Falling for the #JerkNextDoor

by Theda Monroe Publication Date: April 27, 2017 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

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A sex-starved journalist finds herself in the love jail. Will she cop a plea? Zelda Sullivan is a successful news journalist living with PTSD. The disorder causes her to have agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder, which makes her hide herself away from the world. Santiago Ryan recently moved to Zelda’s small town from Ireland to work as a cop. He’s Zelda’s neighbor, and someone she loathes because he turns her life into a noisy nightmare with his antics next door. Unknown to Santiago, Zelda tweets about him using the hashtag #JerkNextDoor. When Zelda’s boss assigns her a big story that involves working with the local police department, it’s a career offer that Zelda can’t turn down, even if that means being forced to work outside of her safety zone. In time Zelda discovers there’s a lot more to the tall, dark, and handsome Santiago than meets the eye. He knows how to handle her curves and helps bring out a long-suppressed boldness in her.

Review

Zelda is content with her life, she's got a great job with a wonderful boss who allows for her quirks, a pet bird she adores, and a lovely aparment she often can't leave. But in truth - she hides away in her apartment, scared to venture out, deep-seeded fears because of a trauma from the past. Zelda's learned to live with her PTSD and its side effects - but that doesn't mean she's given up on herself. But when a new guy moves in next door, wreaking havoc on her usual day to day life, Zelda begins to step out of her comfort levels, especially when she gets tangled up in a new job that requires her to leave her home.

Santiago came to the US with a broken heart and a whole lot of hurt he didn't know what to do with. Leaving a string of one-night-stands in his wake, Santiago isn't ready for a relationship. And Then his job as a police officer, pulls him into Zelda's orbit - to help her with her latest assignment and he finds himself drawn to her in a way he hasn't felt in a long time. As he looks back on his behavior since coming to the US Santiago realizes it hasn't been all that good, and he knows he needs to change for the better, not just to help him with the neighbor, but also for himself.

I really liked the interactions between Zelda and Santiago as they got to know each other. There was a good touch of humor sprinkled into the story. The mutual attraction between them came through and didn't feel fake, nor did there seem to be a rush to their blooming feelings. The author wrote in Zelda's PTSD in a way that while it was made known, it wasn't the focus of the story - but rather just a part of her life; a part she was trying to work on.

Falling for the #JerkNextDoor was a quick but enjoyable read filled with humor, a dash of serious issues, and a whole lot of feeling. Zelda and Santiago sucked me in, not just to their story, but their historys, their character and what they found with each other.