The Boy Next Door

The Boy Next Door

by Annabelle Costa

****

This is the third offering from Dev Love Press, and a book that originally appeared on Paradevo. So hopefully most of you already know it, but for any new readers, here is a review:

Jason and Tasha have been best friends since they were kids, even though Jason is kind of a nerd, and Tasha is a little teenage hottie. They go their separate ways in college, then reconnect as adults in New York. Somehow, without quite realizing how it happened, Tasha finds herself still single at 32, wanting to settle down, unable to find the right guy. Someone like Jason, but they're just friends. And he doesn't even think of her like that, right?

This book is so much fun to read. The writing is snappy and funny, and the romance goes down as sweet as candy, filled with pop culture references. In between the chapters are clever charts that poke fun at the chick-lit genre.

Tasha and Jason are great characters--flawed but loveable and believable. Even though the action takes place when they are adults, there are lots of flashbacks to their childhood and teen years. I really liked that Tasha slept around a lot but there's no slut-shaming. She has a slightly embarrassing past, but it's not that big a deal. So refreshing after reading so many prudish romances.

Jason's disability is also handled really well. A paraplegic from a car accident when he was 5, it's not that big a deal to him or to Tasha, but the book does a good job of showing how he's adjusted and how people react to him. And the author doesn't cheat on the details. It's very realistic without being a huge downer. The wheelchair is part of who he is, but it doesn't define him.

Having a dev author makes all the difference! Even though Tasha is not a dev herself, the narration lingers over just the right details. Even if you have read this story on PD in the past, please support Dev Love Press by buying a copy, so they can continue to bring us great dev books.