A love SQUARE didn't sound appealing to me. Personally, I'm all about a mmc who is all in instead of hang up on someone else, but I gave this a try because it has a POC and an appealing cover. I'm so glad I did! Marcela is such a relatable character with her insecurity, and Theo is a dream. A man who communicates! So much better than a mmc who is a manwhore or gazillionaire. I just wish we got his POV. It feels a little more like Marcela's story since we only see things from her perspective. They are a great couple though, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Gamez's stories.

This book was not for me and pretty frustrating to read. Based on the premise I thought they would *both* be in on the reasons for the fake dating, but only Theo is vulnerable and honest with Marcela and she does not reciprocate for way too long in my opinion. It just felt unfair especially when intimacy was in play.

Also it was so frustrating as to why Marcela had the friends that she did (besides her bestie) she's not stuck at school or at work with Ben and she put up with this toxic friendship and by extension to Ben's fiance as well for over 10 years??? They objectively are such bummers and Ben gets worse as the story goes on. I felt it was an unrealistic dynamic and Marcela could have grown as a person in so many other ways.

That being said, I will read this author again. I believe the bones are there and obviously this book will work for others. Thank you to Forever for the eARC!

Cute story, enjoyed the MFC…but the premise kind of bothered me. I don’t love books where the couple is obsessed with other people for most of the story. Plus the MFC was a little too self-conscious and lacked confidence in a way that made me roll my eyes a time or two.

This debut romance has a lot of excellent representation and is a fun premise but unfortunately it is too childish and messy for my taste. I feel like it’s more suited to someone younger as I am unable to relate to the character choices made and behaviors.

@gabbywritesalot put crack in this book I don't know what else to say. That's a lie, I have A LOT to say!

The romance is romancing, y'all! Sidelined by her best friend she still has feelings for, Marcela is forced to attend his engagement party. She catches his brother, Theo, about to ruin the party by admitting he has feelings for the bride and stops him by quickly leaving the party together. When they show up to brunch together the next day, assumptions are made that work in their favor. Realizing they both need to get over unrequited loves, they use this opportunity to become each other's rebounds.

This book is packed with so much fun, diverse characters, and "oh shit" moments you'll have trouble putting the book down! Marcela is an FMC I related to quite a bit, from eating my feelings to overthinking to even needing to lock away my phone when the drinks come out... She's a character I'm glad I got to read and goes in my top faves list!

Another thing I want to point out is that the book takes place in my hometown, San Antonio. I've read books that have tried this in the past and you can tell the author had maybe visited and used Google, but was ultimately disconnected from the city and the culture. This book however, this book got it right! The places, the slang, the culture, it all felt so familiar and cozy.

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with a copy via NetGalley for an honest review.

#TheNextBestFling #GabriellaGamez
#NetGalley #ForeverPublishing
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This was a fantastic debut! I loved this one! This story was so emotionally rich, with the perfect mix of swoony and spicy and had the perfect level of angst. There was so much personal growth and the two main characters really made each other better. I rooted for them so easily and loved seeing them find their way to their happily ever after. I looked forward to picking this one up every time!

I really loved the relationship between Marcela and theo. They had great chemistry and I loved seeing their journey together. I loved Theo! He was such a swoony male lead! I loved how he made Marcela feel like the most beautiful woman! I felt like Marcela’s insecurities were displayed in a very honest way that felt very accurate. I also really loved how Gamez had Marcela do some much needed self reflection. Marcela’s character arc was great!

This is a great debut and a hot summer read! I highly recommended picking this one up! Overall, this was a really strong 4.5 for me!

Marcela dreads attending her best friend Ben's engagement party, having secretly pined for him for years. During the celebration, she prevents Theo, Ben's brother, from confessing his true feelings for Alice, Ben’s fiancé, preserving their relationship. The next morning, partygoers assume Marcela and Theo had an overnight fling. In an effort to save face and to move past their unrequited loves, the two decide to continue the charade and have a fling of their own.

The story presents a complicated love parallelogram (or rhombus?) that centers on Marcela's feelings for Ben, Theo’s feelings for Alice, and the tense relationship between the two brothers. Ben's manipulative behavior is a recurring theme, making him the least likable character. While the premise is intriguing, the narrative becomes repetitive, focusing too much on Ben's negative traits.

On another note, I felt keenly aware of being in a different phase of life than the main character. That coupled with a lack of emotional impact affected my connection to her struggles and the overall romance. On the positive side, the book skillfully explores the nuances of unrequited love and the complexities of relationships. I am interested in reading what this author does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book was delightful! I enjoyed the back and forth with Theo,l and Marcela and their complicated way they got together. It made for such an interesting story. I loved their back and forth, attempt to trust each other, falling in love, and finally trusting each other enough for their relationship even after Ben and Alice ended their engagement.

This book has fake dating, best friend’s brother, he falls first, angst, Latinx representation and spicy scenes. The book was a sweet romance but extremely messy lol. The setup for the fake dating was so messy. I think I would’ve enjoyed it even more if the back and forth would’ve been cut down and the chemistry would’ve been stronger.






Thank you Netgalley for this eArc

Marcela Ortiz finds herself in a whirlwind of emotions as her long-time secret love, her best friend, gets engaged. The pain of unrequited love becomes even more complicated when she encounters Theo Young, a charming ex-NFL player and older brother of her best friend. The two find themselves at odds and begin a fake dating relationship. This is the foundation of a beautiful story. I loved the inclusion of a plus-size FMC, and Theo is a big teddy bear. The level of compassion within this story is so weighted - it puts a huge smile on my face. I found myself giggling throughout the story, especially the humor and banter. The passion between Marcela and Theo radiates off each page, unveiling a spice filled with heat. Overall, this was a great debut, and I'm looking forward to the next read.

This had just the right amount of drama i need in my books. I loved the body positivity and the plus sized rep. I def felt the chemistry between the FMC and Theo but i wanted more spice and passion. Some characters did feel a bit one dimensional but otherwise it was an easy fun read.

I was really nervous for the "love square", but the author did a great job with all four storylines and I was pleasantly surprised!
I really loved Theo and Marcella together!
Super cute book!

So much angst, so much swoon, and an incredible amount of character growth. This book was a fantastic read. It really showed relationships as they truly are. It wasn't all sugar plums and lollipops - it was messy like so many relationships can be. I loved this and I'm looking forward to more from Gabriella Gamez. Thanks NetGalley for the copy.

Cute and fun read. I enjoyed reading about a plus size FMC done realistically. Seeing the relationship develops between 2 characters in love with others first was a trope I hadn’t read before.

I will always read a book about a librarian. They bring so much to the joy. Just like author Gabriella Gamez's debut novel. There was some rough patches, but an overall good time was had. I look forward to Gamez's next book.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This wasn't perfect, but it's a debut, so that's expected to a degree. I loved the plus size rep, we can never see enough of that in romance. Marcela and Theo's situation was messy, but the author found a way to navigate that without pulling the story down. I'm looking forward to seeing what else this author puts out in the future!

This book had me in a chokehold from the beginning! I'm a huge fake dating lover and this scratched every book itch. For a debut novel, This was so so good! I'm usually not a love triangle, or in this case a square, reader and I did want to shake the FMC at some points during most of the book but I didnt mind the love triangle! I cannot wait to read more from Gabriella!

The Next Best Fling
By: Gabriella Gamez
Review Score: 4 Stars

Boogie’s Bulletpoints

•As soon as I started reading, I was HOOKED.

•An Ex-NFL player and a librarian? Sign me up.

•Fake Dating turned into Friends with Benefits? I love it.

•As a native Texan, I was excited that this book is based in San Antonio!

————————————————————

The Next Best Fling was kindly provided as an ARC by NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing). Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

Release Date: Out Now!

Y'all, this was such a fun book. Marcela and Theo start fake dating as they try to get over people they love, Theo's Brother Ben…and his fiancee, Alice.

They start as a fling, but more feelings develop, and you can see them try and figure out where their true feelings lie.

I loved that he was a former NFL player, and she is a librarian. Football and books, 2 of my favorite things!

This was a really good book, and I definitely recommend it.

2 “open communication got us nowhere” Stars

༺♥༻ Overview
This was a lovely book, a quick read with an interesting concept - we want different people but in the process found each other. Honestly, this might be a new trope I would like to read more, thanks to the author! 😊
However, while the book was enjoyable in the beginning, it slowly faded out and I realized I was just skimming words at some point.

༺♥༻What to expect
📬pining for other people
📬Open communication, but not at the same time??
📬Endless monologues
📬kind of relatable FMC
📬Funny, cute, banter with some chemistry

༺♥༻Characters

💞Marcela (aka Marce) & Theo
Marcela was such a sweet character, her feelings and emotions were valid and totally relatable and she is a librarian!!! her book clubs and the passion for her work and books is sooo relatable as I hope is to many bookworms! But as the book slowly progressed I started getting annoyed at her constant Ben, Ben, Ben. It started getting a bit redundant 😭 I understand what she was feeling but I started to get frustrated when she didn’t communicate and I had no idea WHY?! 😭😭

Theo was also a sweet heart, his openness was so endearing! I believe it truly saved their relationship lol. Also the “i can’t promise I WON’T develop feelings for you” at the start of their rebound-ship was such a breath of fresh air! You usually read oh I will never develop feelings for you blah blah men 🙄 also the DATE was sooo sweett but ofc everything went downhill because every time they try to have a good time SOMEONE happens.

Marcela and Theo were both wonderful characters but often their behaviors and actions seemed childish like constantly walking away at every important conversation 😭😭 like nooo sit, talk!! There was always open communication but when that leads to nowhere, thats practically the same thing as miscommunication. Anyways they were cute together.

💞Others
Ben uhhh was a well written asshole. His relationship with Theo was confusing as hell like oh Alice was in the middle of their feud but oh no, not really. like wtf 😭 Every time he talked to Marcela, I wanted her to tell him to shut up. My eyes literally saw the back of my head every time he entered the scene.

༺♥༻Plot & Writing/Pace
The concept was interesting but the plot wasn’t as tied together and there was way too much drama, really felt like a thriller than a romance the way was heart was beating so fast, nervous- wtf was going to happen next 😭 Sometimes too much drama takes away from the enjoyment of the book as was with this one. There could have been so many things gone wrong with a rebound-ship and the author definitely hit every point 😭

In regards to the writing, in the beginning there was some unnecessary commentary about her making her breakfast, like excuse me, I don’t care 😑 Also half of the time, I couldn’t imagine the scene and their actions.

The ending was a bit unsatisfying for my tastes. I wanted Marcela to throw things at Ben which she kind of did with her words. Yayy she grew!! Overall, a good debut for the author. Just a bit more work on the writing and balancing plot.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC! This review contains my honest opinion where the words are mine and mine alone!

3.75 STARS

When Marcela Ortiz’s best friend, and unrequited love, announces his engagement to his girlfriend of a decade, she realizes it is officially time to get over him. In walks Theo Young, ex- NFL player and brother of the man she’s in love with. On the night of his brother’s engagement party, a drunk Theo is ready to announce his feelings to his brother’s fiancée and Marcela puts a stop to it. Theo crashes on Marcela’s couch and when the two show up to brunch the next morning everyone assumes they spent the night together. Marcella and Theo enter into a mutually beneficial agreement— they’ll have a fling to get over who they’re in love with. Only, Theo isn’t aware that the guy Marcela needs to get over is his brother…

Theo is an absolute sweetheart and I loved seeing him and Marcela together. I loved seeing their character growth through the book and their friendship blossom into something greater.

Marcela is a librarian and a fellow booknerd. I adored seeing her passion for books and Theo’s willingness to listen.