by: Gabriella Gamez
Series: Librarians in Love
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Romantic Comedy
Release Date: July 9, 2024
Publisher: Forever
Two broken hearts decide that the best way to get over their first loves is with a no-strings-attached relationship in this spicy and charming debut romance.
Librarian Marcela Ortiz has been secretly in love with her best friend for years—and when he gets engaged, she knows it’s long past time to move on. But before she gets the chance, she has a bigger problem to contend with in the form of Theo Young, ex-NFL player and older brother of the man she’s in love with. When she discovers Theo's plans to confess his feelings for his brother’s fiancée at their engagement party, Marcela is quick to stop him—despite how tempting it is to let him run away with the bride-to-be. She manages to convince Theo to sleep off his drunken almost-mistake at her place and when they arrive at a family brunch the next day together, everyone wrongly assumes they hooked up.
Since Theo needs a cover for his feelings for the bride and Marcela needs a distraction from her unrequited feelings for the groom, they decide to roll with the lie. Until one late night at a bar, they take it a step further and discover a layer of attraction neither realized existed. Soon, they find themselves exploring the simmering chemistry between them, whether in library aisles or Marcela's bed. There are no boundaries for the rebound relationship they form—just a host of complicated feelings, messy familial dynamics, and uncovered secrets that threaten to tear them apart before they can even admit to themselves that their rebound is working. Maybe a little too well.
Marcela Ortiz has been secretly in love with Ben Young since they met and became best friends in college, ten years ago. She’s always hoped that one day Ben would realize that he was in love with her too. Alice Cho grew up with Theo and Ben. Theo has pretty much always had a thing for Alice but never told anyone. When Ben and Alice started dating in college, Theo pulled back a little from being so close to his younger brother. Seeing the two of them together was too painful for him. Now that Ben and Alice are engaged Marcela and Theo’s heartbreak is palpable. When Marcela hears a drunken Theo practicing his speech to confess his feelings, she intervenes and has him stay at her apartment to sleep it off. The next day when they show up to brunch together everyone assumes they are in fact together. Theo and Marcela decide to just go with it, never expecting faking feelings for each other to lead to real feelings.
I’ve never heard of a love square, but The Next Best Fling has one. I know this is a contemporary, slow-burn, he falls first romance, but I swear I kept expecting someone to die. There were some crazy and toxic moments in this story.
Surprisingly, I loved that some of the story was predictable. While at the same time, some things surprised me. Marcela and Theo definitely had to work really hard for their relationship. Which to me made things truly special.
I’m looking forward to reading more from Gabriella.
~ FAVORITE QUOTES ~
“Don’t waste your energy on things you can’t change.”
“All I can promise is to always be honest with you.”
“Call me whatever you want. As long as I get to call you mine.”
**Received a copy of the book from the publisher and voluntarily read and reviewed it.**
Rating: 5
Purchase The Next Best Fling from:
(Affiliate Links Used)
Librarians in Love Series:
The Next Best Fling (Book 1)
Kiss Me, Maybe (Book 2) releases May 6, 2025
Places to find Gabriella Gamez:
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