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A review by halfwaytoaugust
Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
4.0
Two years after a fallout with her ex when he cheated but spun the tale in his favor, Maya is asked to star on a dating show called Second Chance Romance where a hand-selected bunch of Jordy's exes re-date him in an effort to see which ex is the one that got away. Maya accepts with one goal in mind: revenge. Tell the truth about Jordy. Except, she's bunkmates with the girl Jordy cheated on her with. And they have chemistry. Will they overcome their past? Will they set aside their chemistry to take him down? Read it to find out!
What I love most about this book is the dual POV of Maya & Syke (the bunkmate. the one he cheated with). It makes for some interesting content. In the best way.
This book is wholly captivating, full of revenge, drama, and scumbaggery. And don't be put off if you dislike reality tv and dating shows. I detest them irl but in books I just devour it.
Sophie writes all of the characters in such an amazing way that makes you love the right people, hate the right people, and question the right people. It just all works. There's some characters we don't get too much info about, which I would have liked to see more about who they are as a person, but I felt like the most prominent characters were done really well in a way that we really got to see who they are.
Why then, you may ask, is my rating 4 stars and not 5 when all I can do is gush about this book?
Because there are ableist terms used in place of other more appropriate words and in 2022 we just cannot let this slide. Also, not ableism, but likening the ex he cheated with to a terrorist does not sit well with me. If these are removed in the finished copy, it would be 5 stars.
Also, not enough to knock it down a rating (at least I don't think so), is the creation of a new European country for a purpose I can't really tell? It honestly felt like an excuse to not need to research an already existing country to be accurate with language & food (which are made up & used in the story). I could be wrong, but this is the impression it gave me. Because you can fictionalize royalty names of an existing country like RWRB did if royalty is an important piece of the book. Just my opinion, but this feels different than fictionalizing a city within an existing country.
Rep: bi MCs, gay sc
CW: gaslighting, alcohol, infidelity, ableist language
Rating system:
5 - absolutely love, little-to-no dislikes that did not impact my reading experience
4 - great book, minor dislikes that did have an impact on my reading experience
3 - good/decent book but for some reason did not hook me or there were some problematic things that just were not addressed or greatly impacted my reading experience
2 - is either a book I did not click with and did not enjoy, problematic aspects are not addressed and severely impacted my reading experience, or I DNF'd but think it has potential for others
1 - is very problematic, I would not recommend the book to anyone
Thank you to Netgalley & Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected pub date: November 29, 2022.
What I love most about this book is the dual POV of Maya & Syke (the bunkmate. the one he cheated with). It makes for some interesting content. In the best way.
This book is wholly captivating, full of revenge, drama, and scumbaggery. And don't be put off if you dislike reality tv and dating shows. I detest them irl but in books I just devour it.
Sophie writes all of the characters in such an amazing way that makes you love the right people, hate the right people, and question the right people. It just all works. There's some characters we don't get too much info about, which I would have liked to see more about who they are as a person, but I felt like the most prominent characters were done really well in a way that we really got to see who they are.
Why then, you may ask, is my rating 4 stars and not 5 when all I can do is gush about this book?
Because there are ableist terms used in place of other more appropriate words and in 2022 we just cannot let this slide. Also, not ableism, but likening the ex he cheated with to a terrorist does not sit well with me. If these are removed in the finished copy, it would be 5 stars.
Also, not enough to knock it down a rating (at least I don't think so), is the creation of a new European country for a purpose I can't really tell? It honestly felt like an excuse to not need to research an already existing country to be accurate with language & food (which are made up & used in the story). I could be wrong, but this is the impression it gave me. Because you can fictionalize royalty names of an existing country like RWRB did if royalty is an important piece of the book. Just my opinion, but this feels different than fictionalizing a city within an existing country.
Rep: bi MCs, gay sc
CW: gaslighting, alcohol, infidelity, ableist language
Rating system:
5 - absolutely love, little-to-no dislikes that did not impact my reading experience
4 - great book, minor dislikes that did have an impact on my reading experience
3 - good/decent book but for some reason did not hook me or there were some problematic things that just were not addressed or greatly impacted my reading experience
2 - is either a book I did not click with and did not enjoy, problematic aspects are not addressed and severely impacted my reading experience, or I DNF'd but think it has potential for others
1 - is very problematic, I would not recommend the book to anyone
Thank you to Netgalley & Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected pub date: November 29, 2022.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity