Ok. This book was fun, frustrating, flirty and fantastic. The road was windy but full of fun characters (and some assholes), and a delightful plot. I couldn’t see just where it was going until the end, but I loved the ride. And I think the ending was perfect.

Definitely a great read if you love a feel good, lgbt rep romcom!

Sophie Gonzales has done it again! As a fan of her YA work, I was extremely excited to see her branch out into the sapphic adult space and y'all, Never Getting Back Together did not dissapoint.

Maya and Skye feel like such complex, real characters that'd never expect to find themselves on this kind of second chance dating show and Jordy is the perfect "villian" that we love to hate.

I was worried at first how the author would handle the ladies' reconciliation since their initial reception is so chilly but Sophie does an amazing job at teaming them up and ultimately coupling them up 😉

If you're into catty girl fights ala The Bachelor, sapphics that'll make you swoon and terrible royal-adjacent exes getting what they deserve, then this book is absolutley for you!

Highly recommend, can't wait to see more from Sophie in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for a chance to read.

This is essentially the premise for The One that Got Away on amazon. The main characters Maya and Skye, in addition to several other exs, travel to Chalonne to re-date their ex Jordy on a reality TV Sho. Jordy also happens to be part of the royal family there but this isn't a key element to the plot.

As someone who loves reality TV I thought this would be right up my alley but unfortunately I was wrong. This book is not very well executed. I almost DNF'ed this book a million times. Some things that bothered me:
- The context given on Jordy is pretty minimal, he meets Maya in America, Skye in Canada, and is from Europe (Chalonne, which they say is a country but?) they don't explain why he has travelled around so much or give much information on his meetings with the girls on the show.
- This is a dual narrative book but it is very hard to differentiate Maya and Skye
- This book just generally lacks a vibe and comes across very disorganized. You never really get a sense for any of the characters and they don't seem very fleshed out.
- The characters are mostly in their teens still. Who is trying to find love in their teens? How has Jordy had so many previous relationships at this point? They need to at least be in their 20s
- In a reality TV context this doesn't make much sense. They film and air the episodes on the same week by week basis? Where are they finding time to edit and make the narratives? Reality TV typically happens months before it actually airs. Also, they don't seem to have any cameras or recording occurring in the mansion they are staying in yet they purposely put the girls together to create drama. What is the point of housing them all together if they aren't even filming all of it? Part of me questions how much reality TV the author has watched.
- A lot of the events in the book also just don't make much sense - when Maya plans to rescue Skye in the Kayak? Maya gets "Stuck" on the cliff face? So poorly executed.
- The romance between Maya and Skye, essentially just materializes, it's not believable to me in the slightest.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a new YA Rom-Com from author Sophie Gonzales. It is set to be released late in 2022. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advance ecopyin exchange for my honest review.

I went into this story having no idea what to expect, as this it my first read by this Author. After reading it, however, I MUST read her others!

This is a story about a reality dating show where the male MC, Jordy, has to try to find love again among his exes. It begins with back stories of 2 of his exes, Maya and Skye, and why they are even considering going on TV with this guy. The show has us believing that Maya and Skye are supposed to be sworn enemies, as Skye is the girl that Jordy cheated with while he was still with Maya. Maya is out for revenge, but eventually she and Skye hit it off and strike up a deal to expose Jordy on national television for the creep that he is. But neither of them planned on finding love again! How hard will it be to see the girl you're falling for, flirting with the guy who wrecked you? Even if it is just for show? Is it worth it in the end? Read it and find out!

4 stars and looking forward to adding this one to my permanent collection!

Sophie Gonzales does it again! This is a perfect read for fans of the Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun. Skye and Maya are so cute and I really like how their friendship/relationship progressed throughout the story. Gonzales did such a great job in creating the most unlikeable character in Jordy (ugh!!). I also laughed out loud so many times throughout this novel. Gonzales is hilarious and this is another win following Perfect on Paper.

I would have enjoyed this book *much* more if I had read it at age 15-16 instead of 31. I still liked it, it was an enjoyable read. I read it on the beach, and it is essentially impossible to be unhappy on the beach. :) I definitely had a great time reading it. It is my own fault for not realizing it was a YA Romance before I started (so I could mentally prepare myself), but I still enjoy a good YA every now and again.

As a fully formed adult (most days), I absolutely did not get Maya being this twisted up about a boyfriend she had when she was 16. I get it in the context of the story, but it definitely made me roll my eyes just a bit. The plot was cute. I liked the story. The writing is well structured. I liked the side characters. HATED  that boy, which you are supposed to, obviously. I 

I was more of a Skye fan than a Maya fan, and I think that may have had something to do with my not loving this book as much as I could have. I felt bad for Maya, but I did not identify with her. 16-18 year old me would not have identified with her. I am a Vulcan, and Maya is very emotional. That being said, her being more of an emotional thinker will most likely delight the book's target audience. Not identifying with Maya is the only thing I can identify about this book that I didn't love. 

I would be delighted for my daughter to read this book in a few years. I think she would love it. I did enjoy it. I'm delighted that there is another YA Queer Romance out in the world.

I really liked this book but I thought the pacing was a little off.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-book!

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a fun read! It is a cute and unexpected love story. I highly recommend reading this book.

Coming off of reading The Charm Offensive, I found this Bachelor-style book to be a bit boring. I couldn't really connect with the characters, and I felt like the characters were very one-sided.

Dating show plot?! Already a fan! This book was an adorable twist on the typical reality show trope, instead of the girls falling for the contestant, falling for each other! I am going to recommend this book to everyone!

Never Ever Getting Back Together is fun, revenge girl power story. Maya is over her ex-Jordy but she's constantly reminded of him. When she's invited to be apart of a second chance dating reality show, she would rather do anything else. Then she decides to go on and get some revenge on her miserable ex. Maya is not prepared for the girl he cheated on her with to be on the show as well. Skye is charming and beautiful. The two get close and realize there's more than meet the eyes. Also they have crazy unexpected chemistry. This was a fun read! I'm not a huge reality fan but I still really enjoyed this one!

Overall, I enjoyed reading this and think Sophie Gonzales delivered an entertaining read. I did have some issues with what felt a little like slow pacing and felt that the Sapphic love story was shadowed by the terrible guy story. Other than that, it was enjoyable and I cannot wait to read more from Sophie Gonzales.

A fun, soapy book for fans of The Bachelor. The romance was surprising and fresh. I really enjoyed the ending between the two main characters. Jordy definitely had it coming and you could see a lot of the influence of the previous bachelors in him.

I almost rated it lower because the pacing was terribly slow at the beginning but Isaac won me over in the end and almost had me forget about the pacing at all

Sophie Gonzales is my absolute favourite author! I adore her, I adore her writing, I read all of her books, as soon as I have access to them, she's my top priority.
This book did not hit me as well as her other books, I'll be honest. PoP was my life. A Bi girl falling for a boy is my love life description, it was perfection. And then ITGO is just the perfect gay boy band fan fic but written WELL!!! And then this book has a wonderful premise! But the MCs were just okay, and honestly, I didn't need them to be together. I liked them as friends. I didn't feel a vibe, a tension, a pull that made me go awwwwww.
I really liked the conflict with Jordy though. I liked wanting to punch his guts, wanting him to be destroyed in front of thousands and thousands of viewers.
The writing was just as great as always. I will, as always, keep reading every Sophie Gonzales books, because she is golden, and deserves more attention!

The concept of this book is fantastic!

When Maya is invited to be on a reality show in which she "re-dates" her ex-boyfriend and competes against his other exes for a chance to have a second chance at love with him, all she can think about is using this opportunity to get revenge on him for cheating on her two years ago and then gaslighting everyone into thinking he didn't and she was just crazy. Arriving to the tv show set, she finds herself rooming with the girl he cheated on her with, Skye, and finds herself caught between wanting revenge and the developing feelings for Skye.

While the concept is fantastic... the execution could use some improvement. I felt the plot was tugged in different directions and the connection between Skye and Maya was lacking. Sure I'm rooting for them - because Jordy SUCKS - but I definitely wished they were more passion and chemistry between them.

A review for this will be uploaded to my Tiktok account within the next month and link will be added to this review when it has been posted.

There were some funny moments in this story reminiscent of the Bachelor. Here, Jordy, a Royal adjacent famous guy, goes on a reality show to get a second chance at love with his ex girlfriends. I felt confused that everyone was 18-20 and looking for a life-partner? Maybe that was part of the absurdity of it all but the book didn’t comment on it.

The two main characters Maya and Skye go on the show for different reasons and butt heads right away.

Overall the pacing of this book felt slow and it seemed like there were some missed opportunities for excitement. Jordy is horrible, a cheater and misogynist. Spending so much time with him in this book was kind of insufferable. I’m not sure the love story between Maya and Skye did enough to balance that. After their initial confrontation and reconciliation it was kind of insta love, which made it hard to feel invested.

I will say in the past few years I’ve seen so many sapphic indie authors using Taylor Swift lyrics as book titles that it was interesting to see a book from a big publisher do that.

Overall, the book was enjoyable but the sapphic love story felt almost secondary to a story about a bad dude.

Two years after a fallout with her ex when he cheated but spun the tale in his favor, Maya is asked to star on a dating show called Second Chance Romance where a hand-selected bunch of Jordy's exes re-date him in an effort to see which ex is the one that got away. Maya accepts with one goal in mind: revenge. Tell the truth about Jordy. Except, she's bunkmates with the girl Jordy cheated on her with. And they have chemistry. Will they overcome their past? Will they set aside their chemistry to take him down? Read it to find out!

What I love most about this book is the dual POV of Maya & Syke (the bunkmate. the one he cheated with). It makes for some interesting content. In the best way.

This book is wholly captivating, full of revenge, drama, and scumbaggery. And don't be put off if you dislike reality tv and dating shows. I detest them irl but in books I just devour it.

Sophie writes all of the characters in such an amazing way that makes you love the right people, hate the right people, and question the right people. It just all works. There's some characters we don't get too much info about, which I would have liked to see more about who they are as a person, but I felt like the most prominent characters were done really well in a way that we really got to see who they are.

Why then, you may ask, is my rating 4 stars and not 5 when all I can do is gush about this book?

Because there are ableist terms used in place of other more appropriate words and in 2022 we just cannot let this slide. Also, not ableism, but likening the ex he cheated with to a terrorist does not sit well with me. If these are removed in the finished copy, it would be 5 stars.

Also, not enough to knock it down a rating (at least I don't think so), is the creation of a new European country for a purpose I can't really tell? It honestly felt like an excuse to not need to research an already existing country to be accurate with language & food (which are made up & used in the story). I could be wrong, but this is the impression it gave me. Because you can fictionalize royalty names of an existing country like RWRB did if royalty is an important piece of the book. Just my opinion, but this feels different than fictionalizing a city within an existing country.

Rep: bi MCs, gay sc

CW: gaslighting, alcohol, infidelity, ableist language

Rating system:
5 - absolutely love, little-to-no dislikes that did not impact my reading experience

4 - great book, minor dislikes that did have an impact on my reading experience

3 - good/decent book but for some reason did not hook me or there were some problematic things that just were not addressed or greatly impacted my reading experience

2 - is either a book I did not click with and did not enjoy, problematic aspects are not addressed and severely impacted my reading experience, or I DNF'd but think it has potential for others

1 - is very problematic, I would not recommend the book to anyone

I just love Sophie Gonzalez! I think she must have the best, wholesome, LGBTQ+ novels out there right now. This novel was SO perfect. Maya and Skye are sworn enemies, but are thrown together when they go on a reality dating show with their ex-boyfriend, Jordy. Jordy is a narcissistic piece of crap who is incredibly manipulative. Over the course of the reality TV show, Maya and Skye start to show the world what Jordy is REALLY like.

Such an easy, light-hearted, fun read. You'll love it!

Alrighty, what another good YA novel! 1) Love the T Swift inspired title 2) This book is like the Bachelor meets John Tucker Must Die, but the non straight version!!

Basically, two girls go on this Bachelor-style show and try to win back their ex. So they team up. And then. They get together hehehe.