The Next Best Fling

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.

• "Funny, smart, and spicy!" 
  Abby Jimenez, New York Times Best Selling Author
• "Palpable tension. Charming characters who self-reflect. Laugh out loud moments. A plot with so many emotional layers. The Next Best Fling has absolutely everything I want in a romance book. Bravo."
  Mia Sheridan, New York Times bestselling author
• "Sweet and funny, with just the right amount of spice, Gabriella Gamez’s delightful debut is everything you can want in a romance."
  Farrah Rochon, New York Times bestselling author of Pardon My Frenchie
• "THE NEXT BEST FLING is my favorite kind of romance—heartfelt, humorous, and pitch-perfect hot. I fell head over heels for Gamez's portrayal of deep personal growth, of love that supports and celebrates every step of that healing journey."
  Chloe Liese, USA Today bestselling author of Only and Forever
• "A saucy twist on the fake-dating trope in her fun and flirty debut."
  Publisher's Weekly
• Hot chemistry and emotional depth.
  Library Journal
• "In her delightfully engaging debut, Gamez deftly manipulates the crackling sexual chemistry between her two relatably messy protagonists into a splendidly sexy romance that not only champions body positivity but also delivers a love letter to the joys of reading and books."
  Booklist