Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Heartbreak for Hire

okay tbh!! i had very big expectations for this book. it was. like. okay? so it wasn’t ALL bad. the book had a rlly good concept that could have been executed real good! but it wasn’t. idk man. it just felt like it was being dragged out? and when u got to the ending like what was that ending. everything seemed to turn on its head, and everything was positive for brinkley!! like? what? also what was that name… genuinely. anyway we won’t ponder too much on names bc girl. i genuinely thought i was reading a wattpad book w the whole execution. the only rlly likeable character was mark and then what did sonia do at the end??? ruined him. like. the relationship to me honestly made little sense? like i was rooting for mark in the beginning but then he just turned up out of nowhere which made. no sense. let him live his life. and the whole PLOT lord. there was drama but it was "drama". like. one min they hating each other n the next they kissing? like huh? it was very confusing n tried to move way too fast.

Content Warnings

aprillikestoread's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was amazing! It was the second romance book I’ve read, and just great. I loved how the enemies to lovers was written. Everything written was either intriguing on some way to keep me reading and I finished it in one day! Definitely recommend to anyone who likes romance.

Content Warnings

courtneyfalling's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a sweet millennial-confusion, workplace-enemies-to-lovers romance! Some of the one-liners definitely made me snort, and I ended up liking how this took on some problems of modern cishet girlboss feminism. I do think all Brinkley's crappy academic ex-friends needed to get rolled into one, more solid character and maybe made a little less cartoonishly bad... same with the rollercoaster of info that comes about her mom, which could've been simplified. But this was really fun and I'm glad I read it!

Content Warnings

kimiichanga's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

im fluctuating between 3.75 and a 4

i obv liked the premise, im all for the man eating gigs. i also loved how that path panned out for everyone involved.

im kinda iffy about the parts towards the end bec it was going too fast?? BUT the conclusion was solid for a standalone. u cant possibly tie up every loose end if it's just one book

Content Warnings

nitya's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Note: Thank you to the author for the ARC!!

Not gonna lie I inhaled the last 100 pages, this was the enemies to lovers/forced proximity story I wanted and a lot more. The Chicago references!! And the sex scenes are unbelievable, that elevator scene especially!

Also, I am not excusing Mark's actions at ALL, because what he did was horrible and deceitful. I only wish Brinkley had actually apologized for her mistakes; it's not the same level as Mark's betrayal but still very fucked up (and he was an easy albeit innocent target).

Content Warnings

sabrielsbell's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Heartbreak for Hire follows Brinkley who works at H4H to get revenge for scorned women. Her particular field is the men with egos but it goes wrong when she falls for a target. Even worse, that target becomes a coworker and she has to navigate a lot of new and confusing feelings. There were pros and cons to this book that I think could really make a reader love or dislike this book. I leaned more towards the later with a final rating of 2.75 stars. I did love the romance dynamic in this book. I enjoyed the back and forth between the two main characters and enjoyed the way they grew together throughout their journey. There were also a lot of fun rom-com chaotic moments that were super fun.

I want to look closer at the things I disliked in this book because I feel like a reader may be able to enjoy this book more if they go in knowing what to expect. Firstly, the first 30% of this book is a struggle! I do recommend continuing to read if you find yourself considering a DNF because a lot of the issues I had at the beginning diminished during the rest of the book. One of two major issues for me were the characters being very one note. The girls (especially at the beginning) generalize A LOT about men. All guys are horrible, backstabbing, and unreliable in there eyes and they have no remorse for their destruction to the point that I didn't support them. Instead they felt like a group of mean girls that each had a single personality role. The mother/daughter relationship felt the same but went more in-depth towards the end. Although the characters didn't get as much depth as I would have liked I will say they became less annoying and outrageous by the end.

Secondly, the boss, work environment, and general concept was manipulative and toxic to the point where it was painful to read.(slight spoilers ahead) It took me some time to accept that this was the point of the book and the main character realizing the wrongness of H4H was part of the plot. Still I struggled with the way the boss kept saying it was empowering for women to get revenge all while manipulating her employees who had been hurt and were still vulnerable. In my mind the resolution to this plot point did not get enough of a turn around and I wanted a stronger statement against the H4H business than I received by the end of the book.

Content Warnings

More...