This is a great book about love, loss, adventure, and finding your true self. I really loved this book because it just proves that you don't need a partner to find happiness within yourself.

Not a fan tried multiple times to read this book. DNF


***************************************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.*****************************************

This sweet, easy read was delightful for those looking for a heartwarming story.

Charlotte calls off her wedding to her jerk of a fiancé and decides to take off to Japan for her month-long honeymoon as a solo lady. Over the course of her time away she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and discovers what she really loves about herself and what she envisions for her future.

This book, for me, wasn't necessarily the run-of-the-mill rom/com and that was what I enjoyed the most. The real romance was for Charlotte and Japan!

Overall, a fun and unique read.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

3.5 (rounded up to 4)/5 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This unfortunately didn't work for me. I picked it for the Japanese setting but the writing was quite slow paced for me and I found the story dragged a lot. I also found it hard to connect with Charlotte, which is a very important aspect for me.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an advanced reader electronic copy of this book. It was a light and enjoyable book about fresh starts and finding yourself. I enjoyed the descriptions of Japan and can't wait to go back one day.

The sad bits get to you but as always there are the mandatory nice and happy parts. Well done.. I’d like to read more of her books.

What would you do if your fiancé suggested you take a week-long break just three weeks before your wedding? I would absolutely lose it 🤣 Charlotte on the other hand… breaks off her engagement, calls off her wedding, and goes on her honeymoon ALONE.

This is not your usual rom-com / chick lit read. This story is all about self-discovery with a little romance wrapped in. If you love Japan or like traveling, you will be happy with this book. Charlotte’s travel is beautifully described through what she sees, tastes, and feels. I really liked how the author explained parts of the Japanese culture in detail.

Who would like it? If you love romance, stories about self-discovery, travel, or Japan.

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

An easy read, I picked it up for the Japanese setting, I kept reading for the same reason.

Charlotte, on the verge of getting married, discovers that her fiance is not on the same page, and begins a journey of self-discovery by going on her honeymoon by herself. While the book is very much about self-discovery, self-awareness, and regaining a confidence and purpose, or ikigai, with each new day, if you are after romance, the real romance here is with Japan, travel, and discovery.

There was a lot to like about this book, I really took to Charlotte, I liked her humour and her general attitude and personality. I LOVED the descriptions of Japan, as I had been just as the pandemic was getting a foothold in China and have been wanting to go back since, so this book made me both homesick and excited, as I was reading about places and foods that are now familiar to me, as well as those that I've yet to experience. I really liked that it wasn't all about the obvious Japan, repeating the same places and experiences that can be found in every single travel brochure.

While I liked that Charlotte was exploring her identity and place in the world while exploring a new country and new experiences, I wasn't really engaged with the broken relationship, and Matt's character just annoyed me: he seemed utterly self-centred to the point of obliviousness when it came to other people's feelings or needs, the end was a prime example of this, and it ruined the book for me that Charlotte was so accepting of this. His saying the wrong thing at all times was almost written as a lovable quality that you rolled your eyes at, when in fact it came across more as a lack of regard for her or anything that mattered to her. Because of this, and the fact that very little emphasis was placed on any real closeness in their relationship, I sympathised with her heartbreak in general, but not for her losing the love of her life, and more because she'd lost a form of future and needed to find another. In fact, that is what Charlotte seemed to struggle with most too, not the loss of Matt, but the feeling that what was lost was a path or purpose.

That Matt was given such a big place in the end of her journey was supposed to be a form of closure, I think, but I wished it had been written differently, and it felt a bit contrived and heavy-handed, and glorious Fuji was sidelined for it, I personally think she could have completed her journey without him.

I loved this book and read it in less than a day!
When Charlotte's fiancée decides 3 weeks before the wedding that they should take a break she is devastated.  However she decides that rather than lose all the money for the honeymoon to Japan she will go alone.
It is such a well written story with so many amazing descriptions that you feel like you are there.
A book truly worthy of the first few days of my holiday!

This book is about Charlie and 3 weeks before she gets married the wedding is called off. The only thing is they cannot get a refund on the honeymoon so Charlie decides to go.

This story is about how Charlie finds herself and decides to not go with the honeymooners on the trip that she paid for and branch out on her own which is really brave to do.

She encounters things in Japan that she hadn't planned to do and go out her comfort zone.

I could not put this book down. A lovely lovely book and I recommend this as a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a DNF for me. I was super interested at first and liked the flashbacks but after the first few chapters it became a bit too much,

The book seemed interesting and the tourist aspect of it had a lot of promise it just wasn't really what I was looking for. That being said the writing style was good and if you're interested in that kind of book I would recommend it!

Thank you for the opportunity to review!

This book was amazing and I really enjoyed everything about it.

The story focuses on Charlotte, who is a very real and down to earth character, with real struggles and flaws.
Charlotte’s wedding plans fall through and she decides to go on their month-long honeymoon on her own - all the way to Japan!!

Japan is a huge part of this book and I loved finding out all about its culture. It was beautifully written and honestly felt like I had escaped to Japan.

This book doesn’t focus on a love story or romance but more on Charlotte’s journey, both her physical one to Japan and also her emotional one.

A wonderful, heartwarming adventure and I loved it.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Arrow Books and the author for an advanced reader’s copy of The Broken Hearts Honeymoon in exchange for my honest review.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

It feels like it has been months of quarantine and I miss travelling very very much… not that I travelled lots before but I like to move around. Then there is the fact that I practically grew up wanting to travel to Japan ever since I started watching Naruto when I was maybe twelve years old or maybe even younger. I bought books based on Japanese culture and made Pinterest boards on everything Japanese. So yes, I chose to read an armchair adventure where the main character lives her lifelong dream of travelling to Japan. Everything makes complete sense!

THE STORY:

The Broken Hearts Honeymoon follows Charlotte or Charlie as everyone calls her, whose fiancé Matt suggests they take a break to “sow their wild oats” weeks before their wedding date. Huge ol’ red flag there, so Charlie’s dream of the perfect wedding and life crumbles, leaving her with non-refundable bills and the Honeymoon Highlights tour they booked to Japan. Rather than cancel the tour, Charlie decides to join the tour on her own. Ever since she was little, Charlie had wanted to be a travel writer and travel to Japan like her idol Ariel Cortez.

What follows is Charlie’s first wild adventure where she discovers all the amazing riches Japan has to offer while discovering herself and what it means to be Charlie.

MY FIVE REASON WHY IT'S THE PERFECT ARMCHAIR ADVENTURE:

1. Charlie felt like a best friend I would treasure having.

The whole book is told through Charlie’s eyes, both present and past, so the story felt like Charlie letting me in on her innermost thoughts and fears. It reminded me of a journal-style of writing: personal, open and self-probing. I myself journal quite a lot and this style really spoke to me.

2. Charlie’s family are the best cheerleaders anyone could ever want.

Charlie has a big family of 4 siblings and they are all so very close to each other. Since Charlie is travelling in Japan for most of the book, there were group videocalls and her own memories to give the reader a feel of what Charlie’s support group was like. It reminded me so much of my own family!

I also love that the author managed the give all her siblings their own individual personalities and show them off through videocalls. I felt like I knew them all personally. They were such a fun addition to the book and to Charlie’s own life.

3. The humour is very British and I loved it!

When I scrolled through my highlights of the book, a good portion of them were me laughing at jokes Charlie made. Being in this woman’s head was such a delightful experience because all her experiences were tinged with her unapologetic sense of humour.

I would drag Charlie off with me on any adventure I would plan on going just to keep the mood fun and light!

4. Japan is beautifully brought to life.

The author does a mighty fine job of employing imagery to describe the beauty and grace of Japan. She employed such beautiful language to describe everything from urban neighbourhoods to serene countryside. I was deeply immersed in the whole experience and I honestly felt like crying from all the wanderlust this book brought out in me!

At this point, I would read anything travel-related this author publishes just to experience that imagery in my mind’s eye!

I also loved that through the journal-style writing, the author takes the time to show Charlie learning Japanese concepts like ikigai and wabi-sabi. Personally, I felt like a learnt a lot just reading this book and that’s something I’ll cherish.

5. Charlie’s journey of self-discovery wrenched tears out of me!

Through all the hilarity and beauty of the setting, Charlie’s growth was the main star of the story. I liked how her evolution was subtle and gradual. I did not end up continually getting reminded about Charlie needing to grow up or grow independent or anything. Her growth was very organic and reminded me of my own journey.

At the end of the book, I was so proud of Charlie that I teared up a little. I was literary cheering her on so enthusiastically! As I said before, I felt like Charlie and I got ridiculously close and seeing her grow into a better, stronger version of herself was just amazing. And a lot of her journey felt familiar and relatable.

FINAL VERDICT:

The Broken Hearts Honeymoon started out as a jilted bride’s escape from her problems to the beautiful land of Japan, but ended up being the story of a woman’s amazing journey to find herself and what she wants from life in the beauty and grace of Japanese culture. This is what I would call a wholesome story with just the right amount of heart and adventure to inspire the reader.

Charlotte is suppose to be getting married but her fiancé throws a spanner in the works and she has no choice but to call off the wedding. A lot of things can be refunded but not the amazing trip to Japan that they had planned as their honeymoon. Instead of letting it go to waste Charlotte decides to go on the trip alone, even though it’s a couple’s tour for the most part.

Firstly, good on Charlotte for sticking up for herself and not backing down when her fiancé was pretty awful. I loved how determined she was and also how brave she was for doing something huge all on her own. She’s quite a young character with not a lot of life experience so a trip to Japan alone would have been quite scary. I grew to love Charlotte more and more as I read the book, following her on her journey and learning more about herself.

The setting of Japan was amazing and I loved the whole adventure. Japan isn’t somewhere I know a lot about but this book does a great job of highlighting both historical sites, religion and pop culture really well. It definitely made me think about a trip there myself to see some of the things that were described.

The Broken Hearts Honeymoon is such a fun book and not your average romance. In fact, I wouldn’t really call it a romance at all and that was a really refreshing change for me.

The Broken Hearts Honeymoon is officially one of the best hooks I’ve read this year and it’s only June.

Life got in the way so I couldn’t read this one before publication say and I’m sorry for that because this book was uplifting and highly entertaining. I expected a love story, I thought the main character Charlotte finds a new love. Okay, I wasn’t too wrong becuase she does…just not in the way I expected.

Charlotte has it all planned out. A perfect wedding, a month-long honeymoon and a dreamjob ready for her. But her life turns upside down when her fiancé -the twat - stars having second thoughts and she cancels the wedding. What could she possibly do now? She goes on the honeymoon, alone. After initial struggles with loneliness and regret, she realizes this is her best opportunity to come to grips with what she really wants and who she really is.

I admire Charlotte. She has the courage to do something I never could. She gets up off the floor and she is stronger than she ever was before.

Japan. I’ve never been there but while reading this amazing story I felt like I was there with Charlotte, visiting Tokyo and Kyoto and all the other beautiful places and I felt my heart becoming lighter.

And I absolutely adored the little snippets of Charlotte’s past. They are funny or embarrassing but she fondly remembers them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Charlotte and Matt have been together since they were 14; aren't they destined to be together?

But 3 weeks before the wedding Matt suggests to have a week apart... from each other....to 'sow some wild oats.'

Not knowing anything else but each other, is it not best to see what else is out there?

This novel is BEAUTIFUL! It's written for you to get lost in. Yes, you feel the emotions of the characters and feel sorry for both sides; understanding Matt wanting to explore more, not knowing anyone else but Charlotte, but, also Charlotte and how she struggles to be single without him.

This is a novel about heartache, about finding yourself and about having the support of your family along the way. Tears welled up in me reading the support Charlotte has, the grieving process she goes through and the truth in finding herself!

But the biggest thing this novel teaches us is about seeing the beauty in imperfections!

This novel made me jealous! My one regret and wish is that I wish I was more well-traveled.

If you want to get lost in a novel absorbing the detail of Japan then I would recommend this book.

I understand a lot of holidays have been canceled over the last year, so maybe not for those who are feeling disheartened about not having a holiday recently.

Overall brilliant read, that I would recommend and would read again.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK and Cornerstone for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Broken Hearts Honeymoon.

Wow! I loved it and read it, in under 24 hours. Granted, it was pouring with rain in the UK and I had nothing else to do but it was such a wonderful book. Informative, educational, happy, sad, comical and slightly heart-breaking, I experienced such a wide range of emotions whilst reading it I didn’t want it to end.

Charlotte and Matt are the perfect couple, they’ve been together since they were 14, they stayed at sixth form together, went to the same university and were planning their perfect life together after their perfect wedding.... until Matt decided perhaps things weren’t so perfect after all. Their honeymoon was all booked and paid for, and Japan had been the one place Charlotte had always wanted to visit, so she bravely packs her bags and flies off to the other side of the world, on her own, and slowly begins to find herself.

The Broken Hearts Honeymoon is such a lovely book, Lucy Dickens writes with such passion and knowledge of Japan, you feel as though are travelling around the country with Charlotte. The author’s descriptive writing is addictive. I wanted to be hiking through the Japanese Alps with Charlotte, taking tea in the Japanese gardens and meditating with the monks.

Less of a love story and more of a story about self-love, Lucy Dickens shows us how often learning about different cultures can make us see things in a new light and encourages us to change our lives for the better.

I would recommend The Broken Hearts Honeymoon to anyone who needs some escapism, to live and enjoy someone else’s life for a while and you know what, you’ll learn some things whilst you’re reading it too.

This book is so much more than meets the eye. I thought of it as a nice easy read in between thrillers, but I found myself really enjoying the book. It has a lot more depth than others in the same genre. The main character is very likable, and although I have never found myself in a similar situation, I found that she felt very relatable. I enjoyed reading her story of self discovery, and the adventures she takes. It has definitely made me want to visit Japan! All in all, I thought it was well written and enjoyable.

I absolutely loved this story of self discovery. I was hooked right from the start. The writing just flowed so smoothly and made for such a pleasant read.

The story is told first person by Charlotte and starts when her fiancé asks for a hall pass three weeks before the wedding. Charlotte ends up going on their honeymoon to Japan alone and has so many adventures there. Growing up my best friend was Japanese so I have been a huge fan of Japanese food and Japanese people for many years, but have never been overly interested in visiting the country until now. Don’t get me wrong, Japan seemed nice enough, but now having read about all the different sides to Japan, the various extremes between city life and island life and the Japanese Alps and all those Natural parks and beautiful nature, well now I am definitely keen to go one day. I think it just needs to be at a time when I can go for a longer period and without young kids, to get the most out of it.

I loved Charlotte’s relationship with her siblings and just the whole character of Charlotte. Certain things she said or thought just resonated with me. Charlotte is definitely a girl of my heart!

“I don’t know about you, but my mind really struggles to shut the hell up...”

Yes! I agree wholeheartedly.

I would absolutely love to read more books about Charlotte, so I hope Lucy Dickens will consider making it into a series.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute, light, feelgood read. I loved reading about the characters and struggled to put it down. I did get a bit confused at the beginning but when i kept going it all made sense and was a lovely read.