When I read Perfect On Paper by Sophie Gonzales back in 2021, I thought for sure that I would read everything by the author from then on. The characters were so well developed and it felt like true YA that adults could still enjoy. The next one I read, Never Ever Getting Back Together, wasn’t as strong, but the premise was awesome, so I was fully invested. Now I’m on my third, and I’m not sure I’ll be back. I think maybe I’m just too old for these now—and that’s perfectly okay. Teens and younger adults will probably be able to relate better than me.

What didn’t work for me

Most of the characters: It’s funny because I said that Gonzales’s character development really made me love her writing, but these teens are cringy. They make silly choices that can’t really be explained by their personalities because we’re not sure who they are. I know literally nothing about Henry other than his sexuality and that he is Ivy’s friend, and then Weston is ridiculous, though I understand he’s supposed to be.

The plot: As I mentioned above, I think I’m too old for this story. And that’s perfectly okay because it wasn’t written for me. I just kept thinking about how Ivy’s parents left her alone when she clearly wasn’t comfortable with the idea and just couldn’t get into the world. But I think this is all on me.

What I liked

The dual timeline: I really liked how we were getting bits and pieces of Ivy and Mack’s backstory as we progressed in the plot. It made me really wonder what the big blow-up was that happened between them and whether they were going to be able to make up. I was a little disappointed by their fight (it didn’t seem friendship-breaking, in my opinion), but I liked the structure of it. The moral of the story in the end is also a good one—and I think the target audience will appreciate it.

The fan fiction: I am not a person who’s ever written any fan fiction, but I totally get it. I liked how Ivy was unapologetically super into what she loved, and she wasn’t willing to change to fit in with anyone. Fan fiction should have more of a platform than it currently does and I love that Gonzales gave it a spotlight here.

2.5 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

As a fanfiction girly, I felt like this book was absolutely meant for me. Sophie Gonzales has always been a favorite of mine, but this book was just magic. No pun intended.

When Ivy’s fanfic comes to life, she must figure out how to handle her “perfect man” Weston, with a little help from her former best friend Mack.

This was not my favorite from Gonzales but mostly because it was hard getting into the fan-fiction universe. I love her complicated teenage relationships as we see our characters get comfortable with their identities and navigate changing friendship dynamics. The chapters alternate between past and present, giving us a glimpse into where things went wrong for Ivy and Mack.

Pick this up if you like:
- YA romance
- friends to enemies to lovers
- LGBTQ+ representation
- fanfiction

Thanks Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Six. For. Six.

Sophie Gonzales has released six books (at the time I'm writing this review, this specific one isn't out yet but it will be in March!!). I have now read all six. And every single one of them has been 5 stars.

This one in particular, I can almost guarantee to end up being the MOST fun YA Contemporary (with some light magic) released in 2024. It was hilarious, from start to finish, but definitely not lacking in Sophie Gonzales' signature emotion that is mixed in either. I praise this in every single one of her books, but it's true again here- the friendship dynamics are messy and REAL. I find some authors struggle with creating relationship dynamics that are complicated without veering into ridiculous territory. Gonzales does no such thing, and it's always such a wonderful experience reading how her characters come to terms with their relationships and feelings.

The plot is different from her other books, with some magic thrown in this time. It was hilarious watching all these fanfiction tropes play out in different ways and magical occurrences happening left and right.

This is easily one of my favourite books of the year, and I will be sure to grab a copy when it comes out next year. I'd recommend anyone who is a fanfiction lover, a romcom lover, or just a general YA lover to do the same!

i’m submitting the reviews for books by you that I already have, but I will never request another one. In October one of your employees made a horribly racist statement and you have chosen to do nothing about it. People have continuously asked you to say that you don’t stand with what the employee said, and you refuse to. This is not someone who I want to promote ever because you are sending the wrong message. These reviews will not be posted on social media because you don’t deserve the promotion. By not speaking out you are also not preventing your followers from stalking and harassing people who are participating in the boycott. Your silence speaks volumes. I hope that all of your authors move to other publishers because you are standing with a genocide. You are also currently saying that you support black women in black history month but you have ignored their concerns for months and shown them no support.

Watch this video for more information https://www.tiktok.com/@vivafalastinleen/video/7288407369313307947?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7211704101519296042

.

Thank you Wednesday book for the review copy of The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist. I loved this sweet swoony YA read and it really fits in with a of how I here adolescents today talking about fandoms, media engagement, and simply how they experience a diverse way to experience first crushes, loves and attraction. Sophie Gonzales as a new to me author but I understand now why I have seen so many positive reviews for her work, this was a fun read and I loved the voice she gave to Ivy, she was real and relatable. What stands out the most though for me is the depth that is offered in a fairly short read; a rich real adolescent world and characters, fan fiction embedded into the story and the world for that fan fiction, and every day adolescent life. It is done well, with balance and charm, and with strong well developed characters who felt real and not one note and not stereotypes.

Thank you so much, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Ivy only wants to hang out with her best friend Henry, binge-watch her favourite show H-MAD and trying not to think of her former best friend, now enemy, Mack. But when she wakes up to a real Weston, main character of her favourite TV SHow, claiming he's her soulmate, her life is turned upside down. Her fanfics have brought him to life and now her dreams aren't exactly how she thought they would be, creating chaos and real life problems. To figure out why and how Weston is actually alive, she ropes Henry and a reluctant Mack into the chaos and as they spend more and more time together they are forced to understand what's happened to their friendship and what they really want from each other.

First of all, WHAT? Who hasn't written fanfictions and wished for a character from a TV show to just exist? How cool would that be? From this book, not so cool, but very complicated and chaotic!
Sophie Gonzales does it again! The perfect guy doesn't exist is a lovely enemies to lovers rom-com and it was absolutely fantastic to read. I devoured this book because I loved every single thing! Ivy is amazing, Henry and Mack are brilliant and Weston is the perfect guy and soulmate and everything was an emotional and funny rollercoaster!
Between real life problems and fiction, broken friendships and wanting something more, Ivy and her friends embark in a funny and intense journey to discover what Weston is and how to solve this problem, while also trying to figure out what they are to one other and what they actually want.
The perfect guy doesn't exist, but this book does!

A funny book.
I actually spent a nice time reading this book, I laughed too much at the very random situations that happen in the story.
The story follows Ivy Mack and Henry, I would describe this book as a friends - enemies - lovers, Avy and Mack were best friends but due to an event that they explain little by little in the book, their relationship fractured.

This story is very random and funny to pass the time, it is not something I would normally read but I saw the cover and thought I had to read it. I had also heard and seen on social networks that the author was very good.

Thanks to netgally and the publisher for this advance copy.

This was a fun, feel-good young adult book. It was a quick read. I think I would have enjoyed this more at a younger age. I enjoyed the characters and the plot was fun, but I wasn’t as into it as I hoped I would be. I can definitely appreciate the story and how it will be meaningful, especially to the target demographic.

This was a really fun YA story! I loved 90s movies where kids made a wish and the next they it was somehow granted, like 30 over night or Big, so this was a really cool idea.
I liked the alternating timelines between now and back when Ivy and Mack were best friends, it gave us a better idea how their fight happened.
Sadly I have to say that when it all came out it was pretty underwhelming for me to be honest. I think Mack was acting unnecessarily mean in the past and also now. I didn’t like her a lot so it was hard to make me root for their romance.
Then it all turned into kind of a horror, with Weston getting all psycho, and the story lost me a bit.
Overall I think this was a fun read, I just kind of expected more of the story.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

Former and current fanfic enthusiasts will surely love this new release from Sophie Gonzales.

First of all, thank you tk Wednesday Books for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

This is my third time reading a Sophie Gonzales book and I can confidently say that Sophie is an auto-buy author for me now.

TPGDE is a gift to the fanfic community. In here, we follow Ivy and Mack and how their friendship collapsed over the years only to be rekindled when Ivy accidentally bring to life a fictional character from her favorite TV show. The two must find a way to make sure that their new 'friend' will not be discovered while also navigating the awkward and messy stage after a friendship breakup.

Hands down to Sophie's writing style. Always topnotch and never a dull month. Pair it with that storyline and you'll get an amazing romcom that is comparable to some of the best teen shows to ever exist. In fact, I can see this becoming adapted to a teen series and being a hit.

The characterization is on-point. There's no doubt the author knows the characters that she wrote and the chemistry between the MCs even after their closeness severed was undeniably realistic.

I also enjoyed the fanfic references scattered all over the book.

Definitely a banger and I highly recommend this one if you want to read a book about reality of friendship mixed with fantasy and a bit of magic.

RATINGB 4stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a unique, fun YA! Ivy is home alone for the week while her parents leave town for a work conference. There is a huge thunderstorm and in the morning she wakes up with someone in her bed.....specifically a male who looks exactly like her favourite character from a TV show she is obsessed with. It's not the actor who plays the character, and his super powers don't seem to be functioning, so who is he actually and why is he here?

I loved this one. It was fun and cute. You kind of have to abandon all logic with respect to waking up next to a stranger and not calling the police, instead opting to help him and keep him a secret from everyone. Highly recommended.

The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist starts out pretty cute and funny. Ivy had a break-up with her best friend/crush last year, and has been deeply into her fandom. Her favorite show is H-MAD, a show about magical teenagers, and she’s been writing fan fiction. One night after her parents are gone on a trip….her favorite character appears in bed with her.

With the help of her new best friend Henry, and her old best friend-turned-nemesis Mack, they try to manage the situation and figure out why this fake, magical character has appeared.

For about three-fourths of the story, it was funny and light-hearted, going back and forth between the present and the past. And then….at the climax, nothing happens? Ivy had a deep, heavy discussion with her fan fiction character, Weston, all about her feelings for Mack. But then she and Mack never really discuss what went on with them. It’s a two sentence “I like you,” and “I like you too” then the end.

Overall, I loved the LGBTQ representation, and I’m a fan fiction reader for life, but the one felt like the author lost steam and just quickly wrapped it up.

Thank you to Wednesday books for the review copy.

A quick and fun read -- if you lean into the camp of an actor coming back to life, this book is actually a really sweet coming of age romance. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

A fun, light YA read. I will recommend this to some of my LGBTQ therapy clients. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC

Ivy is 16, and being left alone in the house for a week by her parents going away. Her only plans are to watch her favourite show H-MAD, hang out with her best friend Henry, and avoid Mack her ex-best friend and neighbour. All is going to plan until the night after she was writing some fanfic during a storm she wakes up with a boy in her bed. The boy in question is Weston, the main character of her favourite show, and lead in all her fanfics. He claims to be her boyfriend, and the man of her dreams and she doesn't know what to do. She recruits Henry and Mack to figure out what is going on and how to fix it. Along the way friendships get mended and formed, and Ivy and Mack both finally talk through what happened to them and what they both want in the future between them.

The premise of this one had a lot of potential to be so fun and campy. And while it did accomplish that to an extent I found it lacking. Maybe I was just the wrong demographic for this one as it does read quite young ya, but I just felt everything was so surface level. Fanfiction and fandom have always been part of my life and what brings be joy so this seemed like a book I would really enjoy but it just missed the mark. The writing and plot felt very clunky, and the characters did not feel very complex. The moral of the story was a good one though, and the importance of compromising in friendship, and have interests outside of the other person. Overall it was interesting but just not for me.

Ivy has the house to herself for a week, which is the perfect time to catch up on her favorite fantasy TV show and maybe even write some fanfic. But when Ivy wakes up on the first day and finds Weston, the super good-looking main character of the show in her house she is so confused. Somehow, the fanfic she wrote brought him to life and unfortunately the tropes she envisioned aren’t as romantic in reality as they seemed when she was writing them. With the help of her best friend Henry and former best friend-turned enemy Mack, Ivy has to figure out how to get Weston to disappear before her parents come home.

This book was a wild ride and a fun twist on fanfic. While the book is YA and features high school characters, they didn’t feel immature. I loved the friendships in this story, and while I was rooting for the friendship between Ivy and Mack, I felt there was too much backstory missing for me to be fully invested in the relationship. Overall, this was a sweet and fun read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

This was such a fascinating and magical take on a queer, coming-of-age novel. Ivy is a high school student who enjoys writing fan fiction about her favorite TV show, Hot, Magical, and Deadly. When her parents leave her home alone for a week, the character of her crush from the TV show, Weston, magically appears in her bedroom. To no one's surprise, the perfect guy is in fact not perfect.

Parts of this book were laugh out loud ridiculous. I especially enjoyed the way in which the author played with common romance and fanfic tropes. And I loved Ivy's friend Henry and his support for her throughout the book.

Other aspects felt a bit over the top. I would recommend this for a younger YA audience and for folks who are deeply immersed in TV fandom.

Rounded up to 4 stars

I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was hilarious. Usually I prefer more romance but the plot was so fun I didn’t mind that this was a slow burn. I do wish we’d gotten more time with them actually together, but I also understand why it’s written the way it is. Also, be aware that this book is full of miscommunication, but as it’s YA, I can give it a bit of grace in that regard, and I felt like the miscommunications and angst were normal, teenager-y stuff that everyone goes through which made it feel more real than a lot of other books that use that trope. It was just fun and humorous and well-written. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book by Sophie Gonzales that I didn’t love.