This is a sweet celebrity semi love triangle that hits home with today's reality tv obsession. Jordy is the man who knows how to shine in the limelight but be a jerk behind closed doors. He goes through women faster than anything and often he doesn't end one relationship before starting another. Maya was one of Jordy's casualties and two years later she is still struggling to move on with her life. Enter a chance to possibly right the wrongs Jordy has done to her through a Second Chance Romance Dating Show! What could possibly go wrong when Maya is forced to share a room with the woman Jordy cheated on her with, Skye? This is a reality TV filled book that questions how far would you go to try to correct someone who wronged you? And what happens when you realize your enemy might possibly not be your enemy? This book is filled with reality tv humor, forced proximity, LGBTQIAP+ romance & representation, enemies to lovers, yummy jell-o shots, morning theme songs, and closed door romance - just kissing.

Thank you Sophie, NetGalley, St Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for my free ebook. It was not expected for me to leave positive feedback. These opinions are 100% my own.

This book was so good! it had a really unique plot that i’m obsessed with. I love sophie gonzáles books and this just solidified how great of an author she is. I really like the unique aspect of second chance romance and getting revenge. i really enjoyed the dual pov and thought that it was cool to see both of the MCs thoughts.

** Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review **

Actual rating 4.5 stars

Never Ever Getting Back Together follows Maya and Skye as they participate in a Bachelor-esque reality TV show at the request of their ex-boyfriend, Jordy. The twist? They end up falling for each other!

This book was such a fun read! I thought both MCs were interesting and complex. Both had their own issues to work through throughout and it was fun seeing them grow as the story progressed.

I’m a sucker for some good side characters and Perrie and Isaac were two of my favorites! In all honestly, I love the friendships that were formed by the end. I was afraid that due to the reality TV show aspect, it might be a bit catty and some of the other girls would come off terribly, but was pleasantly surprised!

I loved the revenge plot throughout this whole book! The more I read, the more I hated Jordy myself and understood why Maya and Skye were looking for some revenge on him.

I will say that the ending felt a tad rushed and there were places where the story could have sped along a bit. This is also a YA book, but the characters are 18.

In all honesty though, once I really got into it, I struggled to put it down! I had to know how it would play out and if our girls would get their happy ending!

I’d definitely recommend picking this one up if you love a good revenge plot, reality TV, some girl power in action, and a fun dual-POV romance!

Thank you to Wednesday Books / St. Martin’s Press for a copy of Never Ever Getting Back Together in exchange for an honest review.

“Better Than Revenge”
Okay, there’s a whole lot that works. Sophie Gonzales is easily one of my favorite YA authors. Perfect on Paper and If This Gets Out are two of my favorite books. Period. Full Stop. End of story. In general, Gonzales’s work is a shining example of bisexual experience.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is no exception. The premise is jam-packed with chaotic bi-energy. Not that a person of any other orientation wouldn’t dive headfirst into this situation, but there is something particularly “disaster bi” about it.

And I don’t just mean that from the fun side of it. The barely-passive biphobia that Jordy directs toward Skye and Maya is as über-realistic as it is heartbreaking. Bisexual women are at higher risk for intimate partner violence than other women, so it’s not a stretch that among this gaslighter’s list of six exes are two bisexual women.

But still, Sophie Gonzales does keep the story mostly light for all that it is about women getting over the need for revenge. At its heart, Never Ever Getting Back Together is about finding oneself, letting go of expectations and letting love in.

We’re also treated to many fun tropes like … there’s only one bedroom, enemies to lovers and second-chance romance!

“I Did Something[s] Bad”
Things aren’t perfect in paradise, unfortunately. Simply put, I don’t think this should have been YA. I had deep trouble buying that these characters were 18. Yes, they’re legally adults, but in basically every other way, 18-year-olds are still kids.

For the most part, how everyone in this story acts and thought-processes makes them seem about early-to-mid-20s. That’s not to say that teens aren’t more sophisticated than people give them credit for — just that their life experiences read older.

And also, yes, reality TV is gross, and yes, the drinking age in the fake country in which this story is set is 18 … but I have trouble believing that 18-year-olds being plied with alcohol would play well to the middle American audience the producers of such a show would likely be targetting.

The other quibble I have is much less important and maybe bordering on petty, but it’s something I’ve noticed in every Sophie Gonzales book I’ve read — Gonsalez is Australian, but her characters are predominately North American (most often US). However, they often use language that is not. I’d really love her to set a book in Australia and just … let loose.

“Long Story Short”
(AKA, should you read it?) Oh, absolutely. I found myself having all the feels and all kinds of them. But, like, only read Never Ever Getting Back Together if you’re in a place where you can emotionally handle reading about a gaslighting turd.

If you’re already a fan of Sophie Gonzales, you’ll probably adore her latest outing as well. And while it’s not my favorite of hers, it’s undoubtedly a fun, fun ride.

Never Ever Getting Back Together comes out on November 29, 2022. Pick up a copy at your local indie bookstore or library. 📚🫅💔👩‍❤️‍👩

NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER is a book for all of us who've ever read about a woman who ends up with an unworthy dude and wished she would have just gotten together with her frenemy instead.

Main character Maya would still love to get back at ex Jordy for cheating on her two years ago when she's asked to go on a new reality TV show called Second Chance Romance, where all his exes will vie to get back together with him. Maya doesn't want him back, but maybe her time on the show would be worth it, if only to tell the world who Jordy really is (and protect the other women from him). But naturally that's a tall order -- and the woman Jordy cheated on Maya with, Skye, will be there.

I've never watched the Bachelor but thought this was a delight. It definitely scratched the itch left by all the romances that have left me wanting the two -- wonderful -- women to just get together already and forget about the less deserving man. I'd have appreciated more characterization of Maya and Skye but still wholeheartedly recommend this one. And it has me eager to check out Sophie Gonzales's backlist.

This one started so strong for me and then just sort of fizzled out.

A dating show where the contestant dates their exes to see if one of them is the one that got away? Okay, I kind of dig this concept. A revenge plot where said ex plans to get revenge on the boy who broke her heart and made her out to seem unstable and kind of a pyscho? Okay, tell me more. Two of the said exes fall for each other instead of rekindling with their ex? I love this idea! The execution was where we had the fall out for me.

I feel like the author missed a major opportunity to make this a girl power book by giving us two strong girls who didn't need the man at all. Instead I felt like I hardly knew either girl other than their relationship history with Jordy. Who was Maya? Who was Skye? I have noo clue. There is this whole college storyline for Maya but I never felt like it meant anything to me cause it was never explained well except for one line that said Jordy didn't think Maya was that smart. Skye was backpacking across Europe, but that's the extent of what I knew about her. They were surface characters, never given anything deeper to develop personalities or reasons for me to care about them. Jordy was a major narcissist and very unlikable and while I didn't dislike Maya or Skye other than Maya was kind of immature, I didn't like them either because of their lack of character development. Had a lot of potential but ultimately missed the mark for me.

I absolutely adored If This Gets Out which Sophie had co-written and I had hoped that I would find the same spark in her newest book when I requested it. Unfortunately, I never connected with these characters the way I did with those of ITGO.

This book would've worked better if it was written and aimed at an adult or new adult audience, instead of a young adult one. While the premise is interesting, the fact that all of these characters are between 18-21 makes it very nonsensical in execution. None of these characters had lived enough life between when they dated the main male character and when this book was set for it to make sense that any of them were looking for a second-chance romance with him, or that he would be looking to try dating all of them again to see if any of them were "the one that got away". None of these girls are well-developed enough on the page to even show that they've changed at all since dating him, much like he is shown to have not changed or matured at all in the time span between when he dated the first of these six girls and the present setting. It left the book feeling immature and under-done. 

I pushed through as far as I could handle, but eventually, the fact that none of the characters had more than one or two personality traits was just too much for me to keep going.

Thank you SO much to Wednesday Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review! (how is this my life??)

HELLO, I LOVED THIS! The fiery protagonists! The swoon-worthy romance! Our disaster bisexuals! The pure hatred in my heart for Jordy!

Never Ever Getting Back Together follows Maya and Skye as contestants on a reality TV show created to give a second chance for exes to rekindle their romances. Which is all good and fun until you consider how Jordy, the ex in question, cheated on Maya... with Skye. When the two women team up to take down Jordy a peg (or three hundred), they start to wonder what revenge is truly worth in the end.

From start to finish, this book was captivating. I am convinced that (at least if you're a reader with similar preferences to me) this book has the power to get you out of a reading slump. Which is a big claim to make, but I stand by it. Never Ever Getting Back Together is perfectly paced, hilariously written, and absolutely chock-full of strong characters. It made it so easy to fall into reading.

I am obsessed with Maya and Skye. Like, together, yes. But also if I could date one and/or be either of them?? DREAM COME TRUE. Maya has such a great character arc, but honestly her before the arc is very similar to me right now, so I could super relate to her character the entire way through. I loved the way she refused to back down, how she was unapologetically herself. And Skye... literally such a beautiful character, inside and out. She was chaotic while actively making regimented plans (such a mood fr). I loved her moments of realization and how she didn't take any less than what she deserved. Ever.

I also super appreciated how they were just, y'know, two canonically bisexual women who didn't feel the need to hide any part of this with the world. They just were and it was all I've ever wanted.

The unlikely alliance, the budding friendship, then everything more from there... it was all everything I had hoped for. I really do love a good falling-in-love. ...And did I mention they share a (bunk)bed?

Never Ever Getting Back Together is an incredibly fun romance, and such a freaking wild ride. I highly recommend checking it out! (As of writing this, there's still time to preorder a copy!!!) COMING OUT (hehe) NOVEMBER 29th

Content Warnings: cheating (pre-book), gaslighting, manipulation, sexism, biphobia

This was so fun !! I was a bit confused about the pace and timeline at times, but overall this was a delightful story ! Maya and the other girls were hilarious !! I loved the Reality TV setting and skyes and mayas connection was 🥹🥹🥹

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press!

I finished this book knowing that the ending saved this book. Never Ever Getting Back Together is filled with several unlikable characters, and several instances of forced proximity.

It seemed a little overdone, but by the ending a couple of characters became a little bit more tolerable and the actions of those characters bumped this up to a three star.

I didn't like the concept of this book. The writing was okay, but I just didn't find it interesting at all. It felt really slow to action and boring.

I love Sophie Gonzales and was thrilled when I first heard the amazing premise for this book. Maya agrees to go on a reality dating show in which all of the women used to date the bachelor, Jordy. He will choose a second chance romance from among them.

But Maya's not there for the "right reasons." She's there to clear her name because Jordy spread rumors about her after cheating on her. But the girl he cheated on Maya with, Skye, is on the show, too. And she might not be all that bad.

I started laughing out loud right from the first chapter. And I greatly enjoyed the interactions among the women and the bisexual representation. I loved all of the parts told from Maya's perspective. However, Maya felt like a more complete character than Skye. It's tough because Jordy gets so much page time with his key role as their ex and the literal star of the show. But it means that while I constantly rooted for Maya, I did not feel as connected to Skye or their romance.

This didn't really feel like a YA book so much as a new adult romance. All of the characters were at least 18. And since it was set in Europe, there was lots of legal drinking. With the reality dating background and activities, it generally called to mind more of an adult setting.

I recommend this for older YA and adult audiences. Read for hilarious dialogue and females banding together.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader and listener copies. These opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher for reaching out to me to read this! I loved it! I've been a fan of the bachelor for a long time and I love books like this. Can't wait to get my greedy little hands on a hard copy of this!

Recommended: sure
for a cute reality-show-esque love story, for vengeance satisfactory, for characters who make bad choices often but you can love them anyway

Thoughts:
People say it's not about the journey, but the destination. In the case of this book, the destination is also incredibly satisfying. What I'm saying is I really liked the ending. This story is based on vengeance, and vengeance comes up constantly as it's the main focus for one of the MCs (at least one!). That comes with all the drama required of sacrifices made to pursue vengeance and questioning what truly matters in life. In this case, I enjoyed the way each character came to their final decisions, and the "results" of it all in terms of the show.

Of course, the journey was also wonderful! I loved meeting each contestant and hearing about how they connected to the main in question. Seeing them connect with each other was way more satisfying, though. The premise of a dude's house full of ex-girlfriends is obviously going to spark some drama, and that was certainly here, but there was an impressive amount of measuredness and level-headed decisions as well. It prevented it from falling into areas that were too angry or vindictive to be able to enjoy it or root for anyone. By the end, I'm pretty sure I loved all of them (barring that douche).

The best word I can use for this book is satisfying. And I mean that in a way that evokes smug smiles, and perfectly silky chocolate cake, and the fading notes of your favorite song. It's just... everything is done right. It feels like exactly the story it needed to be, and it was genuinely just so fun to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review. /26/arc-review-never-ever-getting-back-together/

Never Ever Getting Back Together meets 18(ish) year old Bachelor and contestants. Sophie Gonzales’s writing kept me interested throughout the story and rooting for two unlikely heroines to came to important conclusions.

Maya’s ex boyfriend, crown Prince Jordy, cheated on her. Since, she’s forever thinking of him as the bastard liar who can convince anyone to go on a date with him. Skye cannot keep her feelings quiet after Jordy sweetly tells her that she is everything that he needed.

One day, both girls get a call from Second-Chance Romance, the show where a bachelor gets another shot with his ex loves. Off to a mansion in the beautiful countryside, Maya is clear she wants to take Jordy down and show audiences his true colors. Skye just wants to see if the “spark” they felt is still present. As we all may know in reality television, buckle up. Things are about to go on a wild ride.

I enjoyed and felt amused reading Gonzales’s latest: Never Ever Getting Back Together. Gonzales has a way of crafting characters to make you care about them and I appreciate how she writes in her bisexual characters. However; I do feel that the plot would have worked a lot better if the characters were in their twenties and not of a young age.

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book and will be gifting and/or buying my own copy soon. Overall, the reviews for it seem positive, but I’m actually surprised that it hasn’t hit an average of at least 4 full stars yet. It was funny, an excellent mix of lighthearted and serious with a balanced emphasis on humour, romance, and angst plus, as you might expect, a solid HEA ending. I could not stand the main male character, which I know was the point; he’s charming but also horrible, and many people likely know (or know of) someone very similar. The main romance was a fairly slow burn/enemies to friends to lovers situation, and I really enjoyed it. The book actually made me laugh out loud a couple of times, and I ended up a lot more invested in the story’s events than I expected to be. I read and really enjoyed a previous book from this writer, though, so I shouldn’t be surprised. This novel was definitely a fun rom-com win for me, and I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

I love some snarky inner thoughts and Maya had those in spades.

Never Ever Getting Back Together was an interesting concept: two girls go on a dating reality TV show and fall for each other instead of the bachelor they are competing for. Although Maya just wants to win for REVENGE, as all the contestants on this show are ex-girlfriends of the “star,” Jordy.

Maya and Skye start as enemies and obviously turn into fade-to-black lovers, but I did wonder where the relationship progression was. It seemed like they were enemies, and then they realized Jordy had played them both, and then they were “casual” lovers, but why? Their chemistry was lacking, but that may have had to do with the fact Never Ever Getting Back Together was YA and these characters were all 18-20 and SO YOUNG.

I still loved the dialogue and laughed out loud multiple times. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and came to really love these characters…even though they were both so stubborn at times.

Another entertaining read by Sophie Gonzales.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the review copy.

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales is a fun, YA romance about a dating show. I enjoyed this book and the behind-the-scenes look at a dating show.

Story Recap:
Maya can’t escape her ex-boyfriend, Jordy after Jordy’s sister married the crown prince of a small European country. Jordy is now one of the most eligible bachelors in America. However, the world doesn’t know that Jordy is a cheating liar, and Maya wants to destroy him after he broke her heart two years ago. So when Maya is approached to do a dating show with Jordy as the “prize” bachelor, she immediately refuses. But, after thinking about it, she realizes this is the perfect chance to expose Jordy for the lying cheat that he is. Once she gets on the show, she meets Skye, the “other” woman that Jordy was seeing at the same time as Maya. At first, Maya despises Skye, but once they compare stories, they realize that Jordy was cheating on both of them at the same time. Maya and Skye bond and form a plan to work together to take down Jordy.

My Thoughts:
At first, I thought that Maya’s need for revenge was a bit over the top, but as I got to know Maya better, I began to understand her need for revenge a bit better. I liked Skye the best, she has such a good heart and seems to balance Maya’s cynicism really well. Jordy was horrible, but he made a good villain for the story.

I liked the behind-the-scenes of a dating show, and in this case, I thought it sounded very authentic. What I especially liked was the way the producers could easily change the narrative and the perceptions of the participants. It was very clear that the show participants didn’t have much input into how they were portrayed and how these types of shows can be easily manipulated in order to please the audience.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend Never Ever Getting Back Together to anyone who enjoys YA romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a cute take on YA, a take on reality TV geared more towards a young adult audience. It was a unique concept. A new dating show is premiering and it's all about re-exploring your past relationships. So when the famous Jordy, brother to a newly crowned princess, is picked to be the first lead of the series he starts calling up his exes.

One of those exes is Maya, a girl he dated for two years before cheating on her, dumping her, and then lying and spreading rumors about her. To say she's not interested is an understatement. Maya is not going to re-date the lying and manipulative Jordy and expose herself to heartache and humiliation again. Unless...

Unless Maya can flip the script, get Jordy to fall for her again and then eviscerate him in the finale. With that goal in mind she signs up. What she doesn't expect is that the girl Jordy cheated with, Skye, would be there too. This immediately throws Maya and she can't keep her anger and hurt in check.

Skye is here to see if the fleeting romance she had with Jordy might work out. He had certainly made her feel great when they dated and she knew that their relationship ended when Jordy had to move away. She doesn't expect this unhinged ex Maya to be there though. With a warning from Jordy to be careful of her and her manipulation, Skye prepares to defend herself and Jordy to Maya's claims. Why is she even here?

Much to their dismay Skye and Maya end up roommates. When their emotions boil over, Maya and Skye realize whose to blame for the contention: Jordy. They start working together to get the other contestants against Jordy to take him down once and for all.

But Skye and Maya don't expect all that comes out of this reality tv show excursion they've ended up on.

Gonzales wrote a fun and quick paced YA novel. I felt the development of Skye and Maya's relationship was really believable and genuine. The characters were realistic and flawed but not unlikeable (except for maybe Jordy).

Honestly I didn’t know much about this story going into it… so at first I was like UGH a love triangle… but boy was I in for a surprise. I honestly really liked the story it was cute and fun and gave such good bachelor/bachelorette vibes.