Never Ever Getting Back Together is a charming and cute novel. Maya and Skye meet in a very unusual way - competing on a dating show trying to win the heart of their ex, Jordy, along with several other of Jordy's exes. While Skye joins the show hoping to re-ignite her relationship with Jordy, Maya has joined the show in order to shine the light on the true Jordy: a cheating boyfriend who lied and convinced everyone that Maya was crazy, manipulative, and unhinged. When Maya meets Skye, the woman Jordy cheated on her with, nothing goes as Maya planned.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a delightful story where characters work together on their quest for revenge and along the way learn that even though it truly hurts, taking a leap and risking a hard fall is worth it every time. If you're looking for a light hearted romance story that has themes of women supporting women, then this is the one for you! I loved how when Maya finally convinced Skye and the other girls, they joined her plot for revenge and supported her throughout the entire experience. Instead of the typical girls tearing girls down to get a mans attention, the women in this book band together and have each other's back!

Please note: I did receive a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review :)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely SPED through this! Something about books based on reality shows almost makes you feel like you're watching one. And the best part is that you don't have to wait for the next week's episode - you can binge the whole book in one or two days.

I enjoyed the idea of the revenge plot. The female relationships (both good and bad) were a lot of fun and the author did a great job of building rage upon rage against Jordy, who was the absolute worst. I liked Maya and Skye's characters, but felt we could have got to know them each on a deeper level. One thing I didn't realize before reading was how young they were. For some reason, I expected them to be closer to my age, not just going off to college. I think I would have liked it more if they were in their mid to late twenties, but I also appreciate a good YA novel every now and then!

Based on how much I enjoyed this reading experience and how quickly I devoured it, I rate this book 4/5. I'd recommend it to fans of One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London, as well as Dead Famous by Ben Elton, though that one is quite different!

Tired of having people believe her awful ex’s version of the ending of their relationship, Maya decides to expose the truth on national television. She agrees to join Jordy’s other exes on a second chance reality dating show where royalty-adjacent Jordy acts as the Bachelor. To make matters worse, Maya’s assigned roommate is none other than Skye, the woman Jordy cheated on her with. Skye and the other contestants must decide if they believe Jordy’s version of Maya, as unhinged and obsessed, or if Jordy is a liar and a cheater. Meanwhile, Maya discovers an intense attraction to Skye.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and it’s well executed here. The story is told in both Maya and Skye’s perspectives, which gives the reader insight on the women’s relationships with Jordy, their motivation for joining the show, and their love/hate relationship with each other. The reality dating show format with competitions and eliminations creates conflict while adding humorous elements, such as the cheesy host and the terrible promo booklet that declares “love is worthless.” Maya and Skye are both nicely developed and unique characters. Their relationship arc is rich and satisfying.

Isaac, the producer who is assigned as Maya and Skye’s handler, nearly steals the show, making him one of my favorite characters. Jordy, while clearly the villain, is less developed, but I loved to hate him. Having Maya figure out how to manipulate Jordy and having the women develop fierce friendships gave the story a fun, feminist feel.

When it comes to a romance, I adore a great epilogue, but unfortunately, that’s where the book fell a little short for me. All the threads are tied up nicely, yet I would have liked a stronger sense of a happily ever after. Perhaps the relatively young age of the contestants (late teens, early twenties) was a factor. The character’s ages meant that one of the exes had a middle school romance with Jordy (note this was age appropriate as Jordy was also in middle school at the time,) which felt a little like a stretch to fill contestant spots and was a touch cringy. On the other hand, the new adult age of the players kept the contestant pool to a realistic and manageable six.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

What a fun book to read. A reality show featuring royalty (sort of) and his past girlfriends in order to find the one that got away. Thrown in some scorned ex-girlfriends and you have yourself a show guaranteed to get ratings with all its drama. Jordy Miller is the worst hero ever!!!! I loved that through Skye and Maya you got to see him for who he truly is.

Maya is going for revenge. Jordy cheated on her and claimed they had broken up and she was a jealous, scorned ex-girlfriend with a bit of stalking problem. Skye is giving Jordy a second chance after he ghosted her but claimed he did just didn't get her texts. Skye is who Jordy cheated on Maya with. Now these two much room together in the mansion the network is putting the contestants up in. Cue the drama.....ratings through the roof!!

I loved the way this story evolved. I liked seeing both Maya and Skye's POV. This story had heart, romance and redemption.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for the ARC of this ebook. All opinions expressed are my own.

Sigh. When this book became available I jumped on the chance to read it, because who can pass up the absolutely gem of a concept? Two reality show contestants fall for each other instead of the guy? Hard to walk away from that.

Overall, this book is very cute, but maybe it's just that I don't gel with Sophie's characters. This book definitely seems to want to be New Adult given the ages of the characters and the overall vibe, but the characters all seem quite young and immature for their ages, and frustrating at times. I didn't totally buy the way the story evolved, and while I did enjoy the central romance between Skye and Maya, I just couldn't hang onto any real emotional center to this book. One that felt worthy of the (albeit young) adults around which this book revolves. Perhaps after three of Sophie's books (with the wonderful exception of If This Gets Out, which I LOVED) this is my sign that this isn't going to be a match made in heaven for me. I know lots of folks love her books, and have loved this one, and I think that many folks will love this. It's certainly cute and the concept is brilliant. Just didn't work so much for me.

This is honestly one of the best books I have read in a long time. I read the full thing in about 5 hours with barely any breaks. The story drew me in and it was just impossible to put down! I loved how imperfect the characters were, and I love how human they felt. This book was incredible and so much fun to read.

Description: Maya broke up with her cheating ex Jordy two years ago, She still can't seem to escape him. His sister married royalty and by proxy, he is kind of famous now and literally everywhere. He's captured the hearts of the world and everyone thinks he's the sweetest most eligible young man. Maya knows better. She is absolutely shocked when she receives a call asking if she would like to go on a dating show in which Jordy re-dates his ex-girlfriends. It's a hard no, until she realizes she can use the opportunity for payback. One thing she didn;t take into consideration when she finally accepted, she would be living with the girl that Jordy cheated on her with...Skye. Unexpected chemistry and sparks fly between the two as they form an alliance to see this revenge plan through.

I was so excited for this one. I really thought the general idea and plot of the story was amazing. This was the first book I read that had a reality show as the backdrop, I mean we have so much reality tv out, how was this not already a thing?! I really wanted to like Maya, but she sometimes came off as annoying and just too hell bent on ruining this guy who honestly shouldn't even matter anymore. The relationship between Skye and Maya seemed forced. One minute they hated each other, the next they have thoughts the other is pretty, then they're in love? It was too much, too fast. The banter and comedy with them was very good. I just would have liked a bit more context. And also, more of what happened after the show wrapped. It was somewhat rushed in the end.
I still would recommend it because it was very funny and I liked a lot of moments in this story.


Thank you NetGalley, Sophie Gonzales, and Wednesday Books for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, this book was truly just what the doctor ordered after total and complete dystopia in the real world. When Maya goes onto a reality show with the intention of outing her ex as a sexist cheater, she gets more than she bargained for. Amazing peg-turner for fans of The Charm Offensive, The Bachelor, Love is Blind, or other reality dating shows. This book was so satisfying and was truly a salve!

The concept of this book is so fun and so good, following two women who both dated the same guy and now are appearing on a reality show to compete for his love - the only catch? One of them is only in it for revenge on the guy who cheated on her... with one of her fellow contestants. This concept is juicy and ripe for so much to happen, and while I liked the book, I didn't fully love it as much as I was hoping that I would.

My main quibble is that I wanted more of Skye and Maya falling for each other, which comes a little late in the book. A good portion of the first half is the two of them hating each other, which feels a little rough when the reader already knows that Maya is telling the truth about everything involving Jordy, while Skye is blissfully naive and tends to be really rough on Maya as a result.

But what I loved was both Skye and Maya fighting their own respective issues in order to come to a place where they can actually be with each other. If some of that gets shortchanged, like Maya's future plans being a very minor part of the book despite it feeling integral to her epilogue, it's easy to look over because of how much the journey of the two of them being together matters. I also really did like the other contestants, but again, I wish that there was less of the women turning on each other early on, especially when we lose some of them for being eliminated from the competition.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love every book I’ve written by Sophie Gonzales. This was a really good book, and I enjoyed it even more than I though I would. It was interesting getting a little look into the behind the scenes of a reality dating show. It didn’t go the way I thought it would, but that’s okay. Would definitely read a sequel to this just to revisit the characters..

Wow this was delightful!
Sometimes when I consume media there is a love triangle. It is so clear that one of the characters is not great and I wished the other two would get together. Well, this is what happened. I haven't read a book like that before and I'm glad they made Maya bisexual too. It was interesting seeing the reality tv situation and the characters interacting.

This was an interesting read although the writing wasn't keeping me hooked. I felt like it was alright but no quotes/words really stuck out to me. A decent paced rom com with an interesting love triangle twist!

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC for me to review. :)

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for letting me read this in advance
Es una lectura rápida, divertida y super cute. Puedes identificarte con todos los personajes que mencionan, cause let's face it: casi todos hemos pasado una relación o "casi algo" en el que dimos todo y al final a esa persona no le importó tu sentir.

Muchos momentos cute. Go with the flow girl vs. girl who likes to plan dynamic and I really liked how it was portrayed their relationship. A must read if you like drama and a little enemies to lovers.

This was a bit of a miss for me. It was a such a strong concept. The biggest issue is this book is categorized as YA book but it reads more like a New Adult book. Because of this, the characters and choices dont make a ton of sense and are not that believable. The dual point of views often fell flat and I did not feel like the characters were fully realized.

I had to stop reading this book at about 17%. I don't post reviews publicly for books I don't finish but wanted to provide you with feedback directly.

The writing style of this book did not hold my interest. The characters seem very one-dimensional. The dialogue was not natural. The fictitious land felt ridiculous.

But none of this is the main reason I had to stop. I had to stop reading because, based on the information provided, at least one character is a barely legal adult. Maya allegedly dated the lead character Jordy when she was 16, which was two years ago. My math suggests that she is now 18 and heading off to college. Since then, Jordy has dated a string of other women (girls?) whose ages aren't specified but many seem to be several years into independent adulthood. This either means that Jordy and Maya's age gap was large (I don't recall his age being mentioned), making him a potential predator; OR their ages are similar and some of the women he dated after Maya were older than him, making them potential predators. Either way, I am not interested in finding out. Even if the author does backflips to make timeline and ages and everything line up, the damage is done.

When I first read the synopsis of Never Ever Getting Back Together, I was thrilled. This concept is everything I've ever wanted from reality dating shows which are severely lacking in queer representation and inclusion. But sadly this book fell a little flat for me. The enemies to lovers trope used in this book I feel was not executed as well as it could have. This book begins with Maya and Skye having and obvious reason to dislike and not trust the other. However, once that issue is cleared up it felt to me as if it quickly shifted from hate to romance without an explanation of why each character liked the other, other than the fact that they started spending more time together.

This book was fun and I enjoyed watching the different challenges and hoops each character has to jump through to navigate this scripted and ridiculous show, but ultimately I couldn't 100% buy into the romantic relationship.

Have you ever wondered what lengths you would go through to expose a cheating ex boyfriend? How does going on a second chance reality dating show with him, winning, and breaking his heart sound? Because that’s exactly what Maya does to Jordy in Never Ever Getting Back Together. Except things don’t really go according to plan and Maya finds herself falling for the girl he cheated on her with.

I was definitely on board with Maya’s plot for revenge because Jordy had it coming. That man honestly just kept getting worse, every time I thought “this guy can’t be more of a pig” he proved me wrong. It’s no wonder Maya wanted revenge for not only cheating on her but only telling people his narrative. Jordy is a walking red flag. I do wish there had been more pettiness throughout the book from the girls. I am always here for a little drama and definitely would have been happy with a smidge more fighting.

Overall I enjoyed this book, loved the queer rep (Maya and Skye are bi and one of the side characters is gay) and loved the love “triangle”. Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me an arc of this book to read and review.

man if you need a reminder of why men suck.... this book (and jordy miller) is waiting for you. the taylor swift reference in the title is perfect bc jordy deserves an entire album written about how awful of a human being he is!

this was... good. not amazing, but good. the premise intrigued me but i honestly wasn't really a fan of the smaller conflicts between the two main characters (basically--jordy the root of it all). there were some fun lines in here though, and while i'm not a big bachelor/reality dating show fan, it was a fun setting.

this is supposedly marketed as YA but the entire time i was so confused. the characters are like? 18? and they're on a reality dating show... idk, every time i was reminded that they were only 18 I was like--wait what. i would've preferred if the characters were aged up by a few years and this was more new adult instead. i think that'd be the sweet spot!

An enjoyable dual POV tale of two girls who share the same ex—colliding as roommates on a Bachelor-style reality show where the boy's exes all return for a second chance. Ultimately, they must decide what's more important: revenge on their asshole ex, or a new chance at love?

Thank you so much to NetGalley and MacMillan for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ok. So. Anyone else read The Selection at age twelve and desperately wish that America had just decided to give up and run away with Marlee?

Maybe this is too niche. Or maybe I was projecting my longings for Marlee onto America. And, keep in mind, I don't even think I knew girls could kiss back then. But, still, the CHEMISTRY they had. I just wanted America to just say "fuck off" to Maxon and Aspen and whoever else was in that dumb love triangle and run away with the love of their life.

Or, maybe you didn't think that. But maybe you, like me, always preferred The Bachelor to The Bachelorette because of the sheer amount of attractive women. (I didn't fully understand that at the time either, but looking back, adolescent-me's bias was real).

Or maybe you just really like trashy reality TV, despite all your instincts telling you it's, well, trash.

If you relate to ANY of that, this is the book for you. It's not trashy, I'm not saying that, but it IS an adorable romance set in a trashy TV show setting where, basically, the girls on The Bachelor are all exes OF the bachelor, and two of them fall in love.

Onto the actual review now: can I just say, Skye and Maya captured my heart in these few hundred pages!! It was sort of grumpy-sunshine (think Gus and January from Beach Read, maybe), and their slow burn was AMAZING. Watching them fall for each other reminded me yet again why I loved romance. It was slow, it was organic, it was real, it was everything you could hope for.

"In this lighting, her deep brown eyes are more of a toffee color, and her tanned skin looks bright and blurred. Like if you were to run a finger over her cheek, it'd glide across like velvet. No wonder Jordy left me for her. She's actually stunning. That bitch."

Whatever you want to call this development -- rivals to lovers, enemies to lovers, reluctant friends to lovers -- it WORKED. Skye and Maya start off hating eachother because -- surprise, surprise -- the ex-boyfriend's a manipulative asshole, but it doesn't last for long. After they clear the air between each other, they immediately ease into a nice friendship-slash-alliance bent on taking Jordy down on his own TV show.

Gonzales nails the sapphic experience. Nothing hurts worse than falling for a straight girl, and both girls pick up all the hints they could get about each other's sexuality before casually coming out to each other. It wasn't a big deal, but it was nice, in a way. Some books accidentally make coming out feel so forced, and a lot of YA books especially deal a lot with the internalized homophobia or the "oh no, was she straight the whole time?" so this was a nice breath of fresh air. Both the girls were extremely comfortable with their sexuality, and there were no unnecessarily-homophobic scenes that I often find myself bracing for.

God, Jordy was a great villain. I could sort of see why Maya and Skye fell for him at some point; he certainly knew how to put on the charm when he had to. If there was a prequel with them, when both girls were in love with him, I would probably fall for him too. But, God, was he annoying and terrible and manipulative when he wanted to be. I was actively rooting for his downfall. 10/10 experience.

The characterization of the protagonists were amazing as well! This was a first-person dual point of view, which sometimes makes the protagonists blur together, but I never had that problem with Maya and Skye. They both had their dreams, their insecurities, their goals. Even when I would step away from the book for a little bit, I always knew which character point of view I was reading just because of the way their voice shines through the page. Which was amazing!

Finally, the infamous third-act miscommunication trope that shines through in every romance was actually masterfully done. Sometimes I'm like "God, just make up already," but this time I was actively rooting for them to talk it through and figure it out. It didn't seem forced, like the author just threw in some last-minute conflict. In fact, I would argue it was a very much necessarily plot development for Maya and Skye.

Overall, I adored this book!! I devoured it in only a few sittings, and I can't wait to buy the hardcover when it comes out. If you want a fun love story between two disaster bisexuals looking to get revenge on their ex-boyfriend, this is the book for you!

I think I've found a new favorite trope in dating reality TV shows! I don't watch The Bachelor, but Never Ever Getting Back Together is such a cute and refreshing take on dating reality shows. Jordy is every misygonistic man that swears that he's God's gift to women everywhere. The ending that he got was perfect! Skye and Maya were so cute! I was happy that the miscommunication between them got resolved earlier on so that we could see how their friendship and relationship grew throughout the reality show. Perrie was definitely my favorite competitor.

I would recommend this for anyone looking for a cute sapphic contemporary YA romance that doesn't lean to heavily on pop culture references and has a great supporting cast.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.