The Neighborhood by Stylo FantomeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
For me, Stylo Fantome can’t write a bad book. She always manages to produce something really memorable and The Neighborhood hits the mark perfectly, that said, this instalment left me with all sorts of slightly unfortunate labels when it comes to describing Katya.
Book 1 was a 5+++ star, if not higher, rated read for me so book 2 had an almost impossible task to match it. I loved the ongoing love triangle between Katya, Wulf and Liam and I, like many other readers, was left struggling to decide whose team I was on at the end of the book. Now, after reading Book 2, I can definitely say that, surprisingly, I am not on #TeamKatya. Where did the sweet librarian-esque character go from book 1? Did Wulf and Liam really create the monster portrayed in book 2? I appreciate that Wulf and Liam’s “game” was cruel on poor, unsuspecting Katya, but still, I wasn’t expecting a “what goes around comes around” attitude from her. Instead of feeling wronged and hurt by Wulf and Liam’s actions, or even plotting physical bodily harm against them, she decides to play them at their own game. I guess I could get on board with that, let's face it, Wulf and Liam deserve a healthy dose of their own medicine but for this to take place over the entire duration of this book was, for me, a step, or two, too far!
As mentioned above, I love this author’s writing, so even with the possibly unnecessarily lengthy storyline, I was totally consumed by the book and I was kept on the edge of my seat hoping for something exciting to happen. What did occur was for Katya to switch from being Liam’s “angel cake” to a raving bitch, in my eyes. Ok, so I’ll admit it, I am #TeamWulf, so I guess, I am a little biased here and possibly a tad protective of “Wulfy” but still, did Katya really need to punish these two men so cruelly for wanting to be with her?
This instalment leads you down the Liam path, so to speak. Having been a little childish, but still totally loveable in book 1, he evolves into a more mature but still fun-loving character in book 2 (still no match for my Wulfy though, although I did find myself wavering for a nano-second). I guess this sweetening up of Liam just made Katya’s treatment of him, and Wulf, even harder to digest. Wulf, having been slightly aloof, but still totally lovable, in book 1 is typecast in much the same way but in this book, he tends to take more of a backseat to Liam’s story. Liam is the active pursuer of Katya, whilst Wulf decides to play the long game. That said, Wulf is the man who seems to have the power to bring Katya to her knees on more than one occasion. Liam and Wulf’s personalities are like chalk and cheese but that seems to work in their favour when it comes to tearing up Katya’s emotions.
In this book, we also get to spend more time with Wulf’s sisters, though I’m not entirely sure why at this stage. Part of me was left wondering if Brie would be an unsuspecting star of this book but despite adding a sharp edge to the storyline, thanks to her irascible personality, I felt her role was merely to demonstrate a different side to Wulf rather than to actually contribute to the story.
As you can guess, whilst absolutely loving this book, I really disliked Katya’s part in this storyline. The book itself is a solid 5 Star read but Katya, and her behaviour, and her elongated way of deciding which man is for her spoilt the story, slightly. By the end of the book I was praying for Wulf and Liam to just bin her off completely and to realise that she wasn’t worth the effort in the first place, but in true HEA fashion, there is a winner at the end of the story but will it be Liam or Wulf? And, will you be satisfied with who exactly ends up winning Katya’s cruel and unforgiving heart?
Readers will be delighted to find out at the end of this book that there is yet another instalment waiting in the wings and despite my feelings against Katya, I can’t wait for more from the neighbors.
This ebook was kindly provided by the author/publisher via Netgalley prior to release in return for an honest and unbiased review.
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