Heartbreak for Hire is such a fun, sexy and charming read! This is the first book I've read from this author and now I'm a big fan. This book made me laugh and fall for Brinkley's crazy antics. And I loved her crazy, sweater-wearing cat, Winnie. It's steamy and addictive and had me reading nonstop!

LOVEEED this one. Such a cute & fresh premise. Sexy & steamy but very well-done. Loved the banter. Would recommend to rom-com fans.

I really enjoyed this book. Funny, interesting, hot, and definitely unique. Brinkley's job as a heartbreaker means she gets hired by women to get revenge on the men that wronged them. She's been good at it and successful, both in terms of the jobs and with keeping that part of her life separate. Until Mark shows up as a target, and then becomes her new coworker.
I loved Brinkley and Mark's banter, and how she tried to ignore how she was starting to feel. This is a great summer read.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: July 27, 2021

One of the best opening paragraphs I’ve read in a while. This starts fast and funny and I was hooked right away!

Boss relationship is abusive/psychologically manipulative. Focuses a bit too much on her past academia-tracked life and her mommy issues—it takes away from the current character development. Once you thoroughly explain a past trauma, you don’t need to keep bringing it up at length…the reader remembers. A bit predictable when it came to the mechanical bull scene, anyone paying attention knew what would happen.

This started spiraling at the halfway point when Brinkley’s self-sabotaging behavior just got to be too much. I found her whiny, annoying, and oddly stupid considering how educated she was. This book is honestly just weird. Her job is weird, her boss is weird, her relationship with her mother and how she speaks of it is weird, her obsession with cat clothing is weird, how she handles most of her relationships (friend and romantic) is weird. The elevator scene was so implausible I rolled my eyes.

The premise for this was exciting but the execution fell short.

Imagine if you could hire someone to embarrass or hurt the guy who broke your heart? That’s what Brinkley and her colleagues at Heartbreak for Hire do - they are a secret revenge service that aims to empower women. But when Brinkley’s boss decides to bring men to the team and one of those men is a man a former client hired Brinkley to get revenge on, she’s no longer as sure this business is doing the right thing. PLUS she finds him attractive, making it that much harder to do her job.

I loved the concept of this and the revenge for hire plot. It w3as definitely a unique story and it was fun to see where it went and what was happening with the business. The chemistry between Brinkley and Mark was intense and this one got very steamy very quickly. I also enjoyed the message about empowerment.

This is one book where the ebook worked for me better than the audiobook did. For some reason I really struggled with the audiobook and it didn’t hold my attention, but when I switched to the ebook it worked much better for me.

Thanks to Simon Audio, NetGalley, and Gallery books for the advanced copies of this book. The book will be released on July 27.

Revenge with a side of love

Brinkley and Mark meet under false pretenses but there’s an undeniable connection that becomes even more complicated when he shows up in both of her very separate worlds.

I’m not big on revenge plots, which is good because this book isn’t really a revenge plot but revenge is at the heart of what Brinkley does for H4H and what brings her and Mark together initially. So I struggled a bit with that whole aspect as well as what felt like a circle of manipulation all around.

BUT I did love Brinkley’s growth and Mark’s support of her dreams. I feel like she made Mark earn his spot in her life and I really appreciated that he was willing to do it. And they had some really great chemistry!

I’m interested to see what else Sonia Hartl gives us!

I received a complimentary review copy of this book but all opinions are my own.

Heartbreak for Hire was SO GOOD I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT. If you enjoy witty, contemporary rom-coms, you absolutely NEED to add this to your TBR! This book was just so fun and current and sassy while also being just the right amount of serious and I am just so enamored with it. Plus, the banter in this was *chef's kiss.*

HBH is a Meet Cute type of book. We meet jaded Brinkley who was mentally abused by her boyfriend for years and does not trust any man to save her soul, that is when she joins Heartbreak For Hire, a service where she humilates men in public. Things are going great for Brinkley until her boss announces she is hiring male Heartbreakers, the men walk in one by one, as the men walk in one of the men is a target Brinkley took down AND hooked up with. Will Brinkley take her guard down and take a second chance at love again?

You absolutely must read this book! It’s so terrific. I laughed so hard at many of the scenes that Brinkley gets herself into. The scene at the bar with certain parts flying, her answering the phone in such a way and it’s her mother—these are only two scenes that are rip roaring hilarious. To discover the rest you must read it. I love books that make me laugh out loud and snicker, this is one of those books. I loved the premise of what Brinkley does and she’s really good about the revenge business. But there is so much more to her and Mark. I’ll scatter no more seeds for readers to scoop up. Read the book!

After trying this one twice, I ended up DNFing it. I wasn’t a huge fan of the main characters and, once I realized how manipulative one of the characters was, just couldn’t continue reading. I think the premise of this book is definitely interesting, but the execution did not work at all for me. Others may enjoy the book though!

In the summer, I enjoy reading a quick and easy rom-com. Heartbreak for Hire seemed like it was going to tick all my requirements for a summer rom-com. But it fell short for me in a big way.

I hated how the characters came across on the page; I thought the switch from hate to love was a little too quick. The relationship felt more like instant love, which is fine on its own, but Heartbreak for Hire is marketed as a Haters to Lovers, and that takes development and work to get to a love relationship.

I wanted to like the premise of the company and how the women went after terrible men. This storyline could have been used to explore some heavier topics more lightly. Overall, I thought the book was too long, and I lost interest in the story.

Heartbreak for Hire is a contemporary romance about a twenty-something Chicago woman who professionally breaks hearts and/or humiliates men for the clients of the company she works for. But, when a client sends her after a man she could potentially fall for her life starts to unravel.

Brinkley never finished her masters program or started a career in academia that her mother could get behind. Instead she secretly works on the Heartbreakers For Hire team as a professional heartbreaker along with a group of specially recruited women who have been hurt, humiliated and taken advantage of by men. One of her assignments was to “meet cute” a gorgeous professor named Mark and hurt him professionally but instead she goes home with him and takes off mid-sexual encounter. A series of mishaps follow including Mark and several other men being added to the H4H team and the women being forced to train them.

There were a lot of stretches and coincidences in this novel that made it hard to believe. Even Brinkley said at one point “in a city of three million people...” and it got harder to suspend disbelief that everyone she encounters is connected to either her mother or Mark in some way. I also found her mother, her attitude toward her daughter and the entire academic setting at Northwestern a little over the top. The addition of Mark to the H4H team never really pans out and that whole storyline felt manufactured to create tension. I also thought the entire business model of H4H was a little unrealistic like a modern day Charlie’s Angels. I would also put this book in the category of spicy with the love scenes bordering on explicit along with some of the language that accompanied it. And although the physical relationship was there but I never felt the romantic connection between Brinkley and Mark.

Overall, this is a mildly amusing sexy romp. Some of the manufactured angst around Brinkley’s job and mother plus the coincidences around Mark and his own career felt a little convenient and took away from my enjoyment. I, personally enjoy a sweeter love story with more “closed door” type love scenes.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yes!! Girl power hear us roar 😉
Loved the originality of this setting - Hire Heartbreakers to get revenge on that jerk. But when Brinkley’s boss decides to hire men for the opposite side of the business… in comes Brinkley’s last mark… How can her boss hire men?? How can jilted women possibly work with men? So the ladies agree to play the new employees and give them fake addresses to meet. Trouble is…Mark is a nice guy and Brinkley and he are really hitting it off.

Love the way the tables turn, the characters were drawn out so well and a unique storyline. Two thumbs up!

I went into this book totally blind, and boy, am I glad I did. This was such a cute and fun story with such an interesting premise. Brinkley was funny and smart and I loved her character. I would definitely recommend this book!

Included as a top pick in bimonthly July New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

I received an ARC of this novel from Gallery Books via Netgalley in exchange for my review. Heartbreak for Hire or H4H is a company designed to help women get revenge on men who have done them wrong. Brinkley started to work for H4H after she hired them to humiliate a past love who did her wrong. Is it her dream job? No. Does she feel a bit squeamish after she gets revenge for her clients? Yes. However Brinkley really has a gut check after she crosses the line with a client, Mark, who she was hired to humiliate. Brinkley decides to learn from her unprofessional behavior and move on-lesson learned. That would be possible if Mark hadn't just been hired as one of the first men to work at H4H. Sparks fly while Mark and Brinkley navigate their relationship-especially the past hurts they have survived and also their growing unease with their career paths. If you can get past the idea of dating revenge for hire-the banter and sparks between Brinkley and Mark is great and you will find yourself cheering them on to a positive, healthy relationship!

Brinkley left the world of academics behind after a grueling heartbreak that left her without her friends and becomes a heartbreak for hire. She takes jobs from scorned women and makes the men in their lives pay for their despicable behavior. One of her subjects, Mark an adjunct profession from another university, ends up being her match. She's instantly attracted to him and finds it hard to lie to him, which is breaking one of the rules in the club. Do not hook up with a subject! But when her boss decides to bring on men to the heartbreak team, Mark ends up being her partner and the tension can be cut with a knife. The attraction, the lies and deceit. Through their partnership they becomes friends and lovers and realize what they want to do outside the Heartbreak For Hire. But at a university event with her mother in attendance secrets are reveal and soon Brinkley doesn't know who she can trust anymore and leaves Mark, Heartbreak for Hire, and her mom behind to focus on her art. Can Brinkley open up a gallery for her art? Will she forgive Mark and her Mom for their lies?

I absolutely loved this book! It was exactly what I needed to get out of my book rut! I loved that it was set in Chicago where I live and could picture everywhere they were going etc. This book was packed full of feminism, steam and romance. Whats not to love? There was plenty of drama without it being too much and overall this was written so well! You need to read this book!

DNF at 39%. This one's not for me.

While the protagonists had some good chemistry, I don't care for the premise of Heartbreak for Hire.

Heartbreak for Hire, the business for which Brinkley, the female MC works, is in the revenge business. For a fee, it gives bad men the comeuppance they deserve. And the author makes clear that most of these guys are real jerks who take advantage of women financially or are abusive in the workplace. But I can't square a woman who humiliates people for a living with a heroine, even if she is the tiniest bit conflicted sometimes.

It's single POV and at 39% I hadn't gotten a real good sense of the male MC yet. The scenes that worked best for me were the couple that had both of them together outside of the office/work setting. But there'd really only been a couple of those by this point, so I wasn't invested in the two of them together.

I think, when I picked this one up, I hoped that it wasn't going to center as much on the business as it does, or that it would be somehow more cartoony. But I was holding this book at arms length pretty much the whole time.

It's just not for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m afraid of waking up one day and realizing no matter how far I run from my past, it will always define me. Trying to overcome it is still giving it control.

Brinkley Saunders was once a rising star in the academic world—just like her mom—when she left it all after a traumatizing heartbreak. Now she works secretly as a Heartbreak for Hire, a secret agency specializing in bestowing a little comeuppance on asshole men. Life is good, and Brinkley is working on saving up enough money for a down payment to open an art gallery, until she messes up and breaks rule #1: she almost sleeps with a target. Worse: her boss is hiring men for the first time, and her target is one of the hires. Brinkley and her coworkers aren’t sure what to do, but they do no one thing: the men need to go. Starting with Mark.

“You’re so pretty. Men love to take advantage of a pretty face, but you already know this…If you don’t learn how to exert power over men on a professional level, you will always be a silly, pretty little toy. This is making you stronger.”

Despite what might seem a low three-star rating, this was an enjoyable contemporary romance! Solid sexy sex scenes, a decent plot (I enjoyed the H4H aspect but wished some other aspects [Margo’s manipulation] were addressed further), a messy heroine who dresses her cat in sweaters because she’s (the cat) is a fashionista, and decent chemistry between lovers.

Brinkley’s navigation of her rocky relationship with her mother was something I greatly empathized with, and I also understood how she went from one emotionally abusive relationship to another (her ex to her boss), because it can be really hard to differentiate when bad interpersonal relationships are all you’ve ever known. You’ve been keyed to believing people even when they are gaslighting you, because that is what manipulation does. Which meant that Brinkley was even more prone to ricochet into rejection when the “twist” that threw her and Mark apart (you knew this had to be coming, it’s in like 98% of contemporary romances), even when that twist was contrived as hell.

Again, solid and entertaining throughout, although the geography of Chicago confused the hell out of me (Brinkley lives on Michigan Ave and works in I think downtown Chicago and her mom works in Northwestern, but she visits her mom for weekly lunch breaks like that’s just a quick trip on the L? That’s an hour train ride one way—Northwestern is in Evanston not Chicago).

So maybe a couple eyebrow raises at the geography and the weak half-breakup, and experience this novel as one of self-growth and learning to navigate hard relationships. Plus the backstabbing world of academia.

Years of playing the academic game had taught me some finite rules about human nature and self-proclaimed experts. Everyone in the room was afraid of being exposed as an imposter. The more vocal I became in my disdain, the more other critics would follow my opinion or risk the accusation of an unsophisticated palate.

I received this ARC for an honest review.

Heartbreak for Hire releases July 27, 2021, from Gallery Books.

I went into this book completely blind, and wow did I fall in love with the characters, and the premise of the novel. The main character, Brinkley, works for a secret undercover agency called Heartbreak for Hire, aka H4H, where her and three other women get paid to humiliate men that have hurt other women in one form or another. It's not that she necessarily respects this career line; however, her terrible break up left her romance-less, friendless, and career-less, so when Margo her current boss scoped her out for H4H, naturally it seemed like the right decision.

When Brinkley is hired to bring down a college professor, Mark, who allegedly stole the work of his female coworker to get ahead in his career, she finds herself conflicted with her own romantic interest in him. Things take a turn when Mark is hired on to H4H and he is partnered to work with Brinkley.

Mark and Brinkley have very much of a strong push and pull relationship until the very end of the book when they discover what they truly mean to each other and how they fit in each others' lives.

This book is not just about romance; however, It is about Brinkley and Mark both digging deep inside and learning that it is never too late to realize your ambitions and aspirations in life even in your mid thirties. It is about finding out what really matters to you and seeing what you are willing to sacrifice and give up for it. It is about learning to repair familial relationships and standing up on your own when that is not possible. It is about that bonds of friendship that we all rely so heavily on. And of course it will definitely provide the reader with plenty of steam and romance ;)

I really enjoyed this book and was impressed with how quickly I formed a connection with the characters. Would highly recommend!