Girl Next Door - by Rachel Meredith (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"Girl Next Door is everything I love. Complex characters, a prickly love interest, secrets, yearning, questionable decisions, and that glorious HEA. A tender, funny, sexy novel." -- Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn't Care

In this charming debut rom-com, a young freelancer returns to her suburban hometown to uncover why her childhood next door neighbor's bestselling book appears to be an epic love story about the two of them.

When MC Calloway's best friend Joe, an editor at the notorious gossip website Jawbreaker, calls her in for an emergency meeting, MC is unprepared for how frantic he is. But when he shows her a copy of Girl Next Door, the steamy, bestselling rom-com taking the literary world by storm, written under a pen name, points to one of the women on the front cover, and says, "that's you," its MC who begins to panic.

Joe is convinced that the author is Nora Pike, MC's prickly, childhood next-door neighbor, and their former high school classmate - and MC knows he's right, since the book describes actual events that happened their senior year, down to the tiniest details. But in the book, the characters based on MC and Nora are desperately in love, rather than the awkward acquaintances MC remembers being in real life.

Joe begs MC to go home undercover and get the scoop on Nora. That's the last thing MC wants to do, especially for an assignment that seems morally dubious at best, but she reluctantly agrees, knowing Joe is desperate to break a big story. Crashing in her childhood home with her older brother Conrad (now married to MC's secret high school crush, Gabby), MC begins untangling truth from fiction, trying to get close to Nora, who is just as hot and prickly as ever - and now suspicious of MC to boot. But the more involved she gets with Nora, the more it becomes clear they're both hiding secrets . . . and MC realizes she might be in over her head.

Perfect for readers of Delilah Green Doesn't Care and Book Lovers, Girl Next Door is a delicious debut brimming with romance, humor, and heart.

Review Quotes

"Girl Next Door is everything I love in a romance novel. Complex characters, a prickly love interest, secrets, yearning, questionable decisions, and that glorious HEA. A tender, funny, sexy novel." -- Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn't Care

"Rachel Meredith wowed me with her debut. GIRL NEXT DOOR has a brilliant premise with absolutely excellent execution, and, perhaps more importantly, the perfect balance of heart and grit." -- Rachel Runya Katz, author of Whenever You're Ready

"Charming, funny, and endlessly romantic, Meredith ties together a beautiful story about second chances, redemption, and the power of the written word. It was a joy to watch her perfectly rendered, flawed protagonist dance around secrets and a love she's finally ready to experience. I was biting my nails as much as I was swooning." -- Carlyn Greenwald, author of Director's Cut

"Witty, sexy, and the best kind of messy, Girl Next Door is my favorite brand of beautifully chaotic and honest romance. I devoured it in one sitting, and you better believe I'll be picking up whatever Meredith writes next." -- Dahlia Adler, award-winning author of Cool for the Summer

"I honestly fell in love with Girl Next Door as soon as I read its synopsis, and was delighted to discover the book was even better than I anticipated! A sexy and messy romcom that felt so incredibly real. I'm so excited to read more from Rachel Meredith, whose talent in crafting nuanced and relatable characters made me an instant fan." -- Amy Spalding, author of On Her Terms and For Her Consideration

"Meredith writes beautifully complex characters. Intriguing, charming, and the perfect comfort read, Girl Next Door is a heartfelt story of redemption and second chances." -- Neely Tubati Alexander, author of Courtroom Drama

"An emotionally incisive love story set in the bittersweet liminal space between everything and the rest of your life. Nora and MC's romance is spiky and sweet, hot and achingly angsty, and GIRL NEXT DOOR delivers authentic catharsis alongside a tender happily ever after." -- Mae Marvel, author of Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous

"A nostalgic hometown romance that hooks you right from the start. Every character in Girl Next Door has something to hide, and those secrets get revealed in the midst of a juicy love story full of twists and turns. Rachel Meredith has crafted a moving story about reckoning who you once were with who you want to be." -- Susie Dumond, author of Looking for a Sign and Bed and Breakup