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ciaran_t_96's review
4.0
I've never really read a book quite like this in layout and style. I love the theme and characters, the story like us interesting and honestly I didn't want to put it down.
I think I would have enjoyed it more of there were more of the chapters based on the 'current lives' of the main characters but the focus seemed to be in the last which didn't really lead up to their present lives but more to the end of the book.
Lauren James took an interesting concept and added a bit of science fiction and history to it to come up with this interesting story. However as much as I enjoyed reading about the fictional events of Matthew and Katherine I think the story ended a bit abruptly and randomly...which makes me believe it was to lead into the next book where the story would get resolved.
I think I would have enjoyed it more of there were more of the chapters based on the 'current lives' of the main characters but the focus seemed to be in the last which didn't really lead up to their present lives but more to the end of the book.
Lauren James took an interesting concept and added a bit of science fiction and history to it to come up with this interesting story. However as much as I enjoyed reading about the fictional events of Matthew and Katherine I think the story ended a bit abruptly and randomly...which makes me believe it was to lead into the next book where the story would get resolved.
sallashelves's review
3.0
Speed-readers beware! This should be read slowly, and sometimes a bit too slowly, to get the full experience.
Read full review here:
http://bookstoldmeso.blogspot.fi/2016/06/review-next-together.html
Read full review here:
http://bookstoldmeso.blogspot.fi/2016/06/review-next-together.html
melanie_books's review
3.0
When Kate gets a new lab partner, a shy student named Matt, she feels like she's met him before. While internet stalking him, like any good university student would in 2039, she discovers Matthew Galloway, this one in 2019. Not only does he look just like her Matt, but he has a wife, named Katherine, who looks just like her! In 1745, a grieving Katherine moves in with her aunt after her grandmother passes away and befriends Matthew, the stable boy. A century later, Katy, masquerading as "Kit", goes to work for Mr. Galloway, a young war correspondent, heading to Crimea.
This was a unique story with a bittersweet ending. I liked how all the "Katherine & Matthew" stories played out in ways that were very different but with similar themes or jokes in each of them. The "status reports" throughout the book give the reader some sort of idea of what was happening but it's not until the end that you figure out why things were happening the way they did. I liked that each of the iterations of the couple came to a realization that they had known and loved each other before - that element made the story just that much sweeter and just that much more tragic.
This was a unique story with a bittersweet ending. I liked how all the "Katherine & Matthew" stories played out in ways that were very different but with similar themes or jokes in each of them. The "status reports" throughout the book give the reader some sort of idea of what was happening but it's not until the end that you figure out why things were happening the way they did. I liked that each of the iterations of the couple came to a realization that they had known and loved each other before - that element made the story just that much sweeter and just that much more tragic.
ameyawarde's review
5.0
I SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO WRITE REVIEWS LITERALLY THE SAME MINUTE I FINISH A BOOK, BUT OMG. I just yelled spoilery nonsense at my roommate because he was unfortunate enough to be sitting next to me as I finished it and OH I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING AT ALL AND THAT RARELY HAPPENS AND OMG THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS AND I DEMAND #2 NOW OKAY THANK YOU LAUREN JAMES!
*FLAILS*
I guess this book is sci-fi, but it's not until the end that you *really* know it's sci-fi over fantasy, so I'll put it on both shelves.
I started this book a few days ago, but didn't get more than a few pages in until today, and the things that wouldn't let me put it down today were the > messages, and I HAD TO FIGURE THEM OUT.. and they did not disappoint. It left more questions than it answered, but in the most delicious way.
Well, sorta, if book #2 wasn't a full year away. ;______;
Why do I keep reading new books and incomplete series? WHYYY? I'M A MASOCHIST. D:
(Other thoughts: I didn't find K as witty as she thought herself at all, but I also loved the snippets of their FB & other online messages, and the (MYSTERIOUS OMG WAT) wiki at the end, and also now i have to go read up on a bunch of history because I'm not sure which is real and which is alternative universe stuff anymore!)
*FLAILS*
I guess this book is sci-fi, but it's not until the end that you *really* know it's sci-fi over fantasy, so I'll put it on both shelves.
I started this book a few days ago, but didn't get more than a few pages in until today, and the things that wouldn't let me put it down today were the > messages, and I HAD TO FIGURE THEM OUT.. and they did not disappoint. It left more questions than it answered, but in the most delicious way.
Well, sorta, if book #2 wasn't a full year away. ;______;
Why do I keep reading new books and incomplete series? WHYYY? I'M A MASOCHIST. D:
(Other thoughts: I didn't find K as witty as she thought herself at all, but I also loved the snippets of their FB & other online messages, and the (MYSTERIOUS OMG WAT) wiki at the end, and also now i have to go read up on a bunch of history because I'm not sure which is real and which is alternative universe stuff anymore!)
mk_pagano's review
1.0
DNFed after 1 chapter. It's just not particularly well-written and I can't get past that. Too bad since the concept does sound interesting.
mischief_in_the_library's review
3.0
Great story that had one major flaw - we never find out BUT WHY??
badindiegamer's review
5.0
WHAT IS THIS ENDING
I just want to state this is the first book I've read this year and I WAS planning on going to sleep, but after that last chapter? No way. I'm hooked. I need more. Onto the next one!
I just want to state this is the first book I've read this year and I WAS planning on going to sleep, but after that last chapter? No way. I'm hooked. I need more. Onto the next one!
pewterwolf's review
5.0
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf
Katherine and Matthew are meant to be together. They're destined to be together. They are born again and again to find each other, only to be separated tragically. Whether that is in the siege of Carlisle in 1745, the Crimean War in 1854 or the near future of 2019 and 2039, they will always find each other.
But why? Why do they keep coming back? What must they achieve in each life before they can live and love in peace? And will their next together be any different?
Where the heck do I start?
I really love this book. This is going to be one of my fave reads of this year, that's how much I love this book.
I found Lauren's writing engrossing, as I did the story. Well... stories. We do have 4 timelines to read. It was the timelines I found fascinating. How will Lauren make each timeline different from each other but keep they interlinked and without the reading getting confused? But Lauren made each timeline very unique and I never felt confused or had to go back to the start so I knew what timeline I was reading. Each was very different in tone and style. Each Katherine and Matthew was different in each timeline and, because of this, their romantic together was very different. I wasn't reading the same couple over and over again. Each was new and different, and yet important to the next.
This book has been billed by some reviewers/bloggers/vloggers as a romance. While I agree it does have romance in it, I wouldn't say the book is a romantic book. There is a mix of genres in here, which should fit most readers. There are elements of historical fiction, dystopian, time-travel/alternative universes, corrupt governments and biological warfare. It's romance-meets-science-fiction-meets-history. A mix bag and one that works really well.
There might be one or two things that might bother you when reading this, which happen quite close to the end of the book, but with a sequel on the horizon (The Last Beginning), I sense these will be address there.
I could go on. I could gush about this book for quite a while, but The Next Together is a solid debut and an addictive read! I await the sequel on baited breath...
Katherine and Matthew are meant to be together. They're destined to be together. They are born again and again to find each other, only to be separated tragically. Whether that is in the siege of Carlisle in 1745, the Crimean War in 1854 or the near future of 2019 and 2039, they will always find each other.
But why? Why do they keep coming back? What must they achieve in each life before they can live and love in peace? And will their next together be any different?
Where the heck do I start?
I really love this book. This is going to be one of my fave reads of this year, that's how much I love this book.
I found Lauren's writing engrossing, as I did the story. Well... stories. We do have 4 timelines to read. It was the timelines I found fascinating. How will Lauren make each timeline different from each other but keep they interlinked and without the reading getting confused? But Lauren made each timeline very unique and I never felt confused or had to go back to the start so I knew what timeline I was reading. Each was very different in tone and style. Each Katherine and Matthew was different in each timeline and, because of this, their romantic together was very different. I wasn't reading the same couple over and over again. Each was new and different, and yet important to the next.
This book has been billed by some reviewers/bloggers/vloggers as a romance. While I agree it does have romance in it, I wouldn't say the book is a romantic book. There is a mix of genres in here, which should fit most readers. There are elements of historical fiction, dystopian, time-travel/alternative universes, corrupt governments and biological warfare. It's romance-meets-science-fiction-meets-history. A mix bag and one that works really well.
There might be one or two things that might bother you when reading this, which happen quite close to the end of the book, but with a sequel on the horizon (The Last Beginning), I sense these will be address there.
I could go on. I could gush about this book for quite a while, but The Next Together is a solid debut and an addictive read! I await the sequel on baited breath...
evergreenreader's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0