This book was messy — I loved every minute of it. We have a fake dating trope along with the best friend’s brother and … it undoubtedly delivered.

This was fun, hilarious, wild and crazy. I loved the plus sized rep as somebody who is plus sized themselves. It was swoonworthy and the MMC was the cutest man ever. A total cinnamon roll.

I will without a doubt seek out this authors books as they release.

sigh, I don't know what I expected. I was hopeful about this and, in many ways, it did deliver. But tbh the cute moments of the romances were just not enough to keep me from being distracted by everything else going on. I also just didn't want the FMC to be the way she was.. I'm also just not a fan of hugely messy romances and this one had that in aces. It was honestly just too much at times and it took away from the romance for me, to the point that I'm not even sure I cared about the romance all that much by the end of it.

I loved this book so much! as a plus sized latina with anxiety i really saw myself in the FMC. the setting was also fun, i love a workplace romance. the MMC was also a really nice character and i really enjoyed him! i also love fake dating so this really checked so many boxes for me. thank you so much for the early copy of this book! 4.5

SOOORRRRYYY nothing can get me like fake dating mixed with best friend's brother as a trope.... chef's kiss!!! Reading The Next Best Fling was sooooooooo entertaining, Marcella as the fmc was chaotically beautiful. THEO!!!!! the man that he is...... gosh I loved reading them go through the mess of finding love with each other.

The fact that this is a debut for an author is phenomenal!!! Well done!! I can't wait to read more in the future.

The cover, and description originally drew me in, but the rest of it kept me engaged the entire time. I loved getting to know these characters, and I found them completely relatable, especially Marcela. Her inner thoughts felt all too similar to my own at times, and I would love to be friends with her. Then there was Theo, and he is a total sweetie! Tough on the exterior, but soft on the inside. He was kind, caring, and a relatable in his own way. And don't even get me started on the secondary characters. They all bring a smile to my face, except one, and I am really hoping we get more from them in the future.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for the eArc!

Lately I’ve seen a lot of writers who just make their FMCs insufferable and I just want to know why? I was so excited to see a plus sized fmc but I couldn’t root for her, she was so extremely insecure and had no personality whatsoever and that took away from the book. Also, this book was MESSY all caps, and I… I just couldn’t, it was too much and it made me dislike the story all together. I really had high hopes. 😪

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange of my honest review.

I listened to this one on audio and I ended up really liking it! It’s messy, which doesn’t always work for me, but in this case, it made the story more relatable.

YA Librarian Marcela Ortiz has been pining over Ben Young for over a decade. She hasn’t gotten a chance to get over him because they are best friends. If you’ve seen The Holiday, it is like the dynamic between Iris and Jasper Bloom.

On the night of Ben’s engagement party, Marcela stops Ben’s very hot football player brother from confessing his love to Ben’s fiancée Alice. See… messy. Marcela escorts Theo home from the party and everyone thinks they left together to hook up when they attend brunch the next day. Theo and Marcela decide not to correct the assumption and begin a fake dating arrangement which quickly turns into a rebound fling.

As time progresses, Marcela begins to piece together more details about the feud between Ben and his brother, all while her feelings consistently grow for Theo. Readers follow her journey as she finally lets go of Ben and opens herself up for a new love.

I think it can be hard to sell a love story when it begins with a main character pining for someone else, but in this case, it worked for me. Pining after Ben is the safe choice for Marcela; she knows what to expect, even if it is heartache. It took a lot for Marcela to finally allow herself the closure and the confidence to take the risk on Theo. I think deep down she knew that her and Ben weren’t really going to happen and by putting him on a pedestal, she didn’t have to face the other issue as to why she doesn’t trust men (her dad abandoning her as a child). Facing her feelings for Theo also forces her to deal with some unresolved trauma on her journey to a happily ever after.

One of my most favorite things about fake dating is how the participants feel more at ease to be themselves because “it isn’t real.” Thus, they become more comfortable with each other more quickly because they have nothing to lose. Marcela let herself finally be seen without the weight of expectations weighing her down.

Theo is a very sweet MMC, and I really enjoyed his character. Once he decides to pursue a relationship with Marcela, he really prioritized getting to know her and you could tell he had fully closed the Alice box. The date he planned for Marcela was very sweet and shows how much he wants to know her.

Overall, despite the love squares of this book and a whole lot of unrequited love, I did enjoy the romance between Marcela and Theo. The audio was fantastic! Ruby Corazon did a wonderful job- I will definitely be looking to see what other books she has narrated.

The main character is a librarian? Always a yes from me! I really wasn't sure if Theo and Marcela were going to end up together as they both had strong feelings for other people at the beginning of the book. But their chemistry and feelings were off the charts, and I totally bought into their love by the end of the book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

this book gave me such a high heart rate in the best way. I'm looking forward to Gabriella Gamez's next book!!!

This was such a great read by Forever. Getting to know the characters throughout the book kept me smiling so much!

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Folks, we have a love square, I repeat a love square!

The drama in Next Best Fling is high, perhaps too high at some points, but great for anyone interested in angst or sibling love triangles. I thought the ending dragged on too long, but overall I liked (but didn’t love) this book.

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the eARC of The Next Best Fling! All opinions in this review are my own.

This debut novel from Gabriella Gamez shows that she is just setting up for a fantastic series!

When Marcela learns that her best friend (who she has been in love with for years) is finally proposing to his long-time girlfriend, she knows it is officially time to start getting over him. However, when she finds his brother practicing a speech confessing his love for the soon-to-be-bride, Marcela hatches a plan to help both of them get over their unrequited loves. Eventually, Marcela and Theo can't resist anymore and give in to their fake dating story, but they each have to trust that the other is over their first love.

Not only is Theo a swoonworthy lead, but Marcela's home library is one I aspire to have. My two favorite things about this book are how Theo helps Marcela feel more confident and how Marcela describes her love for books.

I already can't wait for the next Librarians in Love book!

Theo was such a cutie. I enjoyed the flirting and the banter but I did not like that they were basically obsessed with other people. I didn’t like that their love story is so intertwined with the other couple.

While this book is super cute, I felt that the miscommunication was too drawn out. This book took me a long time to read because I felt that it dragged at the end. It also feels awkward that Ben and Theo are brothers so Marcela is still going to have to interact with Ben since they are dating. Overall this was a cute read but not my favorite rom com I’ve read this year.

3.5 stars

A love triangle is complicated, but The Next Best Fling starts with a love square when Marcela and Theo get involved/fake date to help each other with their feelings for Theo's brother and his fiance. They each want someone they can't have and it gets messy.

The characters were interesting and I liked getting to see and know both Marcela and Theo outside of the relationship issues. The author did a nice job making them multilayered characters who you hope find their HEA.

The story felt a little long like the plot could have been tightened up some, but overall this was a nice audiobook read.

I was really looking forward to reading this one with a librarian, a best friend's brother trope and fake dating. Unfortunately it did not work for me. I kept putting the book down as it did not hold my interest.

The main characters came off as very immature. It was hard to believe that both Marcella and Theo had crushes on other people for literal years even though those people were in a long-term relationship. Also, there was so much drinking and drunken behavior that was very off-putting. While I did like a librarian as a main character, overall this was a miss.

Thank you to the publisher for my e-copy of this book.

Totally adorable read. Just my jam. I absolutely loved this light hearted romance. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review. Thanks to net galley I have another to favorite author.

Loved the plus size and Mexican-American representation, we cont see that enough in romance. Marcella and Theo were such a great match and it was fun seeing their fling advance to the real deal. Great banter and chemistry. It read quick in the beginning for me but did slow down and I found myself skimming a lot at the end. With that said, I would still recommend.

I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this being a debut romance from the author because it was SO good. There were points where the miscommunication trope was a little frustrating as a reader and felt drawn out, but overall the story line was fun to read. Will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author!

This was such a cute romance but it also had depth too which I always appreciate. The characters were authentic and actually had discussions in a mature manner and this made their chemistry believable. A great balance of swoony romance, emotion and spicy chemistry.