The Next Together by Lauren James

The Next Together
Written by Lauren James
Contemporary, Time Travel
Expected Publication November 1st 2015
356 Pages
Thank you to Walker Books Australia
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★★★
How many times can you lose the person you love?

Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated.

Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace?

Maybe the next together will be different...
Kate and Mathew share a love than spans beyond the realm of a lifetime, with each circumstance ending in the same outcome. Death.

It's 1854 and orphan Kate has been living as alter ego in young boy Kit for the past two years, her only means of survival which is predominantly a man's world. Being the house servant of a wealthy general, Kit has able to teach herself to read and write and now being sent on a mission to the front line of the Crimean War to work for a man reporting on the war effort. Matthew works for the Times, in an effort to depict the brutality of war and not just the minor victories. Posing as a young boy, there the two meet under the toughest of conditions only to still find solace in one another.

Kate was a young lady in waiting, born to English nobility at a time when England faced invasion and a rebellion uprising was gaining momentum. The year is 1745 And the town of Carlisle is on the verge of surrender when Kate meets lowly coach driver Mathew. A scandal if the two are discovered consorting, Kate and Matthew discover a tentative friendship while on the brink of invasion.

Forward to the year 2039 and both Kate And Matt find themselves at the University of Nottingham, chasing careers within the science field. Drawn to one another for some inexplicable reason, it isn't long until the two discover their namesakes, the latest known recorded pair recorded being married the couple Katherine and Matthew, who were tragically killed under the accusation of biological terrorism. But it's more than just similarities they share with their namesakes but a rich history of war, lineage and a romance that will span several lifetimes, each tragically ending in much the same way. To prevent history from again repeating itself, they must investigate the circumstances in which married Katherine and Matthew were killed in the year 2019 and clear their names to stand any chance of living in the now.

kelly's thoughts

The Next Together was a clever contemporary blending time travel and science fiction to create what is ultimately a romance across the ages. Told through a series of perspectives, it ultimately follows the story of Katherine and Matthew, two entities destined to navigate towards one another no matter what era they share. It's the year 2039 and Matthew has just strolled into Kate's science class at the University of Nottingham and instantly find themselves attracted to one another. Kate feels a sense of déjà vu and searches online to see where she may have seen Matthew before. But Kate finds more than she bargained for when not only Matthew's but her own namesake reveals a slain couple who are accused of terrorism by the very scientific laboratory in which they both worked. We only see snippets of their relationship through journal entries and notes between the married couple, Katherine is fun loving and jovial and the straight laced Matthew loved her deeply.

That's where I found myself starting to feel overwhelmed. It wasn't the flashbacks of a past era, but how Matthew, Katherine and their doppelgänger selves were connected. Those around them seemed to be aware of the phenomena but Kate and Matthew only experienced dreamlike flashbacks to eras neither could make sense of. I never really felt a sense of who Kate or Matthew was in any timeline and as much as I loved both 1746 and 1854 versions of themselves, it only complicated the storyline further. From what I gathered, each Katherine and Matthew live within the same era with one or both to die only to be reborn or appear in the next lifetime together. Aspects of the storyline seem to suggest that Kate and Matthew's multiple lives are one in the same, but as one dies another can take his or her place. In one scene when 2039 Kate is confronting her grandmother about her namesake, I was also under the understanding that 2019 Katherine was a close relative simply by how the circumstances were briefly explained. Confused? Me too.

I loved the whirlwind romance of 1745 in a time of war and invasion. A forbidden and tentative romance between the society elite in Kathrine and her stagecoach driver in Matthew. It was the the only relationship between the two that appealed to me and allowed me to invest in both characters. The Kate and Matt of 2039 felt as though they had very little connection and were sexually swept away with the thrill and unease of their investigation into clearing their namesakes of 2019. I just couldn't invest in their plight, not because of the whimsy and far fetched nature of their scenario, but neither were developed enough to care about sadly.

The final verdict 

I have no doubt that I'll be within the small majority who wasn't enamored with the romance between Kate and Matthew that spans lifetimes, but sadly I couldn't connect with either character. The back and forth between characters and eras felt disjointed and I couldn't see the connection between the various namesakes beyond sharing the same name and perhaps Katherine's sense of humour. I enjoyed it for the unique premise but the ending felt messy and far more complicated than necessary. This is definitely a case of it's not you, it's me, where The Next Together is concerned and I expect this will become a favorite of readers of every genre. Just not myself unfortunately. 

Kelly is currently reading Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray and fangirling over Tahereh Mafi Tweeting her kisses.


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30 comments

  1. The premise of this book sounds really interesting so it's sad that it didn't come up top for you! Though I still want to give it a go more for the history than for the romance (not a big fan of romance!)

    Missed reading your posts Kelly! Haven't had time because of university so I'm stalking your blog! Adoring your layout its beautiful

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    1. Thanks Becks. I've missed you, I'm still keeping up to date with what you're up to on Twitter though. This one isn't too bad and I actually enjoyed the historical aspects even though they're not usually something that interests me all that much. But I have a feeling you would really enjoy this one.

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  2. Oh this is exactly why I've been putting off reading this. >_> I always get sO CONFUSED with time travel!! And I'm an unromantic pineapple frond so *siiiiigh* At least I have a better idea of what it's going to be like when I go into it. xD

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    1. It wasn't just the time travel, but how all the versions of themselves were connected. I assumed they were all versions of the same people, but then it sounded as though they were actual relatives. I was so confused Smushy, so confused.

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  3. While this review definitely makes me sad to a certain extent, I do understand where you're coming from. To be honest, there were many loopholes in this book when it comes to the sci-fi explanation stuff, and usually I nitpick about them, but I felt the other factors overshadowed these problems during my read that I didn't think of them anymore when I finished. But I get you, I really do! This definitely could have been written and plotted better.

    Faye at The Social Potato

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    1. I loved the premise and really wanted to love it so much more Faye, but I just couldn't sadly. I loved some versions of Kate and Matt but the majority I just couldn't connect to. I was enjoying it mostly, but that ending felt too unnecessarily complicated and really spoiled the rest of the storyline. I still don't understand it. I'm so glad you enjoyed it though Faye, I have a feeling I'll be in the minority who couldn't connect.

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  4. the concept is pretty cool if not a little complicated so I am curious to see how it was executed, sorry that it didnt work for you but despite that i felt like your rating was generous.

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    1. I did enjoy it somewhat Lily, but the last quarter left me baffled and I just didn't get it sadly. It's still a great read for those who love historical romance with a twist, but sadly not really for me.

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  5. I felt the same, actually - I never really got a sense of either character, which really hindered my enjoyment. WE CAN BE IN THE MINORITY TOGETHER :)

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    1. I think we just might be poppet. I felt exactly the same. Although I did enjoy it, I think there were too many elements going on and too many couples. I just didn't understand how they were connected as it seemed a little contradictory sadly.

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  6. Oh gosh. I don't know. I always have a tougher time reading books with this story arch, so I try to stay away. This one doesn't sound all that promising, to be honest. I need a full 4 stars from you, Kelly! Lol.

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    1. Oh Joy, I wish I could have given you more hope, but sadly I thought my three stars was pretty complimentary considering the difficult time I had with it. It wasn't badly written, but it just felt messy and not hashed out too well. I found a few points contradictory too which only added to my confusion. I'm reading Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray at the moment which is time travel based, and I find it really vivid and well explained without massive dumps of information. If you're interested, maybe give that series a try instead.

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  7. It has such a nice cover. *sighs* I had heard a little about this, actually (it's a rare occurance that I actually know anything about the books being reviewed, unfortunately) and thought it sounded pretty neat, but possibly I'd have the same issue as you, Kelly. The twisting, altering time and the links in past lives being relations... doesn't make a lot of sense, and it seems like it didn't really get addressed well enough to make it flow easily and actually make any sense at all. I'm all for magical time travel, love across eras and all of it, but those past lives actually being relatives... stalls me right there. So hmm. I'm not sure about this one. At least you found elements to enjoy, though! xx

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    1. Doesn't it Romi, the cover is really lovely. I did like in parts, but just couldn't love it sadly. Yeah, it felt really contradictory in that aspect where it was implied how the former Kate and Matt's existed, then another character further along gave another explanation, the towards the ending it was something completely different. I think if it had of given away nothing until the end I might have enjoyed it more. It might be just me, but it felt a bit too messy sadly.

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  8. I actually love books like this, it's kind of like a puzzle. want to read it so bad, but it's kind of a pain to get a hold of. I think I'll have to break down and order a physical copy from The Book Depository.

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    1. I was lucky enough to have received an ARC edition but I'm not sure it's been released internationally just yet. I know in Australia it isn't out just yet. I do hope you can grab a copy once it's released, would love to see what you think of it Christy.

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  9. I was looking forward to this one, but this sounds very confusing, Kelly. Another friend of mine also struggled with this one so you're not alone. I was excited about the idea of an epic romance, but I need to feel a connection to my characters.
    Thanks for the lovely review, Kelly!

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    1. Me too Nick and that was my biggest hurdle, was their development and likability. To be honest, there was just so many versions of them that it never really allowed me to connect to any of them really which is such a shame, because the premise was incredible. I really hope readers still give this one a try though, I think it just went over my head.

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  10. This sounds like a highly ambitious book that misses the mark a little, I am still really excited to read it though -as I love the idea of love across the lifetimes. I'll hold my expectations in check though, knowing that you could not become invested in all iterations of the relationship. Fantastic and honest review!

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    1. That is it Aentee, just a little too busy unfortunately. The premise is so incredibly lovely though, an epic romance where both Matt and Kate navigate towards each other in every life time. It was just the execution that let it down. I'd love to see what you think of it.

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  11. Great review! The summary of the book sounds interesting and I was looking forward to reading it, but its unfortunate to hear the time travel aspect got confusing and the characters were disconnected. I am also not a fan of endings that are unnecessarily complicated.
    Best,

    https://www.theliterarycove.wordpress.com

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    1. Me neither but for the most part it worked, but that ending really was just too complicated for me though. I'd love to see what you think of it as I suspect most readers will enjoy it far more than I have.

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  12. I just finished a read where I couldn't connect to the characters and it kind of ruined the book for me so now I'm hesitant on this one. That cover was what initially drew me in and then the promise of the romance but I'm not sure I could really get behind a romance like this either. Plus all the confusion... blah. Nice review!

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    1. Thanks Alise. It just felt as thought there might have been one too many versions of Matt and Kate thrown in there. One less even would have allowed for more character development. I just expected more and was a little let down sadly.

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  13. Wonderful in-depth review on this Kelly! It actually reminds me of The Time Traveller's wife, with the confusion over the different timelines and the messy romance and all (but funnily enough I loved it). Too bad it wasn't for you, I hope your next read is better!

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    1. Thanks Jeann. I've never seen The Time Traveller's Wife actually, I rarely watch those kind of romances. The closest I come to watching a romance these days, is seeing Carol in the Walking Dead lovingly preparing a casserole.

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  14. Great review, Kelly! I had my doubts how all these perspectives will work. Sorry to hear you felt overwhelmed and couldn’t connect with characters. I’m still on the fence about this book.

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    1. Thanks Ksenia, it was a tad overwhelming for me, but I'm pretty sure I'll be in the minority with this one actually. The romance was lovely in some of the points of view, but I just couldn't get a hold on who the characters really were or how they were all connected sadly. Definitely give it a try though, it might really surprise you.

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  15. I enjoyed it a lot, but wanted the loose ends tied up in terms of how they came to be reborn and find each other each time. I liked the Crimean War scenario the best.

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    1. Same Nicole. It was a toss up between that and the 1745 perspective for me. I didn't understand how it worked, especially within the last few chapters. I assumed they were reborn into a new era each time and they were actually a different version of themselves. But then when they were speaking to their grandmother, she mentioned that the 2019 Kate and Matt were related to them, their aunt and uncle I believe, so that threw me. I think the ending was too complicated otherwise I probably would have enjoyed it so much more.

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