As much as I love Sophie Gonzales, this book was not up my alley 😅 that's the problem with automatically requesting every book of hers, because I didn't read the synopsis. Otherwise I'd known this was about fanfiction, of which I'm not a fan, ooops. But as always, this book was easy to read, fluid, and so muchhhh queeeernesssss 💛

This book was adorable. A queer romance with friends-to-enemies-to-lovers YA novel with elements of magic and fanfic - what's not to love. I enjoyed how the book did not take itself too seriously and poked fun at the tropes in these kinds of books. The enjoyed the dual timeline with a diverse cast of characters. It was really adorable and I am thankful for the arc.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

I would like to preface this review by saying that I have loved Sophie Gonzales books in the past. I've read Only, Mostly Devastated and Perfect On Paper and enjoyed both. I'm too old for the YA genre but after reading the synopsis of the story I thought I'd fall in love with it. It's sapphic (with a bisexual main character and a lesbian Love Interest), it has fanfic tropes, and had the main character bringing her fictional boyfriend to life! That sounded like so much fun in principal but... I didn't like the execution.

I'm sure if I had read this book when I was younger I would've adored it, especially all the fanfic references like coffee shop AU's and the soulmate's first words on your wrist, etc. But reading it in this book felt very awkward like it was being forced onto the reader. There were a lot of scenes too that just didn't work well for me. Specifically the scene where Mack, Henry and Ivy try to write a new fanfic about Weston and they add in ALL these different elements like a TARDIS, dinosaurs, cures for cancer, etc. so that the scenario is completely illogical and made no sense. If they were being serious about testing out a new fanfic idea Ivy should have written something more mundane.

The fights between Mack and Ivy felt really petty too and so unserious. All of Mack's and Ivy's conversations didn't feel like real people talking. Some of the things they said to each other simply made no sense with the context of what they were saying. For example, Mack yelling at Ivy about a "sex dungeon" she had because Mack heard that a boy was over at Ivy's house. It felt so out of left pocket and I didn't enjoy it.

I didn't end up liking either Mack or Ivy by the end of the book. My favorite characters ended up being Henry and Weston. Henry because he was ACTUALLY funny and seemed like a genuinely good person and Weston because even though he was "fake" and was a little scary toward the end he was fun and ended up in funny situations and was so earnest that it was hard not to like him.

I also didn't like the implication that people only write fanfics when they can't face their own reality. That's what it felt like Ivy was saying at the end and as someone who wrote fanfic, that wasn't true for me. I'm sure it's true for some people but it's not true for everyone. It made writing fanfics sound... bad? In a way? Like people should stop doing what makes them happy just because its not real.

I am withholding my review until the publisher:

1) Addresses and denounces the Islamophobic and racist remarks from their employee.
2) Offers tangible steps for how they are going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3) Addresses how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Muslim, Arab and Palestinian influencers, authors and readers, in addition to supporting their BIPOC influencers, authors and readers.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC!

I'm calling it now. This will be in my top 5 books of the year. This effervescent romcom plops is right in to the head of Ivy, a dedicated fan of a show called HMAD about teen models with superpowers (and doesn't that just sound like fun?!)

We get to experience Ivy's cracking friendship with Mack and her relationship with her over eating mother in flashbacks interspersed throughout the book.

I don't want to spoil it but the humor regarding fanfic tropes is lovingly done and right up my alley!

In support of the SMP boycott, I will be withholding my review of this title until SMP speaks out. If the boycott is resolved, I will update with a full review.

I really, really wanted to love this one because I've loved previous books by Sophie Gonzales, but I just really do not enjoy magical realism. I stuck it out to finish the book because I loved the YA queer aspect and I wanted to know what happened, and it was a quick read. But overall, thanks to not enjoying magical realism, this one was not for me.

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist is a perfect YA novel for youth who are just trying to figure it all out. Navigating friendships, crushes, and your identity, all while going through school can be tough - but Sophie Gonzales does a great job bringing it all together and wrapping it up with a bow.

It was an easy read at first but then I started to get bored and skimmed through the rest of the book. I felt like younger me would've enjoyed this a lot more. I just felt like everyone was so immature. Ivy and Mack's friendship seems toxic as hell. Ivy has an unhealthy attachment to Mack and Mack just seems so hot and cold. One minute she seems genuine and then the next minute, she wants nothing to do with Ivy. I don't know how I'm supposed to root for them as friends and as a couple.

The fictional character coming to life wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. Maybe because I found Weston over the top annoying. Yeah, this novel wasn't for me. Maybe I'm outgrowing YA because a lot of these new novels are either the same book written over and over or just plain ole boring.

I didn't feel super attached to the characters which was disappointing because as a nerd, a premise like this was really interesting. I think part of it may just be because I feel I have "aged out" of fandom culture, atleast compared to how I used to be.

Ivy is a high school junior who spent a year of her life writing fanfic about her favorite show after a disastrous fight left her without her closest friend, Mack.

Now she spends her time with Henry, her new best friend and obsessive fan of the same fantasy show, H-MAD.

Now, she’s got a week at home alone to do as she pleases, which includes hanging with Henry and binge watching her favorite show. Except, after a frightening thunderstorm, she finds Weston, the blue haired main character from H-MAD very much alive and standing in her bedroom.

Somehow that fanfic has brought her version of him very much to life. Ivy quickly realizes she needs help, and between wise cracking Henry and nosy Mack, they’re determined to figure it out…and maybe find their way back to friendship or more.

Here’s what worked for me:
•The book safely explores sexuality and coming out in a way that could be beneficial to kids.
•Henry is a delight.
•The girls have a good, level headed conversation to work out their differences and what led to the end of their friendship.
•It feels very much like a pre-teen novel.

Here’s what didn’t work for me:
•It reads like a book for 10-14 year olds, not 13-18 year olds. I could imagine it, with some edits, as a read aloud for my classroom.
•The characters and their dialog do not seem like juniors in high school. They read much younger.

For what it’s worth, with the fantasy elements, I could see this as a fun graphic novel!

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-ARC to read and review. Available March 26, 2024.

A fanfic writer brings her favorite TV character to life in this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers novel full of humor and heart.

I was excited to read this book, but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks you for the ARC

i am withholding my review and any promotion of this title due to the boycott of SMP. if SMP eventually speaks up and the boycott ends, i will update this with a review.

I think Sophie Gonzales is just a delight. Her books are so sweet and hopeful and lovely. This one is just so much fun. I think Sophie was made to write YA romance/contemporary because it's always so good. It just fills me with such happy vibes. This book is like a love letter to fan-fiction and also a statement about how important it is to live in the real world just as much as you live in fantasy ones. I think it perfectly toed this line and never ended up feeling like something that was against fan fiction and fan culture. Overall it was an adorable and fun romp through fandom and romance.

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist was a quick and enjoyable read, but it didn't leave much of a lasting impression. The characters were well drawn and felt real, but they just weren't particularly interesting or unique. I enjoyed the novel premise - what if your own fanfiction came to life? - but I didn't feel like it was explored deeply enough. The plot as a whole seemed transparently designed to serve the central romance, which isn't really a problem but left me wanting more action. Overall this was a fun read but didn't offer much beyond a basic young-adult romance, although I did think the queer elements were sweet and well done.

Thank you Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I love me a Sophie Gonzales book! Ivy’s parents are leaving her alone for a week and as much as she’s excited she’s also scared too. But worst of all this means she’ll have to interact more with Mack, her next door neighbor and ex best friend, because Mack’s will be checking in on her and giving her rides to school. After the first night alone, filled with thunderstorms, she wakes up to find she’s not alone in her room. Somehow her favorite character from H-MAD, a popular tv show, has shown up in her room. Weston doesn’t seem to realize he’s not real though. How did he get there and what does Ivy do with him when her parents get home? It’ll take working with Mack and Ivy’s best friend Henry to figure it out. I loved all the different tropes that are brought into this one! And I’ll say it even as they disliked the enemies to lovers trope in the book I found it to be delightful! I enjoyed Weston’s forced behavior! I like that you get the past and present as well so we get to see what led to the end of Ivy’s and Mack’s friendship and where they are at now! Plus I adored Henry! Full of silliness, humor, and charm! If you enjoy rom coms, definitely check this one out!

I was super invested in the backstory of what happened between Ivy and Mack, and I found all the fanfic references funny and relatable as someone who read a ton of fanfic in my younger days. Overall a cute read

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital ARC

AHHHH. One of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it certainly didn't disappoint! I loved the fanfic-y premise and the self-aware writing style, although I wasn't the biggest fan of the dual narrative, I often found myself wanting to read one or the other more. I liked the drama and the writing style as well. I recommend this for teens and satirical rom-com readers!

Sophia Gonzales’ “The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist” was a delight! The story flowed easily, diving into the world of fanfic and teen angst, delivered on a platter rich with self discovery and friendship. I LOVED the queer representation and story-telling style.

Gonzales’ use of time, flipping back and forth between the past and present, gives us little bits of history between Mack and Ivy. As the present builds and the past unravels, Ivy, Mack, Henry, and Weston offered hilarious commentary with a healthy dose of self awareness. There is so much humor and satire in this book that I found myself giggling repeatedly. My favorite aspect of this book, however, was its ability to poke fun at the classic tropes we love in the romance genre.

I would suggest this book to adults, young adults, or teens that love romcoms, queer coming of age stories, or novels with magical themes.

If you were one of those dark one direction fanfic readers or dare I say, WROTE those fanfics, this is YOUR BOOK!!!

"The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist" is a YA satirical (contemporary) novel that follows Ivy, a bi teen and fanfic writer. Growing up, Ivy has been close to her best friend, Mack, until she realizes she may or may not be hopelessly in love with her, and their interests begin to draw them apart. Now enemies, Ivy misses Mack, so she writes fanfics to distract herself from her lonesome reality. One day, after her parents have left on a trip leaving Ivy all alone, she writes another fanfic revolving around her fictional crush, Weston, from a tv show called, "H-MAD," wishing more than anything that he were real to keep her safe.

But be careful what you wish for...The next morning, a familiar name introduces himself! With Weston somehow existing and Mack still not talking to her, what's the worst thing that could happen?

This book was so funny. I loved the chaotic characterization of Ivy and how relatable she was as an insecure, nerdy teenager who just wanted her crush to like her. Can we also talk about Henry and the aroace representation?? As someone who just realized they're aroace, his character (even if not a huge focus) meant the world to me.

This is definitely a book that is easy to read and a simple slice of life to binge. That being said, if you take your time like I did, it can definitely get to the point where you just want to finish it. Overall, a super enjoyable read, I loved it and can't wait to check out more of Sophie Gonzales' books.

As always, endless gratitude to Netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. "The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist" goes on sale March 26th!!