The Starter Ex

Last year, I adored Mia Sosa‘s romance, When Javi Dumped Mari, so I’ve been ready to jump into more of her books. Today sees the rerelease of The Starter Ex: It first came out as an audiobook in 2024, and now it’s available in print and ebook editions as well. In a nod to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, it follows Vanessa Cordero, whose college side-hustle was helping her classmates get the guy by dating him first, being an absolutely awful girlfriend, and setting the stage for the obviously superior other girl. She’s put that gig behind her… until her younger sister, Lisa, wants to hire her. Lisa has had a crush on her best friend’s brother, Jason Torres, for years. If Vanessa can act as his starter ex leading up to his sister’s wedding, maybe Lisa will finally get her chance with him. But what happens when Vanessa and Jason catch real feelings for each other?

What I Liked:

• How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes. I remember this 2003 movie, and The Starter Ex had a similar premise with Vanessa actively trying to get Jason to dump her, and leaving him someone much better. Vanessa has a whole game plan, but the good part is when she starts acting, well, repellant. Whatever the current boyfriend’s pressure points, she’ll exploit them. Annoying and whiny, awkward in public, rude to his mom… she’ll do anything to make him run the other way!
• They’re both playing each other. Vanessa has her schemes, but it’s not long before Jason figures out what’s going on. Instead of walking away then, he decides to play along for his own personal gain. No matter how bad Vanessa gets, he happily stays! The fact that they’re both in on the games actually made it a lot better; it made Vanessa’s manipulations feel more fun rather than messed up. This brought plenty of comedy to the rom-com.
• Puerto Rican representation. Both main characters come from Puerto Rican families, and I enjoyed getting to see bits of their culture here, especially with the food and wedding planning.
• Lisa’s wedding-day antics. I saw this coming from a mile away, so when we get near the end, I wasn’t totally surprised by Lisa’s actions. To be honest, I was here for it and curious to see how that would impact the fake dating between Vanessa and Jason.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• The starter ex gig is for Vanessa’s sister. If she was doing this for anyone else, it would work better, but this just crosses a weird line for me. Something about siblings trading romantic partners just gives me the ick.

Final Thoughts

The Starter Ex is a ton of fun that feels like an early 2000s movie: it’s lighthearted and hilarious, with characters who jump off the page. I’m enjoying Mia Sosa’s books so far, and I can’t wait to read more from her!

Special thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Starter Ex here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa
Audience	Adult
Genre	Contemporary Romance
Setting	New York
Number of Pages	336
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	March 10, 2026 (paperback/ebook); January 25, 2024 (audio)
Publisher	G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Official Summary

An Amazon Editor’s Best Book of the Month Pick

The best worst girlfriend finally meets her match . . .

Vanessa Cordero used to run a profitable side gig: For a reasonable fee, she’d date your crush . . . and make his life miserable. Too clingy? Check. Jealous? Check. A parent’s worst nightmare? Triple check. By the time Vanessa was done with him, your guy was practically begging for you. 

Enter Jason Torres, a certified commitment-phobe who doesn’t plan on getting married anytime soon, much to his mother’s dismay. What he needs is a temporary girlfriend. A totally inappropriate girlfriend. Someone his mother will hate, so she’ll finally abandon her dream of getting him to the altar.

Vanessa’s younger sister, Lisa, has her eye on Jason, and convinces Vanessa to come out of retirement for one last starter ex engagement. The rules are simple: no touching, no fooling around, and definitely no falling in love. But nothing’s going according to plan. Because Vanessa can’t ditch Jason no matter how hard she tries to scare him away. And the longer they’re around each other, the more neither of them wants to be apart.