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margaret_rose_reads123's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Sophie Gonzales has done it again! Never Ever Getting Back Together is the queer YA reality dating show novel of my dreams! Have you ever found yourself watching the Bachelor and thinking…. “Not enough queer people here” or “whats going on behind the scenes” or even “imagine they’re all trying to date the same Ex! Ha!!”. Well that last one is the basic outline of the books plot! Main Characters Maya and Skye both agree to join the new Reality Dating show to date their mildly famous/royal adjacent common ex, Jordy Miller. Jordy, no good lyin cheater, actually cheated on Maya with Skye, and then arranges to have them bunk together in the same room for the show. Yikes!!
What I will say is that I LOVED the concept, and the couple that makes it out of Second-Chance Romance, and was rooting for them to win all along. No spoilers 😉
What I will say is that I LOVED the concept, and the couple that makes it out of Second-Chance Romance, and was rooting for them to win all along. No spoilers 😉
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
Any trigger warnings are experienced indirectly, and are very clear for the reader to see the character flaws. The “toxic relationship” is minor. Think YA novel level of tw.novelty_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I won't lie, I did not like this book.
I have loved Sophie's previous books specifically Only Mostly Devastated and Perfect on Paper which ended up being two of my favourite YA books of all time. While I didn't love If This Gets Out, I was excited to read Never Ever Getting Back Togetherhearing it was very angsty with a revenge plot line following two girls going on a dating show trying to bring their ex down (and falling in love with one another in the process).
Literally everything about this book screamed that I would love it and yet I really struggled. There were even times I seriously considered DNF'ing.
Lets start off with the plot line. Maya and Skye get asked to join the cast of Second Chance Romance which, like the name suggests, is a TV show trying to find "the one that got away." This year's bachelor? Jordy Miller, Maya's ex boyfriend who had a relationship with another girl while they were still together. Now he's famous with a sister who's married to a prince and Maya sees his face all around her, reminding her of a time when he said he loved her, and betrayed her.
So Maya hatches a plan to bring Jordy down and expose him for who he is by going on this show, hoping to dump him at the Grand Finale in front of thousands of viewers.
The one thing she doesn't count on is falling in love with Skye, the girl he cheated on her with.
To me there are two key ingredients to creating a great romance story: great chemistry and great characterisation. To me, there was no chemistry between Maya and Skye. There didn't seem to be a true connection between them and it didn't help that they went from enemies to lovers in a heartbeat with no development or romantic tension to set that up.
I blame the characters for that. I didn't really connect with any of them. While I loved the angst of Maya, apart from her anger there was nothing else I knew about her. I felt like I knew slightly more about Skye, aka I knew she loved nature but apart from that, there was nothing else that drew me to her. The side characters were not spared from this. The competing girls had no other characterisation or personality other than their motives for being on the show. Perrie was one of the side characters that appeared a lot and yet I knew nothing about her apart from being an influencer.
The other criticism I had was with the dual perspectives. It was extremely difficult for me to work out if I was reading Skye or Maya's chapters mainly because they were so similar and there was no differentiation. It's rare for me to say (because I'm a sucker for dual perspective books) but it would've been better if this book just remained a single POV rather than two.
I'm very sad this book wasn't the book I expected to love.
ACTUAL RATING: 1.3 STARS
I won't lie, I did not like this book.
I have loved Sophie's previous books specifically Only Mostly Devastated and Perfect on Paper which ended up being two of my favourite YA books of all time. While I didn't love If This Gets Out, I was excited to read Never Ever Getting Back Togetherhearing it was very angsty with a revenge plot line following two girls going on a dating show trying to bring their ex down (and falling in love with one another in the process).
Literally everything about this book screamed that I would love it and yet I really struggled. There were even times I seriously considered DNF'ing.
Lets start off with the plot line. Maya and Skye get asked to join the cast of Second Chance Romance which, like the name suggests, is a TV show trying to find "the one that got away." This year's bachelor? Jordy Miller, Maya's ex boyfriend who had a relationship with another girl while they were still together. Now he's famous with a sister who's married to a prince and Maya sees his face all around her, reminding her of a time when he said he loved her, and betrayed her.
So Maya hatches a plan to bring Jordy down and expose him for who he is by going on this show, hoping to dump him at the Grand Finale in front of thousands of viewers.
The one thing she doesn't count on is falling in love with Skye, the girl he cheated on her with.
To me there are two key ingredients to creating a great romance story: great chemistry and great characterisation. To me, there was no chemistry between Maya and Skye. There didn't seem to be a true connection between them and it didn't help that they went from enemies to lovers in a heartbeat with no development or romantic tension to set that up.
I blame the characters for that. I didn't really connect with any of them. While I loved the angst of Maya, apart from her anger there was nothing else I knew about her. I felt like I knew slightly more about Skye, aka I knew she loved nature but apart from that, there was nothing else that drew me to her. The side characters were not spared from this. The competing girls had no other characterisation or personality other than their motives for being on the show. Perrie was one of the side characters that appeared a lot and yet I knew nothing about her apart from being an influencer.
The other criticism I had was with the dual perspectives. It was extremely difficult for me to work out if I was reading Skye or Maya's chapters mainly because they were so similar and there was no differentiation. It's rare for me to say (because I'm a sucker for dual perspective books) but it would've been better if this book just remained a single POV rather than two.
I'm very sad this book wasn't the book I expected to love.
ACTUAL RATING: 1.3 STARS
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Infidelity
ashleyj_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Gaslighting and Sexism
funshine3's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I loved the idea of the book but I think the characters needed to be older and hated how the girls were pitted against each other. But I found the romance between Skye and Maya cute
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming and Cursing
ruthiedr89's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Infidelity, Misogyny, Classism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexism and Panic attacks/disorders
bubbly_lara's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
All the 🌟 I've yet to come across a Sophie Gonzales book I did not like. This was everything - the revenge plot, the reality TV show setting, the friendships, the banter, the vibes, Maya and Skye. If you like Netflix' "Do Revenge" and wished for a romantic storyline between Drea and Eleanor, this is the book for you.
Also, highly recommend if you're into "The Bachelor"-type reality shows.
How much do you want readers to roll their eyes at Jordy Miller?
Sophie Gonzales: Yes.
What a terrible person. I think this might appeal to many many people, since, like Isaac, "we all knew a Jordy Miller once".
Go read the book if you're up for reality TV shenanigans, revenge plots to bring down an ex-boyfriend, and secret romances.
Now, when can we get a queen Love Island, please?
Also, highly recommend if you're into "The Bachelor"-type reality shows.
How much do you want readers to roll their eyes at Jordy Miller?
Sophie Gonzales: Yes.
What a terrible person. I think this might appeal to many many people, since, like Isaac, "we all knew a Jordy Miller once".
Go read the book if you're up for reality TV shenanigans, revenge plots to bring down an ex-boyfriend, and secret romances.
Now, when can we get a queen Love Island, please?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
stacy837's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Finally a book with bisexual/pansexual characters that don't end up with the straight guy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Classism, Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Biphobia, Sexual content, and Grief
micaelacccc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexism, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
courtneyfalling's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am obsessed with this concept. Like. Oh my God. It’s YA/new adult romance in the corniest and sometimes best way, especially to have a silly sapphic romance where coming out isn’t a plot issue and the realities of messy queer dating vs. cishet expectations feel integrated. The third act conflict was a little much but I can really see Skye and Maya together as people. Also fuck Jordy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Infidelity
teaskate's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A pretty cool concept, which I adored. I always wondered about the behind the scenes of a reality show so that book was a interesting read. Also the main couple was cute. I recommend this book if you are looking for a vacation sweet lighthearted romance read. Thank you :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Sexism