The Guy Next Door. DL White. 2019. 244 pages. [Source: Public Library.]
Life is full of happy accidents, even if they start from bad ones. When Evonne and Taj cross paths in Potter Lake’s medical clinic, both assume it’s a one-off meeting after he patches up her injury from an unfortunate fall. They’re both chagrined when the cute yet hysterical patient happens to be the new tenant of the sexy male nurse with whom she traded barbs.
While the connection starts off with professional distance, it’s clear that their paths in and around Potter Lake are going to increase — being neighbors aside. What neither realizes is that their connection is closer to home than either realizes, and that has the potential to derail their attempts to figure out if their chemistry will lead to anything more than lustful looks.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and found Evonne and Taj’s interactions hilarious, even with their significant emotional baggage. Despite a decade having passed, Evonne still lives under the shadow of mistakes she made in college. Her attempts to move past it seem to work for everyone except her mother, and her newfound independence threatens the relationships that she actually values. For his part, Taj has survived what could have been a terminal illness that nonetheless derailed what promised to be a lucrative career. While he regrouped and found passion in being a nurse, the opportunity to return to his first love threatens to pull him away from the life he’s carefully built. These two have a lot on their plates, but their story has levity in Evonne’s obsession with true crime and their failed attempts to hide a burgeoning relationship from small town eyes.
The Guy Next Door is a great addition to the Potter Lake series. Previously introduced characters help flesh out these new characters and their story, while presenting their developing town with more depth. I definitely enjoyed this installment and look forward to seeing what’s next in this series.
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