Unable to review at this time. Will review at a later date. I'm cleaning up my netgalley in order to review 2023 books. This book sounds delightful and will read once fully caught up on my account. Thank you for this opportunity! I look forward to reading this book!

DNF - I tried a few times to get through this one but couldn't get past the first few chapters. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance

This book has a solid premise, an intriguing hook, with two contestants on a reality dating show falling in love with each other rather than the “bachelor.”
However, the toxic behavior of contestants and overall distasteful personalities is a major turn off for entry point of the reader. I found it difficult to get into the storyline and hold out for the queer romance I was looking forward to, when I had to muddle through the horrible personalities of other contestants. And unfortunately I decided it wasn’t worth it.

So great.
I loved this story and had such a great time reading it.

The charaters and setting where fun. The story kept me entertained and I couldn't put it down.

Blog:
’m revealing my age here, but in high school I definitely watched the very first season of The Bachelor (and a few of the following ones). I wasn’t yet out to myself, but even so found myself wondering why the women were such better catches than the man. Apparently, long after I stopped watching, in 2016 two of the women contestants got together with each other. But this happens far less frequently than one might imagine. In any case, when I saw the plot description for this book, let me tell you, I smashed the request button on NetGalley without paying too much attention beyond – two women on a reality tv dating show get together.

Beyond the reality tv show wrapping, this uses the enemies to lovers romance trope. I’ve historically avoided this trope because I had a hard time conceptualizing how I could root for someone to get together with someone they start off disliking strongly. This book showed me otherwise, though. Although it starts in Maya’s perspective in just a couple of chapters it shifts to Skye’s so it becomes easy to see how these two women have come to dislike each other based on a bad misunderstanding. So there’s not actually something enemy-worthy about either of them. That said, both of them are flawed (as are well all) but with the enemies to lovers they start out only seeing the flaws then start to see what’s great about each other. It makes for a really realistic depiction of a healthy relationship at the end, because it’s not all rose-colored glasses. Also, I really like how they move from enemies to women supporting women to women loving each other.

This book is also hysterically funny. I legitimately laughed out loud multiple times while reading it. Representation is decent. Two of the secondary characters are people of color, and one is gay. Both Skye and Maya are bisexual. Because Jordy hid his two-timing ways easily since his family moved all over the world, his exes are also international. Chalonne is funnily contrived in much the way Genovia from The Princess Diaries was. (Incidentally, this got me to wondering if European writers set books in fake countries in the Americas the way we seem to make up fake European monarchies. It seems like most of them that do exist are more of an alternate history where either fascism takes over or the colonies never won independence sort.)

There were three things I wasn’t so keen on in the book that held me back from five stars. First, I just didn’t feel like these characters were 18. They read as more like just out of college than just out of high school to me. It was easy for me to give that a pass, though, because I just headcanoned them older. Related to my mistaken belief that they were older when I started reading it, in the first scene, Maya is at a bar and not drinking. Oh nice! I thought. Representation of sobriety in a romance. But no. She was just under the drinking age in the US. As soon as she gets to Chalonne, where the drinking age is 18, she starts drinking. A lot. Just not wine because she thinks it’s icky. So that was disappointing to me. I also wish that the scene where she has too many vodka jello shots was more realistic. Binge drinking for people assigned female at birth is 4 drinks in one sitting. She has way more than that. She should have been very sick as opposed to having a mild hangover that passed by lunchish. I refuse to believe this reality tv show would have gone light on the vodka when we all know they like for contestants to get drunk. To be clear, while I personally would like to see more romances depicting sober people, I understand it’s realistic to show people drinking. But if we’re going to show them drinking and drinking too much in one night is a plot point, let’s be realistic about how much is too much for a person in a body assigned female at birth. Last, while I get it that Jordy needs to be the bad guy, he’s such a bad guy that I struggled to understand how all these nice women fell for him at all to begin with. I understand from Maya’s perspective he’s gross for valid non-physical reasons (the cheating, the lying, etc…) but we do have the chance to see Skye’s perspective as well, and it’s not clear to me from hers what she sees in him either. Maybe even if just in one of the first scenes where Jordy takes his shirt off Maya found herself attracted to him in spite of knowing his douchey ways, that would have helped me to understand. But she even seems to be turned off by his looks. It left me scratching my head a bit.

Overall, this book was a breath of fresh air, featuring two women bisexual leads who fall for each other surrounded by a very humorous reality tv setting. While some of that setting was a bit difficult to believe, the enemies to lovers plot was so enjoyable that it was easy enough to just focus on them.

Instagram:
If you’ve ever wished that two of the women – any two of the women – on a reality tv dating show would just get with each other instead of pining over the questionable man they’re supposedly there for, this one is for you. The first enemies to lovers plot I've enjoyed and laugh out loud funny.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review! Full review on my book blog.
#bookalicious #sapphicbooks #avidreader #bookaesthetic #whatimreading #bookrecs #liesdas #bisexualbooks

GoodReads:
I'm really wrestling with whether to mark this 5 stars.

Importantly note: this delivers what I, as a bisexual woman, have always wanted out of the very straight reality dating shows: two of the women contestants getting together and saying "screw this guy."

Loved the premise of this one but it fell a bit flat for me.

Like other reviewers have mentioned, I think it would have worked better as a NA book vs a YA. The ages didn’t seem realistic to me.

The pacing was also a bit off and the book dragged a bit in the middle.

I did love Maya and Skye’s relationship and was rooting for them.

Overall it was a cute read.

I'm bummed that I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would.

Never Ever Getting Back Together follows Maya and Skye, two ex-girlfriends of Jordy. Jordy is the star of tv's newest reality show, Second Chance Romance, where six of Jordy's ex-girlfriends compete to prove that they were the girl that got away. Maya and Skye both want revenge, but along the way to the finale, the two girls fall in love with each other.

There were a couple of things that didn't work for me:

1) I really don't think this should have been YA and instead it should have been reworked in New Adult. There's absolutely no reason why it should have been YA and I felt like this book required a lot of suspension of belief. You're really telling me that this boy has dozens of ex-girlfriends at 18? And most of these romantic relationships were genuine/had the emotional depth to allow for a show to be made about "the ones that got away"? It was just a weird setup that I think would have made more sense if most of the characters were in their 20s.

2) The characters were rather...boring? Most of them felt like cliches or cardboard cutouts of themselves. I feel like we had so many characters in this book and I couldn't tell you any of the defining features. I think I remember only one detail about each of the other contestants but even that felt hard to differentiate them. Even Maya and especially Skye felt hollow and I was craving more depth from them.

3) The pacing was a bit hard and I got bored about halfway through and almost DNF'd but I had gotten to 75% so I pushed through. I didn't find the ending that satisfying in the way that it needed to be for this book to be worth the effort.

Overall, I don't think this book was terrible but maybe it just wasn't for me. Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the arc!

This was a fun read! I really enjoyed this. The only thing I will say is that I wish it were a full Adult or New Adult book. Making the characters 10 years older would have really added the depth and emotions I was missing. Having said that, I still loved this and would recommend it for anyone looking for a fun fast paced sapphic read!

"Let me be clear, Gwendolyn. I would rather be swallowed up into the bowels of hell and enter an arrangement with the fallen angel Lucifer than date Jordy Miller again."

In honor of The Bachelor season finale last night…here’s a book review about a girl out for revenge and a girl there for a second chance on a reality dating show with their ex. The twist? While teaming up to take the leading man down, they accidentally fall in love. What could go wrong?

I adored Maya! She was so funny and determined but could also be soft at times. I thought her revenge plan was genius, and Jordy definitely deserved it. To be honest, I didn’t feel a ton of chemistry between her and Skye, which I think was because the relationship happened so fast, but it was still super fun to read! Books based on reality shows are a favorite niche genre of mine so I had a great time.

Thanks NetGalley and Wednesday books for a copy of this book!

What worked for me:
-The Bachelor setting! I am absolute trash for it and I loved the reality TV setting

-Skye and Maya's chemistry! They had palpable chemistry especially as the book moved on and their relationship developed. It was a high point for me

What didn't work for me:
-That this was YA. This book felt like it should have been New Adult and would have made a lot more sense with characters in their twenties. How does a teenager have enough exes for a Bachelor style show? And it just kind of threw the whole thing off for me. It felt like it should have been NA and there was no good reason this should have been YA

-Not enough atmosphere. There was never much of a strong sense of setting for me and it was disappointing

I ended up switching to the audiobook to get more into this and that helped a lot because the pacing was meh. But the audiobook was quite good and helped me get more into the story.

A fun YA that will capture your attention from the beginning. An easy read to that’ll make you laugh and have good feelings!

I enjoyed the plot and writing style, however, I read the first half of the book and did not pick it up again. I say it was 3.5/4 for what I read of it, and I may pick it up again in the future.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a fun, fast-paced, and delightfully queer revenge story with just the right amount of drama for any reality TV lover.

I’m not much of a reality TV person, but I absolutely love reading about those kinds of shows. Naturally, Never Ever Getting Back Together immediately caught my attention with its setting and, of course, being hella gay. And Sophie Gonzales delivers on all fronts!

The dating show setting made for an interesting background as it provided natural stakes as well as points of conflict and cute date opportunities alike. Personally, I found the difference between the reality Jordy and the team are trying to manufacture and what’s actually going on delightful. Nothing like a reality TV dating show to amp up the drama! The setting also meant the plot kept moving and there was never a dull moment.

Admittedly, I would’ve wished for the world-building to be explored just a bit more because it felt incomplete in some aspects, particularly the whole royal family situation. However, Never Ever Getting Back Together more than makes up for that with its incredible characters!

Maya and Skye are exactly the kind of main characters I like to read about. They’re headstrong in their own ways (Maya in particular), smart, and full of life and personality. The dual-perspective narration makes it easy to root for them both and get to know them very quickly. Needless to say, Maya and Skye won me over after just a few pages!

Additionally, I appreciated that the book resolves their differences and Jordy-manufactured rivalry relatively quickly. It was much more fun to read about their tentative friendship than watch them have a billion misconceptions about each other.

There were so many moments during reading where I laughed out loud at their plan to take down Jordy. I just love a good revenge plot! Additionally, their romance was so sweet! There were enough swoon-worthy moments to fill my sapphic little heart for at least a solid month.

Both Skye and Maya get plenty of opportunities to grow as characters throughout the story and reevaluate their values and plans for their lives. This proves to be necessary for Maya in particular, who is possibly one of the most stubborn characters I have ever met! Personally, I adored her determination, but your mileage may vary. I can totally see how her obsession with getting revenge on Jordy could get a little tiring as the story progresses.

Finally, I appreciated that all the girls on the show got to develop friendships and have each other’s backs. Never Ever Getting Back Together shows that you can have realistic conflict and complex relationships between female characters without falling back on the “ew, I’m not like other girls” trope.

Overall, Never Ever Getting Back Together was utterly delightful and made me want to read more sapphic romances with reality TV settings!

I loved this game show sapphic story! The story was taken in a different direction than I thought it would regarding the two main characters. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers! I think it is hard to find sapphic YA romances and this is a great one. I am excited to read more of Sophie Gonzales's books in the future!

1st things first. Female bisexual representation not being used in an exploitative way! YAY! I'm SO happy. It's amazing, and I love it.

2nd thing. No one reacting in a homophobic way to the thought of beautiful sapphic love! Again, so so happy.

I didn't know how much I would enjoy this book but yes, I ended up loving it so much. Jordy however? As bad as you think he is in the beginning? He gets much, much worse, just trust me on this one. It's bad. So so bad.

His ex girlfriend's are interesting though, and sadly their common denominator seems to be insecurities he knew exactly how to prey on. So when revenge is the order of the day against Jordy, I have to admit I was quite happy to see how it would unfold.

This book is seriously entertaining, though I would've liked it to delve a little deeper into the other exes not just Maya and Skye, but I was so happy to learn more about them.

Also, not everything is as it seems with the characters in this book so keep that in mind, and keep your opinions fluid.

My recommendation: Read it. Especially if you don't like reality dating shows (I know, weird, right?)

Told through the alternating character Skye and Maya. They are both contestants on a reality dating show. The show premise is the guy is dating exs to see if he could find a second chance with one. I struggled to finish this book. I wasn’t a fan of any of the characters. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

After loving Only Mostly Devastated and If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales, I was excited for this one! I love the way Gonzales writes and this one was no different! The humor in this book was fantastic and I was entertained the whole time! I did think it was interesting to have the reality show airing as they were filming which I don’t know if a reality show would actually air like that but liked it for the book. There were some twists at the end that I wasn’t expecting! The queer rep in this book is fantastic! I loved Maya and Skye and seeing their relationship evolve throughout the story.

I do wish this book would have been more new adult then YA with the characters a few years older. I feel like the dating reality show would work a little better with characters in their early 20’s. I also wish at the end the epilogue would have had a bigger time jump so we could have seen how the events at the end played out a little more!

Overall, this was a 4.5 for me!

This was a cute YA romance where two girls go on a reality show with 4 other girls to try to get the same ex, Jordy, back. Skye knows they had chemistry, and she thinks there might be a chance they could find their spark again.
Maya on the other hand, wants revenge. She wants to expose Jordy as the jerk she knows he is.
As the competition goes on, Maya and Skye find that they’re attracted to each other, definitely not part of the show! 3.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

I've never been a huge fan of shows like the bachelor, but in a written format this really works. I think it's because we get a better inside view of the character's minds and not just what the producers want. The characters were quite memorable and it was a quick and enjoyable read.

Maya just wants her side of the story told but its hard when your ex is Jordi, the most eligible bachelor and America's sweetheart. Even worse he has spun a narrative that has Maya as the bad person. So when she get the opportunity to set the record straight she jumps head first. Never Ever Getting Back Together encapsulates the revenge songs of Taylor Swift with the staged romance of The Bachelor. Gonzales pushes the reader to understand there is always 2 sides to every break up.