The Neighbor's Secret

A Secret Billionaire Romance Series, Book 1

By: Kimberley Montpetit

Narrated by: Sarah Sampino

Is Ethan Smith friend or foe? Enemy or lover?

After being left at the altar on her wedding day, big city financier Allie Strickland returns to her quirky hometown hoping for peace and quiet to get over her fiancé’s betrayal.

But on the very first night, Allie’s nerves are shattered when an unexpected intruder breaks into the house while she’s taking a bubble bath. The intruder is devastatingly handsome, but she soon learns that he’s using a fake name and has old ties to Heartland Cove.

Forced by unusual circumstances to share the same rental house, Allie’s suspicions of the man grow - even as she finds herself attracted to him. But is Ethan Smith merely a freelancer on a magazine assignment as he claims - or an undercover spy for the mayor who wants to ruin the small-town charm by running a new highway through for his own profit?

When her ex-fiancé shows up out of the blue one night begging for a second chance, who can Allie trust - or will her own heart betray her?

©2016 Kimberley Montpetit (P)2018 Kimberley Montpetit

Fun Story

Another fun story with a lot of laughs. From heartbreak to a strange guy walking in while taking a bath. She was with the first guy too long, she probably overlook that his work came first.
Given ARC audio for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

hey roomie😉

i thought Sarah Sampino did an excellent job. she always does. it was a good book. I just wanted a little more...... mr smith.. HA!ethan was adorable ..
and now i want spicy fries ! I highly recommend this book!

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU HAD UNTIL YOU REVISIT IT

I liked the way Kimberley set up the story for Allie and Ethan to meet and begin their relationship. The circumstances were not unique, but the way she handled it allowed the story to flow smoothly and the progression of enemy to friendship to lovers was done exceptionally well. I liked the fact that the older, Ethan, was the one to have the crush as a teen and was also a geek. The final thoughts of the two characters had my heart feeling content.

The narration was okay and the voice inflections to let you know who was talking wasn’t as good as I thought it should be.

So-So

For me, there were some moments where I just think Allie overreacted, especially when Sean [the guy that left her at the alter] came to her house and practically molesters her and then Ethan comes in to help her... she also gets mad at Ethan and throws him out! The narrator took a while to get use to - I felt that as the book went on she got better.

Sweet, clean romance

Story: 3.5 stars

The story was good if a tad predictable. I liked that the girl didn't move on so quickly that you wondered if she really loved her former fiancé; she went through believable grieving period. She pushed the hero away pretty consistently. He had the patience of a saint and waited until she got through her grieving.

The relationship between the heroine and her mother was only too accurate, and yet, we readers saw no real reason for her rejection of her mom. Her mom would reach out to try to help, but only end up annoying her daughter.

There is an HEA and the build-up to it is lovely.

*spoiler alert*
There were a couple of elements that I found to be unrealistic. His agreeing to allow her friend to set up a photography business in his house...there was never a conversation where our intrepid heroine asked for permission to do this (at least not in my memory, but I was listening on audiobook, maybe I was distracted when that part was read?)

That the hero just happened to be there to rescue her from the fire...it's great that he was, but what were the odds?

Narration: 3 stars

The voice actress did a pretty good job. Her male voice is subtly different from her female voice, enough to tell a difference most of the time. Those seem to be her only two voices. Good inflections, speed of reading, and overall narrating.

*poor, **ok, ***good, ****very good, *****something special

Wonderful. Story

The Neighbors Secret: A second chance romance . Very entertaining a sweet story. A great narration well performed and written

Cute story!

Cute story! This book is a short clean romance. The narrator was really good, and her voice was age appropriate for the character- I have a huge pet peeve about the voice being older than the character. I enjoyed the male character’s personality more that the females. She compared everything until the end to her fiancée, when she clearly should have known early in the story how lucky she was not to have married him. I can understand comparisons until about halfway through a book, then I’m ready to stop hearing about them and move on. Other than the dwelling and comparisons, the story was overall good and I look forward to hearing the next book in the series.

A plot that has a few surprises!

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook a lot. Despite the fantastical idea of just happening to have a billionaire neighbor, this was a surprisingly grounded, down to earth story.
After Allie is left at the altar, she is forced to Choosing between staying in a City where she would constantly have to confront her ex fiancé or going back home to stay with an overbearing mother Who clearly loves her but wants to control every aspect of her adult life.
Allie chooses to go home, but quickly find a place to rent for the summer, so there is some separation from her folks after finishing a day working at their family diner.
When she rents a home in town, she discovers it is already accounted for by am a serious visitor to town, Ethan Smith. After erecting curtains made of sheets all through the house Elle agrees to share the place. It can’t be that easy can it?
This was a fun ARC! I think Romance readers will enjoy the romance and surprising twists throughout the story.

Enjoyable with some shockers!

I really liked this story. I mean the beginning stunk for Allie but once she got home everything started looking up. The characters in here are kinda fun. This is an enjoyable story with a few shockers. This is a first time author for me. I did listen to this on audio and Sarah Sampino did a nice job.

A Wonderful 2nd Chance at Love! Great Listen🎧

The Neighbor’s Secret is a delightful and sweet story. Life does not always goes as plans but sometimes works out for the better. This book is well written, the storylines and characters are interesting and well developed. The chemistry between Allie and Ethan was amazing, and might i add he is a sweetheart of a man. I liked all the characters, with the exception of Sean, who was a jerk. I recommend this enjoyable book, there were some sad moments, some funny, some dramatic with a few twists and some romance.

I listened to the Audible edition, Sarah Sampino is a wonderful narrator and storyteller. She performs all the voices and brings the characters to life. She sets the perfect tone for the story and adds a nice dramatic flair. Thank you for another great & entertaining listen!