Honestly, I didn't expect much from this book. I read the door book and that was ... a lot. And not in a good way. This one was so much better and I can't wait to read others in the series.

And who doesn't love rubber duckies?

This was a fun quick read, but I missed the full mark for me. I am a big fan of Vera Valentine's shifter romance, and this felt too... Clean almost for me. Probably because of the children subplot.

Rubber Duckie Shifter Next Door is a fast-paced, insta-love, rubber duckie shifter novella. I knew going into this story that it would be a bit ridiculous (rubber duckie shifter) and fast-paced due to it being a novella. The only critiques I have are that I wish the author had taken more time to flesh out some aspects of the story and most annoyingly the word duck was overused in the book. At first, it was cute that the MMC was using duck in place of other words but then it became annoying and a bit childish. Overall, it was a nice novella and leaves hints as to who the next shifter novella will be about.

Rachel is struggling to find her footing as the part-time guardian to her best friend's kids, and she doesn't have time to date—unless, as it turns out, there are rubber ducks involved.

I read this because I cannot resist the weird: I've read my fair share of dinosaur erotica, so rubber duckie romance seemed like a natural next step. In "Rubber Duckie Shifter Next Door", Sig is (you guessed it) a shifter, and he shifts not into a werewolf or whatever else is popular these days but into (you guessed it again!) a rubber duck. Now, the logic of this shifter world is a little vague; readers are meant to take Sig's explanations about how, when shifters develop their powers, they shift into their favorite thing (Sig really, *really* loves rubber ducks). I'm not quite sure what the advantages of this sort of shifter life are: Sig doesn't need air, which could be handy, but in his shifted form he can't move or speak or do anything autonomous, really. Makes you wonder what would happen if, say, someone picked him up while he was in duck form and locked him in a box...wouldn't even have to be nefarious! Could just be a kid told to clean up. (I can't help but think that if I'd grown up in his world, I'd try to cultivate an intense interest in something that would be practical to shift into.)

It's an odd little story, and it's *meant* to be an odd little story (an...odd duck of a story?). The romance relies heavily on a 'fated mates' concept, which is not one that I've read much of (just, like..."Twilight"...which I can't image is the best example...) but seems to be a speculative-fiction form of instalove. Your mileage may vary—fortunately I wasn't looking for much in the romance department (being in it, again, for the weird); also fortunately, the lusting happens only between humans, as Rachel is intrigued by shifting abilities but mercifully not turned on by yellow rubber bath toys.

Meanwhile, my library has acquired several more of Harlan's oddities in the past couple of days...does this mean that I'm fated to read more inanimate-object-shifter-fated-mate stories? Only time will tell.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

I never thought I'd say it, but I wish I had more romance and spice from a rubber duckie.

Listen, I'm not going to sugar coat this plot: 95% of the romance part of this story is fluff. It's cute, Sig is autocorrect personified, and there's not much substance to Rachel and Sig's courtship. They're fated mates, everything just clicks, the end.

There was actually some really good relationship development between Rachel and her godchildren. I loved seeing their dynamic change and grow throughout the story, especially with Sig's involvement. All of the characters in the novella formed a fantastic family group, and I loved seeing that even if it felt like it took emphasis away from Sig and Rachel's budding romance.

This may be the cutest shifter romance I have ever read, but if the bath time fun that the blurb mentions drew you in, you may want to rethink this one. Sig and Rachel are beyond adorable, and Sig is as squeaky clean as a bath time toy. The plot was cute, the fluff was in abundance, but compared to other shifter romances, the spice was mild.

Rubber Duckie Shifter Next Door can easily be read in just one sitting, and while it's part of Harlan's Shifter Bay universe, you can read Sig and Rachel's story without any prior knowledge of the previous books.

This book had me “quackling” at the ridiculousness of somebody shifting into a rubber duck, while simultaneously having me in awe at how cute it is.
There’s duck puns, there’s romance, minor drama, slight spice… everything fits the “bill” for this rom-com!

I had such a good time reading this novella. It was funny, silly, fantastical, sexy, and even cozy. Thank you, Mia Books, for making it available to read through NetGalley.

I typically take notes as I read ARCs, but I would not take my eyes off my Kindle screen this time. Harlan throws you in the middle of the action, and the story moves pretty quickly. The sexual tension and the desire the main characters have for each other take center stage; for most of the story, we don't really know what the backstory is to our duckie shifter, which makes this story all the more addicting and intriguing. I think there is a good balance between real-life situations, the hooking attraction of the characters, and the sexy supernatural aspects the author used to make this story entertaining.

My only negative is that the epilogue extended the story rather than wrapping it up quickly and nicely. Nevertheless, I was curious to know how life turned out for these amusing characters, and it was delivered.

If you are obsessed with rubber duckies, you will love this novella. If you're not, you might find a new obsession.

I know I did.

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What I thought would be a more light hearted book turned slightly serious. Rachel becomes the guardien of her deceased best friends children, but isn’t ready for that responsibility yet. While Nana takes a much needed vacation Rachel steps in to start learning how to take care of the kids. However, they are NOT having it. Thats when Sig steps in from across the fence. Helping Rachel rangle in the kids who have gone rogue, but with such a big secret. He can shapeshift into the thing he loves the most…Rubber Duckies.

This was such a fun read. I've never read any shifter romance where the person shifted into an inanimate object, so I had no idea what to think going into this, but turns out this was an enjoyable, fun, easy, palate cleanser. If you have an hour to spare and have been in a bit of a slump or just need something quick, I think this book will provide exactly what you need.
There was also such a surprising twist that I did NOT expect. I gasped. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series and more from Mia Harlan!

I would usually never go for a rubber duckie shifter romance, but I was curious when I saw this on NetGalley and my coworker and I laughed when we read the synopsis. I was not disappointed. Rubber Duckie Shifter Next Door was actually a cute romance with some spicy scenes and great chemistry between the two main character. The hour it took me to read this flew by. It looks like there will be a sequel to this story and I will happily read it when it releases.

Rubber Duckie Shifter Next Door comes out May 17th.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mia Books for the opportunity to review Rubber Duckie Shifter Next Door. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley for an early arc of this book! I thought it was super cute and easy to get through. It's a short story so it's only about 100 pages or so, which makes it easy to like the characters and the plot. I thought it was short and sweet, and I plan on reading more from this author in the future.

I really loved the concept of this book! I've never read anything quite like it and the rubber ducky aspect was super unique! I just didn't feel like I could believe in their love story since it was so quick. I needed more character development or background info to be really invested in the characters/story.

Yes you read that right... he is a rubber duck! This interesting novella kept me intrigued through the whole read. I read the title of this book and just knew I had to give it a try. This kind of book was a first for me, but I loved the comedic way of writing Mia Harlan wrote this in. If you are wanting to read a lighthearted romance novella and need a break from your everyday romance novellas, give this one a try!

This book was fluffy spicy fun it's a nice change of pace very light hearted romance with fated mates and shifters

Don’t ask me why, but this was so much fun to read! Weird, quirky, spicy and heartwarming all at the same time, and Sig was such a great character!

This book quacked me up.
A very cute short read. It was quite rushed without a lot of detail, but that's to be expected for a short novella. The concept was cute and so were the characters. I was surprised there really wasn't very much spice and the children characters were present with main characters like 75% of the book.
Overall was worth the read and me and my friends got a kick out of it.

I picked this up to have a fun, quick read and it definitely met that criteria. It was unique, well-paced and entertaining.

2.5/5 stars

I’m not really a big fan of Insta love and I should’ve realized that this was going to be Insta love.

The kids were super annoying, and the writing didn’t make it feel like these characters were characters in an adult book. It felt a lot more young adult to me.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Well for ducks sake! A cute little shifter romance that made me giggle and cringe just a little bit

Rachel is caring for her besties kids while their grandmother goes on vacation-it is not going well until the hottie next door comes over to assist.

Silly, fun and pretty cute. I love a weird shifter tbh.

Thanks to netgalley and Mia books for an eARC.

This was a cute fated mates shifter book that veered away from the typical shifters. It has a cute storyline, which some “different” shifter novellas don’t have. This book is perfect if you need a quick, fun palate cleanser between deeper books.