Loved the teen/ya take on the bachelor storyline. Characters were relatable (I’m a UConn grad too!) and the romcom tropes we’re perfect. Would recommend to anyone wanting a quick, sweet read

"Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Sophie Gonzales is a captivating and emotionally charged LGBTQIAP+ novel that explores themes of love, identity, and the complexities of relationships. Gonzales' storytelling prowess shines as she crafts a tale of self-discovery, friendship, and the journey to finding one's true self. The book's relatable characters and engaging plot create an immersive reading experience that resonates with young adult readers. Gonzales skillfully navigates the emotions of young love, heartbreak, and the challenges of defining one's own path, adding depth to the narrative. "Never Ever Getting Back Together" is a powerful reminder that love and self-acceptance go hand in hand, leaving readers with a sense of empowerment and the reassurance that they are not alone in their journey of navigating relationships and self-identity.

If you remember the episode of the bachelor where two of the contestants fall in love, this feels like their story with a big twist.

Maya and Skye are two of the many exes Jordy has invited to the reality show Second Chance Romance, the reality show where exes have the opportunity to recall in love. These two ladies have a difficult past when it comes to Jordy and find out they may actually be able to work together to take him down. There is however a twist., they may be starting to have feelings for each other.

Why you should read this:
~Dual POV
~Revenge
~Sapphic Romance
~Reality TV
~Bachelor/The Selection Vibes
~Amazing Writing

Trigger:
~Lying/ Cheating Ex
~Miscommunication

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

I received an e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited by the premise of this book. I love reality dating shows like the Bachelor, and the allusions to a romance between two contestants I thought would be really fresh. I think unfortunately my love for reality TV contributed to the fact that I chose to abandon this book around 17%.

The novel would have worked better if the main characters were a bit older. It was hard to fathom a reality show with 18 year old stars, and especially with it centering around finding love. I was also put off that the show only had six contestants, but I suppose if the person is young there wouldn't be that many past loves to mine from. Some of the technical elements of reality shows also stuck out to me - they would have never let the contestants be alone in the house for a full night before filming began, allowing them to talk to each other off camera.

Ultimately, I would still love to read an adult version of this story, but this particular book did not work for me.

This book was so fun!! It was giving John Tucker Must Die vibes mixed with a reality dating show.

And the way Sophie Gonzales was able to write such an unlikeable character in Jordy? Kudos, honestly.

Everything was fast paced which I really liked. I felt like it helped me feel the pressure of being part of the show itself 😅

This book was full of girl power moments which I really liked.

Sophie Gonzales offers an engaging and relatable take on young love and self-discovery. I found the novel's portrayal of the complexities of relationships and the challenges of navigating newfound independence to be incredibly authentic. The story follows the protagonist's journey of mending a broken heart while uncovering her own identity in the process. Gonzales captures the nuances of friendships, romantic entanglements, and personal growth with a fresh and witty narrative voice. The book's exploration of love's twists and turns amidst the backdrop of college life makes it a must-read for anyone seeking a heartfelt and charming coming-of-age story.

This was so cute! Skye is honestly the breakout character of the week, the RANGE on that girl ugh. I love the premise of the book, reality show romances are thriving as of late, but having one based in revenge was a great twist. It took me a little bit longer than I would have liked to get into the story, but the second Jordy's RIDICULOUSLY PUNCHABLE FACE EVEN THROUGH THE PAGES showed up in the story, I was in it and just as invested in taking him down as they were. And then because it's what we're all here for anyway, the romance between them was cute too. I wish it had gotten a little more time on the page to develop, but that's not what the story was and I'm good with the story as it is. Special shoutout to Isaac, an actual legend.

This adorably fun romcom was even more fun than I anticipated. It was very rompy, like reading a really good gossip style mag but with fantastic representation!!! Loved it!!!

𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 by Sophie Gonzales
Published: November 29, 2022 by @wednesdaybooks
Reviewed by: Mel
Format: eBook ARC + Audiobook [thank you @netgalley]

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆


𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
Womp womp. I really really wanted to enjoy this one - but I think it was a perfect storm of negative things that lead me down this two-star path.

➜ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨. I hated every single one of them. Even the two MCs. They had zero personality and literally every chapter — okay, every word of dialogue — was just about how much they hate Jordy, the male MC. It really grated on my nerves that I couldn’t even look past it to enjoy the unfolding love story between Skye and Mya — which was completely masked in the negativity of hating on Jordy.

➜ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩. I loooooved the idea of the love triangle and being on a game show for a guy and having two female MCs fall for each other — I’ve honestly thought about the potential of that scenario with how many seasons of The Bachelor, etc. that I’ve watched and I’ve always wondered what happens behind the scenes. But honestly, I can’t tell if it was a weak plot, or if I just got really really sick of how annoying the characters were and how much negativity was in this book. Additionally, the narrator completely got on my nerves as well and all of her accents and voices were irritating. Maybe it’s worse because I was just coming off of listening to Fairy Tale by Stephen King and all of those voices were audiobook GOLD.

➜ 𝙔𝘼/𝘼𝙜𝙚𝙨. For some reason, I was already annoyed at the beginning of the book when I found out that most of the characters were between 18-21 years old. Who lets their 18-year-old travel to another country to film a dating show? Also, how many freaking ex-girlfriends does this guy have for being so young still?!

I feel like all of the negativity in this book is honestly rubbing off on me and now my own negativity is grating on my own nerves. I’m going to stop writing this review by the sheer fact that I’d rather be listening to another book instead of still thinking about this one.

Why two stars then? The concept was entertaining and I obviously love the idea of having an LGBTQ plotline behind the scenes of a hetero dating show — so it gets the two stars for creativity, but….that’s where I stop.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a perfect example of a book written for someone exactly like me. I love both revenge plots and reality TV shows and it was the PERFECT blend of those and many more surprises had me devouring this book.
One of my favorite things is how Sophie Gonzales Perfectly balances the two main characters. They are both flawed people and they both SHINE in her writing. The dual POVs were split perfectly to keep the reader understanding how they both are feeling and their perspective on why they are acting the way they are. Sophie also makes sure that each of the other girls has their moments to shine and the friendship they all formed around hating Jordy was fantastic.
If you want a fun Queer summer read to get ready for bachelor season this is the perfect book! Full of fun, girls sticking together over toxic men, getting over him by living your best life, and the chaos that is working a "reality" TV show.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free ARC copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A very fun and easy read. Sapphics in a dating reality tv show? what could go wrong? Many things but thats the fun, i definitely recommend!

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a DNF for me. I just could not get into the story and didn't dig the writing style.

What I liked

The concept- I loved the idea of a reality show about second chances where two of the women contestants fall for each other I stress of the male lead! That is such an amazing concept and I loved that one of them wanted revenge while the other was open to rekindling things with him from the start. It made the drama interesting from the beginning. Also! It created the perfect villain: Jordy who I loved to hate. The author did a great job of making all the most terrible traits under a layer of manipulation for the reader to root against.



What I didn’t like

Felt forced as YA- in my head these characters were much older and when I remember that one of them is supposed to be 18 I cannot picture it at all! It feels off of a bunch of 18 year olds to be in this concept and it would have been much more fun if it didn’t feel boxed away in the YA category for that reason.

weird pacing with romance- they went from hating each other to lovers with no smooth build up and their relationship was all built upon revenge for Jordy so I didn’t feel the chemistry at all.

The Miscommunication trope / conflict felt forced in the end and it felt like there were no real stakes. Even though the story took place over several weeks I feel like that didn’t translate well with the way the relationships developed so it felt somewhat dragged out at parts and rushed at others.

they didn’t feel that different as characters. all we knew is that Skye was backpacking in Europe and Maya struggled with her debate to go to college or not. Those were pretty much the only personality traits given as distinctions between them. So their POVs felt the same and sometimes I had to think to remember which character I was hearing from.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this title in exchange for a review. Never Ever Getting Back Together follows two 18 year old contestants on a new reality dating show to win a second chance at love with their ex-boyfriend who has become a minor celebrity due to his sister marrying a royal.

I think the setup of the plot was unique but ultimately I was not very interested in 18 year old's on a dating show. I know the point of the story was that neither of the two protagonists (Maya and Skye) was supposed to fall for Jordy but the choice to make Jordy a total caricature was a little off-putting. It just made me not want to keep reading because he was so so cringe. The romance between Maya and Skye was better but it came far too long into the book for me. Neither of the characters were able to healthily communicate and neither were the mastermind they were convinced they were. I really enjoyed Perfect on Paper (another YA novel by the author) so I was hoping to like this, but it was ultimately not for me.

This was fun, refreshing, and super sweet. I absolutely loved the main characters and the sapphic romance representation. So good!

I couldn’t get through this novel. It felt incredibly juvenile and made no sense. Who are these teens with so much dating history that they can pull together a number of exes sufficient to cast a reality show???

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sophie Gonzales does it again! I have yet to find a book by this author that I don't like. Never Ever Getting Back Together was a fun enemies to lovers romp from start to finish. If you love The Bachelor/ette franchise and watching royals get their "just desserts", this one's for you!

This book was just sadly not for me! I was hoping for something different but it turned out to be something I was not expecting, which is okay and I'm sure someone else would love it!

A fun read with a Bachelor-type reality show and bi-rep. I enjoyed the reality show aspect to the story and want to read more by this author.

This one definitely gave me all the Bachelor vibes and I didn’t hate it. At times this one bounced between feeling adult and then feeling like a ya book playing an adult book…if that even makes sense. I enjoyed the storyline and loved the representation! I would definitely skip the audio of this one though as the narrators were a bit annoying at times!