I love Kristin Rockaway so I was thrilled when I received her newest book How to Hack a Heartbreak. Kristin's books are always light hearted and just fun to read.
Living in New York as a single girl isn't easy, and relying on a dating app to find boyfriend isn't the best idea. Fluttr is the most popular dating/hookup app, and after Melanie is stood up she decides that she's done with dating. Until..... the very sexy Alex sits down next to her. Alex introduces himself to Melanie and she realizes they actually work together. Melanie is smitten and starting to think her Flittr date standing her up isn't so bad, until Alex's date arrives, and she can't believe he's just another lying creep. What is he doing flirting with her and asking her to lunch when he clearly has a girlfriend?
After a very bad experience on the subway with a creepy guy, Melanie goes home and decides to make a website for women, a place they can share their bad dating experiences, warn other women about men they've come in counter with that they should avoid. After all, Melanie works at the help desk for a start up company, she knows her way around computers, and she's mistreated so badly by these men she works with that she'd love to create something to get her out of there. With the help of her friends Melanie gets JerkAlert out there for everyone to see. Word spreads and women are sharing all there "guys to avoid". Unfortunately Melanie can't avoid Alex, there's something about him that draws her to him, and she really wants to give him the benefit of the doubt. They have such an amazing chemistry and really do seem to hit it off, but she cannot tell Alex she is the inventor of JerkAlert, specially since he's on there!
Things with Alex are going well but Melanie is looking for all the signs he may not be Mr. Perfect. His ex Julie posted on JerAlert that Alex is a liar, and to not believe anything he says! Things are going well with JerkAlert and Melanie might have the opportunity to sell her site and walk away not only debt free, but have the ability to quit her shitty job and go find somewhere she's appreciated. Everything falls apart at once, with Alex, her website, and her job. Will this be the end, or just the beginning? You'll have to read it to find out.

How to Hack a Heartbreak was a really cute and fun read! Melanie was a relatable character to anyone struggling to find love via a dating app. I especially loved the main character is in tech (girls CAN code!). Alex was an interesting love-interest for Melanie, and I went through on some emotional rollercoasters while reading the book. I recommend this book to those who enjoy the Sophia Kinsella books; light-hearted and fun to read.

I have thoughts! When I read the synopsis for How to Hack a Heartbreak, I was all in. I loved a good romance and one where the main character fixes computers...um, give me all of that! And then you tell me she uses her skills to get revenge by starting her own app called JerkAlert?? I am 1000% in! But, unfortunately, this was not my favorite book. Maybe I gave it too much hype in my head (maybe I'm starving for a feminist romance) but while I did enjoy certain parts of it, there were certain plot points that almost made me stop reading. Let's get to the review!

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

By day, Mel Strickland is an underemployed helpdesk tech at a startup incubator, Hatch, where she helps entitled brogrammers--"Hatchlings"--who can't even fix their own laptops, but are apparently the next wave of startup geniuses. And by night, she goes on bad dates with misbehaving dudes she's matched with on the ubiquitous dating app, Fluttr.

But after one dick pic too many, Mel has had it. Using her brilliant coding skills, she designs an app of her own, one that allows users to log harrassers and abusers in online dating space. It's called JerkAlert, and it goes viral overnight.

Mel is suddenly in way over her head. Worse still, her almost-boyfriend, the dreamy Alex Hernandez--the only non-douchey guy at Hatch--has no idea she's the brains behind the app. Soon, Mel is faced with a terrible choice: one that could destroy her career, love life, and friendships, or change her life forever.

Mel is smart, hilarious, and fun, but works at possibly the most irritating job known to man (or woman). She is constantly undermined, talked down to, and deals with sexist bullshit almost 24/7. She is also dealing with online dating and dudes sending her dick pics, standing her up, and just being pieces of trash. Luckily, Mel knows her worth and knows she is a badass coder and just needs to catch a break to make an impact on the world. But when she gets stood up one too many times and gets one too many dick picks (one is more than enough!!), she decides to take action and create JerkAlert, allowing women to take back control.

I loved this concept and if I had any computer skills besides trying to figure out how to re-position a picture on WordPress, I would be doing the same thing. JerkAlert blows up with women posting all kinds of things about dudes they've spoken to or gone out with from Fluttr (ficitional dating app in the story). Mel can barely keep the website running smoothly with how many people are using it.

During this time, she also meets Alex who happens to be the nicest guy at her office. They both clearly like each other, so they start dating. It's nothing too serious but she really comes to care for him.

One night, she looks up his name on JerkAlert and is surprised to find two posts about him that pretty much say he ghosted a woman after they had sex. It's definitely a let down for Mel. But with no evidence of whether the post is true, she keeps dating him, even having him meet her friends at a party. That being said, she never tells him she is the person responsible for JerkAlert.

The climax of the story comes when JerkAlert becomes so big that Mel starts getting calls from major companies who want to buy it, including Fluttr. But things don't go as planned and Mel ends up having to make decisions that could affect her job, her integrity, and her future.

While this is happening, she finds a text and picture of a naked woman on Alex's phone and confronts him about it. It turns out he had been lying to her about certain things. Will they end up together in the end? It's a romance novel, what do you think?

Ok, let's start with the good. Mel and her friend's might be one of the best friendships I ever read. They are supportive, all have their own thing going on so you never confuse one for the other, and they are just amazing. Whitney is hilarious and fully supports everything Mel does with JerkAlert. I love them all! I also really like certain parts of Mel's story. Like I said, if I had the skills, I would make JerkAlert too. I also liked that despite what her boss says, she always tried to defend herself against the assholes in the office. She knows she is smarter than them and never tries to hide it.

Ok, the stuff I wasn't thrilled with. I HATE when the conflict in a romance is miscommunication. Sometimes it works, but here it just didn't. They were both lying to each other about certain things and ugh.

I also didn't love Alex. He thought ghosting was an ok behavior and he couldn't understand why Mel made JerkAlert. Is he totally clueless to what women go through?? It felt a bit unbelievable that he couldn't fathom why the app might be necessary or needed.

And maybe it's the world we're living in now with #metoo that makes me think this. It's kind of impossible to have not seen something in the news about what women have been going through.

Beyond that, I just didn't feel the chemistry between Alex and Mel. It didn't click for me and my personal red flags kept going up at his behavior.

There is also a point where Mel has to makes a decision about JerkAlert (whether to sell the database to Fluttr or not). The decision she ends up making feels like it goes against everything she is as a character. It gets "fixed" in a roundabout way but it made me question everything I liked about her to begin with. This decision is what made me almost stop reading the book.

Overall, I did enjoy most of How to Hack a Heartbreak. With the books I normally read, I am in dire need of a light, carefree story and that's what this is. Mel's friendships are written so well and I really enjoyed reading about a female coder. I am giving How to Hack a Heartbreak 3 out of 5 stars. If you're looking for a light, fun romance, give this one a shot. You might like it better than I did.

How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway comes out July 30, 2019. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Graydon House Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a contemporary romance that dealt with technology and falling for someone behind the scenes. I liked the fact that a female was shown as brainy and capable in this novel.

In the vein of Doree Shafrir's Startup, Kristin Rockaway's How to Hack a Heartbreak takes on the most stereotypical "bro culture" elements of the tech world. Mel Strickland is withering away as the help desk manager for tech entrepreneurs who are pursuing start up success by day, and she's navigating the tragic world of online dating by night. Folks, it's rough out there. After encountering one too many jerks, she decides to use her coding skills to take matters into her own hands. There are many elements of this book that are formulaic, but the supporting cast of female friends are endearing, and it's an overall satisfying read.

How to Hack a Heartbreak was the perfect mix of a girl boss going for her dreams (after failing) and her dating life in this digital age (which is rocky at best). Melanie and her friends, living in NYC, are not having much luck in the dating world. But now with so much technology dating for them has dwindled down to apps and split second decisions about a person you don’t know. Mel was tried of dealing with all the harassment, unsolicited pictures and being stood up the longer she used Fluttr so she took measures into her own hands.

Mel is not your average techy, once she realized she could fix one of the many problems with online dating site Fluttr she decided to create her own website to help others from going out with the same people that stood her up, ie Jerkalert.biz (not com). Her website gained fast praise and media coverage. But what goes up must come down. How to Hack Heartbreak was a fun read, I enjoyed seeing all the relationships grow throughout the book and not just the romantic ones but also friendship. Mel realized she has a tribe, and even if things don’t go as planned she always has her community, her group of girls. “I looked around the table, at the faces of my very best friends. The women who pushed me to be the very best version of myself I could be.”

How to Hack a Heartbreak releasing the end of July. If you have ever suffered from a terrible online date or working in a male dominant profession you will identify with Mel.

“It looked postcard-perfect from up here. Not like the reality of living in the city, which was messy and flawed, and full of unsolicited pics. My life in New York was far from postcard-perfect. But it was getting better everyday starting now.”

How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway is a chick lit following Mel who works at a male driven tech start up where she is fed up with her job and terrible dates. After being stood up on a date, it’s the final straw and she decides to create JerkAlert app which warns women of terrible men to avoid dating. It becomes famous, however, in the midst of it all, there’s a romance story. I really wanted to love this book, but I felt like the novel missed its mark. It’s great that it advocates feminism, however, it was way too forceful and Melanie becomes unlikable. I liked the premise and that the author focuses on a woman in the tech industry, however, I didn’t like her stance that basically all men are terrible. I also didn’t like how Melanie goes about her job. If she hates it so much, why doesn’t she actually do something about it like look for a new one or report the issue to HR? Also her relationship with Alex seemed dull and immature. Alex’s character ends up being so one dimensional that I would have liked to have read his perspective as well. Overall, I would recommend skipping this book as there are other better romance reads out there.

I liked this at the beginning, but the further in I got the less I liked it. Melanie (Mel) started out so relatable, but I just didn’t like the direction her and JerkAlert went. One thing I did like that Ms. Rockaway showed a woman trying to make a way/career in a male dominated field. It is refreshing to see a character put in a different field besides secretary, teacher, nurse, etc.

Super cute and funny contemporary romance about an under-appreciated help desk worker and a misunderstood co-worker. Likeable characters, lots of situation comic and a feel-good Happy End.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for the ARC.

This was a fun read. Timely, interesting, and lots of highly accurate descriptions of life as a female in the tech world. Light read, perfect for travel or when you need to not be bogged down in the latest thriller with too many twists and turns.

I have been on a contemporary romance kick lately and How To Hack a Heartbreak further reinforced my love for the genre! What some romances get wrong, for me, is the weak female/male rescuer trope. Rockaway does the exact opposite here. Mel is a strong, smart woman working in a male dominated profession. She knows how to stand up for herself, take risks and has a fantastic group of female friends who both support and cheer her on. Bravo for a female positive romance! Watching Mel and Alex's relationship take shape was all at once sweet, frustrating and fun. This story is contemporary romance at its best!

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for the opportunity to read an early review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A very funny rom com that embraces technology among women. I really enjoyed Mel’s character and her honestly strong willpower and go get em personality. It was humorous to read about the ups and downs and ebb and flow of dating life in general but especially in New York. This was such a cute book about finding our own path using technology and our hearts!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kristin Rockaway for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Thank you for this breath of fresh air!! I needed a book to just get lost in and also have some light hearted moments and was just fun! I wish JerkAlert (reminded me of Goonies!) was around when I was dating. It could have saved me from a lot!
Overall fun, light hearted and funny read!

Surprisingly refreshing is what sums this book up perfectly. It revolves around a woman coder sick of dating apps and bad matches who tries to break into the male-dominated world of start-ups. Stories like these often can take a wrong turn in so many places and yet at every opportunity, Rockaway nailed it.

First of all, this author did her research. No "techie mumbojumbo" was thrown out there for the sake of sounding smart - everything the characters did involving coding, its environment, and the use social platforms was more or less correctly expressed and informed.

Second, HTHAHB avoids generalizations and portrays a world and characters that could actually be real. The women weren't right all the time, and either were the men. Sure, sometimes the characters fell prey to stereotypes, but don't we all? The important thing is that in the story, people learned from their mistakes and changed their ways of thinking (and sometimes they didn't, and isn't that just as realistic?).

Also, it was just a fun read. It was witty, well written, and refreshing. Yet, I felt that it had more depth than a lot of other "chick-lit"out there. Really just an overall great, modern romance with a hint of a self acceptance lesson thrown in.

Having recently finished “How to Hack a Heartbreak” by Kristin Rockaway, I am happy to have had the chance for the preview; thank you NetGalley and Graydon House!

A fast paced read and a look into the downfalls of the online dating world where choices to date someone are primarily made using photo apps. I really enjoyed this story and was able to “keep up and follow along” with the techie talk and twenty-something lifestyle moments, even though I am definitely of the generation where face to face “inPerson” connections were our only option.

Lovely story for the tech-friendly dating world we live in! I so enjoyed the story and it flowed so well. It was like reading a friend's blog!

Timely and deeply engrossing story of love, heartbreak and tech bros. I love the feminist rants and revenge on men who take advantage of women in their daily lives.

What I liked: This book features strong women in the workplace and specifically women in tech. Which is something I love seeing in all spaces, especially romance.

What I didn't like: Mel simply had too many daddy issues. All of her conflicts could have been solved with the ability to have an honest conversation.

I am giving this book higher stars than I normally would because i feel like this book has been marketed wrong. This is not a true romance. This book is a nerdy sex and the city for a new generation. This book follows Mel and her friends in New York City as they try to find love. But the sex and the city girls never had to deal with tinder. This book is hilarious and a timely. It has a wonderful introspective look at dating in the real world today, discussion of gender stereotypes, and friendship. This is more a women's lit book with some romance thrown in.
Side characters are fully realized and the dialogue is witty. But really the main reason this book is so amazing is the friendships that are heartfelt through the entire novel. You won't find a new book boyfriend here but you will be texting your best gal pals after letting them know how much they mean to you.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks, NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this story. From the blurb I was guessing this was a rom-com, while some parts were funny, overall it was just ok. It’s geared more toward young adult maybe even tweens with some tweaking with the casual sex. Overall it was entertaining to see a group of very young women support each other not only in business but their personal lives. Three stars