I am rounding this book up to 4 stars because the core of it is really charming and strong. Ivy makes a wish that leads to her favorite tv character coming to life. She has to navigate that chaos while her parents are out of town with her best friend Henry and her former best friend, Mack. This is a sweet take on a fanfiction romance that mashes well with the coming of age aspects of the book, I really liked the relationships in the books - felt very true to high schoolunderstood dynamics, and I think the dual timeline of current situation and the falling out between Mack and Ivy

My critique of the book is that there are aspects of Ivy that feel important but not fully flushed out, especially the dynamic between Ivy and her parents. I wish I could understand more about their dynamic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review

While this was a cute story,, I do not think it is Sophie's best work. I enjoyed Perfect on Paper and We are Never Getting Back Together more than this one.

Our lead character is Ivy. She had a falling out with her best friend/crush, made a new friend over a show they both love, and writes fanfic about the show (kind of). When her parents go out of town for a trip and leave her alone she was expecting some fun down time, but she was not expecting waking up to the lead character from her favorite show walking around her house.

Ivy, her friend Henry, and her (ex?) best friend/ crush Mac have to help navigate life with this TV character come to life without drawing suspicions or causing harm. That ends up being a little easier said than done. Working together brought all three characters closer together, and basically reignited Ivy and Mac's relationship.

The book was told in dual time line, which I feel like actually worked with the way the story was set up. This book is queer, including an aro/ace character (Henry) which I love to see, that I felt like was included pretty well.

I think the thing that kept me from liking this book more is that I did not care about the romance. It was a fine story, but I did not feel like rooting for them as a couple. I was not against the relationship, I just did not really care. Also, I felt like we did not have the cast of involved characters like I was expecting based on the books I have previously read by Sophie.

Not a bad read, but I think if you are looking for a good romance this would not be my suggestion.

This was so fun & silly! The beginning was a little confusing bc I wasn’t quite sure what was going on. But after continuing on, it got so silly & ridiculous! Her fanfic character, Weston, made me laugh with his antics. At the beginning, he did everything to be the perfect guy and then when it changed to the bad boy the change was such a switch that it was giggle worthy! I really liked how it was just trial & error trying to figure out what was going on. A lot of time in YA, it just comes out of no where so this one felt more realistic. What I wasn’t a fan of was the relationship. With the plot, I didn’t really think we needed the underlying romance! But if you like Sophie Gonzales writing style, you’ll definitely like this!

*4.5

Love this book and the author. I loved Sophie Gonzales’ other works and I loved this one. The premises were so good and the novel is also that good. It wasn’t disappointed at all!
Ivy and Mack are a cute couple. I love the dynamic: friends to rivals to friends again to lovers. It’s one of my favorite thing in the whole world. I also loved the chapters in flashback and love how they are read and the differences between that chapters and the chapters in the present.
I also love the fanfic and fandoms elements. I was a teen who read and write fanfic about her favorite books and shows ages ago and it felt good be represented. Teen!me would love that.

And thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc.

(4.5 stars)

I grew up on fanfics and it’s evident that the author did too. A lot of times when fanfics are brought up in books it’s awkward and obvious that the author did not understand the community, but not here. This is a love letter to the fanfic community.

I loved the alternating timelines as well as the characters but I think Ivy did take too long figuring out what was going on.

All in all this is another perfect book by Sophie Gonzales.

this book was so fun!! i thought ivy was so relatable and i loved all the references to tropes and fanfic!

thank you Netgalley for the e-arc!

Memory updated
"The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist" by Sophie Gonzales is a satirical masterpiece that cleverly parodies various tropes. Ivy accidentally brings a fictional character to life, leading to hilarious situations and heartfelt moments with her friends. The book blends humor, magic, and genuine emotions, making it a standout in YA contemporary fiction for 2024.

I found this book very difficult to get into due to the magical element and that it was written for as YA. I think that those who enjoy fanfic and don't mind YA would probably really enjoy this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for access to this title in return for my honest opinion.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the Audiobook Arc exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.
DNF @4%
When I first requested this book, I thought the main character was the Black Girl on the cover. Come to find out that the black girl was the best friend/ love interest. Which is nothing wrong with that but the main character is already getting on my nerves already for some reason. So I just go ahead and back out before I get deeper. Also the Narration kind of was getting of my nerves as well. So this is not my cup of tea. I do recommend this for the diversity, LBGTQ rep and people who love fanfictions.

The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist really was not for me. I love fandom and fanfic but this was a struggle to get through. I considered not finishing the book and I honestly should have. It was just like kinda ridiculous and not in a way that worked for me. The narrator was good though, no complaints about the audiobook!

This is a fun one, y’all. A teenage fanfic writer gets an unexpected surprise guest while her parents are out of town. Said surprise guest believes that he’s hopelessly in love with her, which is kind of unfortunate, seeing as how he appears to be the incarnation of a fictional character and, well, she’s still hung up on her former best friend / now enemy / neighbor.

Told through dual timelines, we see how the friendship fell apart in the past, ultimately due to some believable teenage miscommunication, and how the guest’s presence in the present brings the former friends back together.

It’s a clever setup and an entertaining execution. If you’re a fan of YA novels that ask you to suspend your disbelief a bit, I recommend picking this one up.

I appreciated the queer representation in this one; there are bi, lesbian, and aro-ace characters.

And for any readers out there concerned about spice levels in YA books, this one is kissing only.

Jeremy Carlisle Parker’s audiobook narration is a treat. The narrator plays into both the humor and emotion of the book.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

I will not be reviewing nor promoting any St Martin's Press titles until they address the racism, Islamophobia and all over reprehensible behavior of one of their employees.

Thank you so much to MacMillan for the advance copy of the audio!

If Sophie Gonzales writes it, I will read it. With that being said this was such a cute YA rom com and thought this was quite different compared to other books by her that I have read. It was so unserious and silly but still had a lot of heart! I like that each chapter were broken up between the past and the present and thought it moved pretty quickly.

Everything always starts with a thunderstorm so when the storm occurred and suddenly the next morning Ivy's favorite character from her favorite tv show comes to life. And not only that but he is in LOVE with her! West Weston was such a fun character and I love how devoted to Ivy he was on that first day. I thought Gonzales was having a good time with his character and you could tell.

"Sometimes, you really just need to say scary truths out loud to someone you trust."

If you are looking for this to be romance centric, this is not it. This definitely is more about the fall of a friendship and trying to rebuild it back together again. What I felt Sophie did a good job with is getting the feeling across at how complicated friendships are especially when you are in high school. They had to work through their issues with one another and had a couple conversations until they came to a resolution. And then Ivy & Mack recognizing that they had feelings for one another in the last bit of the book.

Chapter 13 really hit me in the feels as I know I was the perpetrator in a friendship break up & the guilt that followed from it. Sadly unlike Ivy & Mack, there has been no resolution.

I thought the narrator Jeremy Carlisle Parker did a great job with all the characters. Her tone and inflections sounded juvenile (not in a bad way) for Ivy's character. She was a new narrator to me and I would listen to her read other books.

Henry was probably my favorite character in the book. I thought he was so funny and several times I found myself chuckling at the things he was saying.

While some of Sophie's book gear towards the older YA/New Adult age range, I would say this one is more towards middle school & high school.

I am already looking forward to the next!

If you want a cute, YA book on friendship and a smidge of romance and fan fic focus with lots of representation - check this out!!

First off, I love that Henry asks Ivy what it means to be bi instead of judging her and assuming that she likes everyone who walks by.

Ivy was so excited about Weston being real and being a part of all of her favorite troupes, isn’t that what everyone wants when they write? It all coming crashing down around her when she realized everything being perfect was too much. She didn’t want everything perfect all the time with Weston, she wanted imperfect moments with Mack.

They ended up together and Mack even went to a movie premier that Henry and Ivy wanted to go to.

All around very cute book, perfect palate cleanser!

Ivy is an anxiety ridden, bisexual, fanfic writing teenager who is left home alone for 5 days while her parents are on a business trip/vacation. She plans to use the time to hang out with her best friend, Henry and avoid her ex-bff (and unfortunate neighbor) Mack. While feeling lonely during a storm, she wishes for Weston from her favorite TV show, H-MAD. When she wakes up, Weston is there. Not the actor, the character Weston. He fully thinks he’s from the show and that it’s real and that him and Ivy are soul mates. Somehow, her stories brought him to life and at first, Ivy is excited. He’s exactly how she’s written him, down to each story line. However, what is romantic on paper isn’t in real life and when he starts causing problems for her, she doesn’t know what to do with him or how to put him back where he came from.

When Mack finds out and wants to help, could this be what brings them back together? Will the crush Ivy had on Mack bubble up to the surface again?

In a weird way, this reminded me of that old DCOM, Pixel Perfect. If you don’t know it, look it up, it’s fantastic.

This is a story about friendships, making mistakes and understanding how to communicate. A simple miscommunication can cause a lot of damage as our main characters seen first hand. I loved Ivy, Henry and Mack and I loved seeing them work through their problems.

This was fast paced, fun and entertaining and I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a cute story!

a cute read! I love the lighter YA romance books. Sophie Gonzales is a wonderful author,and the narrator kept my attention for the whole span of the book.

I was really excited for this book as I have loved Sophie's previous books, but this one just didn't do it for me. I made it like 25% and have decided to DNF it. It isn't the book for me. I had trouble connecting with the main character and the fantasy element just didn't work for my taste. I know plenty of other will enjoy it though. That said, I really did like the narrator. This is just a case of the story for me.

This was my second book by the author. I highly enjoyed it so much more than her first book. That one didn't click for me. But this one was a guilty pleasure. If you have ever been a fan girl in your life, this book is pretty much for you.i didn't enjoy the character name weston. But i did like all the other secondard characters. The narrator did a great job. Just listening to it made me want more of the story or even a second book.

This was giving weird science kind of vibes. A Sapphic Fan Fic writer somehow makes the main character in her story come to life!

Ivy is secretly in love with her best friend/ex-bestfriend Mack, but is afraid to tell her. She creates a fanfiction story based on her favorite tv show H-MAD, where she is the love interest of the super hot main character Weston. Thinking she is just creating a spin on the show, she finds that she has used her writings to play out the relationship that she desired with Mack.

This was good! Though once Weston entered the storyline I had an idea where we were going, I was interested in continuing to see how we would get there. It was like listening to an episode of a ROM-COM, plenty of levity and uncomfortable romantic encounters, WITHOUT the smut.

Weston was not a real special character as he was powered by what was written in the story written by Ivy, Mack's character provided the tension, and Henry, the current bestie, his wit was spot on.

I think fans of reading or writing fan-fic will really enjoy this. For those of who aren’t in that world, this is a little…odd is maybe a bit strong of a word but odd-adjacent, I suppose. I don’t know what about it felt almost jarring to me but…it did just feel a little off to read, at first. Once I got used to the concept of the story—a teens favorite TV character coming to life—the rest is a lighthearted, silly but fun romp. It’s a quick read and there’s a variety of queer rep, which always makes me happy to read.

Highly recommend the audiobook, the performance is very good and helped keep me going even when I was feeling a little sceptical about the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, Wednesday Books, Sophie Gonzales, and Jeremy Carlisle Parker (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy is a fan of a contemporary fantasy TV series called H-MAD. After an unfortunate falling-out with her former best friend, Mack, she finds a connection through a shared interest in H-MAD with Henry, someone Ivy now considers a best friend.

When one of the H-MAD characters comes to life, Ivy finds that Weston is doting and perfect, though his presence is unexplainable. When she attributes his characterization changes on a daily basis to various fan fictions she has written involving herself (though using a different name for her character) and Weston, she finds the reality of the situation unreal, but it's actually happening!

Mack, no longer her friend, exactly, lives near Ivy and senses something is up. Henry would be the person to tell, as an H-MAD fan, but who would believe Ivy's fanfic version of Weston was real, and how could she ever prove it? Weston's ability to magically change clothes certainly helps...

Between juggling school, friendships, and the fictional, yet totally in-the-flesh, Weston claiming they are soul mates, Ivy sure has her work cut out for her.

This novel is almost like a quirky rom-com in the way that it is written. It alternates between the past, where the reader gets to see how Ivy's friendship with Mack ended and how her friendship with Henry began, and the present, where Ivy's fanfic version of Weston has come to life. The novel also has great LGBTQ representation, as Ivy identifies as bi, and Henry identifies as ace.

With an excellent blend of humor and slice-of-life, in a magic realism sense, this novel is a fun exploration of self, friendship, and a dash of romance for a young adult audience.