Checkmate

He never gave up this easily,never. Not even when they were fourteen and she may have pantsed him in front of the entire school one afternoon and he may have broken his arm in an attempt to pull her out of the air duct where she might have been hiding.He simply waited until the cast was dry and his mother was looking the other way before he snuck out of the exam room at the clinic over on Chestnut and made his way to the waiting room where he knew her father would make her wait so that she could give him the customary muttered"sorry."

As soon as Connor stepped into the waiting room she knew that she was in deep shit. She'd barely turned to run and hide when he clamped his good hand around her wrist and dragged her kicking and screaming show more into the staff kitchenette where he found a strawberry yogurt three years past its expiration date in the back of the fridge. For the next ten minutes he sat on her back while he forced her to eat the brown concoction and even when the doctor, three nurses and his mother tried to drag him off of her,he still managed to shove a large spoonful of the fuzzy gunk into her mouth.

That's pretty much how life was for Connor and Rory. Connor made her life a living hell and she always paid him back. That's been happening for 25 years and got them banned from 57 places(see their first "date"). It's is one of the things I liked the most in this book.

LRJRemember that.Connor has it as a tattoo and there is a lot of history behind these letters. To be honest I didn't cross my mind that Connor was in love with her as a teenager.I thought he later developed his feelings for her.Still I won't spoil the meaning of the 3 letters.

“My baking isn’t that bad!” Zoe argued.
“Sweetie," Rory said, pausing in her search to reach over and give Zoe’s hand a quick squeeze,“there isn’t a Bradford alive that will willingly touch your baked goods.”
“I overheard Jason and Trevor telling everyone that you baked my cupcakes so that they wouldn’t have to share,”Haley added softly as she took Zoe’s other hand into hers.“Not one single Bradford will touch them.In fact,they actually demanded that everything the guys claimed that you baked be taken away and given its own section.”

If the book was a TV show it would be like: Starring Connor O’Neil and Rory James. Special guest stars Jason,Hayley, Trevor and Zoe plus for a quick appearance the newborn (they get born in the book) twins of Trevor and Zoe. I don't think I would have given 5 stars if at least one character of them wasn't in this book.She didn’t even bother asking him what the hell was wrong with him since she knew the answer. The man was a Bradford.Enough said.Plus I missed Jason and Trevor's Bradford appetite. Did you know that if a Bradford showed his pretty face at the city when our couple lives they would get to spend a night in jail, pay 2,000$ and do community service? Here are some quotes about that appetite;

Even though he’d never met them before,he knew that they were Bradfords.The tales of the other side of Rory’s family were well known.They were often used to scare little children into behaving.If they didn’t,they knew the Bradfords would come and eat them.

You are only allowed to hit each sample cart ten times and that’s it.”
“You bitch!” Trevor and Jason gasped in outrage.Ignoring them,she continued.“And while we’re at it,let’s get to the other rules.”
“Rules?”Trevor repeated slowly,his eyes narrowing to slits on her.
“You are not allowed to eat in any of the restaurants in town or within twenty miles of the town unless I am there with you.”At that announcement,Jason’s eyes narrowed on her,too.“Also,you are not to buy anything that requires you to show your driver’s license.If you hit the grocery store,you’re each limited to one carriage full.You can order in,but you’re only allowed to order enough for six people.”
“I’ve always hated you,”Jason bit out in a huff as he turned his back on her and headed for the double doors of the warehouse.
“Ditto"Trevor said.

"Tell me that you didn’t break the ban,Rory.Tell me that there aren’t two Bradfords beating the shit out of each other over the last slice of cheese in my kitchen"

“That wasn’t trail mix, you bastard!That was potpourri!”

As much as she'd love to dismiss the possibility,and she would have if it had been anyone else,but this was a Bradford that she was dealing with here so she had to ask,"You didn't eat my box of baking soda,did you?"

Closing (not that I said much)I liked this book but less than the first two. In some parts is better but it lacks in others. Connor and Rory are different than the other 2 couples. The book made me laugh and left me wanting for a 4th book.

"I probably should remind you that your brothers said that they wouldn't bail you out of jail again for the next three years after what happened the last time and that if you kill him then you'll probably lose this contract" show less

Fin da piccola Rory James ha dovuto vedersela con Connor O’Neil. I due si sono fatti sempre ogni tipo di dispetto tanto da essere diventati famosi in tutta la città per la guerra senza tregua che si sono dichiarati. Ma adesso tutto si è notevolmente complicato perché entrambi si trovano a dover condividere un grosso lavoro che potrebbe rappresentare una svolta importante nelle loro vite. Ma cosa si nasconde dietro questo loro continuo scontarsi e, soprattutto, riusciranno ad arrivare vivi in fondo a questo nuovo progetto che dovranno realizzare obbligatoriamente insieme?
Un’altra divertente storia della Mathewson, terzo capitolo della Neighbors Series, due altri personaggi, anche loro eccessivi come i precedenti, che ci show more accompagnano con le loro avventure spassose per farci passare un paio d’ore in pieno relax.
Anche per questo libro la mia valutazione sarà scissa in tre considerato il livello della traduzione effettuata.

***** 5 stelle alla scrittrice R.L. Mathewson
Anche questa volta il racconto risulta spassoso e molto divertente con vicende che, per quanto assurde ed estreme, riescono a divertire. Simpatici entrambi i personaggi peraltro anche ben assortiti nelle loro stramberie ed eccentricità. Molto piacevole è stato anche ritrovare i protagonisti dei libri precedenti che contribuiscono a rendere il tutto anche ora più esilarante. Insomma, un’altra storia perfetta per rilassarsi in tutta leggerezza

** 2 stelle alla traduzione e all’editing
Nuovo traduttore ma risultato che sembra peggiorare ogni volta di più. Ribadisco: non cerco la prosa del grande genio della penna, ma il rispetto delle regole basilari di grammatica e sintassi credo sia indispensabile. Aggiungo anche che la costruzione delle frasi nella lingua italiana è molto differente rispetto a quella nella lingua della scrittrice; mantenere la forma originale non rende certo un buon servizio alla traduzione.

* 1 stella alla Newton Compton Editori
Continuo a domandarmi con quale criterio una casa editrice possa mettere in vendita un prodotto così carente sotto il profilo linguistico. Un libro, quale che sia il contenuto, deve imprescindibilmente rispettare le regole di grammatica e sintassi. show less

I have to be honest and say that this one really was not my cup of tea. Connor just came out as a sexist pig and, honestly, that's not the sort of male characters I want in my romances. Sure, he became a bit better towards the end but still.

One redeeming thing were Jason and Trevor. I just love those guys and their weird but oh so funny food obsession.

So really not the best in this series.

Well, I am officially done reading this series. This book managed to have me either bored out of my mind or in a rage. Mathewson's heroes are giant assholes and I cringe the entire time the heroine has mushy thoughts over them. If you're like me and couldn't stand [b:Perfection|12351649|Perfection (A Neighbor from Hell, #2)|R.L. Mathewson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1325195323s/12351649.jpg|17912072], then don't pick this one up. Things don't get better.

How many time can one read a series - I don't think I ever get old, and this is one of my favourites in the series -the pranks they play on each other are hilarious to experience - I adore her brothers and cousins of course, and the progression of their relationship - so good, epic, wonderful, need more of the dog though, that'd be fun

4,5 stars.

The best one out of the three of the series. Didn't gave it five stars because I thought the writing made me get lost while reading it a few times and that I think there was a little more to the plot than the author wrote it. But still, a pretty damn good book.

Loved the storyline! The bantering in this series is fantastic! Laughed out loud several times! The sex scenes were great but did not seem to be as many in this book as in the first two.