Next of Kin

A Foster Guardian's Romance (Next Series, Book 1)

By: Hannah Bonam-Young

Narrated by: Penelope Ann Rose

When people-pleasing Chloe learns that her birth mother has unexpectedly had another baby, she doesn't hesitate to become a next-of-kin guardian. But when she fails to pass Child Protective Services' financial evaluation, she is faced with a choice: see her baby sister placed in foster care or participate in CPS' new initiative, TeamUp.

Enter Warren, a surly mechanic's apprentice attempting to get custody of his deaf fifteen-year-old brother after failing CPS' housing evaluation. The two strangers immediately clash but agree to live together until Warren can find housing elsewhere and Chloe can further grow her freelance career.

As their lives intertwine, Chloe and Warren both realize that they're far more similar than they could have imagined. What started as forced begins to feel natural—and far less lonely. Chemistry soon intensifies beyond what either of them can stand, but they must each decide if what burns between them is worth risking their arrangement.

With banter, heart, and steam that will have the listener blushing, Next of Kin is a true underdog story of two young adults redefining what family can look like.

©2022 Hannah Bonam-Young (P)2023 Tantor

Easy Quick Read

A touch cheesy but a good palate cleanser! Didn’t get spicy until the end so she definitely made you wait for it but once it got there it was worth the build up.

Cute and Emotional

I went into Next of Kin by Hannah Bonam-Young expecting an emotional, found-family romance, and while it definitely had some sweet moments, it didn’t fully work for me overall — so this ended up being a solid 3 stars.

The strongest part of this book was easily the heart behind the story. Chloe and Warren stepping up to care for their younger siblings created such an emotional foundation, and I really appreciated how much the book focused on healing, responsibility, and redefining what family looks like. Warren especially had some incredibly tender moments that made me soften toward him pretty quickly.

I also liked the forced proximity setup and the way the characters slowly learned to rely on each other. There were some genuinely touching scenes, and you can tell Hannah Bonam-Young writes with a lot of care and compassion for her characters. The representation and inclusion throughout the story were also handled thoughtfully.

That said, the romance itself felt a little underdeveloped to me. I struggled to fully connect with Chloe and Warren as a couple, and the pacing dragged in several places. The emotional weight of the guardianship storyline sometimes overshadowed the romance, which made the chemistry feel inconsistent. I kept waiting for that moment where I became completely invested in them together, but it never fully happened for me.

Overall, this was a heartfelt and comforting read with strong found-family themes, but I wanted more depth in the romance and a tighter pace. If you love emotionally driven contemporary romances with messy but lovable characters, this one will probably still work really well for you.

Stress free and sweet

Has some sexy bits but it’s not the focus. It’s a good story with no loose ends and a happy ending.

Excellent debut novel

NEXT OF KIN
● Chloe (24) & Warren (23)
● recent graduate - graphic designer / mechanic
● both are trying to do a sibling guardianship
● ‘Team Up’, program to help those who want to adopt but can’t due to income, housing, etc.
● C & W end up being roommates
● Warren is trying to get custody of his 15-year-old deaf brother, Luke
● Chloe is trying to get custody of her newborn sister, Willow

Debut novel

Amazing sweet and spicy

Story
Starts out with the female lead grocery shopping to get a call her drugy mother gave birth to a baby. Cps is giving her an option to take baby or let the state take them.
Cps interview shows she does not make enough money so putting her in a program she meets another in her situation. The male lead is trying to get his brother but much older child. They bother have a rough start to living together. After some time. They learn to become friends. With there past family troubles. They both have a lot to learn about family.

My review
I love this story. The female lead is so funny and out of the box. She meets the male lead and wow is he a jerk. But she has an interesting way of dealing with it. They both have there past traumas and they kinda play off of each other. The male lead starts out rough but when he warms up. It makes you feel more connected to him and his story. This story is well done and keeps you hooked. Little bit of a slow burn but added well into the story. Spicy bits are great, drama is amazing, edge of your seat story that will keep you up late finishing the book in one go.

Reader did a wonderful job. Was able to pull the emotions out of the story and make you feel along with the characters.

My first book from author and I hope this awesomeness keeps up. I highly recommend this book.