I might be a bit biased because I love Sophie Gonzales books, but I really enjoyed this read!
loved all the drama and the bisexual representation, really happy to see more girl on girl stories
also I tend to hate anything reality tv show related so I was a bit worried that would make me
struggle to read but in this case it was no trouble at all

I absolutely adored this! A bisexual girl enters a reality dating show to get back at her ex, only to fall for another girl on the show and this is literally everything. Maya and Skye were both interesting and very well-developed mcs. Their romance was delightful and refreshing and wonderful and knocked me on my ass.
Anytime Sophie Gonzales writes another book, I will want to read it in a heartbeat.
I cannot express how much I adore this sapphic YA rom-com, how highly I recommend it!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

PERFECTION. i love every single thing written by Sophie Gonzales and this was no exception. Maya and Skye were perfect narrators, the drama of the reality tv behind the scenes and just everything about this story was incredible. I loved every character (except Jordy for obvious reasons) and the ending was everything. When I say I devoured this, I’m not exaggerating. I finished this in mere hours and I wanted to start back from the beginning as soon as it was over.
Thank you so much to Wednesday books & netgalley pals for sending me an early e-arc. Will definitely be rereading this one in the future.

Between this and The Charm Offensive I'm going to need Bachelor-esque romance books to become a bigger thing because I loved this! From the very first chapter, I couldn't put it down, wanting to know how things would end for Maya and Skye and I can happily say that the ending does NOT disappoint! Sophie Gonzales has just such a perfect way with words (and especially dialogue) that makes it so easy to imagine the story and characters playing out. And as a (guilty pleasure) fan of The Bachelor, this was the story I've been waiting to happen. Definitely a favorite of the year for me!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a digital arc of this book in exchange for a review!

When I read the description for this book, I was immediately hooked and excited to read it. The premise is that Maya dated this guy two years ago, but they broke up because he cheated on her after he moved to Canada. Her ex's (Jordy) sister married into the royal family and since he is not in the limelight, he is getting a reality tv dating show where all of the contestants are his ex's. Maya agrees to go on the show with the intention of winning it and then humiliating Jordy on national tv by recounting the tale of their relationship and how he cheated on her.
She gets there and discovers that she'll be sharing a room with Skye, the girl he cheated on her with. They butt heads at first, but then after they communicate with each other, they realize they have no reason to hate each other, become friends, and soon fall for each other.
This book did a good job of showing the reader, right off the bat, how horrible and manipulative Jordy is. This story is told through dual POV of Maya and Skye, so we see how Jordy used the same lines on them and pitted them against each other by painting the other as the person that was in the wrong, and leaving him in the clear.
A lot of dating shows where girls are competing for a guy can be really toxic, so it was really nice to see how all the girls became friends, even though it wasn't immediate, supported each other, and realized that the only enemy in their situation was Jordy.
Initially, Maya is under the impression that Skye knew the Jordy had a girlfriend when they met and still pursued him anyway, while Skye thinks that Maya just didn't take the breakup well and was deluded into thinking they weren't together anymore, because that is what Jordy told her. Maya shows Skye proof that her version of events is correct, ending the animosity between the two girls and Skye agrees to help Maya with her revenge plan.
Skye is very cautious about making things between her and Maya serious because the only serious relationship she had was with Jordy, and it started with her being the other woman and ended with him moving and completely ghosting her. However, after Maya spends the night with Jordy, they both are able to admit their feelings and that they don't want to be casual anymore and decide that after the show is over, they will figure out their relationship (labels, long distance, etc.).
Much like another Sophie Gonzales book that I read, it was really nice to see a healthy and happy queer relationship, especially between two women. I enjoyed seeing each of their character development over the course of the book.
Skye started off as very untrusting and closed off, but as the story progresses you see her open up to Maya and accept her love, trust her, and give her a second chance at the end, which at the beginning of the book is something that she said she never does. Maya started off by holding a grudge against Jordy and revenge was her number one priority. Even though it takes until the end of the book, Maya eventually does realize that there are more important things in her life that she should definitely be focusing on and prioritizing over Jordy. (ps - never trust a man with a J name). Maya also starts out the book with a plan to go to college and become a doctor because it is was the people around her expect of her, but at the end of the book she is joining Skye in Europe.
At different instances in the book, you see Maya and Skye do and say things because of Jordy, mostly to spite him. For example, a reason that Maya wants to go to college is because Jordy never expected her to; and Skye cut her hair into a pixie cut after Jordy told her he liked how she grew it out (slay). When Maya had her whole live stream take down planned, she decided to not do it because it was exactly was Jordy was expecting.
I had so much fun reading this book. The story had me hooked from the very beginning and I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. Maya and Skye are great main characters and the queer representation was really good. I give this book 4.5 stars. Slay.

Sophie Gonzales has done it yet again. Never Ever Getting Back Together is a charming, drama-filled extravaganza that I couldn’t get enough of. Packed with Sophie Gonzales’ trademark humour and swoon-worthy romance, this is a can’t miss YA release of this year.

I always praise the way Gonzales’ ability to craft characters who aren’t perfect and often make flawed choices, but having the reader always understand exactly where they are coming from so it’s impossible to be entirely frustrated. This is definitely true here. Both Maya and Skye are well rounded, their perspectives and emotions explored in depth. You know exactly who they are and what they stand for.

The romance was, of course, fabulous. It takes its time building up, never feeling too rushed or underdeveloped. The attraction isn’t forced, the banter natural.

The reality TV aspect felt super realistic, scripted lines, fake emotions and all. The hijincks that went along with it were really fun. The way those fun moments and experiences, the extravagance, was paired with false reality really made it feel like a larger than life experience feeling that reality TV aims for. The essence is captured perfectly.

This is my fifth book from Sophie Gonzales now, and my fifth 5 star for her. She is truly just exceptional. If you need a sapphic romance filled with the shocks that come along with reality TV (and you DO need it, believe me), look no further.

AAAAAAAAAAA my goshhhhhh I absolutely DEVOURED this!

1. The humor was everything. Anyone who knows sophie gonzales knows her humor is incomparable, and I don’t think I need to say much more here. A rom-com that actually has comedy, not just lightness. I had tears from laughing at points (the kayak scene especially. Oh and the presentation!)

2. As far as characters, these are actually a lot more “likable” than sophie’s usual, but I was all for it. I say likable in quotes because I always like her characters, but these ones are just so very very *good* down to their souls (especially Maya. Maybe Skye is a little more gray now that I think on it.) Not only that, but we have a wonderful array of side characters (my favorite was Francesca hands down), who are complex and flawed and distinct from each other, and we have a story that really nails the line between realistic conflict and girl-hate. I was curious to see how this would be handled given the premise, but I shouldn’t have worried. The support all these girls show each other warmed my cold cold heart. And Jordy as the villain was simply *chefs kiss*, he really is deliciously hateable, with juuuust enough warmth that we can see why people would like him. It’s easy to fall into the trap of making the villain too cartoonish, which makes you wonder if the girls are just idiots for liking him to begin with, but we see that softer side, and his manipulation, which makes it SO effective.

3. The writing: sophie keeps growing as a writer, and as someone who has read three of her books, I can really tell. The perspectives are remarkably distinct, so we get a real sense of the characters (energetic, vibrant, impulsive, swear-happy Maya vs calm, observant, more reserved skye), and there are some truly beautiful lines (when you trust someone not to hurt you, red flags look heart-shaped” actually murdered me). The pacing was excellent, which I’m sure was helped by the premise. When you have a different episode to shoot every week, there’s always a sense of movement and something going on.

4. Ok no spoilers but there were some TWISTS in this toward the end that I did NOT see coming and blew my mind a little. We had some game of thrones style plotting and counter plotting going on for a chapter or two there and I was living for it. The whole book was fun, but this section around the finale episode was my favorite part. Also, the plot itself was really well-executed, and I didn’t see a lot of it coming. I knew in a general sense where we were going (obviously we know maya and skye are end game) but I thought one of them was going to fall for Jordy again, or get jealous over Jordy, and what we got was very much not-that, which made me very happy.


5. As a huge reality show fan, I was living for all the references, and the general satire of these shows. It never felt like it was being too cruel and nasty about them, though. Like, it didn’t resort to taking cheap shots at people who enjoy them, or people who go on them. Instead, it just amped up the ridiculousness of it all so the audience could laugh with Maya and Skye.

6. Speaking of Maya and Skye, the passion between these two was unparalleled. I could really see why they fit together, with Maya helping Skye to cooperate and team up and let someone else in, and Skye helping Maya to focus more on what she wants to do than what people think of her if she does it. They had all these adorable moments, and we can truly see it when they start to fall for each other, there’s so much tension and chemistry and goddamn LONGING, there’s so much good shit here.

7. The rep: the queer rep was marvellous. Maya and Skye are both out as bi by the start of the story, and we’ve got some great wlw / mlm solidarity in there, as usual. Jordy, Maya and Skye are all white, but in the side characters there’s South-Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Black rep. I’ll note that I’m a white reviewer so can’t really comment on that rep!

Obviously, loved it. There were a few typos, but this was an arc, so I’m not factoring those into my rating.