This was a really fun and easy summer with great characters, and a whole lot of chemistry. The plus size rep was doing beautifully well and allowed Marcela to be a very relatable character.

An easy summer read that didn’t require any effort. But sadly the characters didn’t quite ring true for me and it was really all rather predictable.

I don’t know what to say about this because I did enjoy reading it a lot but there was just something a bit odd about the story. Some of the things left untold just felt so unnecessary. No reason to pretend to be together etc. etc.

Over the past few months I’ve been seeing a lot about The Next Best Fling online which lead to me having high hopes going into reading it. Unfortunately, these hopes were not lived up to. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it for a mixture of reasons. That being said I do think it may be perfect for some people!

Librarian Marcela has been secretly in love with her best friend for years. But, when he gets engaged she knows it is time to move on. She has a bigger problem to deal with first in the form of Theo, an ex-NFL player and the older brother of her best friend. When she discovers Theo’s plans to confess his feelings for his brother’s fiancée, she stops him and manages to convince him to sleep off his almost-mistake at hers. But, when they arrive at a family brunch the next day, everyone wrongly assumes they hooked up and they can’t help but roll with the lie.

The concept of this book sounds exceptional but the execution was not completely there. That being said there were moments and characters I enjoyed throughout! Theo is sweet, caring and has such a big heart. I enjoyed the moments we had with him throughout the book. Marcela was so indecisive and in my opinion, very hard to get along with. Theo lays all his cards on the table whereas Marcela seems to keep everything from everyone no matter what. Their moments together were fun and it was lovely to watch their feelings for each other change.

One thing is very clear, the way that Ben (the best friend) is written makes you hate him instantly. That is very much as intended and I very much enjoyed reading about his downfall. There are a number of side characters in this book but I feel none of them were fully fleshed out. They all seemed very similar which was a shame.

This book discusses some heavier topics and it does this in a honest and raw way. There are discussions of emotional abuse and body image. The author has dealt with these in a wonderful way and I feel that should be applauded.

A personal issue I had with this book were surrounding Marcela’s job as a librarian. As a librarian myself, a few of the things she did in her role just rubbed me the wrong way. But, these are likely things other readers would not even question.

Even though this did not live up to all my expectations, it is still a very good debut. I will still be looking out for other books by the author and I’m excited to see their writing progress.

Overall, if you like family drama, love squares and unrequited love then this is the book for you! If you are on the look out for those things, I would recommend giving it a read.

The messy and chaotic energy worked so well with the romance and how Marcella and Theo fell in love. I love seeing good plus size rep in books and I feel like I can relate to the characters more, definitely one I will pick up on release

Marcela has spent years in love and hoping for a reconnection with her ex, who is now her best friend and is soon going to marry the love of his life. Theo is her best friend's brother and is in love with Alice, his brother's fiancée. At the engagement party, Marcela stops an intoxicated Theo from confessing his love for Alice and ruining the engagement. Soon after, they decide that the best way to move on is to have a no-strings-attached relationship. But what happens when this fake relationship starts to become a little too real....

This was a fantastic read, I was hooked from the very start right to the end. I really loved the relationship between Marcela and Theo, they had amazing chemistry and I loved seeing their journey together. This was a really fun and cute book with a bit of spice to keep you engrossed in the story, making this an easy page turner!! I will definitely be reading more books from this author!!

4.5 stars!!

The Next Best Fling is a very enjoyable fake dating romance with also a friends-to-lovers tinge too. It's very enjoyable, even when Marcela is a little frustrating - she self-sabotages in a way which feels unnecessary. But then... if I feel like this about a character then it probably means she's incredibly well-written, as she feels like a real person. Anyway, I'd highly recommend this if you're looking for an enjoyable romance with some spice.

The Next Best Fling was a cute slow burn spicy romance.
Marcela and Theo both agree to be each others rebound and everything goes wrong, or right from there! A great read.

I really enjoyed this warm hug of a book!!

It tracks the tale of 2 unlikely star-crossed lovers who help each other overcome long-time loves - and grow into something even greater.

The storyline was very sweet and the characters very loveable. I usually prefer a slightly more show-don’t-tell approach in romance reading - however really enjoyed the lightness and sweetness of this read.

I also really enjoyed reading a curvy heroine coming into her power and accepting the love she deserves from her love interest.

I really recommend for anyone looking for a sweet and funny pick me up.

A very special thank you to Dialogue Books | Renegade Books, Gabriella Gamez and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my review.

Can 2 people with unrequited love for others console each other with a "no ties" relationship? Will things become more complicated? a different romantic theme, enthralling waiting to see if their relationship will develop.

I have been struggling to find something to fill the Emily Henry shaped hole in my reading. This does it!

Main tropes =
Fake dating
Forced proximity
Falling for best friend's brother


The librarian and ex-NFL player protagonists have electric chemistry and they are great rounded characters on their own too.

A great debut! I look forward to reading whatever the author writes in the future.

Thank you Dialogue Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book, which I was pleasantly surprised about as it was one of those that I requested and then wasn't really sure why as it's not normally a trope I love.

I couldn't put this down from the second I started reading it. Marcela was absolute perfection and Theo is definitely up there on the list of top book boyfriends.

I definitely did not love Ben but that was kind of the point, I suppose!

I loved this authors style of writing and this is definitely one of my favourite books of this year so far. I loved the relationships between all of the side characters too.

Tropes:
• Best friends brother
• Unrequited love
• Fake dating (but not really)
• Sports star romance

I rated this book 4⭐️. This was a real mix of best friend brother (crushes brother/unrequited love (seemingly)/rebound. Theo is in love with his brothers future wife, Marcela is in love with her best friend/ex boyfriend, so, there’s a lot going on, but it was written and played out brilliantly. And I love that we have plus sized representation.

Marcela and Theo’s chemistry is undeniable, despite both being in love with other people. That element obviously makes it complicated for the pair, especially as Marcela doesn’t tell Theo straight away that she’s in love her best friend, Ben. But the relationship that blossoms between them is wonderful - Theo doesn’t judge her for her insecurities, he just does what he can to make her feel comfortable, and never pushes her.

Theo has a heart of gold, but has his own troubles to work through such as his relationship with his brother, his feelings for Alice, and his early retirement from American Football. Marcela is working through her own insecurities and her wariness to get into anything serious, which causes her to go back and fourth at the end the book about whether she could enter into a real relationship with Theo.

Marcela and Ben have been best friends since college/university. They dated for a short time but Ben decided to just be friends. Marcela has been pining for him ever since, but as the story unfolds, as do the real reasons behind a lot of Ben’s actions. He is an unexpected villain, and his toxicity and controlling behaviour is slowly exposed, not only towards Marcela but to his brother and future wife as well. Marcela realising who Ben really is, is the best thing to happen to her because she’s finally free from his restraints and her love for him.

This story is definitely spicy, tension-filled, and romantic, but it’s also emotionally heavy, with unexpected layers. On one hand, Theo had me swooning over how he treated Marcela, but on the other hand, my heart ached for the pair as they revealed and worked through their own personal struggles whilst trying to navigate their complex relationship. I definitely think this is a must read for all romance lovers.

𝟒 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 .𐦍༘⋆
this book is so good! and for a debut novel? i enjoyed it so much!

if you’re looking for a fun read about fake dating and family / friends drama this is it!

𐙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙:
I was so enthralled with the story and all the characters! i loved the overall story and character development of each character so much. without spoiling I will say that i was thoroughly happy to see that each character felt real and that they all developed in their own way, good or bad.

The author Gabriella Gamez did such a great job of giving us flawed main characters who we can grow to love as they navigate the story.

𐙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:

I do feel like the miscommunication and withholding of information from certain characters made this book a bit longer than it needed to be. Especially with how our main couple was handling the new changes within their relationship.

The Next Best Fling follows Marcela who is a librarian who is secretly in love with her best friend who gets engaged to someone else and Theo who is her best friends older brother and an ex NFL player who is in love with his brother's fiancee. Marcela finds out that Theo is going to confess his feelings for his brother's fiancee at their engagement party but she convinces Theo to sleep it off at her place. When they go to the family brunch together the next day, everyone assumes that they hooked up. Since they both want to get over their feelings, they decide to go with the lie and one night, they take it a bit too far and their chemistry is undeniable between them.

Having a body positive FMC is great and having positive female relationships was nice to see.
Both Marcela and Theo had unresolved issues and felt like the only reason they were together was because they didn't have another choice. This being said, their banter was quite funny to read. I do feel like their spicy scenes could have been better and a little more spicy!
Reading about the family relationships and the toxicity of those relationships was interesting. It added a lot to the story that I feel like it needed. I also didn't like that it sometimes felt like they were being forced to be with each other that it became a little repetitive. Overall, I think it is a great beach/summer read

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dialogue Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Views are my own.

I really enjoyed this book.
Ben is a big red flag from the start and it's amazing to see Marcela FINALLY get over him, with the help of... His brother!
We're all flawed, and have pasts... And that book is showing that quit nicely. I liked the way the 2 are acting around each others, they were shown as real, unperfect persons, who have/had complicated choices to make. Theo is a big, loveable cinnamon roll!
I just found the last part of the book to drag on a bit... Come on girl, jump over your own shadow already! But otherwise very enjoyable!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Dialogue Books for access to the ebook in exchange for an honest review.*

In this spicy and charming debut romance, librarian Marcela Ortiz and ex-NFL player Theo Young form a no-strings-attached fake dating relationship to move past their unrequited loves. Marcela, secretly in love with her best friend, halts Theo's drunken plan to confess his feelings for his brother's fiancée at their engagement party. The next day, mistaken assumptions at a family brunch lead them to play along with the idea that they hooked up. As their fake relationship deepens, their undeniable chemistry takes over, leading to steamy encounters in library aisles and beyond. What starts as a rebound quickly becomes something more, challenging their notions of love and commitment.

A plus size bookish herione was all I needed to hear to want to pick up this book and it did not disappoint.

We follow Marcela, a librarian who has been in love with her friend Ben since college, she is left heartbroken when he announces to her that he is going to propose to his girlfriend Alice. Marcela realises she needs to move on from crush on Ben. Then we meet Ben’s brother, Theo who reveals he is also in love with one of the wedding party. The two are seen together and people begin to assume the pair are dating so they decide to fake date and become each others rebounds. I think the fake dating trope was well done in this book.

I really loved Theo as a character but found Marcela's back and forth towards the end a bit repetitive when we knew what the outcome would be. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and the book club scenes were some of my favourite.

The book cover is adorable and I would definitely recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy to review.

read this alongside the audiobook and that was the best decision. so steamy and heartfelt, i ate this book up and found myself unable to put it down!! i read it in two good sittings and i thought it was so stinking cute, highly recommend!

✨✨4.25✨✨

This book really took me by surprise. I was intrigued by the premise but also wary as it could go very wrong if not handled well. Thankfully everything was handled beautifully in this book. The plus size representation was wonderful, emotions about it all are complex and can change day to day but it’s not your entire personality. The moment of vulnerability where Marcela admits to feeling self conscious was a lovely scene without it being made into a huge deal. There was also a dash of Asexual representation with the best friend Angela starting on a journey of whether that is her sexuality and what that means for her future and that love and sex can be separate desires.

The actual development of the relationship was great to watch unfold. It was gradual but at the same time you could see how gone Theo was for Marcela (despite not being in his POV). It did bother me that Marcela kept her secret from Theo for so long, mainly because the tension was getting to me as being in Marcela’s POV she was constantly thinking about needing to tell him. Ben was a piece of work, I’m glad that issue wasn’t just magically resolved to have everything end perfectly. I liked how much the ending fit the story, wasn’t some massive time just it was just to show Marcela still having faith in them and finally introduce a boy to her mother.

I’m definitely interested in reading more from Gabriella Gamez, especially if she writes Angela’s story!

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.