Next to You follows Lane who isn't quite happy with her job or her home as she buys an old school bus to renovate into a home. She doesn't have much experience with renovation, so she turns to her friend Matt to help her with the bus. The two are attracted to each other and really get along but due to the way Lane feels about herself, she doesn't want to be anything more than friends with benefits, something that Matt says he agrees with. I love this book. It's funny because this was the Hannah Bonam-Young book that was the least appealing to me but it very quickly ended up my favorite. I relate heavily with Lane and her journey with grief. I love how she goes to therapy and works on herself so she can be a better daughter, sister and eventually partner to Matt. I loved Matt and how he's the type of person that just gives and gives. I found so many pieces of myself in this book. I cried twice, once from sadness and again from joy near the end.

Synopsis:

Lane is in the middle of an identity crisis. Her friends are all partnered up, her career is leading nowhere, and simply put, she’s not happy. So, after a night out celebrating her birthday, she makes one hell of an impulsive a giant yellow forty-eight passenger school bus that she intends to make a 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?

Goodreads | Amazon