Rating: 4.5/5

❀ Thank you Forever Publishing and Gabriella Gamez for the ARC. ❀

When I say I devoured this book I mean I DEVOURED this book. I read it in a day and a half. I was glued to the pages wanting to get more of Marcela and Theo. Their dynamic and chemistry was just so freaking good! The way they both share their interests and the other makes it their mission to care and implement it in their lives. You can honestly tell that these two complement each other perfectly.

The plot also had me intrigued with everyone’s reactions to Marcela and Theo “dating.” Loved the themes in the book and that they were actually acknowledged. There’s even an ace side character! I also loved Marcela’s love for books and libraries (HE ASKS HER FOR A RECOMMENDATION). Such a cute read, a page turner and would definitely recommend to try out!

❀ Tropes: Friends-to-Lovers/ Fake Dating/ Best Friends Brother/ Forced Proximity/ Rebounds-to-Lovers/ No-Strings/

❀ Themes: Plus Size FMC/ Mexican FMC/ Interacial romance/ Librarian + Ex NFL

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫(3.5)

Librarian Marcela Ortiz has loved her best friend for years, but when he gets engaged, she knows it’s time to move on. Theo Young, ex-NFL player and brother of her crush, complicates things. Pretending to be a couple, they discover a rebound romance filled with chemistry, complications, and unexpected feelings.

“He wants the bride, she wants the groom. But what if all they really wants… is each other? Blegh.”

There were parts I really connected with the characters amongst moment that simply fell flat. Because of the emotional angsty drive of pining for someone you cannot have, it was easy to feel sympathy for both Theo and Marcela and root for them to find joy. Marcela was also a fantastic representation of what it looks like to embody self confidence yet anguish at knowing others likely see her differently. Theo lost me partway through the book. Him and his brother, Ben, consistently gave off loosery vibes and I couldn’t get over how insecure they both acted because of jealousy. This is a romance of unassuming connection after restless infatuation.

Thank you @foreverpub @netgalley for the eARC 🤍

Perfect for you if you like:
Love squares + family drama + unrequited love
Characters dealing with jealousy and insecurity
Lifetime movie vibes (or my Best Friend’s Wedding)

Similar to:
Savor It by Tarah DeWitt
When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein (Did not finish 😬)
Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

⛔️chapters 18, 22 & 31 contain explicit romance scenes (open door)
⚠️explicit language, previous parental abandonment, toxic friendships, fatphobia

Poor Marcela trying to do the right thing only to get caught up with Theo double the trouble but thank goodness it worked out for the best.

Gabriella Gamez’s debut novel, The Next best Fling is an addictive and fun rom-com and I cannot wait to see what she writes next.

The cover is what drew me to this book. I’m pretty sure any romance bookworm swoons at the idea of the hero kissing the heroine against a bookshelf at a library. If you like your romances on the slightly more angsty, drama-filled side, this book will be for you. I like this book, even though love triangles or, in this case, a love square are my least favourite tropes. There is some major pining going on in this book. Both Marcela and Theo have deep, unrequited feelings for Ben (Theo’s brother and Marcela’s best friend) and Alice, who are newly engaged. As you can imagine, this book has plenty of drama, which I think is to be expected when a romance has a love square in it. I thought Gabriella did a great job at taking the love triangle/square trope and making it her own unique thing. There are some predictable moments in this book, which isn’t a bad thing. But she also added this uniqueness to the story by taking a couple of the characters and putting this spin on them that I wasn’t expecting. Their character started out very stereotypical and changed into something more as the story progressed.

I loved Marcela; she is a gorgeous, curvy heroine who adores books and eating delicious food. Marcela feels stuck in her life because she is still harbouring some major feelings for Ben. This secret crush means she hasn’t been able to form any deep romantic attachments with any other guy. Well, that is until Theo walks into her life. Marcela is a relatable and real character. Anyone who is curvy (and fabulous) probably knows how strong those insecure feelings can be when it comes to how we feel about our bodies. I know I am one of them. Marcela’s struggles with loving her body was so relatable to me, and I loved how Theo made her feel like an absolute goddess. Marcela’s growth in this story is centred around her feelings for Ben and her growing feelings for Theo. Sorry, I know that is slightly vague, but I can’t really go into too much detail about Marcela’s growth without giving away spoilers. But I can say I loved her journey and I was rooting for her the entire time.

Theo was a delight right from the beginning. I thought he was going to be this cocky broody football player, but he wasn’t. He was a big softy with a giving heart and so unsure of what his future would look like. He definitely falls first and harder when it comes to his relationship with Marcela. He truly adores her, and his grand gesture at the end of the book made my heart melt.

The romance in this book is chaotic and messy at times but in a good way. There are a lot of big emotions in this book and that often means things aren’t going to be neat and tidy. I like Theo and Marcela together; they may have fallen in love with each other a little too quickly to make it believable. If you are a fan of fake dating, best friend’s brother, cinnamon roll hero, he falls first, love squared, and pining, then you will enjoy this story. When friends and family believe that Theo and Marcela are in a relationship, they decide that pretending that they are in a relationship might be the best way to get over the feelings they have for Ben and Alice. They become friends, and that friendship turns into a friend-with-benefits situation. Theo and Marcela have great chemistry, and even though I felt that the whole falling head over heels in love with each other happened a little fast, I was ok with it because I wanted them to be together. The spice is great, and the sexual tension between Theo and Marcela is built up perfectly.

The Next Best Fling is a sizzling romance that will satisfy any romance bookworm.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced reader copy.
I love the best friend's brother tope, and I enjoyed this book; I just don't think I will keep thinking about this one.

I badly wanted to love this story because it sounded right up my alley. However, it took me way too long to finish it because it didn't hold my interest as I'd expected. I kept putting it down. It started out strong, I mean a fake relationship between two people who are in love with other people who happen to be engaged? Perfect scenario. I just never felt the chemistry between Marcella and Theo. Both of them drove me crazy in different ways with the push and pull that just became tiresome. I did, however, get the ending I'd wanted and expected but the lead up felt like the words were just being added to increase word count rather than having any real meaning. 3.5 stars

✨𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀✨
• fat girl rep!
• Mexican librarian FMC
• NFL player
• fake dating
• best friend’s brother
•pining for someone who doesn’t want you back
🌶️🌶️🌶️🫑

✨ 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 ✨
Marcela loves Ben, who is getting engaged to Alice, and she finds herself stopping Theo, Ben’s brother, from confessing his love to Alice, which suddenly leads to a whirlwind of fake dating, and rebounds, aimed at getting over the engaged couple.

✨ 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 ✨
I loved getting the chance to experience a main character who was fat. I myself am part of that demographic so it was refreshing to see and imagine someone more like me. I also appreciate that being fat wasn’t her only flaw or that this book was in solely centered on that. Marcela is a normal complicated person with many facets to her.

There was so much more of the story as you go through. Deep layers of past events that shape you to who you are later in life, whether for the good or for the bad. Everyone in this book had more to them that met the eye.

This book is not only for the romance lovers, but for anyone looking for a mainly fake dating plot with more layers of depth to explore.

I honestly can’t believe this is a debut. It was so well done.

Marcela has been in love with her best friend for years but when he gets engaged to someone else she knows she needs to move on. When she’s asked to pick up his brother at the airport she can only remember his one drunken night and can’t help but dislike him.

Theo is retiring from the NFL after a repeat injury that isn’t healing properly. Deciding to move closer to family isn’t as innocent as it seems. When he attends the engagement dinner for his brother he’s close to confessing his feelings for the soon to be bride when Marcela stops him.

I loved how smoothly they both rolled with people assuming they were together. Theo was such a sweetheart and paid such attention to what she liked and saw her for who she is. They fit so perfectly together, even though their path to get there was bumpy.

I am a sucker for a book with a curvy FMC! I really enjoyed this once it got going. I love that Marcela is a librarian and loves special edition books. She is passionate about her job and reading which is something I can definitely relate to. I love the fake dating trope and usually hate miscommunication between the main characters but it was so nice that the MMC Theo never let Marcela off the hook when he could see she was all up in her feels. Perfect amount of banter, spice and swooning. Highly recommend!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Forever Publishing and Gabriella Gamez for the ARC!

3.25


This was messy, messy, messy. Marcela has been in love with her best friend Ben for ten years, but he just got engaged to someone else. Ben’s brother Theo is secretly in love with Ben’s fiancé. Messy.

There was not one single character who handled this mess well. You’re telling me over the course of ten years one of the friends of these people didn’t step in and manage this? Angela, I’m looking at you.

However, the messiness of this book was the best part. The text message debacle? Amazing. Marcela handing Ben his ass? Glorious.

I’m still trying to figure out if I actually liked any of these characters. (Well, I know I didn’t like Ben. We all hate Ben.) I just never felt like there was any growth for anyone until the very very end.

For example: Marcela is actually ridiculous. So incredibly indecisive. And I know see why she’s like that! I do! However, having the exact same inner monologue over and over again with no evolution until quite literally the last chapter gets old. For example again, telling multiple people other than Theo that you’re in love with him when you KNOW he’s been losing his mind for like a week, then deciding to finally tell him then chickening out and sleeping with him instead is really something. Give this man a break. Help him out here.

(Side note on Marcela being a librarian: what do you MEAN you take books home without checking them out? What about your circulation statistics? Your annual report??)

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!

What a great book! I kid you not. I had to wait hours at a dealership to get my car looked at. And this book right here took me away. I wasn't in a place with dozens of people I was with Marcela and Theo and their very, very complicated situation.

Marcela has been in love with her best friend Ben for years. (Let me tell you this author can write the longing!) When he announces he's engaged, we really hurt with her.

It's a secret, though, that she loves him, and she's stuffing it all down to support him. But when she overhears his brother Theo about to confess HIS love to the bride to be, she steps in.

And... a friendship is born. Kinda. Theo is experiencing a lot of life changes, poor dude. Marcela is an awesome librarian who is a steady friend.

These two are polar opposites but share a very painful problem that brings them together. What's going to happen when everyone else finds out about their new... relationship? Let me tell you some people get their comeuppance!

I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was fun, and I could identify so much with Marcela that it was insane. I can't wait to read book 2!

Thank you Forever Pub for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Wow! I really enjoyed this! I’ve been struggling to read ebooks, but I couldn’t put this down!

From Marcela and Theo’s meet up at her best friend (and his brother’s) engagement party, I was hooked. I enjoyed the unique concept of Marcela and Theo using each other to get over someone.
Thought they started off as rebounds for each other, they quickly developed into more. They both seemed to grow and change so much throughout the book. Theo is a new book boyfriend! From the date he planned and the surprise he had for her.

Marcela is a librarian and has some dreamy set ups (like a library in her second bedroom!) I loved the parts of her job and how Theo stepped in and helped with a reenactment.

I really appreciated how they worked through their issues despite having fears. I can’t wait for more books from Gabriella Gamez!

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) & net galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For a debut novel, I thought this book was really good! it was a super cute, and a really quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. But can we all agree that Ben sucks!?! I don't understand what Marcela ever saw in Ben or how they were even friends in the first place?? Theo >>

I really wish Theo and Marcela got over their crushes a little bit sooner because it made it hard to believe their chemistry. When you are crushing on someone for A WHOLE ASS DECADE, I find it hard to believe that the person has truly moved on to someone else to be honest.. However, while I had some issues with this book, I think for a debut novel, it was still very well written and entertaining. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun read!

The Next Best Fling: ★★★☆☆ (3)

Pub date: available now!!

Book love. Curvy girl rep. Family drama. Broken hearts. Definite happy ending. Swoon!

✨ Five-Star Book Review: THE NEXT BEST FLING by Gabriella Gamez ✨

📸 Book with concha pastries and/or empanadas

Book Synopsis: Marcela and Theo are both pining for someone else, but their respective someones just got engaged. To get over their unrequited feelings, they team up, first as a cover from others in the engagement party, then as maybe something more.

My Take: Oh, wow! This book has drama, heat, and some of the sweetest, most romantic scenes ever, especially for book lovers. These two get together for all the wrong reasons, but have quite the journey and such a great ending. Definitely recommend.

Read THE NEXT BEST FLING for
💘 Friends-to-lovers feelings and spice
🏈 Ex-NFL player muscle
📚 Youth librarian joy
💗 Curvy girl rep
🥰 Body hang ups —> positivity
🎁 Grand gestures
💅🏼 Latina pride
🎭 So much family drama. So much chisme!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5 stars)

😘 Thanks to @ReadForever and @NetGalley for the eARC and finished copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. What a treat! Happy publication day @GabbyWritesALot 🥳

📷 Photo here is featuring a pink Mexican concha and two pumpkin empanadas. I absolutely adore empanadas, but have only known them as savory until now. Loving this new addition to my empanada vocabulary.

I loved this book! I stayed up past my bed time finishing it. It was so messy and dramatic but also had sweet romantic moments as well. Definitely would recommend to romance lovers and will read future releases from this author!

Curvy Girl, book love, fake dating,
No strings attached relationship, with some added spice…sign me up, always!!

The title of the series is perfect for this one too, Librarians in Love! Initially reading this one I felt for Marcella finding out her love was In love and proposing to someone else… ooof. But have no fear, there are other plans in store for her and I was here for it all! This was such a good romance novel, and I recommend this debut novel!

Thank you Forever Books for this swoony, great inclusive rep, romcom! I was all in for how this romance developed and really appreciated the thoughtful depth that Gamez wove into the story... She takes standard tropes, which we love (I can't say no to fake dating!) and uses her talents to also include themes on self growth, fat phobia/body inclusion, and bad/toxic relationships. Romcom books work best for me when there is more to the story than just the meet cute/tropes and instead a focus on how each character is person before and after the relationship, how a good relationship (even with missteps) works because it is based on respect and care, and also gives some strong development to other characters/good backstories. Gamez does this well and I can't wait to see what she writes next.
I am also here for the movement in romcom books to male main characters who are really freeing themselves or are free from standard ways we define "male". GenX here to say it's nice to read books that have healthy emotional depth and sharing .

“Call me whatever you want…As long as I get to call you mine”.

If that’s ⬆️ not enough to get you to read The Next Best Fling here’s some more 😉. Marcela has been in love with her best friend Ben for the last 10 years, however he just got engaged. Luckily for her, Theo (Ben’s brother) is also harboring unrequited love. He’s the perfect partner for a distraction and no strings fling!

These two were fantastic! How they end up in their no strings/rebound situationship felt very romcom and we loved it. Marcela is an FMC we can relate to and cheer for even if she frustrated us at times.

Theo is a grade A+ book boyfriend. He was so swoony and charming and knew how to communicate! Praise the lord! But how he makes Marcela not only feel special but love her body was sooo good! And his grand gesture!! Can we keep him?

It was a great to see the growth they go through not only individually but together. They supported each other and made the other better. It was so easy to love them and root for their happily ever after.

This is book is spicy, fun and romantic, not afraid to tackle some heavier topics (ie toxic relationships + fatphobia). Basically everything you’d want from a romcom! It is also a love letter to libraries and books which we loved. We can’t wait to read more from Gabriella and the Librarians in Love series!

Read if you like:
▪️Fake dating to rebounds to lovers
▪️Librarian heroine & ex-NFL player hero
▪️Best Friend’s Brother
▪️He falls first
▪️Plus size & Latine rep
▪️Flirty banter
▪️Plenty of spice

Thank you Net galley for this arc!

I ate this book up! When I say this book is messy it super messy!!! Marcella is a librarian who is in love with her best friend Ben the day she decides to tell him about her feelings he announces he is proposing to his girlfriend Alice. Just when her life can get any worse she over hears Theo Ben’s older brother drunk and talking to himself about telling Alice how he truly feels. Marcella stops him before he can sabotage the wedding and she and Theo find themselves in a fake dating situation. Knowing eachother situation Theo and Marcella decide to use each other as a rebound

Theo really is so sweet, open, kind and thoughtful. Marcella doesn’t have to tell him anything he’s so observant. yes even though he’s in love with Alice he treats Marcella to be honest I prefer him over Ben any day! With Ben everything is about competition with his brother he painted Theo like a bad guy but he really isn’t.

Marcella is such a sweetheart and I love that she is a librarian and has a book club for the teens her library! I’m so glad she came into her own and started standing her ground. Especially when she told Ben about himself towards his end

The Next Best fling is the summer romance to read this summer! I will most definitely be reading the authors next book.

I love the FMC really much. I love how much she loves books, her sense of humour, her loyalty with her friends. She was amazing and so fun to read.

I had a hard time reading about her one way love with her best friend. He's so full of red flags and I didn't love reading about how much he manipulated her.

I'm not a big fan of love triangle and this one is full of it.

But if you love this trope, you'll be serve. It's more like a square of love 😂.