GoodRead - The Next Together

I'm not entirely sure when I heard of this book, but as soon as I heard it, I knew I had to read it. I knew I had to annoy the heck out of the publisher/book shop to get my hands on a copy. 

So, when Walker Books sent me a copy to review, I was very happy and started reading it almost immediately. I mean, come on. Have you not seen the cover?

Katherine and Matthew are meant to be together. They're destined to be together. They are born again and again to find each other, only to be separated tragically. Whether that is in the siege of Carlisle in 1745, the Crimean War in 1854 or the near future of 2019 and 2039, they will always find each other. 

But why? Why do they keep coming back? What must they achieve in each life before they can live and love in peace? And will their next together be any different? 

Where the heck do I start? 

I really love this book. This is going to be one of my fave reads of this year, that's how much I love this book. 

I found Lauren's writing engrossing, as I did the story. Well... stories. We do have 4 timelines to read. It was the timelines I found fascinating. How will Lauren make each timeline different from each other but keep they interlinked and without the reading getting confused? But Lauren made each timeline very unique and I never felt confused or had to go back to the start so I knew what timeline I was reading. Each was very different in tone and style. Each Katherine and Matthew was different in each timeline and, because of this, their romantic together was very different. I wasn't reading the same couple over and over again. Each was new and different, and yet important to the next. 

This book has been billed by some reviewers/bloggers/vloggers as a romance. While I agree it does have romance in it, I wouldn't say the book is a romantic book. There is a mix of genres in here, which should fit most readers. There are elements of historical fiction, dystopian, time-travel/alternative universes, corrupt governments and biological warfare. It's romance-meets-science-fiction-meets-history. A mix bag and one that works really well. 

There might be one or two things that might bother you when reading this, which happen quite close to the end of the book, but with a sequel on the horizon (The Last Beginning), I sense these will be address there. 

I could go on. I could gush about this book for quite a while (sometime I am very tempted to do on my next Bookish Brits video), but The Next Together is a solid debut and an addictive read! I await the sequel on baited breath...