Review: Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
Author: Sophie Gonzales
Edition: eARC
Publisher: Wednesday Books (November 29, 2022)
Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQIA+ Romance
Synopsis
It’s been two years since Maya’s ex-boyfriend cheated on her, and she still can’t escape him: his sister married the crown prince of a minor European country and he captured hearts as her charming younger brother. If the world only knew the real Jordy, the manipulative liar who broke Maya’s heart.
Skye Kaplan was always cautious with her heart until Jordy said all the right things and earned her trust. Now his face is all over the media and Skye is still wondering why he stopped calling.
When Maya and Skye are invited to star on the reality dating show Second-Chance Romance, they’re whisked away to a beautiful mansion—along with four more of Jordy’s exes— to compete for his affections while the whole world watches. Skye wonders if she and Jordy can recapture the spark she knows they had, but Maya has other plans: exposing Jordy and getting revenge. As they navigate the competition, Skye and Maya discover that their real happily ever after is nothing they could have scripted.
My review of Never Ever Getting Back Together
Never Ever Getting Back Together is a fun, fast-paced, and delightfully queer revenge story with just the right amount of drama for any reality TV lover.
I received a free digital eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
Dating Show Deliciousness
I’m not much of a reality TV person, but I absolutely love reading about those kinds of shows. Naturally, Never Ever Getting Back Together immediately caught my attention with its setting and, of course, being hella gay. And Sophie Gonzales delivers on all fronts!
The dating show setting made for an interesting background as it provided natural stakes as well as points of conflict and cute date opportunities alike. Personally, I found the difference between the reality Jordy and the team are trying to manufacture and what’s actually going on delightful. Nothing like a reality TV dating show to amp up the drama! The setting also meant the plot kept moving and there was never a dull moment.
Admittedly, I would’ve wished for the world-building to be explored just a bit more because it felt incomplete in some aspects, particularly the whole royal family situation. However, Never Ever Getting Back Together more than makes up for that with its incredible characters!
Gay Girlpower Gets Revenge
Maya and Skye are exactly the kind of main characters I like to read about. They’re headstrong in their own ways (Maya in particular), smart, and full of life and personality. The dual-perspective narration makes it easy to root for them both and get to know them very quickly. Needless to say, Maya and Skye won me over after just a few pages!
Additionally, I appreciated that the book resolves their differences and Jordy-manufactured rivalry relatively quickly. It was much more fun to read about their tentative friendship than watch them have a billion misconceptions about each other.
There were so many moments during reading where I laughed out loud at their plan to take down Jordy. I just love a good revenge plot! Additionally, their romance was so sweet! There were enough swoon-worthy moments to fill my sapphic little heart for at least a solid month.
Both Skye and Maya get plenty of opportunities to grow as characters throughout the story and reevaluate their values and plans for their lives. This proves to be necessary for Maya in particular, who is possibly one of the most stubborn characters I have ever met! Personally, I adored her determination, but your mileage may vary. I can totally see how her obsession with getting revenge on Jordy could get a little tiring as the story progresses.
Finally, I appreciated that all the girls on the show got to develop friendships and have each other’s backs. Never Ever Getting Back Together shows that you can have realistic conflict and complex relationships between female characters without falling back on the “ew, I’m not like other girls” trope.
Overall…
Never Ever Getting Back Together was utterly delightful and made me want to read more sapphic romances with reality TV settings!
This book is for you if…
…you like reality tv shows, especially when they’re queer
…you are looking for a romance book that has dual-perspective narration
A post you might also enjoy:
One Comment
meltotheany
i cant believe i still havent read a sophie gonzales… but the way this review really made me want to extra 🤍