This book! It was such a lovely story from my new favorite Latina / South Texas author!!

As Gabriella wrote a-la Lifetime movie tagline - He wants the bride, she wants the groom. But what if all they really want. . .is each other?

Marcela has been in love with her best friend Ben since college - now, 10 years later, he is proposing to his long time girlfriend, Alice, leaving Marcela with a broken heart. When Ben's brother comes to town for the engagement party, and Marcela finds out he has been in love with Alice for years, they decide to help each other get over their long time love ... by getting under each other.

Through secret hook ups, YA book clubs, high school football games, sunday hikes, and not-s0-secret make out sessions, Theo and Marce create their own love story, flaws and all. I loved the honesty and transparency with each other - how they kept each other accountable, how well they communicated (most of the time), and how good they were to one another.

This Texan / Latina / Plus size girl approves! Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy for my honest opinion.

I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC for this title.

This romance is filled with tension, heart ache and find understanding with another soul. The main character Marcela is stuck in love with someone she can never be with and in doing so she holds herself back and makes mistakes. I was so frustrated by her actions many times because of how she never choses herself and continues bad habits that enable her own misery through unrequited love. But I will say I have been there, and this was such a good representation for it and we can see ourselves reflected in her. I enjoyed seeing her find her own and finding her worthiness, while helping someone else find theirs. I enjoyed the family conflicts and the honesty that that the MMC has that lets something that is seemingly a bad idea be something that is healthy and healing.

I would give this a 4.5

This one was messy but fun haha. I love the plus size rep. Anyone who loves an old school romcom drama with faking dating will be pleasantly entertained

The chemistry was off the rails with Marcela and Theo. I was rooting for them from the beginning. The author does an incredible job with these characters’ story, the topics mentioned were written with sensitivity and the romance was messy but very raw.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. I immediately sympathized with Marcela and her unrequited feelings for her college best friend/crush, Ben. But, she pulled herself together enough to try to be happy for him. Inside she was dying and wanted anything for a distraction. Enter Theo, older brother of Ben. He has been in love with Ben’s fiancée since forever as well. So Marcela and Theo decide to fake date to help each other out with their respective love losses, and give them cover for their families.

Of course, with fake dating always comes real feelings getting involved. Marcela realizes what a catch Theo would be, and his attraction to her can’t be denied either. But Marcela doesn’t know how she can trust Theo’s feelings since this is all supposed to be fake. Plus being a full figured woman, she has some insecurities about her body. Theo, however, is very patient and does his best to reassure her. Things do get very messy all around, but this one has a very good ending!

I recommend this one for a good old fashioned rom-com with librarians, plus size and Mexican representation, with light spice.

Thanks to @gabrielle and @readforever for the eARC through @netgalley.

The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez. This book had me from the cover art. A plus-sized main character who actually looks plus-sized on the cover!!!!! Love it! Marcela has been in love with Ben since college. Ben’s brother, Theo, is in love with Ben’s fiancé, Alice. Marcela and Theo hatch a plan to get over their unrequited love by helping each other rebound.



Things I love about this book:

Marcela- she is a great, flawed, growth-in-progress character. So stuck on the idea of Ben from college and not allowing herself to move on because the fear of being disappointed.

Marcela’s realistic body acceptance struggles. She mostly accepts and loves her body. Doesn’t always. Has realistic reservations about sex and nakedness. I so identify with this from when I was in my twenties.

Theo!

Theo!

Theo! Strong, athletic, emotionally aware and communicative- wow! Plus he handles his attraction to Marcela so genuinely.

A little spice. And the sex scene emotions were so raw and beautiful.

Women supporting women, not competing



Things I didn’t like:

Ben- ugh. I just couldn’t get why everyone liked him. The worst. Though backburnering people is a thing, it’s sad for someone to do that for so long at this age.

Theo played for the NFL shouldn’t he have more money than he did. I looked up the minimum NFL salary is 700K per year (for the first year), he could afford an Air B&B, so this convenient plot line of him staying with Ben and Alice made no sense.

The Next Best Fling was so cute- I read it, and then re-read my favorite scenes. A great first novel, can’t wait to read Gamez’s next one! 4.25 stars Thanks to Net Galley and Forever Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was very excited about the premise of this book, but it never sucked me in. Not sure if it was my mood or if this just wasn't the book for me. The storyline sounded interesting at first, but the execution felt repetitive. There wasn't much other substance there besides the fake dating relationship, which made me get tried of each of the leads pining after the unavailable characters and caused me not to really believe in the relationship because it didn't seem like the leads were actually connecting with each other.

an NFL player and a librarian??? MY ABSOLUTE CATNIP I am so happy this lived up to my expectations!!! so good loved it

Can we first talk about the opening line? “For all the readers, educators, and librarians fighting the good fight to get diverse books into the hands of those who need them most. I hope we win.” 👏📚

THE NEXT BEST FLING is the most anticipated romcom of the summer (according to me, a very reliable source) so here’s why you need it in your beach bag.

- Fake dating, no strings attached
- Best friend/ex’s older brother
- Plus size and latine rep
- Loads of awesome bookish elements
- Messssssy in the best way possible

He wants the bride and she wants the groom. Two wildcards in love with one half of an engaged couple agree to use each other to help get over other people, but it’s working TOO well…

This has ALL the emotions. I was drawn in by the unlikely pairing: an ex-NFL player and YA librarian get under to get over. No strings attached quickly turns into holding each other accountable, becoming better people and helping each other grow. The surprise date night that involved each of their passions? Swoon. When Theo (ex-NFL man) surprised Marcela with signed special edition book copies to restock her personal library? Double swoon. I loved how invested Marcela was in promoting reading accessibility and planning ways to keep teens invested in books and I loved even more Theo’s support of her passion. I mean, she gave her own books away to ensure students had access! I need more librarian romcom reads in my life because this was everything I could hope for.

A huge thanks for @berkleyromance for the digital ARC! I adored and devoured this and need librarians in love #2!

When you love the groom-to-be, and his brother is in love with the bride-to-be, you have all the makings of a perfect romantic comedy.

Marcela and Ben have always been buddies. After a brief romance that quickly fizzled out, they've been best friends for years. When he decides to pop the question to his longtime girlfriend, Marcela is devastated. At the engagement party, Marcela discovers she's not the only one upset. The groom's brother, Theo, is in love with the bride.

The two set off on an adventure to save each other from destroying a wedding and end up trying to convince themselves they're not falling in love in the process.

Too cute, and quite a bit steamy, I loved Gabriella Gamez's writing!

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

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-fake dating
-rebound hookup
-best friend's older brother
-plus size rep
-an ode to libraries

Gosh did I adore this book, it had me hooked from the very first page. I love mess, and this book had just the right amount. Marcela has held a spark that things might work out one day with her best friend and also ex, but instead she ends up invited to his engagement party. Worse, she's talking the groom's older brother out of confessing his feelings for the bride. This book perfectly exemplifies holding a flame for the somoen in your head, and just the adult struggles of dating, of figuring out your owrth and what you deserve and just allowing yourself to try.

Theo was just epic book boyfriend material. Just sweet, gone on Marcela before either wanted to admit it, and just always looking to her for signals. I won't spoil anything but he sets gift fiving to a whole nother level, he just listens to Marcela and just adores her, sees her, wants to be with her and just is impossible not to swoon over him.

Marcela was beyond relatable as she figured out her life and to finally take care of herslef rather than live for anyone else. The fat rep in this book was just beautiful and had me highlighting so many lines I just related to so much. This was an incredible debut and I can't wait to read whatever Gabriella writes next.

I was expecting a cute rom-com, and instead i got angst, and im LIVING for it! Before I go any further, Ben is the worst. Seriously, I hope he sprains his ankle and every time it heals, he sprains it again. I was a little apprehensive of how this would play out, dating your ex’s brother, however, I wouldn’t really call him an ex, they dated for like 3 minutes. Marcela, a plus size librarian who has been secretly pining for her “best friend” for almost TEN years and Theo, who is tortured, by not only his brother, but also his fiancé. The fake dating aspect of this was very cute and I wanted them to be together forever by chapter 5. Theo was so sweet and really gave me unrealistic expectations for men, I mean THE LIBRARY DATE?! It made me need to fire up my dating apps again because true love is really out there. I really wanted to hate Alice, but she turned out to be AMAZING. It was great seeing people who had been friends from college still making it work as adults no matter how different their lives may be. Marcela’s abandonment issues gave me pause, because why would you put something so true about me in this book? Either way, Marcela and Theo’s love story was something I unexpectedly loved and can’t wait to see what’s next in this series.

I can't believe that I love a football player? This truly was a phenomenal romance that surprised me! I cannot wait to see what Gabrielle Gamez does next and will be preordering!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
🌶️🌶️

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
-Let’s get over our exes with each other
-Messy
-Love Square
-Fake Dating

Such a charming, cute and steamy debut by Gabriella Gamez!

I went into this one blind and had honestly never been more seen in a book than when Marcela referred to her hair tie as a ‘chongo’ (IYKYK). Add in the Texas setting and all the regional references, I felt like Marcela was my local librarian.

While there was a physical attraction, Marcel and Theo became friends and their fake relationship naturally turned into not-so fake dating. As someone who struggles with insecurities, it was nice seeing Marcela voice hers and slowly come into herself as the book progressed. By the end, she was taking charge and doing what was best for her.

This is a fun rom-com that is easy to binge but still has a few serious issues sprinkled throughout - which is my favorite kind of read. The only thing I wish is that we had some chapter’s from Theos POV. He was such a great hero and I think I just wanted more of him 🤭🤭

Talented, twisty, and completely enjoyable! Honestly this doesn’t read like a debut, in a good way! It has modernized soap vibes in plot, but the same emotional depth and hot spicy scenes that we expect from a romance. Things to love include: meddling best friend, Latinx rep, library nerdery, Texas setting, an undyingly patient MMC, fat rep/body positivity, and an FMC learning to stick up for herself. Other than the very genuine and well done body positivity, my favorite part was how the MCs tiptoed up to several miscommunications but didn’t let the current take them into that hard-to-watch miscommunication spiral. I don’t want to say more to avoid giving it away, but the P.L.O.T! It had me skipping out on real life to see what happened next. Highly recommend!

It had my big wins:
the right amount of miscommunication to not push it into the annoying category!
Fake dating with a brother!
Banter and sex appeal… seriously, the bar seen was one of my favorites!

Not only does this win my San Antonio, Texas loving heart, this is going to capture hearts and make fans outside of Texas! Can’t wait to read more in this library series! Is Angela next??

This book is SO DANG GOOD. It’s the perfect balance of swoon worthy romance (I love a blonde MMC again—watch out Jack Smith-Turner, you have competition) and great plot. I think this book explores the insecurities of a woman existing in a large body while also not defining the FMC, which is a delicate balance. The FMC is very relatable in general without feeling like the author relied on clichés to develop a relationship with the reader. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book—from the pacing, to the plot, to the lovely and realistic romance, this is a great read.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Forever @ReadForeverPub (Grand Central Publishing) for this gifted eARC. Pub date for this book is July 8th.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ahhh what a cute debut romance! 💗 there are some individuals who take the romance genre and elevate it. I definitely feel like this book could fall into that category. While the tropes used are fun and the spice is great there are so many layers to this story. I’ll keep specifics quiet because I don’t wanna spoil anything 🤫

I loved both Theo and Marcela!! This book dives deeper than a typical romance and both of these characters grow so much mentally and emotionally throughout this book. Our female main character Marisela is a Mexican American who is plus sized and a huge book lover! I absolutely adored her and honestly would read more books with her featured in it. Theo is a former professional football player who is quite the mysterious and swoon-worthy male lead.

Lastly, it is evident that the author is a fan of books and libraries. As someone who is a huge library fan I loved to see that reflected on the pages. So many bookish elements throughout the book (that again I won’t share for spoilers sake). Just know that as a reader I was eating everything up!


Read if you like
💗 Best friends brother
💗 Fake dating
💗 Bookish life - FMC is a librarian
💗 Spiiiice

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading more by this author in the future!

When I saw the cover of this book, I immediately wanted to read it as a fellow fat girlie (Leni Kauffman's designs are always stunning!)

Admittedly, I was a tad apprehensive when I read the blurb as storylines that feature love triangles (or in this case a square) especially involving family can be tricky if not written with a certain amount of nuance. Having now read the story and given additional thought to how this particular love square turned out, while I did like the story, I do wonder if perhaps a different twist of the events leading to same outcome wouldn't have been a better choice.

That being said, there were some key themes which this book explored that I wish had been handled a bit differently. Notably among them, Marcela's self-perception and how this came out in her internal monologue. I am mindful that sometimes when a fat FMC is portrayed, some authors tend to skew to the FMC being hyper-confident and gloss over the challenges that that FMC would have had to overcome to develop that confidence (given societal pressures etc). I can appreciate the effort to not go this route and actually shed light on the aforementioned challenges with developing positive self-perception in this story, but there were a few places where I found Marcela's internal thoughts to be a bit off-putting.

However, all of the above notwithstanding. I liked the interaction between Theo and Marcela and how it blossomed even though it was a bit of an insta-love situation which all things considered may require a bit more suspension of disbelief than one may typically have to employ.

I am mindful that this is a debut novel and Gabriella Gamez has indeed done a commendable job (I should note if you like drama in your romances, this story *certainly* provided that). I look forward to reading Gamez's future work and seeing how her storytelling skills evolve.

Special thanks to Read Forever for providing a copy of the ARC.

Very cute easy going romance with interesting plot and character developments. While the bones of this book are all familiar, this romance has certain freshness to it. Set in San Antonio, it follows Marcela, a Latina YA librarian (never seen that profession in a book!) who is hopelessly in love with her just-a-friend guy Ben. Ben is about to marry Alice, Marcela's once close friend. Now, at their engagement party, Marcela overhears Ben's brother practicing a confession for Alice and saves him from himself. But the tangled web they weave is healing, romantic, fun, deep, and changes their lives. Really enjoyed this read and felt it was swoony, heart touching, healing, and deep.