Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Next of Kin

The premise of Next of Kin tugged at my heartstrings with Willow and Luke 🥹 it was such a unique concept and I enjoyed the family dynamics here. I loved Chloe. She was funny and loving. How she stepped up to take care of Willow was incredibly admirable. I wasn't a super fan of Warren especially with the way he acted towards the end and though the pacing was a bit off, I really enjoyed Hannah's writing in this book.

Read if you like:
🕊️forced proximity
🔧found family
🕊️foster/guardian romance
🔧grumpy x sunshine
🕊️disability rep

Content Warnings

felishacb's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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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

hjb_128's review against another edition

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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

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

Such a good romance. Having a hot, tough guy take care of a baby and do housework, really is the sexiest thing ever! I love their story of found family!

Content Warnings

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Chloe’s life takes an unexpected turn when she tries to get custody of her newborn sister. In order to gain custody, she has to team up with another young foster parent, Warren, who has fought to gain custody of his teen brother.

This was a sweet and cute contemporary romance. This book deals with some very serious topics (foster care, anger issues, adoption, abandonment, and neglect), but it doesn't feel heavy. I think each topic was tackled with respect and understanding.

I really loved the progression of each of these characters and their relationship. Both had a similar beginning, but Chloe was adopted, whereas Warren ended up in the system. Though they both see pretty content to keep distance between them, but the trauma of their past and the reality of their current situation draws them together. They very quickly form an emotional bond as they begin to lean on and depend on each other. As that emotional bond and trust grows, it turns into deep feelings for one another.

I really liked them together. Some parts of the book were pretty cheesy (that song...), but they balanced and complimented each other well. I loved how quickly and deeply they formed a bond with each other's siblings and were always there to fight for and support them.

I liked that they discussed that Warren was dealing with his anger issues, but I wish more time had been spent on addressing it after his blow up. It seemed to be just brushed under the rug.

Tropes: forced proximity, found family, sibling guardianship, slow burn, grumpy/sunshine

Content Warnings

andeng's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring tense 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

4.75

Content Warnings

headinthepages's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

3.0

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