips out on him and has no plans in holding back her unleashed fury, well that is until she finds out the real reason he was tearing up her garden.

Jason Bradford loves women, just doesn't love them enough to start a relationship with him. After five years of getting the cold shoulder from his neighbor, he is delightfully ...more

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Mar 03, 2014 Liz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: friends-to-lovers, hillarious, audioread, high-angst-alert, sugary-sweet, not-what-i-expected

“If she tried to leave without him he would burn her house down, plain and simple.”

description

Playing for Keeps is a light hearted modern romance with an abundance of satire and a great deal of tongue and cheek humor.

For the past five years, Haley has been living next door to “the neighbor from Hell”. Haley is a "rule follower” with an abundance of “polish" and sophistication. Jason is a sporadic “free spirit”. Needless to say, the two are quite opposite.

Haley and Jason don’t get along. Haley has worked ...more

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Nov 05, 2015 Nashoda Rose rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Yay...found a new author to stalk;) Loved this book!

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May 11, 2015 ⊱✿⊰ Alicia ⊱✿⊰ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: lol, re-read, soft-romance, quick-read, rom-com

Re-read 14/5/2019 - Audio

4.5 Stars

After having just finished a heartbreaking read I was searching for something light and fun to read. This hit the spot perfectly! The audio was great, Fran Jewels did so well with the narration.

*********************************

Original review

4 Stars

This was a nice soft rom-com that was fun to read. I love the little grasshopper and the jibs between the leads. It was funny but not nearly as funny as some but in saying that I still enjoyed it.

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Oct 12, 2018 peachygirl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: new-adult, funny, this-guy-is-a-keeper, contemporary, rom-com, read-in-2018

I lost count of the times I laughed like crazy over Jason's 'I'm a growing boy' quips and his obsession with anything edible, swooned at his adorableness and his obvious love for his little grasshopper, even though Haley never returned the favor and called him Miyagi!
Such a feel good romcom, sure to make anyone smile.

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Feb 26, 2012 Aestas Book Blog rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really liked this book a lot. It was the PERFECT fluff read for me. It was well written, with characters I really cared about, lots of adorably cute and funny moments, no heart-breaking moments, no damaged or tortured characters, didn't make me cry at any point, really really adorable HEAs, and not super long reads. I read this book and its sequel in 4 hours. It was the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon.

I love the way their relationship developed. It was perfectly paced. Fast enough that ...more

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Mar 09, 2015 ❤️ Paulette Alphas Review rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romantic-comedy

I enjoyed this very sexy, romantic comedy.

I think I laugh so hard in some part of this book that I was crying. This was the most playful, flirty, sweet story ever. I just loved Jason and Haley's interaction with each other. That's my kind of romance. Jason is one of those guys that you just can't stay mad at no matter how bad you want to. Omg His obsession with food and cookies of any kind is hilarious!... He had me at "My Brownies!!"
I like this author and will read the rest of this series.

...more

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Feb 09, 2016 Steven Walle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book very much. I will give a full review later.
Enjoy and Be Blessed.
Diamond

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Feb 23, 2016 Dilek VT rated it did not like it

Shelves: boring

I am sorry but this book was beyond boring... Maybe, I shouldn't have rated it because I dropped it at page 100. Looked at the last 2 or 3 pages and I didn't have the strength to read the epilogue...

The story was meant to be humorous, I never - even once- smiled, let alone laugh...

By the way, how can a coward and introvert woman change in the blink of an eye and become this confident and fun girl?

How can a 30 year-old guy act so childishly? Not cute, no not cute, very annoying... There was ...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Karla rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Karla by: Searock and Steffi

Shelves: seat-squirmer, favorites, bad-boy, sea-world-misting-fan-worthy, yummy-men, bossy-jerk, laugh-out-loud-funny, strong-willed-heroine, terrific-dialogue, scrumptious-hero

The ideal blend of romance, humor, angst, and spice! I loved everything about this book. Jason and Haley’s first interaction, their friendship that becomes more, the falling out, the reconciling, and lordy lordy their time between the sheets was steamy and sensual. The writing is wonderful, plenty of witty dialogue, and it included a delightful array of amusing secondary characters.

It’s the perfect length; it was enough story that you’re committed to the characters, yet the plot is not ...more

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Mar 21, 2014 Jo ★The Book Sloth★ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, contemporary, favorites, erotica

I was very surprised when I realized how funny this book was. I had a huge smile on my face most of the time and I can't count the times I laughed out loud. It's not something that happens a lot with contemporary romance since the dark and angsty are in fashion so I'm very happy for this.

The characters and the writing reminded me very much of one of my favorite authors Shelly Laurenston. At some point I was beginning to think that they are the same person. I visited the authors page and I wasn't ...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Amy | Foxy Blogs rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-books-i-ve-read, november-2013

***3.75 Neighborly stars***

A NEIGHBOR FROM HELL is what Jason is when he moves in next door to Haley.

"My name is Jason Bradford. I'm the neighbor from hell."

You won't find Mister Rogers neighborhood love between these two feuding neighbors. Until one day a bunch of Tulips change their relationship.

Enemies - Friends - Lovers!

SERIES:

Playing for Keeps (A Neighbor from Hell, #1) by R.L. Mathewson

Perfection (A Neighbor from Hell, #2) by R.L. Mathewson

Checkmate (A Neighbor from Hell, #3) by R.L. Mathewson

Truce The Historic Neighbor from Hell (A Neighbor from Hell, #4) by R.L. Mathewson

No cliffhangers. Spinoffs

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Jul 28, 2019 Syndi rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is my first read by Miss Mathewson. I listen to the audiobook because in Goodreads the review is awsome. Many said funny as hell. Wanting something fun for my Sunday read, i started listening to it.

It is funny. Very funny that i cracked a laugh while listening to it. But then, there are a lot of things i do not understand.

1. The age of the character. Early 30's. Both are teacher. But their communication and their banter is more suitable for 18 years old.

2. The push and pull between the ...more

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Mar 15, 2014 Elise ✘ a.k.a Ryder's Pet ✘ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, read-more-than-once, 3-stars, contemporary, romance, first-in-series, read-in-2015, read-in-2018, adult, friends-to-lovers

Re-read: 21.09.2018
I skimmed. I'm sorry, I did. I can't deny it. I wasn't really all that into it, and I realized that after the first sentence in the book. I couldn't remember the book from the first time reading it so I thought 'oh, I might like this one again'. But yeah, I skimmed, a lot. Don't get me wrong, the book is incredibly cute and the banter and friendship between Haley Blaine (29) and her neighbor of five years (and they work at the same private high school), Jason Bradford (31) ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Contemporary romance :girl is on the way to attend a wedding. [s]	5	511	Jan 23, 2019 02:00PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Which Neighbors from Hell book is this? [s]	6	30	Nov 04, 2017 03:15PM
Goodreads Librari...: Please Add Cover	2	11	Aug 29, 2016 03:22PM
looking for books similar to R.L. Mathewson and Angela Verdenius?	8	285	Jun 03, 2015 07:12AM

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About R.L. Mathewson

R.L. Mathewson

13,769 followers

Hello, my name is R.L. Mathewson :)

Before I tried my hand at writing I was a receptionist, cafeteria worker at the college I attended, museum worker, bellhop, and about a dozen other different things that are pretty embarrassing so we're just going to skip over those things and pretend that they never happened ;D

At some point I got a little direction in my life and tried my hand at emergency Hello, my name is R.L. Mathewson :)

Before I tried my hand at writing I was a receptionist, cafeteria worker at the college I attended, museum worker, bellhop, and about a dozen other different things that are pretty embarrassing so we're just going to skip over those things and pretend that they never happened ;D

At some point I got a little direction in my life and tried my hand at emergency medicine, since I am, or at least was, deathly afraid of needles I opted for the fun job in EMS, an EMT. It was a fun job, a bit stressful, but I learned a great deal and had the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. I learned a great deal from my patients and have never forgotten the wisdom they imparted on me. After a short stint as a Residential Home worker I decided to try the stay-at-home mom job and found out something very important.

I can't just sit around with nothing to do while I try to be deathly silent so that I don't wake up one of my children and send them into a blood curdling screaming fit. So, to fill the time I started to read again. When I was in school I was a bookworm, but got away from it as I grew older. I was drawn back into my love of reading by Julia Quinn's What Happens In London. It was a wonderful, witty book and I fell instantly in love with romance novels.

Some of the romance novels that I read were great and I couldn't get enough, I started to play with the idea of writing a book. Several months later I finally gave in and tried. For four months straight I worked day and night until finally I finished my first book. Then of course I re-read what I wrote, cringed and deleted the entire book and started over again. I started working on other projects and soon had two finished books, Tall, Dark & Lonely: A Pyte Series Novel and A Humble Heart: A Hollywood Heart's Novel. It was a very exciting time except for one little problem......

I had absolutely no idea what to do with the books now that they were done. So, of course I put the books aside and forgot about them for a little while I worked on other books. Months later I decided that maybe I should do something with them. I looked into getting published, admittedly not very hard since what I read about the publishing process wasn't exactly making me jump and down with excitement.

After reading an article about self-publishing I knew that was the way I wanted to go. I like the freedom to write what I want, when I want and publish a story that I hope others will enjoy reading. It gives me a great deal of freedom and allows me to retain full control over my work, which of course allows me to set the prices of my books and make them affordable for everyone :) Which of course is the reasoning behind the $0.99 price tag for my books.

That's how I became a writer and why I self-publish. Well, that and I'm pretty laid back and don't want to be hassled with contractual obligations. That would just cut into my writing time, time with my kids, reading time and my hot cocoa addiction. Yes, I am thoroughly addicted to hot cocoa and if you're interested in experiencing the perfect cup of cocoa you can find the recipe for my cocoa somewhere on my author blog.
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Other books in the series

Neighbor from Hell (1 - 10 of 11 books)

Books by R.L. Mathewson

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Quotes from Playing for Keeps

“How dare you touch my cookies, you bastard!” Jason said in utter disgust before popping the cookie into his mouth and heading back to his house.
“Damn those looked good, too,” Brad grumbled.
Haley sighed. “Don’t worry I have a second plate on my counter.” The words were barely out of her mouth when Jason abruptly changed course and headed towards her house.
“Well, there was,” she said, watching Jason walk into her house like he owned it. A minute later he walked out of her house, carrying both plates and the gallon of milk she had in her fridge. He headed back to his house, but not before he glared at Brad. “You cookie thieving bastard,” they heard him mutter.
Brad rolled his eyes, chuckling. “And people wonder how I lost weight rooming with him in college.” — 446 likes

“He glared accusingly at her while he made short work of his clothes. "You didn't wake me up."
She rolled her eyes as she speared a piece of sausage with her fork. "I did wake you up. Three times in fact. Each time you threw something at me and went back to sleep."
Jason gaped at her. "And you gave up? You know our routine, woman. You have to
keep at it until I'm forced to get off the bed to find something to throw at you.” — 407 likes

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