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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
4-4.5 stars- cute, flirty & steamy. Flew through this one & really enjoyed.
i thought it was okay. the story was unique i haven’t really read anything like it, but i just feel like it fell a little flat. i also was not the biggest fan of the audiobook version i listened to so it could have also been that.
So, romance readers usually know the drill when reading these books. There is a meeting, usually some kind of conflict, and a resolution. The journey is everything in these books for me. How will the author take us from their Meet-cute to the conclusion?
I enjoyed this book and both main characters. I silently gasped with Brinkley when Mark walked in the door. There is instant attraction between them that lingers and ignites in this book. I had to put aside my feelings about a revengel destruction agency while reading this. But i am not so naive to believe that these things don't exist. I'm sure they do. I did like the path the characters went in pushing each other and discussing their dreams. I enjoyed their witty repartee and chemistry. For me this was a fun, entertaining read! My big gripe with romance books is that they take the entire book to build the story only to end so suddenly that i feel as if i hit a brick wall. This wasn't so abrupt and yet, i felt a little more would have been nice. This is a book where I wanted an epilogue.
Fun, sexy and entertaining!
3.5 stars
read on my blog
rep: Korean-American side character
cw: emotional abuse
**I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley. These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
The premise of this book first caught my eye, so I was really excited to read it! Its concept seemed really fun, and I was in need of a fun book. Heartbreak for Hire was a fun romance that also dealt with pursuing your dream.
After a bad break-up and dropping out of grad school, Brinkley began working for Heartbreak for Hire, a company that specializes at getting back at men who’ve mistreated women, whether it be exes, boyfriends, or co-workers. One night, she slips and goes home with Mark, an assignment, although she panics and leaves his apartment abruptly. Later, she finds out that Heartbreak for Hire was hiring men, one of whom is Mark.
I liked the characters well enough. Brinkley has a dream of being an artist and opening a gallery, but she’s never actually really taken the steps to pursuing it. Instead, she’s content enough to work at Heartbreak for Hire, getting revenge in lieu of sticking it to her ex-boyfriend. Soon she realizes that this job is becoming more of a chore and emotionally taxing, especially as she begins to see that her boss never really cared for her in the first place. Mark’s character arc was interesting too, if a little rushed; he’s competing for a full-time professor position even though his heart isn’t really into the cutthroat nature of higher academics.
The romance was nice, and their chemistry together was obvious from the start. Even when they dislike each other, you can see their attraction for each other. I liked reading their scenes together; their bickering was entertaining to read.
At first, I found Brinkley’s relationship with her mother a bit strange because their scenes together had so much animosity. I did grow to like their dynamic more as time went on. As much as her mom nags her, she does care for Brinkley even if she has a hard time showing it.
Again, I thought the premise seemed fun at first, but honestly I think this book would have benefited from leaning into the absurdity of some of the situations instead of normalizing it. The way Heartbreak for Hire operates was already flimsy at best, but when the narrative tried to present it as a normal thing, I couldn’t help but focus on the holes in everything about it. I know that part of Brinkley’s character arc is realizing that working for Margo at H4H wasn’t what she initially thought, but she’d been there for two years and all of the red flags were immediately obvious to me.
In the end, I think too many aspects of it just didn’t tie together enough for me, but I did enjoy the book for the most part! It was fun and had a good romance. If you’re looking for a fun, quick romance to read, you may like Heartbreak for Hire!
original review:
I enjoyed this ig but so much of it was anticlimatic or just not dramatic enough for me to believe the way some things are talked about idk
read on my blog
rep: Korean-American side character
cw: emotional abuse
**I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley. These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
The premise of this book first caught my eye, so I was really excited to read it! Its concept seemed really fun, and I was in need of a fun book. Heartbreak for Hire was a fun romance that also dealt with pursuing your dream.
After a bad break-up and dropping out of grad school, Brinkley began working for Heartbreak for Hire, a company that specializes at getting back at men who’ve mistreated women, whether it be exes, boyfriends, or co-workers. One night, she slips and goes home with Mark, an assignment, although she panics and leaves his apartment abruptly. Later, she finds out that Heartbreak for Hire was hiring men, one of whom is Mark.
I liked the characters well enough. Brinkley has a dream of being an artist and opening a gallery, but she’s never actually really taken the steps to pursuing it. Instead, she’s content enough to work at Heartbreak for Hire, getting revenge in lieu of sticking it to her ex-boyfriend. Soon she realizes that this job is becoming more of a chore and emotionally taxing, especially as she begins to see that her boss never really cared for her in the first place. Mark’s character arc was interesting too, if a little rushed; he’s competing for a full-time professor position even though his heart isn’t really into the cutthroat nature of higher academics.
The romance was nice, and their chemistry together was obvious from the start. Even when they dislike each other, you can see their attraction for each other. I liked reading their scenes together; their bickering was entertaining to read.
At first, I found Brinkley’s relationship with her mother a bit strange because their scenes together had so much animosity. I did grow to like their dynamic more as time went on. As much as her mom nags her, she does care for Brinkley even if she has a hard time showing it.
Again, I thought the premise seemed fun at first, but honestly I think this book would have benefited from leaning into the absurdity of some of the situations instead of normalizing it. The way Heartbreak for Hire operates was already flimsy at best, but when the narrative tried to present it as a normal thing, I couldn’t help but focus on the holes in everything about it. I know that part of Brinkley’s character arc is realizing that working for Margo at H4H wasn’t what she initially thought, but she’d been there for two years and all of the red flags were immediately obvious to me.
In the end, I think too many aspects of it just didn’t tie together enough for me, but I did enjoy the book for the most part! It was fun and had a good romance. If you’re looking for a fun, quick romance to read, you may like Heartbreak for Hire!
original review:
I enjoyed this ig but so much of it was anticlimatic or just not dramatic enough for me to believe the way some things are talked about idk
This was fun but not always light hearted. The heroine has had a few different abusive relationships and is working and figuring herself out and what she stands for. I really liked the hero. It bothered me in one scene when it was never explained when or who cleaned up the paint.
Very interesting premise for the novel - refreshingly different than most of the other books in the genre, while still sticking to some classic favorites (enemies to lovers, etc.). I like the characters, especially the peripheral characters, and would be interested in follow up books focusing on the other H4Hs. While some of the spiraling can be a little tiresome (and I wish a lot of the protagonist's inner realizations and dialogues she said out loud to key individuals, such as her mother and the male protagonist), I was still a fan.
lighthearted
Loveable characters:
Yes
First finished for 2025 it was good and what I needed at the time
I really, really enjoyed this romance. I loved the story and I loved the characters. While I normally steer clear of stories that have a central theme concerning revenge, for some reason this worked for me and I think that it was because I could tell from the beginning that the heroine was going to learn and grow from her experiences or maybe even was already having misgivings about them.
The book is told primarily through the point of view of Brinkley, who has numerous issues from pressure from her pretentious professor of a mother who can’t or won’t recognize her talents to her “friends” who dumped her along with her cheating ex. She’s been working for a woman that has questionable motives seeking revenge/empowerment against men that have wronged them personally or professionally or both while dreaming of owning her own art gallery someday. The first man that she’s been interested in since her bad breakup is her current “mark” named Mark. She immediately breaks a company rule along with a few of her own by going home with him. Shortly thereafter, Mark is hired by her boss for her to train to do the very job she had done to him.
I came close to giving this 5 stars because honestly I loved it, but there were a few very picky details that annoyed me that I felt should have been caught. For example, at a dinner for 9 people, a waitress served everyone with wine and had wine left over in the same bottle, then the heroine kept getting into ubers/taxis and slamming the car door in the face of someone outside, which I thought just sounded odd. Like I said I’m being nit-picky but it annoyed me in an otherwise quite enjoyable romance.
The book is told primarily through the point of view of Brinkley, who has numerous issues from pressure from her pretentious professor of a mother who can’t or won’t recognize her talents to her “friends” who dumped her along with her cheating ex. She’s been working for a woman that has questionable motives seeking revenge/empowerment against men that have wronged them personally or professionally or both while dreaming of owning her own art gallery someday. The first man that she’s been interested in since her bad breakup is her current “mark” named Mark. She immediately breaks a company rule along with a few of her own by going home with him. Shortly thereafter, Mark is hired by her boss for her to train to do the very job she had done to him.
I came close to giving this 5 stars because honestly I loved it, but there were a few very picky details that annoyed me that I felt should have been caught. For example, at a dinner for 9 people, a waitress served everyone with wine and had wine left over in the same bottle, then the heroine kept getting into ubers/taxis and slamming the car door in the face of someone outside, which I thought just sounded odd. Like I said I’m being nit-picky but it annoyed me in an otherwise quite enjoyable romance.
Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a decent opposite attract romance novel. I loved the spunky, badass Brinkley who works undercover ruining the lives of egocentric men. She meets Mark and he's not the typical egocentric jerk. They hit it off and things get complicated when he decides to work for the same agency. While this novel had laugh out loud moments and funny banter, I wish thier romance would have played out more slowly. They barely knew each other before they start making out. Mark is supposed to be an academic but he acts out of character way more than was necessary. Although it's an imperfect novel its worth the read.