3.75 stars

I had a great time reading this book, from the characters to the plot to the overall ending, though I think I would have enjoyed it even more had I been 18/19 reading it and not 24. It was a really engaging read with some well written bi rep where it wasn’t the core focus of the book which I appreciated.

I did quite like the reality tv spin on the plot, even if you did have to suspend belief at times due to how unrealistic it sounded (a group of teenagers flown to a fictitious European country to drink copious amounts of alcohol and convince their joint ex to fall back in love with them?). Though I’ve never been on a reality tv show so maybe they are exactly as it was portrayed here. The book did a very good job of getting across how fake and scripted these kinds of shows are though.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Maya to be honest, and a few of the other female characters at times actually, though perhaps this was an age thing. I just felt Maya came across quite immature with how focused she was on her ‘revenge’ plan, it definitely gave ‘teen drama’ at times. But I did like the friendships that formed as well as Maya and Skye’s relationship, I was rooting for them so much! Jordy on the other hand was awful, very well written of course but an awful character, so two faced and gaslighting and slimy, eurgh. He got what he deserved in the end though, and I really liked how that ending was crafted.

Overall a fun, engaging read that I think girls in their late teens would absolutely love!

i have no idea why i put off reading this book for so long because it was absolutely incredible, i was hooked from the start and could not out it down.

the plot was amazing and i adore the way things played out with the perfect revenge being served

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I found the characters unlikeable and did not want to read on.

Love Island x Ex On The Beach with two bi girls enacting a revenge plot... and accidentally falling in love. Seriously, WHAT MORE COULD A GIRL ASK FOR?!! Sophie Gonzales always delivers fun plots and swoonworthy romances. Easily my favourite of her novels!!

A really fun, queer take on reality tv. It was such a thrill to read and I would recommend it if my shop was anything but a comic book shop.

This book was definitely a title request, as it's a Taylor Swift lyric. I loved the bi representation in this book, and it's a fantastic book for a young audience. I'd especially recommend it to young people who are discovering their sexuality and who they really are.

However, I didn't love the characters in this book. I feel there were too many partners for Jordy, a young man barely in his 20s. This was moreso the actions of a man a little older, and I think it would have worked better marketed for an older audience in this regard.

I liked the concept of the reality show, as I love books featuring them. However I don't think it was executed well, After a couple of contestants, they all rather blurred together for me.

I’m sad to say I didn’t love it! I loved the concept and was geared up for a journey of drama, heartache and back stabbing. Some of this came true but in such dull ways! I found myself disliking both of the main female characters and found them vapid and irritating and naturally hated the male lead as was expected. He reminded me of people I’ve met in the past and l I hated his treatment of the women in his life. I wanted more of an emotional reaction to this story and other than the searing anger I felt at the bullying the other girls inflicted on Maya I felt nothing. And that made me sad. For a revenge romance I expected more

Never Ever Getting Back Together is Sophie Gonzales at the top of the writing pack. It's witty, romantic, funny, with an original plot and so many characters you just fall in love with. It's a book you won't put down and one you will give friends if you can bare to part with your copy.

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read Sophie's previous books and really enjoyed them, but I have to say that, going in, I wasn't quite convinced about this. I'm not a fan of reality TV and I wasn't sure it would work for me as trope, and revenge can be something I find pretty hit or miss. All that said, this was SO much fun. I should have known to trust Sophie :D

Jordy really did deserve everything that happens and is a truly terrible person. Maya and Skye ended up being really fun and cute. There is a lot of drama, partially because the setting really makes you lean into it, and partially because they're still young, but honestly I just enjoyed the hell out of reading this.

4 stars.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

This is a revenge, sapphic enemies to lovers book set in a fictional country, where a royalty adjacent Jordy brings back 6 exes to see if he can reignite a spark with any of them, get back the one who got away. Enter Maya, who hates Jordy’s guts and would literally rather date the devil himself than see Jordy again, but decides to go on the show anyway to expose Jordy for what he is - a cheater and a narcissist. Also enter Skye, Perrie, Francesca, Lauren and Kim, who all have different histories with Jordy. I loved every single one of these girls and I wish the book was slightly longer so I could’ve gotten to know them more!

This truly was an enemies to lovers as Maya disliked Skye since before even meeting her due to their history with Jordy cheating on Maya with Skye, as well as forced proximity.

I loved seeing all the characters grow and change (apart from one, there is no saving them), bond together and plot together. Revenge is a slow, long game and Maya is here for the long run.

I found this book amusing, with some scenes actually making me laugh out loud! It also showed how reality TV can change narratives and bring things in out of context to make it seem like one thing when it is really another.

Seeing Maya and Skye become something else other than enemies was so great, and I think that the enemies to lovers trope was done really well here!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to reading more from Sophie Gonzales. I am giving Never Ever Getting Back Together 5 stars!

This book was right up my street - loved the concept and characters. Reality TV lovers will enjoy this book!

This started out really strong - engaging, funny and emotionally easy to connect to. It actually got me out of my reading slump!

However, there were just too many unbelievable aspects for me to really enjoy this throughout. The first was that I was slightly taken aback to find out that Maya was only 18 - did I read an early blurb somewhere that didn't mention ages?! Given the whole concept of Jordy re-dating a laundry list of (ostensibly significant) exes and finding 'The One (That Got Away)', I'd expected the main characters to be in their mid-twenties at least. It would have made the premise exponentially more believable. This increasingly burdensome requirement that I suspend my disbelief became my main issue with this book.

In real life, when someone doesn't do something that seems like the obvious/natural/logical thing to do, I'd think, 'Oh, they probably have a reason, they've just silently thought about it already and discarded that option.' However, in a first person POV narration I'd hope to be privy to a characters' rationale, whether now or later on. I'd really rather not be left wondering if the character has just lost their own characterisation for the sake of contrived drama.

Side note: I know reality TV is artificial, but that's the TV, not the book plot of what's happening behind-the-scenes. I'm also confident that it's not the whole reality TV premise that's putting me off, given that I've previously enjoyed reality shows and books plotted around reality shows, e.g. 'The Shelf' by Helly Acton.

At least I did laugh out loud more than a few times, and the friendships were heartwarming. There were some gems scattered throughout, such as how Maya felt about telling Skye she's bi. I also loved the emphasis on how important it is to choose your future for you and not others' expectations. The vivid depiction of how dangerously toxic revenge can be also felt like a good take-home message.

'Never Ever Getting Back Together' did thankfully become more believable near the end (without sacrificing drama!), and I finally became emotionally invested once again. In hindsight, I was perhaps a little too hyped for this (when will I learn not to inflate my expectations, but also this sounded SO good) which might have affected how much I ended up enjoying it. I think this is definitely a book that can be fun if you don't get sucked into over-analysing the little details.

In any case, I've still Gonzales' 'Perfect on Paper' on my TBR, so fingers crossed I'll love it as much as everyone else seems to!

Everything Sophie Gonzales writes is fantastic! Never Ever Getting Back Together is an (older) YA novel about two women who fall for each other instead of their ex on a second chance romance reality TV show. And it is epic! It's an easy read, great fun, and ever so satisfying at the end!

Maya is holding a grudge against her ex Jordy who moved away and cheated on her with a new girl called Skye. So when she gets a call out of the blue asking her to go on a new reality show where Jordy is going to date all of his exes to see if he can rekindle a flame she is totally against it, that is until she realised she can use the opportunity to get revenge.

Skye is travelling the world after her break up with Jordy. However, they broke up amicably so when he asks her to join the show she doesn’t have anything to lose by giving it another go. However, he warns her that Maya has an issue against her and could cause trouble.

The relationship between the girls starts cold. However, the truth is slowly revealed and their relationship quickly develops.

This is basically a Queer Bachelor meets Ex on the Beach with a crown on (sort of). It was super cheesy, but hey! Sometimes that’s exactly what you need (okay a lot of the time). I really enjoyed this read and was curious how the revenge would end up served!

Holy forking shirtballs. I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. Sophie Gonzales has always been a hit or miss for me but when I saw the synopsis of this one, I knew I had to give it a shot and I'm so glad that I did. I loved the plot, the characters, the romance, the development. I swear down, there is not one bad thing that I can say about this book.

Let me start by saying that I shamelessly enjoy reality TV and live for the drama so I knew I’d have a good time with this one. I find myself tuning in time and time again for even the most ridiculous of shows (seriously, what are they laced with?) so I can say with absolute certainty I would watch a royal-adjacent re-dating show. I love the heightened sense of drama and this book definitely made a point of how storylines and personalities can be fabricated or edited for the screen, with people so evidently being made out to be ‘heroes’ or ‘villains’ when you’re getting that behind the scenes insight. I enjoyed the believability of having this smaller cast and how the lack of ‘filler’ contestants allowed us to get to know each of the exes better. There was also a variety of reasons for the contestants wanting to re-date their smarmy ex, and I actually loved the honesty of those there for revenge or followers. (Maybe that says something about me but when you hear about him, I think you will too!)

Maya was probably my favourite character and someone you could absolutely root for, and I loved watching her enemies (with good reason!) to allies to lovers/and “they were roommates!” romance develop with Skye. It was pleasantly gradual even in this intense environment and I also enjoyed that we didn’t suffer too long when there were misunderstandings because I know how that can be frustrating.

You also need to know that this book has a villain that will genuinely make your blood boil. Truly. I wish I could say reading about someone so self-centred and false was a stretch but I think we’ve unfortunately all met a Jordy. I can only thank the universe I’ve never dated one because Maya is a better woman than me.

On the whole this was a fun YA sapphic romance that I had a great time reading! If you’re a fan of reality TV and wish there was more queer rep in it, I’d absolutely recommend this one! This is my first Sophie Gonzales book and it absolutely won’t be the last.

I was so excited to hear of this book! After absolutely loving Perfect On Paper I was definitely interested in reading this.

Never Ever Getting Back Together was an absolutely delightful read! At first I was worried I wouldn’t particularly warm to the main characters with the miscommunication getting in the way, but I was so wrong! Maya and Skye were absolutely awesome as well as the other collection of contestants. I also really love early/mid 2000s reality shows and this gave off those vibes. I loved the bisexual rep and will always be excited to experience it in media.

This book was honestly just a breath of fresh air and such a joy to read.
Imagine taking a show like I Wanna Marry “Harry” but add a splash of revenge and friendship as well as a healthy sprinkle of attraction. It was just brilliant to see a group of girls that would be pitted against each other as contestants actually coming together and yes, I just really enjoyed this read. I think it would make a really cute film also.

I had had my eye on this titles since the moment I saw it and boy, was it worth the request! I loved the story here and and Sophie's writing style - as expected - was amazing! I laughed, I cried, I "awww'd" out loud - what more could you want? I look forward to picking up more of her books in the future!

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I had hoped. I enjoyed the tasks and reality television aspects, however found that other than maybe two of the contestants other than our protagonists, the contestants all seemed to blend together personality wise.

I enjoyed the dual pov narration and the ending of this tale, but it just didn’t work out for me how I’d hoped.

I feel that portraying the cast overall as being around 20 made the timelines of all the relationships a little messy - how could all these women possibly be “the one” when they would’ve all been dating as teenagers and haven’t had much lived experiences since their relationships this to me was more NA than YA …

Not the book for me I’m afraid.

I am a huge fan of shows like Love Island so a book that involves a romance type reality TV show sounded right up my street and I’m so glad I picked it up!
This was light hearted and funny with lies and drama galore! I loved the twist with the contestants which really added to the drama and the story! Definitely recommend this read!