Not So Neighbourly

by Moira Scott

Beth hates her neighbour Sam. He's loud, obnoxiously happy, and is always dancing around with his rescue animals. She's been a widow for years now, but when a relentless client who can't take no for an answer won't leave her alone, Beth decides she needs someone to fake date. Why not Sam? What could possibly go wrong?

Sam likes Beth. She's prickly, funny, and always puts him in his place. When she comes to him asking to fake date, he jumps at the chance. Retirement is boring, and any chance to get closer to Beth is a bonus in his eyes.

Will opposites attract? Or is this fake dating scheme destined to go down in a ball of flames?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Forced Proximity, Enemies To Lovers, Fiction, Fake Dating

73 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2022

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down.

Dialogue was a bit stilted and the conflict at the end was unnecessary, but overall a cute quick read.

Contains: older MCs (50f, 55m), widowed heroine (cw off screen unspecified illness/death), divorced hero, neighbors, grumpy f/sunshine m, long-time lusting, fake dating, only one bed, skinny dipping, puppies, spontaneous dancing, kisses in the rain, domestic dates, truck bj, ass play (on her, no anal), dirty talk, gentleman in the streets freak in the sheets, gentle D/s (no pain play, restraints), clear communication about preferences, curvy heroine (no body shaming or insecurity)

4/5🔥

[Shilpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam is an #alpharoll. He is a sweetie. He fosters puppies and dances with them. But in bed he takes control, not like a Dom, like an alpha. He’s an alpharoll - my new fav type of hero 🔥🔥🔥

Beth is a grumpy women, but only on the surface. She secretly loves dancing with foster puppies, she just doesn’t want Sam to know. (Hint: he finds out anyways)

Super steamy quick read. Bonus: both H & h are 50+

Thank you Moira Scott for including anal play 🔥🔥🔥

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popsugar Reading Challenge - A book you can read in one sitting

Absolutely adorable and so very hot.

[Rellim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was super excited for a romance featuring a couple over 50, unfortunately this one didn’t work for me. The sex was mostly hot (there were some continuity issues). Ultimately, I think the author tried to pack too much into such a short story and it left all of it underdeveloped and forced some awkward dialogue.

Grumpy/sunshine, neighbors, widow/divorcée, introvert/extrovert, fake dating, forced proximity, friends with benefits, real dating, illness, 3rd act breakup, and boom everything is fine in the last paragraph.

[Caitlin Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

DNF. It's a short story that does get you interested in the characters. I'm sure if I had the attention span of a normal human, I could have the will power to finish this.

I will say from what I read it was cute and I actually really enjoyed it. The only reason I'm not finishing it is because I've lost interest in romance as a sole story drive. If you want a short heart warming story this is honestly a good one to read. Though there isn't that much grit to it, it gives you a good perspective on struggling to move on from a past relationship and what's not to love about a 50 year old man dancing with some puppies??

[Emmalita]

DNF. Nothing wrong with it, but it didn't grab me.

[HatGirl8 · Rating 2 out of 5]

1/18/2022: Nah. Ended up skimming a lot. The relationship was more disturbing than not without enough depth to make behaviors appealing or for convincing change. Also just more crude than my taste. Wanted to like for unusual age of characters but not my cuppa.

[The Doctor's Companion · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was alright. I think it would have benefited from being a longer story. I liked the characters, but their chemistry felt too rushed/forced, at times.

[Marianne | Petite.BumbleBeeBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Not so Neighbourly by Moira Scott

Beth hates her neighbour Sam, he's always happy and obnoxious and his rescue animals always make a racket. She's been a widow for years now, but when someone can't take a hint, she's in need of a fake boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong if Sam helps her out? Sam always liked Beth, even her prickly exterior is enticing. Retirement is boring anyway so why not take this opportunity to get closer to her?

This one was recommended to me by the wonderful Kara @mzkarareads . I can't thank her enough because Moira is definitely a new favourite.

This one was the perfect mix of tropes; fake dating, only one bed, opposites attract and taking care while sick to bring those two even closer together. I love how *no bullshit* this author is. Her characters are honest and just want to enjoy life at it's fullest. Even with a past that haunts them, they are sincere. I loved the older love story we got to see developed here. How it wasn't less spicy or less romantic. How their maturity transpired as a very strong sense of self, what they want in their life and how they feel.

This one is a steamy novella of 73 pages, it is available on KU. I strongly recommend you pick it up!

[Phoenix · Rating 3 out of 5]

She's the grumpy introvert to his sunshiney extrovert and this was an unexpectedly fun novella about a fake relationship. Beth was very unlikeable - Sam eventually sees her prickliness as being honest which can be considered bitchy in a woman, but it is possible to be forthright without being rude and she comes off as rude here. There're some sexy scenes - the gentleman on the streets is definitely not one in the sheets - and they've clearly been paying attention to each other over the 20+ years they've been neighbors married to others because they kill it playing Taboo in giving each other personal clues about each other, and there's a lovely scene in which he braids her curly hair after showering because he understands what a pain it is for her to manage.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet/spicy romance between neighbors Beth (the slightly "prickly" one), and Sam (a sunshiny cinnamon roll). They've lived next door to each other for years, but were previously married to others. Beth is now widowed while Sam is divorced. When Beth asks Sam to be her fake date at a block party, Sam finally gets an opening to show the woman he's always admired how much he likes her. It's fantastic to find romances featuring mature leads who have baggage, but still manage to act like adults and to fall in love.

[Harmony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute novella with an abbreviated version of the enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes (two of my faves). The characters were both in their 50s and at this point in my life, I'm as close in age to these retired heros as I am to the 20 year olds in most of the contemporary romance I read. With that said, it was nice to see these tropes used with characters who were more mature and less angsty. High steam and a quick read 👍❤️

[mari (givemaribooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and Spicy

I enjoyed this cute story. It was a quick read and had some of my favorite tropes:
- fake dating
- one bed
- grumpy/sunshine
- man with puppies (if this isn’t a trope it should be)
But I think what I enjoyed most was the ways it was different from most books out there. The MCs are not only in their 50s but also enjoy sex and have some steamy times together. Plus the grumpy one in the relationship was the heroine, which worked great here.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone re-tweeted this author on Twitter and I decided to give this 73 page novella a try. It has:
50 y/o widowed heroine
55 y/o divorced hero
Pining!!!
Fake Dating
Dirty Talking
Grown Folks Business

This was a sweet, quick read and I enjoyed it!

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good. Very good, but I didn’t understand why she lied about small things all the time. Why lie about liking puppies? I didn’t understand why she was so contrary for no reason. I also didn’t understand her crisis. I never understood the whole “I won’t be hurt so I’ll never love again” thing. Despite that, I loved it. I loved the way he was in the bedroom and I loved that they were my age.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute, super-quick read!

[Marianna Luquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful!

Oh how I adore Beth and Sam! Their love story was so sweet and hot and wonderful to read. A quick, spicy read that brought me so much joy!

[NE]

Short fluff. Characters were a little immature for their age.

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two grown adults who get together and actually communicate, with only few hiccups.

[kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude · Rating 3 out of 5]

06.11.22 added back after loss of data early October.

[Sandy Cornell · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[Farisa]

DNF middle of chapter 3, pg 22 (25%) into the book. This book about two 50 somethings is somehow very juvenile.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Sam and Beth’s love. This is so damn cute! Easy read with some top notch spice 👌.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, sweet, and surprisingly hot, this one delivered a lot in a short novella.