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, Alcohol, and Misogyny
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
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: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Misogyny, and Infidelity
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: Misogyny, Sexism, and Infidelity
Moderate: Abandonment and Sexism
genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Biphobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Bullying
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
mckiheather's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.5
Cute romance story with a bonus of getting revenge on those who have wronged them. Behind the romance plot it really just focuses on women supporting and believing each other when no one else does.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual content and Abandonment
kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Gaslighting, Cursing, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
amethystandherbooks'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
Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
Moderate: Abandonment, Misogyny, and Bullying
Minor: Car accident
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
A genuinely funny and fast paced rom-com that gave me The Bachelor meets John Tucker Must Die vibes— if in the midst of plotting revenge on their cheating ex (on a dating reality show no less), the former rivals turned co-conspirators inadvertently fall for each other instead.
I started reading this on Christmas Eve and before I knew it I was two thirds of the way through and fully invested in Maya, Skye and their revenge-fuelled shenanigans against Jordy (their cheating, gaslighting and self obsessed ex.)
It’s told entirely through the POVs of Maya (who dated Jordy before his sister married a prince and made him famous) and Skye, the girl that Jordy cheated on Maya with (before promptly gaslighting Maya and making everyone believe she was a jealous ex.) And I genuinely loved how their rivalry turned relationship plays out, with each girl initially distrustful of the other but able to actually sit down, talk things out and realise they’d both been manipulated.
The conflict resolution does happen fairly quickly but I thoroughly enjoyed it—and it meant that we could truly get stuck right in to all the drama and scheming (And much like Taylor Swift herself, the drama certainly loves Maya—especially when it involves Jello shots.)
The romance aspect was beautifully written and felt really organic to the development of Maya and Skye’s budding friendship/ relationship. We don’t delve too deep into either of their backstories but I did enjoy the glimpses we do get, lifting the veil on their guarded hearts and career motivations.
Our antagonist (and main villain), Jordy is quite possibly one of the best love to hate characters; he’s a self centred, slut shaming snob who tries to play off his beliefs as well meaning advice meant to empower, but really only showcases how misogynistic and out of touch he is with the women —and the world around him.
I loved how everything wrapped up, with one of the most therapeutic and satisfying endings I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I do however wish the epilogue was a little longer as I wanted to see more of life after the show ended.
Overall, this was a fun and entertainingly sassy story full of loveable, snarky characters and sweet revenge plots I rooted to succeed! If you love books involving romance, revenge (of the karmic variety) or reality TV drama then I definitely recommend adding this to your TBR!
Also, a massive thank you to Anna and Team BKMRK for sending me the finished copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Biphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Body shaming
Minor: Sexual content and Abandonment
sdupont'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
Never Ever Getting Back Together is a fun YA book that takes place on the set of a dating reality tv show. This book is the cross between John Tucker Must Die and The Bachelor. I really enjoyed reading this book especially because I felt the behind the scenes producer manipulation and involvement seemed very realistic. I like Maya, Skye, and the rest of the girls on the show. I think this would be great to adapt into a limited series. I definitely would recommend reading!
*I received the ARC for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
*I received the ARC for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
Moderate: Misogyny and Abandonment
Minor: Biphobia and Bullying