I tried. I tried so hard to love this book, and I know it’s for a younger audience, but I just could not get past the ages of the characters. It felt a bit like watching The Ultimatum and screaming, “What do you mean you need to get started on your family right now?! You’re 22!!!” Except the characters are even younger you—Maya is 18, and Jordy is 20. I get poking fun at reality TV shows, and I’m all for it, but I could suspend my disbelief for long enough to really get into the story. The writing style is great, and it did make me laugh. If you enjoyed Sophie Gonzales’s other books, then you’ll probably like this, too. It’s just unfortunately not the book for me.

NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER was really cute, when all was said and done! I mean what's not to love about A) two contestants on the most ill-conceived reality tv competition falling for each other instead of the so called "eligible bachelor", and B) said contestants getting well deserved revenge on the bachelor in question, who happens to be their mutual dirtbag ex. I'll admit - and this might be one and the same with my realization that I'm drifting away from a lot of YA fiction as I get older, full disclaimer - that I almost put this down and walked away at about the 30% mark, because I don't have a ton of patience for intelligent women fighting each other over some unworthy guy (honestly, there's never a guy worthy of fighting over, folks), when it was so clear that he was manipulating them all.. But Maya and Skye finally caught on, joined forces, and began falling in love for real and that was where the story really picked up.

So, if you feel like the book is lagging when you first get started: hang in there! It's worth it for the HEA. (And to see that moldy walnut Jordy get what he deserves.)

sapphic romances>>>
the romance isn't the main point of the book, it's more of a side plot which I wasn't really expecting. But the sapphic romance makes up for it sooo much! They were so cute and I was really rooting for them to just get together! The angst between them actually felt believable! I wish they would have thrown out Jordy earlier in the book and just got together. That man..... It's shocking how many women came back on this show for him. One thing that bothered me so much during reading this book was their ages. They were supposed to be 18/19 and just graduated high school. On a reality dating show?? They felt and acted like in their early 20s. I couldn't find a single reason for their ages to be so young. This book was seriously copy and pasting the bachelor. Don’t know if that's good or bad?? You choose. Overall the book was really fun to read and we need more sapphic romance books! I also loved the bi rep! The Taylor swift title bumps this book up an entire star. 3.75☆

Never Ever Getting Back Together is perfect for fans of reality tv who always wish it could be a little gayer. In this book six girls enter to see if they can have a second chance romance with the ex-boyfriend they have in common. But things start to get dramatic when Maya, who was secretly there for revenge, falls for one of the other girls.

I thought this book was really fun. Even if you're like me and don't watch a lot of reality tv, I think you'll still find yourself enjoying this. There was a lot of drama of course, but there was also a lot of friendship amongst the girls as they supported each other. The romance was cute and felt really natural as these two girls who were set up to hate each other started getting to know each other instead.

Hey Alexa.. Play We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift.. “ 🎶

NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER was a fun twist on dating reality shows like The Bachelor but with all of one man’s ex’s for a second chance at love.

Except throw in some revenge plots and the two Bi ex- girlfriends rooming together and you get a whole lot of drama!!

This was highly entertaining and I really hated Jordy right from the start. He was a terrible, womanizing human and if only the girls had seen through his lies a whole lot sooner!

I also imagined these girls in their 20’s but they were actually all still in their teens. While there was not any open door sex scenes I would recommend older teenagers for this book!

3.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I’ve come to love Sophie Gonzales’ work, and Never Ever Getting Back Together is another fun one. From the fun title (Taylor Swift references are always a win!) to the premise, I was sold. And while it’s not the best execution of said premise, Gonzales injects a lot of charm into it. It leans into many pop-culture references, from the reality show being vaguely Bachelor-esque to the accompanying headlines in the media, due to the guy’s fame (even if it’s more of the “by association” type).

While I can’t say there’s a lot of substance to either lead beyond their respective romantic parts (and even that isn’t delved into super deeply), the drama more or less made up for it in this over-the-top wild story. The development of Maya’s arc in particular, navigating her bitterness toward her ex, really comes through. And Skye, who navigates her hurt in a much more subdued way, makes for a great contrast.

I also appreciate that while the story initially involved Maya making a choice between pursuing her vengeance and bowing out with Skye, it wrapped up in a way that allowed both of them to have the last laugh (along with the other girls) and humiliate their dirtbag ex. It feels far too common for the choice to be revenge or forgiveness, with the latter being the path to finding happiness with one’s true love, and I love that this book did something different.

Most of my more serious quibbles are rooted in the question of whether this story really works for a YA book, even with the redefined parameters to include 18-20 year olds, who feature as characters of the book. With more fleshing out, possibly I could believe a guy in that age bracket could leave behind a trail of broken hearts, especially given how heightened teen love is, even after a short time. But I’d like that explicitly explained. Otherwise, it feels more believable in a premise for an adult romance.

However, even with some of its shortcomings, I enjoyed this book for what it had to offer. If you’re looking for a fun sapphic YA romance, I think you’ll enjoy it if you don’t think too much about the logistics.

This was just the read I needed. I will admit I am a sucker for trashy reality tv, and I am also a sucker for books about trashy reality tv (One to Watch; Bachelor Nation), so I really loved this one. I felt like they did a great job of portraying how edited and staged reality tv is. It took some of the glamour out of it. I also loved the characters. I would say the only I wish it had more of was even more character development for the female leads and the other contestants.

I did think it kind of sucked that Jordy did not have one redeeming quality. I was kind of hoping he was going to see the err in his ways at some point, and maybe Maya would regret her revenge plan, but alas it wasn't to be. I guess the moral of the story is some guys are just unredeemable?

Fun, quick read. I would definitely recommend it for a long weekend.

The only reason I didn’t finish this book in one sitting is because humans need sleep to survive.

If you have ever watched The Bachelor and thought to yourself “This guy is so lame but the girls are awesome, I wish they would just date each other”, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.

I absolutely love Sophie Gonzales’ voice. It captivated me. This book is FUNNY. I have not laughed like this reading a book in longer than I want to admit, and this book reminded me what I loved so much about romcoms to begin with.

The premise is that this guy, Jordy, who is awful, has become famous because his sister married royalty, and so he’s gotten his own reality dating show called “Second Chance Romance” - where he is the lead (naturally), and all the female contestants are his ex-girlfriends, all competing for a second chance with Jordy (gag, we hate him). Naturally, as it goes with many straight white men under 30, he’s been the worst boyfriend in history and all his ex-girlfriends are awesome.

Maya goes on the show for revenge against Jordy for cheating on her with Skye.
Skye goes on the show for a second chance with Jordy, who has told her Maya is a crazy liar.
And they were roommates… literally.

What follows is the most charming romance / romcom I have read all year, that reignited my love for the genre. I laughed, I teared up, I had butterflies, and I loved the very real way their relationship built - no insta love here, we really got to know each other, and it was so worth it.

I’m so excited to get a physical copy of this when it releases on 11/29/2022. I knew on the first page it was going to be a 5-star read, and it was. I loved it so much!

Thank you thank you to NetGalley and @stmartinspress for the eARC of Never Ever Getting Back Together!

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales was a great take on reality show dating for the next generation of 18+ year old's. The rivals to friends to lovers concept was a new take on romance and totally believable. Fun does not even begin to describe how wonderful a time I had reading this book. I should have known better with a title like that. Not to mention if you've heard the Taylor Swift song by the same name, you're singing it all the time. Overall a great read and would recommend.

I have read this book and listened to it now, and both forms are great. I loved the romance and the premise of the story. The one thing I had an issue with this story is that it felt super unrealistic for this to be about bunch of 18 year olds. I felt like the story and the feelings fit an older audience, and a tv show featuring the ex's of teenagers is a little bit weird. Putting that aside, the book was fun and unique, and had great character growth

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this early!

Maya Bailey, and Skye Kaplan have one thing in common; Jordy Miller. Royalty adjacent Jordy Miller, brother to the Princess of Chalonne, invites six of his ex-girlfriends to be on a reality TV show where they'll compete for the chance to continue dating him at the show's end. To Skye, the show is a second chance to win back one of the only people she's ever let herself connect with. To Maya, the show is a chance at revenge. What starts as a heated rivalry between the two girls, slowly morphs into a friendship, each hopes can become something more.

As a fan of Sophie Gonzales, sapphic romance, and The Bachelor franchise, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, "Never Ever Getting Back Together" fell flat for me. A book like this would normally take me a few days to finish, but I struggled to become invested in the story, and it ended up taking me nearly two months to read.

The story is told from two points of view; Maya, and Skye. However, the characterizations of both girls are so similar that it's difficult to keep up with which is which. I found myself scrolling back to the beginning of the chapter to check whose point of view I was reading multiple times.

The ages of the characters feel wrong. It's YA, and I believe all the characters are supposed to be 18-20 years old, but the narrative would make a lot more sense if they were all in their mid to late twenties. The entire concept of the reality show would have felt more natural if the characters were older.

The pacing is off. It starts out slow, and stilted, and then suddenly accelerates pass the point of believability. I wanted to enjoy Skye, and Maya's relationship but found it difficult because it comes out of nowhere.

The last 15% of this book was great, and kept me entertained. I just wish the first 85% would have been better.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This was super cute. It's funny - I don't watch reality TV, but I've really enjoyed a number of books that center around reality TV shows in the past few years. This one hit all the right notes for me.

I love love loved that it was two girls supposedly competing for a past boyfriend's heart who really try to take him down and fall in love along the way. They were great together. Their frank 'yes i dated this guy and this girl and this guy' coming out to one another was enjoyable because it was very much a "yes, I'm bi, what are you going to do about it?" and very matter-of-fact.

Jordy was the sleaziest sleazeball ever and his part was painful to watch but bearable because you just know that he'll get his comeuppance in the end. The 'enemies to lovers' thing was done well and believable. Maya and Skye were enjoyable and while it was frustrating to watch them at odds with each other over a misunderstanding created by sleazeball Jordy, it was very satisfying when they finally worked things out.

The other girls were very much not in focus for most of the book, so I don't feel like I have a very good sense of them beyond the bareset sketch of personality, but they worked as background characters to better show Maya, Skye, and Jordy.

The way the show played out, and the way we could see Jordy manipulating everyone and pulling them all along was fascinating and kept my interest riveted. I listened to the audio and ended up finishing it in two sittings because I just couldn't stop listening.

The audiobook narrators did a great job bringing the characters to life. They made Maya and Skye sympathetic, though not without flaws, and made Jordy truly insufferable. They also did a good job making the other characters waver between sympathetic and self-interested.

I loved the way things played out. The misunderstandings and conflict and moment of realization and grand gesture. Not Jordy's "grand gesture" - his sucked. Maya's, though, was great. Also the ending was sooooo satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing an e-arc and audio arc for review.

🔊Song Pairing: Picture to Burn - Taylor Swift (I bet you were thinking I was going to use a different Taylor song. Okay this book screams Taylor. It could be a Taylor Swift musical)

💭What I thought would happen:

I mean the title screamed drama with an ex. Who was I to say no. I just hoped for every woman’s sake that they were never ever getting back together.

📖What actually happens:

Maya gets a call that she in 1000 years did not expect. Her ex who destroyed her wants her to be on a reality show starring him. A second chance romance bachelor (vomit). Maya is taking this opportunity to ruin this cheating asshole.

Skye is another of Jordy’s victims. Jordy called her to prepare her to beware of Maya his “crazy” ex who went stalker crazy when they broke up and he started dating Skye. Sadly to Skye’s surprise her and Maya are bunking together in the contestant house.

6 women must compete for the love of one douche nozzle who treated them all like last weeks trash and better yet, he’s protected by editing clauses and is acting like the European royalty he thinks he is, fake British accent and all. What could go possibly wrong?!

🗯Thoughts:

Honestly the whole show feels like a lose lose for these women…so your ex gets you to come back into his life only to make him a star and if he looks bad in any way there is an editing clause because he’s connected to the royal family?! This sounds like the 11th REALM OF HELL!!!! Who would sign up for this. I had secondhand embarrassment and rage for all women in the competition.

Jordy is 10/10 that guy who says his ex was a psycho and tells every woman who shows any semblance of emotion that they are overreacting. He is the epitome of chauvinistic sexist asshole. I have made it
my mission to either avoid or destroy those guys with all my might. A castration isn’t asking too much is it?! Also, when I typed his name it autocorrected to hoedown and now I am in a fit of laughter.

I loooove my drama. Don’t get me wrong I hate reality tv especially when it’s pinning women against one another. But Damn do I love reality tv drama in a book. I don’t want it but I can’t look away either. Would 💯 understand where people wouldn’t like this book, it’s full of mean girls who are actually nice but are turned that way by a raisin dick.

Pick this up and then message me as soon as you’re done. K thanks!

I absolutely LOVED the concept of this book. Two contestant on a dating show falling for each other? Say less!

But…the execution just didn’t do it for me. I found the main characters to be unlikable and annoying, to the point where I didn’t really care if things went their way. I also found parts of the story so incredibly far-fetched. I’m not sure why the main man needed to be fake royalty? It didn’t add to the story in any way and the whole made up country with made up royals was confusing.

I also think second chance romance (the trope AND the fake show) doesn’t really work with teenagers. This concept would have worked so much better with adults, but since they were all teenagers I was eye rolling from the very beginning.

Really wanted to love this one! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I wanted to love this one, I really did, but I ended up closing the book feeling entirely too lukewarm.

Get a 2nd chance at dating your ex on a reality show? Sure, if you are still really into him. But if you just want revenge for how he embarrassed and trashed you? That would feel even better. Especially because the girl he cheated with will be there, and you can take her down… maybe.

I didn’t care for Maya. Her singular focus on getting revenge was relentless, and it was distracting. Though the more I got to know of Skye, the more I liked her. This is a fun premise, though it doesn’t feel YA to me. The characters aren’t super fleshed out until individual dates or competitions, where you see activities geared towards personal tastes or strengths. They also had a ton of downtime. It seems like if you’re rooming two girls together to create tension, that time would be somewhat filmed because that makes for dramatic tv. But there really wasn’t that much filming going on.

I have an early arc, so perhaps it will go through some editing before release day to revise some inconsistencies. Like Skye swimming the backstroke around Maya, but then a few pages later, she couldn’t swim, so they were going to stage a rescue. There are some other issues, but again, my copy is early, so there might be another round of editing in store.

I was definitely way more into the relationship between Skye and Maya than the rest of the story and could have tossed the whole dating show and Jordy out. But I like how the girls eventually supported each other, most of the time, because it’s nice to see that in fiction. There are a lot of fun moments, hilarious comebacks, and quips that I think readers will enjoy. So this book had some ups and downs, but I think readers will enjoy this one, so please take my lukewarm feelings with a grain of salt. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along.

This book was so much fun to read. As someone who loves watching The Bachelor, I absolutely loved reading this book. The drama in this was everything. Maya and Sophie are so cute and I loved their characters so much.

In terms of the writing, it felt like it was lacking at times, especially development-wise. The characters felt sort of one-dimensional up until the end of the book, but I guess it also makes sense for the characters to be the way they are. I was kind of annoyed at how stubborn both Maya and Sophie were but I think that's just the way their personalities are. The progression of Maya and Sophie's relationship felt a little rushed or abrupt to me in that Maya and Sophie just one day have feelings for each other. However, this might have just been the way I interpreted their feelings and not how it was actually written. I thought the pacing of the story was really good though. The story didn't drag on at any point and there wasn't a single dull moment. I really enjoyed the concept of this book and I think we need more of girls getting together after a man cheats on them. The reality show setting of this was just so fun and as I've said before, I loved it. This book is the epitome of men are trash and I ate it up.

Overall, this was a very fun and easy read. It was such a good book to read to get me out of my reading slump and I really did enjoy this book a lot. Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

This was really cute. Skye and Maya were the two co-conspirators to lovers I was looking for when first reading this book. I loved how all of the girls even as secondary characters felt well rounded and like they could be real. Also I love when I can just hate a character so freely and Jordy was a fantastic character to hate.

The only problem I had with the story is it was slow to start and there was some slower parts in the middle of the story, so overall just pacing issues.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves to hate-watch the bachelor or just likes the bachelor. Also for anyone looking for some girls taking down a really annoying shared ex.

Thank you to netgalley for this arc.

The cover and title were enough to draw me in, and the story did not disappoint. Sapphic Enemies to lovers within the setting of a reality tv competition show. Super fun and sweet.

A huge thank you to Wednesday Books, St. Martins Press, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!
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I have loved everything I’ve read from Sophie Gonzales, so when this widget hit my inbox I wasted no time in downloading it! Not going to lie, I started singing the Taylor Swift song in my head every single time I saw the title or told someone what I was currently reading; you’ll never be in danger of forgetting the name. Jordy is basically the worst love interest on the face of the planet, so when he is cast as the lead of a reality show to find love with one of his ex’s, Maya is ready to get her revenge. What she doesn’t account for is falling for her nemesis Skye, who is also one of Jordy’s ex’s. Gonzales really leans into the Bachelor-style drama populating the book with characters all there for their own personal reasons…or vendetta.
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I do wish that this was a New Adult book, rather than sitting in the Young Adult category. It seemed so unrealistic that a dating show would be filled with a bunch of eighteen and nineteen year olds just out of high school, especially since these are all supposed to be girls that Jordy has been in a relationship with. Some of the tasks they were asked to do just didn’t seem all that plausible. Yet, on the other hand, it was fun watching Maya navigate alcohol for the first time as the country they were filming in has a lower drinking age, and the characters were all trying to figure out where they fit in the world and the expectations thrust upon them with high school graduation behind them. If you’re looking for a bi-rep, sapphic romance this one is filled with angst and rage and a slow-burn romance, set against a beautiful backdrop.

As an avid romance reality TV binger and a lover of all books queer and feisty, this rivals to lovers book HIT!! The rivals to friends to lovers arc was totally believable, and the moments with the ex boyfriend love interest were clever and engaging without being too heavy handed. My only complaint was that this book wasn’t longer! I loved it so much.