Very fun read. Definitely some "John Tucker Must Die" vibes. Fun bunch of diverse characters. I wished we could seen more of Skye and Maya falling in love as their relationship seemed rushed but that's just me being a slow burn fan. 4/5 stars for the girl getting the girl in the end!

This ended up being a DNF for me. I was extremely frustrated that the blurb didn't reveal how young the main characters were. The situations the characters were placed in didn't feel like they had any stakes given their ages. I love the bachelor/reality show retelling subgenre but this just wasn't it for me.

This book was so much fun! I loved the premise & the characters so much. I do wish they had been a little older (the fact that he had that many ex-girlfriends before turning 20 was wild) but reading this was such an enjoyable ride beginning to end. Felt like binge-ing a cute Netflix show.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ || here for this t-swift inspired title! 👏🏻

this is my first Sophie Gonzales read, and certainly not my last! i love how this book jumps right in to humor, fun, and a little bit of chaos.

quick tl;dr (no spoilers): maya is called up by a reality TV producer to join a new reality show where she (along with other ex's) would re-date her *cheating* ex boyfriend, jordy. maya is not on board until she realizes this could be the perfect platform to get her revenge. que up, 'john tucker must die', sprinkle in a little bit of unexpected romance, and you've got the perfect storm that is this book.

this is a little bit of a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, but the way it played out was perfection and i would not have changed a thing. soulmates like this cannot be rushed.

this was a delightful comfort read, and absolutely adorable.

*many thanks to netgalley for the E-ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I wasn't excited about the reality TV format but once I started reading about Skye, Jordy and Maya I couldn't stop. The twists, the villian, the absolutely fantastic twist at the end 👌 PERFECTION. I just wish Jordy would have suffered more for being an absolute tool to all of his ex girlfriend's. I would also love a sequel or novella on each of them because they all deserve to find love like Skye and Maya.

OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

it’s the behind the scenes tv drama story of my DREAMS! I’ve missed reading a book like this and this book just gives me so many warm and fuzzies.

also no spoilers, but I still can’t get over how perfect the ending was. AND THE DRAMA. ughhh so good

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Spoilers ahead.

I was absolutely ecstatic when this book was announced. I was a big fan of If This Gets Out and Only Mostly Devastated, and after reading The Charm Offensive and loving it, I was so ready for an enemies to lovers sapphic love story about two women who devise a plan to get back at their cheating ex on a reality tv show. It seemed to tick all of the boxes for me. Unfortunately, I was left underwhelmed and disappointed.

I want to start with what I liked first because there were definitely things that worked for me.

1. I liked both Maya and Skye as characters, and even though I personally am not a fan of dual first person POV, I did enjoy getting to see both of their perspectives. Maya was funny and just a bit unhinged, and Skye's more logical, reserved nature made for a good balance.

2. I liked that, for the most part, the four other girls were not villainized to make Maya or Skye look better. They weren't perfect, but neither were Maya and Skye, and they were intelligent enough to see through Jordy's nice guy act, even if it took a bit longer for some than others. I was happy they all grew by the end of the book and were there for each other once the show was over.

3. I really liked Isaac and how he did his best to help them even though it could have gotten him fired. It was nice to feel like there was someone on the show who was on their side (as much as they could be, anyway), who was genuinely disgusted by Jordy's behavior and who wanted him to be held accountable for his actions. He absolutely deserved that vacation with his boyfriend.

4. Jordy was the absolute worst, as promised. Within pages of him being introduced, I was fully invested in Maya's revenge plot and I couldn't wait to see him get taken down. I was even more excited for the book after seeing just how awful he was.

Unfortunately, what I did like didn't make up for what I really didn't like. I had two main issues with this book.

1. The actual reality tv show part of it felt very weak. Even though almost the entire book was on set, it felt incredibly easy to forget that they were on a show. A lot of the actual reality show parts such as the challenges or the ceremonies were sped through, while scenes where Maya and Skye were talking in their bedroom seemed to drag on and on. I understand their relationship needed to be established, but it was at the detriment of the show aspect. Even though they were supposedly being filmed and listened to at all times, it never really felt like they were very aware of that fact, or at least that they cared. In addition, the rules seemed to change whenever it needed to. It was vitally important for Maya to do this or do that to stay on and she failed, but oh well, this week they aren't sending anyone home because they don't want to. This happened multiple times, which really lowered what were supposed to be high stakes. Considering this was a huge part of the book, I really expected more.

2. I don't think Maya and Skye's relationship was properly developed. Those early chapters had me so ready for them to fall for each other, but when they did I was left disappointed. They both mentioned the other was attractive, but other than that there was no build up, no tension. They just "suddenly" realized they wanted to kiss each other, which okay. I guess that happens sometimes. They talked and decided to keep things casual considering their situation, but then fast forward a few chapters and they're head over heels for each other even though nothing had really changed. It was too much telling and not enough showing in my opinion. By the time we were nearing the end, I was already not particularly invested in their relationship, and then the drama happened between them. It felt very contrived and very unnecessary. I don't understand how Skye, who is incredibly intelligent and knows how much Maya hated Jordy, would even for one second think Maya would leave her for him. It makes no sense. And then she more or less gave Maya an ultimatum? Not only did it completely turn me off to their relationship, it made me like Skye a little less. None of it felt necessary.

I really, really wished I had liked this book. I feel like it has all the ingredients to be great, but the two most important parts of the book ended up being the weakest. If even one of those aspects (the reality tv show or their relationship) had been stronger, I would have liked this more. Unfortunately, both of them not being developed enough really brought the book down.

This was a quick, easy read that had its fun parts, so I'm sure there will be plenty of people who like it, but it wasn't for me.

This book was everything I hoped it would be!! Bisexual main characters, a jerk who gets his due, and women supporting women.

I don't know much about reality TV or royals but I did read One to Watch which was about reality TV, so that and secondhand information is my only knowledge of it. That being said I felt like the show design was really interesting and well done, the contestants on the show each had distinct personalities which really helped to tell everyone apart and made things easy to follow along. I enjoyed the unlikely friendships that were made and of course there's some unexpected romance that really turns things up to 100.

As far as the royals stuff, I did find that to be a little bit confusing. I never thought of the family of someone who marries into royalty as famous themselves. I could be wrong but it's a little weird to me the way the book portrayed and painted that. As I mentioned, I don't know much about royals and I don't follow any of that in real life but I'm fairly certain I've never heard Meghan Markle's parents moving near the castle and doing interviews or anything. The book does reveal that the sibling of the person married into royalty is actually less important than they paint themselves to be eventually but I still find the fame and publicity they have to be a bit strange.

Overall I LOVED this book. Seriously it's the most inventive enemies to lovers I've ever read in a book, it reminded me more of fanfiction in a totally wonderful way. This is my first Sophie Gonzales book but I do own Perfect On Paper and will definitely be moving it higher up on my TBR now!

Thank you so much to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Never Ever Getting Back Together tells the story of Maya, an 18 year old girl who is invited to star on a reality TV show called Second Chance Romance. In this show, she is expected to compete against five other girls for the chance to be their mutual ex-boyfriend Jordy’s new-old girlfriend. The catch? Jordy and Maya broke up after she caught him cheating on her, and now Maya is forced to live with the girl he cheated on her with, Skye Despite agreeing to be on the show in order to make Jordy fall in love with her again before shattering his heart in front of the whole world, Maya begins to fall in love herself, but not with Jordy—with Skye.

Things I liked:

JORDY!!! I don’t know if I’ve ever hated a character more. He is truly abhorrent, and I loved every second of his awfulness. Some people say a story is only as good as its villain, and if that’s true, then that makes this story a 10/10.

The relationships between all the girls were lovely. I often found myself enjoying the scenes with everyone becoming friends with one another more than the romantic scenes with Maya and Skye.

The plot was also very engaging, largely due to its premise, and while there were some issues I had, for the most part everything that occurred made sense for the characters and didn’t add too much unnecessary drama or distress.

Representation! I’m glad this was the first sapphic read of Pride Month because it was very refreshing to see some good, healthy bisexual representation! It made me very happy to read, and I thank the author for putting that goodness into the world <3

Things I didn’t like:

The pacing. I thought the progression of Maya and Skye’s relationship was a bit rushed at times. I wish there was more time devoted to them building their friendship and developing feelings for each other, but it honestly felt like as soon as they didn’t hate each other, they just started making out (that’s an exaggeration, but there just wasn’t enough build up for the relationship change to make sense).

The ending. I literally just don’t understand why Maya’s revenge plan was rejected and why Maya was almost villainized in the end when up until that point we had been building up to her plan as the epic conclusion. Skye changing her tune actually made me almost dislike her character, and the whole ending just felt anticlimactic, which is such a shame because of how well the build up was written. I found myself just trying to get the book over with after that because it just felt like a huge let down. I wish I could have liked the ending better because I really really loved the rest of the book (minus the pacing issue, but I can overlook that) and the ending made it so I finished the book feeling deeply unsatisfied.

I also felt like there was more to be explored with Jordy that we didn’t get. It felt weird to have him open up about a girl he actually fell in love with that broke his heart, mention her again a few times, and then…just do nothing with it? Not even a callback to her in the epilogue News headlines? I don’t know. It just felt like there was an attempt made to give Jordy depth that was shot down because we as the reader weren’t ever meant to feel the slight bit sympathetic towards the villain.

Overall, the book was solid and well-written, and I did truly enjoy the reading experience for the most part. I would recommend this book to others, but it would not be my first choice purely because of how it ends, and I don’t know if I can see myself reading this again unless there is somehow a sequel, in which case I would reread to keep the first book fresh in my mind.

big dnf, y'all. big dnf. let me tell you, this one is NOT it. firstly, jordy probably watched pride and prejudice (yes watched, i doubt he's read a book in his life, let alone a book written by a woman) and thought that wickham was the good guy.

i got 18% into this book and there was so much gaslighting, manipulation, sexism, and girl on girl fighting over a guy who is 100% a lying, cheating asshole. the words "she stole my boyfriend" was said i think at least 4 times in a 2 chapter period, and there was just a bunch of other language like that. it was really frustrating because one of the main characters, maya, knows that jordy is a lying jerk because he cheated on her and then started spinning the story to make him look like a good guy and like she was "crazy" and yet she never stops to think that maybe jordy lied to skye and made her think that he and maya were broken up even though they weren't? it really bothers me that she doesn't for one second think that that is a possibility, especially since she'd never met or really even spoken to skye before going on this second chance romance show. they're all so catty, i can't get through any more of this.

I should have known that a book that had a Taylor Swift song as the title would be good. I haven't had the best of luck when it comes to dating reality show books but this book is the exception. I loved being in the heads of our main characters, Maya and Skye. Maya was so hilarious and couldn't lie to save her life. Skye's need to plan and know what comes next was the perfect contrast to Maya's "I'm gonna wing it" style. I really enjoyed the natural progression of their relationship. It was just fun to see them mess with Jordy while also growing their feelings for each other. The way they learn each other's stories and ticks made me fall in love with the characters right along side them. The reality show setting was a lot of fun and cheesy in a good way. My one real issue was that Jordy, when we first met him, is very charismatic and easy to like even though you know what he did to Maya. But as soon as Skye learns about him he becomes a caricature of "bad guy." It's suddenly very obvious that Jordy isn't kind. His charm is gone and replaced by a sexist guy who doesn't know how to fool girls into thinking he's a "nice guy." That's who Jordy is underneath the smile and agreeable answers not who we are suppose to see so up close. His character just compelety changed. I wanted him to still be the snake hiding in the tall grass. Overall this book brought me so many laughs and warm moments.

This was almost a dnf for me the only reason I kept finishing was because I was desperately hoping for it to recover and it never did for me. I loved the bi representation, the gay side characters. I wasn't so fond of these characters holding on to this resentment for over 2 years that seems a little much for me. I also wasn't crazy about Jordy being early 20's and having to pick his forever love. That just wasn't realistic to me.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of course all words are my own.

I INHALED this book. I can’t remember the last time I read a book in one sitting.

Who doesn’t love a story focused on a second chance at love? How dramatic can things get when you throw a bunch of ex-girlfriends together in mansion and aim a cameras at their faces? This reality TV competition was anything but expected.

Dropped down a star for me because the book could not decide if was YA or adult. The conflicts and how they were managed felt appropriately YA. But, the setting of a love-based reality show screamed adult. Overall the book felt more New Adult than YA.

If you love reality TV as much as me, this book is for you. Loved the bi rep, relatable MCs, and a pinch of humor. So much fun!

Yes! The sapphic enemies to lovers, omg they were roomate--with a side of reality tv I needed! A perfect beach read, and so funny. Lovers of revenge and reality TV will love this book!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the opportunity to review an eARC of Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales.

Maya and her ex-boyfriend, Jordy, separated two years ago under messy circumstances. When Maya is invited to be part of a reality television show called “Second Chance Romance” where Jordy and each of his exes attempt to rekindle their romance, her initial instinct is to say no. Then she realizes that this opportunity could be her chance to get the revenge she desires after what Jordy did to her. What she doesn’t expect is one of the other exes that shows up and what happens as a result.

I initially requested this book because of the cover, but then the description was very intriguing as well. Reality television is one of my guilty pleasures, so I couldn’t resist a book that takes places during the filming of a reality show!

This book includes a lot of the drama and hijinks that we’ve come to expect from reality television and it was easy to binge read. The chapters alternate between Maya and Skye helping add to the intrigue of what each is going through. Maya’s character is so real that I couldn’t help but like her from the start. Skye took a little longer to understand, but I ultimately liked her too. I 100% recommend this book for avid readers of romance/rom coms and fans of reality TV.

I have never read Sophie Gonzales before this. I really wanted to but I never got the chance before this book and maybe that is a very good thing. After reading Never Ever Getting Back Together, I want to devour all of Gonzales' books. ALL OF THEM.

When I read the synopsis, I knew it has all the elements I love in romance: WLW and enemies to lovers. Maya is a bisexual girl who gets on a reality show which aims to unite the male lead, Jordy, with his ex girlfriends to find the one that got away. However, Maya plans to get back at him and take revenge for the fact that he cheated on her and gaslit her in the process. When she makes it to the set, however, she is confronted by the woman who he cheated on her with: Skye. Skye is coming to the show with hope that she will have her second chance with Jordy. She thinks that he is the only exception to her "one time only" rule and probably, as she told her best friend when she landed, he is the one that got away.

Now, let's discuss the characters.

Skye

I didn't like her in the first couple chapters. I felt like she was too naive as she kept on gaslighting Maya. However, as the story progresssed, I did manage to understand her. Jordy is a manipulative narcissist who feeds on deceiving people so it did make sense how she was deceived by him. I really enjoyed her character development and the shift from being so into him to wanting nothing to do with him. I also enjoyed the parts of her we get to explore in her relationship with Maya. She showed the sides that made her who she is and that was so beautiful.


Maya

Just like Skye, she is flawed and sometimes I didn't enjoy those flaws the way I enjoyed her good side. However, that made her more real. Maya was cheated on and gaslit by the same man who tried to manipulate her to get her to the show. She is heartbroken and sad and to see that the woman he cheated on her with telling her to get over it, she couldn't but break even more. I loved her sarcasm and wits. I loved her jokes, her anger and her reactions. As for her persistence to take Jordy down, I think I didn't like how revenge was all she saw during some parts. She was obviously happy at certain times but she couldn't resist planning to destroy Jordy even when she should have.

Jordy

God, I wish I could punch him in the face until I could remove that smug smile I suppose he has at all times. Jordy is a manipulative narcissist who only cares for himself. Midway through the book, I felt like I was losing hope in Maya taking revenge. As we explored how much of a player he is, I wanted nothing but huge humilation for him. Thus, without spoiling, I am so delighted with the ending. It felt right for the characters, their development and their resolutions.

To sum up, I love how much of an easy and relatable read this book was. I enjoyed it so much I want to go ahead and read it again. Maya and Skye's story is that of enemies to co-conspirators to friends to lovers and I couldn't but root for them all through the book. If you love a good dosage of drama along with enemies to lovers and a healthy amount of sarcasm, you are in for a treat with this book.

Thank you to NetGally, Sophie Gonzales and St. Martin's Press Wednesday Books for the ARC in celebration of pride month.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this so much more than I was expecting to. If you are a member of Bachelor Nation, you'll enjoy this story.

The story was quite well written and the plot was entertaining and kept you hooked. It didn't move too quickly or too slowly, and I loved how the relationship between Maya and Skye was executed. I wish we'd had the chance to explore some of the side characters more: they were one-dimensional and had very little page time. Jordy, however, was a great antagonist. Gonzalez nailed the two-faced, charming but dangerous energy he had and you could see throughout both how terrible he was and why people continued to fall for it.

A few things took me out of an otherwise delightful story: I didn't understand how old everyone was supposed to be. Considering the number of exes he had and the fact that it was a reality dating show, as well as the fact that a large portion of the cast behaved the way people in their 20s would, it was surprising that they were all talking about relationships that happened in their mid-teens! But otherwise, the book was excellent and the story is every bit as interesting as it sounds. I would totally recommend this as a light, page-turning read. Read this when it comes out in December.

I will start by saying I loved the idea and premise of this novel. I feel like there's a little bit of Maya and Skye in all of us and let's be honest, we've all know a Jordy in our lifetime.

That being said, this one fell a little flat for me, but I'm conflicted. It read like a TV show or Movie and I love that. I could visualize everything. But something just fell a little short for me. I dont know if it was that the characters were a little extra exaggerated or if some parts felt like they could have/should have been fleshed out more but were more glossed over. I also felt like the relationship between Maya and Skye could have been developed a little more. Seems like they went from Hate to Love very quickly without a ton of person vs self conflict esp after years of loathing.

All that being said, I didn't hate the book. But I also wouldn't put this on my top 20 list for 2022. I think it shows promise and I do love seeing this sort of diversity played out in the mainstream media, I think it's good for this to be accessible and in existence for young readers.

If I accurately was rating this would be a 3.5-3.75 for me.

Ok I love my reality shows but the concept of a dating show comprised of exes was just hilarious. I loved the plot, the characters and the execution. This was a hilarious book start to finish. I will definitely be recommending

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Never Ever Getting Back Together.

I adore the concept of this book. Two years after being dumped by her cheating ex, Jordy, Maya is invited to appear on a Bachelor-like reality show along with all his other exes. She agrees in an attempt to set the record straight about the scoundrel Jordy really is (in contrast with his perfectly-crafted public persona. There she is forced to share a room with Skye, the girl with whom Jordy cheated. After a rocky start, they soon team up to take him down and pretty soon, sparks fly between them.

While there are parts of this book I enjoyed immensely, my main complaint is that I had a lot of difficulty distinguishing between the Maya and Skye POV chapters. I found their internal dialogues and humor to be very similar and had to keep reminding myself whose POV we were hearing at any given time. I think this problem would be solved in an audio book so would recommend that if given the chance.