My Neighbor's Secret

Charlotte McDougal

I hate him and I don’t even know his name.

The good news is my nemesis has made it abundantly clear the feeling is mutual. He did call me pretty, though, in the midst of a heated screaming match. Which would have been flattering, if I didn’t loathe him so much. But whatever. I don’t care how handsome he might be, or how charming the rest of the world probably finds him, guys who look like aged-out boy banders aren’t my type. Add to that, he’s got a knack for being in precisely the wrong place at the wrong time, and I was thrilled to march away from our angry skirmish and never see the bastard with the piercing blue eyes, ever again.

It wasn’t meant to be, though. As it turns out, my sworn enemy is my new next-door neighbor. F*ck my life. Luckily, he’s got a big secret to keep, just like I do. He’s in a jam, and so am I. So, we’ve decided to put our differences aside long enough to resolve our respective predicaments. Of course, we’ve made it clear this is going to be a business arrangement and nothing more. A necessary means to an end. But when you’re forced to work closely with your sworn enemy, a guy who happens to be ridiculously attractive and surprisingly funny—when he actually starts to grow on you, much to your shock—keeping things strictly professional becomes easier said than done.

My Neighbor’s Secret is a funny, silly, zany, swoony, spicy, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity rom com that will make you laugh, swoon, and fan yourself, all the way to Charlotte and Auggie’s happily ever after.

©2023 Lauren Rowe (P)2023 Lauren Rowe

Auggie…..sigh

I just love Auggie. He’s such a cutie patootie. Also, Charlotte McDougal!!! I’m soo happy Lauren chose to write a story about these two brief, mini characters from previous books. As always, I LOVE Lauren’s work and think she knocked it out of the park once again.

Saved by the Song

I just completed the book about Max and Marnie and really enjoyed it. I was really excited to see that this book was going to be about Auggie. Unfortunately there were a couple of things that did not sit well with me in this book. The voice of Augustus seemed to go back and forth between a voice I associated with the first book - deep and sensual - and a voice that I did not picture at all to fit with the voice I envisioned for Auggie. While soft and sexy in its own way, it seemed to young for a grown man, especially from the family of men who all had deep and sensuous voices. That voice came out during many of the scenes between Auggie and Charlotte, but every time it was starting a chapter for Auggie, I just couldn’t make a vision of him come to mind. Now I fear I’m going to show my age. Hopefully not. I hope that there are some folks out there that are not so fond of the pornographic videos that are apparently frequently on line, even if it is “only” soft porn. I’m not a fan of that entertainment. I still feel like some things should be kept private - yes, even if I am reading explicit romance stories periodically. Thankfully the reading is still leaving one to imagine what is going on and not having to watch what is happening. Again, I’m sure my age has something to do with that, but I still feel like telling stories about people making a living about such things offers an option of employment to people that they otherwise might not conjure without the idea being put right in their face. And it is just my opinion and I’m sure I would be tagged as being old-fashioned and out of touch with the world. So be it. What saved the whole thing for me was having the song actually performed that Auggie came up with for the party. Also, the importance of the pets and the commitment to healing for shelter animals which, while being somewhat diminished in Auggie’s final job choices, still brings that issue to light. I will say, however, I have never known a dog to change its commitment to a loving and caring partner, so the Lucky relationship seemed a bit off to me. While I do think he ended up in a better place where he had an abundance of attention, he had a special relationship with Auggie. The narrators were excellent and I’m certain if I had not had expectations of how Auggie would sound and the changes in his voice from the tenor to the more sensuous voice with Charlotte, I would have been not so critical. But the job done was excellent - just not who I would have picked for this particular story. The story was a bit far-fetched - too many coincidences and quick decisions as to how to get out of the financial problems. But again, I may not be as flexible or as bold since I am of an age that would not have thought of such ways to make money, nor would there have been the opportunities - at least I think there would not have been the opportunities available at the time I was the same age as our heroes in this book!!!

Such a fun story!

𝙈𝙮 𝙉𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙗𝙤𝙧’𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙤𝙬𝙚
𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★★★★

Wow! I’m not sure what I was expecting with this one but it took me by surprise and the story was one wild ride! I found myself laughing out loud and also clutching my heart while swooning over the main characters Auggie and Charlotte. I loved the development of their relationship from sworn enemies then eventually into lovers. The story was fun, heartwarming, had strong characters and super, super spicy!

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘
Dual POV
Forced Proximity
Enemies to Lovers
He Falls First
Super Spicy

The song!!

The song at the end was AMAZING!! The book was so much fun. I loved the character’s, It is part of a series, I wish audible would link them.

That’s why Lauren is a oneclick author…

More than Five stars- Bark out loud funny… steamy and swoony at the same time. Great read but even better audiobook as always!