The Other Side of Us by Sarah Mayberry
Contemporary Romance
January 2, 2013
Harlequin
Reviewed by Mandi
I wanted to read this book for a few reasons. First it’s by Sarah Mayberry and I really enjoy her voice. But I also heard it had a cranky, reclusive heroine. Usually we only get cranky heroes so this really intrigued me. Mackenzie has good reasons to be in a bad mood too. About a year ago, while driving to a production site (she is a tv producer) she had a very bad accident, ending with months and months in rehab. She is still at home recovering slowly. She is tired of it all, and really wants to get back to her job. But she doesn’t have the energy yet to do it. Unfortunately, she learns her job is going away too, which is why she slams the door on her new next door neighbor, twice.
She doesn’t mean to be rude to Oliver, but with bouts of nausea and just the bad news that her job is going to be given to someone else, she really has no interest in chatting with her new neighbor. Oliver is going through a divorce, and decides to take some time off and clear out his late aunt’s house. He is a little shocked and turned off by his neighbor’s rude behavior but being neighbors, they are bound to see a lot of each other. After helping her in the middle of the night during a really bad storm, Mackenzie comes around to offer thanks and dinner. Oliver can’t help but want to see if there is a warmer, softer side to Mackenzie. Their respective dogs also seem to have a love affair of their own going on.
I’m not really sure I have a ton to say about this story. I found it cute at times, yet also maybe a little flat, if that is the right word. I think Mackenzie’s injuries and recovery is well described, as I could feel her exhaustion and frustration come off the page. And by all accounts Oliver is a good guy that goes lengths to help her and build up her good mood. But I found myself just a bit bored by this story. I feel like there is something missing but I honestly am not sure what it is. Which is a lame thing to say in a review, but it’s all I got. Maybe it was just too predictable and not enough wit and charm? It didn’t engage me like her previous work.
Rating: C+
Recent Reviews
Dear Author – B+
Seductive Musings – 4/5
Kaetrin’s Musings – B
Romance Around the Corner – 5/5
Goodreads
Right there with you that this story was missing something, but unsure what. I’ve read a few books by Sarah Mayberry, Most recently Suddenly You, and this book missed the mark that she hit in Suddenly You. This was a good, solid read though. It won’t keep me from SM books in the future.
I’ll def read her future books, for the most part I really like her voice.
Now I know how those who loved the new Courtney Milan felt when I went to their blog to complain about how boring it was! LOL But, you can’t be perfect all the time, so I forgive you for not loving it ;) Don’t do it again, though, or else! (and by else I mean that I wont’ send you more pictures of the Hammdong)
Gasp! You are evil!!! ;)
(I thought the Milan was boring too!)
I liked this one a lot better than you did Mandi, but not quite as much as Brie. Mostly that’s because I work in the workers compensation industry and there were some inaccuracies in the book about that – it’s like Brie finding the faults in archaeology themed books. The errors werent a huge big deal, but it’s the sort of thing I noticed and it jarred me out of the story a few times so I ended up at a B.
Ah..yeah that would bother me too :)