I gasped on page two. I was absolutely ecstatic at the turn we took and the premise of the book. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy hanging out in Marcela’s head, and three chapters in, I lost interest. The writing is easy to follow. I would guess three to four stars for the target audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a love triangle? Love square? Ben loves Alice. Marcella loves Ben. Ben is besties with Marcella. Theo loves Alice. Theo and Ben are brothers. Simple, right?

My first Gabriella Gamez book and it won’t be my last! She did such a great job of building the relationship between Theo and “Marce.” I found myself smiling while reading their story!

Not suitable for teenage readers.
Tropes: Fake dating, professional athlete, plus size, open door romance.
🔥🔥🔥
🦋🦋🦋

Truly soooo cute!! I love the librarian romance aspect! And the idea that it’s her best friend, who is engaged!!!! I could cry! So freaking good!

I highly recommend reading The Next Best Fling for anyone who likes sport romances or the fake dating trope. Marcela and Theo have amazing chemistry and you will be rooting for them from the start.

Marcela and Theo are an unlikely couple and, boy, are they adorable. The Next Best Fling is the very best kind of messy. Marcela has a long time unrequited crush on Ben. Ben just got engaged to Alice who is the object of Theo’s affections. Theo and Ben are brothers. (Still with me?) What better way to get over a broken heart (or two) than a rebound fling? That’s the beginning for Marcela and Theo. What happens next is unpredictable and utterly enjoyable.

Gabriella Gamez has written a fun, flirty rom-com that touches on deeper issues of trust and self-acceptance. It captured my heart from the first page. Things I loved:
- Marcela is a librarian who loves books; really loves books.
- Some favorite tropes: fake dating and he falls first.
- Well written, plot advancing spice.

If you like your rom-coms sweet and spicy with characters who deserve a happy ever after, this is the book for you. With a release date of July9, 2024, it will be a perfect summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

THIS IS ADORABLE!

If you’re a fan of messy, messy romance books, this absolutely delivers. It also delivers an incredibly poignant lesson on recovering from trauma imposed on you (TW: parental abandonment) and a childhood full of toxic competition.

So, she (Marcela) is in love with her best friend (Ben). Ben’s brother (Theo) is in love with Ben’s new fiancé and long-term girlfriend (Alice).

This is already a lot of mess AND then Marcela catches Theo about to confess his love to Alice AT HER ENGAGEMENT PARTY and Marcela shoves him into an Uber to stop an impending kerfuffle.

The next day everyone assumes they hooked up and they go along with it. And keep going along with it.

They’re honest enough with one another about the fact that they are each into other people but that they enjoy spending time with one another. Their spicy scenes are so 🌶️🌶️🌶️. I love how much Theo validates her even when she’s insecure about being a curvy girl.

At times, she’s in awe of why this ex-NFL player would be into her and his response is some version of why would I not be into you? I LOVE this for her.

I also absolutely love seeing a woman who is confident and in love with her career. SHE’S A LIBRARIAN. And I truly love a book about books and seeing Marcela share her love of books with others makes me giddy. AND THEO DOES ONE OF THE SEXIEST BOOK THINGS I’VE EVER SEEN. It would have broken me in the best of ways.

Theo starts as someone who is hung up on someone unattainable but it’s really not long before he lays everything out for Marcela. He falls first. And hard. And over and over.

I’m in love with this one. Get your hands on it and all the copies on your shelf.

OK - I did not expect this book to have as much depth, heart and soul as it did (I judged the book by its cover).

This was an incredible story of healing, faith, love, trusting yourself and confidence. Marcela and Theo both jumped into something to heal a wound, to survive a pain that they were both feeling. They grew into falling in love, healing themselves and seeing the toxicity around them for what it really was.

5 stars.

I was HOOKED after the first few paragraphs. It’s clear that Gabriella Gamez is a talented writer. The Next Best Fling is the story of Marcela and Theo as they attempt to get over their exes- who just happen to be engaged to each other. To make matters more complicated, Marcela is in love with Theo’s brother.

This book was a solid 3 stars for me. I loved the authors writing style, but I would have liked to see some smoother transitions. I also didn’t really feel the connection between Theo and Marcela, and would have loved to see more “build” and development of their relationship. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves a good romance novel, fake dating, and a love triangle. I would definitely pick up the next book that this author puts out and can’t wait to see what is next in store for her! Thanks to the author and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

"The Next Best Fling" is the first book in Gabriella Gamez's new series, "Librarians in Love." (I'm a fan of a whole book series being centered around librarians!) In "The Next Best Fling", Marcela has been in love with her best friend, Ben, for years -- despite him being in a long term relationship. However, Ben is now preparing to propose to his girlfriend, and Marcela has to finally face the reality that she and Ben will never be together. At Ben's engagement party, she runs into his brother Theo, only to discover that Theo is actually in love with Ben's fiance! The two of them recognize how miserable the other one is, and a friendship develops -- that soon becomes something more.

I thought this was an original premise that was written very well, and I enjoyed the chemistry between Theo and Marcela. I was a little surprised that Ben became the "bad guy" towards the end, but I guess most everyone had a happy ending. The book was good, but there was something missing for me personally. However, I will certainly read another book by Gamez! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

As a librarian I really wanted to love this book about a romance between a librarian and an ex-football player. Unfortunately, the main characters didn’t draw me in enough to care about their story. I DNFed this before it even got spicy and that’s rare for me because sometimes well written spice will save a book. It looks like this is the beginning of a series, so I’m hopeful that they get better as the series builds.

I was HOOKED after the first few paragraphs. It’s clear that Gabriella Gamez is a talented writer. The Next Best Fling is the story of Marcela and Theo as they attempt to get over their exes- who just happen to be engaged to each other. To make matters more complicated, Marcela is in love with Theo’s brother.

This book was a solid 3 stars for me. I loved the authors writing style, but I would have liked to see some smoother transitions. I also didn’t really feel the connection between Theo and Marcela, and would have loved to see more “build” and development of their relationship. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves a good romance novel, fake dating, and a love triangle. I would definitely pick up the next book that this author puts out and can’t wait to see what is next in store for her! Thanks to the author and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I’d give it 3.75 stars if I could. It was a sweet, quick read. There were certain words that seemed over used and I wasn’t a fan of, such as “pining”. Think it would be great to use some synonyms there. Overall I had a hard time putting it down and am excited to check out other books from this author!

Thanks so much for the chance to read and review!

I love a good fake dating trope, and The Next Best Fling was just the right mix of messy and fun and unique. It was easy to like both main characters, and I enjoyed the vibe of falling in like (and then love) over the fading summer. I thought Gabriella Gamez did a wonderful job creating the worlds that Marcela (library) and Theo (football field) love for some of the more signifiant scenes. I look forward to seeing Marcela and Theo in the next book in the Librarians in Love series, and I'm excited about the other things that Gabriella Gamez has planned down the line.

This book was everything I need! I related to Marcela so much! As a kid I also spent everyday at my local library which was right behind my house. People I talked to most were the librarians who were 4 decades older than me. This book touched on so many of my emotions and childhood/family life. I can’t wait until this book comes out and I hope one day I can get a signed copy from the author because it’s truly amazing and deserves all the star ratings in the world.

I can definitely see the potential in this book. It was just…. Repetitive & felt like the story was just going in circles.

I think Marcela & Theo have a cute story but it could have been cuter if it weren’t for all the fluff & run around. I’ve read stories where there’s drama, scandals, dating as rebounds & then falling for each other but in the end of those stories, the characters swoop you off your feet. The characters were flat & I know Theo technically falls first & he did super cute things for Marcela but his character could have been better.

The epilogue was also anticlimactic, one that could have been in the book vs an epilogue. I kind of wish the epilogue had updates on Ben & Alice & what they’re doing & how their friendship status between the 4 of them ended. I mean, we know how it ended but let’s say, 6 months from now, what’s it like now? Are they still not talking? Did Ben forgive them? Just a little more pizazz.

A delightful read from a new-to-me author. I devoured this book in two sittings and highly recommend it!

The Next Best Fling centers around Marcela and Theo. Marcela has secretly pinned after her best friend for years, hoping for a second chance for them. When Ben, the best friend, gets engaged to Alice, his brother Theo shows up for the engagement party. Marcela stumbles upon the fact that Theo has feelings for Alice and prevents Theo’s attempt to confess his love for Alice at the engagement party.

Through a series of events, Marcela and Theo end up in a fling, covering up their feelings for the people they shouldn’t want, and being each other's rebound as a way to move on.

Oh my goodness. This book!!! I’m flailing… it’s so good!!! The experience reading this… I adored the beginning and it just got better and better as the story progressed. By the end, I felt so spoiled… there were so many memorable scenes/moments that I’ll take with me from this book. You’re simply going to adore Marcela and Theo.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The next best fling is about two characters who are secrtely in love with people that are engaged to be married. Marcela is in love with theo's brother and Theo is in love with his brother's fiancee. Marcela start a friendship with Theo that turns into more.

I really enjoyed this book! The writing was easy, to follow and still extremely entertaining. I ended up liking it even more than I expected to! The story was good, with a compelling plot that kept me engaged and wanting to finish the book!
My only complaint would be that I wish the Spanish parts were written in Spanish with footnotes or something. I love reading about other cultures and about people who don’t look like me so it always takes me out of the experience a little when the story is adjusted to make it easier for the reader. I don’t mind the extra work to make a more authentic story.
Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc of this book!

4.25⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I was a little nervous going into a story with not one but two characters with unrequited love but I really liked the way it was handled! Def gonna read more by this author in the future!