Hrmm… not really, and maybe even a bit far-fetched, but the whole journey was well worth the result, no matter what I expected. The very first piece of the Neighborly Affection universe that I wrote was Chapter 3 of Playing the Game. It’s a story about the stories we tell ourselves — about who we are and what we need — and about how we bond and fight for each other and find a family and make sacrifices for each other.

Written in the first person the narrative is told from the point of view of two diiferent characters. Minding Their Manners brought Henry and Jay’s voices into the main thread because now all three members of the trio are on a new journey of discovery. They fascinated me with the delicate dance of the dinner party and the calculation in that pivotal moment of decision. Q. Barber was gracious enough to sit down and answer some questions for me about the series, her inspiration, her recommendations, and yes, where she sees things going down the road.

The approach builds on the work of the folklorists who have helped give the study of folklore in Texas such high standing in the field-Mody Boatright, J. Tom laments the lack of s I was left wondering where the author was going with the story or exactly what the story was about, which was not the kind of "suspense" I like in a book. Her past walks along side her every day in secret shame and she’s terrified someone will discover it. Today, September 18th, was the release of the newest book in the series, Binding Their Hearts, which picks up after Henry and Alice have had a harrowing weekend thinking Jay was lost to them forever in Minding Their Manners.

It's very hot, but the emotional attachments between the two couples and then between Heaven and Tasha is just great. Neighborly Affection is a romance, and a pretty steamy romance at that, but it’s also about personal growth and finding ourselves and reshaping our identity when the person we thought we were doesn’t fit anymore. The neighbors in this idyllic neighborhood are outwardly welcoming and at the same time deliciously creepy, and the secrets that bind them all will shock and surprise you.Everything about him is understated; he has that unassuming exterior, but it conceals power and ferocity you wouldn’t imagine.

I see it often in places where it is not explicit: The Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb, the Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare.While not overly fond of this, the author did do a better job with the short-term alternation of narrators then is usual The author did a fantastic job of keeping all the different neighbors and plots and dialogue consistent, which I appreciated.

It would have been impossible, especially in the second half of that book, to tell the story and do it justice without showing everything Henry and Jay are going through, too.Those are precisely the type of questions that I faced a few months ago when I moved across the country and that Kat faces in Ellie Monago’s chilling novel Neighborly .