A delightfully modern romance.

So I'm getting ready to fly down to Florida for a few days to visit a friend and mention to another friend that I need something to read. "Oh, you have to borrow this book!" she says, thrusting The Boy Next Door into my hands. I peruse the front cover - a quirkily modern pen-and-ink drawing - and judge that it could be an interesting book. I flip it over and check out the synopsis...whoa, it's written in email? Okay, this is either going to be brilliant or a disaster. I'm hooked.

A couple of days before my trip, I decide I need something fluffy NOW because my life sucks, so I start reading The Boy Next Door...and become so engrossed that I can't put it down until I finish it that night. I tried to prolong it, I did! But I just couldn't make myself quit reading.

Here's the deal...
Melissa Fuller is a put-upon gossip columnist for New York newspaper who longs to write Serious News. Her colleague, the Liz Smith of her newspaper, is constantly trying to trip up poor Mel, fearing that our protagonist is out for the older woman's job. Mel is also a newly single 20-something gal, having just dumped her reporter boyfriend for sleeping with another reporter during an assignment.

Emails really start to fly when Mel finds her neighbor, a rich elderly lady, unconscious in her apartment. When the woman is taken to the hospital and slips into a coma, Mel finds herself caring for the woman's Great Dane Paco and her two cats while racking up the "tardy emails" from the people in HR who have no sense of humor.

Mel discovers that her neighbor's only living relative is a fashion photographer named Max. Mel tracks down Max and tells him of his Aunt's unfortunate condition and requests that come and take care of the animals so she doesn't lose her job. Unfortunately, Max is a jerk who has jetted off to the beach with a lingerie model. Instead of coming home, he blackmails his friend, crime reporter John Trent, to pretend to be him (Max) and take care of the animals so his (Max's) potential inheritance is safe.

When John arrives to pick up "his" aunt's key and take over for Mel, he's smitten, as is Mel. A flurry of emails to respective friends and relatives ensues. It seems like the perfect relationship--except that Mel thinks John is Max. John's quite a catch himself, but what will happen when he finally reveals the truth? Will Mel forgive him? And what about the elderly neighbor...who attacked the poor woman and why?

Why it's a blast...
The format itself lends to the breezy tone of the book as emails fly between Mel's colleagues discussing everything from her tardiness to her love life; as John berates Max and deals with a very pregnant and very hormonal sister-in-law as well as other assorted family members; and Mel's parents finally get email so they can poke at her via cyberspace.

The characters are fun and interesting. Anyone with email knows how easy it is to zap off news and notes, but do we ever realize who else might be zapping off emails to those same people? How much information (or mis-information) is being accumulated between all those sources? The confusion of not having body language or tone of voice is also addressed rather hilariously. Emails from Mel's mom and the real Max's model girlfriend add zest to the gossipy feel of the book, making it just that much more fun.

And they lived...
Well it is a fluff book, how do you think it ends? At any rate, this book is such a fun read! My only quibble is that the format itself makes the resolution just a bit more distant that I'd have liked. Rather than read a couple of emails between the adoring couple, a switch to "real life" would have added some warmth to the conclusion. Evenso, it's a delightful book, well worth reading. Giggles abound as true love conquers all.