Maya and Skye go on a dating show with their mutual ex-boyfriend Jordy. Jordy is now a member of the royal family via his famous sister and is trying to rekindle the flame with one of his exes on the show. Maya goes on the show because she wants revenge, feeling as though Jordy screwed her over. Skye goes on the show because she wants him back.

I really enjoyed this LGBTQ+ YA romance. The characters in the book really mirrored so much of what we see on reality shows such as The Bachelor. Jordy was a good villain for the story, pitting Maya and Skye together.

I liked that they learned to communicate and overcome their disagreements to realize their feelings for each other. This was lots of fun.

A fun and unapologetically queer romp that incorporates the best of reality TV while shining a light on the underside of such a format.

You know how it is: your ex-boyfriend cheated on you, and now you're invited to compete on a Bachelor-style reality show where he's the main character and all the women are his exes. But you're only there for revenge, and have no interest in winning him back. Plus you're drawn to another of the contestants instead of your ex.

This was a fun revenge fantasy with a queer twist.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

While I appreciated the bi-representation between the two FMCs, the male lead was SUCH A TOOL BAG (and that's putting it nicely). Literally one of the worst male characters I've ever experienced in a romance book. Maya and Skye were two good female leads, but I never really felt a connection to either of them. While I liked the concept of someone wrangling up their exes to all live together and compete to see who was "the one that got away" on a reality show, the whole toxicity of the production crew seemingly not caring on the mental well-being of the girls was just "ick." Overall I gave this book 3 stars. It was just "okay" to me.

Book Review: Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales – A Working Mom's Take

As a busy working mom, I appreciate a light, entertaining read, and Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales was just the ticket! This fun, heartfelt story follows the ups and downs of a love triangle involving two exes and a new crush, all set against the backdrop of a chaotic school musical.

Gonzales captures the complexities of teenage relationships and the pressure of first loves in a relatable way. The characters are vibrant and authentic.

Final Thoughts: Never Ever Getting Back Together is a delightful, engaging read perfect for moms looking for a quick escape into the world of young love and friendship. It’s a charming reminder that sometimes the best stories come from the messiness of life!

I loved this book. Idk why it took me so long to read it it. But it was so good! I need the physical copy. It literally had me in from sentence one.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a great queer twist on reality tv and competition style stories. It follows two main characters as they are requested to try and getting back together with the same ex. However, as each tries to uncover the truth they start to learn more about each other and are drawn together. I loved how different the two main characters were but how they complimented each other. Honestly, great for anyone who has ever had a bad ex and wished they could watch them be taken down a notch or two in the process.

I went into this thinking it would be cute and ended up absolutely wrapped up. I loved this one!

I don't watch the dating shows or, really, any reality drama. Something about the second hand embarrassment and the drama just isn't really my jam. But this one was! I loved meeting Skye and Maya. I loved their slow burn of rivalry and anger to getting to know each other. And Jordy was perfect, just how much nothing seemed to stick and the way he worked around everything. I found the ending so satisfying. Such a fun read, and I highly recommend the audio. The narrator was wonderful!


A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I am such a sucker for reality show based romances. I liked the LGBTQ+ angle to this one and I found it to be a really enjoyable read.

4.5 Stars. I loved this book. It was just so fun. I loved the silliness of the reality TV show plot. It made for some great drama along the way. And I ate up the romance in this one. Two girls falling for each other on a reality show and getting revenge on their ex? Just lovely.

While I ended up rating this book pretty dang high for sheer entertainment value, it of course wasn't perfect. (Only Mostly Devastated remains BY FAR my favorite Sophie Gonzales book.) The characters and writing do fall a little flat, but overall this is a highly enjoyable read.

3.5 rounded up.

I love watching reality TV romance shows and loved the idea of the John Tucker Must Die vibes this was giving, so I was super excited for this read and while I had an absolute blast reading it (hence rounded up rather than down) it just fell really flat in many regards for me!

While the characters were really flushed out and wonderfully written, it did feel a lil hypocritical to frame Skye as this "calculating, logical person who sticks to the facts and not her heart" and then pages later have her immediately ignore the potential for being misinformed by her ex and immediately siding with him over another one of his ex's, rather than looking at it logically and trying to get facts before jumping to conclusions like she did. Not very girls, girl of her 🫣 And while I understood her insecurities, and admittedly Maya didn't necessarily hash out ever detail of her insecurities regarding Jordy raking her name thru the mud at ever turn it felt really dismissive of Skye for her to expect Maya to accept she needed to be the villain of the show (in the moment of the finale iykyk) to get their happy ending. All in all while Skye's insecurities were immensely relatable the way in which hers were handled ended up feeling very dismissive of Maya's two, leaving both in the wrong. I was happy with how everything wrapped up in the end with that last minute plot twist in the epilogue, but without that I won't lie I would've been a little salty on Maya's behalf towards Skye for awhile.

I have so many lovely things to say about everything in this book. Except for Jordy, that is. The jokes and the romance and the friendships and the overall girlpower, though? I am obsessed!

Ugh why did I request this book? This book is not for me. I tried. I really did. But I just can’t do it. Did not finish.

Okay, I am a sucker for the whole “dating reality show” trope, so I KNEW I was going to love this! Two get asked to participate in a reality show by their ex-boyfriend (who is now famous!) but - plot twist - they fall for each other instead. This book was so much fun! The main “cast” are eighteen year olds, so be mindful of that, but for what it was, I loved it!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

4.5

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for giving me an ARC of this title. As a long time fan of reality dating shows like Love Island, Too Hot To Handle, and The Bachelor, I was super excited to pick up this title. Never Ever Getting Back Together was an interesting subversion on the traditional reality dating show plot-line, with lovable characters like Skye and Maya and hate able characters like Jordy. The way Gonzales wrote him, a lying scheming manipulative narcissist that used the show to pad his own ego, hit home for me and a lot of over people who all knew a Jordy in our lives once. The revenge at the end was satisfying and helped to tie the book up into a neat little bow. I love the way Sophie Gonzales writes dialogue, she can make me hate or love a character based off the little nuances that she imbues into her storytelling. I gave this book a 4.5 out of 5 and I’m very excited to experience future releases!

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. Two women find themselves on a competitive dating show where they share the same ex, and instead of falling for the lead, they fall for each other. This book followed an interesting romance story with a hint of revenge, misunderstanding, and comedy. The island full of ex's was such an interesting concept and I really enjoyed this as a setting for an unlikely romance.

I deeply regret sleeping on this wonderful book. The characters were all so real and relatable, and the author did such a great job of portraying the perfect villain in such an (unfortunately) believable light. This book zipped right on by and I was left wanting more! Sophie Gonzales is talented at what she does and I can't wait to read more of her work!

Man, this book was awesome! It was filled with great emotions, strong characters, and an awesome plot. Half a point knocked off because it WAS very junior high/high school, and I'm occasionally out of that target zone as a grown adult who likes to read YA sometimes. 4.5 stars, rounded to 5!

The male main character in this book was absolutely terrible, which of course is the point but oh my lord it still deserves noting. Nothing like a terrible ex-boyfriend to bring 2 bi girlies together in solidarity, even if it takes some time to sort through the lies he told both of you. Anyway, douchecanoe central goes on a reality dating show where they bring back your exes for a second chance and he picks who he wants to re-date. But, what happens when 2 of the exes start secretly seeing each other during the show? Absolute chaos of course, but what else can you expect?

This was good, but not my favorite of Sophie;s. Figuring out the dude's lies felt like it took up too much on page time and I was getting frustrated by the delay in the aha moments. But, still worth a read.

Yeah, so what can I say, I liked this book and I’m so glad that Jordy got what he deserved in every way possible. The concept of this book struck me as kind of funny, going on a dating show to see if you can rekindle the love you had with an ex. I thought all the girls were written in a way that I would imagine a show like that to be, which was fun to read about. I did not expect was for the love to blossom the way that it did and I am here for it. I love the happy ending that we got and it was definitely the ending book deserved.