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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
Heartbreak for Hire was an interesting book for me. Honestly, I didn't love the story itself. There was a lot going on, a lot of moving parts that were bizarrely intertwined, and I didn't love the idea of the main business. That being said, I loved the two main characters and thought their banter was amazing. Even though I didn't love the book, I did find myself smiling and laughing throughout just because of the banter and back and forth jokes between the two main characters.
So overall, not my fave book, but maybe worth a read for a laugh.
So overall, not my fave book, but maybe worth a read for a laugh.
I can't do it any more. I feel like I'm missing parts, or things are slightly out of order. Lots of telling that just leaves me exasperated.
Interesting, original plot and the characters were okay. Some steamy parts.
After a terrible breakup, Brinkley Saunders is recruited to work for Heartbreak For Hire - a company where women pay for other women, known as heartbreakers, to exact their revenge against a man who has wronged them. She works in the Ego department, taking jerks, usually coworkers. down a peg by orchestrating situations to expose them publicly. Brinkley uses this as a form of therapy after being crushed by an "ego" in her own life. In these setups, she's always the one in control. After she breaks the cardinal rule of not getting involved with one of these egotistical men, Brinkley's whole world starts to unravel. But he might not be the ego she pegged him for.
The book starts really strong, quickly introducing us to Brinkley and her world. The plot is quite fast-paced but to the detriment of character development. There aren't too many characters, but somehow none of them feel developed enough and I certainly felt no great connection between Brinkley and her former mark, Mark beyond the physical. I think if the author had pared certain elements down a bit, she could have focused more on developing that central relationship and it wouldn't have felt so rushed and cluttered.
Beyond the pacing issues, a lot of these characters were pretty horrible. I definitely wanted some comeuppance for the owner of H4H. She was incredibly emotionally abusive but while that was acknowledged, it was never followed up on. I also struggled with Brinkley's mother, who was manipulative at another level. She did a lot of repeated damage to her only child, but after one pathetic apology, their relationship was BOOM fixed. All of these characters need extensive therapy. All of them.
At the end of the day, the story didn't overcome any of these flaws (and more that I didn't call out) enough for me to overlook them and enjoy the greater narrative. Things moved too fast and I found myself not understanding conversations like they had some short form I hadn't learned yet. Good luck to Piper and Mark in the future, 'cause they'll need it!
The book starts really strong, quickly introducing us to Brinkley and her world. The plot is quite fast-paced but to the detriment of character development. There aren't too many characters, but somehow none of them feel developed enough and I certainly felt no great connection between Brinkley and her former mark, Mark beyond the physical. I think if the author had pared certain elements down a bit, she could have focused more on developing that central relationship and it wouldn't have felt so rushed and cluttered.
Beyond the pacing issues, a lot of these characters were pretty horrible. I definitely wanted some comeuppance for the owner of H4H. She was incredibly emotionally abusive but while that was acknowledged, it was never followed up on. I also struggled with Brinkley's mother, who was manipulative at another level. She did a lot of repeated damage to her only child, but after one pathetic apology, their relationship was BOOM fixed. All of these characters need extensive therapy. All of them.
At the end of the day, the story didn't overcome any of these flaws (and more that I didn't call out) enough for me to overlook them and enjoy the greater narrative. Things moved too fast and I found myself not understanding conversations like they had some short form I hadn't learned yet. Good luck to Piper and Mark in the future, 'cause they'll need it!
A fresh and fun read! Hartl's debut into adult romance feels very much like a grown-up version of her YA books: feminist, fun, and fierce.
Is this book perhaps somewhat problematic? Yes. Does it require a large suspension of disbelief? Yes. Did I absolutely ADORE it and devour it all in one sitting anyway? Also yes! :)
I almost DNF'd Heartbreak for Hire in the first chapter, because the premise of Brinkley working as this undercover saboteur taking men whose egos are too big down a peg seemed weird and unbelievable and kind of gross. From chapter 1 I found myself wondering how her humiliating these men actually helps anyone... But I'm glad I stuck with it, because as soon as she meets Mark the chemistry is just *chef's kiss*.
This book explores misogyny, sexism, emotional abuse, and toxic relationships in really interesting ways. Brinkley's relationships with her ex (Aiden) and with her mother are clearly awful toxic relationships full of emotional abuse, manipulation, and gas-lighting, and it's interesting how Brinkley - even with her psychology background - struggled to identify when these things are happening to her. Less obvious - but not less insidious - is her relationship with her boss, Margo. I do wish her relationship with Margo had been addressed more in the book, because I feel like that's another toxic and abusive relationship that wasn't as clearly spelled out at Brinkley's history with her mom and Aiden.
I really loved Brinkley and Mark's chemistry, from their "meet cute" to when they're in a hate-to-love situation to when they have their inevitable third act "dark moment." The on-page sex scenes are hot, but a mild sort of hot, if that makes sense? I give it 3 out of 5 chili peppers, lol. Their banter is really cute, and they have some really hilarious rom-com moments as well as some deep conversations about their histories and their struggles.
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
I almost DNF'd Heartbreak for Hire in the first chapter, because the premise of Brinkley working as this undercover saboteur taking men whose egos are too big down a peg seemed weird and unbelievable and kind of gross. From chapter 1 I found myself wondering how her humiliating these men actually helps anyone... But I'm glad I stuck with it, because as soon as she meets Mark the chemistry is just *chef's kiss*.
This book explores misogyny, sexism, emotional abuse, and toxic relationships in really interesting ways. Brinkley's relationships with her ex (Aiden) and with her mother are clearly awful toxic relationships full of emotional abuse, manipulation, and gas-lighting, and it's interesting how Brinkley - even with her psychology background - struggled to identify when these things are happening to her. Less obvious - but not less insidious - is her relationship with her boss, Margo. I do wish her relationship with Margo had been addressed more in the book, because I feel like that's another toxic and abusive relationship that wasn't as clearly spelled out at Brinkley's history with her mom and Aiden.
I really loved Brinkley and Mark's chemistry, from their "meet cute" to when they're in a hate-to-love situation to when they have their inevitable third act "dark moment." The on-page sex scenes are hot, but a mild sort of hot, if that makes sense? I give it 3 out of 5 chili peppers, lol. Their banter is really cute, and they have some really hilarious rom-com moments as well as some deep conversations about their histories and their struggles.
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
I always bet on the hunk in a sweater vest.
(3.5 ⭐️s, rounded down)
(3.5 ⭐️s, rounded down)
First of all I loved the idea of Heartbreaks for hire. It was new and intriguing and coming from someone that has to put up with all kind of gross drunk men all day (work in a bar) the whole thing was really appealing.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
