I loved this book. Love. it. Pick it up. Read it. You won't regret it. It's high concept. It's great characters and dialogue. And it is soooo well written. I can't remember the last time I read a book that had me actually laughing out loud at a scene or a line. I can't remember the last time I read a book that had me so engrossed in it that I HAD TO KNOW and turn the page to find out. I was going to write this review as "If I could give it more than give stars, I would" up until the very end. That last chapter though. It needed an epilogue. Or another chapter. Some.thing. Still solid 5 stars. Still loved it. But it could've been better with one simple fix.

I've seen some other reader who talked about not being able to suspend belief over the H4H company or feeling that the women were too wrapped up in their past hurt or that going after the men was blah blah. Look. This is fiction. You can suspend your belief and believe you're Hogwarts letter just got lost or you can live in a world where you're a sad Muggle. I prefer to live in a world where H4H lets women live out their petty-ass dreams crushing men's souls. Did all the men deserve it? Nope. Of course not. Not everything can be perfect, even in fiction. And to be honest, this company, this concept that women were so sad, bitter, and jaded about something someone did to them that they'd shell out money to exact revenge? That plot is what sold me on reading this book. And it was done so well. So believable.

I loved the characters. They were all so distinctive and great. They all had their own flaws and were perfectly imperfect. I loved the subplots and how well the author interwove them throughout the whole story. Nothing felt like "here's plot B". It was just the plot. I loved how Brinkley didn't just "get over" Aiden at the end. Some hurts stay with us a very, very long time, and it was nice to see that represented in fiction.

This is a fast paced, almost-lovers-to-coworkers-to-enemies-to-lovers story told in first person POV. And even though when you meet certain characters (Margo, Dr. Saunders, etc) you just *know* there's something sketch there, the writing is so engrossing that you flip the page because you just have to know exactly what is off about them. The twists and turns the author crafted are just *chef's kiss*.

My complaints are few: There were a couple of lines that Mark said that just felt unnecessarily vulgar. They read like lines-that-scenes-were-written-around, but felt just a smidge out of place. Maybe that's just me. Brinkley needed to apologize and take accountability for her actions to Mark also. Mark needed to do more than leave her alone when requested and buy her cat a matching sweater outfit. IT NEEDED AN EPILOGUE. If the publishing house takes away nothing more from this review, I hope it's this: I WANTED TO SEE THEM HAPPY IN A SCENE. The finale didn't feel like the ending/beginning of their HEA/whatever. It felt like Brinkley was riding high from opening her gallery and Mark happened to show up at a good time. Give me the next morning. A week later. A year later. They reconciled. Cool. I want to see them happy. Again: this is the thing that knocked this review from "is there anything higher than 5 stars??" to "5 stars". You're great. You could've been spectacular though.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an early copy of this book.

There were some things about this book I really liked --- it was an interesting premise and the banter between the main characters was fun, as well as some of the silly situations they got themselves in. Plus, a grumpy cat who wears sweaters to match her owner made me smile. However, there were also parts of the book that rubbed me the wrong way --- the owner of the agency was completely unlikeable as was the heroine's mother, the sudden appearance of the father felt rushed and unnecessary, the ending of the book also felt rushed. Overall, the story felt a bit unbelievable and required a big suspension of disbelief.

I absolutely loved this book! Sped through it in a few hours because I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed Brinkley as a character and the whole concept of Heartbreak for Hire. Brinkley's character growth felt very real and her relationship with her mom felt realistic as well. The chemistry Brinkley and Mark had from the very beginning was so fun to read. And this book had the right amount of steam!

This book was absolutely hilarious. It was like How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, but professionally breaking hearts (I pictured all of those spy women from Mr. and Mrs. Smith). I loved the hilarious and awkward situations Brinkley kept finding herself in. Markus wasn’t going to let her off the hook and their chemistry was 👌🏻. I really fun read!

While I enjoyed the story for the most part, I was not a fan of Brinkley at all. She annoyed me and I found her full of holes. Additionally, sex scenes have their place in stories, but in this book, they felt way over the top and unnecessary, causing me to skip all the crude language.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a zany enemies-to-lovers romance that I read during shot-recovery some weeks back. (Catching up on reviews now, along with the other mountain of work I was too flattened to deal with.)

It's one of those books you just have to let the crazy premise stand. It's not meant to be a Slice of Real Life (if you want a slice of real life among the cheaters, scumbags, egomaniacs, and other bottom-feeders, go read some Lilian Hellman), so many of the characters are kind of one dimensional.

Given that, the hijinks frequently had me cackling, and the banter between Brinkley and Mark was a lot of fun. They had intense chemistry right off the bat, and when Mark is brought into the Heartbreakers (women who get revenge on 100% sleazoids who totally deserve it) in order to serve the same sauce to sleazoid women, the crazy really gets going.

It ends rather abruptly, but it was a fun ride while it lasted. Perfect for that period when my brain was barely able to cope.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: cheating (past relationship), gaslighting, sexism, family tensions

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f insta attraction
-work-place romance
-close-proximity
-so much sexual tension
-a very grumpy cat who likes sweaters
-definitely not a slow burn
-an elevator scene to make Grey's Anatomy proud
-a paint scene to make ACOTAR fans proud

This book grabbed me from the moment I started reading and never let me go. It was bonkers and fun. You have to kind of let go of reality and just have fun to read it. Brinkley rebounding from a terrible relationship now works for Heartbreak for Hire, a group of women who help other women get revenge on the terrible men in their lives. I loved all of the revenge schemes in the book, which is how she meets Mark. Their chemistry was instantaneous and phew not a slow burn my friends. They end up working together. While Brinkley is somewhat his supervisor, again you have to let go of reality because it's almost a social experiment and seems like her boss is more setting her up for a lesson, she has no power over him at all? Is more forced to hang out with him? Go with it.

This book was just fun. Brinkley meeting her goals all while trying not to fall for Mark and failing badly. Unable to fight the chemistry and his sexy sweater vests. Mark too was doing what he thought he should in his life instead of what would bring him joy. I really enjoyed the message of this book, about empowerment and bringing people up rather than bringing them down. There were surprises, a great group of friends who I honestly hope get their own books I'm so intrigued by the rest of the Heartbreakers, and just sweet Mark who like Brinkley wasn't perfect but fell hard that he even fell in love with her grumpy cat.

Things wrapped up quickly but honestly, I think it was more I just didn't want to leave these characters behind more than anything. A fun read that I could really see being on the screen.

Rating: 4.5
Steam: 3.5

This book is kinda enemies to lovers/rom com and it didn’t hit the high mark for me. I enjoyed a lot about this book and I read it fairly quickly, it didn’t have a lot of angst. Things were resolved. The ending satisfying. But so many things in the plot that I just shook my head at.
I’m glad for character growth. Even if it took the whole book.

This book has many parts to laugh out loud at, I also enjoyed the uniqueness of the story. Who doesn't want to get revenge on someone who has hurt them? The banter and chemistry between the main characters is fun! If romantic comedies is your genre, you will enjoy this book!

dnf @ 53%

i really wanted to like this but the plot was just too messy for me. i thought there was way too much going on, along with side plots that really didn’t seem to be adding to anything?? i also wasn’t very crazy about the main character, brinkley.

might give this another try in the future.

This book failed to execute an enemies to lovers story . II found the story lacking an ok read when you have nothing to do.

Great premise for a book, a service that offers a take down for the jerky guy in your office/life. I liked the plot and the characters, this is a great summer read! 4 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The premise for this book really had a lot of potential but I think that it lacked in the execution. This book is about Brinkley, who works at a company called Heartbreak for Hire. She gets hired by women to humiliate men that have wronged these women. Everything changes for her when H4H starts to hire men, and one of those men just happens to be one of her former targets.

The beginning of the book was really good, it was engaging and interesting, but after a while, I just wasn’t as interested. I was not as invested in the characters and I think that the relationship between the main characters did not have as much development as I would have liked, it felt pretty insta-lovey, and I’m just not the biggest fan of insta-love.

I did enjoy the shenanigans and I really was rooting for them at some points throughout the book. I really liked some of the more vulnerable moments between Mark and Brinkley and I thought that them working together was funny and entertaining. I think that some storylines were left a little open-ended and left me wanting a little more closure. Overall, I thought it was a fun and light read and I think that people who enjoy a kind of insta-love with a little bit of enemies to lovers will enjoy this book!

I’m not one to say no to an enemies-to-lovers office romance, but this one… this one was a little harder for me to enjoy than usual.

The idea that bad men need to be taken down a peg or two by avenging women-for-hire sounds like it could work as plausible storyline, but the actual execution left some to be desired. From the very onset it was clear the H4H boss Margo was gaslighting our lovely ladies, and that made my grind my teeth with every workplace interaction. Plus, Margo’s business structure was all very hetero? Are only men that are attracted to women out there doing bad things?

I should also mention that while Brinkley and Mark did end up sharing office space, the majority of their interactions did not in fact take place in an office context, so that trope description felt like a bit of a stretch.

There were a couple of lines that struck me as distasteful, including some offhand comments about the girls hoping Margo doesn’t start and “Abusers” division to pair with the existing Egos, Grifters, Cheaters, and Players division. It was a throwaway line that struck me in the wrong way. Add in Brinkley’s horrific relationship with her mother and by the time I got to the end of the book, it was clear our girl is a lot more forgiving than I would be. To anyone.

She and Mark did have a ridiculous amount of chemistry, and if the things above aren’t something that would bother you, this is decent contemporary romance. However, it does end pretty abruptly, so mentally prepare for curtains as soon as the grand romantic gesture (you knew there had to be a grand romantic gesture, right).

This was such a fun book to read! I found the premise to be interesting from the beginning and I loved it throughout the whole book. I loved that it gave me typical rom-com feels, but it still was not completely predictable. I read the whole book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Overall, it was such a good read and I highly recommend!

This one did not live up to the promise of the premise for me. A fascinating set up, but flat and convoluted in execution.

This book was so much fun! It has such a unique concept that grabbed and held my attention for the whole story. Heartbreak for Hire is a company that is women owned and operated and focuses on getting back at men who have broken women’s hearts, stolen from them or played them. The company has individual divisions run by each woman: players, workplace, cheaters, etc.

The story follows Brinkley as she does her job and how complicated it can been when she may or may not fall for someone. There’s office romance and some enemies to lovers in this one and we know I’m here for both of these tropes!

Honestly I LOVED the first 2/3rds of this book. It was interesting and fun and fast paced. The last third Brinkley becomes a bit unlikeable and you become frustrated with her and her love interest. Though I do like how the author wrapped this one up and I was satisfied by the ending.

I would recommend this for my romance lovers and those who are interested in this unique concept. It’s a fun ride and I read this one very quickly!

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery and Goodreads for my copies of this book!

2.5 stars, rounded up. I have a lot of thoughts about this story.

On the one hand, I will say that it was a quick and light read in that I read it in one sitting, and enjoyed the time I spent with it.

On the other hand, I felt like most of the characters were not as layered as actual people are and this left the novel feeling not as enjoyable because everyone was playing a part in some ways. The really cold and distant mom (though she has a reason she's that way, don't we all?) to the point of cruelty. The really nice man, Mark, Brinkley meets that starts changing everything and he is just so nice again and again (even though he messes up once.) The weird closed-off boss who's doing it all for your own good.... The other women who work with Brinkley were some of my favorites in the book. The side characters were fun, light, interesting and added the color the story enjoyed.

But the way women and men are treated like single dimensional beings in this story both makes it light and frustrating and frivolous. If you don't spend too much time on it, you can enjoy the story and see it as a journey Brinkley is experiencing during what's a low time in her life and how she's building it back up. But if it's hard to get past it, it will shadow too much of this story for you.

with gratitude to netgalley and Gallery Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A cute rom-com that ultimately tells you to follow your dreams. A quick read with likeable characters and a few twists to keep you interested.

This contemporary enemies-to lovers rom-com is a quick read, but still managed to make me take a step back and think.

Brinkley’s dry sense of humor and wild antics make for some truly laugh-out loud moments, especially when she’s on assignment. That being said, this book also takes a hard look at some complex topics including the cut-throat world of academia and the moral implications of justice and revenge. It also examines self-worth, how to define success, and secrets.

Overall, I liked the book, especially the banter between Brinkley and Mark. I appreciate how they’re able to call each other out on their BS. Also, their physical relationship is pretty steamy right from the start. I do wish that we’d gotten to know Emma and the other Heartbreakers a little better. They sort of just blurred into the background about hallway through.

I’m not sure if this is going to be a standalone or the beginning of a series, but I think it would be interesting to explore the other Heartbreakers and their stories.