ARC Review: Heartbreak for Hire by Sonia Hartl

“I absolutely adored this story.”

~ Under the Covers

In Heartbreak for Hire Brinkley is a professional heartbreak, hired by those who want to see men they work with taken down a notch. Brinkley was brought into to Heartbreak for Hire after a devastating break-up that led her to leave the world of academia behind. Through HfH, Brinkley is able to help exact revenge on those who seem to deserve it most, while saving money towards her dream of opening an art gallery. Then one night, Brinkley experiences an instant attraction to a target, which throws her off her heartbreaking game for the first time in two years. Brinkley is even more shocked when that same target, Mark, shows up as one of the first men ever hired to work at Heartbreak for Hire, which had been touted to the female heartbreakers as an all-female work environment as a place for them to heal from the men who had broken their hearts. While Brinkley tries to ignore the growing heat between her and Mark, she’s grappling with her mother’s disappointment in her change in career path, doubt over whether her dream of opening a gallery will ever come to fruition and her changing feelings around the work she’s thrown herself into for the last two years.

I absolutely adored this story. The idea of breaking hearts for a personal slight could be a controversial one, and I thought Hartl handled it well, taking us on a journey along with Brinkley. I think a lot of people will resonate with some aspect of Brinkley’s character- she’s dealing with a terrible heartbreak, disappointed parents, doubt in herself and her dreams and uncertainty in her work. I also really enjoyed Brinkley’s relationship with Mark- other than it being filled with tension and heat, you saw her start to question her mindset and start to learn to trust again- it was a healing you wanted to root for.

Beyond the romantic relationships, I was also really was compelled by the relationship between Brinkley and her mother. Immensely complicated (like many parental relationships are), it gave you a deeper insight into how Brinkley ended up where she is when we meet her in this story. I also love to see a strong female friendship, and while Brinkley had a special bond with all the female heartbreakers, I absolutely loved her friendship with Emma; everyone deserves an Emma in their lives.

The one thing I felt that was left unresolved was Brinkley’s relationship with Margo, the owner and founder of Heartbreak for Hire. Brinkley feels such a bond and indebtedness to Margo at the start of the book, which starts to fracture when Margo brings on the male heartbreakers. As the book wraps up, I felt that relationship lacked closure (intentionally vague to avoid spoilers!), and I would have loved some insight into Margo’s point of view and perspective.

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