Le Bruit d'à Côté: Those We Hear Without Seeing
They already shared a wall, a few noises and a set of habits. All it took was a cat crossing the balcony for their lives to start answering each other.
Sometimes we think we meet people when they enter our lives.
Some of them were already there, behind a wall, inside a sound that had become familiar.
Paperback and hardcover editions are available on Amazon France. The French e-book is free in PDF, EPUB and online reading formats.
Book information
Available formats
- PDF e-book, free
- EPUB e-book, free
- Online reading, free
- Paperback, 434 pages, available on Amazon
- Hardcover, 434 pages, available on Amazon
Back-cover blurb
Aurèl lives alone in a studio apartment where everything has found its place: his notebooks, his guitar, his rabbit Demitrius, his cat Eugène, his neatly arranged silences and the illustration commissions he still needs to finish.
On the other side of the wall, there is Liora.
He does not know her yet, but he already hears her life: her quick steps, her lively voice, her late returns, family conversations, objects set down a little too loudly. A noise from next door that has become familiar. Almost reassuring.
Then Eugène, an obese cat, questionable diplomat and balcony criminal, decides to cross the border between the two apartments.
From that moment on, the walls are not quite enough anymore.
Between an illustrator who prefers to observe the world from a distance and an athlete who runs as if waiting were a mistake, something begins to settle in. Not suddenly. Not simply. Through small intrusions, shared silences, drawings that feel too personal, music heard without being listened to, and a new way of staying beside someone without forcing them to move faster.
When you have to learn how to be seen, how to set a boundary, how to slow down without running away, love becomes less of an obvious answer and more of a rhythm to find.
A gentle, funny and sensitive contemporary romance about the people we hear before we meet them, the spaces we inhabit, and the presences that make calm feel wider instead of breaking it.
Short description
Aurèl likes calm, notebooks, controlled spaces and closed doors. Liora lives on the other side of the wall, talks fast, runs the 800 meters and takes up more room than expected in other people’s silence.
They could have remained two anonymous neighbors. Then Eugène, Aurèl’s cat, crosses the balcony.
Sometimes a story begins like that: with a sound you thought you knew, a feline intrusion, and someone you had already been hearing without really listening.
Long description
Aurèl is a freelance illustrator. He works from home, lives with a cat named Eugène and a rabbit named Demitrius, saves his files far too often, plays guitar when there is too much noise in his head, and keeps his world at a size he knows how to handle.
Liora, his neighbor, seems to be the opposite: fast, alive, direct, athletic, always caught between training, classes, work and a family that loves her, sometimes by worrying too loudly.
At first, they know each other through a wall. Footsteps. Voices. Habits. A presence on the other side.
Then Eugène invites himself into the neighbors’ apartment through the balcony, and Aurèl’s comfortable anonymity gently falls apart.
Le Bruit d'à Côté is a slow-burn contemporary romance about two people who do not move at the same pace. Aurèl learns that being quiet does not mean being absent. Liora discovers that slowing down does not necessarily mean losing. Between them, everything is built through details: a cup set down, a drawing seen differently, an unfinished melody, a training session watched from ugly bleachers, a conversation on a balcony, a hand that stays.
A novel for readers who enjoy love stories that take their time, imperfect yet deeply endearing characters, everyday humor, animals who take up far too much space, and romances where the real thrill sometimes comes from a single sentence said at exactly the right moment.
Genre
Contemporary romance, slow burn, neighbors to lovers, with an intimate feel-good touch and writing that stays closely rooted in the small details of everyday life.
Themes
The novel explores intimacy built slowly, the fear of being seen, the difficulty of setting boundaries, the need to slow down, family, artistic creation, sport as a language of the body, the spaces we inhabit, the traces other people leave behind, and the way a presence can make a world bigger without destroying it.
About the novel
Le Bruit d'à Côté is a gentle, contemporary and deeply human love story. The novel does not rely on big dramatic effects: its strength comes from tiny gestures, dialogue that feels true, silences full of meaning, tender awkwardness and the humor of ordinary situations.
At the center of the story are Aurèl, Liora, a wall that is far too thin, a balcony that is far too accessible, a cat who is much too sure of himself, and one simple question: how do you let someone into your life without feeling as if you are losing your balance?
For readers who love slow, tender romances full of true-to-life details.
If you enjoy tender contemporary romances, stories that take their time, nuanced characters, natural dialogue, small everyday details and emotions that rise gently, Le Bruit d'à Côté is for you.
The novel will especially appeal to readers who like neighbor romances, slow burns, cozy urban atmospheres, creative characters, athletic heroines, present families and animals who make everything wonderfully more complicated.
FAQ
What is the novel about?
Le Bruit d'à Côté tells the story of Aurèl, a solitary illustrator, and Liora, his bright and athletic neighbor. They live side by side without really knowing each other, until the day Eugène, Aurèl’s cat, crosses the balcony and forces them to meet. The novel is about love, neighbors, silence, noise, personal rhythm, artistic creation, family, and the strange way some people enter our lives almost by accident.
What kind of romance is it?
It is a gentle and emotional slow-burn contemporary romance. The relationship moves slowly, through closeness, humor, conversations, quiet tension and growing trust. It is closer to an intimate, sensitive and realistic romance than to a highly dramatic or very spicy one. The main trope is neighbors to lovers, with a dynamic between a calm, inward-looking character and a lively, athletic heroine who is also learning how to slow down.
Who is the novel for?
The novel is for readers who enjoy tender contemporary romances, stories that take their time, nuanced characters, natural dialogue, small everyday details and emotions that rise gently. It will especially appeal to readers who like neighbor romances, slow burns, cozy urban atmospheres, creative characters, athletic heroines, present families and animals who make everything wonderfully more complicated.
When will the English version be available, and will it also be free?
The English translation is planned for late July or early August. The e-book version will also be free.
Read Le Bruit d'à Côté
Read Le Bruit d'à Côté for free as an e-book, or find the paperback and hardcover editions on Amazon France.