I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

The book on the whole was very engaging. It was a fun twist on the standard love triangle, and was great bi rep! That said, the characters didn’t have much depth, in particular those outside of the two main characters, Maya and Skye.

It was very much a slow burn, as two thirds of the book was dedicated to revenge on Jordy, and a much less significant portion was dedicated to the romance between Maya and Skye. However, overall, it was a fun, enjoyable read.

Sophie Gonzales rom-coms are my absolute favorite and this did not disappoint! The reality show setting was a lot of fun and reminded me of The Charm Offensive in all the best ways. It is always great to see awesome women team up against dirtbag men and this story did that so well! I will definitely be adding this to my classroom library!

4 stars

This is a charming YA romance with some solid queer rep and some tried and true (but not exhausting) tropes.

Maya and Skye dated the same guy and they've returned to repeat their mistakes...or so it seems when they agree to go on a teen version of a date your ex again reality show. Dating your ex again almost never goes well under any circumstances, so it should come as no surprise that this is going to go left quickly when it involves teens and recording devices. Fortunately, the backdrop is much less important than the relationship that really becomes one to watch...the one between Maya and Skye.

It's extremely gratifying when the characters readers know should be together actually make that happen - even for a portion of a work - and that's made even more powerful through the shared ex and general creepy situation these characters find themselves in here. More than anything, this is just a satisfying, "Ah. GOOD," kind of read.

On top of the contentment, readers get some solid bi representation and some intriguing characters. I'd have liked to know more about these characters versus the setup/events of the show, but this was still an enjoyable journey.

Folks who can access the audio version should. It's a well-paced and fun listen.

4.25!!

I did not except to enjoy this book as much as I did! I love the plot so much, I mean girls who share the same ex all go on a dating show together but plot twist! Two of the girls end up falling in love! Its such a fresh concept, I've never read anything like it and I need more of these books to come out!

Some shoutouts to all the representation in this book, it was just thrown in there randomly and not made into some huge deal, and I love that! I also loved how the book depicted the whole reality TV show thing, like you got to see how many times each scene got taken, and I think its a really good insight to remind yourself that everything you see on TV is not real. Let's all say a big fuck you to Jordy because he was a scumbag and did not deserve any of the girls that went on that show.

Overall I would highly recommend if reality TV mixed with a sapphic romance sounds interesting to you!

Thank you to the publishers for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review <3

I was a little annoyed by the characters in the first 1/3 of the book but after that I really enjoyed it. Jordy sucks so much, I hope he has a terrible life lol. Maya and Skye were so great once they started to get along. Would recommend to romance readers and reality TV fans.

As a proud Swiftie, I knew I had to read this book from the title alone! This story reminded me of if The Princess Diaries was turned into a sapphic romcom, perfect for lovers of the enemies to lovers trope!

When 18 year olds Maya and Skye are asked by their now famous ex-boyfriend, Jordy, to participate in a reality TV show called Second Chance Romance, where he gets a (you guessed it) second chance to love with one of his exes, the two girls quickly join forces against him when they realize he played them both.
A cute sapphic romance about revenge against men, I'm all for it! It was funny, it was catty, filled to the brim with The Bachelor references, told in dual POV (Maya and Skye) with two highly distinct voices, this read was very entertaining. I would've loved to see more descriptions, and a bit more character depth. I read this both as an ebook and in audio book, and the narration in the audio was great, very easy to follow the different POVs.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I couldn't get enough of this queer New Adult rom com!! Such a fun premise: a Bacherlor type reality show that sees Jordy, an obscure royal seeing if he can rekindle romance with a cast of his exes. If you can suspense belief on the plausibility of a show like this ever happening, it worked for me because the main protagonists were the women, in particular Skye and Maya who end up roommates on the show and reluctant partners trying to expose Jordy for the jerk they know him to be.

Great on audio narrated by Natalie Naudus and Barrie Kreinik (two of my fav narrators). This book gave me lots of I kissed Shara Wheeler vibes, had great bisexual rep and was able to tow the line between sweet enemies to lovers romance and entertaining over the top reality show revenge drama. Highly recommended! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies of this book in exchange for my honest review!

The moment I heard bisexual bachelor, I was for sure in, and I loved this even more than I could imagine! This book was everything, sapphic John Tucker Must Die meets the Bachelor meets Do Revenge. I loved every part of this book, the tension was beautiful, the enemies/rivals to lovers was perfection. Maya and Skye were both loveably flawed and you couldn't not root for them.
Loved the girl power in this book, it was laugh out loud funny, real, and emotionally raw and I loved every minute of this book.

This was my most anticipated read of the year, thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC! I'll for sure be buying a physical copy as soon as they're available!

When her cheating ex boyfriend asks her to appear with him on new reality show, Second Chance Love, the only thing on Maya’s mind is revenge. The fact that she has to live with Skye, the girl he cheated with, makes her blood boil - but when they actually talk things out, Maya and Skye get along pretty well. Things are about to heat up on set, no bachelor in sight.

I need to tell you a secret - I don’t watch reality tv. Actually watching the show? Not for me. But when I tell you that EVERY TIME there’s a romance set during a reality dating show, I’M IN. I love the idea of a narrative being spun on the show as we see the behind the scenes actual reality, and this book did a great job of breaking down the repetitive and fake nature of it all. (And can I just say that I love Isaac so much??)

Maya and Skye are so sweet together, and I love the camaraderie of all the girls as they settle into filming and realize that Jordy is an absolute dick.

The fact that they are both 18 felt way too young for a dating show, but I appreciate that this is for a teen audience, because we all deserve a peek behind the curtain. If you’re looking for spicy, you won’t find it here - some sweet kisses though!

Overall, this was a great read, and I would definitely recommend!

Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, bar, underage drinking, past cheating/break-up, parental abandonment, off-page car crash, classism, sex, vomit, toxic relationship

Representation: Bisexual, Gay

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a YA contemporary romance about a second chance romance reality tv show. Both Maya and Skye have previously dated Jordy. When Jordy is chosen as the next participant for the show, all of his exes are gathered and must share a house while competing to get back with him. Throughout the filming process, Maya and Skye grow closer than ever expected.

I was hoping for a lot more from this book to be honest. The premise of two girls falling in love while on a tv show about dating a man sounded so amazing to me. Unfortunately Maya and Skye did not have a lot of depth for me. I also thought the book read as much older than young adult. When they would reference only being 18, I kept being surprised. I’m not sure exactly what it was but this just wasn’t the book for me. I think people should definitely give this book a shot and form their own opinion.

This was very cute! It was a fun story of love and revenge, all set on a reality dating show.

I enjoyed the whole ensemble cast but Maya and Skye especially were adorable and I loved their friendship turned romance once they got past their initial issues. More hate to Jordy for being responsible for those problems.

Jordy was a great antagonist. You could see the charm but were still actively rooting against him.

All the girls becoming friends was such a great touch. It would have made sense for not every single person to feel buddy buddy by the end, especially with the varying personalities, but their common ground (and enemy) served them all well.

The characters also felt very true to their ages (in a good way) and their decisions definitely made sense in the context of their respective life experiences. It was very nice seeing Maya and Skye start to work at overcoming some of their respective past traumas together.

For someone who doesn't like reality dating shows, I do seem to like books that feature them. In this dating show, the guy (who is semi-famous because his sister is dating a royal) gets a second chance with six women he's dated in the past, from a childhood romance to a more recent hookup. But the two key characters are Maya and Skye. Maya was dating Jordy, who moved to another country though they were still together long distance; he cheated on her with Skye, who he then dated, but he told everyone that he and Maya had broken up long before that and she was lying (and mentally unstable) for calling him a cheater.

Skye believes Jordy and thinks that Maya is being unreasonable. Maya thinks Skye knew about her and dated Jordy anyway and is determined to hate Skye and get revenge of Jordy (hoping to expose him for who he is on the show). But then the women exchange notes and find out Jordy is a charming liar. And they realize that they get along quite well together...really, really well.

I had a great time reading this book. I loved the setup and the twist (this is not a spoiler; it's in the book description) of the two women on the reality show falling for each other. I liked the characters (though some of them, especially the other women, felt a little cliche) and I liked the takedown of the guy who seems oh so charming on the surface but is really just a selfish jerk. I was smiling all through the ending.

I loved this book. I'd heard about it on Twitter and the premise sounded pretty dang delightful. Is there a word beyond delightful? Besides witty and genuinely surprising. I loved Maya and Skye's relationship and the romcoms I like are pretty much DC's Venom.

I loved the premise where a reality tv show is the jumping off point for two people who would otherwise never have met.

It's a great read

I was so excited to receive this ARC because it was such an interesting concept. A guy's ex girlfriends are all brought together to compete for his love again, but it obviously doesn't end up that way. Maya and Skye's relationship started rocky but as the book progressed I loved them together. Each of the characters develops nicely and the build up is really well written.

Okay, this has officially semented Sophie Gonzales as a new favourite author for me. This was one of my most anticepated releases for the year and it ended up blowing me out of the water still. I was completely addicted to it while reading. I just did not want to stop and I really could not stop. The beginning was a bit furstrating (but in a good way). Just to know all sides to the story and then see both protagonists argue with each other over things that weren't actually true and was just Jordy gaslighting them was a bit frustrating to read. However, the fact that I got so frustrated shows how immediately invested in these characters I was. I just wanted to yell at them to properly talk things out, which they did and once they did this just turned into a dream. I really love a reality TV show setting, we know that, and I really love how it was done in this book. I really loved seeing Skye and Maya becoming friends and then finally slowly falling for each other. Their relationship was so cute and I adore how they just opened up to each other so recently. I also really loved all the different side characters, from the producers to the other girls competing (not Jordy though, he can choke to death). I also like that even though we know from the beginning Jordy is a dick you can also understand how all these amazing girls ended up falling for him at some point. The different twists and turns in this book were also amazing and you don't want to know how many times I ended up saying OUT LOUD "Oh, he's such a dick" while reading this book. God, I could just gush about this forever. It's such a fun book with an amazing romance but also some great heartfelt moments and character developement.

This book is an absolute delight! A nice medium-burn build-up and minimal angst, which is a nice break from angst being shoved at you from all angles, normally. You really see the characters grow and learn. Well, aside from one. I really enjoyed this! Definitely recommendingL

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this novel.

I loved this book so much! It was smart, romantic, and made great comments on the world of dating reality television today. I read it all in one sitting.

I loved the initial dislike/misunderstanding of Maya and Skye, it was cute knowing something they didn’t know (that they’d like each other). Their misunderstanding was cleared up pretty quickly which was nice, as it didn’t fester and it allowed the characters to grow and start falling for each other romantically.

Jordy was a shmuck and an asshole which we knew from that beginning, and I was glad to see all the girls were friends and saw that side of him by the end of the novel.

I loved that it was a big deal that the two mc’s were bi, and it wasn’t really the central part of the story because they were both already comfortable in their identities. The positivity also surrounding this was great to see.

Really enjoyed this one, can’t wait to see what Sophie will write next!

While YA books are not usually the genre I ever towards, I found this one to be enjoyable. It felt like a lot was going on, but in a good way. Would recommend to YA lovers for sure.

This was such a fun and easy read! I totally binged it and enjoyed every second! As someone who has watched trashy reality tv in the past this book was exactly that in book form but also make it LGBTQ+! I enjoyed this book a lot and will definitely be recommending it! 3.5/5