Thank you Netgalley for this advance reader copy. Definitely worth it!
This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Gave me mixed emotions from happy to sad…
I was rooting for this fake romance to become real.
From the beginning of this book, I swept away. It has an irresistible romance and heartwarming charm. You can finish this book in one setting. It was a fun read! Definitely looking forward to more from this author! 🩷

I’m not the hugest fan of romances that begin with one of the MCs in love with someone else. The fact that they both did in this book could have put me off but I was actually intrigued from the moment I read the description and have been eagerly waiting to read this book and although im definitely still not a fan of that sort of plot line, this book won me over!

The main reason why it didn’t bother me was they incredibly open communication and the way they both knew what they were getting into. Seeing them open up and fall in love with each other was adorable. Theo was so cute and such a nice guy - I loved his honesty and how he fought for Marcela. She was a bit more closed off and her fear of abandonment made it harder for her to to be as open as Theo but they truly brought the best out of each other and made each other want to be better and finding love and happiness along the way was a great bonus.

I really enjoyed their character developments. Marcela, especially had a tough realization about her relationship with her best friend and how toxic it was and thought it wasn’t easy, she eventually was able to put herself first and let it go. Similarly, Theo also had to get some space from a not very healthy dynamic with his brother but I wish we’d count out more about what brought the brothers to where they were.

Overall, a really enjoyable read. If you’re looking for a romance with two lovely characters who are honest each other and have great chemistry, check this one out.

This review is for The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez which releases in the UK on the 9th July! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Dialogue Books for giving me an eArc copy for this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the authors debut novel, and what a way to start! I read this in one day and honestly couldn’t put it down.

The main thing I loved about this story were the characters. I loved the diversity of characters we see, and I do have to say Angela was my favourite. She was my unproblematic Ace queen, and I connected with her the most. Seeing how she described learning about her sexuality, and how she figured out she was Asexual really resonated with me. Especially when she talks about still wanting to find love, and realising that not wanting sex, doesn’t mean she doesn’t want love. I also have a soft spot for Theo, he was such a cinnamon roll and I love a male main character who is such a sweetheart and willing to do anything for their partner. I love how this story was a good combination of romance and some more difficult topics, such as fatphobia (both external and internalised) and abandonment issues. It was a really good balance of witty banter and deep discussions about their feelings, being as honest with each other as they can.

Some aspects of the storyline did really frustrate me, such as the characters love for self sabotage. It was also just kind of a mess, with a lot of people kinda doing shitty things to each other. The drama of the storyline and the situation they were already in was already enough, the main character then also self sabotaging herself just seemed a bit much.

I did really enjoy this book, and can’t wait to read the next in the series. I hope the next books focuses on Angela, as I can’t wait to see her have a happy ending!

Marcela and Theo's story lived up to my expectations. It was a pleasant and fast-paced read, touching on some heavier themes while still providing a bit of a refreshing break. I wasn't sure about Alice and Ben at first, but Alice's redemption arc turned out nicely. The beginning might be a bit tough if you're in a reading slump, but once the protagonists meet, it becomes a really enjoyable story to read.

3.5 stars

I knew this would be messy when I came into this story because loving your best friend without them knowing and then hooking up with his brother - fake or not - will naturally lead to messy situations when the plot devices for drama are activated. Add in the MMC also being in love with his best friend marrying his brother, and wow was this quite the concept. So if you like complicated drama in your romances, then you're in luck because this sure delivers on a rollercoaster of emotions.

Marcela's feelings for Ben made me uncomfortable for most of the book, and I was grateful the author focused on her eventually recovering from her obsessive crush on a toxic man who had conditioned her into being his second-best for the longest time. I appreciated Marcela taking off her rose-coloured glasses and how she dealt with the grief and anger she felt as things played out for the pair. That being said, I was often exasperated by the pacing of this for her, and how clearly toxic Ben's mere existence was in her world. And whilst her female bestie did tell her contradicting evidence to what she believed, she never really pushed her enough from the comfort zone and allowed Marcela to dwell far too long there. A lot of this could have been resolved and years not wasted if Marcela had better support around her. However, I say this from a logical standpoint, as someone looking in on this story, and for what we receive, the resolution of this "friendship" is satisfactory enough.

I really enjoyed the banter and tension between Theo and Marcela, but I did struggle to fully invest in their overall chemistry. The personal issues they both had, when being honest with each other felt rewarding enough, and I liked the easy friendship Theo and Marcela fell into. The passion was written well, but their emotional connection did take a few too many hits for it to feel like a healthy approach for either of them to fall in love. I think with a bit of a longer pace to the love story, it might have felt more believable to me. But again, within the parameters, I enjoyed Theo, and I'm happy enough with how this story closed up.

The self-sabotage plot device felt like a little too much for a story that was already riddled with complex character connections, and I would have preferred a healthier obstacle than throwing more at a female character to deal with. As a curvy woman myself, sometimes I was able to relate to Marcela. Still, her actions often felt too erratic and then her feelings would be unnecessarily hurt, and I wish the author had allowed the characters to have some time out from the constant rush of feelings and needless hurt, especially from themselves. Again, this is mostly a pacing issue, and given this is a debut novel, I'm confident Gamez will gain further experience and find a better rhythm in subsequent books.

This is a solid start to the series, and for fans of complicated family dynamics and messy feelings, The Next Best Fling will definitely give you a good time.

3.75

I adored this. Highly entertaining, absolutely enjoyable, packed with feels and enough emotional rollercoasters to last me a month.

I don't always read M/F romances because I have a tricky relationship with seeing my body represented on page. But romances with great rep are the exception to that rule: a Latinx, fat protagonist? Who loves and respects herself, but still manages to be vulnerable and insecure and relatable? Who's also a librarian? SIGN ME UP.
I adored Marcela. She was the absolute best, and although I kinda wanted her to come clean with Theo from the start, I absolutely cheered for her, and her HEA, from the very first page to the last.
And THEO. God, what a freaking delicious morsel of a man. He made me swoon so freaking hard. How does one find a person like him?!!!! Somebody tell me.
I also LOVED their relationship and dynamic so so much. A hint of fake dating (and friends with benefits!), plus a whole lot of unexpected chemistry, attraction and feels. I loved how their relationship felt realistic and relatable, but also goddamn dreaming and swoony at the same time.


Their relationship was fraught with misunderstandings and insecurities at times though: I was on the edge of my seat in those moments, and let me tell you, I wanted to knock some sense into Marcela's head more than once. I still adored seeing everything unfold on page.
I mostly wanted to run over that weasel Ben though. I despised him with my whole heart. He was HORRIBLE, and I can't believe Marcela spent all these years pining for him. Alice I can believe, but BEN? Ugh. What a horrid little man. On the other hand, I loved all the other side characters and I'm absolutely looking forward to seeing a few of these faces again.

All in all, "Best Next Fling" was a hoot of a book, wholly heartfelt and swoony, fun and enjoyable. The perfect feel-good summer read!

Marcella is in love with her best friend, but that same best friend has just gotten engaged to a girl his brother is in love with. Enter this fake dating romance.

I really liked the premise of this book, but overall found it a bit too messy and at times a bit toxic to fully root for it.

Marcella was an interesting FMC and her friend Angela stole the show, but I did find Theo lacking a little. Something about the pace just didn’t sit right with me.

Thank you NetGalley and Dialogue books for the ARC.

This was a cute, swoon worthy romance book with its fill of complication and drama! ❤️

Theo wants his brothers bride to be and Macella wants her best friend the groom to be, but they find each other and help each other navigate through their world of feelings and hurt! 🥹

This is a fake dating/friends with benefits/rebound book and it's so cute, I loved reading their story and how they helped each other out of messy situations and made each other better with patience and support and also the chemistry between them! I loved that Marcella was a plus sized FMC and I felt every single one of her insecurities! The book was filled with toxic relationships, sexual tension, banter, good friends and love 🔥

The story line was cute and well written and I read it within 24 hours, I would I have liked more spice but overall it was a great book and I would certainly recommend it to anyone! 🫶🏻

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review ❤️

Library Marcela Ortiz has been in love with her best friend, Ben, for almost 10 years, but when he finally shows her an engagement ring, it’s for his long-term girlfriend, not herself. In the aftermath of such a painful wake-up call, Marcela acknowledges it's time to move on.

Theo Young has been in love with his brother's fiancée, Alice since they were children, and he needs to know, once and for all, if she ever felt the same way. On the night of their engagement party, as he’s running through the speech he’s preparing for Alice, Marcela overhears and bodily stops him from running the happy couple’s night. He crashes on her couch, and when they arrive at the family brunch the next morning, everyone assumes they spend the night together, and neither admits otherwise.

This is exactly what Marcela needs, a fling to help her get over Ben once and for all, and with Theo in the same boat, the two plan to rebound with each other, except their rebounding has started to work a little too well.

I have mixed feelings about The Next Best Fling. I enjoyed it, and I didn’t. starting with the bad, I didn’t like Marcela’s relationship with Ben at all, he was toxic and controlling and was stringing her along, she just refused to see it. I also didn’t like that the two main love interests were in love with other people, it was an interesting plot idea, which is why I picked up the book, but in reality, it was not enjoyable. Marcela herself was a difficult character for me to like, outside her interactions with Theo, I couldn’t bring myself to like her at all.

However, Theo and Marcela together, worked. They were, mostly, honest and trusting with each other. Vulnerable and open to the spark that ignited between them. their interactions were sweet and steamy, and I really liked Theo, he was adorable in how much he showed, and told, Marcela he cared.

The Next Best Fling, by Gabriella Gamez, is a fast-paced romance, full of witty banter and laughable moments. This book is a quick easy read that is perfect to toss into your pool or beach bag!
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC
ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

The Next Best Fling was such a swoon worthy book. Theo, honestly...I loved him! I didn't think I would like the premise of it too much but the plot was handled in a very mature way.

I flew through it in one sitting and absolutely loved it. It made me laugh and even tear up at times.

The only reason why I couldn't rate it 5 stars was that I felt like the quality of the writing dropped a little in the last few chapters. They felt a bit too rushed, not as well thought-out as the rest of the book and more like a first draft and the finished version in my opinion. Nevertheless, I'd highly highly recommend!

Normally I am not a fan of a love triangle trope, but this book was great. I loved the relationship between Theo and Marcela although I feel more time could have been spent on them and less on Alice and Ben. It was lovely the way the relationship progressed but I did find myself getting annoyed towards the ending when I just wanted Marcela to stop doubting herself and realise Theo was right in front of her.

This was incredibly touching. Both Marcela and Theo are heartbroken, in love with people who won’t return their feelings, full of guilt and resentment for how they feel. Because of a misunderstanding, they start fake-dating, and getting to know each other. They help each other be a better version of themselves, make better choices, two broken pieces who grow to fit together. I have loved this story.

The premise of this story was what made me want to read it. I really liked Marcela, a plus sized Latina, who works as a librarian. Her colleague and bestie Angela was great too and I enjoyed their friendship.
Sadly this story didn’t work out for me. This is just a me thing. I was very excited for Marcela and Theo but their chemistry was lacking so their connection felt flat. I wasn’t invested as I had hoped and I didn’t like the side characters. Too much drama and I felt the story went in circles. Especially one character took too much focus and affected my overall experience.
This is the author’s debut and the writing was ok. The story wasn’t working for me. It happens but I’ll try another book of hers in the future.
2.5 Stars

This book is a bit hard to review for me since I liked the plot and the MMC Theo a lot but I struggled with our FMC quite a bit and didn’t like her. I just couldn’t get her thoughts and wish she acted differently almost every time. The tropes were great and the writing style is ok, just not my cup of tea.

In a world of Bens, be a Theo. This was such a fun and breezy read - a twist on the expected fake dating trope, toxicity and complex emotional webs unravelling all over the place. And it's just *sweet*. The tension just ticked up throughout. Love, love.

Read if you like: fake dating, unrequited love, fwb, best friends brother, plus sized fmc, love square, push/pull

Oh that opening scene hurt my heart 😭 unrequited love is a different sort of pain the absolutely ruins me when I read it

Marcela was delusional, self sabotaging, horrible at communication, and had absolutely zero respect for herself 😭😭 While I was hooked on the plot and wanted to see how things played out, I did not like her as the FMC at all. There was not a single thing I liked about her 🥲

On the other hand, Theo was honest, sweet and great at communication

I would’ve love to see a more developed relationship between Marcela and Theo, it was all very physical so I wasn’t convinced on their romance at all

If you like a super messy drama with a toxic/codependent friendship, maybe give this a go. This was just a miss for me 🙁

I enjoyed this a lot, but it was so emotionally heavy - bear that in mind when picking it up, as it's not a cute, easy little romance.

The love triangle (square?) worked well, there was mature communication (most of the time), and I really loved Marcella, her personality, her passion toward her job and libraries, and books in general.

I just couldn't get through this one quickly, I had to take my time with it, mainly because of the constant internal monologues and just so many deep emotions Marcella experienced.

A very cute, messy romance novel that is a real page turner.
There's a lovely aspect of body positivity in the book - with a plus size main character who is likeable (usually not the case).

The book is fast paced, easy to read, and well written.

If you're looking for a quick feeling read for a cozy night, this is brilliant for you.

Oh how I do love the drama! Marcela and Theo really do put themselves into some situations perfect set up for a rom-com. I wanted to see more of the relationship between Marcela and Theo because they were so cute together and down to earth... A heartwarming read💕

Thank you Dialogue Books for the eARC via Netgalley