NEXT-DOOR NEMESIS

Former best friends turned rivals butt heads and a lot more over their homeowner association's election.

Collins Carter never imagined she'd be back in her hometown again, much less shacking up with her parents—but after a filmed breakup moment between her and her ex goes viral, her aspiring screenwriting career is left in shambles and she has nowhere else to go. At least she can spend some quality time with her now-retired dad by pitching in with the landscaping, but running into her high school best friend–turned-nemesis at the only coffee shop in town wasn't part of her reset journey. Nathanial Adams appears to have everything: a nice house, a well-manicured lawn, a leading position as part of the local homeowner's association, and the respect of just about everyone in the neighborhood. It's enough to get Collins fired up, but the combative energy they have with one another is obviously covering up a different kind of tension altogether. From Nathanial's perspective, Collins is a whirlwind in his otherwise neat life, and the sooner she leaves town, the better—but when Collins finds out about the upcoming election for HOA president, she decides she's going to run against him. A move that starts as one made entirely to spite a rival turns into a battle of wills, but the more these two run into each other, the closer they get to excavating all the long-buried feelings they've had the entire time. Martin's latest is a witty, humorous rom-com that doesn't skimp on the comedy; Collins and Nate's conversational clashes are as engaging as their vulnerability, even if the plot loses a bit of power once they start making nice. The scenes where they're still willing to indulge their familiarly fiery energy are made even more potent when paired with the book's welcome embrace of heat.

A riotous rom-com that puts an HEA spin on the HOA.