Title: The Cul-de-Sac War
Author: Melissa Ferguson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication date: November 10th, 2020
336 pages
4/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis
All’s fair in love and prank wars.
Bree Leake doesn’t want to be tied down. She’s had more jobs than she can count, and she plans to move as soon as the curtains fall on her less-than-minor stage role at The Barter—the oldest live performance theater in the US. But just when it’s time to move on again, Bree’s parents make her an offer: hold steady for a full year, and they will give her the one thing she’s always wanted—her grandmother’s house. Her dreams are coming true . . . until life at the theater throws her some curve balls.
And then there’s Chip McBride—her handsome and infuriating next-door neighbor.
Chip just might be the only person whose stubborn streak can match Bree’s. She would move heaven and earth to have him off her cul-de-sac and out of her life, but according to the bargain she’s struck, she can’t move out of her house and away from the man who’s making her life miserable. So begins Bree’s obsessive new mission: to drive Chip out of the neighborhood—and fast.
Bree isn’t the only one who’s a tad competitive, and Chip is more than willing to fight fire with fire. But as their pranks escalate, the line between love and hate starts to blur—and their heated rivalry threatens to take a hilarious, heartwarming, and romantic new turn.
Review
The Cul-de-Sac War grabbed and kept my attention very well. It does not follow the normal outline of a Contemporary Romance, which might be why I was so intrigued by it. This book is very much enemies to lovers, where neighbors get into a prank war with each other after not seeing eye to eye on well… anything. To be fair, it is mostly instigated by the female MC, Bree, but Chip definitely strikes back frequently. It’s all mostly based on a misunderstanding, but it is very entertaining to read.
I felt there were some scenes unnecessary to the book, but overall I felt like this book was well written, well paced, and stayed true to the characters. I enjoy when two characters are in relationships, but end up realizing they aren’t who they are meant to be with BUT don’t engage in cheating or toxic behaviors. I am happy this story didn’t include any of that and allowed the romance to happen when both parties were unattached.
The epilogue was chaotic. I generally love epilogues in romance stories, because it gives you a glimpse into the future to see how the love story is working out. But I feel like this epilogue created more questions than it answered. I left the story feeling like things were not wrapped up and it was very confusing. Not normally how I feel after reading epilogues.
I did truly enjoy this book, and it reminded me of You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle so if you enjoyed that book, you will enjoy this one. It is also somewhat pitched as Christian fiction/romance, but it is not in any way overtly religious – there is just some brief mention of faith. There is also a minor storyline that is more serious, childhood cancer, so be aware of content that might trigger you.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Happy reading, folks!
Baltimore Bibliophile 