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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: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
courtneyfalling's review against another edition
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: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
daryn's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Alcohol
Minor: Abandonment
dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
CW: cheating, explicit language, gaslighting, parent abandonment (mentioned), drowning, sexism, car accident (mentioned off-page), slut-shaming
I would like to thank NetGalley and Wednesday Books, a division of St. Martin’s Press, for providing me a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Maya ends up taking the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to humiliate her ex-boyfriend, Jordy Miller, on national TV by winning his new reality show, Second Chance Romance. However, she doesn’t take into account the fact that Skye, the girl Jordy cheated and left her for, would end up on the show. Even having to share bunk beds together, Maya and Skye realize they can work together to expose Jordy for who he is.
After reading the first chapter, I knew I was going to love this book. And rightfully so. Never Ever Getting Back Together has been getting a lot of talk in the bookish community and I was excited to have been given an e-ARC to review before it releases at the end of the year.
The whole concept of Second Chance Romance and how it's written in the book is definitely a unique component to the plot. I could not stop laughing at the production team’s attempts to get Maya to join the show. While it occasionally spurs out to say and do cheesy things, you get to see first-hand what it means to be on reality TV.
I also loved Maya and Skye’s relationship. Personally, it was great to see their banter throughout the book and their transition from enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. It also features a dual POV between Maya and Skye, which definitely helps the plot and can allow you to get inside their heads.
So if you want to read a book that takes forced proximity to a whole nother level or want to find a book that you can easily somewhat tie a Taylor Swift into, you will definitely want to read Never Ever Getting Back Together.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Wednesday Books, a division of St. Martin’s Press, for providing me a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Maya ends up taking the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to humiliate her ex-boyfriend, Jordy Miller, on national TV by winning his new reality show, Second Chance Romance. However, she doesn’t take into account the fact that Skye, the girl Jordy cheated and left her for, would end up on the show. Even having to share bunk beds together, Maya and Skye realize they can work together to expose Jordy for who he is.
After reading the first chapter, I knew I was going to love this book. And rightfully so. Never Ever Getting Back Together has been getting a lot of talk in the bookish community and I was excited to have been given an e-ARC to review before it releases at the end of the year.
The whole concept of Second Chance Romance and how it's written in the book is definitely a unique component to the plot. I could not stop laughing at the production team’s attempts to get Maya to join the show. While it occasionally spurs out to say and do cheesy things, you get to see first-hand what it means to be on reality TV.
I also loved Maya and Skye’s relationship. Personally, it was great to see their banter throughout the book and their transition from enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. It also features a dual POV between Maya and Skye, which definitely helps the plot and can allow you to get inside their heads.
So if you want to read a book that takes forced proximity to a whole nother level or want to find a book that you can easily somewhat tie a Taylor Swift into, you will definitely want to read Never Ever Getting Back Together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexism
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Car accident and Abandonment
whosfernn's review against another edition
hopeful
tense
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
4.25
I've been looking forward to this book since it came out, so glad I finally got the chance to read it! Cute, great bisexual representation, with a whole heap of the forced proximity and enemies to lovers tropes. One of my favourite reads of 2023 so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Misogyny
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
lackyducks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
A fun read with a lot of emotional depth despite its positive outlook.
The story centers around two first person perspectives, that of Maya and Skye. From the get go, the narrative is good at painting Jordy as the antagonist by giving the reader a perspective the girls don't have - what he's saying to them versus the other.
The humour of the book is spot on, playing well on the media industry. It's a story that feels very apt in the current climate. The reality television clichés are plentiful, yet provide a good basis for the story to take place.
The characters all felt surprisingly well fleshed out. Even side characters we meet less often have backgrounds and inner motivation that isn't obvious at first. They feel like a well developed group, instead of just people made to fill spaces. The story is good at making antagonists of them, yet resolving it with new perspectives and sides to situations.
The story is also an optimistic showing of girls sticking together and looking out for each other. Alongside the main romance you have lots of friendship throughout the cast of girls, as they bond during the show. This comes together brilliantly at the end, and had me smiling wide.
The story is also multi-layered. Underneath the story of revenge and the dating show, you have learning to open up and trust again, trying to figure out your future and what you want to do with it. Just like a TV show, there's a lot more happening behind the scenes than first appears.
And, the book is cleverly structured where things start to fall apart for Jordy once the girls begin sharing perspectives.
The story centers around two first person perspectives, that of Maya and Skye. From the get go, the narrative is good at painting Jordy as the antagonist by giving the reader a perspective the girls don't have - what he's saying to them versus the other.
The humour of the book is spot on, playing well on the media industry. It's a story that feels very apt in the current climate. The reality television clichés are plentiful, yet provide a good basis for the story to take place.
The characters all felt surprisingly well fleshed out. Even side characters we meet less often have backgrounds and inner motivation that isn't obvious at first. They feel like a well developed group, instead of just people made to fill spaces. The story is good at making antagonists of them, yet resolving it with new perspectives and sides to situations.
The story is also an optimistic showing of girls sticking together and looking out for each other. Alongside the main romance you have lots of friendship throughout the cast of girls, as they bond during the show. This comes together brilliantly at the end, and had me smiling wide.
The story is also multi-layered. Underneath the story of revenge and the dating show, you have learning to open up and trust again, trying to figure out your future and what you want to do with it. Just like a TV show, there's a lot more happening behind the scenes than first appears.
And, the book is cleverly structured where things start to fall apart for Jordy once the girls begin sharing perspectives.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Biphobia and Body shaming
gellyreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
I kinda feel petty not giving this 5 stars because even though I didn’t like the conflicts in the relationship, I thought they were valid and resolved beautifully. The middle just dragged a bit? I also didn’t really enjoy the whole college subplot for Maya and then it being unresolved or that we didn’t get a chance for Skye to have like a moment to Jordy or ~something~ to help her go through her abandonment issues. That resolved itself way too quickly. Although I also really enjoyed that both of these girls were out and comfortable with their sexualities from day 1! We love to see it! This was super cute!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
liesthemoontells's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A formulaic but competently written queer romance novel.
The initial intrigue of the book's reality show premise was not sustained by the plot, which became pretty repetitive and dulled the interesting edges off what could have been a far more compelling look at the romance TV industry. However I found the romance between the main characters engaging enough that I read the book to the end.
The characters also seemed a little aged down for the scenario they found themselves in, which to me sat uncomfortably between YA and adult-romance fiction.
The initial intrigue of the book's reality show premise was not sustained by the plot, which became pretty repetitive and dulled the interesting edges off what could have been a far more compelling look at the romance TV industry. However I found the romance between the main characters engaging enough that I read the book to the end.
The characters also seemed a little aged down for the scenario they found themselves in, which to me sat uncomfortably between YA and adult-romance fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexism and Abandonment
rickireadss's review against another edition
4.0
once i found out the premise of this story, i KNEW i had to read it. i love reality tv show settings in romance books, especially when there is queer rep. i do wish the characters were a little older - it just felt weird that some where barely 18. i also kinda felt as if the relationship between our two mcs needed a little more on-page development. like i just wanted them to have more time together for me to be like FULLY invested in their love, if that makes sense. overall, i had a great time - it was funny and i wanted to PUNCH the living daylights out of jordy.
⚠️: gaslighting, toxic relationship, infidelity, misogyny, alcohol, biphobia, car accident
⚠️: gaslighting, toxic relationship, infidelity, misogyny, alcohol, biphobia, car accident
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Biphobia, Misogyny, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident
brynn_books's review against another edition
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
This book was so adorable. It was basically The Bachelor but with a sapphic twist. Love triangles are automatically superior if the two love interests get together instead. I liked how this critiqued reality tv shows by portraying it as a way to pit women against each other. But the women in this book definitely didn’t fall for it as they all became friends in the end. There was just something so satisfying about Jordy reaching his downfall at the end. I fucking hate that guy!
I wish we had gotten more of Maya and Skye throughout the story. I feel like some of their romance was rushed, or it was more of a physical relationship. I didn’t fully feel that emotional connection until the end. I just would have liked to see more heartfelt conversations between the two girls in the middle of the story.
I also wasn’t a big fan of the miscommunication trope that happened at the end of the story. It was relatively small compared to other books I’ve read but it was still frustrating. Overall, I really enjoyed this sapphic rom-com. I would highly recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse