I know it's only a couple months into the year, but this book is going in my top reads.

I COULDN'T GET ENOUGH!!

The plot, the characters, the steam, THE MESS. I absolutely love a messy story and this gave me all the messiness. So damn good.

📚 Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for honest review!

— fake dating
— love square
— unrequited love
— librarian / retired NFL player
— plus size fmc

Next Best Fling was super cute, fun, and easy read! I loved Gabriella's story telling and how light it felt, but also appreciated how she handled the more sensitive subjects for her characters. I haven't read a story with this kind of complicated love square (if you can even call if that?), but it was certainly interesting and I personally think she handled it really well! I also appreciated how she integrated the Mexican heritage into the story.

Marcela was such a fun character, I loved her librarian side and that her whole personality wasn't revolved around her being plus sized. I did, however, get a little lost when it came to why she pushed Theo away and was really struggling to completely understand her reasonings. Theo was also so good, though I wish we would've maybe met a friend or two of his from his NFL career? It felt very Marcela friends + family focused and I would've like to have seen more from Theo's side, at least in terms of friends.

Also the spice hit just right in this book. Some of the scenes had me fanning myself I was feeling a little warm 🥵 but it wasn't overplayed, either.

This was a very fun debut rom-com that did what it was supposed to do: I laughed, I swooned, I rooted for them… I got hooked and ended up speed reading the second half. Fake dating isn’t my favorite trope, but the setup for this situation felt fairly natural—a fling for two people to get over the people they want but can’t have. I really loved Marcela and Theo as a couple, and I enjoyed that he fully accepted what she saw as a flawed body. The rep was great! I’ll definitely be looking out for this author’s future books!

The Next Best Thing is a fake dating romance. The FMC is at her best friend’s engagement party. She has strong feelings for her best friend but she hasn’t told him. The FMC runs into her best friend’s brother. He is giving a practicing confessing his feelings for his brother’s fiancé. The FMC convinces him to leave the party and people think they are together. These two characters fake date so the people they have feelings for don’t figure it out. This was a cute romance with spice. I enjoyed the characters.

this was a cute debut novel, the concept was different and took me a while to get into but the cute moments were great. I don't love the idea of people being each other's rebound but there were still plenty of swoon worthy times in this story. So overall, I enjoyed it.

Sad to say this but I did not finish this book. It didn’t keep me engaged. The plot is one I like and the writing isn’t bad at all, it just wasn’t for me. I’m sure others will love it. I hate giving a DNF review when it’s a me thing and not an author thing.

This was a fun, if slightly melodramatic debut novel by an exciting new voice. The characters were well rounded (although I wanted more of Alice and Marcela's back story) and it balanced emotion and spice nicely.

This was a wonderful story of a woman who is just trying to find love and finds herself in a tricky situation.

I enjoyed this book! Some points felt like they went on a little too long but I loved how the MMC let the FMC figure things out. This book did make me stressed though bc it had the miscommunication vibes and that always gets me.


Read this book if you like fake dating, best friends brother, sweet sweet book references, and plus size love! I loved that the discussions about her body were very realistic and never with the MMC.

This was so cute! Who knew that a love square would be a thing I enjoyed reading about?! It was messy but in the best way possible. Marcela & Theo had such amazing chemistry. I loved seeing them open up to each other. I was smiling from ear to ear with that bookish surprise. I loved Marcela so much. I could really relate to her especially when it came to dating as a plus size woman. I cannot wait to see what’s next from Gabriella Gamez!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

Thanks to the Tswift references, book love, and football player MMC this book was a romp. The main conflict of this book is that Marcela and Theo are both in love with two halves of an engaged couple. Marcela has loved Ben her whole life and Theo has been in love with his childhood friend forever. To try and get over it, they decide to be each others rebound.
I guess my only problem with this is why would anyone do that? There's no way it ends well, and this story supports that theory to a point. I really liked the characters in this book, but I kept hoping their maturity would catch up to their bad decisions. Marcela and Theo are both emotionally mature, but act childish throughout a good bit of their relationship. Marcela's body issues seem to get shoehorned into the story and one minute she's confident and one minute she's terrified, and while I understand those feelings I don't feel like they were explored well in this story.

Librarian Marcela Ortiz has been secretly in love with her best friend for years—and when he gets engaged, she knows it’s long past time to move on. But before she gets the chance, she has a bigger problem to contend with in the form of Theo Young, ex-NFL player and older brother of the man she’s in love with. When she discovers Theo's plans to confess his feelings for his brother’s fiancée at their engagement party, Marcela is quick to stop him—despite how tempting it is to let him run away with the bride-to-be. She manages to convince Theo to sleep off his drunken almost-mistake at her place and when they arrive at a family brunch the next day together, everyone wrongly assumes they hooked up.
Since Theo needs a cover for his feelings for the bride and Marcela needs a distraction from her unrequited feelings for the groom, they decide to roll with the lie. Until one late night at a bar, they take it a step further and discover a layer of attraction neither realized existed. Soon, they find themselves exploring the simmering chemistry between them, whether in library aisles or Marcela's bed. There are no boundaries for the rebound relationship they form—just a host of complicated feelings, messy familial dynamics, and uncovered secrets that threaten to tear them apart before they can even admit to themselves that their rebound is working. Maybe a little too well.

I’m OBSESSED. This is my first book reading by this author and I ate it up. I was hooked from the start. The main characters going through the same thing was interesting to see. I loved watching it play out. The secret Marcela was holding from Theo made be nervous throughout most of the book. But Theo’s reaction when he found out was very refreshing. As a Latina, it was nice to be able to relate to a character on this kind of level. I rare read books that incorporate hispanic characters, not on purpose but there just aren’t many. Now that I’ve found this author, I plan on following her to see anything she releases in the future. I’m sad the book is over but super excited to have found an author that I now love!

This one was a love to hate book for me, featuring two brothers in love with the same manipulative but sweet girl, while the heroine Marcela is secretly in love with the unavailable one. There is no love lost between the brothers and opportunities to avenge a perceived wrong appear to have been the order of the day. Nerveless and presumptive Marcela gets caught up in the many aspects of the lives of the main players, and is irresolute as to what she truly wants. The author does an excellent job in moving the story along while introducing a smidgen of mystery, blurring the conclusion. The convoluted culmination was and wasn't predictable because of the many layers it was buried under. This was a compelling read that guaranteed everyone got what they deserved. Netgalley provided this ARC for my unbiased review.

The Next Best Fling is the story of two people who each believe themselves to be in love with one half of the same couple. A relationship between the two lonely hearts starts out as a farce, turns into a good distraction, and then ends up being the real thing. I obviously loved the representation of a librarian main character, particularly one living in a larger body. I can’t get enough of that. The male main character was likable enough, but not quite swoonworthy enough for me… I didn’t really get enough character development I don’t think. The book definitely had potential, but it got a little cheesy for me towards the end- however I do think that’s more of a personal preference, and some readers will love the “grand gestures.” I look forward to reading more in the series. This would probably be more of a 3.5 for me- easy to read and enjoyable, but I wish there was more depth to it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

"The Next Best Fling" by Gabriella Gamez is a Rom-com that you absolutely will want to put on your TBR list! This book has all your markers that you want in your next Rom-com-- a love...square?, fake dating, best friends brother, a messy situation-ship,and all the drama of your first time love. This book was a delight from the moment I received this ARC. I also loved to see librarianship represented by a younger person and not portrayed in a negative light, (the YA librarian in me is loving the book club scene!) I think Gamez nailed the feeling of loosing yourself to your first crush/love, that will be relatable no matter your age. Reader's will pick this up for the cover but stay for the character's they will fall in love with. Thank you Net Galley for my ARC!

Thank you to

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"If I could do everything about that night differently and still walk away with you at the end of it, I'd do it this second if it meant being worthy of you."

This story was a quick sweet read. It was full of light-hearted moments, but also very emotional ones. Marcela thought she loved Theo's brother Ben, and Theo thought he loved Ben's fiancé Alice. How twisty that was. However, you could tell from the moments that Marcela and Theo shared, that they were meant to be together. I did have a bit of agitation with Marcela. When she kept avoiding telling Theo her feelings, while he had been so honest with her, I wanted to shake her and say just tell him! I loved that Marcela was a librarian, and that there were little parts where we could see her love for books. The characters are so well written that I loved some and loathed others. If you want to binge a love story that feels relatable and leaves you with a swoon worthy ending, I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read but I had a hard time suspending belief at the love square trope (which was a major part of the plot). There were so many tropes in this book that it’s sure to offer something for everyone: fake dating/rebound relationship, unrequited love, academic girl/athletic guy, in love with bride/groom. The sexual tension and eventual love between Theo and Marcela was palpable and kept me reading. I loved the Mexican-American, plus-size, and asexual representation in the book. All of the main characters showed considerable growth by the end of the novel and I’m glad that Marcela especially was able to work through some family trauma and see her own worth. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about books. Who can say no to a romance about a librarian? Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC.

Librarian Marcela Ortiz is secretly in love with her best friend, Ben Young. But he gets engaged to someone else. Retired NFL player Theo Young is secretly in love with his brother’s bride. He needs a distraction to hide his feelings. When Marcela and Theo arrived to a brunch together, everyone assumes they hooked up. They decide to roll with the lie.

This is one of my most anticipated reads this spring book season. As soon as I saw that this is a romance with a librarian female lead, I knew I had to read it. Marcela is passionate about reading. Librarians and bookish people will relate to her character’s love of books-I know I did!

Books aren’t the only thing Marcela is passionate about. She’s also been in love with the same man for years. This man, Ben, is now engaged but keeps meddling in her love life. Honestly, I have so much to say about Ben’s character. Let’s just say, he isn’t the man I thought he’d be 😑 I hope he get some kind of redemption arc one day.

And then we have Theo who has a bad reputation when it comes to relationships but really he’s sort of a romantic cinnamon roll. He sees Marcela for who she is and doesn’t hesitate to show his appreciation of her 😉

What to expect:
✨ Fake dating and friends with benefits
✨ Complicated family dynamic
✨ Bookish references
✨ Drama, drama, drama!

This was one of the best books I’ve read. and it will now be considered a favorite of mine. After each chapter I needed to keep reading just to see what happened next! The only downside was the best friend’s plot twist about her sexuality. I didn’t think that was necessary to the plot. But altogether a great book. Will definitely be purchasing when it comes out. It took me 4 hrs to finish.

I LOVED this book. A librarian. Best friends brother (even though you’ve loved your best friend for years?). Fake dating. Misunderstood male main character. Beautiful grand gesture from both main characters? I loved it so much!

This book so easily got me out of a reading slump. It was straight to plot while also managing to build an authentic and swoon worthy relationship between Marcela and Theo. I was hooked on every characters impact in this story so much I would love a book on all of them. I gave 4/5 stars only because I would have liked to see Marcela interact with some other side characters like Alice (bc I think the relationship was quite important to the story) more but I would recommend this to anyone!!