This adorably fun romcom was even more fun than I anticipated. It was very rompy, like reading a really good gossip style mag but with fantastic representation!!! Loved it!!!

𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 by Sophie Gonzales
Published: November 29, 2022 by @wednesdaybooks
Reviewed by: Mel
Format: eBook ARC + Audiobook [thank you @netgalley]

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆


𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
Womp womp. I really really wanted to enjoy this one - but I think it was a perfect storm of negative things that lead me down this two-star path.

➜ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨. I hated every single one of them. Even the two MCs. They had zero personality and literally every chapter — okay, every word of dialogue — was just about how much they hate Jordy, the male MC. It really grated on my nerves that I couldn’t even look past it to enjoy the unfolding love story between Skye and Mya — which was completely masked in the negativity of hating on Jordy.

➜ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩. I loooooved the idea of the love triangle and being on a game show for a guy and having two female MCs fall for each other — I’ve honestly thought about the potential of that scenario with how many seasons of The Bachelor, etc. that I’ve watched and I’ve always wondered what happens behind the scenes. But honestly, I can’t tell if it was a weak plot, or if I just got really really sick of how annoying the characters were and how much negativity was in this book. Additionally, the narrator completely got on my nerves as well and all of her accents and voices were irritating. Maybe it’s worse because I was just coming off of listening to Fairy Tale by Stephen King and all of those voices were audiobook GOLD.

➜ 𝙔𝘼/𝘼𝙜𝙚𝙨. For some reason, I was already annoyed at the beginning of the book when I found out that most of the characters were between 18-21 years old. Who lets their 18-year-old travel to another country to film a dating show? Also, how many freaking ex-girlfriends does this guy have for being so young still?!

I feel like all of the negativity in this book is honestly rubbing off on me and now my own negativity is grating on my own nerves. I’m going to stop writing this review by the sheer fact that I’d rather be listening to another book instead of still thinking about this one.

Why two stars then? The concept was entertaining and I obviously love the idea of having an LGBTQ plotline behind the scenes of a hetero dating show — so it gets the two stars for creativity, but….that’s where I stop.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a perfect example of a book written for someone exactly like me. I love both revenge plots and reality TV shows and it was the PERFECT blend of those and many more surprises had me devouring this book.
One of my favorite things is how Sophie Gonzales Perfectly balances the two main characters. They are both flawed people and they both SHINE in her writing. The dual POVs were split perfectly to keep the reader understanding how they both are feeling and their perspective on why they are acting the way they are. Sophie also makes sure that each of the other girls has their moments to shine and the friendship they all formed around hating Jordy was fantastic.
If you want a fun Queer summer read to get ready for bachelor season this is the perfect book! Full of fun, girls sticking together over toxic men, getting over him by living your best life, and the chaos that is working a "reality" TV show.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free ARC copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A very fun and easy read. Sapphics in a dating reality tv show? what could go wrong? Many things but thats the fun, i definitely recommend!

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a DNF for me. I just could not get into the story and didn't dig the writing style.

What I liked

The concept- I loved the idea of a reality show about second chances where two of the women contestants fall for each other I stress of the male lead! That is such an amazing concept and I loved that one of them wanted revenge while the other was open to rekindling things with him from the start. It made the drama interesting from the beginning. Also! It created the perfect villain: Jordy who I loved to hate. The author did a great job of making all the most terrible traits under a layer of manipulation for the reader to root against.



What I didn’t like

Felt forced as YA- in my head these characters were much older and when I remember that one of them is supposed to be 18 I cannot picture it at all! It feels off of a bunch of 18 year olds to be in this concept and it would have been much more fun if it didn’t feel boxed away in the YA category for that reason.

weird pacing with romance- they went from hating each other to lovers with no smooth build up and their relationship was all built upon revenge for Jordy so I didn’t feel the chemistry at all.

The Miscommunication trope / conflict felt forced in the end and it felt like there were no real stakes. Even though the story took place over several weeks I feel like that didn’t translate well with the way the relationships developed so it felt somewhat dragged out at parts and rushed at others.

they didn’t feel that different as characters. all we knew is that Skye was backpacking in Europe and Maya struggled with her debate to go to college or not. Those were pretty much the only personality traits given as distinctions between them. So their POVs felt the same and sometimes I had to think to remember which character I was hearing from.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this title in exchange for a review. Never Ever Getting Back Together follows two 18 year old contestants on a new reality dating show to win a second chance at love with their ex-boyfriend who has become a minor celebrity due to his sister marrying a royal.

I think the setup of the plot was unique but ultimately I was not very interested in 18 year old's on a dating show. I know the point of the story was that neither of the two protagonists (Maya and Skye) was supposed to fall for Jordy but the choice to make Jordy a total caricature was a little off-putting. It just made me not want to keep reading because he was so so cringe. The romance between Maya and Skye was better but it came far too long into the book for me. Neither of the characters were able to healthily communicate and neither were the mastermind they were convinced they were. I really enjoyed Perfect on Paper (another YA novel by the author) so I was hoping to like this, but it was ultimately not for me.

This was fun, refreshing, and super sweet. I absolutely loved the main characters and the sapphic romance representation. So good!

I couldn’t get through this novel. It felt incredibly juvenile and made no sense. Who are these teens with so much dating history that they can pull together a number of exes sufficient to cast a reality show???

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sophie Gonzales does it again! I have yet to find a book by this author that I don't like. Never Ever Getting Back Together was a fun enemies to lovers romp from start to finish. If you love The Bachelor/ette franchise and watching royals get their "just desserts", this one's for you!

This book was just sadly not for me! I was hoping for something different but it turned out to be something I was not expecting, which is okay and I'm sure someone else would love it!

A fun read with a Bachelor-type reality show and bi-rep. I enjoyed the reality show aspect to the story and want to read more by this author.

This one definitely gave me all the Bachelor vibes and I didn’t hate it. At times this one bounced between feeling adult and then feeling like a ya book playing an adult book…if that even makes sense. I enjoyed the storyline and loved the representation! I would definitely skip the audio of this one though as the narrators were a bit annoying at times!

3,5 stars

This was an addictive and fun read, about two girls who are opposites in many ways. This is not a coming-out story, these girls are very sure about their queer identities, but insecure about everything else. Maya is impulsive, daring and full of contradictions. I didn't agree with most of her choices, but had fun reading about her. However, I loved Skye from the very first page, and I wanted to protect her from the mess around her.

The romance is cute, an opposites attract, kind of enemies-to-lovers trope, with a sudden change in their relationship towards the middle of the book.

I didn't like how the friendship between Perri and Maya was left aside when the romance starts, since I thought their relationship gave a good balance to the story.

Jordy is an easy-to-hate villain, a little cartoonish, but it works with the reality TV plotline. It's actually fun to read about the behind-the-scenes of a reality show, how fake everything (and everyone) is, the re-takes and the "plot" devices.

Is it the best book I've read? No, but I had a great time with this queer romcom.

I adored this book! Maya's ex-boyfriend cheated on her and now he wants her to come on a reality dating show to try and win him back. Who does he think he is?!

Reluctantly, she is talked into doing the show, along with a bunch of his other exes and they're all whisked away to a mansion to start filming. There are some fights, some gossip, and some big misunderstandings among the girls. The producers try to play it up, which backfires in the end, as Maya and one of Jordy's other ex-girlfriends fall for each other.

This book was funny but also sweet and tender at times. I couldn't get enough of Skye and Maya, and loved to loathe Jordy! So if you haven't read this one yet, get it onto your TBR list!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

apparently the only romances I read these days are fake reality show dating romances

In this one, two girls (Maya and Skye) go on a bachelor type show to re-date their ex (jordy) who is a complete and utter tool. They end up falling in love with each other instead and plot a revenge scheme to take him down


This was laugh out loud funny at times and made me smile the whole time I was reading it

I’ve seen others mention they wish it wasn’t YA, that the characters didn’t seem like 18yos, that they seem like more in their 20s and I agree! If she’s gonna have them drink and have sex and be messy, just age them up and make it an adult romance instead

I still thought this was fun and I’m glad to finally have knocked it off my tbr.

apparently the only romances I read these days are fake reality show dating romances

In this one, two girls (Maya and Skye) go on a bachelor type show to re-date their ex (jordy) who is a complete and utter tool. They end up falling in love with each other instead and plot a revenge scheme to take him down


This was laugh out loud funny at times and made me smile the whole time I was reading it

I’ve seen others mention they wish it wasn’t YA, that the characters didn’t seem like 18yos, that they seem like more in their 20s and I agree! If she’s gonna have them drink and have sex and be messy, just age them up and make it an adult romance instead

I still thought this was fun and I’m glad to finally have knocked it off my tbr.

I mean, when Sophie Gonzalez writes a book with a Taylor Swift reference title, I’m going to read it. Especially if it’s sapphic.

I picked this book out as the soundtrack for a road trip Brit and I took together last month - she’s been getting more into audiobooks and we both love reality TV so it worked really well for us!

For the most part, I liked it. It was an entertaining premise and had some pretty funny lines. I thought the two main characters were well-developed by YA standards and were written in a way that made them relatable to both teens and adults.

But I don’t think I recommend this book, unfortunately.

I think I’m realizing that I’m just not a fan of romances set on reality TV shows. It’s hard to make them feel believable and also I know enough about how reality shows are filmed that I spend too much time picking apart what would never happen. That’s not the fault of this book, but definitely does impact my review of it.

(Brit fell asleep for part of the drive back so I finished it on my own. That may say something about how engaging it is?)

Honestly the main feedback I have about this book is it would have been way more natural with characters in their mid- to late-twenties. Having barely legal kids (I use that word intentionally) drinking this much and plotting revenge and being on TV makes me pretty uncomfy.

If you’re looking for a queer romance set in the reality TV world, I’ll always recommend The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun or Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly. I think those would be a much more enjoyable read for you.

I don’t read much YA but I will make still make time for books by Gonzalez, though, because her writing is fun and storylines enjoyable!

I enjoyed this one a lot! I didn't see the twist coming of the two FMC's getting together but I love that they did and they both used each other to gang up on the MC. (Names are escaping me right now!) And I really loved how one was trying to convince the other that at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you get back at someone because the only one who's still hurting is yourself. Solid read and very much enjoyed!