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A review by emilycait
Next to You by Hannah Bonam-Young
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
2.5
I first picked this up on audio early on into my genre romance journey and DNF'd it because I couldn't handle the way the sex scenes were written. I tried this again in the lead up to an author event that my IRL spicy book club attended.
STRENGTHS
- the writing is FUNNY; it's rare for me to actually laugh out loud while reading and this book actually made me laugh!!
- love Matt as a character (just want to give him a big hug)
- love that Lane realizes that a relationship won't "fix" her; that she needs to work on her own mental health in therapy before she can have a healthy relationship
- love the bisexual rep <3
WEAKNESSES
- I had a hard time with the sex scenes; a friend in the book club read a more recent book by HBY and after looking at some of the scenes I struggled with, said that the writing of the sex scenes has really improved since this book
- the design of this book is low plot/high character development; I personally prefer a little more plot, but if you're into cozy time with characters this might actually be a "strength" for you
OPPORTUNITIES
- given the quality of the writing, the banter, the humour, the great characters, (and the testimony of a book club member who vouches for the sex scene writing improving), I am excited to see how HBY develops as a writer
- these cozy slice of life, all character no big stakes kinds of stories have their time and place and I'm looking forward to turning to an HBY book when that mood strikes
Overall, I'm glad I decided to give Next to You a second chance. I'm glad I picked it up in paperback this time, rather than on audio. (I'm wondering if part of the enjoyment and finding the humour this time around was reading it with my eyes and being able to really pause and revel in the writing.) I am interested in picking up another HBY book, one published more recently, to see that growth in her writing that by book club friend mentioned.
STRENGTHS
- the writing is FUNNY; it's rare for me to actually laugh out loud while reading and this book actually made me laugh!!
- love Matt as a character (just want to give him a big hug)
- love that Lane realizes that a relationship won't "fix" her; that she needs to work on her own mental health in therapy before she can have a healthy relationship
- love the bisexual rep <3
WEAKNESSES
- I had a hard time with the sex scenes; a friend in the book club read a more recent book by HBY and after looking at some of the scenes I struggled with, said that the writing of the sex scenes has really improved since this book
- the design of this book is low plot/high character development; I personally prefer a little more plot, but if you're into cozy time with characters this might actually be a "strength" for you
OPPORTUNITIES
- given the quality of the writing, the banter, the humour, the great characters, (and the testimony of a book club member who vouches for the sex scene writing improving), I am excited to see how HBY develops as a writer
- these cozy slice of life, all character no big stakes kinds of stories have their time and place and I'm looking forward to turning to an HBY book when that mood strikes
Overall, I'm glad I decided to give Next to You a second chance. I'm glad I picked it up in paperback this time, rather than on audio. (I'm wondering if part of the enjoyment and finding the humour this time around was reading it with my eyes and being able to really pause and revel in the writing.) I am interested in picking up another HBY book, one published more recently, to see that growth in her writing that by book club friend mentioned.