The concept of this book is so fun and original. I loved the idea of someone having their favorite fictional character come to life, already madly in love with them! I also liked the alternating between past and current times. I didn't love the writing style, however I know that is part of the story since it is centered around fanfic.

I really loved Only Mostly Devastated and Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales, and I enjoyed her writing style as always. This one reads perhaps a little younger or sillier than the other two. For fans of The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune, or fans of fanfiction and fandom in general.

Learned through this book that fanfic is not my thing…The writing is also just so-so. If this isn’t YA it definitely should be. Maybe I’m just too old for this?

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for inviting me to review a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

DNF @ 81%

I just don’t think this book was it for me. While the plot was decent and there were good character dynamics between the MCs, I just couldn’t get myself to really care about them.

This sapphic YA romantic comedy is a love letter to fan fiction and its writers and community. Author Sophie Gonzales has done yet another fantastic job with this YA Contemporary read!

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

✰ 4 stars! ✰
I loved the premise! A fanfic writing MC? I was immediately intrigued. I found it interesting to see how the typical tropes would translate to Ivy's real life. Weston following the enemies to lovers fanfic was definitely not romantic!
The characters were also great, the conflicts were relatable and made sense, and I liked the ending. In general, I thought it was a fun read and would recommend it to people who are into fandom stuff (like me) to enjoy pointing out references.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I feel like this book didn’t hit for me. Almost seemed as though the author was making fun of fan fiction readers/writers. The “imaginary friend” aspect of it with the crush just was a bit weird and cringey for me.

Sophie Gonzales is such a FUN writer, and this story does not disappoint! A super nerdy main character home alone for a week? Love it. Unresolved romantic tension between the MC and her bestie-turned-enemy? Yes please! Honestly, I'm not even that into fan fiction or speculative romance so I picked this up SOLELY because I loved other Gonzales books. The speculative element is not distracting. The rest is perfection. Definitely recommend for a fun read.

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist is the PERFECT read for 2024.

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist follows Ivy our main character who is obsessed with a certain TV show. When the heart-throb of that show somehow shows up in front of Ivy, things take a turn for the romantic (or do they). Ivy has to get her friends involved and figure out exactly what she might be looking for in this life.

This novel is laugh-out-loud hilarious and I think that is probably my favorite thing about this story to begin with. Sophie Gonzales's humor is second to none and they just know how to make me laugh. This book features some of your favorite tropes that you might recognize, whether it be the soulmate trope, enemies-to-lovers, etc. The way that these are portrayed is so fresh and fun though. They aren't taken super seriously or religiously. They allow the reader to breathe and just have a good time. (Seriously, you're going to love this - I cackled out loud several times!!) This story also has an emotional punch that readers are going to relate to. Best friends that start growing apart and the budding and exciting feeling of new friends are some of the other themes in this story.

I absolutely adored this book and I love all of Sophie Gonzales's stories. Check this one out and give her other books a read too!

I’m very torn on this book. I think I’m just not the target audience for it and I’m trying to make allowances for that, but I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as most Sophie Gonzales books. The magical realism thing just did not work for me and I never got into it. I think it was a bit of a sendup of fanfic but I don’t know a ton about fanfic so that stuff went right over my head. And I never really felt the chemistry in that main romantic relationship so overall I was just not feeling invested in this one. That said it was well written like all her books and probably great for the target audience.

At this point I'm willing to read anything Sophie Gonzales writes. It doesn't even matter what it's about, this is the fourth book of hers that I've read and I've loved every single one of them. The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist is a love letter to fanfiction and it's so, so much fun. Not only is the story filled with fanfic tropes in the best way (and subverting them!), but it's also funny, emotional and has such cute best friends to rivals to lovers arc! Honestly I don't want to say much more than what's already in the blurb because I think it's more entertaining to go into it not knowing, but if you or someone you know loves fanfic, fandoms or just cute sapphic romances, get a copy of this book!

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I will happily leave a review for this when the racist remarks by one of their employees is addressed. I want to support the author, but also want to know they don’t support this behavior.

This book has a very cute premise for a queer YA romance. I loved the main character and her best friend, but wish we could have seen more to build the dynamic with the love interest.

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist tells the story of Ivy. Ivy is a fanfiction writer who accidently brings one of her fictional characters to life. During the course of the story she learns perfect isn't always the best.

I really wanted to like this book. I'm a big fan of fanfic and Sophie Gonzales. Unfortunately this book fell short. I felt like the author was making fun of fanfiction. I also couldn't make myself care about Ivy or the other main character, Mack. They were both insufferable in their own ways. The plot felt rushed and silly. I would give this one a miss.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and St, Martin's Press for this ARC.

3.75⭐️ for me. Not *quite* a 4, but I did enjoy this storyline. It took a little while to really grab me, but I loved that at no point was I able to really guess how everything would play out, and I liked the way the friendships developed.

Ivy is obsessed with Weston, the main character from her favorite show. So obsessed with him she...wills him to life through the power of fanfic? One day, he's a fictional character, and the next, he's in her room, living out fanfic tropes. Thankfully, her parents are gone for five days, so she has some time to figure out what's going on, with the help of her friend Henry and her former friend (and totally definitely for sure *former* crush) Mack.

This book is absurd, in a really fun way. It's fun, it's ridiculous, and I honestly was never really sure quite what to expect--what tropes were coming next, how they were going to deal with the problem, it was all so up in the air. I really loved the examination of the fact that sometimes the things we're into in fiction really don't work for us in real life.
I do wish there were a little more time spent on the conversations Ivy and Mack have about what went wrong--I still had some questions, but I think a lot of that came down to Ivy being the only person whose perspective we get, so she's a bit of an unreliable narrator when it comes to the past. Still, it felt like it switched up a bit too quickly toward the end, though I loved that we got some acknowledgement of Mack struggling with being in such a white world, though, again, I wish we'd gotten a little more of that.

Overall, The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist is fun, especially if you love tropes (and more especially if you love fanfic tropes). There were some times I wish it leaned into them a little more, but I did like that it stayed more speculative than full-blown fantasy and kept things fully at a YA level.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I've loved other books by Sophie Gonzales, and while I liked the book, the fantasy element was not my favorite.

I know it is a YA book but at times the book felt excessively immature to me.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and I liked that it was a departure from the usual romance tropes.

The characters were extremely likable and you found yourself rooting for Ivy in all of the crazy situations she managed to get herself into.

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC of #theperfectguydoesntexist

Each page of this book left me turning and turning to get to the next.

I seriously couldn’t wait to get to more of the story. The author made me engage and relate in a way that I swear I haven’t felt in far too long.

I've really enjoyed Sophie Gonzales's books in the past, but this one just did not work for me. The chapters go back and forth from past to present and I think I would have appreciated the backstory more if it had been summarized all at once. Also, the magical realism aspect didn't seem either real enough or magical enough, again for me. I didn't really like any of the characters enough to care about their happy ending. The writing was really good, and the story definitely moved, but this one was not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I adored this book! As someone who wrote fanfiction as a teen, I loved it even more!

This book has all the perfect elements of an amazing rom-com. The characters, the angst, the surprise, the sweetness. It follows different tropes seen in the literature.

It was also SO funny and relatable. There were so many moments that I literally laughed out loud in the book. I never wanted to put it down!

I'd recommend this book to all readers! It's a perfect YA rom-com with LGBTQIA+ characters (which we need more of in books, especially YA for all teens to relate to!).

I have loved all books by Sophie Gonzales and was so excited to snag this digital ARC. I will be constantly recommending it until it comes out in March!