Sophie Gonzalez takes another song title and turns it into a work of queer young adult greatness! You don't have to enjoy Taylor Swiftto love this book, but Swifties will definitely enjoy it too!

This book was SO stinkin' good!! I loved the revenge of it all. I felt like I was smiling the whole time I was reading it!

I thought this was such a fun book! I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope and the queer representation!

I am a huge fan of this author and have read a lot of their previous work, so I was honored to get this arc copy to read. After my long book hiatus after having my new baby, this was such a fun book to jump start my reading for the new year!

Second-Chance Romance is a sharp, witty, and surprisingly heartfelt story about love, revenge, and self-discovery. Maya’s painful past with her ex, Jordy, is reignited when she’s invited to star on a reality dating show with Skye, another of Jordy’s former flames. The show, designed to give exes a second chance at love, quickly turns into a battleground for both women: Skye wonders if she can rekindle the spark with Jordy, while Maya seeks revenge for the heartbreak he caused her. As the competition heats up, both women learn that their real “happily ever after” may not lie in winning Jordy’s heart, but in discovering their own strength. This novel is a delightful exploration of love, betrayal, and the unexpected twists life can take.

I really liked this book. The banter between main characters was top notch. Will definitely be on the lookout for more books from Sophie Gonzales in the future.

I am obsessed with Sophie Gonzales. I love books that take the idea of the Bachelor or Bachelorette and spin it on its head, and Sophie does exactly that. Skye and Maya are such different personalities, but seeing them come together to decimate their shitty ex is wonderful, and finding love along the way makes it even better. Not to mention the Taylor Swift song title. Check it out!

Maya and Skye go on a dating show with their mutual ex-boyfriend Jordy. Jordy is now a member of the royal family via his famous sister and is trying to rekindle the flame with one of his exes on the show. Maya goes on the show because she wants revenge, feeling as though Jordy screwed her over. Skye goes on the show because she wants him back.

I really enjoyed this LGBTQ+ YA romance. The characters in the book really mirrored so much of what we see on reality shows such as The Bachelor. Jordy was a good villain for the story, pitting Maya and Skye together.

I liked that they learned to communicate and overcome their disagreements to realize their feelings for each other. This was lots of fun.

A fun and unapologetically queer romp that incorporates the best of reality TV while shining a light on the underside of such a format.

You know how it is: your ex-boyfriend cheated on you, and now you're invited to compete on a Bachelor-style reality show where he's the main character and all the women are his exes. But you're only there for revenge, and have no interest in winning him back. Plus you're drawn to another of the contestants instead of your ex.

This was a fun revenge fantasy with a queer twist.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

While I appreciated the bi-representation between the two FMCs, the male lead was SUCH A TOOL BAG (and that's putting it nicely). Literally one of the worst male characters I've ever experienced in a romance book. Maya and Skye were two good female leads, but I never really felt a connection to either of them. While I liked the concept of someone wrangling up their exes to all live together and compete to see who was "the one that got away" on a reality show, the whole toxicity of the production crew seemingly not caring on the mental well-being of the girls was just "ick." Overall I gave this book 3 stars. It was just "okay" to me.

Book Review: Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales – A Working Mom's Take

As a busy working mom, I appreciate a light, entertaining read, and Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales was just the ticket! This fun, heartfelt story follows the ups and downs of a love triangle involving two exes and a new crush, all set against the backdrop of a chaotic school musical.

Gonzales captures the complexities of teenage relationships and the pressure of first loves in a relatable way. The characters are vibrant and authentic.

Final Thoughts: Never Ever Getting Back Together is a delightful, engaging read perfect for moms looking for a quick escape into the world of young love and friendship. It’s a charming reminder that sometimes the best stories come from the messiness of life!

I loved this book. Idk why it took me so long to read it it. But it was so good! I need the physical copy. It literally had me in from sentence one.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a great queer twist on reality tv and competition style stories. It follows two main characters as they are requested to try and getting back together with the same ex. However, as each tries to uncover the truth they start to learn more about each other and are drawn together. I loved how different the two main characters were but how they complimented each other. Honestly, great for anyone who has ever had a bad ex and wished they could watch them be taken down a notch or two in the process.

I went into this thinking it would be cute and ended up absolutely wrapped up. I loved this one!

I don't watch the dating shows or, really, any reality drama. Something about the second hand embarrassment and the drama just isn't really my jam. But this one was! I loved meeting Skye and Maya. I loved their slow burn of rivalry and anger to getting to know each other. And Jordy was perfect, just how much nothing seemed to stick and the way he worked around everything. I found the ending so satisfying. Such a fun read, and I highly recommend the audio. The narrator was wonderful!


A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I am such a sucker for reality show based romances. I liked the LGBTQ+ angle to this one and I found it to be a really enjoyable read.

4.5 Stars. I loved this book. It was just so fun. I loved the silliness of the reality TV show plot. It made for some great drama along the way. And I ate up the romance in this one. Two girls falling for each other on a reality show and getting revenge on their ex? Just lovely.

While I ended up rating this book pretty dang high for sheer entertainment value, it of course wasn't perfect. (Only Mostly Devastated remains BY FAR my favorite Sophie Gonzales book.) The characters and writing do fall a little flat, but overall this is a highly enjoyable read.

3.5 rounded up.

I love watching reality TV romance shows and loved the idea of the John Tucker Must Die vibes this was giving, so I was super excited for this read and while I had an absolute blast reading it (hence rounded up rather than down) it just fell really flat in many regards for me!

While the characters were really flushed out and wonderfully written, it did feel a lil hypocritical to frame Skye as this "calculating, logical person who sticks to the facts and not her heart" and then pages later have her immediately ignore the potential for being misinformed by her ex and immediately siding with him over another one of his ex's, rather than looking at it logically and trying to get facts before jumping to conclusions like she did. Not very girls, girl of her 🫣 And while I understood her insecurities, and admittedly Maya didn't necessarily hash out ever detail of her insecurities regarding Jordy raking her name thru the mud at ever turn it felt really dismissive of Skye for her to expect Maya to accept she needed to be the villain of the show (in the moment of the finale iykyk) to get their happy ending. All in all while Skye's insecurities were immensely relatable the way in which hers were handled ended up feeling very dismissive of Maya's two, leaving both in the wrong. I was happy with how everything wrapped up in the end with that last minute plot twist in the epilogue, but without that I won't lie I would've been a little salty on Maya's behalf towards Skye for awhile.

I have so many lovely things to say about everything in this book. Except for Jordy, that is. The jokes and the romance and the friendships and the overall girlpower, though? I am obsessed!

Ugh why did I request this book? This book is not for me. I tried. I really did. But I just can’t do it. Did not finish.