Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales
CW: Past Cheating, Gaslighting, Swearing, Heavy Drinking, Regrettable Drunk Behavior, Pitting Girls Against Each Other, Past Abandonment, Underage Drinking, Toxic Relationships, Slut Shaming, Mistreating Service Workers, Emotional Abuse, Toxic Obsession, Discussion of Sexual Content, Dangerous Environmental Events, Sexism, Biphobia, Car Accident, Vomit
4.5/5
I have read every Sophie Gonzales book (that's made it to audiobook), so it's only natural that I read Never Ever Getting Back Together too. Although, it is quite likely that I would have read this novel even if I had never heard of Sophie Gonzales. After reading The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun in 2021, I had been craving another queer reality dating show book. So thank you to Gonzales for satisfying that craving, you could never disappoint.
Never Ever Getting Back Together is centered around a second chance reality dating show for the brother of a girl who married into European royalty. Out of all of Jordy's exs, 6 agree to come on the show. While most are there to give it a real try, Maya wants revenge. When Maya was 16, he cheated on her and gaslighted both her and the next girl, Skye. Skye doesn't let many people in, but she and Jordy ended on confusing terms. She comes on the show cautiously willing to see if she can find love this time. This love just might not come from where she expects it. The contestants will have 7 weeks to discover how they feel about Jordy.
I have never been cheated on, but I've definitely tried dating people that weren't worth it. This book was cathartic for me to read. Jordy was a virtue signaling jerk with a serious commitment problem. His character seemed realistic in all of the intentionally horrible ways. While Maya, and later Skye, were there to get revenge on him for cheating on them, thus providing the catharsis element of Never Ever Getting Back Together, I like that they weren't perfect or consistently likable. Maya has moments of being impulsive and harsh, not looking out for herself or others. Skye is always ready to assume the worst and can be annoying about it at times. These girls, alongside their well-written competitors, quickly won my heart and had me rooting for them anyway. Having an ensemble of interesting and complex characters, including Jordy, made this book the success it is.
If you're looking for bi representation specifically, Never Ever Getting Back Together is a great choice. Both Skye and Maya are bi and out. They take the time to talk about their experiences as they dance around the idea that they might like each other. The pair share a gay producer who is trying to win a trip for his boyfriend and himself. There are other characters in the story who are implied to be queer as well. I love living in a time where there are an abundance of books written with queer identity as a casual thing. While there is nothing inherently wrong with coming out stories or the informative queer tragedies, it's absolutely time for queer bliss. More stories that can talk about queer existence without having to validate it please!
There were some elements of Gonzales's novel that I struggled with, the pacing and the age of the characters. The competition portion of the story is supposed to take place over 7 weeks, but felt shorter than that. I will cut it some slack, though. Reality shows are edited to fit into less than an hour per episode, so it makes sense as a reflection of that. We got a sped up version of their story, but with many more details than the TV audience would have received. As for the ages, Skye and Maya didn't seem like they were about 18 or 19 years old. It was a mixture of the audiobook narrators sounding older and the fact that they were on a second chance romance show. If all of the contestants and Jordy were in their late 20s, I wouldn't have been surprised. That being said, neither of these things ruined Never Ever Getting Back Together. It was a great read!
If you're looking for a dating show book where the contestants fall for each other instead, let Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales be that book. You'll get to read about woman solidarity, service workers who stop putting up with the abusive client, and the reminder that life works in unexpected ways. I hope this book will be cathartic for you as well!
Comments