Bianca
Written on Dec 18, 2015
And he had always, always loved her. Every time he met her. And every time, they lost each other.
How many times can you lose the person you love? High-concept romance from debut writer Lauren James.
A powerful and epic debut novel about fate and the timelessness of first love. Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again. Each time their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated. How many times can you lose the person you love? For Matthew and Katherine it is again and again, over and over, century after century. But why do they keep coming back? How many times must they die to save the world? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace? Maybe the next together will be different…
- ISBN10 1406358053
- ISBN13 9781406358056
- Publish Date 1 November 2015 (first published 20 August 2015)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 3 May 2023
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Walker Books Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 368
- Language English
Reviews
Nessa Luna
Written on Dec 12, 2015
The Next Together tells the story of Matthew Galloway and Katherine Finchley, star-crossed lovers who are destined or doomed to fall in love over and over again, and lose each other over and over again. In 1745 we have Matthew (a coachman) and Katherine (a noble lady) whose city is about to get overrun by the Jacobites. Then in 1854 we have Matthew (a journalist) and Katy (his assistant) who travel to Crimea to write about the war with the Russians. In 2019 there are Matthew and Katherine (both junior scientists at CSL) who have just discovered something awful about the company they work for (their story is only being told by means of notes, emails and other information 2039 Matt and Kate find). And last but not least, Matt and Kate (biology students) in 2039 who find out that their ancestors were labeled terrorists by the government and killed.
Though each of these characters are the same two people over and over again, they all have some different personality traits. I have to admit, I liked the 2039 Matt and Kate the best, and the 1745 ones the least; mainly just because I don't like historical fiction and I just simply didn't enjoy reading their chapters. The ones inbetween were okay, but I still have to say that I prefered the futuristic versions the best.
I honestly just wasn't interested in their romance, even though that was one of the main subjects in this story. It was certainly why they kept on being reborn again. They had to fall in love with each other over and over again because of a reason. And that reason was a baby. They had to produce a child, and when that happened I thought to myself 'Really? That's it? That's the reason they kept on having to do this? REALLY?!' So yeah, I don't know.
They way the story was written was very nice in my opinion, I loved finding out more about each couple in pieces. On one side I wouldn't have minded for one story to be told first, then the next, and so forth, but this way it kind of stayed interesting. Though there were some tiny things, I guess I could call them spoilers, that I found annoying. In the two historical stories, a Matthew dies and a Katherine dies, and because that happens, Matt gets send back into the past to replace that Matthew. While there, he has enough time to tell Katherine exactly what happened to his Katy, which is something that hasn't actually happened in the book yet. Does it (what I've just said) make any sense? Anyway, I don't like it when things get spoiled by the book already. Foreshadowing, okay, but actually spoiling the ending for a character before it happens? No. (I am looking at you, The Book Thief).
Anyway, I thought it was a very interesting book, but I just think it wasn't great. There were some questions I still had at the end of this book, that I hope will be answered in the second. I also didn't like half of the couples, mainly because of the historical aspect. So yeah, maybe I'll read the next book, maybe I won't. I'll see when it comes out!
I recommend this book to lovers of historical and futuristic romance stories, if you're a fan of either and definitely if you're a fan of both!
My opinion on this book in one gif:
Jo
Written on Dec 9, 2015
There aren't many YA novels on reincarnation that I've read, so when I heard that Lauren James' debut novel would be about reincarnation and science, I was desperate to read it. The Next Together is a unique story, and absolutely gripping - but a little disappointing.
In 1745, Katherine Finchley, a well born woman, and Matthew Galloway, her coachman, fall in love while trying to help protect the city of Carlisle from a siege against the Jacobite rebels.
In 1854, Katy is an orphan trying to get herself out of poverty by pretending to be a boy to get work. She is working for Matthew Galloway, journalist for The Times. Together, they are covering the Crimean wore on the front lines, and when Matthew discovers Katy is a girl, they slowly develop feelings for each other.
In 2019, Matthew and Katherine Galloway are a married couple, biologists working for Central Science Laboratories. When they discover that their employers are trying to create a biological weapon and attempt to stop them, they are killed and accused of terrorism.
In 2039, Kate Finchley an Matt Galloway are studying biology at the University of Nottingham. When they discover that they were both related to the terrorists Matthew and Katherine Galloway, they try to find out exactly what they discovered and what happened to them, falling in love along the way.
What they don't know is that they are all the same two people, reincarnated time and again, destined to find each other and subtly change the world.
I absolutely love how this story is told! In every chapter, we follow the story of all the Katherines and Matthews, jumping from timelines and geographic locations. We see them fall in love repeatedly, but each incarnation of the two is passionate about doing good and doing the right thing, and are incredibly brave in the risks they take to do so, no matter what year they're living in. We discover the story of Matthew and Katherine Galloway of 2019 through notes left on the fridge, comments made on social media, and articles online, as well as through the research of Kate and Matt in 2039. Those two timelines are the two most connected; Katherine was Kate's aunt and Matthew was Matt's uncle, neither believe what has been reported about the married couple, and are desperate to find out. Both having an understanding of biology helps as they understand exactly what they're relatives were doing. Snooping into something that got the 2019 couple killed is highly dangerous, and you're constantly on edge. But there's danger in every timeline; during the Siege of Carlise and the Crimean War, becoming a casualty is a very high risk.
What's awesome is, as you're reading along, you're very much aware that you're not the only one following all these incarnations of the couple. Fairly often throughout the book, you will get what are almost commands put into a computer (does anyone remember DOS? You know the letters on the black screen? It's very similar to that). Their lives were being manipulated by those who were observing them. Each incarnation is some kind of an assignment, and there is an objective of each assignment, but one we, the readers, and the incarnations, know about. It was fascinating! What exactly are these people watching wanting all the Katherines and Matthews to do? Why are they so keen on keeping them alive? Why are they assignments? What is the objective? How is it possible that they are able to "reboot" the incarnations in new timelines? What's happening?! Oh my god, so gripping!
I did have to suspend disbelief pretty early on, though. I found that, no matter year it was, all incarnations fell in love far too quickly and easily - especially as we don't get to know much about them in any year. The focus is on their relationship, and what's happening in that timeline, rather than on who these people are. Every incarnation of Matthew has an interest in farming. Every incarnation of Katherine is pretty humorous and is inclined to constantly take the mick out of Matthew. But other than that, we don't know much about them as people. I did find 2019 Matthew and Katherine to be the most interesting incarnations, because Katherine was just so funny! She really was hilarious, but we never actually meet her, as their whole story is told through notes on the fridge, etc. Those incarnations are the only ones that show much personality, because it comes through in their notes to each other. However, I would just let it go that I wouldn't really know the incarnations, and they were going to fall in love easily because they had already been in love with each other so many times before. I let it go, and just enjoyed the story for what it was, and spent most of the story feeling excited and eager to know what was going to happen next for all of them!
But then we got to the end of the stories, for each incarnation, and I felt hugely let down. I can understand why some of the incarnations' stories ended the way they did - they kind of needed to for the sake of future incarnations, despite feeling unsatisfactory. But the ending to the whole book was so disappointing. We are told what happens, rather than get to actually see it. A decision is made, and then the prologue tells us, in a few pages, what happened as a result of that decision. I know there is going to be a sequel, and a lot of questions will be answered, but the things we are told about are huge! It would have been so much more satisfying to have read them as they happened, rather than be told after the fact. Sure, it would have made the story quite a bit longer, but I think it would have been worth it. The ending of The Next Together has got to be one of the biggest ending let downs I've ever read. I wasn't happy, and I felt cheated.
Saying that, the book on the whole is incredible. It's so very easy to get completely drawn in and immerse yourself in the different stories happening in the one book. It's a fantastic combination of sci-fi, historical, mystery, romance and dystopian, and for the most part, it works brilliantly! I really am so eager to find out what will happen in the next book, The Last Beginning - I just hope it has a far better ending.
Thank you to Walker Books for the reading copy.
Kelly
Written on Sep 22, 2015
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.
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.
bookishzelda
Written on Sep 5, 2015
So the story has four main timelines that we follow 1745, 1854, 2019 and 2039. Now that sound like it would be confusing but it isn’t. I was impressed at how well written The Next Together is in the fact that I never once felt confused with the timelines. Everything flowed flawlessly together and when things start to speed up and merge as we reach the finale the pieces fit together easily. It has great pacing throughout and I never felt disengaged. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next, who are these people/person that could intervene.
We are following the ultimate love story of Katherine and Mathew. No matter how many times they are reborn they manage to find the other and fall in love all over again. They take fated love to the next level. It’s very sweet.
Matthew is the level headed of the two. Intelligent and quiet, he’s the guy that everyone wants to be friends with. Which feels like the best way to describe him. If you went out with a group of friends, he would be the DD. Always reliable.
Katherine, Katy, Kit...she is the snarky sarcastic counterpart of Matthew. She brings out his lighter side and is constantly making some kind of joke. She thinks she is hilarious. She’s the girl where you would be like how on Earth did those two end of together.
Each timeline has it’s own side characters but the focus always revolves around Katy and Matthew. I thought it was interesting how they were never raised the same, especially Katy. There was no perfect formula. Sometimes she had parents, sometimes she didn’t. She always comes out to be pretty close the same person and same personality. Her actions often seemed to be the biggest factor influencing how the timelines were going to turn out. The 2019 timeline is probably one of the more serious ones but the story is told through notes, letters, emails and messages. Which are hysterical bits of them being sarcastic to one another. I think it’s the timeline that made the couple feel real.
I’ve reread the ending a few times and I keep changing how I understand it. I liked it because it lets your brain put it together.
This book is so unique that it just amazed me. I want it to be a movie or a tv show or something. It feels like it needs to be. I really loved it, I think it’s a book I will continue to ponder.