The Starter Ex was an okay read for me. I usually enjoy Mia Sosa’s blend of humor and romance, and while there were definitely fun moments here, I struggled to fully connect with the story and characters. The premise had a lot of potential, but I found myself wanting more spark and depth in the romance to really keep me invested.
That said, Sosa’s writing is engaging and easy to read, and I did enjoy some of the banter and lighter moments. While this wasn’t a favorite for me, I know other readers will connect more with the characters and storyline.

was a fun , easy read romcom! cute story perfect for a palate cleanser! i like it! i would have liked a little more build up between the characters in the beginning though

This book definitely gave me fun Rom-Com vibes! The whole “fake dating without realizing it’s fake dating” storyline reminded me of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and had me smiling. The chemistry between the characters was sweet, and I really enjoyed the cultural touches and the knowledge of Latino traditions woven throughout.

That said, I did find a couple of things a little odd. Lilly wanting her sister to be her “starter ex” didn’t totally click for me, but I went along with it. What stood out more was how often people were described as “a white guy” or “a white lady”, those details felt unnecessary and pulled me out of the story instead of adding to it.

Overall, it was a cute read with good character chemistry and a lighthearted tone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the opportunity to read this eARC. I truly enjoyed this book because the banter was so cute between our main characters.

Our main character, Vanessa, has made a supplemental income in college as being a “starter ex” who will date your crush and becomes a horrible girlfriend. I really enjoyed the minor characters as well except for Vanessa’s sister. It seems like it would be problematic to date your sister’s crush and as times it took me out of the story because I kept wondering how this could end without either destroying the family or the couple.
However, Mia Sosa was able to write a wonderful story that did have a fun and cute ending.

I would recommend this for anyone looking for a cute romantic book with great banter.

This book had me giddy, squealing and also yelling at the characters. A perfect recipe for a good time. 🤭

For the first time EVER the FMC had my same name and it was so trippy but I loved it!! A boricua Vanessa represented on paper?! YES PLEASE!! 🇵🇷 Mia included so many special boricua and latiné touches to this story - they were giving me flashbacks to all the quinces I attended in my childhood and the family dinners (including the flan!!) I still have with my parents today. 🩷

Blurb: Vanessa comes up with a side hustle in college that she coins “the starter ex”. For a fee she’ll date your crush and make his life miserable - so much so that in turn he’ll run for the hills and fall for her client instead. And as crazy as it sounds it works the majority of the time!

But when Vanessa’s sister, Lisa, asks her to revive her college scheme to help her land her latest crush: Jason, Vanessa hesitates… but her desire to please her sister overrides her pause and she’s back to being “the starter ex”. The rules are simple: no touching, no fooling around, and definitely no falling in love. But nothing's going according to plan and Jason doesn’t seem affected by her usual antics.

This was a really cute story with really meaningful representation and the inclusion of the identity issues so many of us first-generation latinos are faced with. I loved seeing myself and my own identity issues play out in this story. I also loved the whole starter ex concept! Super clever and unique.

This was such an adorable read. Part heart warming story focused on family and identity and part steamy romance between 2 people who seemingly can’t seem to get enough of each other - even though that’s the opposite of what either one wants. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster but dang, it’s one hell of a good time.
4.25⭐️ from me!!

Thank you netgalley and Putnam for the opportunity to read this book prior to its release!!

A pretty easy read. Jason and Vanessa were fun characters to read about. The plot of the book was fun, but felt a bit flat at times. I enjoyed the family dynamics within the book and how both characters related to their families. The circumstances surrounding Vanessa’s return I felt distracted from the romance and caused unnecessary tension within the story when there was plenty between the the characters because of the starter ex plot and family tensions because of everything else happening in the book

I wasn’t expecting to adore this book as much as I did. The description provides a little teaser of what to expect but there’s so much more to this story.
Vanessa created a little side hustle in college where she helped other woman who were looking to attract a man by being a nightmare girlfriend so the other girl would seem perfect for him. Strangely enough her estranged sister is interested in having Vanessa do this for her and things get messy when Vanessa catches feelings for the intended guy. There’s a twist that happens halfway into this story that I found interesting and looked forward to how the plot would develop around this twist. I liked the layers that the two main characters revealed about their pasts and it gave depth to the story and the character development. Really liked this one! Narration is duel voiced and it was excellent.

Would the premise of this book be incredibly toxic in real life? Yes. Does it also remind me of all of my favorite romcoms? Also yes.

The premise of The Starter Ex is that our main character, Vanessa, would be a toxic "starter ex" for hire to not so gently push a guy into the "clearly better option" of the person who hired her. Vanessa left this grift behind in college, but is forced to come out of retirement to reconnect with her sister by pushing her sister Lisa's crush, Jason, towards Lisa. What could go wrong?

I love how much culture is infused into the book, including the subplot on saving Vanessa & Lisa's family's bodega, a long term pillar in their area in Spanish Harlem.

Absolutely 10/10 deserves to be a movie! Jason's birthday scene? I'd kill to see that reenacted!

I did learn that this book was originally written in audio-only format, and I do think it reads a bit like it, but surprisingly not in a bad way. It's dialogue heavy, for sure, but I think that makes it seem like an even easier conversion to a screenplay! 

Recommend if you love 90s romcoms, but with a diverse cast.

Do not recommend if you can't overlook a kinda toxic — but hilarious — premise.

Shoutout to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

I enjoyed it—it was fun, quirky and steamy in all the right moments. I loved getting both perspectives the whole time because we were able to follow the thought processes for both main characters. They both felt equally depth and intriguing. I think my biggest hesitation for the book is just believing that any grown adult let alone a couple of them, would think the idea to be smart. And yes it’s a book, but dating your sister’s crush in order to get him to dump you and date her is insanity! But nonetheless it was cute and a fun read and I enjoyed it!

Suuuper fun in the same vein of how to lose a guy in 10 days!! I love a good rom com trope and I thought the relationship between Vanessa and Jason flowed and developed SO naturally. I loved their antics they got into with each other and how well they played off of each other. The side characters were so fun and I adored the Lisa and Denise twist at the end. Definitely didn’t see that one coming. This was just such a fun sweet read with a lovely wrap up ending. I also loved reading about the culture of the New York neighborhoods and their efforts to keep it what is it.

Cute rom-com story and plot. This is a fast read and the characters aren’t incredibly developed, and the plot is fairly predictable, but I was still rooting for the happy ending. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved this story! Mia Sosa does it again. Vanessa is a real character so like many of us with insecurities and reading how she and Jason fall in love was a perfect read. Will totallyread this one again and I don’t normally do that!

Really enjoyed this one!!!!

I am not huge on this type of romance I’m more of a fantasy person but I loved this!

First off, I really was draw to this book by the cover. I loved the beautiful colors and the use of different ethnicities displayed on the cover. I love any book that has a diverse list of characters, and Mia Sosa's The Starter Ex did not disappoint. Reading about the subtle ways culture bleeds through the page was so refreshing, and I loved learning bits and pieces of things through this read.

I really enjoyed Mia Sosa's writing! The banter was so fun to read and the story came completely full circle. Jason and Vanessa were super fun, and I can definitely see these two on the big screen someday! This story reads like a movie. Would absolutely recommend this book if you're looking for something romantic with cultural representation throughout. Loved every second.

My only complaint is that I wished the book was a little bit longer, to dive into the two main characters a tad bit more and unpack the trauma they both carried. The book honestly has the perfect amount of spice, and doesn't over do the explicit content, so I was pleased there as well.

And lastly, thank you to everyone involved with my ARC approval! <3

Of course! Here’s a clean, copy-and-paste-friendly version of the three-star review for *The Starter Ex* by Mia Sosa:

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*The Starter Ex* is a quirky, fun rom-com with a setup that feels both playful and a bit predictable. Vanessa’s side-hustle as a “starter ex” — hired to date your crush and be a total nightmare — is clever and had me giggling, especially as she tries (and predictably fails) to play the worst girlfriend to push Jason toward her sister. There’s great cultural flavor, NYC vibes, and entertaining banter that gave it a lively spark, but a few moments felt formulaic and some of Vanessa’s inner angst seemed to carry on longer than necessary. Still, it’s an easy, lighthearted read — with just enough heart to make it solidly three stars.

Thanks for the fun rom-com read!! It gave how to lose a guy vibes mixed with hitch. I love that both the main characters were Latin although one didn’t fit the stereotype!
The romantic scenes were great too without eating up the whole book and plot!
The banter was cute and I was curious from page 1 how this all would unfold!

I love this book! It is so hilarious, and I can't get enough of Mia's books! From Love on Cue to The Worst Best Man, Mia has been writing my favorite books for years, amd every single one of them sizzles and hits! Loved every second of this book in particular! I loved the premise of a one-way fake dating plot with forced proximity and seriously good witty banter! A+ writing again!!

This one gave me vibes of Love, Theoretically because of the fake girlfriend for hire, but there's also a bit of a mixup with how to lose a guy in 10 days because she's trying to make the guys kind of run away from her.

I do have to say the story turned out a bit different than I expected. And it's not that I wanted the sisters to end up fighting or something but I did expect a lot more chaos and it was all so easy and predictable.

Thanks a lot to Netgalley for this ARC!

Vanessa and Jason were a hilarious couple to read! They honestly were so similar, I felt sad for Vanessa at times because she literally villainized herself. She moved far away from her family just because if the incident and after that she just kept away even though her family forgave her. I really liked how she wanted to repair her relationship with her family especially her sister, she didn’t want to “date” Jason but she did it for her little sister. I like that the plot twist that happened halfway through the book, it made things interesting.

This book was such a fun, relatable read! I loved reading Jason and Vanessa’s love story. Told in dual POV it was hard not to understand and want to root for both of their happy endings.

Vanessa was also a very relatable MC as someone that also had the expectations of being the oldest daughter in a minority household. Even more relatable between the both of them is the constant nagging from family on relationship status.

I felt like the book was overall paced pretty well too and I really enjoyed the banter between the two MCs. It felt pretty organic how their relationship developed between all the shenanigans, but the ending may have just felt a tad bit rushed to tie up all the loose ends to their HEA.