Member Reviews
Witty banter, everything you love about rom-coms, & a title that will have you singing Taylor Swift all day long. A winning combo! Would absolutely read more from this author!
What is with this trope of pinning women against one another? Especially young women, who really need to be built up by other’s instead of tearing them down because of a man - and ESPECIALLY without the full story? I will say it clearly comes together in the end but I still didn’t love the way the women were portrayed in this book.
This is also the reason why I don’t really love YA, it’s so wildly dramatic and over the top. I understand that when you’re a young adult you do feel these things deeply and feel like it’s the end of the world, but personally for me, it’s too much and I can’t keep my eyes from rolling into the back of my head.
I flew through this audio at 3x, so clearly I wasn’t fully listening or paying attention and it felt like I still grasped the whole story. Sure, the end was cute and sweet but this book really missed the mark for me. Maybe this is my sign I need to start reading the synopsis of books before I read them.
While YA, this book does have the upper YA ages to almost NA ages. Despite 18-20ish year olds it just read a little younger for me. The beginning was hard to get into, and even though it got better that just didn’t set me on the right path.
I think the premise of the whole book was very good, maybe if the characters were all a little older? I hate saying those types of things for a YA read. But I really enjoy YA books so for them to be a little older on the YA spectrum and seeming younger threw me off.
I enjoyed how the love story played out and I did enjoy both female MC’s slowly coming together!
Never Ever Getting Back Together was a laugh out loud revenge novel complete with a Sapphic romance that is sure to warm anyone's heart. It's a fun, easy read fit for those who relish in the Bachelor universe and love a Hating to Dating story.
I admit there were points that were overly cringey. To the point where I had to stop reading a close my eyes for a couple seconds to get over the second hand embarrassment. But, the overall premise of the book, the character growth, and lets face it, the fact that the title is a Taylor Swift lyric, makes up for the cringe in my book. The drama of being on television and the fact that Jordy, the show's "Bachelor", was such an absolute jerk made the book a really quick read. Because, well, I really wanted Jordy to be just a bit (or a lot) injured.
Over all this is a great YA rom com of witty banter and (mostly) loveable characters (even if sometimes you'll want to shake some sense into them).
The idea of a revenge bachelor really intrigued me. Maya is holding the grudge of all grudges on her ex boyfriend who cheated on her. When the chance to go on a dating show with her ex while for a 2nd chance at love she says 100% no. then after awhile a plan comes up to go and set the record straight about what kind of guy he is.
Enter his other Exs. Some are still hung up, some only went on a few dats, some are there for the brand deals then there's Skye the girl he cheated on Maya with.
Skye was always told he was single and Maya couldn't let go so she try's to avoid her and doesn't understand why she's telling all these lies.
Then the real truth comes out and Skye is onboard on the get back at Jordy.
My biggest hang-up with the book is I don't think they really got to know each other it was mostly on revenge and a lot of these relationships they were in high school and still in the later teen years and the drama over it was a bit much.
I needed Maya to stop focusing so much on the hate and revenge when she had a good thing she almost ruined it. I was in the middle with this story
Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately DNFd this book. It just was not for me. I didn’t connect with the characters and the story dragged for me a bit. I so badly wanted to love but it just wasn’t for me.
4.5 I really enjoyed this one! I loved the whole bachelor feel with the two main characters one fighting for revenge and one learning the truth about what happened those few years ago! Mya and Skye where both such fun characters and the narrators did a great job of bringing their characters to life! Jordy was such an ass and I hated him from the beginning my favourite side character was Perry! She was a great addition to the cast to balance the girls! This has a bit of enemies to lovers with perfect angst and I loved the whole LGBTQ representation and thought it was such a great take on this story and the Reality tv shows we have loved to watch and I would like to see it play out on tv lol. The only thing I’m marking a point down for was the ages of the girls, they should of been in there early 20s instead of Late teens! It felt more new adult than Young adult
I really loved Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales. I love a good enemies to lovers romance, and this book was *chef's kiss*. I'll definitely be picking up the rest of the author's work.
This was a fun read! I read the whole thing one evening. I really liked the plot of old girlfriends & the dating show etc. I think this would have worked a bit better if the characters were a bit older like 25 ish. 18 and on a dating show, they all seemed a little immature.
While I didn’t hate any of the characters (except Jordy, which obviously haha) there aren't any I absolutely loved.
I would definitely be open to reading more from this author.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, & Wednesday Books for this advanced copy.
Do you love the Bachelorette/Bachelor franchise but wish it were queer? Are you craving a read-alike to The Charm Offensive? Is enemies to lovers a favorite trope of yours? Then read this book!
Maya and Skye have both dated Jordy, a guy recently made into a celebrity when his sister married a prince. When they get the chance to rekindle things with him on a reality TV show, they decide to do it for opposing reasons, but soon find that they would rather go home with someone else.
I really enjoyed so much about this book. We get dual POVs of Maya and Skye throughout the story, which really helps make the conflicts/misunderstandings that come with a romance less annoying and more relatable. I also enjoyed the side characters specifically, Perrie and Issac, and wish we could’ve gotten more from their storylines.
I do wish we got more background about what life was like for Skye and Maya before the show. We do get bits and pieces of their background in conversation, but it would have added more depth to the characters had we gotten more. The same is true for the country the show takes place in. From what is described, readers can gather it is similar to the UK, but when inviting a new country, I would have liked to see more of it or at least get more information about it.
Overall, if you enjoy reality TV and queer love with a side or revenge, this is your book!
Sophie Gonzales always guarantees to make me smile and laugh until I cry. The banter she crafts so well between her love interests always manages to surprise me, and I was rooting for Maya and Skye all the way through.
The concept hooked me from the beginning, as I am an avid Bachelor fan and always wondered about behind-the-scenes romances. Love that Sophie Gonzales put this out to squash my wonderings!
What's not to love - a guy gathers a bunch of his exes to be a reality dating show to see if he can rekindle something with someone. Little does he know one of his ex-gal pals is there not for a second shot of love, but rather revenge. And then mix in a surprising twist when two of the girls develop feelings for each other.
I wanted to really like the story but felt like this was a story better suited for 20-somethings and not YA.
The chemistry between Maya and Skye was written in a wonderfully confident way that didn't make their sexuality feel like a "coming out" but rather just a part of their life, which was a refreshing take.
Overall this wasn't my favorite read, but if you love YA, especially in the LBGTQA+ space, then I definitely give it a read.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley.
This one is already on the pre-order list for my library. The title alone will grab so many of my romance readers, but I really loved this story. Super cute and fun to read.
The idea for this book was really interesting to me and I think it could have been an amazing read, it probably will be for some. I'm not really a huge contemporary reader - so for me the story just has to be really great and this book fell a bit flat for me. I think the narrators for this book would have been better reading the opposite main character part, I kept thinking that every time they would switch over and it took away from the emersion a little bit. I'm sure this book would be a great read some someone, it just wasn't for me.
Thanks #netgalley for an advance copy of this book.
I thought that this was a light and fun romance. There were parts I thought felt rushed and predictable, but still not mad at it.
So much better than The Bachelor!! Loved this LGBTQ+ friendly take on an exhausted reality TV franchise. It was a little hard to keep track of which character was narrating, especially as Skye and Maya's friendship blossomed, and their journey started to meld. But it was such a fun, exciting, and raw read.
This one didn’t land for me. The suspension of disbelief just wouldn’t kick in- why are children on this show?! Why was this a YA? How many exes can one collect in adolescence?
That being said, it’s cute and I’m sure lots of readers will enjoy it!
Thank you so much for the eArc Netgalley & Wednesday Books!
If you love reality tv drama then you are going to love this! Overall, this entire book was full of drama and so fun. I cant wait to see what Sophie does next!!
Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this arc.
I knew I would love everything about this book the second I saw the cover. A Taylor Swift song title? One of my favorite authors? A bachelor-style show where two of the ladies fall in love? Yes please to all of that.
I absolutely loved this book. Both Skye and Maya are amazing and unique characters whose POV chapters added a lot to the book. I loved seeing their relationship develop throughout and how they each grew as individual people as well.
Also way to go making Jordy absolutely despicable. Like gaslighting egocentric terrible terrible person. He had it comin'.
CW: infidelity, gaslighting, emotional abuse, toxic relationship
“Never Ever Getting Back Together” is an enemies-to-lovers romance in the same vein as “The Charm Offensive” and “One To Watch.”
Popular reality series “Second-Chance Romance” reunites Jordy, a literal prince, with five of his most memorable exes, hoping to reignite an old-flame and precipitate a happy ending with “the one that got away.”
But not every “Second-Chance Romance” contestant is looking for love.
After a relationship full of lies and infidelity, Maya is hell-bent on getting revenge on her former lover, and will stop at nothing to reveal his true nature to the world.
That is, until her feelings for Skye, the alleged “other woman,” change from hatred to fondness to something more. And both women are left with a choice that could change their lives forever.
While not quite as seamless as Alison Cochrun’s runaway hit, this frivalous feudsome fiction was a heck of a lot of fun for reality tv fans and pundits alike.
And with a satisfying “realist” conclusion to boot, this one is certainly worth a read.