Reviews

Next to You by Hannah Bonam-Young

Only show reviews with written explanations

torifaye's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Bonam-Young grabs my attention at the start of all their books and this was no exception!

suse_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Incredible. I practically inhaled this book within two days and loved it so much I even sat through the half time/not quite third act breakup. Lane and Matt are incredibly adorable and lovable characters that are so easy to identify with in any way, shape or form. I also appreciate the author for not putting a child into the equation so I didn’t have to take a star off my rating

Content Warnings

ri_ri's review against another edition

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4.0

4 'Manamea' stars

“Fuck, I miss you. You’ve ruined me. Do it again.”

Hannah did it again with another heartfelt, exquisite, painful, inspiring and wholesome story. One of the best 'friends to lovers' book I have ever read and it also has friends with benefits trope which is not my thing but the way Hannah used both the tropes — it was perfect. You give her any trope and she can write a hell of a book from it.

“Are you flirting with me?” I ask. Or at least I think I do.
His soft, single laugh surprises me. “For over a year now. Thanks for noticing.” He kisses next to my ear.

Hannah has easily become my favourite author. I'm in love with her easy yet exquisitely writing. Her story-telling and the way she writes her soft and the complicated characters with so much efficiency is perfect. I also loved that there was bisexual representation, anxiety and PTSD representation. She portrayed grief and healing in such a realistic way and I liked how it wasn't something that happens in one day or one week. I also loved the found family trope with the friends and Matt's family and the representation of Samoan culture through Matt's family. Matt's family was the sweetest and it was so endearing to see them all together and the way they loved each other and how they accepted Lane in their family was so adorable.

➸ Lane

I absolutely loved her and I felt connected to her character and her anxiety about life, decisions and future. Lane may be a successful person who is living a better life but she's just an anxious girl who never moved on from her past. She's very impulsive and takes decisions just based on how she feels in that certain moment (that's so me lol). I loved how she was outspoken about her feelings and fears with Matt and how she can't do relationships and that she needed time to be her better version, not just for herself but for him as well. I absolutely loved her character development and how she accepted that she needed to move on from her father's death and how she can only do so if she accepts that she also deserves love and happiness in life.

“Sometimes it feels like everyone else has a script, and I’m doing improv.”

➸ Mattheus

The perfect man doesn't exists? Wrong because Matt exists. Matt is thoughful, caring, sweet, kind-hearted, selfless, a bit grumpy, protective, patience and just... perfect. He's such a cinnamon roll with a hopeless romantic heart and would do anything in his power to make you feel comfortable. He reads, he loves classics, he recommends you books, he watched Lane's recommended movies and even reviewed them, he wrote fifty seven letters when he's apart from the girl he loved, he gifted Lane a worrying doll made by his own hands because he knew she was a very anxious person, he takes her to meet his family and treats her like his family, he's everything we want from a real man but real men are a disappointment. And he calls her 'Manamea'

grifsgirl's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

rachelshubin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

3.5 stars rounded up. I found Next to You to be more relatable than Next of Kin! It’s hard to beat friends to lovers, and Lane & Matt’s story was very well done. Lane suffered from agoraphobia, PTSD, anxiety and depression, and it was handled with the utmost care and respect. Matt was the definition of “in a world of boys he’s a gentleman.”

Why wasn’t it a full 4 star read? Again, the not really dating to full blown end game love was just too rushed for me! I think a lot more work and communication needed to be done to be successful for a healthy relationship. However, I still really enjoyed the story and am excited to continue reading HBY.