Next to You

The Next Series, Book 2

By: Hannah Bonam-Young

Narrated by: Jenn Lee

Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Two friends (who are totally not in love) work together to renovate a school bus into a home.

Lane is in the middle of an identity crisis. Her friends are all partnered up, her career is leading nowhere, and simply put, she's not happy. So after a night out celebrating (drinking) on her birthday, she makes one hell of an impulsive purchase. A giant yellow forty-eight passenger school bus that she intends to make a home.

With little-to-no renovation experience but a large sum of inheritance money, Lane enlists the help of her friend Matt—a mechanic by trade, handyman by practice, and hottie by nature.

While their mutual attraction is undeniable, Matt and Lane have silently agreed that a friendship is the only thing that can ever exist between them. Matt's a total family guy with "settle down with me" tattooed across his forehead, whereas Lane is entirely commitment-averse.

So when Matt offers to help her with the bus and in the bedroom with no strings attached, Lane's feelings evolve faster than you can say "just good friends." But she soon discovers that in order to build something new, she has to first heal her past.

©2022 Hannah Bonam-Young (P)2023 Tantor

Couldn’t love it more

Loved every second of this book, and fell in love with a the characters. Best book I read this year

Best Romance Ever

I truly believe this just became my favorite romance novel. I absolutely love Lane & Matt & their messy, human story, Matt. Matt is just absolute magic.

Laughing, crying and laughing again

This story was packed with all the feelings. I found myself laughing and crying too many time! My sweet matt 💕

Love. Love! LOVE!

Matt & Lane are so dang adorable and fired hot 🔥 🥵 Their chemistry from the beginning is undeniable. As individual characters they are so raw, vulnerable, and real. I will be immediately listening to this again.

Cute

Next to You is the second book in the next series. It’s a friends to lovers book, which generally doesn’t work for me. After a New Year’s Eve kiss, Lane put Matt in the friend’s zone. Matt later helped Lane fix up a bus for Lane to live in (van life). Lane needed a lot of self-help work and Matt was an ultimate cinnamon roll hero, and loved her no matter what. Lane was the one who groveled, which worked. It was a beautiful story.

What a lovely story!

Matt and Lane meet on New Year's Eve, and, after a shared kiss at midnight, Lane retreats and back to friends they are for more than a year. Things chance when, on her 27th birthday, she buys a bus and decides to renovate it into a home. Enter Matt, who is a mechanic and the one with the appropriate license to drive it back home. One road trip together and they're ready to face what their friends have even been betting on: they belong together. But Lane has commitment issues resulting from grief and PTSD over her father's death and she doesn't know what to do about all the feelings for Matt that are inundating her soul. But Matt's been nothing but patient and waiting for "the right moment" and he'll do anything to keep her.

OMG, who's Matt and where can get one?? He's the sweetest hero ever! I loved the scenes with his quirky family and how they interact. You understand how he is the wonderful ma he's become. The romance between Matt and Lane is sweet, cozy and spicy. His quiet devotion for her is swoon worthy. Lane has a lot of healing to do and your heart breaks in the (in this case) inevitable third act conflict. However, the way they get together again will have you squealing. 

The representation in this book is absolutely amazing without being preachy. I must confess I didn't see the reason for the extra added hardship in the epilogue, though. It was perfect as it was.  What a cozy, lovely romance!

Narration: Jenn Lee is new to me and she does a great job! I'll be looking for more of her work. 

absolute perfection!!!!!

this was my second time rereading next to you but first time on audio and I enjoyed it sm! the narration was beautiful! matt and lane forever <3

Modern romance with Cassian/Nesta vibes

Matt is ranked amongst my favorite book boyfriends. I laughed, I cried, I fanned myself

Teddy bear and anxious woman - a perfect combination

No notes! I loved the relationship the characters have with one another/built. I love this author!