Short and Sweet:

I really enjoyed this time-bendy romance, perfect for fans of Doctor Who and Outlander!

To Elaborate…

Katherine and Matthew have been in love for several lifetimes. They meet in different circumstances, communicate through various mediums, and they always seem to be near danger. They rarely get time together before they are wrenched apart. What keeps causing their return to each other, and will they ever have a long life ahead of them?

There are many time-crossed lovers in the YA world, but The Next Together does an incredible job of giving an original spin on it. The story follows 3 timelines with glimpses of a 4th, and the author does a great job of making each timeline distinct and clearly labeled. I love how the reader gets a mixture of historical and futuristic settings.

Katherine and Matthew have hilarious, sweet, and sexy personalities. Their banter in every timeline is so great, and it’s easy to root for them. They remind me of a mixture between Amy and Rory from Doctor Who and Claire and Jamie from Outlander (both couples I love). In each timeline, the two characters are never quite the same version of themselves since they are in different circumstances (ex. in one timeline, Katherine lived in poverty and was malnourished; in another, she is raised with some money and Matthew is her servant). It’s great seeing what parts of a person might last in every scenario and what parts truly are dependent on the environment.

The only part that left me wanting more is the ending. It does give an answer to everything, but it feels rushed and lacking information. There are some nice twists, but it still feels like more is left to be said and explained.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this for fans of high emotion relationships, twisty time bending, and solid dialogue.

Originally posted at The Forest of Words and Pages: http://www.forestofwordsandpages.com/2015/09/blog-tour-the-next-together-by-lauren-james/