Review: The Next Forever

The Next Forever
Pretty Amy, Book 1.5

Author: Lisa Burstein
Pages: 74
Publisher: Ever After
Source: e-galley for review

Description from Goodreads:
One night in college can change everything…

Away at college, Amy just wants one night alone without her high school sweetheart, Joe. So when he invites her to go to the library, she heads off on her own instead. How she ended up at a house party with the mysterious bad-boy Trevor is another story…

Joe so isn’t going to the library. He needs space from Amy, too, so he’s decided to rush a fraternity, to get back the swagger he had in high school. But it doesn’t take long for the brothers to invite him to the real rush here the beer is flowing and one particular girl has set her eyes on Joe.

Over the course of one wild night, both Amy and Joe will have to decide if their futures belong with two new people, or whether the next forever will have their first loves in it.

Prior Books in Series:
1: Pretty Amy (Review|Goodreads)

First Sentence: "'So is that a yes or a no?' Joe asked, a smile struggling to come to his lips—sunshine fighting through heavy gray clouds."

Review:

I actually really enjoyed Pretty Amy, the story of a girl heavily lacking self-confidence who ends up making some really bad choices to fit in. I mean, who didn't do some stupid things in high school in order to feel like they belonged? This novella picks up with Amy and her boyfriend, Joe, now in college. Honestly, I'm torn on this novella, mostly because I think it's very much aimed at pleasing the stereotypical new adult audience. Like, yes, I loved Easy, but most of the NA books anger me just from reading the blurb.

On the one hand, I definitely think it's awesome getting to check in with those characters now that they're in college. They get together at the end of Pretty Amy, so now we can see what their relationship is actually like. They've grown pretty codependent in college, and they're both suffocating a little. Joe even asks her to get a place with him, which panics Amy and, honestly, himself.

I really like that, much as he was depicted as Mr. Perfect in Pretty Amy, the reader can see that things aren't perfect in their relationship, that, if they want to make it last, they'll have to work some things out. Amy and Joe still suffer from temptation, and staying together is a choice. Being in love doesn't make everything easy or guarantee that you'll only be attracted to one another for all of time.

On the other hand, the way this is shown irritated me a lot. Freaked out by Joe's question, Amy decides to attend a party with a hot bad boy to see whether she'll cheat or not, basically to test her devotion to Joe. Meanwhile, Joe told her he would be studying in the library, but instead went to rush a frat, keeping it a secret because of Amy's disgust for the Greek system. At the party, he is, of course, confronted with big-boobed bimbos willing to get it on with any dude in pre-law, because they're digging for future gold. Basically, everything they do in this book makes me despise characters that I liked and sympathized with previously.

The Next Forever is well-written; I just don't happen to like most of what it says. Those who like new adult more than I do will surely love this novella addition to Amy's story.

Rating: 2/5

Favorite Quote:

"I guess moving in with Joe was something I had to test if I really wanted. Being with him had been an easy decision, but being in an apartment with him next year was something else. It wasn't that I didn't want to be, but I felt like I'd gone from the shadow of Lila and Cassie to the shadow of Joe. Not that Joe ever made me feel like I was in his shadow.
     He made me feel like the sun.
     But I was still measuring my significance because he was in my orbit. If I said yes to him, would I ever stand on my own?"