Never Ever Getting Back together is a fun, fast-paced book — great as a beach or pool read. I think it has an excellent premise (The Bachelor-like reality show, two of the contestants falling in love with each other) that it executes mostly well.

I have a few criticisms, but before I mention them I would like to say that I am not the YA target audience for this book. I feel like teens and people in their early 20s will really love it and my quibbles may not bother them at all.

I loved Maya and her attitude, particularly at the beginning of the book. I think during the first third or so of the book, Maya and Skye had really distinct POV chapters. However, once they started getting along, their voices blended together and it was difficult to distinguish them. I often forgot whose chapter I was reading and had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter. Their lives as individuals and personalities were touched on, but not enough to make them seem like fully realized characters to me.

I appreciate the author not wanting to go the route of girl-hate, but the other four girls were quite bland. Kim was the love-sick one, Perrie the influencer, and the other two were a bit forgettable.

When reading the summary, I was very interested in the behind-the-scenes reality show premise. There are so many opportunities for drama and tension and while some of that was certainly present here, I feel like the author didn’t take full advantage of the setup. What’s the point of putting them up in such a nice place if they weren’t also going to film there? I think it would have added tension, and also the draw of a reality show setting is not the contest aspect, but more the relationship drama between the contestants, which we would have seen more had the cameras been with them in the house as well. And it would have been fun to see Maya and Skye dodging cameras and crew to find little nooks and crannies around the mansion to make out.

That all said, I would absolutely recommend this book to others as a light, fun sapphic romcom! The author clearly has a great wit and I’m very much willing to give her past books and any future ones a try.

Thank you very much to St Martins Press and Netgalley for the e-arc!

Have you ever gone through a truly heinous breakup? The kind where you not only never want to see the other person again, but you also want to expose every single awful thing they ever did to you so that the whole world knows what a piece of crap they really are? We all know that we're supposed to be mature and let things go and blah blah blah, but let's face it. Sometimes getting revenge is just more satisfying than taking the high road.

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzalez is a story for anyone who has ever had a fairytale romance go bad. It's for anyone who has been wronged by someone who gets away with bad behavior without repercussions over and over again. In this story we meet Maya, who had her heart broken by her cheating high school sweetheart Jordy two years earlier. Since their breakup, Jordy has gone on to become famous for being the charming, good-looking younger brother to the new princess-by-marriage to a small fictional country. When a reality tv producers reach out to Maya to see if she's interested in reconnecting with Jordy via a new show, Second Chance Romance, she reluctantly agrees, plotting to expose Jordy (and the girl he cheated with) to the world. Of course, shenanigans ensue.

I actually hate reality tv shows like the one portrayed in this book but I love books and tv shows about the behind the scenes stuff. If you liked the tv show UnReal, you will like this book. It's fun, it's funny, it's got great bi representation. All in all, it's a fun, silly read about the scars relationships can leave on us - especially when they're with scumbags - and the value of learning to let go.

My only gripe with the book is that the characters are too young! The relationships that caused so much pain and heartache were literally only months long and among teenagers. I think the story would have hung together a lot better and been more relatable if everyone was in their twenties. But maybe I'm just old. Give it a read when it comes out and let me know what you think.

Never Ever Getting Back Together will be released November 29, 2022. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this! Watching Maya and Skye get to know each other, plot together, and fall in love was so much fun, and Gonzales' pacing was perfect throughout. I was honestly at the edge of my seat at the end, having no idea what Jordy would pull to save his own face. A face that I really wanted to punch! I do wish we spent more time exploring the characters' emotions and motivations outside of the competition — I was left wanting to know more about Maya's college plans, Skye's feelings about her mom, and the secondary characters in general. Maya's voice was also so strong from the very first page, and I didn't get that same energy from Skye. All in all though, this is such a fun, joyful read!

*This ARC was provided to me via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion*

The premise of this story was a great idea and I was super excited for a dating show setting to have a queer storyline, however, for me this book fell flat. Specifically, I struggled differentiating the two female POVs from one another as their characters were not fleshed out and their narratives sounded very similar. I was really craving more background and detail on who Skye and Maya were outside of being Jordy’s ex-girlfriends. Unfortunately, it seemed as though that part of them was the only information the reader was given which made it hard to connect with the characters as it was difficult to sense their personalities. Additionally, Maya and Skye’s chemistry was just non-existent and I found myself confused during their first romantic scene as it felt neither of the women had really voiced their interest in each other before the initial kiss.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!

What a fun read! I had a blast, and it gave me Princess Diaries vibes (ok, maybe just because of the fictional royals thing and the fictional country names) meets every exploitative reality dating show where a man gets to choose from a cast full of women--except it's YA and it's not the man we're rooting for. Definitely a fun sapphic romcom where the dude gets what he's owed. Thank, you to the publisher for the eARC!

This book was so good. This reality show setting is something I don't usually enjoy watching on TV, but reading about it is something so different. Seeing behind the scenes of filming and the way things get edited was insightful. Plus, the dual POV lets us see into Maya and Skye's head throughout the process of not only competing against each other, but becoming friends...and possibly even more. From Maya's anger/frustration still showing and Skye's intent not to let most people close, it was great to see these girls balance each other out and help them through some stressful times.

All around, this was a great YA novel with some excellent LGBTQ+ representation. I thoroughly enjoy and recommend!

So he calls me up and he's like "I still love you" and I'm like...I'm just...I mean, this is exhausting, you know? Like we are never getting back together. Like ever.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is another well-done book by Sophie Gonzales. The book is told in alternating POVs between Skye and Maya, two women sent to be part of a reality second-chance dating show. The book reads like a dose of pop culture, playing into and poking fun at reality TV and the people who join the casts. I absolutely love the twist on the trope. Without giving anything away--this is a must-add to any collection.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book - so much potential for drama, twists and scandals! Plus queer rep as a bonus - how could I not?

A shame that this ended up being a disappointment for me. The girls' personalities are so bland I forgot who's who since they're all written so similarly (and ends up not really mattering if you get them mixed up anyway) - any chemistry just isn't believable and seems forced. The fake country and language ended up being cringey rather than cute - it was fine in the Princess Diaries when reading as a child, but seems so out of place in an adult romance book. And the relations of characters to royalty is needlessly confusing, unless there's a mistake in the book - is he or isn't he a prince?!

I've heard great things about Sophie Gonzales' books and I like her sense of humour, but this one truly wasn't for me.

I loved this one! A bisexual girl enters a dating reality show to get revenge on her ex, but she falls in love with another girl on the show and that's literally it. Maya and Skye were both interesting and very well developed MCs. Their love story was lovely, refreshing and wonderful and it caressed my ass. Whenever Sophie Gonzales writes another book, I want to read it in an instant.I can't express how much I love this sapphic YA-rom-com, how highly recommend it!

This novel literally includes my two favorite things: a wlw storyline and a reality competition tv show. What could be better! I especially loved the fact that the two main characters are bi and it’s not a big deal. While I have nothing against books that feature coming out storylines, sometimes it’s just nice a read a book where the characters are comfortable with being queer and no one around them bats an eye.

My only criticism with this book is that the main characters are only 18/19 years old and it feels like it would have made a bit more sense if they were in their early twenties because it reads more as an adult book than a YA book. That being said, it’s easy to forget the ages of the characters, so it didn’t really impact my enjoyment.

I loved the premise of this book, but unfortunately, I did not love the delivery. Skye and Maya both sounded like the same character, and I often forgot whose POV I was reading. This made it hard to see the chemistry between them, and honestly the scenes with Jordy were the most interesting ones if only because he was such a god awful person it was like when you can’t look away from a car wreck every time he started talking.

SPOILER:
I also felt very uncomfortable with Maya outing Skye on live TV. in some grand gesture to earn her forgiveness. That’s some Jordy-level manipulation in my opinion.

Thank you to Sophie Gonzales, St.Martins Press and NetGalley for giving me an eARC in exchange for a honest review. Never Ever Getting Back Together comes out November 29, 2022.

Never Ever Getting Back Together stars Maya as she goes on Second Chance Romance, a reality dating show where her cheating ex, Jordy, re-dates her and 5 other ex-girlfriends to see if there is still a spark. One of the other exs, Skye, happens to be the girl that Jordy cheated on Maya with two years ago. Even though their first impressions of each other are poor(which has alot to do with the manipulations of the Jordy), soon both girls start to form a friendship and start to plan how to expose the Jody to the world for the scum bag he is. Over late night scheming and general forced proximity Maya nd Skye start to realize that their friendship is growing into so much more.

I did enjoy reading this book, I like the premise and separately I like both female characters. The only thing that I could say negatively is that I didn't feel the chemistry between both characters. For me it matters that by the end of a romance you truly believe the love interests are going to stick together past the epilogue and I did not get that feeling while reading. Otherwise it was a story filled with humor, friendship and sticking it to the man (okay one man but honestly Jordy was the worst).

This book felt like the shriek inducing moment of an ex getting brought into the villa on Love Island (which I’m a sucker for. Who doesn’t love that drama??)

The banter was fun and I liked the mystery / whodunit angle of what really happened in the relationships, and how it lead to a revenge plot…which then got twisted into a romance. The revenge to romance pipeline is hard to resist!

The cutest love story! I absolutely loved this novel and could not put it down. It will leave you with a smile and feeling like true love definitely does exist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

DNF at 60%

I was really expecting more from this book. The premise sounded like it would be a really good time. I mean, a reality dating show where exes of a terrible person end up falling for each other? Sign me up. And at the beginning of the book, I was really excited to see where the plot would go. As it went on? Not so much. There were a few things about this book that just didn't click for me.

1) This was written in first-person, with multiple POVs, which I find can be engaging if done correctly. However, in this case, it was quite difficult to tell if it was Skye's or Maya's POV. Relatively often, if I put down the book mid-chapter, I would get a little confused because it took me a minute to figure out which POV it was.

2) There wasn't really any chemistry between Maya and Skye. This was the biggest thing for me, since romance is one of the main plot-lines of this book. Of course, I wasn't expecting there to be chemistry right from the get-go, considering how the story was set up; but I was expecting SOMETHING given how far into the book I got. The best I can describe it is that the author seemed to be telling the reader that there was chemistry, there was a spark between them, etc. but didn't actually show there being chemistry. It came across as very emotionally hollow.

3) I was not expecting the degree of mean-girl, middle school drama that this book contained. It was just so off-putting. I know that the characters in the book are still relatively young (but all were 18 or older); however, the drama that was being created seemed like it would be more suited for a school dance involving 13 year-olds. I understand that the premise is a group of girls competing on a reality show to essentially get with a guy, but seeing them all fight and bicker over this mediocre (and that's being generous) man was just very icky. While this aspect did generally improve as the book progressed, I would still roll my eyes when it occasionally made a reappearance later on.

4) I didn't love the writing style (and this one also is kind of related to the point about the POVs being so similar). The flow of the story also didn't work for me in a lot of instances; the characters would talk about doing something or coming up with some plan, and then it seemed like they immediately forgot half of it or it was written like it never occurred in the first place.

The concept behind this book definitely had promise, but the execution just didn't work for me. I kept reading as long as I did because there was just enough that I was expecting it to get better, but what really sealed the deal for me was the lack of chemistry between the two main characters. The other aspects that I didn't like, I could have put up with if the romance portion really grabbed my attention, but it just didn't.

I've seen other reviewers point out how it's kind of an odd concept to have this reality show given how old the characters are, and the more I think about it the more I agree. I think this possibly could have worked a bit better if the characters were aged-up by at least a few years.

I really had high hopes for this one, and wanted to enjoy it, but it just really didn't work for me.

I couldn’t put this book down! Never Ever Getting Back Together was the funny rom-com book I’ve been looking for! The characters are relatable and you can’t help but love some and dislike others (much like in real life!) this is definitely one I’d recommend for a book club when looking for a funny and light change! This was the type of story I couldn’t help but imagine coming to life as a movie. Well done, to Sophie Gonzalez!

3/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

“Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Sophie Gonzalez follows the story of Maya as she joins a reality TV dating show called Second Chance Romance where her ex-boyfriend, Jordy, re-dates all of his ex-girlfriends in order to find his “one”, to expose Jordy for who he is- a cheating, lying, manipulative jerk! Maya reluctantly teams up with her the girl Jordy cheated on her with, Skye, to expose Jordy for who he is. Along the way, the lines get blurry between Skye and Maya and as they spend more time with each other, they realize taking down Jordy is not the only thing they want anymore.

I found this story premise to be so intriguing so I was so excited to be selected for this ARC. There are not enough stories centering sapphic couples, and as a queer WOC, I was pumped to see this one being released! The story itself fell a little flat for me- not due to the writing style or the content, but because I didn’t really feel connected to Skye and Maya much, which made it difficult to fully enjoy their relationship. Their relationship felt slightly forced and I didn’t feel like there was any real spark there. It felt more situational than anything. However, I do love Sophie Gonzalez and did think this was a very fun casual read! The characters were really well-rounded and loved seeing all of the girls form bonds. The author did such a great job of making me hate Jordy & root for all of the girls in the story. Overall, I enjoyed this book and read it within 3 days! I would definitely recommend this book to people who want a quick, fun read to lift the spirits. I’m excited to see what Sophie Gonzalez has to come! :)

The bachelor but featuring exes coming back for revenge? It was in fact as wonderful as it sounds.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC.

With American Royals vibes, this book feels like a twisty version of the Bachelor.

The book was fun with a good pace and solid character development.

Definitely to be recommended for fans of YA books.