This is another super cute read from Sophie Gonzales. I absolutely loved Perfect on Paper, and this wasn't quite as strong for me, but it's still such a fun, delightful read.

I think the conversations about how scripted and manipulated reality TV is great to examine and I also really enjoyed the conversations about college and how it's just not for everyone.

It feels a little like a new adult plot with YA characters which is a little weird to me, but I think it's great for readers who are transitioning between YA and NA.

I do wish there had been more scenes with the royalty though

I thought this book was so great! I love love love an enemies to lovers and I think this book did a good job with making it believable (I was a little concerned by the early behavior that it wasn't going to get there). Would definitely love to read more from this author!

I'm giving this 4 stars but I actually think it's more like 3.5.

I liked a lot of things about this. I love the bachelor and I love wlw romance, and I think Sophie Gonzales is a great writer. I just found Maya to be SO ANNOYING for so much of the book that I had trouble getting through it. I know it's part of the plot, but GOD her obsession with getting revenge on Jordy was annoying. Skye is a sweetheart though, and when she and Maya were together NOT talking about Jordy I loved them.

Overall a very sweet YA romance

What a funny book. I liked the premise of having exes on a reality show trying to reconnect with their boyfriend. It’s always a fun dynamic when people are forced to live in the same space. In a classic he said, she said there is a bit of confusion as to who might be lying. The witty banter was refreshing. I liked the girl power in the end where everyone worked to take down a jerk. A very sweet romance blossoms out of a bad situation. Easy beach read.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

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

The first half of the book was so strong and I devoured it. The characters were interesting, the premise was so fun, and the shenanigans were hilarious. I genuinely felt like I was watching a reality tv show, which is perfect considering that was the setting. I hate characters and I love them at the same time. It truly reminded me of my days watching reality tv shows.

But the second half started to slow down, and I lost interest as the main characters got closer to their end game. I am a huge fan of revenge and I fully wanted the characters to complete their revenge, so the ending was a bit of a let down for me. I prefer revenge stories to be unhinged and wild, and while the first half promised this, the second half went back on its promise by bringing in that stupid moral compass.

It was still a fun and easy read with great characters. I loved the LGBTQA+ representation and that it was normalized as opposed to making it a huge deal. Overall, a solid read and other than me not liking the ending, it was a great book!

Two girls set up to be enemies fall in love during a reality show about second chances with an ex-boyfriend who is not worth their time. Jordy broke Maya's heart when he cheated on her with Skye. Skye's heard all about Jordy's stalker ex-girlfriend. No one knows what really happened and someone is lying to everyone.

The premise was a little out there, but the characters were alive and the book was a fast-paced. There is a balance of perspectives - with chapters narrated by both Maya and Skye. In addition to it being a cute teen showmance, the book provided some interesting insights about the value of perspective and how stories can be twisted in the retelling. Strangely enough, this would make a great book report book especially with the social media twists within.

Wow, wow, wow! I have never read a storyline like this before. As a pretty big Bachelorette and Love Island fan, this was super exciting to read just to get insight into how that all works. This is a story I know so many of my students would adore because teenagers so often confused about themselves and their situations, and to read Maya and Skye's route to love lets them know it is okay to be open to anything - not confused - but open to all people. Maya and Skye fell into an easy love and it was so believable, the slow burn to a final igniting and declaration of love. It is everything young people could dream of. I also so appreciated the character growth and how Maya decides in the end to know give Jordy the punishment she so believed he deserved. I kept cringing at the thought of how that would go down, because I felt it would make me think less of Maya. Talking about it and planning it all out was exciting to follow along with, but I was hopeful in the end she would take the higher road. How the information leaked in the Epilogue seemed much more natural.

The only reason I'm knocking a star off the rating is that Skye is portrayed as an innocent, shy young woman in the beginning and Maya as the outgoing one. However, about 25% into the book, as Skye and Maya begin to realize Jordy screwed with them both and they join in together, Skye becomes the more outgoing one and Maya less so. Then, all of a sudden Skye is making the first big move in their relationship, and making the declarations of love, and it just felt like as a reader, the switch in her personality was too abrupt and made it hard to follow which POV was Skye and Maya. I believe as a reader, multiple POVs means that there has to truly be a clear, clear, CLEAR distinction between the view points to ensure there isn't confusion. About 50% of the way, the shift in characterization for both girls felt unnatural and unbelievable.

But other than that, what a beautiful story and one I truly believe hasn't been portrayed yet in recent YA lit. Thank you to Sophie Gonzales and her publishing team for allowing me to have access to this reader early and accepting the thoughts I have on it.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange of an honest review.

Overall this book was good. Not amazing or totally outstanding, but not bad. I feel it's biggest drawbacks is that it's not particularly memorable. As a lover of sapphic romance, and being bisexual, I really enjoyed this story and thought it was a fun, witty read. The references in it weren't over the top, and didn't make it feel to dated which is something I really appreciated. Both main characters were strong and stood decently well on their own. I do wish there had have been a tad more emotional development for Skye, as she didn't feel as totally fleshed out as Maya. I also feel that some aspects of their characters took a backseat to the romance, which would've made a reader connect with them more. For example, Maya's motives/feelings behind university get mentioned but not fully expanded on and could've been edited out entirely.
Jordy was a very good antagonist, and this book was very good at drawing out emotional responses from me. Mostly anger at the audacity of this man, and being so excited to see him finally get what he deserves. The romance between Maya and Skye was sweet, but I never felt overly attached to them together. It went from them hating each other to all of a sudden being attracted to each other with what felt like very little development to get them there.
Overall I'd recommend this book to someone looking for a sweet, fast paced sapphic romance.

SJHKJSHDKJ

(Thank you to NetGalley, which sent me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Now, if you know anything about me... I'm petty. Like really petty. I love Maya so much.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a book about a reality TV show where this douchebag of a guy has a few of his exes competing against one-another to win a chance to be with him again. Yeah. I know how it sounds.

Maya is one of Jordy's exes. So is Skye. It's just that when Jordy was dating Maya... he was also dating Skye, like a proper asshole. When Skye finds out, they make a choice to mess with him... and expose him for who he truly is. They weren't expecting to fall in love.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a fun, sweet book that had me finish it in a single sitting. I think the characters are fun! My only issue with it is a YA book and not a new adult one. I think it would have been more interesting with this type of setting, considering that everyone involved in this are adults anyways. Regardless, the book was cute and I definitely recommend it to people who like silly romcoms.

“𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗹𝗶𝗻.” - Idk that other people in my life would describe me this way, but it’s definitely the way my brain operates. 😂 I feel you so hard, Maya.

This story is one of my favorite romances of the year. It’s a dual POV, but with a completely new and refreshing lens. Maya and Skye are two bi women who have dated the same man; Jordy the giant douche canoe. He’s the lead of a reality show about second chances, and Maya and Skye both show up from his past as potential matches for his future.

We get to know both characters through their own eyes and instead of the classic women vs women dynamic on a reality show like this, you end up rooting for every woman there. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of drama, but Skye and Maya are equally lovable and gorgeous humans, along with the rest of the cast.

Enemies to lovers, LGBTQ+, second chance love: ALL OF MY FAVORITES. I laughed out loud throughout and truly enjoyed getting to know both Maya and Skye from their own perspectives. It was a captivating, fun love story. 💕

Out 11/29! Go pre-order a copy, you will not regret it.

HOLY MOLY THAT WAS CUUUUUUUUUTE. I couldn't put the book down once I started because I needed to know how it ended!!! Beautifully written and perfectly executed. Kept me on my toes the whole time.

{3.5 stars}

When Jordy’s sister married a prince, he became quite a sought after bachelor. He grows tired of girls chasing him for money and fame so he decides to re-investigate whether his pre-fame exes could have been the one… on a reality TV show of course. We get to see the show unravel through the eyes of Maya who is hell bent on revenge, alleging that Jordy cheated on her. We also get to see through the eyes of Skye, who was the girl he cheated with. Enter drama.

This is a fun story of love and revenge. I expected it to be lots of catty drama but it takes a fun feminine twist. If you’re a fan of The Bachelor franchise and enjoyed One to Watch or The Charm Offensive, definitely check this one out.

Thanks to Wednesday Books via Netgalley for advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.

DNF at 30%. i am a big fan of this author’s work normally. I know that this will end in romance, but I do not see any chemistry or any sort of relationship between the characters besides animosity. I do not feel passionately about any of the characters, except for my extreme hatred of the main character. I almost feel that the author did TOO good a job of making the characters enemies, because I just can’t see them ever becoming lovers and did not care to stick around to see.

If you love reality TV drama, with emphasis on the drama, you're in for a huge treat. I know having a lot of drama is often seen as a bad quality in YA books, but in this case I promise it's part of the fun!

I have to admit I don't really like reality TV, but for some reason I love to read about it. And this book was just... so much fun from start to finish. I read it in one sitting because I was just having such a good time.

The concept of this book - having a dating show where the contestants are the guy's exes - is so incredibly fun, and this book lives up to it entirely. Jordy was truly the worst, and I loved the main characters overcoming the drama he set them up for and falling in love with each other.

A romcom novel with an ending which you don't see coming. A unique enemy to lovers story which takes place in a television reality setting.

This book was so unexpected for me, I had no idea this was going to turn into a sapphic romance and I loved every second of it! This was such a cute read. The enemies to lovers, the let’s get revenge on the ex boyfriend but then fall in love! yes! I absolutely loved it! I could not get enough of this!
Most people have had an ex partner that they look back on and they just wonder what did they see in that person and I think Jordy perfectly encapsulates that he was so easy to hate and of course he thinks having a dating show with all of his exes competing for him is a good idea*eye roll*. I’d love to sky in Maya the jokes the tension the bi representation this was just so great.
There were a few moments where I did have trouble telling Maya and Skye’s povs apart while I was reading but other than that this was a great book.
Thank you St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this!

Maya Bailey (fun, stubborn, antagonistic) doesn’t want anything to do with Jordy Miller after he cheated on her, their relationship ending in a catastrophic breakup. But when she gets invited onto Second-Chance Romance, a reality television show where one male is given the opportunity to reconnect with exes and choose one to rekindle a romance with, she goes. She doesn’t want to pass up the opportunity to get revenge and publicly humiliate Jordy.

Skye Kaplan (distrustful, kind, careful) takes her shot at another chance with Jordy when invited on the show - after all, they only broke up because Jordy had to move, and he made her feel things no one else has been capable of.

Never Ever Getting Back Together tells Maya and Skye’s stories: one attempting to expose his manipulations, the other trying to win his heart back. As they confront hard truths and uncover secrets, they find love in unexpected places.

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I enjoyed seeing the character’s growth throughout the show. It was fun to see Skye come out of her shell and take a chance, even though she has trouble trusting people. I thought it was meaningful to see Maya grapple with the influence Jordy continues to have on her, and figure out how to stop that. Skye learned to let people in. Maya learned how to let people go.

I love how Never Ever Getting Back Together subverts reality television tropes in a queer way. I loved the “let's-ditch-the-boy-we-came-here-for-and-run-off-together” vibes. The sapphic romance was really delightful to witness, especially because they went on the show with different agendas and goals, and ultimately chose each other.

The writing style was my favorite part of the book. The prose was very humorous, and made me laugh out loud. I felt that it was really witty, and also easy to read. I flew through the book.

I did find the beginning of the romance a bit difficult to believe. Skye and Maya hated each other at first, and I feel like they switched from enemies to lovers without enough time to heal and change their opinions of each other.

Overall, I think Never Ever Getting Back Together is a sweet, fun sapphic romance!

This is the Bachelor meets The Selection. Maya and Skye join a reality show to re date their royalty adjacent ex, Jordy. Overall I found it to be a sweet YA romance. The characters didn’t have a lot of depth or backstory besides all having dated Jordy but I found in this story it was easy to forget. Jordy was just the right level of sweet and manipulative. I didn’t quite understand how the girls fell for him during the show at all, but I still didn’t entirely hate or love him. I wish the enemies to friends to lovers trope was a little slower burn but I can see teens loving this book.

⭐️⭐️
Definitely a Bachelor/Bachelorette tv show vibe. Two eighteen year old girls, Maya and Skye, are on a reality dating show where they reconnect with their ex-boyfriend Jordy. Both want revenge but also still really like their ex.

This is a YA novel so I knew it wasn’t going to be really ‘deep’ but I lost interest about halfway thru the book when Maya and Skye started plotting together against Jordy. But I never quit a book so I finished it…some people might love this one, but I wasn’t a fan.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.