The Next Best Fling features a YA librarian, a former NFL player, Captain America cosplay and revenge? Yes please.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
🌶🌶🌶/5
🏈🍪📚🍹🍔/5

CW: fatphobia, abandonment, unrequited love, cheap vodka, drunk texts

It was fake dating realtionship where he falls first. It was cute but I am not sure I loved the ending was weird.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The perfect blend of spice, a clever fake dating trope, and an overall sweetness that captivated me. Marcela, our main character, being plus-sized was a refreshing and appreciated representation. I admired how the story addressed her insecurities, and Theo's genuine care for her as a person, beyond physical appearances, was heartwarming. The miscommunication in the plot got a bit frustrating, and I could've done without the third-act breakup, but overall, the story left me satisfied. Considering this positive experience, I'd definitely pick up another Gabriella Gomez book if the opportunity arises. Thank you to NetGalley & Forever Publishing for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Marcela and Theo embark on a fling when the people for whom they’ve each pined for years get engaged to each other. Of course they don’t intend to develop feelings—what could possibly go wrong? 😅 The relationship between Marcela and Theo is equal parts tender and spicy, and the angst, while plentiful, is never over the top. Overall a delight!

This book was rough to get through, mainly because the main female character was an amalgamation of “not like other girls” tropes

I got the absolute privilege of reading an ARC of The Next Best Fling. To say I’m obsessed might just be the biggest understatement of this century. This book came at such an important time for me, as I truly saw so much of myself represented in Marcela’s character development throughout the book. Gabriella Gamez’s writing is impeccable. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, ranging from “I don’t want to put down this book! I need to know what happens!” … to “I don’t want to finish this book! I want it to go on forever!”Award to the author too… for being the first to actually make me cry. If you’re looking for a fictional couple to become way too invested in, this is the book to read.

Boy is this one tangled fake relationship. Participant 1 is the best friend of the groom and has been in love with him for 10 years.
Particiiant #2 is the brother of the groom and is in love with the bride.
These two have met before. Now here they are both wishing that they could break this couple up but at least she understands that is a bad plan.
I love a fake relationship and really enjoyed these two trying to figure their shit out. I would have liked a spicier book. It also went a bit off the rails near the end.

I really enjoyed this book! I related to Marcela in so many ways, and I’ll be adding Theo Young to my list of top book boyfriends! That being said, I do feel like a couple of the spicy scenes were a little rushed and I would’ve loved to get a chapter or two in Theo’s POV.

Not only is the Next Best Fling a wonderfully spicy, tender and honest romance, it's also a love letter to librarians, to YA literature, and to those of us living in larger bodies who know we're worthy of all good things but struggle to hold onto that conviction when faced with the world's censure.

I loved this book, and I think you will, too. There's so much to love about it.

Marcela and Theo's relationship starts in an unconventional way. They're each hung up on someone else- Theo on his brother's fiance, and Marcela on Theo's brother. They're both trying to hold it together watching the person they've been secretly pining for prepare to marry someone else, and neither are handling it particularly well when they run into each other at the engagement party. Marcela talks Theo out of confessing his feelings to Alice and invites him back to her place to sleep off his drunkenness on the couch. When they attend the family brunch the next day, everyone assumes they hooked up, and eventually they start to wonder, "Why shouldn't we? Maybe we can get over our hangup by getting under someone else." And so their "rebound-ship" begins.

What I love about this book is that even though their relationship begins in kind of a weird way, it begins honestly. They're honest about what they're feeling for other people (Theo more so than Marcela) and what they need from each other, and they negin to develop a real friendship by supporting each other as they process these really difficult feelings and situations.

Gabriella does an AMAZING job with the pacing & tension building, whether it's relational tension based on what's said and unsaid or the romantic tension from the number of times they plan to hookup and end up not being able to.

I love the way she highlights the importance of libraries as public treasures and YA literature as a genre that helps people discover and understand themselves at any age. And I love that as Marcela struggles with the differences in their conventional levels of physical attractiveness, she never seems to doubt that she is wortht of love herself. She only doubts that other people will be willing to love her the way that she deserves. The first time they have sex is such a rich moment of vulnerability for them both, and it end up being a really beautiful scene.

This is usually the part where I recommend the book for specific audiences, but honestly this might become one of the few contemporary romance novels that I recommend to everyone. It's just that good.

This got me over a tiny reading slump.

This was precious and I can’t wait for the next one. This whole story just felt so real and honest, which is funny because of… well everything lol. But it felt like a real persons journey.

I'd give this a 3.5 star rating. I wanted to give it a 4, as I enjoyed the characters Angela, Marcela and Theo but I felt parts of the story were just dragged out for far too long and not nearly as polished as similar tropes that I've read. Other than that, I really did enjoy this book.

3.5: I mostly enjoyed this, but did think it was a smidge too long (by maybe 10-15%?) and some of the messy emotions, particularly towards the end were a little much/convoluted for me. I have a hard time with stories where a character pines for someone else for YEARS. While there was some emotional growth, I don't know, it was complicated for me Some other thoughts:
1. Ben is trash (but we knew that)
2. Everyone is this book could REALLY benefit from therapy.
3. I appreciated the fact that this was a plus size main character and while there was fatphobia, it wasn't the entire premise of the book). Also, plus size librarian has a hard time comprehending that the love interest is actually into her? Just call me out by name, why don't ya.
4. I almost threw my Kindle during the "she sneaks books out of the library to read at home without checking them out" part. That is not a thing! Even if your library system has check out limits or fines, that's typically not the same for staff! That is bad librarianship, Marcela! Treat your collection better!
5. I think a dual POV would have been interesting as a liked Theo but wanted him a tad fleshed out more other than football + Alice.

Thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for this I'm exchange for an honest review.

Librarian + Retired NFL Player? Sign. Me. Up!

Marcela's best friend, Ben, is about to propose to his girlfriend, and on the surface, she is happy for him. But deep down, she is crushed. She has been in love with him since college and her dreams of them getting their happily ever after are dashed. At the engagement party, she catches his brother, Theo, pacing outside the engagement party, practicing his declaration of love for Ben's fiancé. She stops him from making a drunken mistake and convinces him to sleep it off on her couch. They end up heading to the engagement brunch the following morning together, and everyone believes they hooked up. They don't refute it and ultimately decide that being one another's rebounds might be just what they need to get over their unrequited love. The more time they spend together, though, the harder it is to what is fake and what is real...

As lighthearted as this book may sound, the author broaches several difficult topics - from parent abandonment to body insecurity. - authentically. I appreciated how the author showed a relationship in which the main characters allowed the other to be vulnerable on their own timeliness - making them feel all the more relatable. I loved seeing Marcela and Theo help one another heal their past wounds and believe that they were worthy of love.

I absolutely adored this book - I just wish it had been a dual POV! Maybe we can get a bonus chapter / epilogue from Theo's POV in the next book in the series! (A girl can hope, right?) I also was so excited to see that the author included a playlist to go along with the book - I love listening to the playlists after I read and recalling the moments from the book. It extends the reading experience in such an enjoyable way! Needless to say, I will be reading the next book in the series and cannot wait for Gabriella Gamez's writing career take off!



Read this if you are looking for a book that includes:
-Fake dating
-Diverse characters
-Fat and Mexican representation
-A love square

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The first chapter had me wary. I hate when tropes about thick people are so overt and in the same paragraph, and why does she not know why her BEST friend rejects dates?
BUT. I'm so glad I kept reading. This was so cute! I loved it was set in Texas (familiarity comforts me in a book) and the mention of Whiskey Cakes had me missing home.
The main character being a Latina without all the stereotypes was refreshing.
I'm trying to find a way to describe Theo without being disrespectful 😉 because damn.
I also liked the small break of the 4th wall where the main character acknowledges a self awareness that the situation is giving CW.
Overall, would absolutely recommend. I read it free as an ARC but I'm tempted to buy a physical copy when it drops.

4.5 stars

OMG yes please such a cute book

-revenge dating
- librarian x NFL
- he falls first
- fake dating/ no strings attached romance
-plus size

Marcela and Theo an expected pair but a whirlwind romance. Marcela is trying to get over her ex and Theo is trying to get over his. The Exes just so happen to be engaged to be married. Both broken hearted decide to have a fling. But when feelings get involved it gets messy. Loved the body positivity.


Thank you Gabriella Gamez, NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion


Pub date July 9 2024

This was such a cute book. I loved the premise and loved that Marcella’s insecurities felt real. I loved watching her overcome them and realize her feelings for Theo, and her understanding of who/what Ben really was.

Theo was so sweet and kind, and… well… he’s a former NFL football player? So while he was great, I also had trouble picturing that. Now, I don’t know any NFL players, so I could be wrong, but I have trouble believing someone who plays in such a violent sport for a living would be so shy and embarrassed and in tune with soft emotions. I could be wrong—but I found that piece difficult to reconcile.

The writing was pretty good, but when it came to the steamy scenes, I had trouble staying in the book. I stopped counting the number of times someone’s hands were doing things seemingly of their own accord. I almost stopped reading at multiple points during these scenes because the writing in them was so poor, and I only pushed on because the rest of the book hadn’t been that bad.

All in all, this was a good read that had some room to grow.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

WOW! What an incredible debut! The perfect way to get booklovers to love your books is to write about another book lover!! This book was absolutely amazing in every way. The way Marcela felt about her body in her inner dialogue was perfect. It wasn't too heavy, or overly done. You can tell it came from someone that actually struggled with this and wasn't just doing this for the purposes of the book. Marcela's abandonment issues and how it came to play out in her and Ben's relationship. It just was so eye opening to me. I haven't read a book that I didn't want to end in so long thank you for being that for me.

I received an ARC copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review, as always, all words are my own.

This book was so cute. Obviously it’s very cliche just by the title, but I love cliche. It’s such a good read and I love the build up of the characters it has. My heart pounded in a few chapters. I loved Theo so much. He was so good to her. It was a very quick read and it ended just like it should. 5 stars for sure. I would love to read more books by this author. Thank you NetGalley for the SRC!

So glad I got this as an arc read. When I first started reading I kinda thought I wasn’t going to finish it, but after the first few chapters I was hooked. I appreciate the way the author doesn’t drag on with the unspoken dialogue between the main characters, it only adds to the slow build up of there relationship that keeps you wanting more. Definitely looking forward purchasing my own physical copy once this book is available.

Loved the diversity in this book. Loved the Texas rep. The Latina rep. Loved the plus size rep.

I think this writer wrote a cute story for a debut. It was cute and mildly entertaining.

I saw what the writer was trying to do, but I felt like it didn’t always get its mark.

It was almost trying to be and do and say too much, so not everything is fleshed out.

I do not think books need to fit tropes, but this book felt like it was trying to fit its way into tropes and ended up halfway into a bunch. Sort of a sports romance because he is an ex NFL player. But we only know a little about it. His character is not really explored and ex-NFL player seems to just be an easy label so that we get a physical description or personality trait.

Sort of a fake dating because everyone thinks they hooked up so they go along with it. But there isn’t really a ton of faking it they have to do?

Sort of had queer rep because one of the characters randomly comes out as ace. I’m not sure if I was supposed to have seen this coming, but this was very random and glossed over. It came out of the blue and they quickly skip back to talking about the main character again. I KNOW that the coming out was purposeful because I could tell the author is is set up for a next book, but the scene felt really out of place. I just feel like we didn’t know the character was really struggling with anything until she suddenly comes out and says that it’s been consuming her. They quickly go back to the main character’s drama.

I understood wanting to talk about the YA and Middle grade books because the MC was really passionate about her work, but I felt preached to when she got toooooo into detail about all these different books. Name dropping book titles and stuff like that always is a good way to take me out of the story, and I wished that had been tightened up or left out. It was narration and it was jarring.

The characters had so many things about them but we don’t really get to SEE it and they felt a little flat and one-dimensional.
Girl who likes to read meets boy who likes to football. I think there were also scenes that didn’t quite belong or move the plot simply to show that the character was Latina. It just tried to do too much that nothing was quite strong about it.


It was overall a cute read and I’m interested to see what the writer does next