I really loved the diversity. Latina author and characters, fat main character and more. But sadly I found that the lack of communication was bad. I got really irritating with the lack of communicating esp at the end when they were suppose to be talking - they instead just decided to fuck. 😤 Honestly disappointing.

I enjoyed this story! Marcela has been in love with her best friend, Ben, for the longest time. Now that he is getting married, she realizes she needs to move on. Theo, Ben's brother, is back home for the wedding. Problem is, he is in love with Ben's fiancee. Marcela and Theo start a casual relationship to help each other get over the ones they love. Marcela and Theo had their own issues to work out along the way, which created its own set of problems. Neither has been in a serious relationship so they had no clue.

Marcela frustrated me at times. She let her insecurities get the best of her on more than one occasion. I loved Theo. He got a bad rap but he wasn't the person everyone thought he was. I enjoyed seeing the growth of both Marcela and Theo. Through this "casual relationship," they learned a lot about each other and were good for one another.

I noticed that this was #1 in a series. I am looking forward to reading whatever comes next. Hopefully it will be about Angela. There is a lot more to her than meets the eye.

He loves the bride-to-be and she loves the groom: how better to get over their feelings than a fling together?

It's not quite that simple, and thank goodness, because it made The Next Best Fling a pleasure to read. I was rooting for Marcela to trust in herself and to trust in Theo. Luckily she did.

I loved the bookish aspect of Marcela being a librarian and truly enjoyed how she described books and access to them. And on that note: thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to Forever and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

This was a fun romance about two people who decide that the best way to get over two people is to, I guess, get under each other. Marcella has been in love with Ben forever. Ben's brother Theo has been in love with Alice, Ben's fiance. This has some predictable moments, but I really loved how Marcella and Theo just start to adore each other and how much he wants to hear her thoughts and loves her for who she is. The conflict between Ben and Theo is given exactly the weight it should have, leaving room for Marcella and Theo to spend more time on themselves than dealing with, shocker, Ben being stinky about, well, everything. This was fun and flirty but not sappy or too light. Adored it.

Wow. I don’t know what I was expecting with this book but wow. Be sure to add this one to your tbr. Trust me.

This is actually 3.5 ⭐️, but I rounded up.

Overall, I enjoyed Marcela and Theo’s story, but there were times where it was a little cringey for me and I struggled to get through those parts. That being said, it was a cute read and I would recommend it depending on the reader.

plus size librarian and sexy man yeah i was on board immediately -- unfortunately the fmc kind of annoyed me a little bit </3 still liked her and overall enjoyed the dynamic so not a huge deal. it was still so fun and i can't wait to read the rest of the series :)

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.

A beautiful bookish romance between a librarian and former NFL player. This book has angst, spice, emotion, and rich characters.

An absolute delight and a must read for all contemporary romance readers.

What. A. Read. Coming off of two weeks on non-stop Olympic coverage, I couldn’t have picked a better time to read a romance with an athlete for a main character. I loved Marcela and Theo, both as individual characters and as a couple. Particularly watching them both work through the unrequited crushes they have had for so many years and how quickly you can move past that when there’s someone in front of you who does take that interest.
I also really appreciated Gamez’s nod to the asexual community, and the way she wove each character a complex and meaningful backstory. And also for not letting Ben off the hook. Sometimes there is a villain who needs to be cut off!
I just loved this story, loved the writing, can’t wait for the next in the series.

Loved the characters. It was okay. I loved how petty they both became. Will continue to read the rest of the series when it comes.

This is a super cute romcom and I adored the plus size rep. It's a cute read that goes by quickly! Thank you netgalley for the arc.

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
#bookstagram #booktok #bookreview #arcreview
#kindlepaperwhite #kindle

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