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!

3,5 stars

This was an addictive and fun read, about two girls who are opposites in many ways. This is not a coming-out story, these girls are very sure about their queer identities, but insecure about everything else. Maya is impulsive, daring and full of contradictions. I didn't agree with most of her choices, but had fun reading about her. However, I loved Skye from the very first page, and I wanted to protect her from the mess around her.

The romance is cute, an opposites attract, kind of enemies-to-lovers trope, with a sudden change in their relationship towards the middle of the book.

I didn't like how the friendship between Perri and Maya was left aside when the romance starts, since I thought their relationship gave a good balance to the story.

Jordy is an easy-to-hate villain, a little cartoonish, but it works with the reality TV plotline. It's actually fun to read about the behind-the-scenes of a reality show, how fake everything (and everyone) is, the re-takes and the "plot" devices.

Is it the best book I've read? No, but I had a great time with this queer romcom.

I adored this book! Maya's ex-boyfriend cheated on her and now he wants her to come on a reality dating show to try and win him back. Who does he think he is?!

Reluctantly, she is talked into doing the show, along with a bunch of his other exes and they're all whisked away to a mansion to start filming. There are some fights, some gossip, and some big misunderstandings among the girls. The producers try to play it up, which backfires in the end, as Maya and one of Jordy's other ex-girlfriends fall for each other.

This book was funny but also sweet and tender at times. I couldn't get enough of Skye and Maya, and loved to loathe Jordy! So if you haven't read this one yet, get it onto your TBR list!

apparently the only romances I read these days are fake reality show dating romances

In this one, two girls (Maya and Skye) go on a bachelor type show to re-date their ex (jordy) who is a complete and utter tool. They end up falling in love with each other instead and plot a revenge scheme to take him down


This was laugh out loud funny at times and made me smile the whole time I was reading it

I’ve seen others mention they wish it wasn’t YA, that the characters didn’t seem like 18yos, that they seem like more in their 20s and I agree! If she’s gonna have them drink and have sex and be messy, just age them up and make it an adult romance instead

I still thought this was fun and I’m glad to finally have knocked it off my tbr.

apparently the only romances I read these days are fake reality show dating romances

In this one, two girls (Maya and Skye) go on a bachelor type show to re-date their ex (jordy) who is a complete and utter tool. They end up falling in love with each other instead and plot a revenge scheme to take him down


This was laugh out loud funny at times and made me smile the whole time I was reading it

I’ve seen others mention they wish it wasn’t YA, that the characters didn’t seem like 18yos, that they seem like more in their 20s and I agree! If she’s gonna have them drink and have sex and be messy, just age them up and make it an adult romance instead

I still thought this was fun and I’m glad to finally have knocked it off my tbr.

I mean, when Sophie Gonzalez writes a book with a Taylor Swift reference title, I’m going to read it. Especially if it’s sapphic.

I picked this book out as the soundtrack for a road trip Brit and I took together last month - she’s been getting more into audiobooks and we both love reality TV so it worked really well for us!

For the most part, I liked it. It was an entertaining premise and had some pretty funny lines. I thought the two main characters were well-developed by YA standards and were written in a way that made them relatable to both teens and adults.

But I don’t think I recommend this book, unfortunately.

I think I’m realizing that I’m just not a fan of romances set on reality TV shows. It’s hard to make them feel believable and also I know enough about how reality shows are filmed that I spend too much time picking apart what would never happen. That’s not the fault of this book, but definitely does impact my review of it.

(Brit fell asleep for part of the drive back so I finished it on my own. That may say something about how engaging it is?)

Honestly the main feedback I have about this book is it would have been way more natural with characters in their mid- to late-twenties. Having barely legal kids (I use that word intentionally) drinking this much and plotting revenge and being on TV makes me pretty uncomfy.

If you’re looking for a queer romance set in the reality TV world, I’ll always recommend The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun or Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly. I think those would be a much more enjoyable read for you.

I don’t read much YA but I will make still make time for books by Gonzalez, though, because her writing is fun and storylines enjoyable!

I enjoyed this one a lot! I didn't see the twist coming of the two FMC's getting together but I love that they did and they both used each other to gang up on the MC. (Names are escaping me right now!) And I really loved how one was trying to convince the other that at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you get back at someone because the only one who's still hurting is yourself. Solid read and very much enjoyed!

What's not to love about a story where the exes of a guy who is a bit of a jerk but happens to be a royal are gathered together for another chance at falling for his Highness, only to have two of the fair maidens fall for each other instead? Well, as it turns out, a few things.

I'm all for two ladies deciding they'd rather be together than with a jerk. I'm also all in for them banding together to make him suffer at the same time. BUT, I was kinda annoyed to have one of our main characters defend her lack of education by saying that it's OK that she uses the wrong their, there, or they're and similar examples that show her "lack of college degree." ::sigh:: I don't think you need higher education to use correct grammar. I also don't think that people can't better themselves or should just resign themselves to where they land at the moment. Her solution? College, and then shoving it in his face. It just was a bit too icky for me. None of the characters were anything worth being invested in, honestly, and that killed the plot for me. I had no one I really wanted to have a happy ending of any kind. So, it was just ok for me. I know some people love the Taylor Swift vibes, and if that sustains you through this romp, then that's fantastic, but it didn't do it for me.

Did not finish, and it was my mistake that I didn’t realize this is YA! I know if I were a teen I would have devoured this book it felt really young for me personally. I think the writing was able to stand on its own though and is still worth giving a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I LOVED this. A fun mix of rom-com and reality TV, this book was an enjoyable, messy, romantic romp from start to finish. The characters pull you in with their interesting personalities and dry wit from the first page, and the villain, Jordy, was so much fun to hate. Everything in this book draws a reader to the point where I finished this book in one sitting! Overall, this book was excellent, and I really liked it. 5/5 stars from me.

Sophie. Gonzales. Never. Misses.

Never Ever Getting Back Together was so much fun! I flew through this book and loved just about every second of it. Maya is so well rounded and loved seeing her interactions and growth over the course of the story.