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

Absolutely loved the beginning of this book! It was my first Sophie Gonzales and it won’t be my last.

I have received an audio arc of this book, and will be putting my full review there.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Never Ever Getting Back Together was not at all what I expected! If you've been reading my reviews for a while, you know that it's rare for me to read a book description before diving in-- I rely fully on reputation and the cover. So with that in mind, I had no idea that this was about reality TV. I loved the almost-The-Bachelor-but-not setting, and the "behind the scenes" takes seemed very similar to what I've read about that show. I didn't really understand the made-up country or royalty angle. It didn't feel like another country--it felt like they took the US and just called it something else. The only "cultural" bit was a few food descriptions. It didn't really add anything to the plot and just added some unnecessary explanation.

I'll be honest, at about 50% I was ready to DNF. Lots of things about the show didn't make sense to me, all the main characters sucked or didn't know how to have an adult conversation, and I wasn't rooting for anyone to get the guy. However, the romantic "twist" came at just the right time and redeemed it. Once Skye and Maya teamed up, I loved it. I was hoping we'd get through without the gratuitous third-act breakup, but unfortunately it was included. It wasn't too drawn out, though.

The other thing I didn't understand was how young these people were. I was thrown off in the first chapter by the drink being bought for Rosie's 20th birthday. Did all those characters have fakes? Did the presumably 21+ man care that he was hitting on someone underage?

The age issue continued to throw me off throughout the whole show. Who has that many exes by 18? Who cares this much about the person they dated at 16?? If my boyfriend from 16 asked me to go on a second chance dating show I'd laugh in his face (he's happily married though...my boyfriend from 18 would do something like that, but doesn't have enough exes. And I'd also laugh in his face.). It was just really bizarre that all this was happening BEFORE Maya went to college, and that she was worrying about college coming up. I struggled to place the age of the audience this book was aiming for.

Overall a good story--I loved the reality TV angle and the twist, but I fixated on a few quirks and they prevented me from loving it. I think fresh-out-of-college would have been a better age for Maya!

I'm a big Sophie Gonzales fan. So when I had the opportunity to read the E-ARC of this from Netgalley I jumped at the opportunity. The premise for this one is interesting, a reality show where exes compete bachelor style to see if they have a second chance at love with their ex. Maya one of our protagonists is still not over the humiliation faced after finding out her bf cheated on her and then broke up with her and told everyone that she went crazy because he moved. She goes on this show to get revenge, but winds up finding love with the lady who her bf cheated on her with two years ago. I enjoyed this but it didn't hook me the same as some of Sophie Gonzales' other books did. Maybe cause these protagonists are slightly older though at times it felt like they were younger due to the revenge plot line and the reality show antics. If you like revenge stories, reality dating, older YA, pretentious men who get their just desserts and unexpected love between two enemies who really had no reason to be enemies then definitely give this book a read.

4.25 stars, rounded down
When describing this book, my initial thoughts are this: picture The Selection with better writing, (generally) better characters, and a wlw relationship at its core. That is Never Ever Getting Back Together. It is unbelievably cheesy at times and always so much fun; I could read a million books just like this one and never get bored. Maya and Skye are great protagonists -- their voices are distinct and they're both so smart but get clouded by their assumptions and pasts. They are flawed, which makes their development that much more interesting to read about. And Jordie is a certified asshole, so getting to watch them plot his downfall was exceptionally entertaining.
I do think that the ending is underwhelming. The epilogue is great (I wholeheartedly believe that every rom-com should have a happily-ever-after epilogue to wrap it up), but there were bits in the concluding chapters that just were not what I really wanted from the story. But that's okay! It definitely could be an example of something just not clicking with me.
I also think that a lot of the side characters were underdeveloped, but in a 300-page rom-com, I kind of expected that. They were still fun to read about and had distinct personalities, but they didn't stick out to me as much as the pro- and antagonists did.

TWs: Toxic relationship, gaslighting, infidelity, abandonment, misogyny, biphobia, bullying, car accident (mentioned)

This was spunky and fun and hilarious and everything I want out of a LGBTQIA+ romance. I absolutely loved the reality TV aspects and it strangely made the story seem even more real. The characters were vivid and stood out to me and while some of the antics were a bit cringey, I didn't even care because it was so entertaining! The dialogue and banter were top tier, which is something that I value a lot in my contemporary reads, Not to mention, this cover!! I think this book will appeal to lovers of I Kissed Shara Wheeler, Red, White, and Royal Blue and She Gets the Girl.

I absolutely devoured this book in a single day! It was so much fun and I loved Maya and Skye! I think their relationship developed in a really natural way and I loved seeing them get closer. Sophie Gonzales has knocked it out of the park again! Jordy was delightfully awful and I loved every second of hating him.

I will say I wish the other girls were a bit more developed. I really struggled with remembering who was who in the beginning and even in the middle I had to think, okay, which one is this? They were just fairly one note. This girl is obsessed with royalty, this girl is obsessed with her social media, ect. There's also a plot point I couldn't get over revolving around one girl not knowing how to swim at a lake but being in the pool in several scenes. (I kept waiting for her to say oh no, it was a bit for the show and that never happened.)

I have my copy of this preordered and I cannot wait to add it to the shelf with my other Sophie Gonzales books. If you're looking for something fun, look no further and get those preorders in!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First off, I requested this solely based off the cover (LOL). It looked fun and cute, something that would draw attention to me if I were to see it stocked at the bookstore. When I was approved for this copy, I then read the synopsis and I was stunned to find it had a similar storyline to the show The Bachelor. If you know me IRL, I hate this show and its partner show, the bachelorette. It's not something I would spend my time watching and if I knew this was related to the book - sorry I would not have picked it up.

I was first approved for the ebook version of this title but was then approved for the audiobook version - thankfully bc I was not into it at all. I quickly switched over to the audiobook version and started the title again. The storyline is v cringy but surprisingly engaging. It kept me on my toes despite my hatred for this type of story.

BUTTTTTTT,

THE TWIST IN THE MIDDLE,

Idk but I didnt see that coming !!!! - 60% in and from there on it was history. I was listening to it everywhere I went, when I got up, when I was doing laundry, when I was in the shower, driving to work and even on my runs! When I got to the twist, I was actually training for a 5k and I stopped dead in my tracks when the twist happened. I had to pause and take it in lol

anyways, great story - I would not have picked it up but that just shows me that I should always give a chance to a book even if I think it'll be LAME AF. LOL :)

This was so fun!!! The book was, of course, fabulous, new, and fresh. I've read a few of the 'reality show' style books over the last few years, but this was absolutely the best of them. I love how the girls all ended up coming together at the end and the drama was resolved quickly. Too often women are played against each other and I'm glad this book didn't go in that direction.

Thanks to NetGalley, author Sophie Gonzales, and St. Martin's Press-- Wednesday Books for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I read Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales earlier this year and loved it, so I was excited to read her newest installment! This was a very fun read that is perfect for fans of reality tv and dramatic relationships. This book was about a 3.5 for me that I rounded up because I do think that it was well-written and engaging. I liked the revenge plot and enemies-to-lovers trope, especially because it was two girls falling in love while on a dating competition show! As a fan of The Bachelor/ette, the "behind-the-scenes" aspects of the chapters were so fun to read, and there were many genuinely funny moments. I liked how it alternated perspectives between Maya and Skye, and I did enjoy both girls together. However, my biggest issue was the character of Jordy. I know that he was supposed to written as a horrible character, but it was over-the-top extreme to where I hated reading about him and how he was treating the girls. I wanted to skip over all of their interactions with him because it was so repetitive and not fun to read. I also didn't feel like we ever got a complete look/understanding of Skye and Maya outside of their respective relationships to him and to each other; vague things about their friends, family, and background are brought up sporadically throughout, but I felt like I couldn't picture them outside of the competition tv show. I felt like the writing to get them together was a bit too quick and contrived, and I don't know if I felt the romance/chemistry there completely. It felt like one minute they hated each other and the next they were in love, which is a big issue I have with lots of romance novels. Overall, this was a very fun read that I did enjoy; I think part of my hang-ups are that I'm not a huge romance novel fan, and I haven't been as much into YA books this year. I can see how a lot of people will enjoy this though, and I do commend Gonzales for writing such great YA novels with queer representation!

This started off really cute and then got completely predictable. And the ending was totally meh. I did enjoy it, however, and if you're listening to the audio, the readers are really very good.
Maya and Skye have been invited to star on a reality tv show called Second-Chance Romance. It's basically the Bachelor, but the "explorer" is their ex-boyfriend, Jordy Miller. The "explorer" has a few ex's on and decides among them if he's like to have a "2nd chance" with them. Again, basically, The Bachelor, but you'll have already known the potential dates. Maya wants revenge and Skye is thinking maybe she and Jordy could try again. It all heads exactly where you think it's going to. I'd be surprised if anyone else was surprised by the plot.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this e-arc.*