throughout this book, esme's attitude flips like a freaking pancake and her actions with elliot appalled me. because she was doing what she didn’t want happen to her 4 years ago. to morgan. The read was immersive in how infuriating it was, but I don’t think that is what the author intended. I spent so much of the book completely peeved at the main characters, whilst also being so bored that there was literally nothing happening in the story. I loved the small-town vibes I got from the charm of the secondary characters, but that was about the only thing I loved about the atmosphere. The Hunters seem to be a continuing thread throughout the books. Each book brings the mystery closer to being solved. While Steff and April finally work things out between them, the story continues.

Kellan didn't respect her decision to have an abortion and then blamed her when she did not feel bonded to the baby that he basically paid her to carry to term, like a surrogate. He should have been grateful that she was willing to be his human incubator because he caught baby fever and just had to have this baby, now, with this woman. (Despite them being incompatible life partners)

Ottawa, Ontario

Is it wise to simply keep the past relationship between Esme and Elliot in the past or should the new friendships surrounding their inner circle be made aware. I don't know if I am being overly sensitive regarding the topic of abortion with all the political bullshit going on right now, but the scene where Kellan (the brother) bad mouths the mother of his child left me feeling fairly pissed off.

When art gallery co-owner Esme relocates to a quaint cottage on the edge of town after a nasty situation of burst pipes at her flat, all seems well. Until her ex, Elliot - who she hasn't seen for four years - moves in next door with his new girlfriend, Morgan. As she navigates through this awkward situation, while also keeping her former relationship a secret from virtually everyone (especially Morgan), Esme is forced to figure out what this new dynamic with Elliot looks like while also evaluating her friendship with her gallery's other owner, David. Second chances, near misses, or bulls-eyes is up for debate in this newly crafted piece made out of love. The direction the story took was another thing I loved. I would never have guessed what was going on if I hadn't seen it (read it) for myself. (Good one, Ms. Platt. Score!) The surprise that shall not be mentioned - the unexpected twist - was both brilliant and sweet. The ending I liked but it was rushed and we should have seen more instances that led up to that ending rather than just in the last 30% of the book. Besides murder, the “cabin in the woods” theme has been frequently observed in films involving horror and violence. A few examples include ‘Hush,’ ‘What Keeps You Alive,’ ‘The Strangers,’ and ‘The Cabin in the Woods,’ to name a few. The reason why it is a major part of pop culture is the prospect of having fewer options of making it out alive when the protagonist is alone in a secluded settlement in the woods. It naturally makes for a thrilling and suspense-inducing watch.Further more, Esme realizes she actually has growing feelings for David, but there seems to be bad timing until Esme finally confronts her feelings! My Review: The Ex Next Door by Jo Platt was a subtle nod to a topsy turvy romance. This Women's Fiction book was so different than I expected. The love story that was really happening didn't become evident until it was right in my face. I'm also a fan of the short chapters! I'm often fitting a chapter in here and there, and that made it so much easier to do so. Platt is a new author to me, but I look forward to reading more from her in the future. and then her sudden realisation one day confused me further. like HOW can you tell me that she’s had feelings all these while? like there was no indication whatsoever except for that they were terrifyingly in tune—which i found it super adorable.

When Elliot and Esme decide to keep their former relationship a secret from those around them, their subterfuge sets off a chain of events which not only forces Esme to re-evaluate her past relationship with Elliot, but also puts her friendship with David under the microscope and under pressure. See with your heart versus with your eyes. (When it comes to relationships, we can often fool ourselves into seeing what we want to see when we focus on the superficial.) Esme ends up next door to Elliot and his new girlfriend Morgan, 4 years later, and Esme has started a gallery business with a friend called David and everyone thinks they’re dating. The male protagonist in this book is Steffen James, a bear shifter who had played professional baseball until a devastating injury finished his career. Although as such he healed within a matter of weeks, all the doctors he had seen immediately after the injury pronounced that he would never recover enough to play again. To protect his shifter identity, he was forced to walk away from his career, but he coached a little league team which included Aiden as one of the players. He and April had dated throughout high school, but he broke it off with her when he left for college, which had broken her heart. Since he coached her nephew’s team, they were bound to run into each other. Geena denies assaulting Lee and tells Elise that she is gaslighting her and almost hits her with a hammer. Lee stops his wife from hurting Geena and tells Elise that they WILL be moving, even though Geena refuses to leave.

There is an emotional cheating trope which is not my cup of tea. I will give Jo Platt credit that her writing was so good that I did want to find out what happens next. This trope was unexpected when reading the blurb and first chapter of the book. As Esme breaks up with Elliott because she thought he was cheating on her but then engages in an emotional affair with him when he has a new girlfriend? It felt very hypocritical and did not seem in character for Esme. I totally loved this book! There was romance, humour, sadness, even a bit suspense! I really enjoyed it. Well written and easy to engage with the characters!

Elise is manipulated into throwing a party with the couple; she writes a book about forgiveness and doesn’t want to be a hypocrite. The dinner is about as awkward you would think; Lee and Allan agree to go hunting together. Geena over drinks wine and insinuates that Lee and Elise still have love for one another. Okay so you have Elliot and Esme who have dated for 3 years but split due to Esme thinking hes messing around with a colleague (and hes gaslighting her. I think he gaslit me too because i thought she was just being insecure and jealous by the way the plot was written)The escort finds out about Katies scheme with the carpet cleaner, so she suffocates him with a plastic bag. She stages it to look like Dan killed her “boyfriend”. She tells the cops and they are like… WTF is this movie and why are we in it. They arrest Dan and it is all set up to look like Dan and Louisa were having an affair. I don’t even want to talk about logic in this story because I don’t think there was any. I don’t think Esme’s envy of any character having a good day was logical; I don’t think her blaming everything that happened on Elliot was logical; and I definitely don’t think David overlooking all of that and still choosing to be with her in the end was in any way logical at all.