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.*

Two 18 year old girls get a second chance at love (or revenge) when they are invited onto a second chance romance show. Maya has been stewing the past two years after her ex Jordy cheated on her. He became a minor celebrity after his sister married a crown prince (of a fictional country). Skye fell in love with Jordy but one day he just stopped talking to her. While Maya wants to be on the show for revenge, Skye legitimately wants a second chance at love with Jordy. However, the two find each other.

I really struggled with this book because of the ages. I just had trouble buying that 18 year olds would be on a show like this. Or that a show would develop that would involve such young adults. I think even if they had been 21 or 22 I would have bought it more. Like just out of college instead of just out of high school....

The concept of this book was entertaining and was full of drama of a reality show, something I hadn’t seen before. It has forced proximity, bisexual/LBGTQ representation, cheating and enemies to lovers. This is a YA novel, so the romance fell a little short for me because of that.

I gave this book a 3/5 on goodreads and I received this as an arc from NetGalley for an exchange for an honest review.

The cover is cute with pastel colours that drew me to it. I enjoyed the idea of a evil and someone seeking revenge. The writing was easy to understand and well described. What fell short for me was the plot. Maya and Skye’s relationship needed more depth, and the overall book was way longer than it needed to be. The revenge for me was drawn out where Maya was making me angry at the end with being so hyper focused on revenge she ignores everything else.

This was an incredibly fun read with an interesting premise that had me hooked early on in the story. I loved that there was bisexual representation in this but I do wish their relationship together was built a bit more. I thought the tv show idea was really interesting and it really was a good call to get to see the “behind the scenes” aspect of dating shows that many of us love. Overall it was a fun read but I do wish the characters and their relationships were fleshed out a bit more.