I love the idea of two female contestants on a reality show falling for each other, but ultimately I think this book just didn't work as a YA and the characters needed to be older. I'll still buy any even halfway decent sapphic romance though and I do think a lot of readers will enjoy this one, so short version this was cute but not for me!

Maya and Skye have been asked to join a “second-chance” dating reality show featuring their mutual ex-boyfriend Jordy. Skye wants to win Jordy back but Maya has other plans. Revenge is the only thing Jordy deserves.

I was really drawn in by the plot of this book but it just didn't follow through. The storyline is good but there are a lot of problems with the pacing. Love triangles are one of my least favorite romance tropes but that wasn’t my issue here.

I didn't find the main characters particularly interesting. They seem pretty one dimensional. I’m confused as to why people are considering this book to be spicy. This is a YA book so it’s not meant to be overly spicy and it wasn't.

This is the first book that I have read from this author and while it was not a great fit for me, I would like to check out some of her other work in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press (Wednesday Books)!

Five stars. This was a phenomenal light-hearted YA romance, and given how much of those there are on the market right now, I do not say that lightly. This was everything the premise promised. It was so much fun to read, and every character was delightfully drawn, from Maya and Skye to the supporting cast to our antagonist. The theme was carefully balanced to hit hard without being preachy, and it spelled beautiful things for our entirely rootable couple. This is a book I anticipate coming back to again, even with a dozen things demanding my attention on my to-read list, even in the absence of the suspense that did keep me turning pages on this first read. And Sophie Gonzales is a name I'm going to remember.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Sophie Gonzalez for this eARC in exchange for my honest review

In this fun spin on the Bachelor, Jordy, a generally reprehensible flaming garbage can of a man, invites all of his exes to compete for his love in a reality show. However, when the prize is a raging narcissist who spends his entire life focused on what other people can do for him and making gaslighting an olympic sport, the stakes might not be quite what you think. When Maya and Skye team up to take expose Jordy for the "Andrew Tate" knockoff he is they end up gaining a whole lot more than revenge.

So first and foremost I must confess that I am not really a Bachelor/Bachelorette watcher. The shows never really caught my interest but I do totally get the appeal. This book though, had my heart pounding at 2am as I waited for the final reveal. Truly an amazing and fun book that had so many fun twists and turns, making you root for these two women while simultaneously trying to decide if you can send hate mail to a fictional character.

Sometimes I come across books that would be absolutely sensational as a movie. This was so entertaining and I would love for there to be a reality show like this in real life. Thanks Netgalley & the publisher for the ARC!

Book: Never Ever Getting Back Together
Author: Sophie Gonzales
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC.

I’m going to start by saying something that may not be a very popular opinion. I do not think that this title should be marketed as a young adult. I understand that the main characters are eighteen and that the reality show is supposed to be for teenagers. However, the content and the way the characters act do not fit into YA. This book reads very similar to a lot of adult romances that I have read. think that this should be marketed to a more mature audience. I do not think that this is suitable for the YA target age range.

Now, that we have that out of the way, we can talk about the book.

This book follows Maya and Skye who are enemies, even though they have never met each other. They both dated Jordy Miller, who is supposed to be the dream guy. The thing is he cheated on Maya with Skye. Skye thought that he and Maya were broken up and that Maya is crazy. Both are invited, along with other ex-girlfriends, to be on this reality TV show that will allow contestants to compete for Jody’s heart. It’s a competition. It’s like the Bachelor. However, as the book goes on Maya and Skye start to discover that things are not what they seem and that the villain may be Jordy. The problem is he is loved by everyone and can do no wrong. How do you take down a person like this? How do you turn the world on him? It’s a drama feast and comes across as very cheesy. So, did I enjoy this setup? I sure did! Sometimes you just want an over-the-top book.

I enjoyed following Skye and Maya. I like that the story was told from both of their points of view. It allows us to see both sides of the story. I like how the author lets us see both of them from each other’s eyes. It only adds to the drama and allows us to see just how complex the situation is. Their friendship and romance is a slow burn, which I love. If their relationship had taken less time, I don’t think it would have worked as well. We get to see them work through the cracks and rough patches as they try to make sense of what has happened to them. We see how they have been painted this picture of each other. We see how once they get to know each other their views change. I would have liked to have seen the side characters a bit more developed. It kind of felt like there were just hovering in the background with no real purpose. I think that had they been a little bit more developed that we could have had a much stronger story.

I liked the writing and the overall plot. Both of them were fun and light. This is the kind of book that you read whenever you need a pick-me-up. It’s one that you have to suspend your sense of reality and just go with it.

Overall, I did have a great time with this title. It was just a fun and light read that I needed when I read it.

This book comes out on November 29, 2022.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/G4wuztqHLyE

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a sapphic love story set on a reality tv dating show. One problem - both the main characters are on the show (ostensibly) to win back their d-bag ex-boyfriend, Jordy Miller. Of course, Maya has actually come on the show with the intent of getting revenge for Jordy's mistreatment and humiliating him on a primetime stage. Skye, on the other hand, is htere to give things an honest try. Oh, yeah - and Skye is the girl that Jordy cheated on Maya with.

So we have a bit of enemies to lovers goodness thrown into a sweet story about revenge, personal growth, vulnerability, and love. I do wish Maya and Skye had a bit more fleshing out as characters, because I would've loved to see more distinct personalities between the two. There were little tidbits about each of them dropped in that I would've loved to see explored more. The setting of the TV show and all the weekly challenges is fun and keeps things moving. Also, Jordy is an excellently written (and easy to hate) villian, just as much as Isaac is the lovable, messy, petty side character I needed.

And of course, bonus points for the Taylor Swift reference.

This was a pretty fun read! I really liked the idea of two contestants on a bachelor style show falling for each other instead of the guy. I do feel like that premise would’ve worked better in an adult romance rather than YA, but I think this was still done pretty well. Overall, I enjoyed reading this one!! 3.5 ⭐️

The cover of this book caught my attention and of course the title! I mean who doesn't love a Taylor Swift book title? This book has so much to offer - I loved the feminism and the sapphic romance had me hollering. I love that two girls fall in love when then team up to expose the lead guy on live tv. MCs Maya and Skye were great characters with a relatable dynamic. I loved this book, exactly what I wanted and I couldn't put it down (even though I detest reality tv)

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC

Bi girls dating their ex-boyfriend only to fall in love with each other? Sign me up!! I am a massive fan of the drama of the Bachelor (specifically the Bachelorette cause I enjoy seeing men being petty), so this was such a fun book to read! Teenage girls coming together to spite the shit guy that they all dated was really amazing and turned the typical plot of these shows on its head. Really fun read

This was just meh. I usually love Sophie’s work but the characters fell really flat for me and the romances were very unbelievable. Had the characters been 5-10 years older, this would have been so much more compelling.

Maya’s not been able to forget how her ex-boyfriend Jordy cheated on her and then unceremoniously dumped her. Now she’s been invited take part in a bachelor style reality show with all of Jordy’s exes and she’s going to use the show to get her side of the story out and expose Jordy for who he is. Only problem is that in a house full of exes there’s also Skye the one he cheated on her with…👀

There’s something really delicious about revenge tropes and throw in a sapphic romance, as well…it sure made this read even better!
I really enjoyed reading this YA revenge/romance. Maya is this fly by the seat of your pants passionate whirlwind whereas Skye is all about planning 10 steps ahead and thinking through each situation. The setups all the characters and especially the MCs get into are absolutely hilarious and the one liners totally zing worthy.

I liked the fact that even though this was a reality show there were only a handful of contestants and there was time to get to know each of them. Thankfully there is none of the stalker-y aspects of. reality shows where every off-guard moment is captured and that did wonders to make the story line gentler and easy to love. The MCs were well developed and aside from all the Jordy hatred, there were other issues the MCs were working through. It gave them more vulnerability and a dimensionality that I liked which blended well with the storyline and the end.

This book was such a fun read and I enjoyed Gonzales writing style which was a wonderful mix of smarts and funny.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.8 stars, rounded up to 4.
This book definitely had the Selection vibes. I am not really into reality shows very often, but two chapters into the book and I was already hooked. This book was a pleasure to read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary romance, reality show books, and of course a beautiful sapphic love story💞
Spoiler warning below:


These were my thoughts while reading the book:
Jordy is the biggest wanker and I hope to God she takes him down! And I really hope Skye figures out he is full of shit. What a gaslighting, manipulative jerk he is.
One of my first thoughts was also: there is no way Skye and Maya don't get together by the end of this.
The miscommunication trope really bothers me, how could Maya assume Skye knew everything? I would assume Skye had been lied to and manipulated by lucifers second himself, Jordy. Wait, that's a bit of an insult to Lucifer honestly. But really Maya, come on, did you really think she knew the truth!
When Skye finally realizes the truth it felt like such a win, finally! I felt bad, but I also really liked how she took a second to think about how she made Maya feel, and how she didn't listen to her own advice about how there are always two sides to a story.
The fact that Satan's butt crack (at this point of the story he doesn't deserve to be called his name) continuously uses the work 'chick' should be an automatic tip that he's gross.
Issac cracks me up, what a great character.
Skye shaving her hair was a work of wonder, you beautiful beautiful woman! That whole scene before that with not-even-good-enough-to-be-the-devil-himself made me want to punch him. Sophie Gonzales does a good job at making him the villain.
Ahhhh! When they finally get together!!! I really like Skye and Maya as a couple, they compliment each other so well. It was frustrating watching Maya take that for granted and choose revenge over being happy and making Skye happy. I am all for taking down Satan's wannabe incarnate, but I wanted them to be happier sooner. Thankfully, it didn't stop their happiness though!
I love that she chose Skye, but I was a little worried the Not-Quite Price of Darkness wouldn't get his comeuppance, ahh but what a sweet sweet ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC.

Review posted on Goodreads (August 11, 2022)
Review linked.

2.5/5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s. Press for sending me an E-ARC of this book for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated reads because I loved Sophie Gonzales’ last couple of books in the YA genre, but for me, this book really disappointed me.

To me, this book felt like a first draft. There was not enough time spent on the main romance, and way too much time spent on the revenge plot. I feel like every character was introduced with one line and then we never learned anything else about them, even the main characters felt very flat, and I felt like we never got to really know them that well, and when we did learn something more about them it was much later in the book. I was so excited by the premise of this book, I mean, who doesn’t love the idea of this book, but I felt like it needed more time, space and more editing. The entire story and romance felt rushed to me. The plot was intriguing enough for me to finish the book, but I really needed more chemistry and characterization of the characters, especially the two main characters. I just… needed more.

I also really did not like the ages of our main characters? It felt very strange to me that all of these women were right out of high school. Honestly, most of the time, it felt like I was reading about characters that were older, but then I was reminded that they were right out of high school and it felt… strange. I am not really sure why that was the age that was focused on, especially when this is marketed as an adult romance, or at least was marketed that way to me.

A lot of this book also focuses on how women are pitted against one another in a mysoginistic world—which is something that we as a society need to talk about, yes, but the woman on woman hate in this book, even if it was used to make a point, still made me VERY uncomfortable while reading, especially at the beginning.

Thanks for reading,
Caden

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review! I LOVED IT. one of my most anticipated reads for the year and it did not disappoint! jordy was nightmare fuel and the sapphic romance was perfect! absolutely obsessed!

Got a bit boring in the middle but def had a plot twist I was not expecting AND a very nice ending that left me feeling very satisfied with how things tied up.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Never Ever Getting Back Together follows Maya and Skye, two girls with one thing in common - they share an ex. They meet when they're both invited to participate in a dating reality show where their ex, Jordy, reconnects and potentially reunites with each of his past girlfriends. However, Jordy is not the perfect boyfriend everyone thinks he is. He cheated on Maya with Skye and she's determined to use the tv show to get her revenge. Eventually Skye gets in on the plan and that's when the two start to develop feelings for each other.

Overall I thought this book was a fun romance with a unique premise, but my main issue was that I think that premise would have been better suited to an adult romance. How is this guy 18 and he has enough exes to fill an entire reality show? I just think it would have been more believable had they all been in their late 20s. I also wish there was more emphasis put on developing the relationship between Skye and Maya because it was there was a lot more telling than showing when it came to their feelings for each other. Still I thought it was a fun read and I recommend giving it a go!

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I honestly had high hopes going into this book, even if I wasn’t the biggest fan of Perfect on Paper, and somehow, this book met them! Something about this concept seemed perfect to me (a dating show, but the contestants fall in love with each other instead??), and it felt executed really well to me! My main argument is that there’s no way these characters felt like they were 18-20, and I overall would’ve liked the book to have featured slightly older characters to make the plot overall a bit more believable, but at some point I just kind of ignored the fact that everyone was supposed to be that young and then it worked better for me!

Overall, this book is just plain fun. It’s got a cute romance at its center, while banding together a bunch of women against one dude who really really sucks. I also really adored both characters for different reasons, and the way they balanced each other out worked really well for both the plot and their romance. While Maya was chaotic and fully just going for her plan without thinking it through, Skye forced her to stop and think things through, while still being totally on board with making Jordy pay. It really worked in that opposites attract sort of way, while still being entirely convincing that these two people would actually work well together!

Honestly, my biggest disappointment was that no one actually gave Jordy what he deserved on the page, because I really need to see that guy get absolutely demolished. But in the end, I felt like the plot came to a more comfortable conclusion at the end, if not entirely satisfying revenge wise. (He was honestly also a great way to bring everyone together, because he just sucked so much).

Overall, this was such a fun and cute read, and I will definitely be reading more by this author in the future! I can’t wait for this to release, so everyone can get on reading this!

Was this book predictable? Yes. Was it a little cheesy? Yes. But did I enjoy it? Absolutely. This YA book was super enjoyable and although I had minor problems, overall, it was really good. It's a short, easy read, with two dynamic main characters and a very interesting plot. This book gave me the feelings I had after breaking up with my first boyfriend, and I loved seeing the girls mature, and of course, I enjoyed the girl power. I would have loved to see more from the other girls and maybe some more backstory in general. I think since there were so many "side characters", they got lost in the crowd.
Overall though, I liked this book!

I was SO excited to receive this ARC because of the premise alone and couldn’t start reading it quick enough. The twists, the drama, and the antagonist that is Jordy (ew) were all well done and I felt like I was reading a reality television show.

This story felt much more about the television show and the character's relationship with Jordy than it did about the character's romance with each other. I wish Skye and Maya had more in common than just Jordy, their relationship felt forced for the sake of a sapphic plot twist (but we all knew about it)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.