The cul-de-sac war

A wardrobe malfunction provides the meet-cute between actress Bree Leake and builder Chip McBride, but the real fun starts when Bree realizes that Chip is her new neighbor and the jerk who almost ran her off the road. A hilarious war ensues as they try to out-prank each other, but Ferguson's characters are also dealing with some serious issues. Bree has flitted from job to job, and her acting stint at the Barter Theater in Virginia would have been just one more in a long line of temporary engagements had her parents not offered to let her have her grandmother's house if she can hold her job for a year. Chip is also struggling to find himself after breaking away from his father's construction business and starting his own. Ferguson offers an entertaining enemies-to-lovers story for readers who prefer a chaste romance. Imagine one of Sophie Kinsella's rom-coms made into a Hallmark movie.

Ferguson returns to the world of The Dating Charade in this cute but slight rom-com. Actor Bree Leake stumbles into Chip McBride while she's attempting to avoid an embarrassing costume malfunction during a performance at the historic Barter Theater in Abingddon, Va. It's an adorable meet-cute, and both are immediately smitten--despite Chip's girlfriend waiting just inside the theater. But Bree's feelings sour when, after a fellow driver almost runs her off the road on her way home, she realizes that Chip is both the object of her road rage and her new next-door neighbor. After a few more bungled interactions, their good first impression dissolves completely and the pair become locked in a neighborhood prank war. But after a surprisingly compassionate night which seems to hint toward a cease-fire, Bree pulls off a prank that goes too far. Disappointingly, the focus on their feud leaves little time to explore the softer side of Chip and Bree's feelings for each other. Instead, the emotional core of the novel is found in Chip's strained relationship with his father and the touching moments between Bree and her well-intentioned, matchmaking parents. Readers will find plenty here to hold their interest, but long for a more fleshed-out love story. Agent: Kimberly Whalen, the Whalen Agency. (Nov.)