Damaged hearts, a rebound relationship, and witty banter make this debut romance novel an absolute must-read. Marcela, a librarian, and Theo, an ex-professional football player, find themselves in a secret no-strings-attached relationship to hide their true feelings for their first-loves. Gabriella Gamez's dazzling words sweep you off your feet and her charming characters (minus Ben) make it impossible to put the book down.

I feel like this book was made for women like me! As soon as I read the first chapter, my heart was full because Marcela is not only Mexican American and from my hometown but she is also plus-sized like me. Everything she described from being overlooked and not being the first choice romantically is something I could relate to. Marcela is a bookworm turned librarian who has been in love with her best friend, Ben. They did go on dates briefly in college, but he decided they were better as friends. 8 years later she finds herself face to face with him and an engagement ring...that's not for her. How is she supposed to push her feelings aside and watch the man of her dreams marry someone else?

Theo Young is a former professional football player and is back in town for his brother's upcoming wedding celebrations. He is mysterious, sexy as hell, and a playboy. Everything is going according to plan when Marcela overhears him prepping himself to declare his love for the bride, Alice. She stops him from making that mistake and starts the chisme train. Everyone now thinks that Marcela and Theo hooked up. They could set the rumors straight, but they need each other to help them move past their feelings for Alice and Ben.

The chemistry is always there between Theo and Marcela and his is surprisingly romantic. Through the years, Marcela never really got to know Theo but now that she is she is charmed. Ben has always described Theo as the enemy but she doesn't get those vibes from him. As they begin to go out more together and show PDA in front of Ben and Alice, Marcela is surprised at Ben's reaction. She has always waited for the day that Ben realized that she was the right one for him, but now it just seems annoying when he continues to tell her that Theo is bad news.

From the moment I started reading, I got lost in the book. I related so much to Marcela and it was easy to root for Theo and roll my eyes at Ben. I rooted for Marcela the entire time and was ecstatic when she came into her own realizing that Ben may not be the prince charming in her life. I can't believe this is author Gabriella Gamez's debut because it was polished like words coming from a seasoned author. I never wanted the book to end and loved getting to read a book that featured someone who is like me. Gabriella Gamez will be on every reader's radar!

Rating: 5/5

Character Development:

Marcela and Theo are beautifully crafted characters, each grappling with their own insecurities and heartaches. Gamez skillfully depicts their emotional journeys as they navigate the uncharted territory of their budding romance. From Marcela's vulnerability to Theo's resilience, their evolution throughout the story is both authentic and relatable, endearing them to readers from the very first page.

Themes and Exploration:

At its core, "The Next Best Fling" explores themes of love, vulnerability, and the courage to embrace second chances. Through Marcela and Theo's experiences, Gamez delves into the complexities of relationships and the transformative power of acceptance and self-discovery. The novel resonates with heartfelt moments and poignant reflections on the nature of human connection, inviting readers to reflect on their own experiences of love and longing.

Plot and Pacing:

The plot of "The Next Best Fling" unfolds with perfect pacing, seamlessly blending moments of humor, passion, and introspection. Gamez expertly navigates the twists and turns of Marcela and Theo's journey, keeping readers engaged and invested in their story from beginning to end. The narrative is rich with tension and emotion, building to a satisfying crescendo that leaves readers eagerly anticipating what comes next.

Writing Style:

Gamez's writing style is engaging and evocative, drawing readers into the vibrant world of Marcela and Theo with vivid descriptions and authentic dialogue. Her prose is infused with warmth and humor, creating an immersive reading experience that captivates the senses and stirs the heart. With its delightful blend of wit and sincerity, "The Next Best Fling" is a testament to Gamez's talent as a storyteller and her ability to craft compelling narratives that resonate with readers of all ages.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, "The Next Best Fling" is a delightful and heartwarming romance that captivates from start to finish. With its engaging characters, heartfelt themes, and irresistible charm, Gabriella Gamez has crafted a debut novel that is sure to leave a lasting impression on readers. Whether you're a fan of contemporary romance or simply in search of a feel-good read that will warm your heart, "The Next Best Fling" is an absolute must-read. Get ready to fall in love with Marcela, Theo, and their unforgettable journey of self-discovery and second chances.

This was amazing!! I loved this!! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes! I loved it!! I loved Theo and Marcela's characters and I loved them even more together!! This was so perfect!!! I need more like this!!! 5 star read!!
I just reviewed The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I absolutely loved this book! It is the perfect best friends brother, fake dating romance book! I loved it so much I read it in one sitting! Can’t wait for it to be released to get a physical copy!

This was so cute and also made me tear up multiple times. Also if anyone has eyes on Ben his shin has an appointment with my foot.

Marcela and Theo’s friendship alone makes this book worth it. Because in the chaos of everything else about their relationship, friendship is truly at its core (as it should be) and that’s why they work so well. I wish that Marcela had been honest with him earlier on, but I get why she wasn’t and I also loved that he didn’t hold it against her even though he was hurt. They both gave each other space to navigate what they were going through.

Also, we all need an Angela. She is an icon and a quality friend. And I am always so pleased when romances include strong platonic friendships as well, because we can’t have healthy relationships in a vacuum!

Super cute, weirdly kind of wholesome in spite of, you know, the whole concept, and so so sweet.

Such a solid debut, can't wait for her next book. Fake dating tropes are a favorite subgenre and can be hard to really nail. This one does.

3.5 stars. I wanted to love this, but it fell a little flat for me. The author tried to go deeper with our two main characters outside of the romance storyline (which I always enjoy in a romance) but nothing really felt fleshed out. Everything felt very surface level, just not quite getting to the meat of the emotion/problem/etc.

I’ve been searching for a good book with a bigger female lead, and I found it here. This book was so adorable and, of course, spicy for those who care about that. I did find some writing errors, but I'm sure they’ll be fixed. The writing did also feel a bit wattpadish but I have no issue with that. I loved the plot; the fake dating trope will always be one of my favorites. I loved how they didn’t just automatically jump into the fake dating, and it wasn’t too rushed. 4/5 for me!

First let me say that it shocks me that this is a debut novel. With the quality of this, I expect that I will have my eye on future books as well!

If you needed to put a trope on this, it would be something like ex's-older brother and friend's-ex and fake dating, with a dash of miscommunication and bookish-librarian-in-love. It was a little of everything, and a lot of fun. The characters felt authentic, with true-to-life backgrounds and reactions. And I am a sucker for a real-world bookish self-reference and this one delivered.

My only complaint is that the miscommunication trope is very prevalent in this story, from the very beginning. The main basis of the plot is characters not talking to characters or not telling them the truth. That being said, I do recognize that the miscommunication trope generally bothers me more than most readers so take this with a grain of salt.

Big thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for a free digital advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own, and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

This was a cute romcom that I liked. Things i liked about it were the sports aspect, Dallas/TX, friendships, fake dating, i felt the FMC was likeable. Would be open to reading the next book from this author!

*4.5

The Next Best Fling has become one of my fav romance books I've read this year!

Thank you to Netgalley, Gabriella, and Forever Pub for access to a free arc in exchange for a honest review!

Going into this book I was hesitant given that I had seen a post that promoted this book as a "Love Square trope" and for those who know me really well, you guys KNOW how much I dislike Love Triangles or Squares. BUT this book didn't use the trope in the way that I would particularly dislike.

What would categorize the book as a "Love square" is that our Main Characters upon the beginning of their fake relationship are in love with other people but end up falling in love with each other. essentially moving on from their first loves.

Theo and Marcela are PERFECT for one another, they are a complete balance to one another. Marcela accepts Theo whole-heartedly how he is and Theo understand Marcela in such a personal way. They REALLY see each other which is exactly what they deserve in their relationship.

I loved this book so much, the plot, characters and chemistry were all there and kept me entertained! I am excited to read more of Gabriella's work!

I cannot recommend this book enough, The Next Best Fling is a book you for sure don't want to miss out on!!

I really enjoyed this book! Marcella and Theo are both in love with other people when they shouldn’t be. So, they come up with the idea of “fake-dating” each other to cover their feelings. I enjoyed watching them get closer and opening up to each other. Theo was great! I love when the MMC is not afraid to communicate his feelings and he did it so naturally and I loved that for Marcella. I also really enjoyed reading about a fellow bookworm, it felt validating. Now, about Marcella, I feel like she was always a foot out the door in their relationship. She was so afraid to fail that she didn’t even want to try. I relate to her on that though.
BUT I feel like there was too much drama for my taste. I’m not a big fan of love triangles and here it was a love square so I had a bit of a hard time getting into it.
All in all, I had a good time reading about Marcella and Theo given the fact that this is a debut novel.

'The Next Best Fling' is an amazing spicy romcom from debut author, Gabriella Gamez. This book is unlike any other romance that I have read before. Marcela has been in love with her best friend, Ben, for almost ten years. They went on a few dates, but he thought they were better off as friends. She has pined for him for years, but now, he is engaged to his long term girlfriend, Alice. Ben's brother, Theo, comes home for his brother's engagement party. Theo is a retired NFL player, and Marcela finds him outside of the engagement party. He reveals that he has been in love with his brother's fiance, Alice, for years! Marcela takes Theo away from the party.

The next day, when they arrive at brunch, everyone assumes that they hooked up. Theo and Marcela decide to go along with the lie, and they will fake date. As they fake date, they decide to use each other as rebounds to get over someone else, but this leads to them developing feelings for each other.

There is so much steaminess and fun in this story. Marcela's love of books and her job as a librarian play such a pivotal role in the story. I love the parts of the story that reflected Marcela's confidence struggles with her body. I think that this is so relatable, and I enjoyed how it was written about in the story.

This was a slow burn, and it technically contained a love square. There is no cheating, and I was so happy to see that that was not a part of the story.

Overall, this is an amazing debut, and it's one that I will purchase when it comes out in July.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an ARC of this book.

I liked the characters most in The Next Best Fling, Marcela and Theo are very relatable and their chemistry sizzles on the pages. The pacing of this book keeps you engaged, and the dialogue adds a playful touch, however I think there there's some room for improvement. There were some plot points that could've been fleshed out further which could've enhanced the experience, such as including more of the character's backgrounds which I feel like were briefly touched on and going into detail about the coastal town which were hinted at but not explored enough to enrich the reading experience. Despite these small flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

10*stars. The book was fantastic. I went through something similar to this character so I could totally relate to her. Their HEA was so very much deserved.

This debut novel is full of tropes: fake dating, unrequited love, slow burn, rebound, love square, geeky girl/athletic guy, in love with bride/groom. Marcella, a librarian, has been in love with Ben for almost 10 years, but Ben just got engaged to someone else. It hooks you right from the beginning. Marcella then stumbles upon Theo, Ben’s brother and the hot NFL player. Swoon!

I enjoyed the setting in San Antonio, Texas as I’m from deep South Texas and Hispanic. I liked all the Texas and Mexican touches. Sometimes it was a bit much especially with the Whataburger name drops. Not that I didn’t go and get Whataburger while reading this. And she was speaking my love language with the pumpkin empanadas.

It gets spicy but it’s not over the top or too much. The plot is interesting and I enjoyed Marcela’s character ARC. I’d love to see what’s next by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you like a fake dating trope, this book is for you. I really enjoyed this book and was very excited at the end to see that there is another book in the works by this author slated for 2025.

The relationship between Marcela and Theo is simultaneously sweet and steamy. One of the things I most enjoyed about their relationship and this book was the communication between Marcela and Theo. Even in the unsure moments of their relationship, at least one of them seems to always be willing to speak up and make it clear that even if they don't have everything figured out, there's real interest and care between them. That's not to say that this book or their relationship is without conflict. I just thought the communicating of feelings was refreshing given how often the opposite is true in contemporary romances.

My only "complaint" isn't really a complaint since it in no way detracts from how good this book is. I just personally would've enjoyed a more solid/clear cut epilogue. I know a lot of people like HEA that leaves room for interpretation or the possibility of anything, and if that's you, resolved HEA but with room for any future, this book's ending is for sure up your alley. But I personally love a more cliche wrapped up ending.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for hones review.

The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez
Pub date: July 9, 2024
Rating: 4/5

Librarian Marcela has been in love with her best friend, Ben, for yrs. When he gets engaged, she finally realizes that it's time to move on. Theo, an ex-NFL player and older brother of Ben, is in love with Ben's finacee and drunkenly plans to confess to her. Marcela stops him from making a mistake but everyone assumes that they are together. They decide to stick with the lie but ends up developing feelings for each other....

Love Marcela and Theo. Theo is such a sweetheart! He's almost too nice to be real. Marcela is terrific and sweet too. Great characters! Ben is ARGHHH...
Really had fun reading it!

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the arc!
Pub date: 7/9/24
I enjoyed this read very much.. The story was cute. You definitely could read it in one day. I liked that Theo and Marcela had so much in common from the beginning. I liked how they kept finding each other. There want and need was there. I wish it was dual POV, I wanted to be in Theo’s head so much.
I recommend this book.

"Home. It doesn't matter if he's talking about my place or his, Wherever Theo is feels like home".

What to say about this book? It's been a few hours since I've finished and still can't find the right words to say.

This book has so many great points that to talk about them would require spending the whole day writing this review, so I'll just highlight my favorites.

I loved how this book is centered around the life of a librarian, and how Gabby managed to bring this into the narrative in a way that made a statement about the importance of encouraging people to read more. As a child, I didn't have access to books (there wasn't a library close to my home), and I'd love to have a community ruled by someone like Marce and Angela who saw kids like me and decided to do something about it, even if the context on the book was a bit different.

Another point that got straight to my heart was Theo (obviously) and his vulnerability. Reading contemporary romances has led to a lot of books in which the guy is 30% vulnerable and 80% possessive, and while I love this kind of book, I also love it when the MMC is just a sweetheart who spent his whole life jamming to "when will I be loved?" by Linda Ronstadt (that could also be Marce's song if we think about it). Every single time Theo opened up his heart (and his mouth) a little, I'd swoon immediately because that's just how perfect, and yet failed, he is.

And to end with my third favorite point: LATINX POWER!!! While I'm not Mexican as Marcela, I'm still Latin American (from Brazil) and it's so hard to find books that represent our diversity out of that stereotype from every TV show/movie from the US. And to add to that, she's a Latin character who's not ashamed of it and it's not a thin character — which only made the book better, since we got to watch her struggle with accepting her body when in front of other people (her moment with Theo almost made me cry!!!).

I've never read a book with a rebound as its center plot, which made me a bit weary of the book, since I had this feeling that everything would be very hushed and all about the spice, but man, I was wrong!

The only point that got to me was that sometimes I struggled with the way Marce repeated things with a certain frequency. I understand those were intrusive thoughts, and that considering her trauma they were bound to happen, but sometimes they literally came out of nowhere, and there wasn't really a trigger, but it didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the book.

Gabby is a powerhouse! That's the comment. If I didn't follow her on instagram, I wouldn't read this book and believe it was her first ever published — she deserves to be known and loved, because her writing and creativity match some of the great contemporary romance authors from nowadays. And absolutely everyone who gets to read "The Next Best Fling" will fall in love with its story, its characters and well, everything.

Summer 2025 is too far away for book 2.

Thank you NetGalley and Gabby for allowing me to read and review this book!

P.S. I just realized I'm the person without a library card. I think I'll go look for my other half at the library.