Fake dating because you’re in love with the individuals in another couple who are getting married, one of whom is the MMC’s brother, is too messy for me.

Fat FMC • librarian • NFL player • fake dating • rebound • 1st person POV

Likes:
-Marcela’s passion for her job as a librarian was so cute!
-Theo being passionate about Marc’s job too was adorableeee!
-The fat FMC rep was great!
-While the basic plot of this wasn’t for me, I will read more from this author in the future

Dislikes:
-Too many “almost” spicy moments due to interruptions 🙄
-The whole premise was a setup for disappointment actually
-The characters kept going around in circles
-I got weird vibes from one character, but all of a sudden in the end he’s the big bad villain & the root of everyone’s problems…? It didn’t track for me and felt like a scapegoat for poor writing

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Look - if I stay up past my bedtime to finish a book, you know it’s worth reading. In fact, I read this one all in the span of a few hours one evening. I adored Marcela’s underlying fierceness and hated how much she lost of herself in the name of her “best friend” and secret crush, Ben. Theo has definitely gone through a lot, between relationships with his family and persistent injuries as a football player, not to mention his one-way feelings toward his sister’s fiancee. While they both could have certainly been more forthcoming at various points in the story, it’s easy to see why they felt they needed to guard their hearts while their “fake” relationship started to become a thing all on its own. There were quite a few unexpected moments, enough that I couldn’t put down the book and needed to know how things ended.

If you liked the vibes of Kate Winslet’s character/storyline in The Holiday (especially hating Jasper Bloom obvi), if you like bookish characters (especially those trying to help increase diverse reads for teens!), and if you are looking for some characters who feel extremely real and messy, I cannot recommend The Next Best Fling enough.

Thank you Netgalley and @ReadForeverPub for the advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and ReadForever publisher for the advance read of this adorable book. All opinions are my own.

This book was so darn cute and managed to hit on some fairly serious topics at the same time. The overview of two people coming together and fake dating to try and act normal when their love interests are engaged is by no means groundbreaking, but the execution made it exquisite!

Somehow, in the middle of a romcom, we ended up with a perfect depiction of how factors like parental abandonment and experiences with fat phobia create deep rooted insecurities. And I am here for it. So often, if these topics are touched on at all, it’s way too lighthearted or even talked about as a joke. It was so refreshing to see them realized in a serious manner even within such a light and fun read.

Also: so healthy! It’s rare for me to find a book where characters need to take a step back from each other and then actually do it. Everything was resolved exactly the way I wanted at the end (no spoilers - so I can say no more).

I’m so glad I pushed outside my usual fantasy genre to enjoy this one.