Terrill R

Still reeling from a divorce and recent move back to her childhood home, Izzy Lane creates a blog to help ease her transition into the life of a single mom. Her personal blog segues into a part-time job running an over 40 dating and lifestyle section on her friends popular Philly blog. Izzy, her new friends, old friends, ex-husband, and a possible new love interest are all affected when a lie created in her personal blog snowballs into something out of her control.

This was my first novel by Amy Sue Nathan and I enjoyed it enough to want to seek out her previous works. I found the book engrossing and witty. Izzy, along with all of the supporting character were well-developed and authentic. They could have been my real-life peers. How the author handled the details of Izzy's divorce and ex-husband were fantastic. I was intensely invested in how Izzy handled the particulars of her ex-husbands poor choices. I especially liked the secondary story between Izzy and her neighbor, Mrs. Feldman. It spoke to Izzy's character and true nature. Despite the lie and other flaws, Izzy is a great mom and compassionate friend.

The one thing I didn't care for in this story was the pacing of the romance between Drew and Izzy, I agreed with Drew's reaction to Izzy's dishonesty and the repercussions, but not the ensuing devastation Izzy felt towards it's demise. It didn't seem believable when they really hadn't spent much time alone to build the romance. Therefore the ending seemed kind of odd and rushed to me, as well. I was happy, of course, but perplexed.

Notwithstanding the rushed and underdeveloped romance, I enjoyed this book immensely. I can forgive the romance when that is not the main premise of the story. The book ties up neatly in the end. Friendships are restored and and lessons are learned.

Thank you to Bookbrowse and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of The Good Neighbor in exchange for an honest review.