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Librarian-run, diverse reads! LGBTQ+ friendly.

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.

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Published Jul 9, 2024

384 pages

Average rating: 6.9

21 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Anonymous
May 01, 2025
8/10 stars
Cute, fun, deep, angsty romance. I enjoyed Theo (haven't met a book boyfriend yet named Theo I don't like) and how he works through his issues. I think it would have been beneficial to have his POV at times. I loved how he was waiting on Marcela. Plus the date he planned football and library/dinner is like my dream date. Overall it kept my attention and I wanted to keep reading to find out how it ended. I do feel like the characters needed to work a lot more on themselves to get their happy ending, but overall I did like the story.
hillary_scholz
Jan 13, 2025
6/10 stars
Super cute, enjoyable read. Not sure if I'll read the next one or not, but this one was fun.
bdgump
Aug 20, 2024
8/10 stars
Great debut - love squares with a ton of honesty and plus size rep done amazingly

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