Next to You
A Novel
-
-
4.5 • 6 Ratings
-
-
- $4.99
-
- $4.99
Publisher Description
Two friends battle feelings for each other as they work together to renovate a school bus into a home in this charming romance novel from the viral TikTok author of Next of Kin and Out on a Limb.
“Warm, sexy, and vulnerable . . . Hannah Bonam-Young needs to be on your romance radar.”—Hannah Grace, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Icebreaker
Lane is in the middle of an identity crisis. Her friends are all partnered up, her career is heading nowhere, and simply put, she’s not happy. So, after a night out celebrating her birthday, she makes one hell of an impulsive purchase: a giant yellow forty-eight-passenger school bus that she intends to make her 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. It could never work . . . right?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bonam-Young packs her diverting sequel to Next of Kin full of pop-culture references and witty banter. Twenty-somethings Elaine and Mattheus meet at a New Year's Eve party hosted by mutual friends. Both self-described "anxious extroverts," their attraction is intense and their connection is easy to see. They spend the night making each other laugh before sharing a tender midnight kiss. Despite this meet-cute, a relationship would never work—Matt is a serial monogamist while Lane is commitment averse. Though attraction lingers, they decide to keep things strictly platonic: "He started calling me ‘kid' shortly after our kiss and has even noogied me once," Lane explains ("The universal gesture of the friend zone"). When Lane impulse-buys a school bus hoping to convert it into a home on wheels, she recruits handyman Matt to help with the renovations, bringing the two closer. Things heat up further when Lane needs a date to her sister's wedding and turns to Matt, who has always found it impossible to say no to her. The personable Zillenial characters and fast-paced plot make this friends-to-lovers romance sing. It's an ideal comfort read.
