Book Review: The Boys Next Door

By Jennifer Echols

Published by Simon Pulse

Released on June 26th, 2007

Source- from Jennifer

5 stars- I Loved It

Cute, available, and one cabin over....

Lori lives for summertime on the lake. She spends all season wakeboarding, swimming, and hanging with her friends—including the two hotties in the house next door. With the Vader brothers, Lori's always been one of the guys.

But while Lori and the "baby" brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way.

But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girl friend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard.... (quoted from Goodreads).

This is my first Jennifer Echols book and as I'm writing this, I've already started Endless Summer as I can't seem to get enough of this fun, quirky, fast paced, series. I know this will be shocking to some, as I'm not the type to dive into romantic-comedy book, but Jennifer Echols has done a fantastic job at making me fall in love with her writing and with this story, The Boys Next Door, as all of the characters feel realistic, and I felt that I was getting a glimpse into their lives. I don't know what I enjoyed more, the romantic part of the story or the close friendships Lori has with her brother and his friends, the Vader brothers, Cameron, Sean and Adam.

Jennifer's writing felt so natural that the humor and the guys' friendships felt real. It made for a quick, enjoyable read. Lori's voice is one I really enjoyed. She was someone I related to, as she is a complete tomboy, used to being "one of the guys" and now finds herself trying to be more girly, but not sure really how to go about doing that. Luckily her friend Tammy gives her a few pointers. Lori wants to reveal more of her womanly side to get the attention of Sean, whom she's had a crush on since they were little. Lori & Will have grown up with the Vader brothers and getting his attention is harder than Lori excepts.

Through the course of the story, we see a long standing brotherly feud between Sean and Adam, and add in a few twists with Lori mixed in the middle of and you've got a romantic drama/comedy. For Lori, it's much easier for her to show off her talent wake boarding with the boys on the lake, than it is for her to share her feelings and realize who she really has a summer crush on. I liked Lori a lot, as she is the girl next door, the one who's always hung out around the guys, and never been thought of more than "one of them" or so she thinks.

I really loved Adam's character. He's far from perfect, and more of an in-depth character as his emotions throughout out the story jumped out at me more than the other guys. He takes risks, doesn't have fear, and being the youngest of 3 boys, he's developed a silent inner strength that slowly came through, through out the story.

I love the book's setting. Alabama, on a lake, in the summer time. It's a perfect setting for this story. If you're looking for a fast paced, engaging read, be sure to pick up Endless Summer, as this book includes both The Boys Next Door and the sequel Endless Summer together. It will save you the hassle of running back to the story to pick up the sequel. I'll be sharing my review of Endless Summer tomorrow.