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A review by dragonlilly
Next To You by Hannah Bonam-Young
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
This book was entertaining enough and I generally enjoyed Matt's character, and the dynamic between the twins and them learning to understand each other a little bit more. I didn't really care about the other friends except for Warren, who was a bit more interesting and talked more, possibly because he is one of the main characters in the first book in this standalone series of books. Over time however, I started enjoying Lane's character less and less, which I feel a little bad for because she has anxiety and PTSD and it is affecting her comfortability with relationships, but this became the main 'conflict' of the book and it put me off a bit.
There were other scenes I kind of wasn't convinced by as well. On the other hand, I was quite convinced by Elizabeth's reasons for marrying Philip because she did not want the same fate as her mother who suffered greatly. Lane's own difficulty with her relationship with Matt makes some sense too, but I was also confused by it, because she clearly knew they both liked one another a lot, and they really were basically dating, but I guess her aversion was to the label because a label would make the relationship more concrete. So, I guess the logic is that if the relationship is set in stone, if Matt were to die, then breaking that stone up would tear up Lane as well. I get it. But somehow, I just wasn't convinced, because they really were just a couple. I guess it has to do with more of Lane's past other than what happened to her father, but the overall conflict really annoyed me, and made me feel really badly for Matt and so I really didn't enjoy that.
A huge positive within the story is how great Matt and Lane's chemistry was - that felt extremely realistic, relatable, and made a lot of sense because they were already friends. (Their great chemistry and somewhat good understanding of one another is maybe also why I wasn't super convinced by the conflict though.)
There were other scenes I kind of wasn't convinced by as well. On the other hand, I was quite convinced by Elizabeth's reasons for marrying Philip because she did not want the same fate as her mother who suffered greatly. Lane's own difficulty with her relationship with Matt makes some sense too, but I was also confused by it, because she clearly knew they both liked one another a lot, and they really were basically dating, but I guess her aversion was to the label because a label would make the relationship more concrete. So, I guess the logic is that if the relationship is set in stone, if Matt were to die, then breaking that stone up would tear up Lane as well. I get it. But somehow, I just wasn't convinced, because they really were just a couple. I guess it has to do with more of Lane's past other than what happened to her father, but the overall conflict really annoyed me, and made me feel really badly for Matt and so I really didn't enjoy that.
A huge positive within the story is how great Matt and Lane's chemistry was - that felt extremely realistic, relatable, and made a lot of sense because they were already friends. (Their great chemistry and somewhat good understanding of one another is maybe also why I wasn't super convinced by the conflict though.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent