This is a great read for fans of The Bachelor, Are You The One (s8 specifically), and/or Unreal TV, and as a fan of the latter two, I ate this up.

It's always fun to watch characters discover the illusion of "reality tv" being a part of it, and how they manage to navigate it. I appreciated that we got through the catty pettiness of Maya & Skye's rivalry pretty quickly as well. Their relationship has solid development, and even some of the other characters like Perrie are quite enjoyable. The ending was very satisfying for me and I liked the choices the author made.

I think the only thing I would change is I would have set the characters in their 20s, avg. ~25. Thinking of these characters as 18-year-olds who dated Jordy at 16 years old feels too low stakes for me and a bit juvenile, esp for this show. Or maybe I'm just too old / can't imagine it since I didn't really date as a teenager, but I would see this show in reality with 20-somethings.

Either way, I love seeing more sapphic rep hit the bookstands and I highly rec it for fans of contemporary romance, esp with pop culture influence!

I always enjoy Sophie Gonzales's work, even when it doesn't entirely work for me - and this one, while charming, did not entirely work. The conceit is lots of fun - two exes of a famous jerk, one vengeful, one hopeful - accidentally falling in love on a Bachelor-esque reality show! Yes!! That sounds wonderful, particularly because it's sapphic. The banter is witty, the POVs are distinct, and everything was really fun...

...my issue? It's so hard to believe these are teenagers! There's a reason why minors are protected when filming movies or TV, and although it's mentioned here, the entire premise is for a much older audience. Even if they'd just aged up the characters to college-age, and stamped this genre as "new adult" it would have worked so much better. I kept forgetting that everyone here is supposed to be 16/17, and when I *did* remember, I was taken out of the flow of the novel because it seemed so unlikely and exploitive. (And yes, the novel is absolutely clear that reality TV is exploitative! But... again, the ages just did not vibe with what was happening in the book.)

So all in all - this was fun, light, a little predictable, but if you dig the premise you'll dig the execution. It's just that whole tension between YA vs NA that made this difficult for me personally.

SO GOOD!! If you are/were a fan of the Bachelor franchise you will love this read. I was left disappointed by One to Watch and really wanted to love it, but this book satisfied that reality tv romance itch. Skye and Maya are extremely likable and pull you into their friendship, scheming and more. It hit all the right notes!

I enjoyed idea of the story, but I didn’t really have any connections to the characters. Normally with books, I’m instantly drawn to the characters and for this one I just didn’t have that.

NEVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER by Sophie Gonzales is an adorable YA romcom set during the filming of a reality dating show. When I first started this book, I didn’t think I was going to like it. I found myself really struggling to get into the story, but then something happened. Maybe when it was when the characters personalities and voices really started to shine, or maybe it was when the reality show competition really started getting underway…but I truly found myself unable to stop reading. The characters were fun and the romance was cute albeit very instalovey—a trope I don’t enjoy for the most part.

That all being said, this book is not without its other flaws. The ending truly dragged for me. I felt like there was unnecessary drama thrown in in the third act (which is just part of romance novel formula at this point) and conversations between characters and inner monologues were starting to feel very repetitive.

Was this the best romance I’ve ever read? No, not at all, but I still had a lot of fun reading this book and because of that I’d recommended it.

“We’re Maya and Skye. We fit together like we were made that way on purpose.“

4.5 ⭐️

Wow, this book. It made me angry (I hate you, Jordy), it made me sad, but most of all, it made me GIDDY because of Maya and Skye. Their romance was definitely enemies/rivals to lovers, and it was done at such an accurate pace! It made it feel a lot more realistic than many books I’ve read. Such a beautiful story of not needing to have revenge if you have love.

Um, hi, I LOVED this book. I am a huge Sophie Gonzales fan and this book just added to that.

Maya is… a badass. Cheated on by Jordy Miller just before he became famous and beloved by women across the nation, she’s not interested in anything regarding him. But then she gets her chance to, if not get revenge, then at least to make him admit and pay for what he did to her. Because he’s the new lead on a Bachelor-like show where he re-dates all of his exes to see if he could rekindle the spark. And guess who else is there? Skye, the girl that Jordy cheated on Maya with. Of course, Skye thinks that Maya is misconstruing the whole situation and being unfair and “crazy” (which is, naturally, the word that Jordy uses to describe Maya). And on top of everything, Maya and Skye have to share a room. And they’re both bisexual. You see where this is going.

Everything about this book was phenomenal. It was funny, with strong characters and a plot that moves fast but not too fast. I just can’t say enough about how good this book was.

Maya and Skye were such interesting characters. Maya was this fierce, bold, strong powerhouse and completely uninterested in taking shit from anyone, and Skye was guarded yet so real and raw in a way that made me want to give her a hug and be her friend. The other girls, especially Perrie, were so intelligent in such a variety of ways and seemed like the kind of group of strong girls that I’d do anything to be part of - except date Jordy Miller. That man was just so much fun to hate. He was so nasty in such a believable and well written way, and I was excited to see him put in his place.

The romance of this book, too. Just amazing. Maya and Skye started out as enemies and as someone who is just a little obsessed with the enemies to lovers trope, I was so into it. The emotional journey for both of them in realizing that they should team up was so well formed and emotionally vulnerable, and every page of them interacting made me smile.

I could go on for hours about how good this book is. But I won’t. I’ll just say this: read it. It’s worth it. You’ll be glad you picked it up. And I already can’t wait to see what’s next from Sophie Gonzales.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for sending me an advance copy of this book for review!

I was initially really excited about this one--I love the reality tv setting, and I'm always excited about a sapphic romance. There were a few aspects of this that made it difficult for me to engage fully with the book:

- One: the ages of the characters. They felt too young for a Bachelor-type show for it to be believable. How did Jordy have so many exes?
- Two: the characterization. Initially, I found it a little hard to distinguish between Skye's and Maya's voices.I also found them both incredibly frustrating through most of the book, and I have minimal patience for the miscommunication trope. It all felt a little childish to me.
- Three: the revenge plot/resolution. I won't spoil, but it fell flat for me.

I think I went into this with the wrong expectations, or maybe it just didn't cut it for me.

This book was so cute! I loved the Bachelor vibes but enjoyed the twist. This book very much explores how reality shows are edited to make the audience feel certain ways about specific characters and I found that really interesting. I think the author did a good job of showing the boyfriend’s character instead of only telling us about him. I did think it was a bit weird that everyone is 18. While I understand this is YA, I think it would have made a bit more sense to have them be on their early twenties.

OMG this book was so awesome! I absolutely loved the revenge plot. LOVED IT. The writing was witty and snappy and smart and I loved the characters I was supposed to love. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I was really excited for this book after seeing the cover and title, and it didn't disappoint. Jordy is a menace entirely and that read. Sometimes it felt as though it would flip back and forth too much as to Jordy's intentions - it would be clear one moment and then a different angle the next. I want slightly more Jordy context. Also the ages threw me slightly - is Jordy only 20? Are Skye and Maya 19?

I really loved Skye and Maya together but wish we had more time with them. As soon as they get together, we don't get a chance to sit with them, and then they're in love. I want to fall with them more. The inevitable romantic conflict being Skye's fears of abandonment did make a lot of sense, but when they first kissed, it didn't land like they had a growing attraction to one another. I want to read them fall for each other more. Perrie is great, but occasionally the writing reads like she is actually attracted to Jordy, and her allegiance to Maya and Skye is a stronger character note.

I absolutely adore this book! It has a wonderful premise and the author really delivers on what was promised on the back cover.

A really funny book. I loved the hole vibe of reality show and I felt like I was watching a real one

I DEVOURED this book in one sitting. It took staying up until 3 AM to finish, but it was totally worth it. I laughed so much while reading, and the drama of it all kept me engaged despite the premise being pretty straightforward. The enemy was easy to hate almost from the start, and I was definitely on board with Team Fuck Up the Fuckboy the whole way through the story. He really was the epitome of fuckboyness in all the worst ways. The sapphic love story between the bi main characters had good chemistry and utilized common tropes well, including forced proximity and enemy to lovers. I always appreciate Gonzales's ability to weave fantastic bi rep into the narrative, and this book was no exception. Maya was bent on getting revenge and had built her entire life around proving Jordy wrong for leaving her. Whereas, Skye had major abandonment issues. The combination of the two created some serious drama that felt realistic given both of their issues. The premise (two contestants on a reality dating show falling in love with each other instead of the person they are competing over) was a lot of fun, but it was a bit weird that all of them were teenagers. I kept aging them up in my head to just be reminded over and over by the text that they were all teens. It was just strange, and I think this would have worked better as an adult book rather than YA. That being said, this was a funny sapphic romance with a great premise. If you like reality TV or have ever wondered what it would be like for contestants of The Bachelor to end up together, this is the romcom for you. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

As a Bachelor franchise-obsessed lesbian Swiftie, I knew I had to get my grubby little hands on this ARC and I'm so glad Netgalley allowed me to do so. This book is like a doughy cookie - undercooked but still pretty yummy. The concept promises fun and it delivers. There were moments where I laughed out loud and I loved seeing girls who have been hurt by a manipulative narcissist come together for revenge. However, I struggled with the ages of these characters. It would have made more sense for the characters to be even just 3-4 years older; it was hard to wrap my mind around a reality TV show centering around the dating life of a famous 19 year-old and his 18 year-old ex-girlfriends. I felt that the author needlessly created a believability obstacle that she then had to go out of her way to explain. The pacing was weak, moving too fast in some parts and too slow in others, and the characters were dry. The book is told through two different first-person perspectives and neither character felt fully realized. I often couldn't remember whose perspective I was reading from. I'd recommend this as a fun, quick read for people who share my love for reality television and WLW romance but not if you are looking for something deeper than that.

Let me just say that I saw this on a lot of TikToks so that alone moved this book up the line in my TBR list. I was not disappointed! I love that they started off as revenge on their ex but ended up falling for each other instead! Generally not a fan of love triangles, but I don't even know if I can call this a true love triangle. Read this in one sitting, will be reading again. Loved every page!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the ARC of this book, in exchange for my review.

The premise of this book seemed pretty fun; Bachelor type reality show where a guy brings a bunch of former girlfriends back for an elimination style competition for a second chance at love. Two of the contestants end up falling for each other.

Overall it was a cute story, but not without its issues. I think this book would have been better positioned with characters that were a little older. The characters were not old enough to have any real life experience and the romances throughout were very PG. One of the main characters Maya, started out pretty normal, but she quickly established herself and the most annoying and immature person you could imagine. Her behavior was so obnoxious, it was tough to read. The way she acted also made the decisions that Jordy made, very unbelievable.

The romance that develops between Maya and Skye, felt a little underdeveloped as well. They went from hating each other to not, in an instant. There was very little build up or anticipation, and it left the love story kind of meh.

Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy of this quirky book. Romance and revenge are the heart of the book. Maya and Skye go on a reality dating show, yet the same guy has hurt them in the past. Can they be friends? Will they remain enemies? You will find out and love this book! What is happily ever after, and will they find it?

Young girl dates a cheating jerk, gets asked to go on a reality dating show featuring her ex, decides to be a jerk and go on the show to get back on him.

Maybe the sequel will feature her in therapy for relying on creating happiness out of hurting others.

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
The cover, gorgeous! The characters, loved them all (but 1)! But I know that’s what the author intended. They were well rounded and very easy to root for (but 1)! This book was just so well written, pacing was great, and the humor was there as well. And the ending , the ending was perfect and incredibly satisfying.
Many thanks to Sophie Gonzales, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.