This was cute.

A daughter of a matchmaker with the ability to see the visible colors of love and heartbreak around a person navigates her own fraught love life, including a catfished boyfriend, a just-heartbroken crush, and complicated family secrets.

This was a really unique concept for a book, and I wish the magical aspects of it would have taken up more page-time because it was really captivating! It almost felt like an afterthought, though, to all the vvv messy teenage drama happening, including a love triangle and lots of lies! As someone who feels very much a teenager at heart, I recognize and respect how BIG everything legitimately feels during that period of life. Love and relationships are at the forefront and I'm glad YA readers of THE BROKEN HEARTS CLUB can feel seen in that way.

Unfortunately as a thirty-year-old, I just felt anxiety! Ha! But I know I'm not really the target audience, so, that considered, I think this could be a really satisfying story for young adult readers. Sadly, not a favorite of mine, but I enjoyed getting to read Susan's writing, and will look out for more of her work in the future!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. THE BROKEN HEARTS CLUB is out now!

I thought this book was very cute. It was a very well done YA romance. I loved all the characters. I loved Gemma, she was such a supportive friend, and I loved that Mo was trying to figure out her role while navigating dealing with what everyone thinks about her. I found that to be rather relatable.

While I thought overall it was pretty well written, I thought some of the conflict was solved kind of fast. Especially when Mo is telling her mom about the situation. It comes out rather abruptly and her mother essentially glosses over it. I didn't feel like that matched the build up of how she thought her mother might react to it all.

I enjoyed the bit of magic aspect to everything but something about its role doesn't feel quite 100% to me. I don't know if its just not something I could buy into, or if it wasn't developed in the ways that I wanted it to be. But I feel like maybe something else could have been done with this.

This was a fun, lighthearted sort of read from an adult perspective, although I suspect if I were of an age to be a contemporary of the main characters it might not have felt so lighthearted. The premise was fun and new, and while the actions didn't always make sense from a real life angle, generally it was well presented. The cover was gorgeous which adds to the interest. Overall a fun beach read just in time for summer.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Fire, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Heartbreak and love!

A perfect mix of all things I love. Adorable story about a matchmakers daughter who is oddly enough, always single. All the characters are a joy and the relationships in this book are made perfectly.

And to top it off? Magic ✨

Perfect summer read for me!

A fun YA rom-com about a girl who not only is the daughter of a matchmaker, but can also see love and heartbreak as auras around people. Dating is very difficult as she always knows the other person's feelings for her; because of this she invents a fake relationship. Only problem is, he is a real person who shows up into her town. Imogen/Mo must try to hold it all together while also working and finishing her application for a summer art intensive. One of my favorite parts of the book would have to be Yeastie Boys, a cafe fully devoted to biscuits. It definitely made me crave biscuits the entire time I was reading the book!

I received an eARC of book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Imogen has been fake dating a boy for years to avoid awkward conversations, but she stages a break up when her crush finds himself single. However, her fake boyfriend is actually very real and turns up, wanting to know why they 'broke up' - because he's known all along.

This felt like a very young book. Not in a bad way, I just found it difficult to connect with a lot of the characters because they didn't make rational choices. Not a book I'll be returning to!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to #NetGalley, Susan Crispell and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Imogen has been in a fake relationship for a year. Being the daughter of a matchmaker is hard! Soon her secret is revealed and the real version of her fake boyfriend asking why they "broke up". Suddenly she's going from fake boyfriend to juggling two boys. What's a girl to do?

A light and fun YA read! I will recommend this book to others!

I had high hopes for this one but the MC was so annoying. I wish the story had us wonder who she would pick for a while but it seems obvious early on who she is gravitating towards. I just wish they actually had chemistry. A lot of the story is us being told things and I wish we were just shown it instead. There was quite a bit that was unrealistic, (basically all of August’s actions) and I just never saw why he would be interested in Mo. Gemma was the only one that seemed normal. I’d say it was a decent read but there’s a lot that was unrealistic and made the romance feel forced. I did love the food descriptions. I wish they actually existed. Also, how was everyone so okay with Mo saying she could see love? Everyone just believed?! No one wanted to figure out more about it? Probably just me wishing there was a scientific explanation. Anyway, it’s an okay read if you just want cute romance.

This was such adorable and sweet read! 🥰

Imogen (Mo) is a 17 y.o who loves love and all the beautiful things love brings. Not only she loves love, Imogen has a very special talent: she's able to see love. Well, more specifically, she's able to see people's auras and its beautiful colours which tell her whether the person is in love or is going through a heartbreak.

Even though Mo herself has never been in love, love is something she really wants to experience herself.

But to the outside world, she is very much in love and in a very happy relationship with her boyfriend, August, who she's been dating for the past year. The thing is... she's very much in a fake relationship with August. Oh, he exists. August Tate is a boy whom Mo met 2 years ago, who lives far away and whose path would never cross with Mo's. So, of course, he's the perfect candidate for a fake relationship.

The thing is, Mo has this huge crush on Ren since forever, and when she learns he's been dumped, she decides to break things off with August as well. Ren is her one and only chance to find love.

What Mo doesn't expect is August, a very much real-life version August, showing up in her town, at her workplace, asking why did she break up with him. Wait, what?? He knew? He knows??

This book is all about love and it was such cute and light read. Despite what Mo did, I feel she's quite mature for a 17 y.o, and the side characters played such important role in this book and in Mo's journey (I love her best friend so much!). Also, the adult characters were so comforting ❤️

The Broken Hearts Club is a perfect Sunday afternoon read. The pace is great, the characters' development is amazing and the story is adorable.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Susan Bishop Crispell for the ARC of this book! 🩵

Actual Rating: 3.5⭐

I thought this was gonna be a simple and cute rom com story, but it’s actually a lot more complex with lots of drama throughout the story because love is complicated and it doesn’t play by the rules. You don’t choose when, where or who you love.

I find Imogen quite annoying at first, but her character grow on me as she learn from her mistakes.
I absolutely love the poems that August wrote for Imogen, it’s short but the words are very sweet!

“I wish you could see how happy I would make you.
Then we would never need another wish because we would be enough for each other.”

Who wouldn't melt when a boy makes a poem like that to you ?!!!

It started to get more emotional in the second half part of the story where Imogen has to pay for the choices she made and when she finds out about the lies and how she changes her view about true love.

I also love the magical aspect in this story where Imogen and her mother have the special ability to see the aura of love and heart break.
Although I wish the magic element was more explored, I wanted to know how come they have this ability.

Overall, it’s a well written story about love, forgiveness, heart break, trying something new and facing the consequences of our actions .

It’s the perfect book to read during summer/ spring if you love a YA rom com with fake dating trope and a dash of magic.

I received a review copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thank you to the author and publisher!

I have just recently finished The Holloway Girls and really liked it, but it was released a while back. However, I had The Broken Hearts Club by Susan Bishop Crispell on my list to read for its release this week and I thought I’d jump right in. I was not disappointed and this book kept me glued to it.

The Broken Hearts Club followed Imogen, who I really enjoyed. She was quirky and different, and had this really cool ability to read people’s love and heartbreak. How cool would it be to see aura’s? Probably way cooler if they didn’t know and constantly try and use you for said ability, which is what happens to Imogen to make her a little jaded for her own love life. I loved the characters that Crispell wrote and their quirky personalities. Everyone had something about them that kind of made them stand out. One thing I really liked is most of the characters in this book were kind. It’s usually some huge drama having to do with some villain, but this one was not like that. August’s character was written so well that I instantly liked him. He was by far my favorite, although I loved everyone honestly.


The story had teenage dramatics in it to make it believable, but the little touch of magic gives it just enough to push it above. Crispell was able to make me feel what Imogen was feeling. I’m not sure it was intentional because a lot of the time the focus was on the feelings of others, but I felt Imogen’s feelings so deeply. That takes a good writer to make you read one emotion and feel for another. I also liked when I disagreed with Imogen. I felt like I was taking the roll of her best friend scolding her for her poor decision making.

The story flows really smoothly and while you may feel like you know what is going to happen, you will never guess how it all ends up playing out. There were some shocking twists at the end that kept me extremely interested and flipping pages. My only complaint is I really, really, really wanted to see her finished project photos. Alas, maybe they will make it a movie!

I loved this book and the characters and just everything about it. I even liked it just a bit more the The Holloway Girls. I will definitely be checking out all other work by Susan Bishop Crispell.

A very sweet and cute YA romance.

I love Imogen and August. Love everything about them.
This was a very easy and fun read. Perfect for summer.

The adult parent and child relationship was very well written too.

Susan Bishop Crispell is a new to me author and I'll definitely pick up her next books!

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute teen read. A bit of mysticism, a ton of art, and the usual teen drama with logic only teens feel. Instead of feeling pithy, it felt like teen years resurgence. It was hard to put down.

#arc
#netgalley
#thebrokenheartsclub

This is the perfect book for a warm summer day!

I was a bit skeptical when I started this book because a lot of the YA books I recently read disappointed me. But the premise sounded interesting and like something I would really enjoy.

This book is all about love, finding true love and what it feels like to be in love.

The writing was nice and easy to read and it gave me a really cozy summer vibe. A lot of scenes made me laugh out loud. It was a fast read with lots of plots.

At some scenes I thought that Mo is really annoying but that made her so relatable for me. Mo is a 17 year old girl who (almost) desperately wants to be in love and to be in a real relationship.

I would have loved if Mos and her moms “magic” would have been a bit more explained because sometimes I thought I was missing something about the story.

Overall this was a really good book and I highly recommend it if you like YA contemporary and romance with magical elements!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this EARC!

I am so pleased that SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley for letting me read this YA novel early.

Publication Date: June 6, 2023

As a 31 year-old, I enjoy reading YA/Teen novels as they hold a certain nostalgia to me of simpler times. The summary itself caught my eye as one of my favorite shows Sex Education has is similar to this book as the main character is the child of a love/sex therapist (they are different jobs but in my mind they seemed to be under the same umbrella)

Once I got into the book, I read it within 2 days. This is a shorter book, around 235 pages. It's an easy book to read and keeps you intrigued.
When August was described as an "emo boy", it caught my attention since that use to be my weakness when I was a teenager. I still love men who still rock the moody rocker persona.
This had a great love triangle as well thought out love triangle between Imogen, her long time crush Ren, and her fake boyfriend August. It was fun to go along for the ride to see how Imogen figured out which guy was the best one for her.

The most unexpected part was how Imogen's mom had her own love problems, even though she's a professional matchmaker. It would of love to see her mom's book from her perspective.
This was such a cute little read that I rated it four stars!

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC.

A super cute YA/Teens read.

Falling in love is not easy no matter what age. And it’s not made easier even though she is a matchmakers daughter. Mo and Augusts relationship was really sweet too.
Really easy quick fun read.

Recommend.

okay, this book was so adorable!! i know a lot of people did not like this one, but i really really did! it was so fun and sweet and precious! thank you so much to netgalley for letting me read this one early!!!

Want a book that will leave you with butterflies in your stomach after you've experienced a Rollercoaster of emotions to get there? Laughter, anxiety, stress, love, friendship, anger, betrayal, acceptance? Pretty much all the feels? Well, that's this book.

Comes out June 6. It's a great summer read, full of all the good things you'd want in a YA novel- including food.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

A few things to note: lgbtq side characters, language, loss of a parent, mentions of affairs, and will leave you with a desire to go to the beach and/or buy a camera.

- new to me author
- I can't resist the siren call of a contemporary YA romance!
- I always enjoy chapter headings- quotes, rules, song lyrics, whatever
- solid opening paragraph. I'm totally intrigued
- did you have a best friend in high school? I have one in grade 10, but then I moved. And I had good friends in grade 11 and 12 but never someone who was my obvious best friend. Sometimes I wonder if I missed out.
- auras are cool. I'm not sure I buy into them though.
- well, this is awkward
- kind of reminds me of The Broken Hearts Gallery. I love that movie
- these last few books I've read make me want to go to North Carolina
- I'm not sure I like Ren
- I wanna see a meteor shower
- Blackout poems are cool.
- Owen is cute. I like the big bro, little bro dynamic
- everything has blown up. Everything.
- I like the art teacher, Mrs Clemente

I DNFed about 30% in.

The premise is rife for secondhand embarrassment. There was so much lying. It exhausting. I’m sure the value of honesty would eventually prevail but I was not supportive of the plot-critical deception to get there.

The odds of August, or any teenage boy, being this cool or romantic is slim to none. I know this is supposed to be a romantic fantasy but it sets very unrealistic ideals for teenage girls.

So much of the love advice was contrived or wrong. Love is so much more complicated or nuanced when you get older. Gifts and grand gestures cannot replace communication and support in tough times. Maybe that comes out later but I don’t want to sift through hackneyed romcom crap to get there.

The writing is good. The characters are interesting. Too much just didn’t work for me.

Super cute YA rom com. Imogen is totally relatable in how young girl feel pressured to be in love and love up to all these expectations of posting it all on the internet. I love how they tell August’s side of wanting to be with her.