3.6 rounded up to 4/5.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Never Getting Back Together" by Krysti Meyer is a quick read that captured my attention right from the beginning with the cover and the sunflowers on it.

Quinn Kelley is navigating the challenges of pursuing her dream of owning a business when her ex-boyfriend, Ty Rossi, returns to town. They are then unexpectedly thrust together to co-host their town's Founder's Festival.

Quinn is dealing with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. I love that there's chronic illness representation and it's given a realness considering that the author herself also deals with this illness. Since Quinn came to live with her aunt and cousin to help manage her illness, they formed a strong bond. This bond is one of my favorite aspects of this book. I also enjoyed that it was a small-town romance. It just adds to the overall charm of the book.

Something I had an issue with was just wanting more out of Ty. His character seems to be stuck in being the high school class clown, which makes his character just feel immature overall. I would have liked to get to have known him and what drives him more.

Overall, "Never Getting Back Together" is an enjoyable, quick read. More exploration of some characters and their histories would have made the book a bit more enjoyable. Chronic illness representation and positive family dynamics are what ultimately drive this book.

<i>Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!</i>

My Swiftie love is strong, but this book was a big “go girl, give me nothing!” I was about a third in and I felt like only the B-plots were simmering. You’d think that the cover and the title would indicate a romance book on their own, but the romance itself was lacking. I wanted banter, chemistry, some charming Southern twang … I got nothing. I needed a backstory for this second chance romance to be believable. If this was a B-plot romance book, it didn’t work. I get that this book was short but a little more substance could’ve been added.

I will say, I did like Quinn. I’m all here for a girl with a chronic illness (and the representation because I have read some good romances with that aspect), and baking dream, and goals. I was rooting for her. Ty had so much potential but he was just boring.

I have read a couple of romance novels with a MC with a chronic illness (sometimes both MCs) that are better, but this book is still nice to read if you want something quick.

Although, I want to join the ladies on their smutty book Saturdays. I’m here for that too.

I think this was a cute book. Quinn was personally so relatable to my life and my personality. I loved all of the side characters, especially Ty. And I loved how even though they weren't very communicative in the first 3/4 of the book, Quinn learned how to stop being so controlling and let her guard down. It made the ending super cute. I just wish there was a bit... more. It felt like it lacked something. It was a great story, though. And I'd recommend it to anyone who likes YA romance books

Imagine Gilmore Girls mixed with Taylor Swift, a second-chance romance, and a small town! These are the elements of this novel. Isn't it awesome?

Quinn is hustling to make her own business a reality, but first, she has to survive a week organizing the Founder's Festival with her ex. Having a more chaotic and intense summer is impossible. She's doing everything possible to complete the certification program to launch her own business. There are family dramas, and, oh yes, her ex reappears in town after YEARS.

Quinn would have preferred to keep pretending that Ty Rossi doesn't exist, but when a mutual friend has a family emergency and has to leave town, Quinn and Ty end up in charge of the Founder's Festival. At first, they want to pull their hair out, but gradually, memories and feelings that they thought were forgotten start to resurface.

The main aspect to improve in the novel is the depth of the characters and their story. Being a novel of less than 200 pages, there isn't much room to give too much context to the reader. However, at some points in the narrative, I felt that the characters were not sharing parts of their past that would have helped me understand present situations. It was like joining a conversation already in progress and lacking information.

The strengths of this novel are, in my opinion, threefold: the setting of the novel, the representation of people with chronic illnesses, and the relationship between the sisters. In this story, you feel like you're in a Taylor Swift song all the time. The town and its inhabitants are endearing. You feel that the characters are in a welcoming and warm community. Another aspect that pleasantly surprised me is the inclusion of characters with chronic illnesses in the novel. This characteristic, far from being the focal point of the novel (as has been done many times before), is just one more feature of some characters and is treated as such. I really liked this diversity and hope it becomes more common. Finally, the relationship between the Kelley sisters is fantastic. They form a fantastic support network not only for the immediate family but also for the town.

Thanks Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. Like, truly really wanted to. Gilmore girls comp? Check yes. Taylor Swift vibes? Check yes.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into this book, because I felt like the beginning was more info-dumping than pulling me in as a reader. I also had a hard time buying the romance—it was lacklustre at best and I was left wanting more. Something. Anything really. But there was little chemistry between the FMC and MMC.

Things I liked:
* Chronic illness rep
* invisible illness rep
* neurodivergent coding

DNF’d at 35% due to lack of development of the characters, lack of chemistry/tension between love interests and over all narration.

This was a good YA small town romance read. It had me at Gilmore girl meets Sweet home Alabama which are two of my favorite TV shows and movies. When I started reading, I realized it was more of a younger ya read, may be 15 to 18 years old. I still enjoyed it and found it to be a great small town Romance that I can recommend. Thank you for the chance to read and give my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley and Krysti Meyer for a chance to read this book!

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this book, it was a quick easy read that helped me get out of my fantasy reading slump and back into romcoms!! If you like second chance romance, small town drama, and just the right amount of angst then this is the book for you. It was funny, romantic and I enjoyed the Taylor Swift nods. I will say I do wish the characters had a little bit of growth throughout the book so I could’ve loved them more, there were several moments where I just felt like maybe they were still stuck in their high school years but overall this was a good book! And one I would recommend to all small town, second chance romance lovers!

3.5 ⭐️
Second chance romance, miscommunication trope, small town romance


I liked the setting of the story, the small town romance, and I found the characters to be very loveable.

On the other hand, this book felt way too much like reading a wattpad story.
The story was all about Quinn’s quirks, and how pathetic she is.
I had way too many times where I physically cringed about what was happening, for example when choosing the movie for movie night. Like guys, it’s not that big of a deal lol.

In general, I think this book was a bit too corny for my liking :)

Can I please move to a small town with fun events and sweet residents? The setting of this was basically a southern version of Stars Hollow and I loved it! There are cute small businesses, bake sales, and some (mostly) harmless pranks to make the story fun and entertaining.

The main character was likeable and I appreciated all that she did to help others with their chronic illnesses. She was kind and caring and I rooted for her to find love and happiness.

This flew by and I'm so excited that it's now out in the world for everyone to enjoy!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to the author for the copy.
2 likes

This was an adorable, easy to read and very informative contemporary romance. While Never Getting Back Together is listed as NG it is something that could very easily be recommended to a younger teen audience due to the clean content of the book as well as the antics of the characters. There was a lot of great information about autoimmune conditions and management that I am sure a lot of people don't know about woven through out the cute romance aspect of the story. This could very easily be called a coming of age story with the MC learning more about what she wants out of life and how to move forward in all aspects, be it romantically,  professionally or health-wise. I look forward to reading more from Krysti in the future.

Wanted to love it, but couldn’t get past the immaturity of the characters. The love between Ty and Quinn is nonexistent and very much forced. She’s way, way too good for him. I will say I did see the Sweet Home Alabama story and One Tree Hill mixed together, but for the most part - the story just fell flat. One major like though is the relationship between Quinn and her family. I LOVED watching that flesh out! Otherwise, it was just another teen-y type story that was just meh. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

The nod to Taylor Swift in the title peaked my interest, and I wasn't disappointed with this book. The comps I saw compared it to Gilmore Girls and Sweet Home Alabama, and I definitely can see both of those references throughout. A second-chance love story with a dash of small town quirks, I really enjoyed Never Getting Back Together.

This book was not for me. I do think it would be a good one for people who like YA romances. For me the characters were a bit immature and lacked the depth and development that I prefer to read. I think it was mainly the age and phases of life of the characters that I can not relate to that made this a book not for me.

This book should be classified as more of a YA romance as the characters seem quite immature. This is a first love story where the characters still have feelings for each other after a prolonged period of time. When the chance to rekindle their romance arises, their immaturity sets in and we see a lot of back and forth. I think because of this, I struggled to feel the chemistry between the two. Well written though and easy to read, I managed to read this short novel in one sitting.

Quinn and Ty dated in high school. He was the class clown but she got sick of his ‘pranks’. She kept telling him to grow up and stop pranking others but he didn’t listen. They broke up because one prank went a little too far. Three years later they meet again at a reunion party and she pushes him into the pool.

I couldn’t relate or like the characters. They were immature and annoying. I didn’t feel any real depth or character development. Their actions were annoying and embarrassing.
Ty didn’t listen to her when she told him to not do the prank but he listened when she told him to leave her alone and left town!

Overall, it was a very frustrating read.

This book was good!
However,
I don’t think it was the right fit for me. It lost me a couple times and I had to reread quite a few chapters because it wasn’t keeping me interested,
I did like it okay, it just wasn’t anything that peaked my interest

Never Getting Back Together was the first book I read by Krysti Meyer. Although it was a cute and easy read, it wasn't my cup of tea. The story had some funny moments, but the main characters lacked growth and were quite immature, especially Quinn. I found her character's chronic illness interesting, but her personality didn't click with me.

What I enjoyed most about the book was the banter between Quinn, her aunt, and her cousin. Those moments were the best for me and made the story more enjoyable. However, the miscommunication between the main characters was quite childish and brought down the rating for me.

Overall, it was a quick and cute read.

First off, I would like to say that this is the first romance I’ve ever read where the main character suffers from a chronic illness. I was very much intrigued by the details of what she had to go through with said illness, and I believe it was decently accurate, so props to the author for the inclusivity there.

Never Getting Back Together is a small-town second-chance romance where our main character’s ex comes back to town from college and they are forced to work together and run the town’s local festival whether they like it or not. So this might also count as forced-proximity as well. Now although I did enjoy many aspects of this story, miscommunication is my biggest ICK in books. So much drama/fighting could have been easily avoided if our main characters weren’t so stubborn and quick to jump to conclusions. I wish the main characters all the best now that they are indeed back together, but it could’ve been a lot easier. That is the only reason I’m giving this book a 3 instead of a 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kristi Meyer for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

With a 3.8-star rating, this small-town, second-chance romance echoes Gilmore Girls meeting Sweet Home Alabama. Quinn's dream of owning a business clashes with hosting her town's Founder's Festival alongside her ex, Ty Rossi. The sparks fly, both romantically and temper-wise, in this swoony, closed-door romantic comedy with a dreamy second-chance vibe.

A second chance romance novel with a grumpy vs. Sunshine trope set in a small town. I found the story predictable and cute. I enjoyed reading about a new to me diagnosis, Mass Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and the symptoms and restrictions people have to live with.
I found that the FMC annoying and immature. She kept bringing up the past and couldn't move on from it. I read this book in an afternoon.

Thank you to Netgalley, Kristin Meyer and the publishers for this free ebook. This review is 100% my own and honest opinion.