The Boy Next Door by Meggin Cabot

I started this book yesterday . . . and finished it today. And I've been super busy with work! It's an enjoyable fast read chick lit novel that is really hard to put down once you get into it! The Boy Next Door is a novel told exclusively by emails - kind of like an old novel that is told by letters. I was wary of the format at first, but it actually worked out quite well.

I also enjoyed the Star Wars quotes in it, but they assigned the quotes to the wrong movie! The famous, "I Love You," Han Solo, "I Know" Princess Leia occurs in Empire Strikes Back, not Return of the Jedi! I know it's chick lit, but you think someone would have checked that during editing:-)

What is this book about? Here is the Publisher's Weekly summary of the story:

In her debut adult novel, Cabot (known for her extremely successful young adult fiction series the Princess Diaries, published under the name Meg Cabot) relies entirely on highly amusing e-mails to tell a fetching meet-cute story. New York City gossip columnist Melissa Fuller is known for being obsessive about Winona Ryder, dating the wrong men and being tardy for work. Arriving particularly late one morning, she explains to her colleagues at the New York Journal that she was detained by the attempted murder of her elderly next-door neighbor, Mrs. Friedlander, who is in a coma. Always the good girl, Mel has volunteered to take care of Mrs. Friedlander's many pets until the neighbor's nephew Max, a famous fashion photographer, can be reached. Her co-workers warn her about Max, a notorious lady's man. Contrary to the gossip, when she meets Max he is down to earth, funny and kind. Despite the strange fact that he likes to be called John and appears to be between photo shoots, she begins to date him and learns that he shares her love for Stephen King novels and natural disasters. It doesn't take long for her to fall head over heels, or for Mel's mom to write, "Get a ring on your finger before you uncross those legs, sweetie." When a mysterious e-mail arrives explaining that there is more to her beau than meets the eye, she is duly upset and uses the power of her pen to get even. But when Mrs. Friedlander's attacker returns, will Mel and Max be able to put their differences aside to catch a killer? Full of clever e-mail banter and tongue-in-cheek humor, this cheeky novel should be enjoyed in one sitting.