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The Next Together #2.5
Another Beginning
A short story set in the world of Lauren James’ Next Together series.
Featuring the much-loved protagonists Clove and Ella, Another Beginning is a companion story to The Last Beginning, set during the siege of Carlisle in 1745.
“Elenore Walker, ancient literature thief. It makes an odd sort of sense, actually,” Clove said.
Clove is working as a maid in the Finchley household while she spies on Katherine Finchley and Matthew Galloway. But her mission is briefly interrupted when fellow maid Ella persuades her to help steal a valuable historical document from the main defence in the city – the castle. The two girls embark on a risky adventure involving scaling castle walls and hiding in the most unlikely of places!
A fast-paced and fun read, perfect for Lauren James’s existing fans, and readers who enjoy historical fiction and romance.
Includes the first chapter of Lauren James’s third novel, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.
Featuring the much-loved protagonists Clove and Ella, Another Beginning is a companion story to The Last Beginning, set during the siege of Carlisle in 1745.
“Elenore Walker, ancient literature thief. It makes an odd sort of sense, actually,” Clove said.
Clove is working as a maid in the Finchley household while she spies on Katherine Finchley and Matthew Galloway. But her mission is briefly interrupted when fellow maid Ella persuades her to help steal a valuable historical document from the main defence in the city – the castle. The two girls embark on a risky adventure involving scaling castle walls and hiding in the most unlikely of places!
A fast-paced and fun read, perfect for Lauren James’s existing fans, and readers who enjoy historical fiction and romance.
Includes the first chapter of Lauren James’s third novel, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.
55 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 27, 2017
20 people are currently reading
583 people want to read
About the author
Lauren James
20 books1,578 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 - 24 of 25 reviews
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July 24, 2017So who would like to see more of Clove and Ella? What about Clove and Ella pulling off a heist? And revealing why Ella was really in Carlisle? THEN I’VE GOT SOME GOOD NEWS 4 U BUDDIES.
I’m releasing a free novella next Saturday, which includes not just one but ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
Kate and Matt got their own short story in Another Together, so I had to give Clove and Ella one too!
Here’s the deets:
Another Beginning by Lauren James, publishing Saturday 29 July on Kindle/Nook/iTunes &c
A short story set in the world of Lauren James' Next Together series.
Subscribe to my newsletter to find out about other bonus content about my characters.
Moodboard:
I’m releasing a free novella next Saturday, which includes not just one but ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
Kate and Matt got their own short story in Another Together, so I had to give Clove and Ella one too!
Here’s the deets:
Another Beginning by Lauren James, publishing Saturday 29 July on Kindle/Nook/iTunes &c
A short story set in the world of Lauren James' Next Together series.
Featuring the much-loved protagonists Clove and Ella, Another Beginning is a companion story to The Last Beginning, set during the siege of Carlisle in 1745.
“Elenore Walker, ancient literature thief. It makes an odd sort of sense, actually,” Clove said.
Clove is working as a maid in the Finchley household while she spies on Katherine Finchley and Matthew Galloway. But her mission is briefly interrupted when fellow maid Ella persuades her to help steal a valuable historical document from the main defence in the city - the castle. The two girls embark on a risky adventure involving scaling castle walls and hiding in the most unlikely of places!
A fast-paced and fun read, perfect for Lauren James's existing fans, and readers who enjoy historical fiction and romance.
Includes the first chapter of Lauren James's third novel, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.
Goodread | Amazon Kindle | Kobo | iTunes
Subscribe to my newsletter to find out about other bonus content about my characters.
Read the first chapter on Wattpad (coming soon)
Moodboard:
July 29, 2017
I want mooooore! I always want more. I love Clove and Ella - they make my heart endlessly happy!
This was a good read, a really good read - I need more though! I need more of their adventures, of their determination, of their intelligence... I love everything about their characters. They're brilliant with each other and their adventures are some of my favourite things. I can't get enough of these two cutie pies!!
This was a good read, a really good read - I need more though! I need more of their adventures, of their determination, of their intelligence... I love everything about their characters. They're brilliant with each other and their adventures are some of my favourite things. I can't get enough of these two cutie pies!!
July 19, 2018
It was nice to get a bit more of Clove and Ella together, but this story is inconsistent with The Last Beginning. The Kate and Matt short story nestled into their story very neatly and was even referred to in the main book, but this one seems to have been tacked-on without much thought.
June 4, 2021
A quick little read to get me back into this universe! I’ve had it since it released so I can’t believe I hadn’t read it yet.
Ebook
Ebook
May 7, 2022
A short story featuring Clove and Ella in 1745 Carlisle.
Read
October 16, 2025So who would like to see more of Clove and Ella? What about Clove and Ella pulling off a heist? And revealing why Ella was really in Carlisle? THEN I’VE GOT SOME GOOD NEWS 4 U BUDDIES.
I’m releasing a free novella next Saturday, which includes not just one but ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
Kate and Matt got their own short story in Another Together, so I had to give Clove and Ella one too!
Here’s the deets:
Another Beginning by Lauren James, publishing Saturday 29 July on Kindle/Nook/iTunes &c
A short story set in the world of Lauren James' Next Together series.
Subscribe to my newsletter to find out about other bonus content about my characters.
Moodboard:
I’m releasing a free novella next Saturday, which includes not just one but ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
Kate and Matt got their own short story in Another Together, so I had to give Clove and Ella one too!
Here’s the deets:
Another Beginning by Lauren James, publishing Saturday 29 July on Kindle/Nook/iTunes &c
A short story set in the world of Lauren James' Next Together series.
Featuring the much-loved protagonists Clove and Ella, Another Beginning is a companion story to The Last Beginning, set during the siege of Carlisle in 1745.
“Elenore Walker, ancient literature thief. It makes an odd sort of sense, actually,” Clove said.
Clove is working as a maid in the Finchley household while she spies on Katherine Finchley and Matthew Galloway. But her mission is briefly interrupted when fellow maid Ella persuades her to help steal a valuable historical document from the main defence in the city - the castle. The two girls embark on a risky adventure involving scaling castle walls and hiding in the most unlikely of places!
A fast-paced and fun read, perfect for Lauren James's existing fans, and readers who enjoy historical fiction and romance.
Includes the first chapter of Lauren James's third novel, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.
Goodread | Amazon Kindle | Kobo | iTunes
Subscribe to my newsletter to find out about other bonus content about my characters.
Read the first chapter on Wattpad (coming soon)
Moodboard:
September 15, 2018
This was a bit of a disappointment. I really enjoyed The Last Beginning, even though it's time travel logic was a bit askew (I mean, getting that right is asking too much of anyone, really. It gets super complicated fast.)
But this was just too short, and lacked substance. It's a short heist that doesn't feel as though it fits into the timeline established by the previous book. I feel like Clove would've detailed this adventure in some way in the previous book, given what they go through to get it - I also feel like Clove would've realized something was up with Ella during this whole ordeal. Given what she was trying to accomplish in that time period, I also feel like she wouldn't be as willing to do something as risky. I feel like it almost would've been better if it had just started out with Ella and Clove traveling back in time again to that time period, avoiding their other past selves, and pulling off the heist then. It would make more sense for the timeline, and it would avoid the whole situation where Ella knows who Clove is, even though Clove isn't aware of who Ella is.
I also dislike how it ends so abruptly. It feels like it should've been another full length adventure, not a random short story.
It also highlights one of the bigger problems i had with the whole time travel logic. Changing history in such a drastic way would have insane consequences on the timeline. If preventing the library from being destroyed could advance humanity so much, then wouldn't it create such a domino effect that neither girl would exist? Saving the library and taking the materials to the future is one thing - changing the past in such a huge way is another entirely.
I did like the chemistry between the two characters. But it would have been nice to have more interactions of them after the first story took place rather than a random adventure sandwiched into the previous story.
But this was just too short, and lacked substance. It's a short heist that doesn't feel as though it fits into the timeline established by the previous book. I feel like Clove would've detailed this adventure in some way in the previous book, given what they go through to get it - I also feel like Clove would've realized something was up with Ella during this whole ordeal. Given what she was trying to accomplish in that time period, I also feel like she wouldn't be as willing to do something as risky. I feel like it almost would've been better if it had just started out with Ella and Clove traveling back in time again to that time period, avoiding their other past selves, and pulling off the heist then. It would make more sense for the timeline, and it would avoid the whole situation where Ella knows who Clove is, even though Clove isn't aware of who Ella is.
I also dislike how it ends so abruptly. It feels like it should've been another full length adventure, not a random short story.
It also highlights one of the bigger problems i had with the whole time travel logic. Changing history in such a drastic way would have insane consequences on the timeline. If preventing the library from being destroyed could advance humanity so much, then wouldn't it create such a domino effect that neither girl would exist? Saving the library and taking the materials to the future is one thing - changing the past in such a huge way is another entirely.
I did like the chemistry between the two characters. But it would have been nice to have more interactions of them after the first story took place rather than a random adventure sandwiched into the previous story.
June 25, 2019
Another Beginning (2017) by Lauren James is a lovely little short read which gives readers a glimpse into the lives of the characters in the author’s The Next Together series.
The short tale tells the story of the main characters Clove and Ella who are in love but have yet to tell each other this information. I have to say my only flaw with this book was that it was too short and I wanted to read more which isn’t really a flaw. As I mentioned above this is a story that gives a taste into a longer series and in the future I would certainly like to check out the series. Set in Carlisle in the UK in 1745, Clove is employed as a maid in the Finchley’s house but is really working undercover spying while Ella wants to steal documents of historical significance about the Library of Alexandria from the Carlisle Castle.
James’ writing style is very natural so it is totally the type of writing style that I prefer in books. Her writing style ensures the plot flows along with ease and lack of pretension and I enjoyed that.
The characters of Clove and Ella are so different but both equally adorable and their road to romance is beautiful to read. Clove is more your sensible,’let’s think this through’ type of character while Ella is more your passionate, ‘we have got to do something now’ kind of character and the opposites attract storyline really works here. Ella enlists Clove to help her steal the document and very much in love the usually sensible Clove agrees which is really quite romantic in and of itself.
This story mixes a lot of genres from time travel to historical romance and adventure and the three genres combined together work a treat together.
A super, fun, romantic adventure!
The short tale tells the story of the main characters Clove and Ella who are in love but have yet to tell each other this information. I have to say my only flaw with this book was that it was too short and I wanted to read more which isn’t really a flaw. As I mentioned above this is a story that gives a taste into a longer series and in the future I would certainly like to check out the series. Set in Carlisle in the UK in 1745, Clove is employed as a maid in the Finchley’s house but is really working undercover spying while Ella wants to steal documents of historical significance about the Library of Alexandria from the Carlisle Castle.
James’ writing style is very natural so it is totally the type of writing style that I prefer in books. Her writing style ensures the plot flows along with ease and lack of pretension and I enjoyed that.
The characters of Clove and Ella are so different but both equally adorable and their road to romance is beautiful to read. Clove is more your sensible,’let’s think this through’ type of character while Ella is more your passionate, ‘we have got to do something now’ kind of character and the opposites attract storyline really works here. Ella enlists Clove to help her steal the document and very much in love the usually sensible Clove agrees which is really quite romantic in and of itself.
This story mixes a lot of genres from time travel to historical romance and adventure and the three genres combined together work a treat together.
A super, fun, romantic adventure!
January 23, 2018
Just like Another Together, you don't need to read this novella to enjoy the series, and equally you don't need to read the full length books to enjoy this story, but definitely the optimum way to enjoy the world of The Next Together is to read everything you can get your hands on. Again, it's a really quick read, and it's free on Kindle, so you've got nothing to lose by picking it up!
This story is set in Clove and Ella's stay in 1745, and centres on them pulling off a heist at Carlisle Castle to obtain documents about the Library of Alexandria. I love Clove and Ella as a couple, and it was so nice to read more of their experience in this time landscape, watch them getting to know each other, and see their relationship begin to grow.
James' writing continues to impress me with every new thing I read, and I love how she's created this world that feels so endless. Due to the timey-wimey nature of the story, she could keep writing a million more short stories like this, set before, after or during the events of the existing books, and it would always make sense and be a valuable addition to the series; I don't think I'll get tired of reading Katherine, Matthew, Ella and Clove's story any time soon!
This story is set in Clove and Ella's stay in 1745, and centres on them pulling off a heist at Carlisle Castle to obtain documents about the Library of Alexandria. I love Clove and Ella as a couple, and it was so nice to read more of their experience in this time landscape, watch them getting to know each other, and see their relationship begin to grow.
James' writing continues to impress me with every new thing I read, and I love how she's created this world that feels so endless. Due to the timey-wimey nature of the story, she could keep writing a million more short stories like this, set before, after or during the events of the existing books, and it would always make sense and be a valuable addition to the series; I don't think I'll get tired of reading Katherine, Matthew, Ella and Clove's story any time soon!
August 9, 2017
Ella and Clove are probably the most exciting and adventurous pair of time travellers you'll ever meet. it's always non-stop for them, and Ella always lands herself and Clove in trouble.
even though this is a short story, it made me want to read even more about Clove and Ella (I want to know what they get up to in ancient Egypt!)
Another beginning is a really fun, little escape and you end up wishing you could time travel.
(P.S if this is your first introduction to Clove and Ella, you should definitely read The Next Together and then The Last Beginning!!)
even though this is a short story, it made me want to read even more about Clove and Ella (I want to know what they get up to in ancient Egypt!)
Another beginning is a really fun, little escape and you end up wishing you could time travel.
(P.S if this is your first introduction to Clove and Ella, you should definitely read The Next Together and then The Last Beginning!!)
June 29, 2019
This was just kind of meh. It wasn't necessary at all and was a bit inconsistent with the events that happened The Next Together. It honestly felt like an extra little snippet between two characters that the author wrote after the series was already done. Either because she wanted to or because the fans wanted it. Which I would've been fine with except I hated Ella so I had no interest in this at all. I don't even know why I bothered with it.
June 30, 2018
An insight
Another insight into James’ series. If you like the series you will enjoy this.
The first chapter to the Loneliest Girl in the Universe is included. A novel I enjoyed.
Three stars
Another insight into James’ series. If you like the series you will enjoy this.
The first chapter to the Loneliest Girl in the Universe is included. A novel I enjoyed.
Three stars
April 9, 2022
this has nothing to do or add to the actual duology.
i even think that it does not really fit in the timeline that is in „the last beginning“
it wasn’t q bad story though. just not necessary or kn my option overly fitting to the actual books?
i even think that it does not really fit in the timeline that is in „the last beginning“
it wasn’t q bad story though. just not necessary or kn my option overly fitting to the actual books?
July 30, 2017
Clove and Ella are adorable as always 🙂
August 17, 2017
I wish I liked Lauren James' writing 😢
November 5, 2017
Loved it :)
I loved this little snippet of Clove and Ella's time in 1745, it was lovely to read about them again :)
I loved this little snippet of Clove and Ella's time in 1745, it was lovely to read about them again :)
December 15, 2017
Another awesome short story :) Love Clove and Ella so much!
August 2, 2019
Nog een mooi verhaal over Clove en Ella. Misschien een start voor een vervolg...
December 11, 2019
This was an interesting and entertaining fictional short story that intrigued me while I was patiently waiting for an appointment.
January 7, 2020
This was really cute. I liked getting more of their relationship.
December 16, 2020
3.5 stars
April 10, 2024
Loved this series and wish it could continue forever!
January 22, 2018
enjoyed this
June 15, 2021
cute additional short story that you can grab for free! it includes another adventure about a queer couple/ protagonists that are introduced in book 2
Displaying 1 - 24 of 25 reviews