Reviews

The Broken Hearts Club by Susan Bishop Crispell

bookanonjeff's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Interesting Take On High School Love Angles. This book is quirky enough to make everything work, and yet has a lot of things about it that will throw various groups off - often having some element that may be popular with one group, yet having another element that will be off-putting to that same group. For example, you've got the aura-reading ability where our main character sees emotions as colors and you've got the nonbinary side character - and yet the book's very premise is that our main character is openly catfishing, gets caught doing so, and yet things somehow still work out for her. You've got some good, hard work ethic going with both our main character and her best friend, and yet the best friend openly chooses the boy over her best friend. You've got the seemingly rural small town North Carolina vibe going on - and you've got the aforementioned nonbinary character that seems mostly tacked in just to have an excuse to go off on "small minded Republicans" and to be able to promote that the book has a queer character. It could be argued that doing this character in this manner isn't inclusive, but exploitive - and off putting to at least some potential readers anyway. And yet, despite all of its contradictions and issues... the book truly does work. If you're into young adult/ high school romance at all, this book is going to scratch most every itch you have there, and it does in fact have the interesting wrinkles of the auras and how to *use* that ability to set it apart from the field naturally, without needing all of the other aspects. In the end, despite coming close to seeming to try too hard, this really is a mostly benign and fairly interesting tale within its genre, and a very easy and mostly inoffensive summer/ beach read that won't get the pulse pounding too much, but will instead be a more charming and breezy read while sitting poolside or oceanside soaking up some sun. Recommended.

PS: There is no such thing as a love triangle without at least two of the three people involved being bisexual. Thus, while some describe this book as featuring a love "triangle", as all three involved are never described as bisexual, it is most accurately described as a love "angle", with three points and two line segments, the segments meeting at a common point. But this could well be the former math teacher and Autistic in me coming out. I admittedly tend to be a bit pedantic on this particular point. :)

kannroome's review

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

I love the little bit of magic that is sprinkled throughout this book. A perfect combination of the struggles of real teens mixed with that touch of magic. 

glew8's review

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Thank you to Sourcebooks FIRE for this ARC!!

"Love makes people do ridiculous things. Take me for example: today I'm celebrating my one year anniversary with my very fake boyfriend"

The Broken Hearts Club by Susan Bishop Crispell is an absolutely delightful YA romance. The way the author weaves the intricacies of romantic, platonic, and familial love elicits such warm and fuzzy feelings alongside the deep questions posed: what does it mean to love? Can you love more than one person in a lifetime? What, exactly, is true love? Like I said, a masterful compilation of philosophy, humor, and beauty. While Mo has self-centered tendencies, I can't fault her for being a literal teenager. As an adult, the problems she faces seem more than manageable (thank god for frontal lobe development!), but who hasn't been 16 believing the world to be ending when your crush doesn't like you back? 

Other than that, the only other thing I didn't enjoy about this story was how reliant the characters were on social media. I read books to escape the likes of instagram, it really took the magic out whenever they took out their phones to DM each other. But that's also more of a personal issue than a professional one, so if you don't mind constant social media usage in literature that probably won't irritate you as much. 

And, of course, I love a story with constant, subtle references to Taylor Swift and her discography. Incorporating different color auras based on mood was also so Jasper Cullen of the author, I loved it. Again, this is simply an extremely enjoyable read:)

carolina_dreamer's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

1.5

Growing up with a matchmaker for a mom, especially one who came up with a long list of Love Rules—which are basically just a series of dos and don’ts—Imogen think she knows all there is to know about love. Plus, given that she can see people’s love auras, she believes she knows exactly what love looks and feels like—even though she’s never been in it. 

 

Until the boyfriend she made up comes to town and the boy she’s been crushing on her whole life breaks up with his long-term girlfriend and everything she thought she knew about love is called into question. 

 

If I had to use one word to describe this book, it would be messy—and not just because it’s about love, which is the messiest thing there is. The characters, Imogen especially, have very little depth to them outside of maybe one defining feature. For August, that’s his poetry. For Ren, it’s his surfing. And for Imogen, it’s the fact that she can’t make up her mind between both guys, leading to a very repetitive plot. She hangs out with Ren but can’t stop thinking about August, and she hangs out with August but can’t stop thinking about Ren. And really, neither relationship made sense because Imogen barely spends any time with either of them. 

 

To put it simply, if you’re into love triangles, then this is the book for you, and if you’re not, then it probably will fall quite flat. 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

robynjhip's review

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

I received this book as an eARC from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire. 

The Broken Hearts Club follows Imogen (Mo), the daughter of a matchmaker, who spent the last year faking her relationship with August. Hijinks ensue when August who shows up again after she fake dates and then dumps him wondering why. Can she keep it together while he is in town and finish and submit her portfolio to a summer arts program or will heartbreak get the best of her? 

This was a quick, fun read. I enjoyed Mo’s descriptions of how she sees love and heartbreak surrounding people in waves of colors. That was something poetic about the descriptions. I loved all the talk about the cafe and baked goods, especially  the Frankenbiscuits. I would recommend this book to friends who need a nice fluffy book.