When I first started this book I wasn't sure if I'd like it. The main character, Marcela, has been in love with her best friend, Ben, for years and when he proposes to his girlfriend, she's heartbroken. Her close girl friend suggests she have a "fling" with someone -- which is totally out of character for Marcela. In walks Theo, Ben's brother and rival. What better person to have a fling with than him?

I thought the idea of their fake dating/fling would be a flimsy way to start a real relationship -- because, let's face it, we all knew this was where the story was going. However, the way the author described their feelings and hesitations was very well done.

The twisty climax was similar to what I thought it would be but more unfolded than I expected.

I'm hoping this author continues writing about this universe - I'm assuming this will be a series based on the "Librarians in Love" subtitle. I'm anxious to read her next book.

Thank you NetGalley for the awesome ARC! What a fun read! I wanted to continue hanging out with Marcela and Theo by the end. Marcela was super relatable and although she could be frustrating and naive, her character felt real and familiar. I love that her Latina-ness was just a part of who she was and not a plot point. What a great next step in normalizing representation.
Story-wise, the action felt well paced and the spice levels just right. I was rooting for Marcela and Theo and felt the story ended perfectly. Looking forward to reading more from the talented up & coming writer, Gabriella Gamez and hope this book gets some marketing support.

I did like most aspects of this book, but I felt like something was just missing. It could be that I wasn't into the whole "she loves the groom, he loves the bride" story line. I felt like the premise just wasn't what I expected it to be. I did love the bookish themes and the surprise Theo gets Marcela; I thought that added a lot to the book.

I found this to have somewhat teenage drama vibes but with spice. I wanted better communication towards the end there. But it was an easy read to get through and I would read the next in the series.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Oh love love loved this!! This was spicy goodness with a heartwarming undercurrent. I’m always a sucker for a curvy fmc (love seeing myself represented) but when you couple it with a hot former nfl player!? Goodbye I am deceased. I loved the deeper themes to this story along with how the FMC and mmc worked together to do better and be better together. Highly recommend!

Overall this book was a good read. It had strong character building, emotional establishment, and growth from both main characters. The theme of the book was drama. There was a lot of complication and mess. It added to the story but as a personal reader I didn't love that both characters were so ensconced in heart ache for someone else.

4.5/5 ⭐️

What a great read! This was cute, fun & had just the right amount of spice. The characters were super likable & relatable and I really enjoyed the story overall. It gave me early 2000s romcom vibes and I loved it!

I really like Marcela & how relatable she was! Loved that she was a book lover as well. I was also able to relate to a lot of her insecurities not because I experienced them myself, but because the author did a great job of getting me to put myself in her shoes and see things through her eyes as I was reading.

I really loved Theo’s character. I loved how open and honest he was right from the beginning of their arrangement and how he wasn’t afraid to share his feelings and be vulnerable with her when things started to change. He really was so kind and not at all the person people were making him out to be. Both characters really had amazing growth and I really appreciated that.

Overall, incredibly happy I got to read this and totally recommend adding it to your TBR!

- Thank you Gabriella & NetGalley for the ARC! This is my honest review!

a big thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the prepub of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Marcela is a teen librarian in her hometown library. She has been pining for her best friend, Ben, since he broke her heart in college saying they are better off friends. So when Ben announces he is marrying his girlfriend of many years Alice (who used to be her friend) Marcela has to pull it together. But then Ben's brother Theo shows up and wants to ruin the engagement party by stealing the bride to be away. Instead Marcela stops him from making that mistake while drunk. When the two show up at brunch the next day together everyone thinks they hooked up. They end up using that as a cover and falling in love in the process.

I'm a bit harsh on romance books, but this is a cute one. Not sure how believable it is that a former NFL player would fall for a curvy teen librarian... This book reminds me too much of my life in small aspects. Over all its a good romance.

Marcela Ortiz has been secretly in love with her best friend, Ben, for a decade. She knows that now that Ben is engaged, she has to move on. On the night of Ben's engagement party, Marcela catches a drunken Theo, Ben's brother, on the verge of confessing his love for Ben's fiancée. Marcela convinces Theo not to make this big mistake and takes him home to sleep it off. When people think that they hooked up, neither Marcela nor Theo correct them. They realize that this situation could help them mask what is really going on. Marcela and Theo go from fake dating to rebounds and something more that either of them ever expected.

I loved this book! I was a little wary that I might not like a romance about two people in love with other people. I wondered how the story would be believable enough that Marcela and Theo would fall out of love with Ben and Alice and fall in love with each other nearly at the same time. Gabriella Gamez is a talented writer, finding balance in a story that could have been too much. Marcela and Theo's situation was deliciously messy and I ate it up. From the first few chapters, I was hooked, needing to know how their story would play out.

The journey that Marcela and Theo went on together was not easy. They had to process lots of emotions as they got to know each other. They didn't know what they wanted from each other when they first started, but it felt too good to stop. Sometimes in life, you just have to go for it and have faith that things will work out in the end.

My favorite character in this book was Theo. He was vulnerable, honest, insightful, thoughtful, and kind. But he wasn't a saint, either. Theo had a complicated relationship with his brother and he wasn't always on his best behavior around him. He had very human feelings about their relationship and sometimes he couldn't help but resent his brother. The layers Gamez gave to his character gave me the depth I crave in books.

I am so impressed by this debut novel! I can't wait to see what Gabriella Gamez has coming next.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

The girl in love with her best friend and the best friends brother who is in love with his brothers fiancé… can’t get more telenovela than that.

I loved this book, I loved the FMC and the MMC together and I especially loved how they brought out the best most honest side of each other. They both showed a lot of character growth. I loved how the plot progressed and I loved the ending.

I don’t not like Ben. And I grew to like Alice.

As a Latina, I loved the representation here. It wasn’t just the right amount. It wasnt over done or over the top thrown in your face. We love a bilingual mamacita. And I would also like to mention the asexual community representation too. I like how it was hinted at first and then it came full circle. Well done

Thank you for to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Different kind of librarian related romance that tugs on the heartstrings where it hurts! Gabriella Gamez creates a narrative through the world of Marcela Ortiz, a young adult librarian overly hung up on a decade old ex-boyfriend/best friend who crushes were hopes of possibly having feelings for her despite getting engaged to his fiance of 8 years. Marcela constantly hopes that Ben Young will leave his girlfriend in the hopes of choosing Marcela as his one and only true love, but when Ben proposes to his girlfriend and Ben's big brother Theo returns to ruin the couple's happy union, Marcela has to choose to do the right thing or her own thing. With the fear of Theo and Marcela's feelings for both parties being exposed, they both chose to have a rebound affair to help get over their forbidden love interests and possibly heal without catching feelings for each other in the end.
I think author Gamez really intended to land every punch about the struggles of unrequited love and helping the characters see the benefits of self-worth and healing for themselves. As I was reading, I recognized a lot of the toxic thoughts and anxious feelings Marcela went through because I had experienced those myself in past. The author really wanted to tug on the heartstrings of her readers and make them think about one's self-worth when it comes to love. I will admit that she succeeded because as Marcela and Theo were trying to heal from their wounds together despite trying not to end up together, it proved to be the best thing for them at the moment. They both were wounded and lost, but they were able to be there for each other and show what healthy love was. I will say though, I absolutely HATED Ben. Gamez created the perfect toxic ex/villain for this book that proved holding onto someone who always made you a second choice, is never worth wasting your time on. Alice deserved someone who would never hold her back, and Marcela DEFINITELY deserved better than what toxic Ben could ever offer her. Throughout the book, I thought it was a very anxiety induced read because I wanted to slap some sense into Marcela for overthinking things and hurting herself, but to be fair, that could have been any of us at some point in our lives. At least she had the chance to find out what the right thing feels like versus drowning and clinging to something fake forever. Overall, this heartbreaking and therapy healing session book was an awesome read with just the right amount of tame smut for the booktok girlies. I highly recommend this book!

I enjoyed this romantic comedy/drama. I could connect with many things regarding the main character. I enjoyed the way her character changes, but also the way the male protagonist dealt with her issues WITH her. I also liked the ending and how not everything ended wrapped up with a bow. Real life isn’t like that, so I appreciate that aspect. The family drama and the tension between characters was very well done.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝔹𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝔽𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘—REVIEW

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

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Any book that I read in 24 hours is highly recommended!! This was an addicting page turning read that had me neglecting my responsibilities and almost had me sweeping the dishes 🤭Grab a cozy blanket and popcorn because this was a complicated and raw romance that will have you rooting for the main characters.

<b><i>Tropes & What to Expect</b></i>
💞best friend’s brother
💞Plus size Latina FMC(she’s also a librarian and book girlie)
💞friends w/benefits/rebound relationship
💞angst/pining
💞90s romcom movie vibes
💞MMC is a ex football player
💞spicy scenes 🌶️

The Characters/Brief Synopsis
I adored Marcie 🥹 and she is such a relatable FMC to her being a book lover and daddy issues I thought I was holding a mirror to myself. She’s the selfless loyal friend who would rather let you ramble about nothing all day than talk about herself. She’s been secretly in love with her best friend for years but never mentioned it to him and when he gets engaged her life crumbles. Theo the MMC omg this man.. we’ll get to that later he is in love with his brother’s finance.. when Marcie overhears him about to confront them she intervenes and rescues the day. After spending time together they decide they can both use a little distraction..

Theo is such a cinnamon roll and wears his heart on his sleeve. Throughout the entire relationship he is honest about his feelings and does not hold back once he starts developing feelings. He communicates so well and is so patient with Marcie. Don’t get me started on the hand porn.. he would grab her wrist and kiss it, intertwine their fingers and kiss her knuckles. I never though I would be swooning and getting giggly over a hand touch 🫠🫠 and his romantic gestures 🥹🥹 this man was perfection

“You should never be without your favorite books. If you’ll let me, I’ll make sure each and every one of your all-time favorites are always signed by their author. Because you deserve to have special books in your personal collection.“ this quote alone had me wanting to get on my knees to marry him 🧎🏻‍♀️

Overall thoughts: Obsessed!! Add to your TBR 💖 It made me think of the movie My Best Friends Wedding which is one of my favs so if you’re fan of this vibe you will love it!!!

This book was a really interesting spin on an angsty romance for me. We have a love square! Marcela has been in love with her best friend Ben for years, but he’s engaged to someone else. Ben’s brother Theo has been in love with Ben’s fiancé since they were kids. Marcela stops Theo from risking it all at the engagement party, and people end up thinking they hooked up… and they let them. 😏

Things I loved about this book:
First of all that cover!!
I highlighted a million passages.
I have been Marcela. I felt every single thing she went through. Pining for someone who strings you along. Feeling inadequate and unattractive. Hurting deeply. The fatphobia. Ugh my heart!! I loved her so much.
I really loved how honest Theo was. It was super refreshing and watching him come apart for Marcela was *chef’s kiss* amazing.🧎🏻‍♀️Theo making his desire for Marcela known was so incredibly sexy.
When Ben kept interrupting I wanted to smack him 🤣 I was like get your own life!!!! Stop trying to control Marcela!!!
I loved our main characters growing together and how they made each other better people - they wanted to be better.
Angela was a fun best friend! I liked her a lot.
Marcela had a library in her home. A LIBRARY.
Book talk. A lot of it. Happy heart.
I really liked Alice.
Theo refilled Marcela’s shelves. He planned a library date. This man is a keeper folks.
We love a grand gesture!!!!!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Next Best Fling

This book was really great. There were so many things that worked for me and I cannot wait to see what’s to come with this debut author.

1. let’s take a moment for the cover, because wow, how absolutely stunning. From the moment I saw this floating around bookstagram and I knew I’d have to read it because *perfection*
2. The character growth. Beyond the romance, the character growth is one of the key components to this book. Both Marcela and Theo grow so much from the beginning to the end. They take time to figure out themselves while also taking time to figure out each other. I really respect the work they put in to figure out what they wanted.
3. The romance. This book starts off with unrequited love, both main characters struggling watching the people they love be in love with someone else. I’m not going to pretend and say this is my favourite romance trope, but thanks to the fast pace writing I didn’t feel like we were stuck for too long in a “woe is me” period. What did feel realistic thou gh, was the ever changing “what if” sitting in the back of the FMC’s mind. After pining over someone for a decade (Marcela not me 😂), I can understand the struggle of uncertainty. I do wish this book was told in a dual POV because I think Theo’s perspective could have added a lot to the story.
4. Relatability. From the very first page, I instantly felt drawn to Marcela. Her inner monologue talks a lot about her insecurities around relationships and right away I kept a kinship to her and her anxieties.

Overall, I feel this was a super strong debut and I’m absolutely looking forward to what’s to come next from Gabriella.

The Next Best Fling is a faking dating, best friends brother romance. It follows Marcela, a librarian, who has been in love with her best friend since they’ve met. But her best friend, Ben, is engaged to his childhood friend, who happens to be the girl that Ben’s brother Theo is pining after. After one too many drinks, Theo decides he is going to break the happy couple up but is stopped by Marcela. Marcela convinced Theo to go home and assumptions get made about the two of them. They decide to play into what everyone is thinking about.


I really enjoyed reading this book. It started off really strong with Marcela and Theo forming an immediate bond over their situation. It was easy to see how they made an immediate connection and their storyline played out smoothly. Things went a little south for me at the end when Ben did a complete 180. The whole first half of the book made it really clear that Ben did not have feelings for Marcela but then towards the end it seemed like he did? We also never got a true detailed explanation as to why one text broke up Ben and his fiance. Theo also was holding feelings for her for 90% of the book and then suddenly just shut off that side of himself a little too quickly it seemed. I think a little more emphasis on the dynamic between the four of them would have been useful.

This book was plain beautiful. That's all there is too it really. The representation was amazing and so lovely to see!

I never have felt more seen by a book then I have by The Next Best Fling in a very long time. Gabriella's debut romance novel did not disappoint and I loved it from page one. Featuring a curvy FMC, former football player MMC, best friends brother trope and healing a broken heart, The Next Best Fling brings something to the table for all romance lovers.

I adored Marcela's character. A a curvy girl myself who also goes through phases of loving their body and then phases of hating it. I understood her struggles in trying to understand why Theo desired her and if he really wanted her. Let me tell you, the way he soothed and proved those thoughts wrong for her *insert emoji* I also loved that Marcela is a YA librarian, which is so cool to me. YA books are what made me a reader and seeing references from books that I read and loved in the past was almost like a full circle moment for me. I can not express how much I loved the characters in this book and how much I wanted to wrap both Marcela and Theo up in a giant hug and reassure them that everything was going to be okay.

The Next Best Fling does contain open door spice, but to me it wasn't anything crazy and I feel as if it was used to further the plot and the characters then used for filler. Marcela's thought process during the spicy scenes and the way she viewed herself I know will be relatable to many readers, I know it especially was for me.

Again, Gabriella's romance debut did no disappoint, it has been several days since reading and I am still thinking about Marcela and Theo's story. I am excited to see what Gabriella has in store next, she will definitely be an author to add to my TBR list going forward!

This was a really sweet story and I’m not usually one for love squares. I related to Marcela’s insecurities a little too much and I cheered her on when she finally started making the right decisions for herself. Theo was so good to her and incredibly patient while she figured her shit out. I loved this and can’t wait for more from this author. (Thanks NetGalley for the ARC)

The Next Best Fling was highly recommended from two trusted friends. When it landed on my kindle, I devoured it so fast. His best friend and her best friend are getting married to each other. When Marcela prevents Theo from declaring his love at their friends' engagement party, everyone assumes they hooked up. So they run with it. M&T have a no strings attached rebound relationship to help them get over their long time loves. Until they get totally into each other.

It's steamy and sweet and surprisingly addictive. It has a fantastic cast of characters who add so much heart to this romance. I love the not so fake dating, the pining in all directions and how much the heroine loves books. It's a romance for romance lovers and book lovers combined.

The Next Best Fling was such a sweet love story between Marcela and Theo. The two are brought together when Marcela catches Theo rehearsing a speech confessing to his brother's (Marcela's best friend) fiancée, and she convinces him not to go through with it. Turns out, she knows just the position he is in, being in love with the groom, Theo's brother. She lets his drunken self crash at her place, but them leaving together gives the impression that the two hooked up. What follows is the growth of a genuine relationship, even if they started with a falsehood. The two have already seen each other in vulnerable states, and that lends to them bonding in a unique way.

I especially like how three dimensional the characters are and how they aren't perfect, but are still relatable. Both Marcela and Theo are still harboring feelings for other people that they are honest aren't quite gone yet. Both of them express understandable insecurities, and have been shown to take selfish and petty actions in the past. Even during the course of the main story they both withhold information. But as they grow as people they learn to open up to one another and trust each other. I also loved how the couple connected with each other by learning about the other's passions, books for Marcela and football for Theo. Theo's gift to Marcela of all signed books from her wish list was both something that I felt fit the characters as well was something that I would want for myself.

I also like how Alice, the fiancée, was n0t villainized, and in fact gets her own happy ending in a way! The way that Ben's true character was foreshadowed and then revealed over the course of the story was also well done, and you're understandably angry at him but also still feel a little sympathy for him towards the end.

Marcela's character had a lot of qualities I liked. I liked how her Mexican American culture was woven into her life, which makes sense for someone who lives in a place like San Antonio. I also like how she has a nuanced relationship with her body and body image. There are many things she likes about her body, but sometimes dealing with fatphobia indeed is more about how other people perceive and treat you rather than only how you perceive yourself.

Overall I really enjoyed Marcela and Theo's story! Even with the single POV I never felt like I was only getting one side of the characters, and felt that everyone felt fleshed out even though we only see through Marcela's perspective.