A really fun take on the reality dating world - two contestants who fall for each other while in the middle of a revenge plot on the 'suitor' who is also both of their ex. It was so easy to immediately like the two main characters, Maya and Skye. Though they hate each other at the beginning, i was so happy that this didn't linger too long and we got to watch them become friends and then eventually fall for each other. It really helps this whole plot that the ex is so horrendous that the entire time you're just waiting for him to get destroyed. I loved seeing how all the contestants eventually became friends and grew close with a common enemy. I also really enjoyed seeing how in the end the producers saw the truth and allowed it to come out. I just really enjoyed this book.

The last thing that Skye expected was a phone call about joining a reality dating show called Second-Chance Romance where she would compete for ex-boyfriend, Jordy who has not captured hearts everywhere after his sister married a crown prince, with a number of his exes. In a beautiful mansion she meets more of Jordy’s exes, amongst them, Maya who hates her and insists that she knew Jordy and her were together, but Skye still dated him. As the show unfolds, so does an unexpected surprise.

I was so pulled in by the premise of this one. The chaos of a dating show? Contestants falling in love with each other? It sounded so perfect and honestly it didn’t disappoint me!

The plot really ended up being everything I thought it would be. It had the chaos of the reality show. The dates that didn’t seem to make any sense at all. We really got to see the girls bonding which was lovely to see! The friendships that they managed to make were really lovely and sweet. They cared about one another and supported one another. I loved seeing that amidst all the chaos of everything else.

Maya and Skye’s relationship was magnificent. They really managed to balance one another out. Maya was always ready to act. She is the type to act first and think later, but Skye always got her to slow down and think about things. On top of the enemies to lovers route they kinda had, they also had an opposites attract that paired really well. They worked so well together and I loved them slowly getting closer with one another.

There are a couple of things that I wish would have been a thing. I do wish that we really would have gotten to see what Jordy deserved on page. I would have loved to see him get demolished (even though this was probably the more realistic end). I also would have liked to see these characters as a little older. I think if they were a little older this would have worked even better.

Overall, this was a fun read! I had such a good time seeing everything they had planned. I think that if you think this sounds even remotely interesting, give it a chance. It was such a fun ride and the romance was wonderful.

All the worst parts of Reality TV. I was on board but there was very little depth to the plot and the relationships. Entertaining though. Catty.

- The last person Maya Bailey ever thought she’d hear from again was her ex boyfriend, Jordy Miller, especially not after he cheated on her. But two years later, his sister has married a prince, and now he’s going on reality tv to see if one of his exes is ‘the one who got away.’ Re-Dating her toxic ex is the last thing Maya wants, until she realizes this can be her turn to break his heart and show the world who he really is. The only thing she hadn’t counted on was Skye, the girl Jordy cheated on her with. At first there is animosity and Maya can’t imagine spending one more second with her around, but after they have a moment to hash out how Jordy royally screwed them both over, they start to work together to take him down, and find each other in the process. What happens when you accidentally fall in love with the girl your ex cheated on you with? Well, it makes for great reality television.
- From a personal standpoint, this checks all of the boxes for me. The banter is witty, the premise is a little outlandish, but still feels very much like the type of reality show to exist, and the characters are endearing. Gonzalez does a fantastic job of making the reader care about each of the girls very quickly. I was concerned that I would feel bad for Jordy in the revenge situation, however it was quickly clear we were not supposed to root for him. This is romance with the game show and revenge plot that would keep teens really interested. The only possible issue I could see adults having with teens reading this is the depiction of the contestants drinking alcohol. All of the girls are between the ages of 18 and 20, and it’s made clear that in the fictional country of Chalonne where they’re filming, the drinking age is 18. It’s not unheard of for teens in countries with lower drinking ages to drink as long as they’re legal, but it is worth mentioning. At the heart of the story is the relationship between Skye and Maya. The relationship grows organically, and other than the miscommunication they have initially about how their relationships with Jordy overlap, there is not catty behavior to get over. They’re both justified based on how Jordy spun the events to them. And what’s really refreshing is that this is not a coming out story for either of them. Both go into the relationship fully aware and out as bisexual. For YA books, this isn’t always the case. There is absolutely a time and place for a coming out romance, but this story had so much more going on, that adding that would have made it feel over stuffed. I’d recommend this for readers 16 and up. It’s a fun, bantery sapphic romance set on a dreamy dating show. And it’s the epitome of a romance, it shows that love can conquer all.

This was fun! It was nice reading a YA book with college-age characters. The story was entertaining, and the two main characters were fun to follow. Though this isn’t a new favorite, I had a fun time reading it, and I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a queer, fun YA rom-com.

Thank you to Netgalley for early access in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed reading this but just didn't absolutely love it. Me and young adult just aren't looking for the same thing. Nothing against the book, it just solidifies my opinions of the genre for the future.

I thought that this book was okay nothing spectacular. The romance between and Skye and Maya was okay but felt weird and forced at some points. One issue I had with the book was the age of the characters. Why does he have so many exes so young? I know some of them were hookup or short situationships, but wouldn't it have made more sense to just age them up and target the books at adults? The idea was good and the execution was poor.

This book was the perfect antidote to my FOMO I'm feeling for not keeping up with The Bachelor anymore. I've decided to leave Bachelor Nation, but I'm still a sucker for a dramatic reality TV show rom-com.

This book was so cute, I really loved the characters and the over the topness of the setting and the antagonist. I loved the themes of standing up for yourself, and that love is worth fighting for. I highly recommend it for anyone who has finally seen the light on how toxic these dating shows can be. I also recommend it to anyone who enjoyed The Charm Offensive!

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for my eARC copy of the book. I really enjoyed it!

Really enjoyed reading this book. It was so different from all the books I usually read.. And the characaters had so much chemistry.

Never Ever Getting Back Together tells a love story through a reality tv lens.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were well developed and compelling. I cared about what happened to all of them. Sophie Gonzales has never disappointed me and that record stands.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

It's been 2 years since Maya broke up with Jordy. Jordy, who's sister married into a small European royal family and who is now famous for being a royal by association. With that he decides to be part of a reality show called Second Chance Romance, where he dates the girls he had previously had relationships with to see who he will end up with. Maya never wanted to see Jordy again especially when he cheated on Maya with Skye and gaslighted her and told everyone that she made that up. When they first meet ,Skye is put off by how Maya acts towards her, but once Maya proves she was right everything changes. Maya and Skye start spending more and more time with each other and they develop feelings for each other. They decide to wreck havoc on the show and on Jordy. Eventually they decide that Jordy get his comeuppance but only after Maya and Skye are happily together. It was a fun, nonsense take on reality shows. I really enjoyed how much fun was poked at these. Overall, it was a fun read.

Fun book. I went in with no information which made the book way more fun because I had no idea where it was going. Very fun. Didn’t know it was YA until more than halfway through the book when there was a fad to black scene. Lets call it 1/5 spice? Loved the lgBtq rep

I liked this, but I didn't love it nearly as much as Sophie's previous books. I loved how Maya and Skye came together (while at a dating show, competing (theoretically) for their mutual ex boyfriend). They were really fun together and made excellent collaborating schemers. Their chemistry was great as well. The part I really didn't enjoy was the ending - we were building to this big reveal, a big fuck you moment for their ex, and it really fell flat for me. The love story was solid, but the revenge story left a lot on the table.

I'm a Bachelor franchise fan, but I'm also Queer as hell so this Bachelor inspired romance where two girls fall in love should have been an easy 5 star read. It was fine, but I didn't find it particularly memorable.

I thought a lot of the story was much too rushed, and needed room to breathe. It felt like we'd barely started a new task before Maya or Skye was waking up for the next day, and I don't remember most of what they did during the show as the story raced to the finish line.

I didn't really care about Jordy, sure he was a stereotypical misogynistic jerk but like, he had literally no other character development. He barely felt like a real person as a result. I sorta got Maya and Skye's relationship and they did have some cute moments, but how rushed the story felt did affect this for me.

This aptly named novel follows Maya and Skye, two young women, as they join filming for a reality tv show, where they attempt to rekindle their romance with the one who got away - Jordy. The catch? Maya is a woman scorned, and Skye is the person who stole her ex away from her. But… a second chance is the last thing on Maya’s mind, as she plans to get revenge on Jordy.⁣
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I hate it when people say young adult novels read “too young” or “too childish”, because duh, it’s a YOUNG adult novel. However, a lot of the behavior in the first 40% of the book was just a little too immature for me. Especially because our two main characters are 18-19 years old. It just felt a little ridiculous to see them act very childish. ⁣
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However! I did really like Maya and Skye. I thought they were both very interesting, complex characters once you really got to know them, and I have always appreciated how Sophie writes messy, honest people. The romance was all yearning and ‘oh my god FINALLY’, which I love. This book is classic Sophie Gonzales, so obviously I still enjoyed it a lot! I just could’ve done without all the extra immature jabs and 13 year old behavior.⁣
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All in all, I really enjoyed this one, and I will always read everything Sophie writes.

I had a very hard time getting into this one. None of the characters interested me and I couldn't get sucked into the story. :(

Full of humour and heart, this book is an absolute joyride. Queer books with a "The Bachelor"-like premise have my whole heart; they tend to have amazing representation and challenge our stereotypical view of what love and gender roles should look like. Sophie Gonzales is a master at this anyway, and she did not disappoint!!

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Two years ago, Jordy cheated on Maya with Skye. Then he convinced everyone that Maya was a jealous liar. More recently, Jordy's sister married the crown prince of a small European country, bringing both her and Jordy into the limelight. Jordy has convinced the world that he's a great guy and magazines call him the most eligible bachelor.

At the beginning of Never Ever Getting Back Together, Jordy was chosen to star in the first season of a new reality TV show called Second-Chance Romance, in which he will re-date his exes to see if he can rekindle any sparks. Maya agrees to go on the show so that she can get revenge by showing the world who Jordy really is, even if that means coming face to face with Skye.

Surprisingly, Maya and Skye form a tentative friendship over time. When the possibility of their friendship developing into something more arises, Maya must decide what's more important: the chance to see where things go between her and Skye, or getting the revenge she has awaited for so long?

This book has such an awesome premise and I'm so happy to say that the execution followed through! Never Ever Getting Back Together is such a fun, adorable story (with one of the most stunning covers I've ever seen)!

I loved that we got both Maya's and Skye's perspectives. It allowed us to really get to know both characters and watch how their feelings about each other evolved over time. This was especially fun when they began questioning how platonic their relationship was. I love when the reader knows two characters like each other before the characters themselves realize their feelings are requited! I also really appreciated the bi rep in here!

The reality TV show aspect was very unique and interesting. There were complex dynamics between the group of ex-girlfriends and I liked that they all had distinct personalities and motivations for competing on the show. In terms of the competition itself, I thought the challenges the girls participated in were a fun addition to the story.

Overall, I had such a pleasant experience reading Never Ever Getting Back Together. The romance was sweet and adorable with amazing bisexual representation and the plot was fun and entertaining. If you're a fan of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette or reality TV shows in general and enjoy young adult romances, I think you will love this book!

If you're a fan of dating reality shows, you'll probably enjoy this book. It had some twists that made it unique but it didn't blow me away.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just wasn't for me. I'm sure others will enjoy, but I just couldn't get into it.