NEIGHBORS WITH BENEFITS by Marissa Clarke: Review

Neighbors With Benefits by Marissa Clarke
Series: Anderson Brothers #2
Published by Entangled: Lovestruck
Publication Date: June 30th 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 225
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Buy Online: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ Kobo

Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

CEO Michael Anderson might be something of a “control freak.” Still, he’s not quite sure why his therapist thinks dogsitting will fix anything—especially since he and the canine share a kind of mutual loathing. And to make matters worse, a house sitter moves in next door disrupting his peace—and his dates—with the worst possible music at the worst possible time… every time.

Free-spirited artist Mia Argaropolis has settled into the perfect gig—housesitting in NYC’s Upper West Side while working as an art therapist. Too bad she’s stuck living next door to a bossy control freak with a penchant for calling building security when she blasts music to drown out the noises coming through his bedroom wall.

Post-apocalyptic dinner rolls that nearly take her kitchen with them, a douchebag ex, and a Shih Tzu with the personality of Godzilla attack Mia in one day, and her unlikely neighbor comes to the rescue. Like it was her fault. And now, somehow, they find themselves engaged? Both agree, this neighborly feud just got taken to a whole new level.

 

NEIGHBORS WITH BENEFITS is not just a story of opposites attracting but also of opposites being alike where it matters: on the inside.

Rigid, uptight and stuffy are words that can be used to describe Michael Anderson. Michael is a man who loves to be in control of himself, his image, his surroundings and even his relationships so his disruptive neighbor from hell and his doggy charge are sure to strain his control.

Artist Mia Argaropolis is having the time of her life doing what she loves, working as an art therapist at a retirement community and house-sitting but it would even be more fun if her neighbor next door played nice.

Michael and Mia’s first meeting is less than ideal and every subsequent meeting after that does not improve on the first. So why does Michael find himself stepping in to defend her from her ex-boyfriend? Why does he invite her to stay in his apartment when she loses the house-sitting job? And why is he pretending to be her fiancé at an out of town event to protect her pride?

For a man who thrives on order, Mia is like a tornado, setting his world on its ear but he can’t stop wanting her in spite of their differences. He’s structured, she’s free-spirited. He’s grounded, she’s flighty. He’s reserved, she’s open and fun-loving. However Mia and Michael begin to discover what’s special about each other as they spend time together. They both see that beneath the surface, they are both afraid to open up to another person for fear of being hurt and those quirks that used to drive them crazy become something to love.

Initially I was not a fan of both characters and could not see how they would work with all the differences between them, but slowly and surely, Michael and Mia found middle ground and I really liked the positive effects they had on each other. Michael became less rigid and more spontaneous and Mia found herself being more organized and selflessly putting Michael’s needs ahead of hers.

Ms Clark could have made this a just fluffy, lighthearted, feel-good story (not that there anything wrong with that) but she took it further by taking the characters on this some-times discomfiting, sometimes challenging but ultimately liberating journey of self-awareness and I loved reading it.

NEIGHBORS WITH BENEFITS is fun, sexy, emotional and worth reading.

 

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