{"id":14103,"date":"2016-11-26T05:58:15","date_gmt":"2016-11-26T10:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=14103"},"modified":"2017-05-02T10:08:11","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T14:08:11","slug":"arc-review-bad-neighbor-by-molly-okeefe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=14103","title":{"rendered":"ARC Review &#038; Excerpt:  Bad Neighbor (Bad Boy Romance, #1) by Molly O&#8217;Keefe"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong>Buy:\u00a0 <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2eNGZBd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Kindle Ebook<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><!--Yasr Overall Rating Shortcode--><div class=\"yasr-overall-rating\"><div class=' yasr-rater-stars'\r\n                           id='yasr-overall-rating-rater-961d56c4a59e9'\r\n                           data-rating='4'\r\n                           data-rater-starsize='32'>\r\n                       <\/div><\/div><!--End Yasr Overall Rating Shortcode-->\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><b>4 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I really enjoyed this book! Funny, sexy, sweet, and more than a little bit dirty, I fell in love with the characters and loved their back and forth, and the sizzling chemistry that became something so much more than they expected.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>\u201cYou\u2019re one of the most annoying things that\u2019s ever happened to me.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Charlotte has just moved from a comfortable life into a run-down apartment complex in a shitty part of town. Her twin sister is trying to escape from her dangerous boyfriend, so Charlotte thought nothing of selling her condo and giving all of her money to her twin so that she can make her escape. Now, she\u2019s left with practically nothing and is desperately trying to rebuild.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>The world and its humans dented me and chipped my paint, and tore off a layer of my skin and made me feel\u2026damaged.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And to make her situation worse, her new neighbour is a total jerk. He may be gorgeous, totally ripped and turn her on like nothing ever has before, but he\u2019s aggressive, dismissive, blunt and tactless and their few interactions have been extremely unpleasant.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>His eyes skated across my body, taking in my paint-splattered overalls and the hot pink tank top I wore underneath it.<br \/>\nHe couldn\u2019t see that my tank top had Big Bird on it. But he looked at me like he knew. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I love Charlotte! She\u2019s an introvert, a bit of recluse, and she has some insecurities, but despite all that she has been through and continues to endure, she\u2019s so funny! She knows she\u2019s a bit quirky, but she owns it, and I laughed out loud at her inner monologue.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>He carried himself like a guy who lived in his whole body. Like every molecule was under his control. I lived in exactly 12% of my body. I wasn\u2019t even sure what my hair was doing. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Jesse is a complex character. He\u2019s an underground fighter with a shady past and questionable family ties and he doesn\u2019t connect to anybody or anything. He lives his life on his own terms, never letting anybody get close. But there\u2019s something about Charlotte &#8211; she is enticingly soft but with a smart mouth, and that appeals to him, and when circumstances keep pushing them together, he starts to relax towards her as she works her way under his skin and things start to change.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>\u201cDon\u2019t be nice. It\u2019s confusing. It\u2019s easier when you\u2019re an asshole.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cEasier not to like me?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cOh no, not liking you is pretty easy.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cEasier not to want to fuck me, then.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But the real change comes late one night when Charlotte goes to Jesse\u2019s apartment to confront him over making too much noise, and she discovers that in addition to being a total jerk, he\u2019s also a kinky bastard. And she\u2019s even more surprised to discover that she likes it. Jesse can see that she wants him, and her shyness actually makes him want her more and with just a little push to her boundaries, he knows that he can make her his.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>\u201cI\u2019ve never\u2026\u201d she whispered as I kissed her neck. Her ear. The skin under her chin. She really was soft all over. \u201cThis isn\u2019t like me.\u201d<br \/>\nI leaned back. Looked deep into her startled and wary blue eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cYou looking for permission to fuck the way you like?\u201d I asked. \u201cIt\u2019s yours.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Holy hot damn, this book is all kinds of steamy. Clearly, Jesse is into the kink, and he opens Charlotte\u2019s eyes to new things and she starts to discover a completely new side of herself \u2013 a side that she\u2019s only too eager to explore. And with Jesse by her, she finds the courage to become the brave, bold, confident woman that she never knew was there.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>With Jesse I lived in a hundred percent of my body. Just like him. I felt him in every inch of my skin. I felt him inside my skin. He was in my skin and bones.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I loved watching Charlotte and Jesse\u2019s love story develop. It starts off as a major case of lust but grows into so much more. After their antagonistic beginning, each grin, each friendly word, and each moment of sweetness is so meaningful, and I loved watching them both open up to each other and change as they finally become comfortable enough to let somebody in. But they are both keeping secrets \u2013 secrets that have the potential to blow apart everything that they have found together.<\/p>\n<p>I really enjoyed this book. Like other books by this author, it\u2019s raw, gritty and intense with a strong love story and a touch of angst that is well-done and never overwhelms the story. But the surprise for me, that I absolutely loved, was the humour in this book. I wasn\u2019t expecting it, but there were several moments that had me laughing out loud at Charlotte and her narration. She completely stole my heart with her quirks and the thoughts that run through her head. My favourite moment\u2026<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-simple su-spoiler-icon-arrow su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span>Spoiler<\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cYou like to watch?\u201d The girl asked. \u201cOr do you want to join us?\u201d <\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u201cI\u2026uh\u2026\u201d Oh, this wasn\u2019t hot anymore. This was just awkward, and I was so totally out of place with my flannel shirt and my socks and my hair back in a bun. <\/em><br \/>\n<em>I was wearing fucking glasses. Who wears glasses to your neighbor\u2019s orgy?\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Bahahaha!<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Charlotte and Jesse go on an intense journey together and I was captivated through all of it. From the chemistry-filled hostility to smutty banter, to sizzling sexy time that becomes heartfelt emotion, I loved the way their story unfolded.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>\u201cI want to be falling in love with you for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Loved this one, and I\u2019m looking forward to the follow on book featuring two of the side characters that is set up really nicely.<\/p>\n<p>4 stars.<\/p>\n<p><i>An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Excerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>Deep breath, Charlotte<\/em>, I told myself. <em>Deep breath<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>He was out a second later, standing in the doorway of my bedroom, thick and square. His damp shirt clung to every muscle. And he had\u2026he had a lot of muscles. Thick round knobs of them. Lean, hard planes of them. He was made of muscles.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d been running, or working out or something. He wore running shoes and athletic shorts that were frayed in the same well-used way his shirt was. White earbuds had been tucked into the waistband of his shorts, and dangled down by his\u2026well. Shorts.<\/p>\n<p>His black hair was buzzcut short, down practically to his scalp. And his face, now that the flush was gone and the sweat had slowed down, looked like it had recently taken a beating. His eye was dark and his lip had a cut. His nose looked like it had been broken a few times.<\/p>\n<p>He carried himself like a guy who lived in his whole body. Like every molecule was under his control. I lived in exactly 12% of my body. I wasn\u2019t even sure what my hair was doing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou done?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoving?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStaring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All the blood in my body roared to my face. My stomach curled into a ball like a wounded hedgehog trying to protect itself from further harm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you,\u201d I said, staring intently at the edge of a tile in my kitchen. It was chipped, the white enamel long gone. \u201cThat was nice of you to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo big deal.\u201d He stepped into the living room and I went back against the wall, giving him a wide, wide berth. Wanting to keep as much distance between us as I could.<\/p>\n<p>He stopped. \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think I\u2019m going to hurt you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not sure what you\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He made a grunting noise and stood there like he was waiting for me to look at him, but I did not. I burned under his gaze and fussed with my sheet, wishing Izzy was set up so I could just work, instead of\u2026 this.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of being human with humans.<\/p>\n<p>And then he was gone. Leaving behind the smell of man. And sweat. And it was not a bad smell. It was just different, and it did not belong in my space.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"14129\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=14129\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Bad-Neighbor-Banner.png?fit=1200%2C628&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,628\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"bad-neighbor-banner\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Bad-Neighbor-Banner.png?fit=150%2C79&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14129 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Bad-Neighbor-Banner.png?resize=640%2C335&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"bad-neighbor-banner\" width=\"640\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Bad-Neighbor-Banner.png?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Bad-Neighbor-Banner.png?resize=100%2C52&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Bad-Neighbor-Banner.png?resize=150%2C79&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Bad-Neighbor-Banner.png?resize=600%2C314&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Bad-Neighbor-Banner.png?resize=650%2C340&amp;ssl=1 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Bad Boy Romance<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div data-post-id=\"21553\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-21553 \"><p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"13902\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=13902\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Bad-Neighbor.jpg?fit=150%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"150,225\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"bad-neighbor\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Bad-Neighbor.jpg?fit=150%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-13902\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Bad-Neighbor.jpg?resize=80%2C122&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"80\" height=\"122\" \/>\u00a0 <img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"20279\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=20279\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Baby-Come-Back.jpg?fit=150%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"150,225\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Baby Come Back\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Baby-Come-Back.jpg?fit=150%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-20279\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Baby-Come-Back.jpg?resize=80%2C122\" alt=\"\" width=\"80\" height=\"122\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Bad Neighbor (#1)<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=14103\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Review<\/a><br \/>\nBuy:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2eNGZBd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Baby, Come Back (#2)<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=21549\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Review<\/a><br \/>\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2n0xjay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook Review 4 stars! I really enjoyed this book! Funny, sexy, sweet, and more than a little bit dirty, I fell in love with the characters and loved their back and forth, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,86,65,9,29],"tags":[59,301,215,48],"class_list":["post-14103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dark-gritty","category-enemies-to-lovers","category-lol-funny","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-excerpt","tag-molly-okeefe","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Bad-Neighbor.jpg?fit=150%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-3Ft","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}