Thank you to #Netgalley for the arc. This was a fast read and had funny parts to it. It was like a reality show- I enjoyed it. It was more of a 3.5 stars for me, but I rounded up to four since it kept me entertained. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

🎥Book Review:
Title: Never Ever Getting Back Together
Author: Sophie Gonzalez
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/4 stars

Jordy is a complete douchebag of a boyfriend and now he's getting his own reality television show where he brings back six of his ex-girlfriends to see if he can have a second chance at love.

One of those exes is Maya, who was in a relationship with Jordy two years ago, ending when she found out he was cheating on her with Skye, another contestant on the show. Maya strongly believes that Skye was aware of her and Jordy's relationship, thereby making her just as slimy as him.

Skye was in the total dark about Maya as Jordy described her as a psycho ex-girlfriend. She had no idea that Jordy was still with Maya when they met. Maya doesn't want a second chance at love with Jordy, she wants to destroy him on live television. And she plans on bringing Skye down with him.

These two ladies end up as roommates in the mansion they are filming in and eventually open up to one another about what really happened. Uh-oh, Jordy better watch out. If these two can get the other girls on board then they can all take him down! And there might just be a chance that they find their second chance at love in the end 😉. This was a cute, funny, quick read! I enjoyed it!

Thank you, @netgalley and @stmartinspress, for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Published November 29th, 2022

In NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER, Royal-adjacent Jordy asks his ex-girlfriends to compete in a teen reality show and potentially get back together. Told through dual POVs, Maya is intent on getting revenge and exposing Jordy for the cheater he is. Skye is open to reconnecting, but as she is the girl he cheated on Maya with and ends up being her roommate, everyone’s agendas end up changing.

The dry wit was absolutely fantastic. This was my first book by Sophie Gonzales, but if the humour is like this in all of her books, she’s got a fan in me.

Overall it was a fun, sapphic romance with some hilarious scenes and a satisfying ending.

The main reason I am not rating this higher, is I struggled with this second chance romance being about 18-19 year olds? As a YA book, I understand that the characters couldn’t be older, but plot just didn’t work as well with this age bracket in my opinion.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, for the digital copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved Perfect on Paper from this author but this one wasn't my fave. I loved the plot and kept thinking that it was a cross between the bachelor and John Tucker Must Die but the romance felt forced to me. Overall I enjoyed it but again not my fave.

Do you watch reality dating shows?
I’m not into watching The Bachelor or any shows like that, but books? A whole other story! They are so fun.

This book centers around a reality show, Second-Chance Romance, where the cast is entirely made up by the lead’s exes. When Maya shows up to get revenge on her cheating ex, Jordy, she ends up rooming with the girl that Jordy cheated on her with.

Never Ever Getting Back Together combines reality tv, revenge and romance. The bisexual representation is perfect if you ask me. Sophie Gonzales is amazing at writing Bi rep, she is becoming one of my favorite YA writers. I wish I had her growing up 💗💜💙

All of the characters were amazing in their own way (except Jordy). I wish this was a series, I’d love books for all the other girls. They were all great in their own way.

My only complaint is that this is a YA book. For the majority of the story I honestly forgot it was YA. The characters were older (18-19) so I would have liked this to be either New Adult or Adult. Maybe we could have gotten a little more if that was the case. But it’s hardly a complaint, I loved the book.

Thank you @wednesdaybooks for the #gifted book and @macmillan.audio for the complementary audiobook.

First and foremost I must say, there was a decided lack of Taylor Swift mentions in this story considering the title and the context, but I digress. I've been a fan of Sophie Gonzales for a while, so I was excited when this book was announced. I loved the concept of falling in kove on a reality TV show, especially when they were meant to be falling for someone else (screw Jordy!). I also loved the sisterhood in the story, though they did not all get along at the beginning, by the end they were all united by a common enemy and had each other's backs! (Nothing like a manipulative man to bring everyone together.)

Never Ever Getting Back Together was a fun read with romance, sabotage, second chances, and happy endings. Definitely an enjoyable read!

Sophie has had her claws in me since Only Mostly Devastated and I was just as in love with this book. The bachelor-esque setting was so fun and the characters were top tier. I loved the twists and the rivalries, it was all just *chefs kiss*. If you liked If the Shoe Fits, One to Watch, any of The Bachelor-eque books or just are looking for some better rep in that franchise, then this is for you.

Reality TV and romance? Exactly what I love. Easy read, fast read, and humour. It kept my interest and I enjoyed it.

If there is a book out there about exacting vengeance on scumbag men like Jordy, I will read it as soon as possible. This book was entertaining, but I wish I could say I loved it. The witty dialogue and lively personalities of the characters kept me engrossed throughout the book. In any case, I couldn't help but wonder how a guy who looked like he was straight out of a Young Adult novel managed to amass enough ladies to fill an entire season of The Bachelor. I think things would have been more convincing if the characters had aged a little more. Nonetheless, there were parts of the writing that seemed lifeless and uninspired to me. The drama and heartbreak, if this is a teen version of "The Bachelor," will undoubtedly be amplified.

A book that combines reality tv and romance is my kind of book. This was a fun read and there was a bit of humor that added to it. I liked this book and found that it kept my interest. 3.5 star rating, rounded up.

Jordy was a douche and I don't understand how either Maya or Skye would want to get back together with him. I'm glad Skye got with the program (Maya's program that is) and I'm very happy with the book's resolution.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review—and apologies for not reading it until after publication.

This is the third book I’ve read by Sophie Gonzales. In all honesty, it wasn’t my favorite. Personal preference—I really don’t like books with mean girls, and early on, there was a bit of that. To be fair, it seems as though that’s what a lot of those Bachelor type shows are about—maybe that’s why I don’t watch them.

The premise: Maya and Skye’s ex, now living at the edge of royalty, has been asked to do a second-time around show, basically a Bachelor type show, the twist being that all of the contestants are his ex’s. Maya comes into it angry about Skye, feeling that Jordy cheated on her with Skye before they broke up. Lo and behold, they both agree to do the show and are assigned to be roommates. Drama ensues.

I did like the book better as it progressed, and there was a twist or two. I do still like the author! But overall, it wasn’t really my cup of tea.

I wanted to like this book, but I just don't think it was for me. It was hard for me to get through the parts where Maya and Skye were pitted against each other, and there were more manufactured drama/misunderstandings than I generally enjoy. However, this is most likely because the book is set within a reality show, so some readers may enjoy the level of drama in the story! I also think that this story would have worked better if the characters were aged up and it was marketed as New Adult, because it was hard to suspend my disbelief enough to read about older teenagers on a romance TV show. That being said, the writing style was very readable, and I do think some readers might relate to either Skye or Maya and will enjoy their romance. So even though it wasn't for me personally, I would probably recommend it to a teen library patron if they asked for a romance book about a reality show.

I was really disappointed by this one :(

It was a book I was highly anticipating and was so excited to get an ARC, but then once I started reading, it fell flat and took me a *really* long time to get through it. The premise was so promising -- reality dating show x royalty x off-screen sapphic romance?? Literally this is what would happen on The Bachelor in my wildest dreams. But instead I was met with a ton of pacing issues (how is this book so long when I felt like barely anything happened) and none of the characters were engaging and it was nearly impossible for me to tell the difference between them.

I think I was expecting something much more fast-paced, and upon retrospect, I agree with other reviewers that it's weird that the characters were all 18/19 when it's supposed to be a second-chance romance. Also it took me way too long to realize that Jordy is only royalty-adjacent and left me wondering what the point was. I got the vibe that the author was trying to make THE SELECTION, but sapphic, and it just didn't really meet the mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a cute read. This was a new spin on reality tv romance and I loved it. I liked watching Skye and Maya fall in love. Jody is such a creep.i enjoyed reading this.

Thank you for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Ever since reading If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy and going down the Bachelor/Bachelorette rabbit hole that ensued after (and watching Love is Blind with my husband), I have been loving reading all the books about reality TV shows. It's fun to see the behind the scenes (even if it's a fictional TV show) and how the dynamics all play out with the cast.

Never Ever Getting Back Together does this so well- I loved the side character employees that worked for the reality show and the moments in between filming it sowed with them. I loved watching Maya and Skye's relationship go from dislike, to friends, to more! Their dynamic was both sassy and sweet and they both grew a lot over the course of the book. I also enjoyed all the other contestants- they were well fleshed out and I love that they had each other's backs.

2.5 rounded up to 3.

I desperately wanted to love this book. But, as soon as we opened with girl on girl hate, when it's very obviously, a d-bag guy, I quickly lost interest.

From there, I ran into a multitude of issues. I think the biggest hurdle to overcome was a second chance at love dating show for 18-20 year olds. I feel like this should've been aged up to college at least. Then, the two MCs that were the split POV, started to blur into one until their only separating characteristic was that one was "a planner" and the other was spontaneous.

Towards the end, I found myself gravitating to the side characters more than caring about the MCs or the plot.

I loved the premise of this book and wanted to love the book, but it just fell flat. It didn't make enough sense for these contestants to be teens. That disconnect was big enough that it pulled me out of the book and I ended up losing interest and DNF'ing.

I didn’t love this. The girls seemed extra catty and immature. I had high hopes for this. I loved the concept of a reality second chance romance type show but 18 year old contestants are too young to take seriously on a show like that.

A bit of art imitating life. A fun adventure of what-ifs. Two female contestants ditch the prize of a rich prince to instead cave into personal lust and the fondness they've felt for their female competitor.