Review : The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark

Summary (from Goodreads)
 
Title : The Boy Next Door
Author : Katie Van Ark
Publication Date : January 6th 2015
Publisher : Macmillan/Swoon Reads
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Maddy Spier has been in love with the boy next door forever. As his figure skating partner she spends time in his arms every day. But she’s also seen his arms around other girls—lots of other girls.

Gabe can't imagine skating with anyone but Maddy, and together they have a real chance at winning some serious gold medals. So, he’s determined to keep thinking of her like a sister. After all, he’s never had a romantic relationship that lasted for more than two weeks.

But when their coach assigns a new romantic skating program, everything changes. Will this be the big break that Maddy’s been hoping for or the big breakup that Gabe has always feared?

Personal Thoughts

The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. It had the perfect concoction of skating and best friends to lovers romance! How could I resist that? Plus, with that cute cover, there was no way that I was not going to be reading The Boy Next Door!

The Boy Next Door tells the story of Maddy and Gabe, figure skating partners and best friends. Maddy has been in love with Gabe for her whole life, but he is not one for relationship. The book is told in both Maddy and Gabe's relationship and both their characters worked really well for me. Maddy, especially, was very easy to connect with him. I think for me what made her so relateable was that there was nothing special about her other than her being a figure skater. She was a regular girl, like most of us are. There were times where she frustrated me a little, but that's because I wanted her to be happy and wanted her to strive for that happiness instead of being hungover by Gabe. Gabe, while not the most likeable male character, did manage to reach me from time to time. Not going to lie, for most of the book, I wanted to smack him in the head and push him to just be with Maddy because that's both of them wanted. I also got why he was so hesitant about a relationship more than friendship between them given there responsibilities as a figure skaters. I mean, can you even imagine the consequences if you're in a relationship with your partner and then break up? It would make things so awkward. But still, I really wanted him to let go and be with Maddy already for most of the book.

The romance in The Boy Next Door had its ups and downs. There are many obstacles that Gabe and Maddy face, but for some reason, they didn't bother me. The romance wasn't all angsty though, so fear not! There were some delightfully sweet moments between Maddy and Gabe, and I loved the comfort level that they had in their relationship. Also, kudos to Katie Van Ark for portraying a sex-positive relationship! The sex scene in this book was handled maturely and beautifully by the author. While my primary reason for reading The Boy Next Door might have been the cute romance, I was completely taken by the skating aspects of the book. See, I know absolutely nothing about figure skating, but I do enjoy watching it during the Olympics. This book was brimming with skating scenes and I felt like I learned so much about the sport. Throughout Maddie and Gabe's skating scenes, I was completely enthralled and you could tell that the author had experience because it's very much detailed. It made me want to read up more about figure skating and made me realize how much work you have to put into it.

The Boy Next Door was an endearing book that had me grinning throughout. Cute, charming, filled with swoony kisses and very much addictive, it's a book that's perfect for spending a warm day at the beach.


Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to Macmillan for the ARC of The Boy Next Door.