I discovered Nora Roberts' books my freshman year in college. Rather, my college roommate forced them on me and I devoured almost her entire catalog and still continue to do so. To this day, we have really great conversations that go something like this:F: Oh! She is a MacGregor. Her mom was the woman with the broken-down car that married...M: The recluse cartoonist in Maine! Right! But what about that piano one?F: The piano player with the red-headed Stanislaski daughter? M: Oh right, that's Waiting for Nick. Weren't the across the hall neighbors as well? I think I want to read the second Dream Trilogy book. The one about Kate...F:...how the hell do you remember their names? I always get Honest Illusions, Hidden Secrets, Private Scandals, and Sweet Revenge mixed up. There was one about a talk show, the jewelry heist, the magicians in New Orleans...oh! and the one where...Anyway, my point is that Nora Roberts has a lot of die-hard fans, both of us included. We can have discussions for eons about all the plots and characters of her books but is that why any of us come back to them over and over? Well, kind of. But mostly it is because of the feeling they give you. If you are in the mood to read a HEA book, Nora is a great go-to. Once you read enough of them, the plotlines seem formulaic--even the murder mysteries--but I will keep coming back for more. They are somewhat like reading an ice cream sundae but they have more meat to them (in terms of witty dialogue, humor, and that NR can actually weave a good story). Now I am thinking about a meaty ice cream sundae. Gross. Talk about a mixed metaphor.So you don't have to work on that mental image alone...I remembered particularly enjoying this book on prior read-throughs but I never reviewed most of the Noras I've read. (nor has anyone, as this book seems to have mostly one-liner reviews) So, perhaps a quick plot reminder is in order for people like me that read bazillions of NR books and need to remember which one this is:Cybil Campbell is the daughter of Genvieve Grandeau and Grant Campbell, the artist and cartoonist who fell in love in The MacGregors: Alan & Grant. They are related to the MacGregor clan indirectly through Grant's sister Shelby, who marries Alan MacGregor (the politician son of THE MacGregor) in the same book. Whew, what a mouthful. In typical MacGregor fashion, THE MacGregor has dropped Preston McQuinn, a Pulitzer winning playwright and author across the hall in the same apartment building. Enter the brooding-reserved-once-burned-by-a-woman-now-scared-of-commitment man vs. the bubbly-super-friendly-always-thinking-of-others-before-herself woman romance storyline. SPOILER ALERT! They fall in love.It wasn't as great as I remembered it being but not too many books are as amazing one the second or third time through. (don't draw and quarter me! I know lots of classics are rereadable!) We just had a discussion at book club about books that are a different experience each time you reread them due to changed life circumstances for the reader. Maybe that's what happened to me here. The female in this story is 24, super successful, and completely self-sufficient. Maybe I just feel a little embarrassed to say that she seemed to have it more together than I do at the moment so yeah, I think that tainted my read a little bit. I need to find a Nora book that has someone just a bit older in it for my #2 pick. (which is pretty much all of them)This was a great pick to start off my 'Nothing But Nora' week with Vinaya and Maureen. I think we should make this a yearly thing! NBN 2011, B1.
This story is part of the MacGregor series. Cybil Campbell is only related by marriage to the family but that doesn't seem to matter. This story follows the idea of the MacGregor Brides / Grooms in which Daniel finds the perfect person and puts them in his grandchild's radius and lets things happen.This was a fun story and romance. I liked Preston and his issues were real and justified based on an horrific personal experience in his past. When you get the whole story you understand his actions. Cybil seems a little too nice and open to be believed but regardless she is a fun character.I liked getting to see Grant and Gennie at the end of the book, it was a lovely touch.If you like this series by NR then this will make a nice addition.
What do You think about The Perfect Neighbor (2002)?
For Nora Roberts this must be one of her in-between books because it wasn’t her high standard I’ve enjoyed in the past. I know she’s a very prolific writer, having around 2 to 4 books published a year. You see, I don’t know about that, because in the end it’s about quality and not quantity. This author writes so many books that – in the end - there are more than a few of her books out there that aren’t outstanding or original. I think the quality of her delivered work is starting to suffer. This “The Perfect Neighbor” is just a below average and honestly a very lukewarm attempt at a good romance story. It reminded me a bit of one of the Stanislaski brothers stories, but then a poorer version of it. Admittedly, I’m not saying it’s all bad, there were certainly sections of the book that were enjoyable. I also like Cybil Campbell and Preston McQuinn as lead characters. Roberts often does a great job of putting down on paper not-so-dislikeable characters, although they could have been fleshed out more. To sum it up: I’m not going to remember this story when I close this book and that’s too bad.
—Marleen
Ahh bir MacGregor kitabı da bitti ne yazık ki. Keşke biraz daha uzun olabilseler. Yine çok beğendim. Cybil'in o sıcak, neşeli karakteriyle Preston'ın o kibirli ve soğuk karakteri birleşince nefis bir çift çıktı ortaya! Ayrıca Daniel'ın 90 yaşındaki haliyle okumak da yine oldukça eğlenceliydi. Ve tabi ki Grant ve Genevieve çiftini de ilerleyen yaşlarında hala aşık olarak okumak çok hoşuma gitti. Ben de Genevieve gibi merak ediyorum Cybil gerçekten de babasının başka bir versiyonunu nasıl buldu. :) Bu seriyi mutlaka okuyun derim! -----Unfortunately, another MacGregor book finished. I wish they could be longer. I loved The Perfect Neighbor very much! When Cybil's friendliness and cheerfulness combined with Preston's frostiness and arrogance, a perfect couple appeared! Moreover, reading 90-year-old Daniel was so funny. I also loved reading Grant's and Genevieve's love again. I really wonder as much as Genevieve how Cybil could find another version of her father! :) I strongly recommend this series!
—Cemre
I loved this story in the series, definitely one of my favourites in the series even as a re-read. We find Daniel is continuing trying to meddle and has moved onto Cybil, his granddaughter of sorts. She meets her new neighbour a dark recluse and begins to fall in love in a very similar way to her parents. I loved this story but was sad to see the end of this story as it is the last in the series. Feel like the series is incomplete as there are still children not matched and feels like there should be more stories. Definitely a great series though that I would recommend and read again. Xxx
—Kai
