never getting back together by sophie gonzales
✨✨✨☆☆☆
the short version:
two exes go on a reality dating show where they have to compete for their terrible ex-boyfriend’s heart—except one of them realizes she’d rather date her competition instead. solid concept, fun sapphic romance, but the reality TV drama didn’t hit as hard as I wanted.
the vibes:
🎥 reality dating show messiness
💔 secondhand embarrassment from watching someone date their awful ex
🌈 rivals-to-lovers but make it sapphic
😒 a male lead so insufferable i wanted to throw my book
the plot (aka how i remember it):
maya and skye both dated this walking red flag named jordy. now they’ve both been cast on a reality dating show where five of his exes compete for a second chance with him. maya is not over how badly he treated her, while skye kind of believes he’s a good guy. cue lots of forced interactions, some classic reality TV sabotage, and the slow realization that maybe maya and skye should be dating each other instead of putting up with jordy’s nonsense.
my thoughts (aka the chaotic rant):
okay, so i love the concept. a second-chance dating show, but the real love story is between two contestants? genius. and the romance between maya and skye? super cute. but here’s the thing—if i’m reading a book about reality TV, i want drama. i want unhinged producer meddling, shocking betrayals, explosive confessionals. and this? this was mostly just “ugh, jordy sucks” for 300 pages. (which, fair, but still.)
also, jordy. this man. he’s not even entertainingly awful—just bland, manipulative, and so obviously terrible that i don’t understand why anyone liked him in the first place. at least give me a villain i can enjoy hating!
that said, maya and skye’s dynamic was fun, and the way their relationship evolved from enemies to something more felt really natural. i just wish the rest of the book had been as strong as their romance.
final verdict:
✨✨✨☆☆☆
read this if you:
love sapphic rivals-to-lovers romances
enjoy reality dating show settings (but don’t need too much drama)
want a fun, easy read with a solid enemies-to-lovers arc
skip this if you:
need a compelling antagonist (because jordy is just... there)
want the reality TV aspect to be more than background noise
get frustrated when characters take way too long to realize their ex sucks
