Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

Published: November 29, 2022
Wednesday Books
Pages: 373
Genre: Romantic Comedy
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Sophie Gonzales writes young adult queer contemporary fiction with memorable characters, biting wit, and endless heart. When she isn’t writing, Sophie can be found ice skating, performing in musical theatre, and practicing the piano. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia, where she works as a psychologist.

“… maybe people who leave you don’t always stay lost to you forever.”

Maya is on the precipice of change when she gets an unexpected phone call. And that call leads to a bizarre offer. Skye has been living a solitary life, traveling the world alone. When she gets an unexpected invitation, she accepts. What’s the worst thing that could happen?

This was a cute story. I did have to keep reminding myself that it was a YA romcom, though. How certain things were handled or the thought process involved was very young and naive. But appropriate for the age group, and the level of maturity does strengthen as the plot thickens.

I enjoyed the characters; the leading group of six were all different and had a sparkle about them. Maya and Skye are our main characters, and they were an excellent balance. Perrie was a beautifully written side character, and I loved her from the start. Francesca was bold and spoke her mind. Lauren was a peacemaker. Kim was a romantic. They all played well off of each other and the circumstances they faced together.

The concept for this story was interesting, kind of like the Bachelor but for young adults. There were some twists along the way, but I found the pacing well done.

I enjoyed the alternating narrators and the way the story progressed. It felt authentic. Overall this was a charming romance that people will love. Memorable characters, crazy moments, and learning to follow your heart!

I would love to see Perrie get her own spin-off book, though. She was my favorite from the beginning.

This YA rom-com had a great set-up, but never really came together for me. The premise: a D-list celebrity stars in a reality TV dating show to see if he can reconnect with any of his exes. The problem: this just doesn't work in a YA novel, and I think a lot of the issues I had with the book would have gone away if Gonzales had aged up all the characters. It was completely unbelievable with 18-year-olds, so I had no buy-in. Two of the contestants start out hating each other and end up falling in love. Super sweet concept, not nearly enough character development. I had no idea why these two women fell in love, other than that they were both hot. The ex-boyfriend is absolutely awful, over and over again, and the other characters weren't fleshed out nearly enough. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for a digital review copy.

Fun! I’ve been super interested in following the “queer fiction set within the very cishet world of most reality dating shows” subgenre that’s been emerging within the last few years (“The Charm Offensive” and “Patricia Wants to Cuddle” also spring to mind), so I was excited to dive into this one.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t my favorite entry into this growing genre. I found the rules of the dating show, as well as the world-building of the fictional country in which it was filmed, to be underdeveloped. I think there was some serious Genovia/ “Princess Diaries” meets “Bachelor” potential here, but I didn’t feel enmeshed enough in the world to appreciate it. I also wish we’d gotten a bit more time with side characters like Gwendolyn, Isaac, and the other contestants.

Nevertheless, while I personally wouldn’t be able to wrap my mind around watching teenagers date on TV in the real world, I enjoyed the YA romance between Skye and Maya. Plenty of good stuff about not feeling pressured to follow a certain path into early adulthood/overcoming the fear of being left behind that I think will really speak to the target audience.

A charming and snappy little story that I think will have broad appeal, especially among fans of reality television.

While I enjoy a good old fashioned modern revenge story, I was a little baffled by the decision to make the participants be teens and not in their early 20s/college-aged. The effect would've been the same--teenage heartbreak--without having them all be fresh out of high school. I also struggled to distinguish between the voices of Skye and Maya in their POVs, which made it a bit of a confusing read. The ending also fell apart a bit for me. I understand there need to be a last act dramatic misunderstanding, but the characters felt possessive in a way that didn't quite make sense for how short of a relationship there was.

You ever want to see that one reality show where the guy meets the 30 women and they all do stupid things to get him??? Yeah well this isn’t that exactly but what if two contestants decided that the guy wasn’t the one but they were it for each other?
I just adored this switch on the story and I loved it so much. These woman are amazing and their story just drew me in and I couldn’t put it down.
Please read this book ASAP.

This book was a drama filled read. I found it too predictable, and could not stand the main character of Maya. I think many of the characters were meant to be insufferable, but it did bring down the reading experience for me. I like the aspect of reality TV that was intertwined with this book. Overall, it was a quick read.

After a few not so great ARC reads recently, this was SO refreshing. I’ve read all of Sophie’s books and she does not disappoint.

The premise of this is great, all the ex-girlfriends are brought together for a reality show for a second chance romance with Jordy (even his name infuriates me, he is the worst, stupid Jordy with his stupid name.)

Now try not to think too much into the logistics of the show, because if you do and you’re an avid watcher of dating reality shows, you’re going to be like this is a little weird and some of it doesn’t make sense, but the reality show is really just a tool to bring our characters together and let them all shine in their own way.

I LOVE the ex-girlfriends getting together and supporting each other. JORDY DOES NOT DESERVE THESE QUEENS.

Sometimes you want to shake Maya because of how much she’s let this total asshole live rent free in her brain for years and her obsession with revenge keeps her from seeing what’s right in front of her.

But her and Skye are the CUTEST, I love how the ending turned out and the direction the author took. I’m not sure this book needed the switching POV chapters, but it was fine.

Overall, love love loved this one, the writing is great, the dialogue is funny, another win for Sophie Gonzales, I read this book in one day. I highly recommend this one!

This book is out November 29! 📚

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was liking this book, but not really loving it due to frustration until about 35% of the way through, when certain misunderstandings were cleared up.once both the protagonists were on the same page, though, this book went nice and quick for me. But before that, I wanted to shake certain characters who couldn’t see the obvious walking red flags printed all over Jordy. Calling girls “chicks”? I mean… yuck. Excellent creative choice on the part of the author because that alone made me immediately dislike him.

The romance was cute and believable, and the inside look into how those reality dating shows may be shot was fascinating. All in all, this was a fun, original sapphic romance that I would love to revisit.

This was a good book. It took me a while to get through because it became a bit predictable. This book reminded me of the show "The Bachelor" or, really, any reality dating show (not in a bad way). The twist being that they go on a dating show to date their ex. It was a nice enemies-to-lovers book. I kind of wish there were more turns or more excitement, but it was a nice light read. I would recommend it. Thank you NetGalley, Sophie Gonzales and St. Martins publishing for the ARC of this book.

As a diehard Bachelor fan (it’s a guilty pleasure!), this was SUCH a fun and lighthearted read. Skye and Maya agree to go on a dating show to see if they want to rekindle a flame with their ex-boyfriend, Jordy (whose sister is a princess, casual). What starts off as hostile dislike for each other because of a narrative that Jordy is spinning, transforms into sweet friendship and then something more. I loved the banter between the woman on the show, the realistic take on how UN-real reality TV is, and the antics that the girls got up to. I especially loved the casual bisexual representation, how it was a part of the girl’s identities without their sexuality being a major plot point, or any big “coming out moment”. My only critique is that I wish the ending was a little more flushed out, with Maya’s feelings about being left behind again explored and her changing thoughts about going to college. I wanted to see where life takes Maya and Skye, together!

love triangle where the girls ditch the boy and end up together instead? sign me up

i really liked the concept of this this novel but there were definitely times where i thought i was going to DNF this book because it really got on my nerves. firstly, the main characters. beyond the common factor of disliking their mutual ex-boyfriend, the two girls had no personality and absolutely no depth to them. and because of this, the romance wasn't super believable to me? idk they're competing on a reality tv show to win the heart of their ex for a second chance romance so you'd think we actually get to know the girls a little bit but not really.

i think overall the writing in this book didn't really capture what it intended to. in the beginning there was like one scene where they talk about how beautiful the island is that they're filming on and all that but it was not super descriptive or atmospheric throughout the book. to me it didn't feel well developed enough with the writing.

i saw someone else talk about how it would be much more realistic for this to be a new adult novel and i completely agree. it makes no sense for a bunch of 18 year olds to be on a dating reality tv show. and how does this YA age guy have 6 ex's who were serious enough to invite back for a second chance romance?? anyway

"When their now famous ex-boyfriend asks them to participate in a teen reality show, two eighteen year old girls—one bent on revenge, the other open to rekindling romance—get tangled up in an unexpected twist when they fall for each other instead in Never Ever Getting Back Together by nationally and internationally-bestselling and Indie Next Pick author Sophie Gonzales." - Goodreads

Our two MCs Maya and Skye - fantastic! They work beautifully together. Even as enemies the quips and snarkiness between them was great!

I'm jealous of how Skye just follows her own plan and is currently traveling the world solo. I actually see a lot of myself in Skye with her needing to plan everything out and being happy by herself.

This was a perfect opposites attract with Maya who doesn't always think things through and moves forward full force.
The two of them together had a very nice balance.

Ngl before Maya and Skye started working together, I was hopelessly rooting for Maya and Perrie to hook up. The comraderie between those two 🤌
Can I date Perrie? She was my favorite supporting character and her vibes are just perfect!

All of the girls worked themselves into my heart though, even Kim, and I was thoroughly impressed that happened considering how annoyed I was at the drama among everyone. I understand the drama needed to happen but I just wanted everyone to be friends lol

Saving the worst for last, Jordy, our "love interest". What👏 a 👏 jerk! So many stereotypical a-holes wrapped up in one self centered narcissistic privileged white boy 🤮 Sophie thank you for doing a fantastic job of making sure I never felt bad for this guy. It was a pleasure watching the girls scheme against him.

This fun read is expected to release Nov. 29, 2022. I was excited to see @rainbowcratebookbox is having NEGBT in their beautiful bisexual themed December box! It means I'll be getting a physical copy of my own 🥰

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for providing an egalley copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of "Never Getting Back Together" by Sophie Gonzales.

When Jordy calls Maya she has no intentions of agreeing to be on a reality show with him to see if they still had a connection, especially after he cheated on her when they were together. Skye has the same intentions, without the knowledge of being cheated on. But both girls end up in Chalonne on a reality show to try and re-date their ex-boyfriend.

I will say the first third of this book really had me turned off. I was really not clicking with either Maya or Skye and the typical angry reality TV personalities that Gonzales wrote in the first few chapters. However, once the ice had been broken and the two realized what had actually happened and began clicking together I was into the story.

The story is a bit expected and repetitive with some expected ups and downs. My favourite character is Skye's dad who gets all of three lines of dialogue in the entire story but was the part that made me laugh out loud. Overall the book was fun and great for a distracting read and gave the reader the expected revenge while still feeling good about it in the end. I enjoyed it but wasn't blown away by it.

3 stars.

I really liked this book. It had my favorite tropes, including fake dating and enemies to lovers. It was a spunky, fun and hilarious LGBTQIA+ YA romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Although I don't love the storyline of reality tv however this story was interesting and intriguing.

The fact Maya was going to use this show as a way to show everyone who her ex truly is. Skye could be considered the other woman according to Maya however, she hasn't experienced this bad person that Maya speaks of

They have both signed on for different reasons and the result are spectacular.
if you love a drama-filled romance - this is for you = Maya and Skye's personalities truly shine through

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales is a YA rom-com full of humour and chaos.

Centered around a dating show in which ex's of a celebrity come together for a second chance with him, this book will have you cheering for the ex's instead of the celebrity.

I really hated the celebrity character but loved the relationships that developed between his ex's.

my only notes for this book: maya goes from absolutely hating skye to liking her very very quickly, and skye goes from liking jordy to hating him EXTREMELY quickly. like, she was considering actually getting back together with jordy, only to start hating him really fast, especially with how she was defending herself and jordy before maya actually explained the situation to her. idk i think this depends on the reader, i can see how it could work, but personally i wished that it had been drawn out a little more.

other than that, the romance is really cute and i thought the setup was super unique. i've never read a book set on a reality show and i though it was really interesting and well executed, though i wish we got more scenes of all the girls together rather than just skye and maya or sky and perrie or any other groupings.

Thank you Net Galley for the eArc, all opinions are my own.

I am going to age myself, but this is a sapphic version of "John Tucker Must Die" and I loved everything about it. This is my second book by Sophie Gonzales (first being "If this gets Out" and I completely enjoyed that) and I can see her growth as a writer in this Novel.

It also had my favorite tropes:
Fake Dating
Reality Dating Show
Enemies to Lovers
*chef's kiss*

This book is funny, heartwarming, and also shows how Toxic men can use feminism as a shield for how they actually treat women and think of them.

4.5/5 would recommend

Unfortunately I think Sophie Gonzales just might not be the right author for me. I read and enjoyed "If This Gets Out", but I didn't think it was anything special. While I really enjoyed the queer rep and the take on bachelor/bachelorette style shows, the writing and the characters just really kept me from fully enjoying this book.

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

My rating:
3.5/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Imagine you get a call from your ex, asking to go on a second chance dating show, where all of his other ex’s will also be there, fighting for his heart? But wait, you then start to fall for his ex girlfriend?!

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. It was very much like The Bachelor. Just like in the TV real life version, I tend to get bored with the group date concepts and it was the same while I read this book. There was times that I was just ready for things to speed up.

This was told in the POV of two narrators, Maya and Skye. I enjoyed getting to learn about their stories and personalities from both sides. As the story goes on, I really enjoyed them getting to know each other. The main suitor, Jordy was annoying and the author nailed that trying to make you hate him. Mission accomplished.

Overall it was a good story, but it was a young adult version of a story I felt would be better if the characters were a little older and a little more spice level 😆

Thank you netgalley for the ARC! You can read this when it is published on November 29th!

#bookreview #neverevergettingbacktogetherbook