A review by mikaylabelles
Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 
Never Ever Getting Back Together 
 
4/5 Stars 
 
Never Ever Getting Back Together follows the story of two main characters, Maya, and Skye. They’ve never met, they’ve never spoken to each other, but Maya hates Skye with everything she has because of their mutual ex-boyfriend Jordy. Jordy and Maya dated when they were 16, became long distance due to Jordy’s lifestyle at the time, and then ended dramatically when it came out to Maya that Jordy was cheating on her with – you guessed it – Skye. 
When Maya gets a sudden call from a reality television producer for a new show “Second Chance Romance”, she turns it down immediately. Why would she want to be in a house with all the people her ex had dated, and try to win him back? But when Jordy calls her personally, she agrees, if only to get revenge by outing him after he put it out there that she was the crazy ex-girlfriend who was obsessed with him and lied about him cheating. But as she lives “off the grid” in a fancy country, in a gorgeous house, with 5 other girls, she can’t wait for revenge. Until at least, she falls in love with the person she might hate just as much as Jordy. 
 
All the characters in this book are fairly one dimensional. Once outside Skye and Maya, there’s no real character development for anyone. It’s the two girls against the world – or the 4 other girls that are competing for Jordy’s affections once again. But honestly, even within Maya and Skye, there’s the revenge they’re trying to inflict, and their very basic love story that has the third act breakup. 
 
Maya is only there for revenge, and the moment it’s done, she’ll be going to college to be a doctor – which she doesn’t even want to do and just wants her parent’s approval for it. 
 
Skye is on a break between school, travelling solo, terrified of settling down by herself or with anyone so she’s always on the move. 
 
Jordy is an asshole and stays an asshole. There’s no redemption for him, with an epilogue of the revenge ruining his life after the show ends perfectly for him. 
 
The development in this book is fairly quick between Skye and Maya, from enemies, to friends, to lovers, back to barely-friends is the fastest thing in this book. The side characters are all fairly fun but have no real character development, while Jordy has almost – somehow – a development into being worse than he was at the beginning of the book. The reality part of the show resembled almost a hunger games vibe with their respective leaders and tossing them into events to win one prize. The games they had to play and the events they had to participate in are perfect for anyone who loves a little bit of the Bachelor drama. 
 
The ending where Maya picks revenge over Skye, but along with all the miscommunication was a bit frustrating, but it came to a satisfying close in the epilogue. 
 
Some frustrations I had with this book are as stated, how one dimensional everything is. It’s just a quick sapphic romcom that feels like it could have been a badly done Netflix special. 
 
If you’re looking for enemies to friends to lovers, characters that don’t know what they’re doing, revenge, forced proximity, miscommunication, and toxic men that get what they deserve, this is the book for you. 
 
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a super fast read that had a super satisfying ending and relationship. I didn’t hate the characters despite the miscommunication, and the reality setting was really fun to read. 
 
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! 
 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings