Divorce attorney Alex Turner is always The One Before The One, and when she spots her most recent ex on a reality TV show with his new fiancé, she becomes determined to find out why. She embarks on a journey around Los Angeles to interview her ex-boyfriends, and, to her disdain, is joined by her long-time crush and frenemy, Will. He rejected her years ago, but now he’s determined to learn from his - and Alex’s exes - mistakes.

Ugh, guys. Stop letting me read romcoms. I did this to myself- I was sucked in by the Ariana Grande reference title and once again, thought “maybe I’ll like this one!”. Reader, I did not.

The characters, Alex and Will, were annoying to me and their chemistry/sexual tension didn’t seem believable. And while I know there’s nothing technically wrong with them being intimate, it still felt weird to me that they’re ex-step-uncle-and-niece. Their POVs just felt repetitive and flat, and I disliked every turn of the page. It was just… so… bleh.

Keep in mind that I generally don’t enjoy this genre, but this was a particularly weak one for me. Curious to hear what romcom/chick lit fans think of this - Am I way off base?!

Thank You, Next by Andie J. Christopher is a contemporary romantic comedy that pulls you in from the beginning with a captivating romance and a bit of humor. This is an entertaining and charming read with laugh-out-loud moments.

Thank You, Next by Andie J. Christopher is a standalone rom-com novel. We meet our heroine, Alex Turner, who is a very successful divorce attorney; and has no plans to ever marry, as she loves her life as it is. One night, she watches a TV a reality show, and sees her latest ex-boyfriend’s fiancée planning their wedding. She begins to realize that all of her ex-boyfriends (she has had quite a few) end up getting married after they break up with her. Alex is determined to go on a quest (with some of her friends) to meet with all her exes to find out why they broke up with her, and how to work toward having better relationships.

Will Harkness, our hero, is an old friend of Alex, but in current time, they really do not get along. Will is currently divorced, and is a well-known chef, opening a new restaurant. Will decides to tag along with Alex and her friends, as she meets her exes, and is determined to prove that she has done nothing wrong, just not having found the man destined for her. Will has always been attracted to Alex, but never explored any relationship, due to his fear of losing the only mother he ever had, Alex’s grandmother, Lexi.

It was an interesting concept and at times fun to watch Alex, with her friends and Will when meeting up with her exes. Along the way, Will finds himself jealous of all the exes, and slowly, with a slight push from Lexi, begins to have strong feelings for Alex. She too begins to see Will in another light, especially with his being very protective of her. I did like Will, though I thought he was too distanced toward Alex for half way through the book. I actually was not a fan of Alex for a majority of the time, with her somewhat changing closer to the last third. Their relationship was rocky from the start, and they really did not have much chemistry util much later.

Thank You, Next was a fun read, but I thought the relationship between Alex and Will took too long for the romance to start. Thank You, Next was well written by Andi J. Christopher.

Thank You, Next by Andie J. Christopher is an emotional look at one woman’s desire to find out more about herself by visiting her ex-boyfriends. I enjoyed this light and a somewhat steamy book about finding your strength. Combining romance and humor, this story features single divorce attorney Alex Turner and gifted chef Will Harkness. When Alex sees her latest ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend picking out her wedding dress, she reflects on her dating life. She’s determined to find out why these guys went into a committed relationship soon after breaking up with her. Will and Alex have known each other since they were teens and have a tumultuous relationship. When he learns about Alex’s quest, he decides to tag along with her and her two friends, Lana and Jane.

Neither Alex nor Will have had role models that had lasting relationships. Alex is an amazing attorney, but has moments of vulnerability. Her insecurities becoming more apparent as the book progressed. Will is shrewd, but hates the publicity required by his job. They are both hoping to find the answers they seek and find happiness. The romance between Alex and Will was realistic and steamy. They had a strong attraction, but it took a while for them to figure out it was more than just a physical attraction. But the real story is Alex’s journey to learning more about herself and how her past influences the way she interacts with men. The secondary characters are diverse and significantly add to the enjoyment of the novel. I especially loved Lexi, Alex’s grandmother, as she added some well needed warmth and humor to the story. Lexi is a talented, intelligent, and powerful woman, making it obvious that Alex inherited these traits from her.

Ms. Christopher provided a look at how past events and actions can affect one’s personality. There is a lot of introspection by both Alex and Will resulting on how relationships and trust of a partner affects each of them. This is a wonderful, emotional, sizzling story with laugh out loud moments that should not be missed. She provided a tale rich with emotions, magnetic attraction, strong off-the-chart chemistry, wonderful dialogue, and endearing characters giving Alex and Will a chance for that happily ever after. I highly recommend Thank You, Next to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you (next!) to Berkley Publishing Group & NetGalley for this eARC!
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Career women, those still in love with their high school crush, and anyone who has ever felt second-best in love, this is for you. In Thank You, Next, we meet Alex Turner who has always been “the-one-before-the-ring,” aka all of her ex boyfriends married the woman they started dating immediately after her, sometimes even within a week of breaking up. Alex is a powerful divorce attorney and has little interest in long term commitments until one day she sees her most recent ex and his fiancé on Say Yes to the Dress, which spurs an unexpected response in her gut. Alex’s two best friends, Lana and Jane, encourage her to go chat with all of her exes and see why they broke up with (or in some cases, ghosted) her.
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Throughout Alex’s journey, we meet Will Harkness. Alex’s ex-step-uncle-kind of? of sorts. Will’s Dad was, at one point, married to Alex’s famous grandmother, Lexi, when Will and Alex were in high school. Will is a total smoke show, so naturally Alex had the hots for him back in the day. She made her move once, after which he brutally rejected her and they’ve been frenemies ever since. Will, who is recently divorced, realizes that Alex is the only woman for him, but doesn’t think he can be the man she needs. Alternatively, Alex struggles with her own baggage and fear of rejection and doesn’t think she deserves someone as good as Will.
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This book was cute! Alex and Will are not perfect characters which is refreshing, and the overall inclusivity, diversity, and representation in the book is of note and so comforting to read! The side characters were fun and endearing and some of the confusing bits I struggled with were consistency errors that will hopefully be fixed in the finished copies! All in all, I liked this one a lot. It’s also not super spicy, it’s more like a rom-com movie!
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My number one con is that it’s third person narration which is just *not* for me. This honestly makes it more of a 3.5 stars than a four but we can’t do half stars so I rounded up! This is not anything against the book in particular, but more a preference on how I like to read romance books!

This book was a cute read, but it ended feeling incomplete, which was a bit of a bummer.

These two main characters are basically acquaintances through family and while they clearly care about each other, they keep their distance – especially since Will turned Alex down when they were kids. But Will couldn’t have known how much his rejection would hurt her – or that when Alex later on in life discovers that she’s the last person her exes date before finding “the one”, she’ll tie it to her very first rejection and become determined to interview her exes to get to the bottom of why it was always someone else and never her.

There’s a lot of loss and hope and insecurity in this book, and I honestly really like Alex and Will together, but the pacing didn’t fit well for me. The beginning was good, and then it felt too rushed. And the ending feels as though it could use another five chapters rather than ending after a fight gets fixed. I definitely didn’t see the ending coming that abruptly and wished it could have been a bit more drawn out. But to each their own.

I'm sad I didn't like this one more. I was really excited by the premise, and I actually really enjoyed the plot side of things - a woman tracking down her exes to figure out where it all went wrong when they all seem to find love right after breaking up with her.

I think where I wish it had been a little stronger was in the actual romance. These are two people who are supposed to have known each other since they were teenagers, and I could feel that at moments but at other times they felt like new-ish acquaintances.

This hasn't put me off the author at all since it was a fun read, and a good examination of how we don't always see our own blind spots. I just wish it had gone into the relationship a bit more.

Special thanks to Berkley for an advance copy for review purposes.

Alex Turner is perplexed. Why is it that none of her relationships have led her down the aisle? Why are her previous exes getting married or already married? As a divorce attorney, Alex has seen the worst of marriages but seriously doubts that she herself will eventually find the right one. Seeing her ex on a reality TV show helping his upcoming bride choose a wedding dress has really shaken Alex, so she makes a decision to interview each of her exes to find out what was missing in their relationships and what she could do better. She has hopes of finding out why marriage was not in the cards for any of those relationships.

There is someone that is very special to Alex and that is her grandmother, Lexi, and also her best friends Lana and Jane. Meanwhile, Will Harkness is a thorn in Alex‘s side. While her friends are eager for her to go ahead and follow through with her plan to interview these exes, her grandmother has asked Will to keep an eye on her. Here is the rub. Her grandmother has had many marriages and one of them was Will’s father years ago. This technically makes Will Alex‘s step-uncle. The two share a past where at one point Alex made it clear to Will that she was very attracted to him. He had his reasons for avoiding a relationship with her then and even now, despite the fact that he finds himself quite drawn to her.

So, Alex begins her trek talking to her exes and this really shakes Will because the more time he spends with her in what he considers a useless endeavor, the more he finds that his feelings are becoming more difficult to fight. Meanwhile, the sensitivity in the story shows Alex feeling less than when it comes to not having found her own happily ever after. I liked that take in this story. Thank You, Next was an enjoyable second-chance story with delightful characters, a fun concept and a wonderful romance.

Many thanks to Berkley Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Please enjoy my YouTube video review - https://youtu.be/Ci4bdRwdtng

I would characterize this book as a disappointment. From 40% to 80% in I consistently debated putting it down and not picking it back up--after that there was a sunk cost that I was not prepared to lose. There's nothing problematic with this book, it's just unbelievably boring.

We see our heroine, Alex, a high-profile divorce attorney, realizing that all of her exes married the woman they dated after her. Determined to unravel the pattern, she looks them and hunts them down to ask what went wrong. All the time, her childhood crush and family friend, Will, is by her side. Their mutual pining isn't even disguised and there's no real reason these two can't be together other than their mutual need for therapy.

The book has little discernable plot and is nothing more than really a waiting game. While I absolutely loved Not the Girl You Marry by Christopher, her subsequent books have not recaptured that charm and seem to rely on crassness or faux-taboo to mask an otherwise dullness.

Thanks to Berkley for my eARC and finished copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3 stars - 4/10

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This had a really interesting premise, going to talk to your exes with the guy that you've always had a crush on. Alex was definitely not the typical heroine, I really enjoyed how feisty she was, confident.

I just could never fully connect with this one especially the romance elements. The author is talented this one was just a struggle for personal preference reasons.

THANK YOU, NEXT – Andie J. Christopher
Berkley
ISBN: ‎ 978-0593200063
June 14, 2022
Contemporary Fiction

Los Angeles, California – Present Day

Single divorce attorney Alex Turner has gone through several relationships, but it doesn’t hit her until she sees her last boyfriend on a reality TV show with his fiancé that it appears all her ex-boyfriends found love with the one that they plan to marry right after their romance ended with Alex. Is it her…or them? She intends to find out the answer. Along with her two girlfriends and Will Harkness, the ex-stepson of her grandmother, Alex contacts her ex-boyfriends one by one in person to see if she can find out the answer. Along the way, she learns a few things about herself and earns a new romance with the one who might have gotten away…Will.

Alex is a top-notch attorney in a business that requires toughness and resilience. Her parents didn’t really love each other and dropped her off with her grandmother, Lexi, who has been married several times, including to Will’s father for a time. But even after the divorce, Lexi kept in touch with Will, and he is a frequent guest. Will, a celebrity chef, is in the process of opening a restaurant and shouldn’t be distracted, but he likes being around Alex. Besides, he’s curious about what she finds out. Years ago, they had kissed but he pushed her away because he didn’t want to hurt his friendship with Lexi and Alex. Will married a few years later, much to Alex’s dismay, but the marriage didn’t work out. Does he regret not pursuing something with Alex? Maybe it’s time to give them a second chance.

Alex’s two girlfriends, Lana and Jane, start out in THANK YOU, NEXT along for the ride in seeking out her ex-boyfriends, but they soon abandon the quest, leaving Alex alone with Will. Soon, Will is feeling jealous of all the men that she dated, but it does lead to them talking about the past—and their present feelings for each other. A heated kiss is interrupted but it quickly leads to another and them wanting more. Will they end up having a fling, with Alex dumping Will, which seems to be her dating process? Or will they discover a deeper connection that leads to something more?

THANK YOU, NEXT has plenty of emotional ups and downs for both Alex and Will. It’s clear that they not only care for each other but that there has been an attraction through the years. Yet, neither wanted to break the bonds of “friendly relations.” Will Alex find out what she needs to know? Will she see Will as someone she can not only depend on but spend the rest of her life with? An engaging read you won’t want to miss, be sure to pick up a copy of THANK YOU, NEXT by Andie J. Christopher.

Patti Fischer

This book in 3 words: Easy. Fun. Snarky. 

Alex, a successful divorce attorney, is caught off guard when she sees an ex on "Say Yes to The Dress". After some digging, she finds almost all of her exes go on to find "the one" after. On a journey to figure out "why", she becomes even more entangled with Will, a long time family friend. 

This cover is stunning and was the first reason I was interested in the book. Hooked me! 

I liked this book but didn't love it. I thought the premise was really intriguing but I had some issues with pacing (things just going too fast before I could care about an outcome). 

I really liked Alex as a main character. She's strong, a little stubborn, and forward in the best ways. I loved the idea of a strong female character on a journey of self-discovery. I enjoyed her counterpart, Will, and thought there was a good foundation for a great story. 

I noted quite a few one-liners in Thank You, Next. There's some stellar moments in these pages and it was an enjoyable reading experience. 

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC and opportunity to share my thoughts.

Thank You, Next by Andie J. Christopher has a promising premise, however, I was disappointed by its execution. I wanted to love the book but struggled to be captured by the voice. The third person narrative made it hard to connect with Alex as a character and she felt too flat to me. There were some inner monologue moments that I thought were funny and I like the relationship dynamic between Alex and Will. However, I was expecting enemies to lovers and that trope didn't seem to really fit with their relationship because it was mostly one-sided over something too minor.
Overall, Thank You, Next was a good read at the line level but the story failed to come to life for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of Thank You, Next by Andie J. Christopher in exchange for an honest review.

Divorce attorney Alex is down on love. Hardened by her past, plus her profession, Alex wants nothing to do with marriage or children. But when her last boyfriend ends up on reality show "Say Yes to the Dress" with a fiance, Alex is shaken and starts out on a quest to figure out why she can't make a relationship go the distance.

I enjoyed Alex's character. She's had a rough go of it growing up, so there's no wonder she chooses to deal with her emotions later, never allowing people to truly know her. Alex is full of spunk, talking with bit and a whole lot of snark, with awesome one-liners. Alex's Grandma Lexi is an absolute trip, her antics are hysterical and she brings much needed comic relief to the story. The steamy scenes were done so well!

Even though I liked Alex's character, ultimately this one fell flat for me. I really wanted to love it, because Christopher's previous series is so great, but this one was a miss for me. My main issues came with the development of the relationship between Will and Alex. I just wasn't rooting for them to be together and I felt like they had a lack of depth when it came to them getting together.

The reason Alex "hated" Will seems petty to hold on to for over half her life, so the enemies to lovers angle really wasn't believable for me. Because both Will and Alex have major daddy issues, which makes them emotionally unavailable and it felt like neither of them resolved these issues by the end of the book. The development of the relationship between the pair fell flat for me. It felt like they talked about how much they frustrated with each other, rather than interacting together. Once they do finally get together, their relationship moves incredibly fast. The reader doesn't get to experience the development, rather the couple sleep together and then they're together with some fast forwards to moments in their future relationship.

Thanks to Berkley Romance for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Review: This was the first book I've read by Andie J. Christopher, and based on this one, I will definitely be checking out her other books! This was a fantastic romance, with plenty of funny and heartfelt moments. Alex and Will were great main characters. (Also, I love the title of the book!) Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who thinks it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Thank You, Next had a very promising premise. It follows Alex as she questions how and why all of her exes got married right after their relationship ended. With the help of her best friends, she sets out to find the reason.

I thought Alex was a well-developed character but at times I wanted to shake her. I wished that we had gotten more backstory about Alex and Will, who have always had crushes on each other. Some of the plot lines didn't feel fully developed or resolved. I did love all of the food descriptions though and thought this was full of humor!

Thank you to Berkely for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alex is a commitment phobe, she has no use for a long term committed relationship. Her family life and her career as a divorce attorney have made her jaded about love. That is until she sees her ex boyfriend and his fiance on Say Yes to the Dress. She realizes that most of her exes moved onto serious committed relationships right after their breakups.

Alex embarks on a quest to find out what it was about her that made her exes not commit. She visits a bunch of exes to get their perspective on her and what she learns is not flattering.

Her childhood crush, Will, seems determined to stop this info quest. He's broody, protective and yet turned Alex down years ago. He growls and grunts but he definitely has a soft spot for her.

As the story progresses, you find out more of their backstory, but it just wasn't enough for me. I wanted to get to know them more.

Alex is not the most relatable character, however the supporting characters including her friends and grandma are wonderful. I wish they were all more fleshed out and I'd love to see more about them in the future.

3.5 stars

Funny and heartwarming enemies to lovers romance.
Over a decade ago, Alex kissed Will - only to have Will clearly grossed out and not interested.
As the stepson of her grandmother Lexi - though happily divorced from his father, Alex has accepted Will is simply a part of her life. An uncomfortable, don't have to be nice or even talk to him part of her life.
The tension between these characters - loved it.
After seeing her ex-lover on Say Yes to the Dress - weeks after their breakup, Alex decides to do a quality check on a few past lovers. Why did they breakup? Why did they marry their next partner?
Consumed with the upcoming opening of his new restaurant, Will can't help but tell Alex how dumb the whole concept is.
Together, they explore their own past, while figuring out their future.

This was a cute second chance romance. A little too much inner monologue for me, but I did like the characters. I also liked that during the first times the MCs had sex, they had real “first time sex” as it was described with some fumbling around. Haven’t had that in a romance in a while, so it was refreshing. Overall, fun and easy beach read.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for the digital reading copy via Netgalley and including me on the Blog Blitz for Thank You, Next. Review contains my own thoughts and opinions.

First things first - this cover. 😍😍😍 I love it. It perfectly depicts Alex, the strong and commanding family law heroine in the novel. As it says, always the fling, never the ring - when we first meet her, she starts to wonder why she’s always the last girlfriend before her exes meet ‘the one.’

Will, a chef getting ready to launch a new restaurant, has been a part of her life for years, and he causes Alex to burn with lust and hatred simultaneously.

I’m in love with Alex’s wit and snark from chapter one. To be cheesy, Alex and Will are perfectly imperfect together and for each other.

While reading, I smiled, laughed, and felt not nearly cool enough to be friends with Alex or to eat at Will’s restaurant, but I loved reading along and enjoyed their story immensely.

I also adored their friends, Jane, Lana, and Charlee, and of course, Alex’s ageless grandmother, Lexi.