When Javi Dumped Mari - by Mia Sosa (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A Most Anticipated Book of 2025

NPR - Paste Magazine - Latinx in Publishing - BookBub

The USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man is back with a fun and flirty rom-com about a pact between friends that goes awry when one of them suddenly decides to get married.

One engagement. Two best friends. Three's a crowd.

On the eve of their college graduation, best friends Javier Báez and Marisol Campos swore never to date someone the other doesn't approve of. Now, almost a decade later, Javi has a problem. Mari, the woman he's secretly pined for since sophomore year, is engaged--and Javi didn't even get the chance to vet the Pedro Pascal knockoff she plans to marry.

A successful entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles, Mari is no longer seeking Javi's dating advice or waiting for him to declare his love. Instead, she's made a different pact--with herself. And to succeed, Mari's vowing to build a future with someone who wants to commit to her.

With his life and career finally on track, Javi's ready to confess his feelings. Except Mari's changed the script and moved on without him. Javi has just six weeks to convince Mari this marriage is a flop. If that means he needs to ruffle some feathers to help her avert disaster, well, he's up for the challenge. After all, isn't that what best friends are for?

Review Quotes

One of Nerd Daily's Must-Read Swoonworthy Books of 2025
One of Publishers Weekly's Best "Summer Reads 2025" Romance Books
One of Book Riot's Most Anticipated Books by Latine Authors Spring 2025
One of Bookstr's Must-Read Spicy Writers

"Sosa's latest rom-com is friends-to-lovers done right." --Publishers Weekly, "Summer Reads 2025"

"A flirty friends-to-lovers romp that expertly balances big emotions and zany humor . . . Sosa creates dramatic and romantic tension by toggling between her protagonists' perspectives and skillfully deploys flashbacks to the pair's early friendship and the moment it all went wrong, teasing out their juicy backstories. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments along the way, especially in the zingy banter. It's a pitch-perfect romantic comedy." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A welcome return from Sosa in a rom-com homage to When Harry Met Sally and My Best Friend's Wedding. Press into the hands of readers who love romances with past and present timelines." --Library Journal

"[Mia Sosa's] hot and swoony romances are always ones that we know we're gonna obsess over as soon as we pick them up. So it's not too surprising to see that her next one hits the same just from the first page." --Cosmopolitan

"When Javi Dumped Mari is the friends-to-lovers romance of my dreams! Voice-y and playful, sharp and sexy, this is Mia Sosa at her absolute best!" --Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate Equation

"The Queen of Rom-Coms does it again! When Javi Dumped Mari is chock-full of the sorts of outrageous hijinks only Mia Sosa could pull off, along with the signature steaminess her readers know and love. Javi and Mari are my favorite kind of friends to lovers--two people who, despite their mutual adoration, have valid reasons keeping them apart . . . until their perfectly timed HEA, of course! Blending humor, spice, and drama, Sosa once again delivers romantic comedy gold." --Alexis Daria, bestselling author of You Had Me at Hola

"Full of heart and hijinks, When Javi Dumped Mari is Mia Sosa at her most delightful. I wish she'd write my love story!" --Adib Khorram, USA Today bestselling author of I'll Have What He's Having

"When Javi Dumped Mari is Mia Sosa at her absolute best! Friends-to-lovers, with a little second-chance romance sprinkled in, the sexual tension and laugh-out-loud humor will have you turning the pages and sighing in satisfaction at the end." --Farrah Rochon, New York Times bestselling author of Pardon My Frenchie

"When Javi Dumped Mari is the most fun that I've had reading a book in a long time. Mia Sosa expertly strikes the balance of crafting a story that makes you laugh out loud and also pulls at your heartstrings. The will they/won't they between Javi and Mari kept me on my toes and I was so satisfied to see them earn their HEA. I can't wait to read what Sosa writes next!" --Kristina Forest, USA Today bestselling author of The Love Lyric

"Mia Sosa is the reigning queen of the modern rom com, mixing hilarity with heat and so much emotional wisdom when it comes to families, work, and love. Each time she releases a book, it's an event for me and a cause of great celebration, because she's the master of feel-good romance." --Olivia Dade, USA Today bestselling author of At First Spite

"Mia Sosa is the undisputed queen of the unputdownable romance. The yearning is divine, the tension is delicious, and the chemistry is explosive--When Javi Dumped Mari is friends-to-lovers perfection. Sosa has delivered her signature combination of wit, heat, and heart and I can't stop talking about this completely devourable book." --Denise Williams, author of Just Our Luck

"When Javi Dumped Mari is everything I want from a friends-to-lovers romance!! Full of swoons and tension and steam and so many laugh-out-loud moments, no one does humor and heart and heat like Mia Sosa! If you love My Best Friend's Wedding, but have always wanted it to have a HEA, this is the book for you!!" --Naina Kumar, USA Today bestselling author of Flirting with Disaster

"A funny, thought-provoking, and delightful friends-to-lovers romantic comedy full of heart and sizzling chemistry. I loved following along with Marisol and Javier as they both realized that their best friend in the world could be so much more. The diversity and discussions of class differences, plus memorable side characters made this a stellar read. Mia Sosa never misses!" --Farah Heron, author of Accidentally Engaged and Just Playing House

"With When Javi Dumped Mari, Sosa pens a sublime romance that leaps off the page with humor, heart and heat. Her ability to craft the perfect rom com is the best I've ever seen." --Tracey Livesay, author of the American Royalty series

"A sexy, banter-filled, humorous ride that rom-com lovers are sure to adore. This book kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last page." --Gabriella Gamez, USA Today bestselling author of The Next Best Fling

"Another absolute banger from the queen of laugh-out-loud rom coms. When Javi Dumped Mari is a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance that manages to hit all the comedy notes and still packs an emotional punch. There is simply no one else writing rom coms that deliver so many laughs with equally delicious tension, chemistry and sizzle. Mia Sosa does not miss and this banter-filled homage to When Harry Met Sally might be her best yet." --Adriana Herrera, USA Today bestselling author of A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke

"Mia Sosa gives us all the rom, com, and yearning you could ask for in this endlessly entertaining, chemistry-filled journey between two best friends. Layered with surprises and a tension-packed dual timeline, this romance will have you rooting for Mari and Javi from the start. When Javi Dumped Mari is friends-to-lovers gold!" --Lauren Kung Jessen, author of Yin Yang Love Song

"I want to live inside a Mia Sosa romantic comedy! Full of so many hilarious moments that are sandwiched between careful, emotional development, When Javi Dumped Mari is not a novel I will soon forget. . . . Is anyone funnier than Mia Sosa? Rhetorical question--no, no there is not! Bold, funny, and dynamic Mia Sosa has written another banger!" --Danica Nava, USA Today bestselling author of The Truth According to Ember

"When Javi Dumped Mari has it all. It's funny and sexy, and delivers an incredibly satisfying happily ever after. The perfect homage to the one that got away." --Neely Tubati Alexander, author of Courtroom Drama

"With When Javi Dumped Mari, Mia Sosa adds yet another sexy, fun, and satisfying romance to her oeuvre. The expertly deployed dual timeline heightened the yearning and made the arc of Javi and Mari's relationship feel epic. I was dying for these characters to get out of their own way, and I savored it from beginning to end." --Rachel Runya Katz, author of Whenever You're Ready

"Full of chemistry, humor, yearning, heat, and raw emotion, Mia Sosa has written an addictive friends to lovers romance. The will-they-won't-they drama had me hanging by a thread! Every page was infused with delicious tension; there are scenes in this book that are going to live rent free in my head, and I'm not mad about it." --Aurora Palit, author of Sunshine and Spice and Honey and Heat

About the Author

Mia Sosa is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic comedies and contemporary romances that celebrate our multicultural world. She has received praise from The Washington Post, Bustle, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Popsugar, Buzzfeed, Oprah Daily, and many more. A New York City native, she now lives in Maryland with her college sweetheart, their two book-obsessed daughters, a gentle Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and one adorable rescue cat that rules them all.