The Next Forever by Lisa Burstein

Published January 13^th by Entangled Publishing

Book – Received from Net Galley.

So is it a yes or a no?’ Joe asked, a smile struggling to come to his lips-sunshine fighting through heavy grey clouds. He had just asked me to move in with him starting fall semester. I should have smacked my dining hall tray from the table and climbed across it to kiss him like we were on a plane going down, but all I could do was stare at my tray and run the tines of my fork over my uneaten mashed potatoes.

Goodreads Summary

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.

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This book is a relatively short one and covers one night in the relationship between Amy and Jo. That might not sound like much, but this one night is pivotal to the future of their relationship. Both are having doubts about the future of their love, but they struggle to discuss it with each other. Amy is attracted to bad boy Trevor who turns out to be shallower than a paddling pool. Ugh, I really didn’t like him.  Joe spends time reluctantly with Emily, a girl desperate to find a rich boy to take care of her.  Joe and Amy get to see what life would be like without the other and have to make a big decision about their future.The narrative jumps back and forth between Amy and Joe and the two characters do stand out quite distinctively. I liked the book; it was a quick and easy read. I loved Joe, probably a lot more than Amy. She was a bad girl turned good, but she still talked like a bad girl and I struggled with that.  Whereas Joe was like the original knight in shining armour, causing me to swoon a little. I wish I’d realised this was a sequel because I do think I would have liked to have read Pretty Amy first as it would have given me a better understanding of Amy and Joe’s characters. In this book there is a lot of reminiscing about the past of both these characters which was probably a major part of the previous book. So read Pretty Amy first my lovely readers, it will aid your enjoyment of this book.