The description of this novel really sucked me in! The writing and the story felt so fresh, which excited me and kept me engaged the whole time! The tropes were executed really well, and the characters had the right amount of chemistry to not feel forced or overdone.
Everything about this delivered exactly what I was needing, and while it wasn't what I would consider a "perfect" read, it fulfilled every bit of what I expected.

I enjoyed this book so much! I loved that the female main character was a plus size woman with the love of books! I loved Theo just as much as Marcela. I’m sure there are many people out there that feel their best friend is their soul mate, and they just string them along. Ugh and just want for the surprise in the box. Ugh so sweet! I absolutely loved this and can’t wait to read the next one!

Thanks NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a chance to read the book in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own

Although I was able to finish this book, I found it lacking. I truly did not like the characters or the obsession with YA novels. I enjoy them but would not want a date in that section

DNF @ 21%

I just couldn't get into this. I am sure other people will enjoy it, it just wasn't for me

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. The cover was cute and as a reader I loved the idea of FMC being a Librarian. HOWEVER, 2 of the 4 people in the love square aggravated me to no end. Ben and Marcela friendship was trash. Ben and Theo's relationship was trash. Marcela being lying to dang near everybody and pining over this man for almost a decade. I just can't deal...

I was so, so excited to get this one, but honestly, it just didn’t hit the spot for me. It’s definitely a me thing, nothing at all against the book! It just wasn’t for me.

A tale of unacquainted love and two people trying to move on finding solace in each other.

This story will pull at your heartstrings while having you laugh at the same time.
The characters were easy to relate to with a storyline I could see taking place in real life. You can feel the chemistry between Marcie and Theo throughout the pages.

A cute spicy love story to get lost in and avoid everything else around you.

CW: Fatphobia, body image and abandonment

The story revolves around Marcela Ortiz, a librarian who's been nursing a secret crush on her best friend for years. When her best friend gets engaged, Marcela decides it's time to move on. Enter Theo Young, an ex-NFL player and the older brother of the man she's been in love with. When Theo shows up at the engagement party with intentions of confessing his feelings for the bride-to-be, Marcela steps in to stop him, leading to an unexpected and tantalizing twist. In a twist of fate, Theo and Marcela pretend to be a couple, triggering a chain of events. As they navigate their sham relationship with Ben attempting to separate them, unexpected complications arise, including their own growing affection for each other. Ben was the worst person on the planet because of the way he treated Marcela and his brother Theo. The Next best Fling was a sweet and steamy romance. I'm looking forward to the next book Gabriella Gamez writes.

The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez

The Next Best thing is a fun romance. The story has a mix of different tropes, with not exactly enemies to lovers but she disliked him in the beginning. It was also an in love with someone else trope, fake dating, best friends brother, librarian FMC, ex football player. The book started very strong diving right into an engagement. Marcela has secretly had a crush on her best friend forever, so when he shows her the engagement ring, she realizes her hopes of becoming his wife are no longer going to happen. Ben has no clue that she’s in love with him. When Theo, ex football player, is ranting about his love for the Ben’s future wife, Marcela quickly takes him home. I mean what’s worse then being in love with your best friend, but being in love with your brothers fiancé definitely tops that.

As they fake a relationship, they both begin to discover that they really like each other. This was a nice relationship build up. The story was fun and easily kept you engaged. If your looking for a light book than this is it.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

When I first started this romance, I wasn't sure what to expect. I haven't read books with the theme of someone crushing on a taken person. I was hesitant because I was worried about the drama or cheating. However, I was pleasantly surprised that none of those occurred--okay maybe some drama, but it added to the story. I loved that the two main characters became friends naturally and had strong communication/boundaries.

I'm happy and thankful I was able to read an ARC of this book. This is one of my new fav reads of the year, and I am excited to read another Gamez book!

This was a fun, messy, enjoyable romp! I loved the representation and tropes that this book had right off the bat - Latinx, plus-size FMC, best friend's brother, fake dating. This was easy to read and get lost in - I found myself empathizing and connecting with Marcela right away. Angela was an excellent best friend character and the library setting and love for books written throughout the story was like a warm hug for me as a reader. I love seeing a character with such a clear love of reading that is embedded in the storyline and not just added as an afterthought.

The unrequited love square/triangle situation was a little messy - but ultimately came together in a really satisfying way. I could see how Marcela's insecurities would be triggered by a situation like that and I was glad that the MMC took the lead on being clear about what he wanted throughout the storyline. Definitely a lot of drama that kept the story moving. I kind of wanted to see more of Alice - buy the end of the story I was such a big fan of hers, but she didn't get a lot of attention throughout most of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series. The cover is gorgeous - Leni is one of my favorite illustrators - please, please keep hiring her for book covers!! Stunning! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book.

This was a fast flirty read with a lot of heart. Librarian Marcela has been in love with her best guy friend for years, but he’s about to propose to their mutual friend Alice. When she learns that Ben’s older brother, NFLer Theo, is in love with Ben’s fiancée and intends to announce it at their engagement party and ruin everything, Marcela intervenes and drags Theo home with her to sleep off his bad ideas and alcoholic overindulgence. She confessed to her unrequited love without naming names, and they bond over their lust and longing, and as they spend more time together, their chemistry blossoms into friendship and attraction. Both Ben and Alice seem to in disbelief of and then against Theo and Marcela dating, which creates plenty of drama and conflict. Marcela needs to understand why shallow Ben broke up with her in college, and that it isn’t fair for him to dictate who she sees; Theo needs to repair his relationship with Ben, preferrably before the wedding.

Marcela’s teen librarian job is a wonderful subplot, but sometimes gets a little didactic in championing freedom to read. Peripheral characters from her boss to coworkers to the kids in her book group are enchantingly drawn. The writing is vivid, food descriptions are salivating, and the grand gesture will set bibliophile’s hearts a flutter.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheNextBestFling via #NetGalley courtesy of #Forever.

This was undoubtably messy and easily resolvable with a few adult conversations and therapy. We spend a bit too much time in Marcela's head and she makes some incredibly problematic decisions in which I am still very concerned for her future endeavors. And, I'm a librarian, but the slightly over-the-top inclusion of YA books, sections, and titles might have been better suited in a suggested readings list at the end.

And the things that take you out of a story? Having a first date as a fancy dinner in the YA section of a public library. I...don't think so.

Loved this book so much. It was such a windy journey full of angst and raw emotion. I loved every minute of it. It is a true story of friends to lovers and getting over the wrong person to find the right one.

What a great debut novel by Gabriella! Being Mexican American and working at a public library myself, I knew I had to get this book. So many of the things that Marcela mentioned about being a library girl in her youth and then working her way into a library is so much like my story. The connection and genuine interest they had for each other despite them wanting it to be a a "rebound" was so nice. And why expectations are so high, like I want someone who did all the things Theo did for her. All in all, great book and can't wait to read more in this world!

I had so many high hopes going into this one. What’s not to love about a librarian finding love? Not only that, but they were in San Antonio?! It’s where I was born, but now live in Ohio. I thought I was going to love this so much.

To me, this was just a fine romance. There are things I liked about it and things I didn’t like. I’m going to start with the things I didn’t like. This way, we end with the good stuff. I know miscommunication is a huge part of romance books, but this was too far. The lack of communication was frustrating as all get out. There are instances where characters walk away from a situation and go radio silent. Umm… excuse me, what? How immature are you?! A lot of this plot felt all over the place. The characters were just okay and a bit too surface-level. I expected so much more from Alice!

Marcela was a character that I liked and disliked. I loved her passion for her work. Being a librarian and donating her books, making sure kids can read is amazing. Her issues with her body and second-guessing why someone likes her were so valid. I thought she was such a sweet and endearing character, most of the time. Her obsession with Ben (I sort of get it) was too much. She changes her personality and the things she likes based on his opinions. I know a lot of people do this in real life. I’ve probably done it a time or two in High School. I am disappointed in her best friend for not pointing this out years ago.

Theo was flawed and dreamy, at the same time. I might like the “let’s like each other to get over others” trope. They are much more honest about who they are in the beginning. It’s such a great base to start a friendship that turns into a relationship.

Ben is Ben. He will be what you assume, and that’s all I’ll say.

I did like the representation we had with Marcela and the librarian aspect! As a bookworm, when will that not be something I love?! It brings me back to the days I worked in a library. I loved her friendship with Angela and her relationship with Theo, for the most part. There are many sweet moments to counteract the frustrations.

Overall, I thought this was just fine. It wasn’t the best or worst I’ve read. I hate that I’m so neutral, but it’s where I’m landing with this one. It made it so hard to review!

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was another book that I really regretted requesting. The cover is so cute and it absolutely fooled me into thinking that it would be some cute romantic fling, when it was really just four narcissistic people all seem to hate each other, and none of them wanted to be together, really.

I guess I should’ve known that you can’t romanticize a story about two separate people who wanna break a couple’s engagement/wedding, and that fault is my own. However, The fact that this is poorly written, has terrible characters, and should have never existed as the book is not on me. The couple that get together for the fake dating whose names I’ve already forgotten have no chemistry, even after they start to “fall in love.” This author even managed to Make being a librarian sound like the most boring thing in the world, which is a true testament to this book is that my life revolves around books.

I could go on and on about how much I hated this book, but I have already wasted enough of my time on this title and I refuse to waste any more of it. I will mention one more thing though. There is a lot of unnecessary drinking in this book, To the point where it’s bordering on binging and alcoholism. I do not have a personal problem with alcohol, But I do have friends and family who have struggled. What is supposed to be romance and identifying that was not a good time. For someone who is actively struggling, that’s not the best thing to run into a book without a warning. It would be one thing if it was contributing to the plot, but it’s not. There is no plot, only garbage.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH🥹
once i started this i couldn't put it down, i finished it in less than 24 hours and absolutely recommend this book. LOVED LOVED LOVED the latina and plus size representation.

this book had so much depth. i was swooning, i was crying. i was rooting for marcela and theo so hard. i hated that she was pining for ben, it felt so wrong but i felt for her nonetheless...they were all friends before so it was...complicated. then theo comes along and is also pining for someone else and it ends up bringing the two of them together. i was so hooked. theo has my whole heart🫶🏽 the spice scenes could have been better, it wasn't spicy in my opinon it was about 🌶️🌶️/5...but it was angsty.

read if you like:
📚fake dating
📚pining for other people
📚friends to lovers
📚best friend's brother
📚librarian fmc
📚former nfl player
📚latina rep
📚plus size rep

The Next Best Fling had a cute premise--two people in love with other people who help each other out when the people they're in love with become engaged to each other. Did you catch all that?

Marcela and Theo have been in each other's circle of acquaintances for a while but get to know each other when Theo's brother (Marcela's original love interest) and his girlfriend (Theo's original love interest) become engaged, much to their chagrin. Marcela and Theo become each other's plus one to all sorts of events and it's through these dates that they get to know and care for each other. It becomes clear, from early on, that Theo's brother is a complete douche and Theo is the superior brother of the two. Thankfully, Marcela picks up on that sooner than later.

While I enjoyed the idea of this novel, some of the execution didn't work for me. Something was a little off with some of the dialogue, which I found distracting. I also thought it went on a little long and so I found my interest waning. That being said, there were some cute scenes and a lot of potential for future books in this series.