Reviews
*3.5. Well. I really liked seeing Tim & Alice's pov. Some unexpected stuff happened, but it was still a great book overall.
Loved this book! I wasn't sure I would because I was so caught up in Sam & Jase's story, but this was just as good as there's!
4.5 Stars
I wanted to love this book. I ADORED My Life Next Door, and I usually like Huntley's writing style. But this book felt... lacklustre. The novel is told in Alice's and Tim's alternating points of view. This could have been great. I know I would have love love loved to read some of Jase's point of view in MLND. But i found the writing style (and therefore, the characters separate voices) wasn't different enough to actually tell the difference between the POVs. There was no distinction between the styles of speech and diction. Sometimes even had to double check to see whose point of view I was reading. Following this line of criticism, I was also bothered by some of the stylistic choices. Time and time again, sentences would start without a subject. Pg. 1. “No pics of me. Were there ever? Can’t remember. In the bad old days, I always got high before a father/son office visit. Clear my throat. Crack my knuckles.” It made it difficult to read. I could excuse it if it were a character thing, but both the Alice and Tim segments had this choppy style of writing. As a whole, the book was okay. Good drama. Great character growth. But what does it say about the novel if my favourite parts were the few scenes that featured Jase and Sam? Seriously. They were great. It made me miss them as the main characters. So, 3/5 stars. I feel like companion novels are a trend now, instead of straight up sequels. I think I would have preferred the latter.
ok so i loved this book but i had to knock off a star because wtf was up with brad?!?!?!?!?????
I can't get as excited about this book as I did The Boy Next Door and that upsets me a little bit. That being said, though, I did really enjoy it. I was a fan of the character of Tim from The Boy Next Door so I was excited to read his story, I was also hesitant, though. I mean, this boy was an alcoholic and did various drugs for his form of escape, he's not exactly a shining example of how to do things right. I was also wary that the romance seemed to centre around him and Alice, who is a year older than him. I was wrong to be wary of this book because it was actually really good. One thing which bothered me, though, was that although I loved Alice and Tim as individuals, I wasn't fully convinced of their chemistry together. They make fantastic friends and I don't dislike their romance, but I wasn't convinced by it. I much preferred the parts of their story which focused on them as individuals. Tim and his whole storyline as recovering alcoholic dealing with a mistake from his not so distant past was amazing (I adored it). And Alice and dealing with the stresses of her family whilst having to realise she didn't have to deal with everything herself, she is not the adult or the parent was also good. I think the reason I didn't fall as in love with this book was the romance, which is sad because it was a good read. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading because of that, though, because this book is way more than a single relationship, it's about everything, but most especially family.
I'm kind of disappointed with this one. It was just so obvious, I found the plot to be very predictable and not very credible. I just couldn't picture young people reacting to those situations and behaving like they did in this book. The characters were mostly okay, except for some moments when they didn't seem to be 18 or 19 years old but much older, specially Tim. I liked him the most, and also Jake and Dom even though they didn't appear much in the story. By half of the book it was crystal-clear what the ending would be and although obvious, it was good, like the right kind of ending. So, all in all this isn't exactly bad. It just didn't do it for me.
Ugh! that ending was ridiculous, i was going for a 5 stars rating here, why does it have to end like that, whyyy?? (view spoiler)[Cal should've been Tim's son,it would've been more emotional and more real . (hide spoiler)] Overall everything was written so beautifully and i LOVED it .
I was so excited for Tim and Alice's story. From the minute Tim was on the page in My Life Next Door, I knew he would be my favorite type of character. Not a prince, but an imperfect boy with a heart of gold. That said, this wasn't quite what I was expecting or hoping for. The story took a much more complicated and hard turn then I would have thought based on Fitzpatrick's other stories. And while it was super great, I still wish it had a little more lightness and romance that imbue her other novels. Still a big recommend, but I would start with her other novels first.
Find this review and more at kimberlyfaye reads . I... am really not even sure what to say about this book. I had high expectations for it because of how much I LOVED My Life Next Door. Tim was a complicated guy in that book, but I ultimately liked him. I wanted to see him get a chance to pull his shit together. I got that chance with this book, but it wasn't at all what I thought it would be. It was angsty and emotional and, honestly, not all that happy most of the time. Both Alice and Tim were dealing with a bunch of messy things. I loved watching things develop between them, though. I just wish there had maybe been a little more romance? I don't know. I'm conflicted. I had feels but they weren't the ones I thought I would have. If I'm honest, I found The Boy Most Likely To overwhelming. I knew Tim had a lot of growing up to do, but after awhile I was ready to yell "Oh come on. Another thing?" as more and more got piled on top of him. The book starts with an ultimatum from his father and then he's tested in nearly every way possible until the end. It's not all bad though, even though while I was in it, I felt like it was. Tim comes into his own in this book. So very much so. He'll never be perfect, but I was moved by how much he'd grown up. He also comes out of it with something very real and unlike anything he's ever had before, with Alice. So, maybe it wasn't happy but it was hopeful? Alice was a tough cookie in My Life Next Door, so I wasn't really sure how I'd feel about her while reading this book. I quickly grew to have a whole new appreciation for all the things she was doing for herself and her family. She really was the rock, the second mother, to her clan. And all that while trying to better herself and follow her own dreams. Her past wasn't quite as colorful as Tim's, but she definitely never had luck in love. Until now, perhaps? One thing that can't be denied is just how much I flipping love the Garretts. They are, without a doubt, one of my favorite families in books. They each have such strong personalities and I was grateful for them providing much needed comic relief (and straight up heartwarming) moments during this book. I love Patsy. She's about the cutest little thing ever, Hon. (Squees.) Their family might be large and complicated, at times, but they've got each other and that's pretty damn perfect. I loved how they welcomed Tim into the fold, too. With them in his corner, he was bound to come out on top. It wasn't that I didn't like the book. It's just that it wasn't what I thought it would be. It was still beautifully-written and did have some great sweet, funny and emotional moments amongst the more serious ones. There was tons of character growth for both Tim and Alice. The romance that was there was sweet and real. I'm rounding this up to 4 stars from the 3.5 I want to give it because I think it's better than a 3 star read, even if it isn't the book I thought I'd be reading. I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Just a fun book that I read in the midst of all of my homework. I didn't enjoy it as much Huntley Fitzpatrick's other book, "My Life Next Door", but this was still a really enjoyable.
3.5 stars! Since I LOVED My Life Next Door beyond words, I was expecting a simliar book here. MLND was so sweet, emotional, and the perfect swoon-worthy romance. But, sadly, this one just didn’t live up to the extremely high expectations that I had set in my mind. I’m very aware that it’s not fair to compare this book to MLND, but it’s hard not to when they are companion novels and involve the same characters. I was hoping for another romance like I got in MLND, and this book was VERY different. It was sad, filled with angst and a mess of anger, and not at all fluffy and sweet like I had expected. Still, it was a very good story that I did really enjoy. Just not what I had expected… and, honestly, not what I had hoped for. It took me longer that I had hoped to get over the shock of how different this story was and actually let my guard down enough to enjoy it. I really wanted to love this book beyond words, so it’s so tough to write this review right now. I know it may sound like I didn’t enjoy this book. I DID! It was actually pretty good overall!! Just not OMG-I-can’t-believe-this-insane-level-of-awesomeness good as I had hoped for. And not what I had expected. At all. I want to keep this rather vague so I don’t get too close to any spoilers. There was a subplot to this story involving Tim and an issue from his past coming to haunt him. As far as this subplot was concerned, I wasn’t a fan. This may have taken away some of the enjoyment for me. I felt it wasn’t as realistic as Huntley’s other work was, as well as much more emotional and even dark at times. I think the fact that this subplot was such a huge part of the story took away from the romance, which didn’t even become substantial until the second half of the story. The fact that the romance was so non-existent through much of the story also interfered with my love of the story. As with all of Huntley Fitzpatrick’s books, the family presence was a huge part of the story. Getting to see the Garretts again and spend some time with their hilarious family was so fun. I just love them, especially the kids. They’re too adorable! The little glimpses into their fun and crazy hectic life was my favorite part of this story. So overall, how do I feel about this story? It was good. I think going into this story with a more realistic expectation of where it will go is definitely important in enjoying it to its fullest extent. Huntley fans have to keep in mind that this is not My Life Next Door, but rather a completely different story regarding Tim and Alice, who just happened to appear in the first book. I really enjoyed the romance between the two, I just wish we got to see a little bit more of it… or maybe just to a deeper level. Am I asking for a sequel or third companion novel? Maybe. I just have so much love for Huntley that I feel I wasn’t adequately able to give to this book. Audiobook Impressions Again, I’m super happy to see TWO NARRATORS!! I’ve been seeing this more and more when there’s alternating points of view, and this is so HUGE for an audiobook lover like me. Having the additional narrator brings the story to a whole new level for me. I’ve listened to a few books by MacLeod Andrews and he always gives a solid performance. Jorjeana Marie was a new narrator for me, though after looking on Audible I came to realize she has a pretty huge collection of books she’s narrated already. Both narrators were great and portrayed their respective characters perfectly. No complaints with this audio at all. (Thanks to Listening Library for the review copy!) Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!
This was such a lovely read. I really warmed to each of the characters. It was so much fun to follow Alice and Tim and to be reunited with so many of the characters from My Life Next Door. I really enjoyed the vast range to subjects this book touched on, so many of which I haven't seen regularly in YA (such as class, teen pregnancy, teen addiction etc.) I also loved that, at the ages of 18 & 19, the main characters were older than the average YA protagonist. It was also really interesting to have a contemporary romance partly narrated from the guys point of view, which isn't something I've seen a lot of. This went a lot deep than I was expecting it to and ending up having a really gave balance of contemporary 'fluff', whilst also tackling some great discussions. The Boy Most Likely To was a fantastic follow up from My Life Next Door and a contemporary read I'd definitely recommend.
