This book was honestly close to perfection! I was really fascinated by the premise of the story, as I had never read anything like it and was absolutely hooked. Two broken souls coming together to make sure their siblings don't have the same lives they experienced, Chloe and Warren are a love story that I could not stop swooning over. I really loved the small family they created with baby Willow and Luke, they all seemed the perfect fit right from the get-go and it just continuously blossomed in to something so beautiful. I loved the deaf representation and felt that Hannah wrote that in so well too. The only critique I have is that I just wish the book kept going on forever, I could read an entire book series about this little family! I am aware that they do feature in book two of the series, so I will absolutely be diving into that as soon as I can because I will never get enough of Chloe and Warren.

An emotional read, the story of Chloe and Warren. They both need each other but will they like each other? I liked that it was told from both points of view. Looking forward to more books from this author.

I adored this book!

Chloe, 24, newly graduated, recieves a call to let her know that her estranged mother has unexpectedly had a premature baby - and after a NICU stay, her new baby sibling will be going into foster care, unless Chloe wishes to become her care giver. Unfortunately, despite having a stable rent controlled living situation, her finances are dicey which would rule her out - however, there’s a new team up initiative, where another possible caregiver (who needs a stable living situation, but has good finances) could temporarily move in to help balance the books, benefiting both parties.

Chloe agrees, and finds herself living with Warren. 22, a mechanic, and quite astonishingly grumpy, he is apart of the team up initiative so he can look after his deaf 15 year old brother, Luke. Add in a lil baby to the mix, and the living situation takes some adjusting too - especially when romantic tensions begin to rise between Chloe and Warren.

I think this book was so well done - it really highlights what it’s like growing up in the foster system, and emotional scars it can leave. The author put trigger warnings at the start of the book, and thanked her sensitivity readers, who also played a part in ensuring the the deaf representation was up to scratch. I have not experienced foster care, or family struggling with addiction, nor am I deaf, or have a deaf relative, so I can’t say for definite, but it felt very true to life.

The romance aspect!! Loved. Especially as there was more on the line - they’re both responsible for their siblings, and they couldn’t simply part ways if things went awry, as they needed the living situation to work. I love that they were both so adamantly protective of that - custody of their siblings was always the top priority. It also never shied away from the realities of their upbringings, and the issues and conflicts that can cause.

It’s so different from the romance books I tend to pick up, but I just loved seeing this slightly unconventional family knit together, and learn to support each other. Loved, loved, loved. I found myself smiling from ear to ear multiple times.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

Found family, two young adults redefining what family life can be. Both Chloe and Warren have had hard upbringings each going through their own struggles.

The story starts off with Chloe (24 adopted) being contacted by her birth mother (alcoholic/addict) to say that she has had an unexpected birth of a sudden sibling but cannot take care of them and has asked Chloe if she would become baby’s legal guardian. Chloe is just about juggling her life however she finds it’s currently missing something. Chloe agrees on the basis of whether CPS would agree to it and as Chloe’s work is freelance they are at first reluctant due to her income not being guaranteed, enter the TeamUp programme where it is suggested that another similar duo join forces.

The story builds and all is agreed moving all in together we have Warren and his deaf brother Luke moving in to Chloe’s apartment. The story starts off with Warren being truly brutal to Chloe in every aspect possible, he has an instant opinion of her before he’s even spoke to her.

He doesn’t realise how wrong he truly is, this story is genuinely beautiful I love the relationship build up for these characters and I am looking forward to continuing the series further. A definite heartfelt, loving, emotional read.

This book is absolutely outstanding! The emotional rollercoaster you go on wi the out this book is amazing! I don’t think anyone is fully prepared for it! Hannah definitely did an incredible job on this book!

📖: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
🥵: 🌶️🌶️

Next of Kin is the first book in the Next series by Hannah Bonam-Young. It follows Chloe, a 24 year old freelancer, and Warren, a 23 year old mechanic, on their journeys to gaining custody of their younger siblings.

I loved this story so so much. I felt so many emotions from all of the characters without turning their situations into a tragedy. I cried, I laughed, I swooned, I kicked my feet at the cuteness. It had everything I want in a romance.

I thought the characters were well thought out and likeable, and their chemistry was amazing! There is good representation in this story of multiple deaf characters, which I thought was done brilliantly, as well as LGBTQ+ characters and mental health issues.

Chloe was so loving, she cared so much for Willow and knew she couldn't let her go through the same troubles she did as a child.

Warren was swoony!! He started off so grumpy and stand-offish, with a definite chip on his shoulder, but it was beautiful to see him melt for both Chloe and Willow. He was so supportive of Chloe and was there for her in every way he could be.

Whilst I loved their chemistry, I also adored Chloe's relationship with Luke and Warren's with Willow. These different relationships really topped off the book to make it a perfect read.

I will absolutely be reading the next in this series! In fact, I've already gone on to read Out on a Limb, Hannah Bonam-Young's debut novel!

♾️⭐️

I wasn't prepared for the perfection that this book is.

This book made me feel a mix of emotions and I loved every second of it.

I randomly picked this up because I had the urge to read a cute rom-com book and this one sounded adorable and I've heard a lot of good reviews about this book. I also really loved her other book 'Out On A Limb'.
I really loved Chloe as a main character right from the start of the book and reading about her struggles and having to learn how to become a parent to her newborn sister made me fall in love with her more.
I absolutely loved seeing the relationship between Chloe and Warren and I could see that the two of them had chemistry straight away, however I did feel like the relationship was a little rushed. One minute Chloe and Warren were mad at each other and then the next they were in love with each other and it all kind of came out of nowhere.
My favourite part of this book was actually the relationship between Chloe and Luke (Warren's younger brother). Even though there were few scenes between the two, I really loved seeing the bond between them continuing to grow throughout the book.
I did really adore this book and flew through it when I read it and I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series because I have also heard amazing reviews about that one too.
Also the new covers for these books are everything and I love them so much. They are adorable!!

Next of kin

4.5⭐️

Wow, I loved this book.

Firstly, shout out to the author for starting the book with content warnings and explaining their use of sensitivity readers for the deaf, fostering and adoption parts of the story.

These aren't things I have experience with myself, but you can tell how much effort was put into making it as realistic as possible and I think it was handled really well. The concept of the book was really good, too.

Chloe and Warren are brilliant characters with a surprising amount of depth for a book that's only 300 pages. When I hit the halfway point and everything was going well, I had a moment of panic about an awful 3rd act conflict. Thankfully, that never really came. Plus the nickname thing is absolutely adorable.

I loved the familial bonds in the book, Warren and Luke have no issue expressing their love for one another, which I liked. I like to think that in chloes' position, I'd do the same thing and take my sibling in.

I didn't give it the full 5 stars because I do think it could have been slightly long to allow more time for them to go from sexual chemistry to romantic. Also more scenes of Luke with the baby. I'm looking forward to the next one, I did get a slight spoiler with the extra epilogue.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Hannah Bonam-Young, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

3/3.5 ⭐

This was cute, very inclusive, very heartfelt. But I didn't quite love it.

It wasn't exactly instalove, but the relationship developed way too quickly, and the love declaration came much too early.

Warren gave me the ick from the start, and I never warmed up to him really.
The entire book just felt like "your love has fixed all my problems"

I would HIGHLY recommend Out on a Limb by this author though, that book is exquisite. This one, not so much tbh.

REVIEW
cw: addiction, alcoholism, foster care, anxiety, and panic attacks, ableism, and child neglect
When Chloe's birth mother unexpectedly gives birth to another daughter, she's desperate for her baby sister not to go through what she did, so steps in as guardian. To meet the financial evaluation criteria, she participates in CPS’ new initiative, TeamUp. Seemingly grumpy Warren and his Deaf younger brother Luke need housing. But as Warren and Chloe let down their barriers, they discover they have more in common than either imagined.
Hannah Bonam-Young has a way of always making me swoon over her characters. I absolutely adored both Warren and Chloe immediately. Both had been dealt a tough start in life, with parents who were often in the throes of addiction or completely absent. Both are desperate not to let their siblings go through the same pain. Chloe was so sweet, and my heart broke for her every time she spoke of how little she let people in. Though seemingly having the perfect adoption story, it was clear that neither she nor Warren had a good childhood. Warren was such a secret cinnamon roll, and I loved how open he became around Chloe. That was one of the things I most enjoyed in this story. Two people, let down by family and the world around them, finding comfort in each other. Their first date was SO adorably perfect, and listen... I'm not a huge fan of nicknames, but Warren’s explanation of why he chose hers was perfect. There were some wonderful supporting characters. I really loved Luke, and my heart broke for both him and Warren during their conflict (which felt authentic). I loved Chloe's friends, Emily and Lane. I also loved Rachel and Odette. But my favourite supporting character was Belle, who gave the best motherly advice. I also loved Matt, and am so excited to read his and Lane's story. Both epilogues were beautiful, but I particularly loved the second one with Warren’s POV.
A gorgeous story of found family, and love after adversity.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own*


Favourite Quotes:

“When did you start making your feelings smaller for other people’s benefit?”

My parents didn’t do emotions. Connie had failed me. Kids were cruel and teenagers self-involved. It left me with shallow relationships and empty connections. It taught me to favor polite over real. This isn’t empty. This is vast, full, abundant. Warren’s eyes swirl with a pain that matches my own.

“I’ve had a lot of people come and go in my life—most of those I was supposed to trust failed me.” His eyes close and hold a moment before he opens them. “I’d be an idiot to let myself get hurt. So I make judgments. I put people into boxes. I let my anger get the best of me and push them away. But you keep showing up. You seem to understand.”

"I’ll take whatever version of you I can get.”

“You’re it for me, dove. You’re going to be my last everything."

- forced proximity - roommates
- guardians (younger siblings)
- deaf characters
- single pov, 1st person

I loved this, I love Hannah's writing it's so comforting whilst telling raw but beautiful stories

I love Warren and Chloe's relationship and how they were so supportive of each other

I'm obsessed with Warren in the spicy scenes and how he has no filter

I loved the warm and comforting side characters with how supportive and caring they were

The bonus epilogue from Warren's pov was so so cute

Thank you to NetGalley and Bedford Square Publishers for the ARC - all opinions are my own

I loved this book! It was so sweet and cute and was everything I could have hoped for in a romance book! I will definitely be reading more by this author. I loved the way this book handled and deal with serious topics while balancing it out with lots of sweet moments. I definitely recommend!

Next of Kin follows Chloe who has recently discovered she has a younger sister but to be able to qualify to be her kinship carer, she has to join with households with another guardian who just missed passing social services evaluation. When Warren and his deaf younger brother move in they initially clash but agree to put their differences aside for the 5 months until Chloe can reevaluate. This is a highly enjoyable romance book that I loved so much more than I was expecting.

At the start of the book I wasn’t so sure about Warren but I warmed up to him and loved reading about these two characters learning to get along and help each other. Neither are in particularly easy situations, but they learn that getting support from the other can massively help them, even if they aren’t their biggest fans.

It was exciting to see Chloe grow throughout the story in many different ways but all really positive ways. You saw her learn how to be more honest and learn what it’s like to be a good friend, as well as learn how to be confident in what she wants from her life. I always enjoy reading and watching characters grow as people in ways that are really positive and you know will help them after the book ends.

I also really enjoyed getting to know Warren and Luke. Once you got past the hard exterior of Warren he was a fantastic character and someone who you could understand so much more. If we didn’t know his backstory you wouldn’t understand his actions so much and I don’t know that you would trust him so much, but learning his backstory gives you that context to then understand the why.

Most of the side characters were also great and I loved how much Chloe’s friends supported her throughout the story. It showed just how strong friendships you make are but also how much people can care about you even if you don’t initially realise it. I am excited to read the next book in this series at some point which I am pretty sure also follows one of Chloe’s close friends, and possibly one of Warrens?

I liked so much of this book, that I just could not put it down until I knew how it would end even when I constantly needed to be doing other things. The way that the relationship developed and the backsteps it faced all felt very natural and real to the situation, they knew what needed to be prioritised even if they wanted to push forward with it. I loved having the siblings of Chloe and Warren involved in the story as well as their families and how that has built them as people because it has had an impact on them.

I am really loving romance stories that feel like this at the moment which makes me very happy and I can’t wait to read more. It's an easy 4.5 stars that I highly recommend picking up once it is re-released on February 15th. I cannot wait to pick up the other romance stories by Hannah Bonam-Young once they have also been re-released.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bedford Square for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I've been wanting to get to know Hannah Bonam-Young's books for a long time, and I finally got the chance to read Next of Kin.

Despite the fact that the book raises many important and difficult issues, reading is easy and comfortable. This story is very cozy, sweet, you can relax with it. I was pleased with the lack of drama in the book, because sometimes you just want to read something so calm.

Chloe and Warren are insanely cute. When they were children, they had to grow up early, each of them went through a lot and continues to go through a lot of difficulties. Fate pushed them together when they had to become guardians: Warren became the guardian for his younger brother, from whom he was separated, and Chloe for her unexpectedly born younger sister. The social worker suggests that they unite and live together. Their relationship is developing slowly because they are afraid to disrupt the calm and measured life they are in now, but in the end they manage to build a strong and comfortable relationship.

From the very beginning, you can see that Warren does not want to let Chloe get close, but after his walls collapse and he begins to get closer to her. He helps her with Willow, takes care of her, he literally falls in love with her completely and completely and begins to worship her. I liked watching how they turn from neighbors into friends, and only after that into lovers. The tension and desire between Chloe and Warren was very strong. I love it.

I will definitely read other books by Hannah, because I am completely and completely in love with her style, her story, her characters.

When Chloe finds out that her biological mother has just had a baby, she doesn't hesitate for a second to save her half-sister from ending up in the foster care system like she did. And Chloe is not the only one wanting a better life for her sibling - Warren does his best to ensure that his deaf teenage brother is allowed to live with him. With Chloe in financial need and Warren without suitable housing, child services suggests they should live together.

I wanted to love this book so much but it was kind of a flop for me. It’s hard to explain…it was definitely too cheesy for my taste..and I felt like the relationship was rushed and kind of iffy. There was a lack of chemistry between Chloe and Warren and they went from „enemies“ to „I love you“ way too fast.
And there were a few other things that just felt off.

I still enjoyed the plot, the co-parenting and I really liked Chloe and especially Warrens little brother Luke. And I am a fan of found family and forced proximity in romance books so this was definitely a plus.

Overall it was a quick and pretty average read but something was missing for me and I just didn’t really care for the insta-love story.

3.75
This was cute, cozy, fast-paced and easy to read. It follows chloe and warren who to become carrers to their siblings must live together.

I LOVED the little found family and watching them develop into one family. The characters were so real and relatable who I instantly connected to. However I do think that the romance turned real too quickly. I would have liked a little bit more of a slow burn and to see their relationship develop more. But the epilogues were EVERYTHING I could've hoped for!!

I can't wait to read more from this author!!
Thank you Hannah Bonam-Young and Bedford square publishers and Netgalley!!

Yes, no 3rd act break up!!! Well, that got me omn board.
Really enjoyed reading this book. Read it in one sitting. I would recommened this book.
Four stars for me

This so the first book of Hannah that I read and I quickly went and bought all her books she is now an instant buy author for me

All of this authors stories just have that something a little different that makes them stick in your memory.

This one follows Chloe and Warren strangers who are thrown together in order to help support their siblings .

The love Chloe and Warren have for their individual families ( Chloe her new born sister and Warren his deaf teenage brother ) means they will do anything even living with strangers so they can get the approval they need from CPS to gain full custody.

Neither Chloe or Warren have ever had anyone they could truly rely on to help and support them so following their story as they slowly learn that it’s ok to ask and except help just so heart warming.

Run and read all her books you will not be disappointed

I loved the found family elements of this book and how they created their own family unit. I also did like the relationship between Warren and Chloe but it didn’t feel very well developed to me and then suddenly they were in love with each other kind of based on very little.

I kind of felt like I just wanted a bit more. More context. More backstory. More of a deep dive into the relationships. More perspective.

I really enjoyed Bonam-Young’s writing style but I just don’t think this was the book for me.