Whenever a heatwave blast comes in, I’m always in the mood for an intense read to scoop me in and help me forget about the horrible temperatures. To be honest, I was really in the mood for a dystopian young adult novel but couldn’t find any to my liking so I went over to NetGalley to see some of my options. The Couple Upstairs caught my eye, mostly because of the cover and the plot surrounding neighbor difficulties.
Wow, did this book catch my attention! It was maddening, frustrating, and exciting all at once. I gobbled it up in just a few days and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
So, Nina and Zac are moving into their beautiful home hoping for a fresh start. Nina is finally launching her dream business, and Zac and her’s relationship is looking as promising as ever. Except before they even have the chance to settle in, things start to go wrong. First, they both get really sick after eating a dessert made for them by their neighbors. (I mean, that could be just a fluke, of course, right?)
And as hard as Nina tries, she just can’t break through to her quiet and seemingly troubled neighbor, Vanessa. Meanwhile, Chris seems to have it out for her from the start, but Zac doesn’t seem to notice this at all. Her boyfriend insists that Chris isn’t nearly as bad she’s making him out to be.
Before long, everything falls apart for Nina, and her entire life is in shambles! Everything she thought she had is gone and now she can only think of one cause – her neighbors.
This intense, exciting read kept me interested the whole way through. The conflict is fueled (and intensified) by the fact that Nina’s boyfriend Zac just doesn’t see things the way she does. At times, Zac’s doubt frustrated me, and many times I thought it was hard to believe that he wouldn’t be beside his girlfriend or even try to see things her way.
Also there was a dual plotline that talked about a character in the past, that we really didn’t get to know how she was connected until the very end. I got the idea that she would be attached to the house or to one of the main characters in some way but we really didn’t get to know how until the end. I wasn’t a big fan of this aspect, but it did end up being important later on.
As for the ending, there’s a shocking twist that I wasn’t expecting! It was a little hard to believe, and I thought Nina was too quick to dismiss Zac’s lack of support or loyalty to her. However, this was an exciting ride and I’m still glad I read it.
Make sure you add this incredible thriller to your GoodReads reading list or pre-order your copy on Amazon. Book will be released on September 13th!
Good review!