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whatshawnareads's review against another edition
4.0
Revenge plots are my catnip so even though this can read like a couple of petty and immature adults to most people, I gobbled it up. They aren't wrong about the immaturity of the MCS; I just found the revenge for hire concept really fun.
Thanks to Gallery Books and Netgalley for my copy to review.
Thanks to Gallery Books and Netgalley for my copy to review.
gggina13's review against another edition
2.0
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an early copy!
Girlies, this... was not good. It's tough because I adoreddd the author's YA debut, then have actively disliked the next two books I've read from her. I have an ARC of her upcoming YA release, and I guess it'll let me know whether I need to continue with her books or not :(
The whole premise of the novel, which granted, I never read the synopsis because I foolishly allowed hype alone to drive my decisions, is a little absurd. There's this vigilante group of girls who get paid to "break men's hearts" but really all the main character, Brinkley, does is get a guy to be interested in her and then embarrass him. Some of these little meet-ups are so cringe - she dresses as a mermaid, a weird version of Dolly Parton, a Jersey Shore guidette... I just can't suspend my disbelief that much for a contemporary.
So she's hired to "break" this guy, she actually likes him, they almost hook up, then she runs away Cinderella style. Then somehow he starts working at Heartbreak for Hire along with three other men. There's a whole "feminist" subplot about how they didn't want to work with men and that's the whole reason they work at Heartbreak for Hire. Which, their job is already so weird, like cash-only and word-of-mouth only vibes, and their boss is so odd. She found all four of these girls broken, jumped on them while they're literally in the act of crying over their breakups, and made them each in charge of "breaking the hearts" of the kind of men that broke their hearts. It's a weird revenge porn type thing, and then she literally swore to them it would be women only, and then threatens to fire them for not being happy over men being brought in. It's just so ODD and stupid.
So, as par for the course in romance, she's attracted to him but doesn't like him, and is not very nice to him. Somehow they still "fall in love" very quickly just because they discuss their fears and insecurities and what not.
There's also a mommy issues and anti-academia subplot that is kind of just annoying, Brinkley and her mom literally exist to antagonize each other and it gets old quick.
Their sex scenes are just kind of peppered in, and often don't really fit with the ebb and flow of the relationship. The sex scenes aren't awful, but they have some wording I'm not obsessed with, including my personal least favorite: "I let out a noise that sounded a lot like that time I'd shut Winnie's tail in the bathroom door." DURING a sex scene this girl is going to compare the noises she's making to an injured cat??? And that's supposed to give us sexy vibes?
EVERYBODY in this book was straight. Even couples on the street are straight. Including the couple in the MIDDLE OF A PROPOSAL that she speaks to and says "get out now before he really hurts you" or something like that to? Like, that's not a quirky, love-jaded thing to do, that's just straight up being an asshole.
The book isn't entirely awful, the love interest is nice. I finished it. If I continue to think about what I didn't like about this book I'd have to bump it down to one star and I'm really not feeling that right now. But just know that about 75% in to this book, you find out she has a.
Girlies, this... was not good. It's tough because I adoreddd the author's YA debut, then have actively disliked the next two books I've read from her. I have an ARC of her upcoming YA release, and I guess it'll let me know whether I need to continue with her books or not :(
The whole premise of the novel, which granted, I never read the synopsis because I foolishly allowed hype alone to drive my decisions, is a little absurd. There's this vigilante group of girls who get paid to "break men's hearts" but really all the main character, Brinkley, does is get a guy to be interested in her and then embarrass him. Some of these little meet-ups are so cringe - she dresses as a mermaid, a weird version of Dolly Parton, a Jersey Shore guidette... I just can't suspend my disbelief that much for a contemporary.
So she's hired to "break" this guy, she actually likes him, they almost hook up, then she runs away Cinderella style. Then somehow he starts working at Heartbreak for Hire along with three other men. There's a whole "feminist" subplot about how they didn't want to work with men and that's the whole reason they work at Heartbreak for Hire. Which, their job is already so weird, like cash-only and word-of-mouth only vibes, and their boss is so odd. She found all four of these girls broken, jumped on them while they're literally in the act of crying over their breakups, and made them each in charge of "breaking the hearts" of the kind of men that broke their hearts. It's a weird revenge porn type thing, and then she literally swore to them it would be women only, and then threatens to fire them for not being happy over men being brought in. It's just so ODD and stupid.
So, as par for the course in romance, she's attracted to him but doesn't like him, and is not very nice to him. Somehow they still "fall in love" very quickly just because they discuss their fears and insecurities and what not.
There's also a mommy issues and anti-academia subplot that is kind of just annoying, Brinkley and her mom literally exist to antagonize each other and it gets old quick.
Their sex scenes are just kind of peppered in, and often don't really fit with the ebb and flow of the relationship. The sex scenes aren't awful, but they have some wording I'm not obsessed with, including my personal least favorite: "I let out a noise that sounded a lot like that time I'd shut Winnie's tail in the bathroom door." DURING a sex scene this girl is going to compare the noises she's making to an injured cat??? And that's supposed to give us sexy vibes?
EVERYBODY in this book was straight. Even couples on the street are straight. Including the couple in the MIDDLE OF A PROPOSAL that she speaks to and says "get out now before he really hurts you" or something like that to? Like, that's not a quirky, love-jaded thing to do, that's just straight up being an asshole.
The book isn't entirely awful, the love interest is nice. I finished it. If I continue to think about what I didn't like about this book I'd have to bump it down to one star and I'm really not feeling that right now. But just know that about 75% in to this book, you find out she has a
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secret dadpinesandpages's review against another edition
It’s hard to describe specifically why I DNFed this one. It felt very “tell not show” right from the start. I thought the premise would be fun but the straightforward/choppy writing style didn’t work for me. Maybe it was that the protagonist Brinkley also thought in black & white, with quite abrupt decisions that were not thought out on the page so I failed to follow them or see the logic. On her second “date” she is abruptly seduced by the guy, almost immediately? Why? They kiss/lightly grope each other briefly at the bar and somehow Brinkley claims to be on the brink of an orgasm as a result? How.
Here’s an example of the baffling writing style/lack of logic. Brinkley plans to bump into him at an art supply store, they reach for the same book “accidentally” and exchange 5 (short) sentences each. And then somehow this happens:
Here’s an example of the baffling writing style/lack of logic. Brinkley plans to bump into him at an art supply store, they reach for the same book “accidentally” and exchange 5 (short) sentences each. And then somehow this happens:
“The metal detector.” His low voice held the tremor of a growl, like he was giving me a preview of exactly what he’d sound like when he came.
This happened on page eighteen, for their SIXTH extremely non-flirty/non-sexual sentence to each other. To be clear, other sentence examples included “Don’t be.” and him saying his name with a “Mark.” So for her to be imaging what he sounded like mid-orgasm was a surprise. It just felt weirdly sexual and completely out of place in the context. “Weirdly sexual” is not something I say often, as I am a gal who loves smut. But again, I think that’s bc I wasn’t “shown” their sexual chemistry, I was “told” it.
This is not a dealbreaker but now that I’m ranting I’ll note this as well: somehow he smelled like “light rain and moonlit nights.” What. At one point he had “storm cloud eyes” and then later they were “the color of tornados.”
Basically I was frowning for the entire 46 pages so I figured I should DNF.
alison33445's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book! Really strong beginning and the conclusion of everyone's story. It did get a tad slow in the beginning and I wish I had an epilogue but overall loved the characters and the storyline. Some of Brinkley's antics as a Heartbreaker had me literally laughing out loud at times.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - This is a fast, funny, at times ridiculous but also poignant enemies to lovers, slow burn open door romance between two reluctant co-workers who have LOADS of chemistry! Brinkley is an aspiring artist who got dumped badly and found new confidence working as a heartbreaker for a company that seeks revenge on men who have treated women horribly. When Mark, one of her former targets gets hired by her employer, the two are forced to work together and the sparks start to really fly. While Brinkley begins to question the ethics of what she does and find the courage to open her own art studio, she also has to deal her disapproving mother, who wanted her to stay on the academic career track. Mark on the other hand wants nothing more than to find tenure at a University and will go to any lengths to achieve this goal, ultimately leading to a betrayal that will jeopardize their HEA.
I liked this one but didn’t love it. I wanted to get inside Mark’s head more - he was just a bit too one dimensional for my tastes and I had a hard time forgiving him for what he did. Recommended for those that enjoy their romance with lots of humor, heavy steam, and can appreciate a hot guy in a sweater vest. For fans of other enemies to lovers office romances like The hating game, Shipped or The Ex-talk.
I liked this one but didn’t love it. I wanted to get inside Mark’s head more - he was just a bit too one dimensional for my tastes and I had a hard time forgiving him for what he did. Recommended for those that enjoy their romance with lots of humor, heavy steam, and can appreciate a hot guy in a sweater vest. For fans of other enemies to lovers office romances like The hating game, Shipped or The Ex-talk.
mcokeefe91's review against another edition
3.0
I have mixed feelings with this book. I didn't like the H4H owner or the cut-throught academia world. But I did like that this enemies to lovers Rom-com novel was set in Chicago ( it's doesn't come by that often) but I also liked the artistic side of our female lead, Brinkley.
beck22e's review against another edition
1.0
Not a fan. Didn't like the writing or the plot. It felt like there were huge leaps in conversations like I'd missed a few seconds of the book, but nope. Then later in the book it started referring to inside character tells that we were supposed to know which weren't mentioned until that very moment. The dialog was super off too.
girlinthepages's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Heartbreak for Hire has a really unique yet bizarre premise: a company of women who are hired to exact revenge on men who have wronged women. It's a little crazy to wrap your head around at first, but once you adequately suspend your disbelief it's intriguing to see how such a company would operate and the moral/ethical questions it poses. The story follows protagonist Brinkley, secret artist and failed (at least in her mother's eyes) academic who thinks she is healing her own heart through the work she is doing to take down men with "egos" for the company.
Since this is a romance novel, it's no surprise that Brinkley ends up in a tangled romantic situation with a former target turned coworker, who of course is deeply immersed in the academic life that she's spent so many years running away from. Of course, Brinkley ends up having to train him at work, which leads to several high tension situations and your classic hate to love romance trope.
While Heartbreak for Hire was a quick read, it's not one that I see sticking with me long term. There were a lot of characters brought up only to not have their stories run very deep, and I think there were several issues that needed to be explored more in depth (Brinkley and her mother's relationship, Margo's motivations, the relationship traumas that brought the other women to H4H as employees, etc.). Also, the amount of cringe-inducing bad luck Brinkley experienced was tiring after a while. I did think Mark, the love interest, was written well, but overall neither of the main characters are ones that significantly stand out in the sea of romance novels available today.
Overall: A very unique premise that could have used more exploration and more memorable characters. Overall it's an OK read that is for sure fun and interesting, but isn't a standout for me.
Since this is a romance novel, it's no surprise that Brinkley ends up in a tangled romantic situation with a former target turned coworker, who of course is deeply immersed in the academic life that she's spent so many years running away from. Of course, Brinkley ends up having to train him at work, which leads to several high tension situations and your classic hate to love romance trope.
While Heartbreak for Hire was a quick read, it's not one that I see sticking with me long term. There were a lot of characters brought up only to not have their stories run very deep, and I think there were several issues that needed to be explored more in depth (Brinkley and her mother's relationship, Margo's motivations, the relationship traumas that brought the other women to H4H as employees, etc.). Also, the amount of cringe-inducing bad luck Brinkley experienced was tiring after a while. I did think Mark, the love interest, was written well, but overall neither of the main characters are ones that significantly stand out in the sea of romance novels available today.
Overall: A very unique premise that could have used more exploration and more memorable characters. Overall it's an OK read that is for sure fun and interesting, but isn't a standout for me.
lisasabella82's review against another edition
4.0
Quick rom-com that was easy to read and had a unique premise.