I adored this book! I spent the entire book rooting for Maya in her journey to crush Jordy. While I was a little sad at first that Skye originally didn't believe Maya, I did enjoy the rivals to lovers romance. I particularly loved the quote, “So many ballads are sung about the power of love. Not nearly enough time is devoted to the passionate fulfilment only a perfectly matched enemy can bring.” However, Skye's initial reactions and general disdain for Maya became more understandable as the book went on.

I also very much enjoyed all of Jordy's exes becoming friends and working together to expose to the world how Jordy mistreated women. While I do wish Maya could have exposed him on live television, I am glad they found a loophole to expose him later on, and that Maya realized Skye was more important to her than revenge.

Thank you for the chance to read an early copy of this book!

I was HOOKED on this story from the first few pages. I had pre ordered this on Barnes and Noble because I loved the cover and as a Taylor Swift fan, I loved the title. However, once I read the synopsis and jumped into the story, I loved it. It was such a fun concept of a dating competition but it went so much further than that. This author did such a great job with representation and took dating stereotypes and turned them on their head. I had such a great time reading this and can't wait to pick up more titles from this author!

This was a cute book about second chances, or was it? More about what is worth in life: getting even or finding love, being petty or doing the right thing, getting revenge or letting go.
That’s what Maya and Skye have to decide while on a reality show with the guy who broke their hearts.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review tjis book.

Very smart writing! I loved seeing the relationship unfold. This author has yet to disappoint me and I can't wait to read more from her!

I received this ARC of Never Ever Getting Back Together from Netgally.

I am actively trying to add more queer representation into my reading choices and this book did such a great job.

I really loved the characters in this story. I found them to be well developed and enjoyed watching their relationships grow throughout the book. I would have liked a little more romance but overall really liked the way the author unraveled the story.

Overall, this was a lighthearted and fun read! It had me smiling and laughing out loud at times. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great rom-com.

super cute sapphic read! never ever getting back together follows maya and skye, two of jordy’s ex girlfriends, who are invited on a second chance dating reality tv show. the two girls make a pact to take jordy down and end up falling for each other in the process.

i loved the way the relationship was developed over the first 75% of the novel but i think the last 25% fell a bit flat. i don’t want to say too much to avoid spoilers but i will say i was expecting a little more drama at the end. the reality show setting was really unique and entertaining to read about, but i didn’t feel as though we got a chance to get to know any of the side characters. i also wish maya and skye had a bit more individual development.

Sophie Gonzales is NOW one of my auto-buy author!!

After loving Perfect on Paper and Only Mostly Devastated, I prayed to ARC gods to read this one in advance and I am so happy that Sophie wrote this one!!

Book community need to watch out for this one!!

I feel so lucky to have gotten to read an early copy of this book thanks to NetGalley. It’s an absolutely perfect queer contemporary romance. Like, I literally said out loud (to myself), “This is so fun!” after the end of one chapter.

Anyway, let’s talk about the things that actually make it fun.

There’s just the right amount of exposition to get you feeling a certain way about Maya and Skye, including one of them musing about how the story you hear first tends to be the one you believe. Hmmm. There’s also just the right amount of drama to hook you and make you question if the love story you know is coming actually stands a chance. And to top it off it’s all set in a The Bachelor meets The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement crossover.

Sometimes you need a book to simply be an upbeat escape. Sometimes you need a book to simply give you kickass girls taking down a shitty guy and maybe possibly falling in love in the process. It really did feel good reading about a couple of sapphics finding themselves and getting everything they deserve during Pride Month.

To put it simply, I want everyone to read this book and then I want it to be a cute little Netflix series and then I want to go to bed happy that I got the privilege to fangirl over it first.

While I don't watch dating shows on television, the premise of this one sounded interesting. However, I did not like this book at all. One of the major themes was something I don't like to read, and I was caught off guard when I realized that this is what the book was all about. Out of respect for the author, I will not share this review on my social media.

I received this arc from Netgalley.

It’s been 2 years since Maya realized her ex was cheating on her during their long distance relationship. After being asked to come of the reality show Second Chance Romance to see if she connects with Jordy again, she takes this as her chance to get revenge on Jordy for lying about their relationship to the press and making her look like a crazy ex. Maya was ready for Jordy and Skye, the girl he cheated on her with. She wasn’t ready to fall in love though.

I always try to find out the inspirations that authors use for book ideas. Thee was a tweet a couple years back about two girls who realized their ex was two timing with them, and they feared after breaking up with him. Another one is contestant who declared her love for another contestant on The Bachelor (Vietnamese Version)

Plot
I loved the plot. It’s unique and fast faced. Great idea 5/5

Writing
The writing style was interesting. I loved the characters point of views so much. Only issue is at the beginning I got mixed up between which character was who. The writing style for both of them was kind of similar 4/5

Development
I feel like I needed more romance. A big problem with queer relationships is unless there’s a good build of the romance and chemistry between the characters, they will seem like friends and the romance wouldn’t make sense. Straight couples in books are privileged in the sense that they don’t need to prove their relationship. Despite this, I still feel like the book should have handled the romance better. Maybe have the characters think of each other romantically, blush when near one another, etc. 3/5

Ending
I loved the ending so much. It made sense and was very smart. I tried to predict the ending throughout but this is so much better and smarter than I would have expected. 5/5

Recommend?
Overall I would recommend this book. It was a nice easy fun romance. Unfortunately I wouldn’t say memorable, but it was very funny nonetheless

I have never watched the Bachelorette but this book is a spin on that, and if you are a fan of the TV show this book is for you! If Reputation was your favorite Taylor Swift album then this book is for you. Alternatively, do you just love a good sapphic romance about two bisexual women picking each other over a guy? If so this is the book for you.

Never Ever Getting Back Together is a version of Bachelor but with a second chance romance kind of twist, and the 'Bachelor' in this case is the male version of Pippa Middleton and a prick. This book reminds me of a sapphic version of The Charm Offensive by Allison Cochrun but instead of a contest and producer, here it is two separate contestants. I heard about two Australian women contestants on Bachelor over there that fell for each other while filming. This is a pretty similar storyline to that headline.

I will be the first to admit I am very critical of LGBT romance authors, as a cis woman who has romantic feelings for all genders, I know firsthand how two women in a relationship should be. I read more m/m because it is easier to fall into the fiction without nitpicking and have true escapism from reality. In female romances I usually find myself thinking "I would never", "my girlfriends have never done this", or "communication should not be the issue". So a w/w or sapphic romance needs to be great for me to fully immerse in it and love it. This book delivered immersion for me, some realism, making the story believable and enjoyable.

It started with great character backstories. I was already rooting for Maya so hard for her revenge that by the time we switched to Skye's POV I hated her. I did not quite understand the issue of Jordy telling Maya that Skye knew about him cheating so in the beginning, I did not understand why Maya was so upset with Skye. I knew Maya knew her as the other women but did not pick up 'other women who knew she was the other women'. It was not until Skye had the 'cheating' proof that I understand that part of the backstory, and started to like the character of Skye.

The character development helped me to connect with the characters enough to be rooting for them to get together long-term by the end of the book past just hooking up. I finally really liked Skye when she was standing up for the producer women on her recreation of the first dates with Jordy. I loved that she not only stood up for the other women but went the extra mile to cut her hair as well. The way Maya's backstory was written villainized Skye for me so well at the beginning that even though they were hooking up I would not have been rooting for their relationship without this scene. Especially since a lot of the beginning of the book was all the female contents putting each other down. I get that's the drama of reality TV and a huge part of the plot of the book, but I am not a Bachelorette or reality TV watcher in real life. So that beginning was a bit of a downer. This point made it go uphill.

I felt the same way with the variation of the never have I ever gave the girls played about things Jordy had said. I loved the way all the continents came together. Not only did they bend bridges but laughed over shared experiences of a man attempting to compliment them by belittling others. This was a top-notch scene for me.

Potential trigger warnings for anyone who has been cheated on for sure.

At the beginning of this Maya was my favorite character, then for a bit it was Perrie, and then Maya, but the character that had me wishing he was on the page more was Isaac. I had to look up to see if Sophie Gonzales had written his love story because he stole my heart in this book. I looked threw every book description of all her printed works to make sure I did not miss it.

The other note to add was I did have to look up some slang used here both the words Bellend and Criac. I do love adding naughty great Britain swear words to my vernacular. I also looked up a word Perrie used like that I can no longer find that I believed to be a spelling mistake, it read like mams, and I think it was supposed to be Maya, but now I cannot re-find the mistake. Let me know if you find it!

What a fun rom-com of a book! Jordy was a complete ass to Maya when he cheated on her and dumped her but now he has called asking her to be on a reality show to give him a second chance….along with some of his other ex’s! Maya is determined to go on the show and prove what a jerk Jordy is but things don’t go quite as she planned when she gets to the mansion. This was a fun read perfect for the beach or pool!

unfortunately my thoughts are very much gone. non-existent. unsubstantial. extinct. dead & buried. (i’m looking up words at this points but u get what i mean shhh)

you just KNOW it’s gonna be a good book when the title is literally a taylor swift song like cmon be serious here.

i want to spend the majority of this review talking about these beautiful characters, this beautiful love story, how goddamn funny this book is, instead of talking about how infuriated i felt every time guy who shall not be named was mentioned. personally, i’m going to pretend he doesn’t exist!!! fuck him!! never date a guy who name starts with a j btw, for mental health purposes <3

ஐ characters: i won’t lie, i didn’t like most of the girls at first & for good reasons too; but they all came along eventually and god knowing that these girls all hate *inserts rolling eye emoji cause yk who i’m referring too* as much as i do, and just became one big found family at this point? my heart. that’s how you undo me. i love me a good feminist revenge book. but i need to mention one character by name who got me, my beloved, my girl, my actual twin, my sister in christ: maya. god i love that girl. her theme song in my head is better than revenge by t swift. when i say i feel her on a spiritual level i mean it. i just want you all to know you’ll never get maya like i get maya 💗💗 also shout out to issac because that’s my man. wlw & mlm solidarity never fails, which we need more of btw because in actuality we’re always fighting?? which is insanity??? but anyways.

✧ plot: god the message of this book is good and i’m so glad how it was handled in the end. i admit, i got mad many times for people automatically taking the rich privileged white man side, but again it’s literally unfortunately our reality. and as much as we read about these things or watch them; people still fall for it. and this book doesn’t shy away from that at all. it’s real, & brutal; but honest. and the fact two girls who initially doesn’t want anything to do with the other, ends up falling for each other on a reality show meant to make them fall back for their ex is EVERYTHING. nothing is topping this. i need this in theaters now.

speaking of……

♡ romance: ah yes the romance. we all had our moment where we fell for the tricks of a guy, which it doesn’t even need to be romantic most of the time, guys just be lying, manipulating, and gaslighting for fun. unfortunately i, too can relate to that & it fucking sucks. & even MORE unfortunately, both our mcs do too and they both are equally manipulated by said guy & hate each other. and i’m sure i’m not suppose to admit this, but i fucking loved it. i am a feminist at heart but you’ll never not hear me love a good rival/enemies to lovers story. i am who i am. but god yes the romance. it’s everything. i don’t want to spoil anything but this was indeed the highlight of the book for me. i love skye & maya so much and they deserve the whole word. i hope they get to travel the world together and be as gay as one can be for the rest of their lives. so many tropes. so many playlists that will be made for them. these are MY girls. mines. no one else’s. they’re gonna get you so badly and i fear for everyone’s mental stability when this book is released.

also unrelated to everything above, but this book was too damn funny. sophie the woman u are <333

i needed a good read after my last left me on a cliffhanger, quite literally. and a good romcom can never fail to make me happy, though this one went above & beyond that. i cannot wait to sleep with this book at night and i mean that whole heartedly. december pls hurry up.

thank you netgalley & wednesday books for giving me the chance to read this magnificent book early on in exchange for an honest review. though i fear you’re soon good regret your decision for this cause i’m never gonna shut up about this book. never.

p.s. the summary for this book could be summed up like this: haha ur both way 2 sexy to be fighting over a guy, kiss each other instead. & yk what, it’ll all make perfect sense just the same.

p.p.s. here a mini playlist 4 my girls themselves.

second-chance romance: mayaskye (taylor’s version)

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 how you get the girl
🎥 better than revenge
🫂 all you had to do was stay
🍫 delicate
🛶 cruel summer
💟 new romantics
🌈 you belong with me
🧗‍♀️ mad woman
🥀 long story short
🌹 enchanted
✈️ right where you left me
💘 cornelia street

and of course, we are never getting back together.

NOTE: This Review will go Live on my blog on November 1st. An accompanying Instagram Post will also go up.

Ever Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales takes the newly popular trope of a Bachelor style show setting and a newly kindled (or rekindled romance). What she does differently is she turns the show runners - at least our initial character - against the Bachelor. Maya, 2 years post break-up from a Princess Diaries style prince, is still bitter and angry about the way he treated her both privately and publicly. When she is approached to join a cast of ex-girlfriends to ‘rekindle’ their romance she takes it. The chance to show her ex for who he really was draws her in. Naturally the show has been structured to pit her against the girl that her ex cheated on her with. This introduces Skye, who still believes many of the lies she’s been fed and believes this might be a chance to try at her romance again - as long as she survives the crazy ex-girlfriend who is rooming with her.
I’m not going to lie. I don’t care much for this romance setting. Competitions make my hair stand on end. As a true blue introvert I would rather everyone work together happily (yes, I am that Mom). The draw for me here was the promise of a Sapphic romance and happily this delivered and used the setting so well I began to enjoy it. By the end I was deeply invested and wanted to keep turning those pages. The miscommunication - while there - is not drawn out. The ‘competition’ is light, and the girl v girl is very toned down. By the end of the book the girls I started out not liking, I ended up enjoying.
The final conflict even felt real to me. I soaked up and adored the descriptions of the girls feelings for one another, Sophie Gonzales description of their kisses took my breath away. And I believed that the conflict could happen. I empathized with Skye. In her shoes with the way she viewed the world (through what read to me as neurodivergent, and therefore more relatable) I might have taken things the way she did. The relationships as well grew in a way I enjoyed. The ultimate conclusion to this was fantastic. I truly loved how Maya and Skye came together and how happiness and wholeness was found.
I know the premise sounds ridiculous and yes, if you poke hard enough holes may appear. This was for me though the perfect romance at the perfect time. I laughed out loud and gasped and was insulted and heated on the girls behalf. My only complaint is that I couldn’t see the characters - physical descriptions were light but it ultimately didn’t draw me out of the story. This is one I loved - and I pre-ordered a physical copy of because I can’t wait to have my own edition to annotate.

4 big Chalonne Mansions out of 5

This book was such a fun, fresh read for me. Someone who typically leans towards the fantasy side, but I usually like to break it up with a few Romcoms along the way just to keep from getting bored. I was so glad to be chosen to read this book.

Maya goes into this game show with only one thing on her mind, & that's revenge. Her womanizing ex boyfriend has landed his own Bachelor-esque reality show & has invited not just Maya but ALL of his ex girlfriends. Including the ex he seemingly cheated on her with. I don't know about you, but I would be one HOT cookie about being placed in this sort of situation.

Along the way we learn that Maya is also bisexual & can appreciate those of the same sex, sending the game show into a complete different direction then was intended. This enemies to lovers book was literally everything and more. It was an awesome lesson of learning to let go of the past and embracing the possibilities of the future.

Round of applause to Sophie Gonzales , this story was *CHEFS KISS* fantastic

I hate writing reviews for books I didn’t enjoy. It’s why I don’t do it on my social media, I never want to insult someone’s hard work.

I will just say that I think bc the story is kinda similar to The Charm Offensive, and I adored that book, maybe I didn’t give this one a fair shot.

If you’re into a bonding over revenge F/F love story, I say give it a shot bc everyone has different tastes.

this book was such a treat! the pacing was perfect, the love story was heartwarming. the friction wasn’t frivolous, and the ending was justified and perfect! had so much fun reading this one.

LGBTQIA

Contains humorous moments.

Sophie's new release is about a reality TV show where Jordy gets a second chance to date his exes. We follow the ladies as they compete to spend time with Jordy. (The ladies' jealousy hampered my enjoyment.)

At first, it was a challenge to keep the characters straight. It seemed that the characteristics changed from Maya to Skye. I wanted to DNF, but kept going.

I do not agree that this should be for Young-Adult, when a guy has so many exes. Please, change the audience to ADULT!!

This was a super cute, engaging read with mostly likeable characters. The drama was enough to keep me entertained without feeling sexist or forced. I laughed a few times, almost cried a few times, and was kind of surprised the book was over because I could've read 100 more pages. Overall adorable and I'm happy to have read it.

Sophie Gonzales does it again! A great romance novel with interesting characters and a super fun plot. This book was everything you want from a rom-com. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic alongside the reality TV show backdrop makes the book fast and fun.

As usual, I found the resolution to the conflict too fast for my liking but that is typical of this genre as a whole.