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caitlaird's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? No
3.0
A fun and sweet romance. We love a DEVOTED man (it’s the only way they should be). Chloe is such a kind character, I love that she sticks up for herself. Her relationship with Warren’s brother, Luke, is so sweet. Warren is a bit of a dreamboat, if not way too unrealistic for being so in love, but we do love to read it. This book really takes some license with CPS and the foster care system but it sure is a fun idea.
A bit of cutesy / millennial humor and writing, but for the contemporary romance books of today it wasn’t too cheesy, I personally do not enjoy that type of writing but it was rather sparse so It wasn’t too distracting. (I know that is some people’s cup of tea, so all love <3 but I will usually DNF if it’s too bad).
A bit of cutesy / millennial humor and writing, but for the contemporary romance books of today it wasn’t too cheesy, I personally do not enjoy that type of writing but it was rather sparse so It wasn’t too distracting. (I know that is some people’s cup of tea, so all love <3 but I will usually DNF if it’s too bad).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Abandonment, and Drug abuse
kaitrates's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
One of my toxic traits is that if couples in books say ILU too soon (according to me lol) or have sex too quickly, I tend to lose interest. I LIVE for the buildup, the interrupted make-out (or more) sessions, the cooling off and trying to rationalise why they shouldn't be together.
And while there are exceptions to this—books like The Rose by Tiffany Reisz feature sex early on followed by so many ups and downs—a lack of tension and/or insta-love tends to severely reduce my enjoyment of a book.
All this is to say, that for the first 60% of Next of Kin I was INVESTED! I couldn't put the book down! There was so much tension between our lead Chloe and Warren and the stakes were SO high—they had to figure their shit out for their siblings' sakes! They were thrust into this uncomfortable ass situation and needed to make the best of it while also managing their growing attraction for one another. I was convinced this would be a new favourite book and 5+ star read.
Then,they said I love you and I lost my interest.
Really, though, I think its because Warren's way of keeping his distance was to be a cocky asshole. And though we, alongside Chloe, see hints of more depth and love, he's not really given a chance to grow on page. And while I understand how, based on their backstory, their relationship and love make sense, I didn't enjoy quickness with which they were in love and happy. Especially with both of them having such heavy trauma histories.
Like I said: toxic trait. lol
The pacing of the last 40%, particularly the romance aspect of it, felt both rushed and surface level. This is a deliciously deep book! It tackles the foster and adoption systems as well as ableism in families and the world. I wanted their romance to have that same depth and to just feel like trauma bonding. Similarly, the way the final conflict gets sorted out felt rushed—although I think Bonam-Young did a great job capturing the panic and urgency that comes with such a situation. Just left me with a sense of like "wait that's it? you guys are good again?!"
On the plus side, and unlike Out on a Limb I really enjoyed both epilogues. Getting Warren's POV in the bonus one was such a fun surprise!
I'm still a huge fan of Bonam-Young and excited to read Next to You, own and reread OOAL, and continue to read whatever she puts out. I also think this will absolutely work for others who don't share my toxic trait as it does have a lot of depth and heart.
And while there are exceptions to this—books like The Rose by Tiffany Reisz feature sex early on followed by so many ups and downs—a lack of tension and/or insta-love tends to severely reduce my enjoyment of a book.
All this is to say, that for the first 60% of Next of Kin I was INVESTED! I couldn't put the book down! There was so much tension between our lead Chloe and Warren and the stakes were SO high—they had to figure their shit out for their siblings' sakes! They were thrust into this uncomfortable ass situation and needed to make the best of it while also managing their growing attraction for one another. I was convinced this would be a new favourite book and 5+ star read.
Then,
Really, though, I think its because Warren's way of keeping his distance was to be a cocky asshole. And though we, alongside Chloe, see hints of more depth and love, he's not really given a chance to grow on page. And while I understand how, based on their backstory, their relationship and love make sense, I didn't enjoy quickness with which they were in love and happy. Especially with both of them having such heavy trauma histories.
Like I said: toxic trait. lol
The pacing of the last 40%, particularly the romance aspect of it, felt both rushed and surface level. This is a deliciously deep book! It tackles the foster and adoption systems as well as ableism in families and the world. I wanted their romance to have that same depth and to just feel like trauma bonding. Similarly, the way the final conflict gets sorted out felt rushed—although I think Bonam-Young did a great job capturing the panic and urgency that comes with such a situation. Just left me with a sense of like "wait that's it? you guys are good again?!"
On the plus side, and unlike Out on a Limb I really enjoyed both epilogues. Getting Warren's POV in the bonus one was such a fun surprise!
I'm still a huge fan of Bonam-Young and excited to read Next to You, own and reread OOAL, and continue to read whatever she puts out. I also think this will absolutely work for others who don't share my toxic trait as it does have a lot of depth and heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse and Drug abuse
felishacb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
I loved the found family aspect of this romance, including the fact that they talk about foster care. There is also deaf representation, and they practice trauma informed responses.
This is described as a slow burn, but I think they get together after three months? I say this as the same person who was disappointed it took 70% to get to the open door scene. So. I contain multitudes.
This is described as a slow burn, but I think they get together after three months? I say this as the same person who was disappointed it took 70% to get to the open door scene. So. I contain multitudes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Drug use and Pregnancy
knittingceliac's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.25
I loved this! A different premise for a romance than I’m used to and the secondary plot rivaled the romantic plot. Only thing that made it not quite 5 stars for me was the pacing, I worried in the middle we had already passed the biggest plot points (it hadn’t).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent, Addiction, Child abuse, and Drug use
sdupont's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-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
4.5
I can’t believe I waited this long to read this book! The hype is accurate, you need to this read this one. Hannah’s writing is so cozy and sweet, like being wrapped in a hug. I loved Chloe and Warren. Once they get past their initial discomfort they quickly become very supportive of each other. Despite his grumpy start, Warren really is a sappy sucker. While their romance does swing to the instalove side the found family vibes make it more believable (and tolerable). Honorable mention to Luke. I think having a teen in the home helped drive the story in some ways. Fans of Chloe Liese will enjoy this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Drug abuse
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
kiskindle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
chloe is randomly contacted by social services one day and finds out her birth mother, a recovering alcoholic, has suddenly given birth to a precious baby girl. in order for willow to not end up in foster care, chloe agrees to take custody of the baby to help give her a better life than she received herself. in order to get accepted, chloe is advised to participate in a pair up program which pairs her up with warren, a mechanic trying to get custody of his teenage brother.
this book is SO cute and honestly felt super refreshing to read. the dynamics between all of the characters were adorable and felt very real and natural and it wasn’t rushed. warren and chloe truly focused on willow and luke above everything else and their love was definitely a side effect of them being parents. i loved warren truly caring for willow and chloe truly caring for luke, they were a package rather than individuals which is super important in found family dynamics.
- roommates
- friends to lovers
- single pov
- deaf representation
- single parents
- mild spice 🌶️
- found family
- cute friendships
- great cover!!
also them creating their own last name at the end based on his nickname for her is so fucking cute 🥺
this book is SO cute and honestly felt super refreshing to read. the dynamics between all of the characters were adorable and felt very real and natural and it wasn’t rushed. warren and chloe truly focused on willow and luke above everything else and their love was definitely a side effect of them being parents. i loved warren truly caring for willow and chloe truly caring for luke, they were a package rather than individuals which is super important in found family dynamics.
- roommates
- friends to lovers
- single pov
- deaf representation
- single parents
- mild spice 🌶️
- found family
- cute friendships
- great cover!!
also them creating their own last name at the end based on his nickname for her is so fucking cute 🥺
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism and Drug abuse
takarakei's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I appreciated the premise, the found family, foster families, difficult past with parents etc. I don’t know a ton about child services, but the premise of two random people being paired together seemed a tad far fetched. And unfortunately the romance was lacking to me. I didn’t think there was quite enough build up or tension - yeah it’s forced proximity, but I felt the romance came out of nowhere. I actually think this book could’ve been longer (since I listened to this in basically one sitting). All of a sudden they were saying I love you without even having gone on a date or slept together?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Drug abuse and Addiction
Minor: Domestic violencedianaschmidty's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was really cute! I loved the relationship between Chloe and Warren, which felt really realistic. Maybe it was just the situations that they were in, but they really felt more grown up than many main characters I’ve read before. I thought they had great tension and it was really well paced!
I also really liked the overall plot. I thought that the fostering storyline was both unique and super well done. It was an interesting twist on the usual single parent story and I really enjoyed it! I also think the mentions of addiction and the downsides of adoption were handled very well, which I really appreciated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, and Toxic relationship
hjb_128's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Addiction, Abandonment, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
clareasday's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content