Javi and Mari have been friends since college but have had many on-again/off-again moments through their 12-year friendship. The story starts with Mari telling Javi she's engaged to someone else. just when he was about to tell her that he became a man who deserves her. The book jumps between the present and their past, showing how it all led to this moment.
This book was fun, but definitely not my favorite of her books. I wish they had gotten together closer to the end, it didn't feel rushed but it left me wanting more of them actually being together.

I had a great time. I had a lovely time. Mia is the queen of books that feel like 90's rom coms in a good way. I am obsessed with all of this.

DNF @ 39%

I’m usually a fan of second chance romances, told in alternating then and now timelines. However, I really did not enjoy the “then” timeline for Javi and Mari. Something about the way the two interacted as friends just wasn’t compelling to me that they would ever be anything more, and it made it difficult to fully immerse myself in the story. Unfortunately, a DNF for me (though I continue to love Mia Sosa).

Thank-you to author Mia Sosa, the publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book. Unfortunately-due to illness I wasn't able to read the book before it was published.
This is a story of best friends of Javi and Mari that met in college. This story fluctuates between the past and the current. We track their friendship progression and see that there is more than friendship between the two.
If you like friends to lovers than this is the book for you.
#netgalley #whenjavidumpedmari

I LOVED this. A perfect best friends to lovers!

Javi and Mari meet in college, they’re totally into each other, but instead of getting together they totally put each other in the friend zone.

We get a mix of their past and present POV as they move on after college, staying close, then Javi ghosting her for like 6 years, running into each other, and completely pushing each other away while also keeping one another from dating anyone else 😂. Like, friends, you should have been lovers immediately I cannot 😂. But they both had some growing up to do and also Mari’s dad is the worst, causing problems left and right.

Overall, this was a solid rom-com. I enjoyed listening to it so much and constantly being like omg just be together already! 😂

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

There is just something about Mia Sosas writing that I just love!
This one went a bit too emotionally heavy for me but the humor, the friendships, the tension and romance were all doing everything right for me.
some pointers:
○Javi/Mari
○Latinx rep
○friends to lovers
○girl boss
○play scriptwriter
○on page smut (3+ scenes)
○"I object" speak now scene

Thank you to the publisher for the copy !

Thank you Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the free e-arc and finished copy. I love Mia Sosa and this book is phenomenal. It takes a great talent to have dual timelines in a book and for me to absolutely love it. I love how it was weaved from then and now from alternating pov.

Suggest giving it a try.

4.5/5☆

Javi is down bad for Mari and I ate up every second of it. I love a good friends to lovers romance and this was the perfect book for it. I like that Javi took time to grow into the person he needed to be to have a solid relationship with Mari even though it was the harder decision to make. This did cause some miscommunication but I think it was necessary for their relationship to grow.

I always enjoy flashbacks in books and if you do too, this a great option. We get to see Javi and Mari when they first meet in college and then different times in their lives before Mari's wedding. These scenes made me root for them even more and understand why Javi needed to work on himself before committing to a relationship.

I would absolutely recommend this book and I can't wait to read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the e-book copy!

I wanted to like this as I found this author's debut novel to be pretty solid but this book just pissed me off. I did not think Javi had no right to Mari just because he was her friend who stuck around. He also barely proved himself in the present to make me want to root for him. I honestly wanted Mari to end up alone and not be with either man. I ended up DNF'ing this halfway through as I couldn't stand the characters and their actions.

4.5 Javi and Mari have my heart! The self sacrifice by Javi to try to make sure Mari never has to compromise on what she wants even if that means he breaks his own heart in the process. The way Mari finally realizes she’s been in love with Javi always and her friends all just go “FINALLY!” I was laughing, I was swooning, I was cussing her dad out, absolutely loved this

This book was cute. I enjoyed the flashbacks and figuring out how their story would unfold in both past and present timelines. I think some readers will not like that the main character is engaged (at the beginning) and there is that underlining cheating potential through the present timeline. However, it is very clear that Javi is endgame and the reader just needs to wait and see how it unfolds. It reminded me of My Best Friend's Wedding at times but with a HEA for Javi and Mari of course! The way they get there is fun and I enjoyed seeing how they would figure it all out.

I really wanted to love this but it made me so mad multiple times throughout the book. Will they won’t they for a decade and she goes to the alter at the end with another man who she’s engaged to throughout the book just really grind my gears. There were times I liked Javi and Mari and times they annoyed me because they did some stupid things. Their words never matched their actions. They didn’t have any real cute romantic scenes besides them falling into bed with one another and then leaving it as just friends - this was pure torture 😭 this felt like the movie Materialistic in a way. Why does the Pedro Pascal character have to be the false perfect guy who’s really not all that perfect for the FMC!?

This book is SO messy and these two are constantly playing in front of each other’s and MY face.

I did have fun and I couldn’t put it down but I hate when a book makes me so mad 😭

🚨 SPOILERS:

Pros:
- I did love the Latinx representation it’s what kept me reading the book.
- I love how different college Javi and Mari were from adult Javi and Mari. You really show their growth throughout the book.
- The sabotage that Javi and Alex did to one another was actually really entertaining. Alex said he wasn’t insecure and yet Javi still got to him.

Cons:
- Mari was engaged to someone else the entire book….
- Mari knew Javi would shut down Alex so she didn’t tell him about him until they were engaged on purpose and then she asks him to be her man of honor and made him go to her bachelorette 😭 just diabolical!
- At the beginning you think that they don’t know each other like one another the whole time/miscommunication BUT THEY DO KNOW!!

Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Group Putnam for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!

I liked the Latinx rep and I don't necessarily think Javi or Mari are poorly constructed characters. But the boredom levels I felt while reading this were through the roof.

Who this book is for: Contemporary Romance readers who enjoy second-chance style romances with dual time lines and dual POV's. Readers who are okay with years of pining and stupid decisions and communication errors.

What this book did right: Latin rep, portrayal of foods and cultures (this book made me hungry!), *apparently* the smut scenes (I didn't make it that far but my friends who liked the book said they liked them).

This one is definitely a me thing. Contemporary Romance just isn't enough for me right now. I need some other plot elements to hold my attention. I think if you enjoy these types of books, you'll enjoy this one.

“A fun and flirty rom-com about a pact between friends that goes awry when one of them unexpectedly announces they're getting married.”

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again…if Mia Sosa writes it I will read it. Her books constantly make me laugh out loud and this one was no exception.

I'm a sucker for dual timeline books and “childhood” friends to lovers and this was able to deliver on both counts. Both main characters were excellent and I really fell in love with both Javi and Mari. You can see the way Javi feels about Mari from the very beginning of the book. And after that you’re just begging them to get together because they are perfect for each other.

Overall a great rom-com with dual time lines and just the right amount of banter.

A very special Thank You to NetGalley and the Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Javi Dumped Mari was my first book by Mia Sosa and I loved it. I loved the friendship and history between Javi and Mia. I’m usually not a fan of slow burn but I thought this was perfect. This dual POV with latine representation had me sucked in from the start with the flashbacks and their meet cute to their banter and happily ever after.

3.5 stars. Javi and Mari meet in college and although they did not become instant friends they ended up developing a good friendship that continued after college. They make a cute pact to help each other out by vetting potential dating partners. Javi has always had strong feelings for Mari but never declared his feelings and when he suddenly finds out she is getting married is when he needs to go in fully and vet this guy. When I read this I thought it would give us a lot more action of Javi making his efforts to finally confess his love to Mari or do some grand gestures to show her he’s the right one for her but I feel I never got that in the story. Javi mostly continued to go along and be passive and “somewhat supportive” of Mari’s choice to get married quickly. I can appreciate that he cared for her so much that her happiness was his main priority but I found myself saying so many times “come on Javi has algo!!” lol

Firstly, let me share some of the things I really enjoyed about this book. I loved the Latinx rep. Javi (Puerto Rican) and Mari (Brazilian). I loved that the author included throughout the book small moments of conversations in Spanish and Portuguese. I do speak Spanish fluently so it was nice to see some of their culture integrated. There were many moments throughout the book I thought were cute. A lot of their responses to each other as well as struggles felt very realistic. For example, the pressure of feeling the need to be successful after college due to internal and external pressures. Although, Javi’s lack of communication made me want to give him a few slaps at times lol I can understand how his internal dialogue and struggles led to difficulty with being more assertive or going after what he wanted. So I appreciated that realistic aspect of it. When we’ve gone through situations in life where we have felt wronged or not good enough it can impact many aspects of our life including relationships. I did find myself enjoying the epilogue more than I expected. Normally epilogues don’t interest me as much but I think this one was done well and I actually could feel more of their connection in the epilogue than throughout the book.

Some of the things I wish I could have seen more of was more detail about their strengths in the friendship and the development. It often said they were really strong friends in college but I feel I never got that feeling from the writing. It was more told to us directly rather than us picking up on that from the writing. I also felt a bit confused about how they went 6 years suddenly without speaking especially since they had a strong relationship. I didn’t understand how they did not reach out once, especially if they felt so close to each other.

This was a fun, easy read with Sosa’s usual humor, but it didn’t totally land for me. The title felt a bit misleading and the central conflict seemed unnecessary.

Their dynamic had its cute moments, but honestly, Javi often felt more like Mari’s gay bestie than a romantic lead. I struggled to see the chemistry or believe she’d really fall for him. The story had potential, and I loved the cultural touches and family themes, but the romance didn’t fully convince me. A decent rom-com if you go in with the right expectations.

I have read a few Mia Sosa books now. She hit it out of the park with this one as well. I loved the foundation of this book. It definitely reminded me of the Patrick Dempsey best friend’s wedding set up. I enjoyed seeing the relationship of the main characters in flashbacks and how it tied together in the future..
I felt like this book was a nice warm hug. I caught myself smiling throughout the book and laughing. Mia was able to write such tender moments along with laugh out loud moments.

This book at its core was about figuring out what you want out of life.
Definitely recommend if romcom is your cup of tea.

Mari and Javi have been best friends ever since meeting in college. They both agreed not to jeopardize their friendship by sleeping together, so all potential partners must be vetted by the other. When Mari unexpectedly announces she’s engaged to a man Javi has never met, alarm bells ring. Especially since Javi was just about to profess his love to Mari. Now Javi must either find a flaw in Mari’s fiancé or watch her get married to another man. Will Mari cave to her father’s expectations and marry her professional equal, or follow her heart?

Usually I’m not a huge fan of jumping back and forth on a timeline, but in this case the format worked really well to establish Javi’s and Mari’s relationship. I think we can all connect with Javi feeling like he’s worthy of Mari and that he wants to be in a more secure place in his life before starting a relationship. Mari feeling indebted to her father and wanting to please him relates to us all of us with familial expectations. Not to mention the supporting characters and the prevailing theme of friendship. I could not love this romance more!

Give me a friends to lovers/second chance/whatever the hell this was any day. I absolutely ate this book up! Mia Sosa always writes a fantastic romance and this was no exception!