4/5 stars
2/5 spice

I love a book with positive plus size representation and the author did that so well with Marcella.

I related to the unrequited relationship aspect and all of the aspects of Ben and Marcella’s relationship throughout the book.

Marcella and Theo’s relationship might’ve started for the wrong reasons but seeing them both grow together to change what they thought they were capable of and becoming better was so beautiful to see.

The miscommunication between the characters in this book was a lot for me at times and I just wanted to scream at them to talk it out and stop having so many secrets! So if you like the miscommunication trope this book is definitely for you.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and being from Texas seeing the Texas aspects in it made me love it that much more.

A romance about a librarian? sign me up!

or wait, maybe not..........


I was looking forward to The Next Best Fling but it failed to meet expectations.
- the female mc kept ragging on the male mc for 'withholding information' but she was keeping pretty big secrets (knowing they'd bother him) for an extremely long time. He also kept baring his soul to her but she wouldn't tell him anything and deflected questions. I just knew this would lead to some messy conflict later and honestly didn't want to deal with it. If ya'll are falling for each other you should be able to talk about basic things. And to make it worse she knew she was doing all these things and not properly letting him know her.....but she didn't take timely steps to mitigate it.
- on that note, them 'falling for each other' was really uninteresting. All their conversations centered around the other people they were infatuated with (who both kinds sucked tbd). I want to see love interests pining for each other, not merely trying to hook up but always getting distracted because they actually like someone else.
- the female mc needs a new best friend. Because taking 8 years to suggest getting over an ex is really too long. And never bringing up how controlling and damaging said ex is......you're not looking out for your friend there

Love the cover and description, but had to quit this one - the writing style didn't quite work for me. I'm sure it will work for others, but this just wasn't the book for me right now.

I devoured this romance. Fake romance is one of my least fav tropes so I was coming to this with judgy eyes. The author took me by surprise on how organically she made them enter the scheme. I enjoyed the chemistry the two main characters have from the start. The mmc is perfection. Fmc was a bit annoying with her thinking process and insecurities. She was a powerhouse and didn’t see it. It’s so frustrating. She’s endearing though so it evens out. I enjoyed their romance.

Oh boy, I was on the edge of nervous anticipation during this entire book. The big reveal made me so anxious. However, I think the author pulled this off wonderfully! What a fantastic way to include so many wonderful things in one book!

I definitely would read more of this author! Thank you Forever for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this title to read and review. A 4.5 star read for me! This was such a delight, and I really enjoyed getting to know Theo and Marcela. I adored Marcela as a librarian who shares her own YA novels with teens at her library, and Theo seemed like a big ol' teddy bear that's impossible not to like. I would say that there was a bit of repetition in their story, in their insistence that they would just be each other's rebounds, and that I can't believe how long they were still hung up on their respective first loves - but overall it made for a fun scenario that brought them together and me into their lives for the ride. If this ends up being a series, sign me up!!

Let me tell you, I was INVESTED. Can you imagine being in love with your bestie for ten years but he has now gotten engaged to his girlfriend of 8 years, and you intercept his BROTHER from confessing HIS love to the fiancee?? My friends, I was hooked, I could not stop reading. I loved Marcela, I love the plus sized rep, the friendship with Angela, and the library (!!!)/being a librarian. And can I just say, I felt SO SEEN with the favorite book scene!! Also, Theo is such a cinnamon roll, I love him. Loved this book!!

I really enjoy a romance with many layers and The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez delivers.

Marcela has always been in love with her college best friend, Ben, but now that she's engaged, she realizes that it is time to move on from her perpetual broken heart. While at his engagement party, she stops Ben's brother, Theo, from confessing his love for Ben's fiancee. Marcela takes a drunk Theo home with her to avoid a scene at the party. The next day, at the engagement brunch, everyone assumes Marcela and Theo hooked up and they correct them.
So begins the romance of Marcela and Theo.

I really enjoyed the chemistry between our two main characters. It was very clear that if they had met first then they would have always been together. They are so sweet together and their communication is pretty good, except for the secrets that they keep from each other.
Theo is a cinnamon roll, this book is a slow burn, and Marcela is able to break free from a toxic relationship.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for a complimentary eARC of The Next Best Fling for my honest opinion. I honestly really liked it and I can't wait to grab a copy on July 9.

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't get into the characters. They both really annoyed me from the start and the whining and miscommunication was too much. Maybe it was the mood I was in but i just hated all these characters. Not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for ARC of this book.

Total romcom vibes!

What first drew me to this book was the art work on the cover and the fact it featured a plus size FMC.

Marcela and Theo take us on a cute, faking dating, let's stay away from the person we're pining after rollercoaster lol! As they grow closer as friends and being to navigate their growing feelings, we get to see how Marcela learns to look at other possibilities in love besides her best friend Ben, Theo's brother.

I really enjoyed the build up and interactions between the MMC and FMC. There was a good mix of funny, angst, passion and self-reflection within this debut romance.

As a new to me author, Gabriella Gamez definitely kept me interested and hooked the further I got into the book. I was definitely rooting for Marcela and Theo!

This was such a quick read I loved it! loved how this book touched upon real life issues along with being cute and funny. Fell in love with the character Marcella, quickly became one of my fav books characters ever! I’m always a sucker for the fake dating trope and would definitely recommend this! Really enjoyed how the story did not feel rush and I could see the character development!

I know it's only a couple months into the year, but this book is going in my top reads.

I COULDN'T GET ENOUGH!!

The plot, the characters, the steam, THE MESS. I absolutely love a messy story and this gave me all the messiness. So damn good.

📚 Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for honest review!

— fake dating
— love square
— unrequited love
— librarian / retired NFL player
— plus size fmc

Next Best Fling was super cute, fun, and easy read! I loved Gabriella's story telling and how light it felt, but also appreciated how she handled the more sensitive subjects for her characters. I haven't read a story with this kind of complicated love square (if you can even call if that?), but it was certainly interesting and I personally think she handled it really well! I also appreciated how she integrated the Mexican heritage into the story.

Marcela was such a fun character, I loved her librarian side and that her whole personality wasn't revolved around her being plus sized. I did, however, get a little lost when it came to why she pushed Theo away and was really struggling to completely understand her reasonings. Theo was also so good, though I wish we would've maybe met a friend or two of his from his NFL career? It felt very Marcela friends + family focused and I would've like to have seen more from Theo's side, at least in terms of friends.

Also the spice hit just right in this book. Some of the scenes had me fanning myself I was feeling a little warm 🥵 but it wasn't overplayed, either.

This was a very fun debut rom-com that did what it was supposed to do: I laughed, I swooned, I rooted for them… I got hooked and ended up speed reading the second half. Fake dating isn’t my favorite trope, but the setup for this situation felt fairly natural—a fling for two people to get over the people they want but can’t have. I really loved Marcela and Theo as a couple, and I enjoyed that he fully accepted what she saw as a flawed body. The rep was great! I’ll definitely be looking out for this author’s future books!

The Next Best Thing is a fake dating romance. The FMC is at her best friend’s engagement party. She has strong feelings for her best friend but she hasn’t told him. The FMC runs into her best friend’s brother. He is giving a practicing confessing his feelings for his brother’s fiancé. The FMC convinces him to leave the party and people think they are together. These two characters fake date so the people they have feelings for don’t figure it out. This was a cute romance with spice. I enjoyed the characters.

this was a cute debut novel, the concept was different and took me a while to get into but the cute moments were great. I don't love the idea of people being each other's rebound but there were still plenty of swoon worthy times in this story. So overall, I enjoyed it.

Sad to say this but I did not finish this book. It didn’t keep me engaged. The plot is one I like and the writing isn’t bad at all, it just wasn’t for me. I’m sure others will love it. I hate giving a DNF review when it’s a me thing and not an author thing.

This was a fun, if slightly melodramatic debut novel by an exciting new voice. The characters were well rounded (although I wanted more of Alice and Marcela's back story) and it balanced emotion and spice nicely.

This was a wonderful story of a woman who is just trying to find love and finds herself in a tricky situation.

I enjoyed this book! Some points felt like they went on a little too long but I loved how the MMC let the FMC figure things out. This book did make me stressed though bc it had the miscommunication vibes and that always gets me.


Read this book if you like fake dating, best friends brother, sweet sweet book references, and plus size love! I loved that the discussions about her body were very realistic and never with the MMC.

This was so cute! Who knew that a love square would be a thing I enjoyed reading about?! It was messy but in the best way possible. Marcela & Theo had such amazing chemistry. I loved seeing them open up to each other. I was smiling from ear to ear with that bookish surprise. I loved Marcela so much. I could really relate to her especially when it came to dating as a plus size woman. I cannot wait to see what’s next from Gabriella Gamez!