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The Next Together #1.5
Another Together
“Perfect for holidays” – Marie Claire “Are you absolutely certain this is safe?” Matthew Galloway asked. A short story of intrigue and murder set in the world of The Next Together series. Winter, 1940: there is a murderer on the loose at Bletchley Park, the headquarters of Britain’s most daring codebreaking operation against the Nazis. Can two young codebreakers Kitty and Matthew catch the killer? This standalone short story can be enjoyed by new readers and existing fans of Lauren James’s The Next Together series.
59 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2016
4 people are currently reading
901 people want to read
About the author
Lauren James
20 books1,572 followers**This is my old author profile - follow https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1... for ongoing updates!***
Wren James is the Carnegie-longlisted British author of many Young Adult novels as ‘Lauren James’, including Green Rising, The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker and The Loneliest Girl in the Universe. They are a RLF Royal Fellow at Aston University and the story consultant on Netflix’s Heartstopper (Seasons 2 and 3).
Wren is the founder of the Climate Fiction Writers League, editor of the anthology Future Hopes: Hopeful stories in a time of climate change, and a member of the Society of Authors’ Sustainability Committee. They work as a consultant on climate storytelling for museums, production companies, major brands and publishers, with a focus on optimism and hope. They run a Queer Writers group in Coventry.
Their books have sold over two hundred thousand copies worldwide in seven languages. The Quiet at the End of the World was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize and STEAM Children’s Book Award.
Their other novels include The Next Together series, the dyslexia-friendly novella series The Watchmaker and the Duke and serialised online novel An Unauthorised Fan Treatise.
Wren’s writing has been described as ‘gripping romantic sci-fi’ by the Wall Street Journal and ‘a strange, witty, compulsively unpredictable read which blows most of its new YA-suspense brethren out of the water’ by Entertainment Weekly.
Wren was born in 1992, and has a Masters degree from the University of Nottingham, where they studied Chemistry and Physics. They have taught creative writing for Coventry University, WriteMentor, and Writing West Midlands. Their next release is Last Seen Online.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 59 reviews
June 9, 2016
I asked Lauren when I met her at a signing she did a few months ago if we were ever going to see the Bletchley timeline, and she said yes and now I've finally read it! A pretty cute addition, but a little bit farcical with the exclamation points and how simplistic the murder plot was but still fun.
June 24, 2016
If wonderfully written historical romance and time-travelling sound like your cup of tea, then
The Next Together
should be on your wishlist. Another Together is a standalone short story set in the same world. It's 1940 and war is upon us. Kitty and Matthew, codebreakers at the famous Bletchley Park, are determined to solve a different kind of puzzle – a murder has taken place and the investigation isn't all as it seems.
Another Together is a sweet story that provides a more insight into the relationship of one of 2015's favourite literary couples, set during a time that's always fascinated me. It's over super quick, but it's a little bit of fun to get you ready for the companion novel, The Last Beginning. Let the reincarnation romance continue!
I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.
Another Together is a sweet story that provides a more insight into the relationship of one of 2015's favourite literary couples, set during a time that's always fascinated me. It's over super quick, but it's a little bit of fun to get you ready for the companion novel, The Last Beginning. Let the reincarnation romance continue!
I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.
April 16, 2017
I "bought" this book for free on Amazon. I needed another hit of Matt and Kate after finishing The Next Together (TNT) last night. It was a very quick read, I finished it in one morning.
I found this book really fun, and an easy but entertaining read. The plot was well-constructed, and still included the mystery that I fell in love with in TNT. The blurb points out that this can be read as a stand-alone book, which I liked and think is well-said, as this book can be a great introduction into the world of Matthew and Katherine throughout the years/centuries.
I really liked the inclusion of the prologues of both TNT and The Last Beginning; it's making me even more excited for when the latter is released later this year!
I found this book really fun, and an easy but entertaining read. The plot was well-constructed, and still included the mystery that I fell in love with in TNT. The blurb points out that this can be read as a stand-alone book, which I liked and think is well-said, as this book can be a great introduction into the world of Matthew and Katherine throughout the years/centuries.
I really liked the inclusion of the prologues of both TNT and The Last Beginning; it's making me even more excited for when the latter is released later this year!
October 24, 2016
This was a really good murder mystery, a quick read and a really excellent addition to the wonderful The Next Together. If you haven't read The Next Together, go out and read it now. Then download this shortstory. You won't regret it.
July 20, 2016
This is very cute. The writing was very simple but it's nice and short! The plot line wasn't too good and from chapter 4 I already knew who the murderer was. Things happened pretty quickly and some of the plot sounded like what a kid would write. You can read this as a small story without reading The Next Together which is nice!
June 20, 2016
A sweet story.
June 2, 2016
Delightful!
August 19, 2017
OMG I loved this SO MUCH. I would read an entire book just of this timeline, of the two of them discovering their past lives. I believe in their relationship so much more in this novella, I feel like just focusing on one timeline cured my slight disconnect to the characters in the full novel. And I love the connection to WWII, with Alan Turing as well!!! 😍😍😍😍😍 All in all, a very satisfying little book that made me want to read The Next Together again! And it's sequel for the first time!!
April 9, 2022
it’s a nice little story but not at all necessary or useful to the actual duology.
but if you want matt and kitty investigating murders in 1940 give it a read.
but if you want matt and kitty investigating murders in 1940 give it a read.
September 3, 2024
1.5 stars
August 4, 2016
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf
An eNovella? About characters I adore? And this will tie me over till second book in series comes out later this year? AND IT'S FREE!?
Oh, Lauren James, you are spoiling us!
As you guys are aware, I loved The Next Together. It was one of my favourite reads of last year and I am very excited to see where Lauren goes next in The Last Beginning. So, when I saw this on my Twitter feed, I downloaded it without thinking about it and squeezed it in when I could.
It's Winter, 1940. The war is on, codebreakers are working hard to break the Nazi's enigma machine and there's a killer on the loose at Bletchley Park? Can this life's Kitty and Matthew catch the killer before they strike again?
If you're a fan of the series, you will really like this. It was fast, fun and you just get catch up in the story of not just Kitty and Matthew trying to stop a killer, but their relationship and reincarnation.
If you're new to Lauren's world, this might be a good place to start. You focus on these characters and the elements that Lauren touches on within The Next Together and The Last Beginning, hopefully, but without giving too much away or overwhelming you. Plus, as this is a free novella, you can try out Lauren's writing style and see if you click. If you do, great. If not, at least you haven't wasted money on it.
The only thing that bothered me is that I wished it was a little longer. I forgot how much I missed these character and I just wanted to spent more time with them. But I fear some of you might think the mystery is a bit weak (I disagree - I thought the mystery worked well against the backdrop of the story and its location).
All I have to say now is "Bring on The Last Beginning"! Or more novellas set with these characters. I don't care which!
An eNovella? About characters I adore? And this will tie me over till second book in series comes out later this year? AND IT'S FREE!?
Oh, Lauren James, you are spoiling us!
As you guys are aware, I loved The Next Together. It was one of my favourite reads of last year and I am very excited to see where Lauren goes next in The Last Beginning. So, when I saw this on my Twitter feed, I downloaded it without thinking about it and squeezed it in when I could.
It's Winter, 1940. The war is on, codebreakers are working hard to break the Nazi's enigma machine and there's a killer on the loose at Bletchley Park? Can this life's Kitty and Matthew catch the killer before they strike again?
If you're a fan of the series, you will really like this. It was fast, fun and you just get catch up in the story of not just Kitty and Matthew trying to stop a killer, but their relationship and reincarnation.
If you're new to Lauren's world, this might be a good place to start. You focus on these characters and the elements that Lauren touches on within The Next Together and The Last Beginning, hopefully, but without giving too much away or overwhelming you. Plus, as this is a free novella, you can try out Lauren's writing style and see if you click. If you do, great. If not, at least you haven't wasted money on it.
The only thing that bothered me is that I wished it was a little longer. I forgot how much I missed these character and I just wanted to spent more time with them. But I fear some of you might think the mystery is a bit weak (I disagree - I thought the mystery worked well against the backdrop of the story and its location).
All I have to say now is "Bring on The Last Beginning"! Or more novellas set with these characters. I don't care which!
December 26, 2017
Another Together was a sweet and short little story in the series. I was very excited to read this as it was the first book I have read on my new kindle and I have been wanting to read it for a while now. The Next was one of my favourite books of the year and this short story just added an another simple element to it. The storyline was basic and predictable but still entertaining enough.
I love Matthew and Katherine, they are the sweetest couple so to see them again in another time landscape was wonderful.
The writing was good but not as in depth and descriptive as The Next Together, which is what you would expect from a short story. I am not a huge fan of short stories for that reason as they tell a lot of information up front and there isn't a lot of time to get aquatinted with the characters. None of this was a massive concern of mine with this story though as I was already familiar with the people.
I wish there was more detail about the setting of World War II code breaking and more development of the relationship between the characters.
However, overall it was a quick and pleasant read which has really excited me for The Last Beginning.
I love Matthew and Katherine, they are the sweetest couple so to see them again in another time landscape was wonderful.
The writing was good but not as in depth and descriptive as The Next Together, which is what you would expect from a short story. I am not a huge fan of short stories for that reason as they tell a lot of information up front and there isn't a lot of time to get aquatinted with the characters. None of this was a massive concern of mine with this story though as I was already familiar with the people.
I wish there was more detail about the setting of World War II code breaking and more development of the relationship between the characters.
However, overall it was a quick and pleasant read which has really excited me for The Last Beginning.
July 16, 2016
fun little story. I liked the two main characters interactions more than I cared for the plot itself but either way, I had a great time reading this!
I'm definitely picking up the next together a lot more sooner than I was expecting!!
I'm definitely picking up the next together a lot more sooner than I was expecting!!
June 10, 2016
That was cute.
March 5, 2017
Amazing as always!! Cannot wait for The Last Beginning but I do think I figured out how things have happened!
June 5, 2016
loved it so much, it made me even more excited for the last beginning ah!
August 14, 2016
I enjoyed reading another story about Kitty and Matthew. It was short and fast paced and interesting to read.
November 7, 2016
While it was nice to read about this version on Katherine and Matthew I found the story to be rather dull.
December 7, 2016
I just love Matthew and Katherine together!!!! It was an amazing short mystery and I LOVED the ending!!!
May 2, 2022
I really enjoyed this short story. I loved this new timeline and the murder mystery aspect. I'm excited to continue on with this series.
January 23, 2018
This is completely unnecessary to the series, as it's sort of a separate, isolated story and doesn't add anything to the overall plot, but I loved The Next Together and The Last Beginning so much, that any extra time spent in that world is a privilege in my opinion.
A fun little Agatha-Christie-style murder mystery, I literally read it in the space of about 20 minutes, and it was a really sweet extra to have after finishing the main books.
Once again, I loved how the characters of Matthew and Kitty felt familiar, with some of the same traits as their other versions, but were still distinct characters in their own right. I also really liked how authentically 1940s the tone of the writing felt, and I really enjoyed seeing how our protagonists fitted in to this new time period.
Like I said, you don't need to read this to be able to enjoy the series, but I'd definitely recommend spending half an hour on it if you enjoyed the full length novels as much as I did.
A fun little Agatha-Christie-style murder mystery, I literally read it in the space of about 20 minutes, and it was a really sweet extra to have after finishing the main books.
Once again, I loved how the characters of Matthew and Kitty felt familiar, with some of the same traits as their other versions, but were still distinct characters in their own right. I also really liked how authentically 1940s the tone of the writing felt, and I really enjoyed seeing how our protagonists fitted in to this new time period.
Like I said, you don't need to read this to be able to enjoy the series, but I'd definitely recommend spending half an hour on it if you enjoyed the full length novels as much as I did.
June 29, 2019
This was a short addition to The Next Together that gave us an extra look into one of the many past lives of Matthew and Kate. It was a quick read, involved a murder mystery and I really enjoyed this one! I loved being able to read through one of their stories without having to jump back and forth between the different times.
February 14, 2025
I'm glad we got this story because I actually thought it was criminal that James didn't include the Bletchley past lives in the original story as its own series of events. It was the one I was the most intrigued in, and I'm sure that was on purpose, because this was a nice little palette cleanser after finishing the duology!
June 21, 2017
Já tem um tempo que li o primeiro livro, então precisei relembrar um pouco antes de continuar a série. Achei essa short story fofa, mas não tão necessária. Quem quiser pular, pode ir tranquilo pro próximo livro.
April 3, 2021
I really liked this short story set in Bletchley Park, it was fun and gave a little more insight into another time Kitty and Matthew met each other and the memories that followed. My little geeky heart also loved getting to see Alan Turing in this story too.
August 18, 2017
So much better than the actual fucking first book?? Why couldn't this have been The Next Together
December 14, 2017
Loved this! So glad she wrote about their Bletchley Park lives because that was the bit from the novel that intrigued me the most.
September 24, 2019
This was cute but I can barely remember anything from the first book.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 59 reviews