The Break-Up Artist

Break-Up Artist #1

by Philip Siegel

Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash.

Some work at the mall.

Becca Williamson breaks up couples.

Becca knows from experience the damage that love can do. After all, it was so-called love that turned Huxley from her childhood best friend into a social-world dictator, and love that left Becca's older sister devastated at the altar. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Becca strikes back—for just one hundred dollars via PayPal, she will trick and manipulate any couple's relationship into smithereens. And with relationship zombies overrunning her school and treating single girls as if they're second-class citizens, business is unfortunately booming. Even Becca's best friend, Val, has resorted to outright lies to snag a boyfriend.

One night, Becca receives a mysterious offer to break up the most popular couple in school: Huxley and raw football team's star player, Steve. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date—starting rumors, sabotaging cell phones, breaking into cars...not to mention sneaking back into Huxley's good graces. All while fending off the inappropriate feelings she may or may not be having for Val's new boyfriend.

No one said being the Break-Up Artist would be easy.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, High School, Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary

319 pages, ebook

First published April 29, 2014

About the author

Philip Siegel grew up in New Jersey, which he insists is much nicer than certain TV shows would have you believe. He graduated from Northwestern University and promptly moved out to Los Angeles, where he became an NBC page. He likes to think that the character of Kenneth on 30 Rock is loosely based on his life rights. Currently, he works in downtown Chicago by day while he writes novels at night and during his commute sandwiched in between colorful characters on the El.

Facebook page: my link text

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ninety percent of their sentences begin with “My boyfriend.”

“My boyfriend has the most adorable golden retriever.”

“My boyfriend is taking his driving test next week, and he’s been practicing like a maniac.”

The girls humor me with smiles, then continue their deep conversation. It’s a biological compulsion.

This book is a teenaged boy's wet dream, in which girls are predictably stupid, in a school where every single girl is desperate for a boyfriend because of a low male-to-female ratio.

There is this thing called the Bechdel Test.

It asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man.

This book would almost completely fail that test.



I'm not sure if the author intended to portray his female characters has shallow, airheaded bimbos at the expense of making the main character look good, or whether he has such a poor opinion of females, or whether the females in his life are actually people who talk about nothing but boys, shoes, and shopping, but I found the portrayal of girls in this book to be incredibly offensive.

This book had an interesting premise. Sadly, that's where all the enjoyment ended for me. What's the point of a book about female empowerment independent of luuuurve when the book portrays EVERY SINGLE FEMALE (except the main character, of course) as shallow, stupid bitches who talk about nothing but...

...boys, shoes or our classmates.

This book:

- Has an incredibly shallow portrayal of high school

- A main character who is hypocritical, judgmental, and so holier-than-thou that Jesus wouldn't be able to pray away her sanctimonious attitude

- Stupid girls lots of stupid girls who do nothing but gossip. Doesn't matter if they're going to Ivy Leagues after they graduate. They still only care about boys and getting a boyfriend.

- Cheating from the sanctimonious main character, no less

- Blames the girls for the failure of the relationship

The Premise:

I’m just speeding up the inevitable.

This book has a pretty cool premise. Becca is a "Break Up Artist." She doesn't believe in love. She hates love. She thinks love only leads to heartbreak and is completely jaded against the idea of love. She thinks that love = weak.

Yeah, she's one of those protagonists.

Becca breaks up relationships. Honestly, I like the idea. It's cruel, but when it comes to our loved ones, we're not nice people. She takes contracts under an anonymous name, and she breaks up the couple in question. It's neat, right? I mean, who among us haven't had a beloved friend date a complete fucking loser that you just want them to dump already?

Becca receives a new assignment. It's worth a lot of money. She is to break up the school's #1 couple, Huxley (who was her former best friend), and Steve. Why does this perfect couple need to be broken up? Because it's the girl's (Huxley) fault that the guy (Steve) is choosing to be with her instead of pursuing his glorious future. Sure, blame the girl.

That kid was born to play football, and he knows it. The only thing stopping him is right between that girl’s legs. Excuse my language.”

First of all, Becca's not completely neutral in this. She hates Huxley because they were BFFs before Huxley spurned her for another group of friends.

We used to be friends.
I have to vanquish the evil queen.

It's a personal vendetta. It is morally questionable at best, and there's no such thing as neutrality anymore. There's no BIG BAD NO GOOD BOYFRIEND scenario. Steve and Huxley are in love, and completely devoted to each other.

Becca isn't doing the right thing, she's just breaking the two up out of spite.

It seeks to portray the main character as this *cue angelic choir here* AAAAAHHHHH~~~~ rational-minded protagonist OUT TO SAVE THE WORLD AGAINST THE EBILS OF WUV!...only to have her fall for this cheesy-ass fucking hit line herself.

“Remember the part at the end, when Harry says to Sally, ‘When you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start now’? That’s how I feel about you. Not the ‘rest of my life’ part. But you are the girl I’ve been searching for. You’re so different and interesting. This may sound crazy, but I can see myself falling in love with you.”

P.S. THE GUY? HE'S HER FRIEND'S BOYFRIEND. Get the fuck out of here.

The Setting:

Having a significant other will put any student at Ashland High School on the social radar, and chances are if you’re in a relationship, someone else is talking about it.

My god, there must have been something wrong with my high school. We had a school size of around 2000, whereas "Ashland High School" has a student body of 1500, but that's where the similarities end. For one thing everyone cares about relationships in this book. It seems like that's what all the girls talk about. Who gives a fuck about academics, it's about RELATIONSHIPS, DATING, BOYS! And man, the boys have SUCH an advantage.

Ashland High has an overabundance of girls. It’s a sixty-five, thirty-five split. This gives guys a huge advantage. They can be fat, lazy and pimply and still get to be choosy. Finding a suitable guy to date is a study in Darwinism. Survival of the hottest. The options dwindle with each year.

And with so few guys available, surely, EVERY SINGLE GIRL MUST WANT A GUY, RIGHT? I mean, my high school was so different. There were people (me! My best friend! My other best friends! Half the fucking school!) who didn't even date in high school. I mean, what the hell?! I mean, it's high school. Who's giving a crap about classes, AP tests, extracurricular activities, sports, volunteering anyway. Clearly high school is all about having a boyfriend or girlfriend. And in such a big school, eeeeeeeveryone knows who's dating who. I mean, they have dating dossiers to keep track of relationship statuses. Everyone gossips. Everyone knows each other's business. My fucking god. Every time a couple breaks up, they make front page news.

His break-up with Bethann was felt throughout the AP hallway, where they had a mini fan club.

Mini fan club! For a couple! Are you fucking kidding me?!

The girls at this school will do anything for a boyfriend. They will pretend to like things they don't usually like. They will pretend to know about movies when they don't give a flying fuck about Martin Scorsese. They will do anything to land a boy in order not to appear to be pathetic loveless losers.

One of the biggest joys coupled girls have is giving their single friends dating advice. Just because they lucked out—and it’s luck, nothing more—they believe that makes them dating experts. I’m sure it’s one of the reasons Val worked so hard to land a boyfriend. She’s always wanted to be on the other side of this conversation.

They will give up their vegetarianism for a boy.

“Aren’t you a vegetarian?” I ask her.
“I was, but I’m getting back into red meat.” She rubs Ezra’s thigh. He grabs her fingers and squeezes.

The Shallow Bitches:

“I need a boy.”
I can’t tell if she wants Ezra, or just a boyfriend. Someone to give her an oversize, inconvenient teddy bear. Val may not know the answer either. Vulnerability and desperation flicker in her eyes.

Give me a fucking break. All the girls in this school talk about are "boys, shoes, and classmates." Really? I'm sorry, I am female. I know a lot of females. I went to high school. I went to college. Neither me nor my friends ever had entire conversations revolving around nothing but shoes or boys. And I had a friend who was obsessed with Nikes! She collected them, but she never talked about them! We had classes. Family. Friends. We had hobbies. We had funny stories to tell. We laughed together. Rarely did relationship issues ever surface in our conversations. The girls in this book, whether they're book-smart or "slutty" cheerleaders, discuss boys and relationships incessantly. They all want boyfriends. They all keep abreast of who's dating who. They love romance movies with sad endings because they're silly, contradictory girls.

Why do none of the movies girls at my school love have happy endings? One half of the couple either dies or moves away. But they can’t get enough of those films. Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, Atonement, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, every other Nicholas Sparks film known to man.

They looooooooove Romeo and Juliet, none of them think that it's a silly, shallow love story like the STRONG ANTI-LOVE Becca.

“But there was love at the core. There was something spiritual, some subconscious connection that was pulling them together. It wasn’t logic. You don’t go through all of this for someone you think is so-so.”
Ms. Hardwick hops off her desk, happy to have control of her classroom again. “Let’s put it to a class vote. Who thinks Romeo and Juliet were not in love?”
None of them raise their hands.

All the girls are sheep, easily led around by a Queen Bee. Except for the main character. All the girls are cruel, secretly sadistic at heart, wishing for the downfall of a friend.

I always thought girls at Ashland adored Huxley, but I guess she’s like any celebrity. They’re eager to see her fall.

Except for the main character. And speaking of...

Becca:

“Ezra, do you even know what a one-night stand is? Victoria only felt one thing inside her that night, and it wasn’t love.”
He nods, taken aback by a girl not talking like a girl for a second.

Oh, I'm sorry. Is there a way a girl is supposed to talk? Meet Becca. Special, special Becca. Becca, who is portrayed to be the only normal fucking person in a school full of idiots. Becca who actually talks like normal people, not like "a girl" and gets attention for it, in comparison to all the other girls, who talk about boys and shoes and are reeking of desperation.

Becca, who is anti-love, and yet who cheats on her own best friend with her boyfriend.

“I kissed Ezra, Val’s boyfriend.”
“Are you going to be one of those girls who happily ditches her friends for a guy?”
That leaves a bruise.

Because it's true. Becca, who portrays her own sister as a pathetic, weakling who's comatose for her lost love. Becca, who maintains her integrity throughout the book...by falling for a creep.

“He sounds like a creep,” she says.
“No, he’s a good guy.”
“He’s dating your best friend and openly pursuing you. I don’t have a dictionary on hand, but I’d say that’s a creep.”
“It’s not like that. You don’t understand.” I picture the way Ezra acted with me, so delicate and sweet. He didn’t have a secret agenda.

Becca, who's the biggest hypocritical fucking tool in the world.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

3.5 stars

I was rather dubious about The Break-Up Artist at first. I do love a cute and fun contemporary occasionally, but many of the ones I have read were rather forgettable and bland. But I was wrong this time. The Break-Up Artist possesses just the right balance of humour, adorableness and emotional quality.

Becca is The Break-Up Artist. She breaks up couples upon her customers' request for one hundred dollars via PayPal. But no one knows that it's her behind the raccoon mask and fake British accent. Her business has been going well, yet when she gets a request to break-up the number one couple at school, Becca is unsure she can do it. After all, this is her ex-best-friend. Two things happened that made Becca decide to become The Break-Up Artist: her older sister's heart got broken just a week before her wedding over an email, and Becca's childhood best friend, Huxley, ditched her for her new boyfriend. I could definitely comprehend why Becca did what she did and why she was so anti-romance, even though I thought the idea was pretty bizarre. But hey, for the laughs and fun, right?

"My best friend is pushing me away. You don't know what that's like."
I do. I want to tell her. My eyes wander to the floor and the pair of golden ballet slippers next to my desk. It's like a hole through your heart that can never be filled. A part of you that is missing forever.

Much to my surprise, The Break-Up Artist is not just focused around romance. If anything, it's focus point is smack bang on love. Different types of love: sibling and romance but most importantly, friendship. The friendships in The Break-Up Artist were authentically drawn; it showed the ups and downs, and how imperfect it can be at times . Moreover, I found the question: "what is love" to be very interesting. Our main character is anti-romance, but the side characters such as Val--the best friend whom is desperate to find a boyfriend--really makes you wonder: "does she want someone to show off at school or does she want to be in love with someone?" Love is a very strange thing, it just can't be forced upon. Love is unexpected, and it'll surprise you when you least expect it.

"People always spout those ridiculous sayings about love. 'You can't control love' or 'they're meant to be.' I think that can also apply to friends."

The reason why I didn't give this any higher than 3.5 stars is because The Break-Up Artist isn't without flaws. At times, I felt like too many things were going off at once--particularly near the end. It could have done with better planning, in my view. Furthermore, there were a lot of stereotypes. I guess it wasn't a huge issue for me, but in hindsight, things like: "only girls who dance have good boyfriends" was frustratingly stupid. But of course, you could say the author was trying to make the character who said that, to look frustratingly stupid. But above all, I would have loved to have more substance from the secondary characters. I felt inclined to like them, though it's hard when you only get to see the surface of their personality.

A light hearted novel that will keep you entertained till the end, The Break-Up Artist is definitely a novel I recommend. It's funny and has a lot to say about love in all it's forms and ways of showing it.

~Thank you Harlequin Australia for sending me this copy!~

[Glass · Rating 2 out of 5]

I totally blame Zemira for this one. Some of you may know her, but for those who don't - Zemira is Tanja's and my "soul mate" and BFF (you can find her - and her review - on YA Fanatic) and we automatically buy all books she tells us to read. But with The Break-Up Artist something went wrong. She loved it, I didn't.

Why I didn't enjoy The Break-Up Artist?

- Boyfriend drama. Basically, every single female character thinks that their measure of success in life is having a boyfriend. Or a husband. Or boyfriend who will become your husband. Every single thing in their lives is determined with relationship status. Whole plot is about having or not having a boyfriend. Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend... Did I managed to annoy you already with how may times I repeated word boyfriend? Well, now you know how I felt while I had been reading this.

- Becca Williamson. The main character. At first I though this will be one of those rare girls in literature who are not all "fragile flowers" and goodie two shoes. Anti-heroine. Nope. Everything about her is an act. The very thing she fights against is something she wants the most and as soon as one dreamy boy shows interest and start to heavily throw pick up lines - she shows her real face. Petty and superficial girl.

- Did I catch a train back to nineteenth century? Few things I read made me want to bang my head against the desk or throw Kindle trough the window.

- Snooze. It was boring at some parts and I wanted to just get over with it.


Redeeming point?

- Ending. Friendship wins. Girl starts to think for a change and I liked couple of messages.

- Got me thinking... Is this the way men or boys really see teenage girls and women in general? I have few things to add to my lesson plans - special assignments for male students.


Should you read it? Please, read Zemira's review and at least one other positive review before you make up your mind. I didn't like it, but maybe you will.

Review posted at Ja čitam, a ti?

***Copy of this book was provided by publisher, Harlequin Teen, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.***

[Kathylill · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was actually pretty funny and entertaining and I would highly recommend it to just everybody who wants to read a charming, humorously written and superbly plotted YA novel with several parallel storylines that fit together and complement each other perfectly.

There is a wonderful mix of complications in Becca’s life: her older sister sulks at home because her fiancé left her standing by the altar, her best friend Val falls for the wrong guy, breaking up the homecoming king and queen proves more difficult than expected and all while she’s heading straight into breaking the biggest unwritten BFF rule: Don’t go after your friend’s boyfriend. Her High School life is getting into a total mess. This is like watching a teenage Bridget Jones heading straight into a train wreck. The pacing and timing of all those storylines was simply exactly right and made the book into one hell of a charming and engaging read.

Becca, the main character is despite being the break-up artist a very likable character. Deep down she is a good person and has good intensions but as with many teenagers she thinks she knows best. Becca feels justified in her actions. Up to a certain degree she is right to call couples “relationship zombies”. Believing in doing the right thing she is sure to make some very stupid decisions along the way. But by the end of the book she has grown up and seen her mistakes and sets out to make things right again. She realizes that the couples she broke up weren’t filled with one-dimensional people and that sometimes “love” can bring many people to do stupid things, just like she did with Ezra.

Becca’s scheming character is hilarious and I am happily looking forward to the next book by Philip Siegel featuring this intriguing character because I really enjoyed her witty voice and the hilarious dialogues. Maybe we will see Becca again as a matchmaker instead of the famous break-up artist.

This book avoids all Young Adult errors other authors so willingly plunge into. No insta-love, no slut-shaming, no Mary Sue-ish characters, no love triangle. Yes there is a Queen Bee at school, which High School hasn’t got one? But Huxley is portrayed in a way that makes her still likable despite her (many) faults. Philip Siegel really has a talent for realistic characters and witty dialogue as well as plot composition.

[Annie Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philip is a wonderful writer with a talent for character and dialogue. I'm honored to be editing this book, his YA debut! If you like sassy, funny summer reads, or YA books with feminist-friendly plots, this one is for you.

[Michelle Krys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, y'all.

Short story: It was SO GOOD.

Slightly longer story: It was seriously SO GOOD. Readers are going to fall in love with Becca. She's smart and cunning and funny and pretty much the perfect YA heroine. Even when she's doing some pretty unsavoury things, Becca is just so real and relatable (and funny, did I mention funny?) that you can't help feeling a kinship with her and rooting her along on her crazy adventures. If you're looking for a fun, fast-paced, funny read, you won't want to miss this book.

[Zemira Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well hello there, Ms. Break-Up Artist! I want to have your carrier or at least see what it feels like to be wicked.

When I first heard about this book I was immediately interested. Who doesn't want to read about someone breaking up couples for money? For me it just screams Let's be bad together and Pick me! Pick me! And the hipster-ish cover looks great.

The best thing about this books was the MC. I don't usually relate to characters and when I do I can't help but to fall in love with the story. Becca's the break-up artist. I've never destroyed someone else's relationship, just my own (haha) but I do think Becca and I have something really important in common. We both don't believe in love. It's strange to even say that. Becca's sister has been dumped on her wedding day and her parents don't show affection to each other easily so Becca doesn't believe people are meant to be together forever. Another thing that's great about Becca is that she's not afraid to do something bad. She's not bad and she's not good either. She's just a normal, regular person. We can read about 'perfect' characters but things aren't so easy in the real world.

I also enjoyed the break-up process. Becca's newest target were the power couple in her school, Steve and Huxley. Huxley was a bitch but at the same time she wasn't altogether bad, just like Becca. Gosh! I liked every character in this book: the sleezebag boyfriend trying to fool around with other girls, the best friend who's desperate to find a boyfriend, a girl who changes herself completely when she's in a relationship and even Becca's mopey sister.

I really want this book to get the attention it deserves. It's fresh and fun! So easy to read and the characters seem like real teenagers, not the whinny messes we've been fed for the last couple of years. And another thing, I had no idea the author's male. Oops. I didn't even see his name right up to the point when I started writing this review. I applaud him for writing teenage girls correctly. It was almost like he was a teenager himself.

If you're looking for a book with different characters you came to the right place. Don't miss this exciting debut! If you're still not impressed, remember, Huntley Fitzpatrick, Hannah Harrington and Lauren Morrill liked it as well.

[Sheyenne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't know how to feel about this story. It was an okay read but I'm real iffy about the main character.

Summary: Becca Williamson is the break-up artist. Unlike most teenagers her after school job is to break up couples. Why you ask, well she says it's because there's no such thing as love and everyone is brainwashed but I just believe she's jealous. She had one friend who turned on her when she got a boyfriend and now she has a new friend that's doing the same thing. But to add on to her crazy life she's now falling for her new friend's boyfriend.

Character(s): Becca, Becca, Becca I really don't know what to say about her. I would say she's an okay book character but her biggest flaw is that she is the break-up artist. I don't see what she gets out of breaking up couples. I know it sucks when your best friend gets in a relationship and ditches you (I've been in that situation before) but I don't get how you can just go around breaking up couples that did nothing to you. Just because you don't believe in love doesn't mean that everyone else has to feel the same way. Just mind your business and leave other people's relationships alone. I really think the only reason she started doing her job was because she was jealous. She claims she hates love but she's making a big deal of it and doesn't want people to be together (jealous much). She doesn't think about anyone's else feelings. It's always about her and why she's doing it (even though her reasons sucked) That's why I'm so iffy about her because besides all the break-ups she's caused she's an okay chick. But her break-up artist shit was not cool.

Writing: The writing is great and it's an original story. Not predictable at all so congrats to you Philip Siegel. My only problem with the story was that I couldn't get over how jealous Becca was but other than that it was an okay read.

Favorite Quote: Once people get into relationships, friends and rational thought get tossed aside.

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

I somehow expected SO MUCH MORE from this book... UUGHHH and it could've been soooo good, if only the author TRULY understood how teenage girls think...

The thing about this book is, the story, the idea is amazing... but how it turned out was not.

There was this point of the book were I had already resigned to not like the MC and I was like whatever, be a stupid egocentric bitch, maybe the author intended to make you this annoying and pathetic, maybe not... but then I saw this, and I almost threw my ipad from the rooftop of my house:

"I love you, Valerie Hurst." He rubs her hand and smiles.
It's hard not to swoon when a guy says that to you. I get a little light-headed, and it wasn't even for me. When you hear those words, it's like being picked out from the crowd.

Wait, what? The guy our MC thinks she loves is saying IN FRONT OF HER that he likes another girl and our MC is talking about the power of hearing I love you said to you? She should be thinking how awful it feels, how awkward, how devastating... I don't know, it was sooo surreal and idiotic and I hated it.

Also, there was a love interest, two actually but whatever, I don't want to spoil stuff, so I will just say briefly about the second love interest that it was a cheap way of making us believe the MC was still desired and liked in spite of how things unraveled... Now onto the MAIN LOVE INTEREST. He was a douche, and an asshole and he deserves to meet a girl who's not afraid to call on his bullshit and his crappy-ness in general because he freaking deserves every bad thing that could happen to him, because in spite of not being 'truly' evil or mean, he is that kind of manipulative kind of person who makes you feel like the one who is wrong, the manipulative kind of piece of crap who makes you feel like you have no alternative, it is either his way or his way.

In conclusion, sure, read this book, the story is cool, but be prepared to have to endure lots of crappy characters

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So here's my best shot at reviewing a book that I fell in love with! It's not out till May, so hopefully I can refine this a bit by then. But I had to write down my thoughts because I ADORED this book!

I hate to get all cliche-y, but I keep coming back to the phrase "This book DELIVERS!"... but it DOES! It was so fun to read a book that was exactly what I hoped it would be! Read the description and you'll expect a hilariously charming story about a girl on a mission to break up couples. The characters were dynamic, the dialogue was brilliant, and there was this amazing mix of problems that were both caricatured and realistic. Philip Siegel has a brilliant command of the story; everything is done with purpose and the pacing and timing were spot on. I know this is getting technical, but it really was a supremely crafted story!

I knew this book would be funny (and that is an understatement), but what surprised me the most was the book's depth. There were so many pieces to this story, and they wove together to create a sweetly powerful "lesson-learned" type of tale, but without any pretense.

Becca is not a "likeable" character, which mean she is exceptionally likable because of her faults and honesty. I loved living in her head for 300+ pages.

All-in-all, The Break-Up Artist needs to be read, by you, as soon as possible! So put it on your TBR and grab it as soon as you can. Even if you have to wait until May, it is definitely worth it!

[Philip Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because obviously

[Liis]

Alert! High school drama! Dual rating- 1* and 4*
I really hope this book is a piss-take/parody at a teenager’s life because that’s the angle I chose to read it. Something like “Nothing is more definitive than lunchroom seating” is just way over the line shallow and unimportant. Do these things actually happen? Yes? Well, then stop advertising it any more! Haha… For me, there is really two ways to read this book.

1. You read this and take every word as it is written down and treat it like a reality TV show of “Beverly Hills High School Kids”, in which case I rate this 1 * and truly hope teenage girls don’t have access to this. They don’t need more rubbish in their heads. Or,
2. You read it as a work of sarcastic piece of bookish art and take it with a pinch of salt. In this case I rate it 4 * because it’s funny as fuck (Pardon my French!). It’s absurd and something like the movie “Mean Girls” and, hopefully, not a reality in some weird part of the world.

Why did I pick up this book? Because it’s written by a man and I just had to check out how a man tries to put a dramatic girlie world to the pages of a book. So, I really really hope Philip Siegel wrote this book as a parody-manual for young females! Something like “How not to be a self respecting girl one-oh-one”. Then again, if he did, Philip would probably get a lot of hate-mail from those overemotional young females with arson threats. Something like “Dude,you don’t know how we feel!” or “I truly believe having a boyfriend in high school is at the top of my priority list so don’t joke about those things!”or “It’s hard to be a single 16 year old girl in high school where the couples treat you as a waste of human life!” Oh please, please, please don’t let this be a reality in some young inexperienced minds.

Becca and her best friend aren’t the popular socialites in their school. Until the best friend starts going out with the popular football player (cliché alert!) and becomes the high and mighty. Becca is being kicked to the curb with no change in her social status. Ah, the hurt feelings. Also- Becca’s sister got ditched on her wedding day and surely enough, eeeeverybody is laughing at the poor old girls that get left behind. Or, ahem, they are just imagining it all because of their flimsy self-esteem and bruised egos. I know, I know- love bloody hurts sometimes, but there’s no need to become a human-vegetable thinking all you’re good for is being chopped up for a diluted stew. Becca views all of this as one of life’s most important lessons- friends being dropped because the BFF became a relationship zombie- and would, in her own mind, never become a girlfriend and ditch her BFF. I know, so bloody complicated!

So, Becca is ditched as a friend, she sees her sister’s friends disappear after the marriage fell through and all this paves way for The Break Up Artist. The service where the left behind best friends ask the Break Up Artist to do as name implies and in return the BFFs will be BFFs again. Boyfriends need to go! Pronto! And then the BFFs can again turn into giggling lipstick hypocrites, only to repeat the pattern because being single is so yesterday! All this for a 100 bucks via PayPal.

Did Philip do a good job at writing a girlie book? For a man? Sure. I’d hate to think though that high school life is really this dramatic. I cannot bring an example from my younger years where a lunchtime table seating chart either made or broke you. The female characters were so shallow, if you were dealing with a pool of water you wouldn’t be able to drown in it. Male characters, again, quite cliché-ish- party party party hard, or the delusional film student who thought his love life is to be lived by quotes from movies, or the comic book geeks. So, there you have it! The young generation! And from my perspective- absolutely hilarious!

To summarize, read this book if you’re after some light entertainment and a bit of a laugh. Don’t take it too seriously, don’t take it personally if you were one of those girls back in high school and most importantly- if you’re a high-schooler, don’t treat it as an instruction manual!

[Lisbeth Avery {Domus Libri} · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are just some books that you know are going to piss you off just by the summary. I had a nagging feeling that this would be one of those and I was right. I was most certainly right. The summary wasn't wasn't even my only warning flag, honestly. The moment I saw that this book was written by a guy I should have run as fast as I could - but I didn't and now, at least, I have the chance to warn you before you read the book.

Becca Williamson destroys relationships for a living. People honestly fire her to destroy relationships - and Becca being an extremely cynical individual just does it for $100. It doesn't even seem to matter to her that these relationships could be healthy and perfectly normal.

I'm not a romantic person at all, but damn, no one comes near Becca when it comes to being cynical.

It's not like I don't understand why she feels this way. I would feel similar if I was in that position but that is no excuse for how Becca treats the other girls she claims to be doing this for.

Becca not only treats every girl who even insinuates attraction to [gasp] a boy as if they had caught a plague and need to be put down or something. Siegel wrote every female character, aside from our perfect main character of course, as horny idiots that can't see beyond their overwhelming need for a male figure in their life.

Even Becca's own 'best friend' isn't exempt from Becca's raging passive aggressive slut shaming and girl hating. I still can't believe Becca's friend didn't get the hell out of that toxic relationship before it was too late. Becca is not a good person and definitely not someone you want to be around.

The book is centered around love (to the book's credit, all types of love - not just romantic). Becca does not believe in romantic love, which is okay. There's nothing wrong with that in theory.

However, as one could expect, the ending does involve some romance therefore making the overall meaning of the book less about the importance of love and more like 'your life is not complete without a guy'.

The plot was really iffy. I wasn't wholly comfortable with any of the events in the book. It wasn't even a book that wasn't obviously meant to make the reader uncomfortable. I do think that the author meant for the readers to sympathize with Becca which is completely incomprehensible to me.

Overall, The Break-Up Artist was just not for me. I couldn't stand the outrageous slut shaming and girl hating. Becca was just way too holier-than-thou for my liking and the plot was drab at best. I do not recommend this book.

[Christina (Ensconced in Lit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend gave me this book in exchange for a review (not the author).

The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegel stars Becca, who has started a business in breaking up couples that have no reason to be together (or at least that's what she tells herself when she gets the cash). It doesn't help that her sister was jilted at the altar. But with any YA high school contemp, you can be sure that this starts getting more and more complicated, with hurt feelings and other issues getting in the way. Will Becca fall prey to the same charms of guys that other girls do and will breaking up other people be what she wants to do anyway?

I really enjoyed this book a lot. It was fast paced, and I liked Becca even though she wasn't really doing the right thing for other people (most of the time). My favorite character, however, was the mean girl, Huxley, who I think stole most scenes she was in, and became much more three dimensional by the end. I enjoyed seeing her arc most of all. I thought that Becca's falling for a guy was realistic, and a nice juxtaposition on what she was doing to other couples in her school. The tension was definitely at a high throughout the book as we were wondering if she would get caught, and what would happen with her relationship with her love interest and with Huxley.

I wasn't so thrilled with Becca's best friend Val-- I have no idea why they were friends in the first place. Becca seems to tolerate her more than anything else. Becca and Huxley seem to have a lot more in common, strangely enough. I definitely also wasn't sure I believed that Becca's voice sounded truly like a girl. I had to keep reminding myself that she was female. And lastly, I'm not sure how I feel at the end of Becca's arc. The end of the book suggests a possible follow up, but I'm worried at how it would turn out and if it would be the right thing to do.

Overall, a cute and romantic YA comedy with some great storylines and in particular, a star supporting character. If you want a fast paced, fun read-- this is the one for you!

[Melanchallina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Есть такие книги, они созданы чисто для развлечения – скоротать вечерок, расслабиться и насладиться милой историей. Я советую «Инсценированный разрыв», тем кто не настроен на «серьезную» литературу, тем кто любит милые, забавные романы с ненавязчивым сюжетом.

В книги неплохо прописаны параллельные основному сюжету истории и поднимаются (хоть и с юмором) важные вопросы. Думаю многие читательницы хоть раз, но поставят себя на место главной героини. И уж однозначно, многие поймут ее чувства. И да, с одной стороны героиня раздражала, как и ее сестра, НО… самое важное, что автор так и задумал. Все негативные ситуации, неправильное поведение героини – все это важная часть сюжета. Да, Бекка делала некрасивые поступки, да она поступила неправильно по отношению к подруге, ОЧЕНЬ неправильно и да, она это поняла.

Честно говоря я не вижу смысла говорить о книге очень много, потому что это не та книга о которой можно много разглагольствовать. Но книга читается быстро, легко, приносит удовольствие и помогает скоротать время. Кстати, это не история любви, скорее это история взросления и взгляд на то, как одиночки чувствуют себя в реальном мире.

Видела на goodreads, что будет продолжение, с удовольствием прочитаю его.

PS забавно, что есть фильм 2009 года с таким же сюжетом и названием, но снятый не по этой книге (книга вышла в 2014).

Моя оценка: 5/10

[Saoirse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun in all its absurd glory.

I had a hard time getting into it at first though because I find the whole idea of breaking people up downright ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that her school constitutes students who are in a relationship. Almost every freaking student seems to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, talks about their boyfriend or girlfriend all the time, and totally hitting the PDA mark in front of teachers. I am in high school and yes, relationships tend to happen a lot but I think the author had put too much weight on the idea to make the break-up artist more realistic and true to words. It didn’t sit too well, really. The only guys who aren’t engaging into a relationship are the straight nerds and geeks who sit with their comic books in the lunch room, a typical YA trope.

Rebecca (Becca) Williamson condones on a job as a break-up artist. She doesn’t believe in love and thinks relationships don’t last for far too long. She has seen a fair share of broken relationships that went down the pipeline, take her sister for example. She doesn’t get how people want to get into a relationship when they knew all too well the chances of hitching up that knot while in school is fair luck.

I may not be an angel in all this, but I’m certainly not the bad guy either. If you can’t handle my line of work, then go read the latest bodice ripper. I’ll leave you with this: How many lives have been ruined because of love?

Breaking people up for Becca is no big deal. It only takes a few adjustments here, a few scandals there, and viola! Job well done. She knows it is an unhealthy thing yet people (mostly jealous best friends) still pays her to do the job. They think that with their friend hooking up with their boyfriends, they are already forgotten. They are disappearing. And Becca, being a victim of the same thing, understands how hard it feels.

“So, you want me to do this?”
Calista squeezes a fresh set of tears from her eyes. I instinctively reach for the Kleenex box on my desk, forgetting we’re on Skype. “My best friend is pushing me away. You don’t know what it’s like.”
I do, I want to tell her. […]It’s like a hole through your heart that can never be filled.

After her childhood best friend, Huxley, abandoned her for a popular guy and went on to the path of popularity without her, Becca was devastated. It made her despise the L-word even more. Now, completely living in opposite directions and barely giving any acknowledgements to each other, Becca receives a phone call to break Huxley’s relationship with her boyfriend, Steve. The school’s most famous perfect couple. The JFK and Jackie O in training. The homecoming king and queen. Breaking relationships is no big deal for her, right? Yet, she finds this mission a tumultuous one, considering she has to wiggle herself back into her ex-best friend’s life again.

I am quite surprised with Becca’s character. Thinking that she was supposed to be breaking hearts and relationships, I expected her to have a bitchy side, someone who doesn’t get involve with other’s feelings. I didn’t think she would actually sympathize with these broken people not having any friends anymore on account of their friends having a relationship. Maybe for the fact that she experienced the same thing upped her into giving these people a chance to reconcile even if she knows it’s completely wrong in terms of morality. I mean, it doesn’t just have to end there. Friendships should be treasure the most because when all else fails, they’ll always be the one you turn to. Being that girl who once walked the halls alone, Becca knew the loneliness. Until, of course, she met Val, her new best friend who in turn left her again for Ezra.

The story depicts on different views on love. I like how the side story of Becca’s sister, Diane, turned out in the book. After being ditched on the day of her wedding, it resulted into Diane’s life being miserable. Becca loved her sister so much and she always looks up to her someone so beautiful and someone so smart. Her sister knows her the most (she’s the only one who knows Becca’s the Break-Up Artist) and Becca often comes up to her for advices. It’s sad to think how Diane’s outlook in love after calling the wedding quits affected Becca’s too. You know, as a big sister, you have to be able to set a great example for your younger siblings and I don’t think it got carried well in the book. And also, there is a lack of parental supervision. It’s strange to see how Becca’s mother remained calm after finding out her daughter’s running an illegal (not to mention morally wrong) business that involves breaking relationships of innocent people.

But as it turns out, aside from some ridiculous moments and plot lines, I quite enjoyed The Break-Up Artist. I think it’s certainly for people who doesn’t mind any YA tropes and cheesy descriptions. Overall, this book didn’t fall flat and actually has a great potential. I may read the sequel if it comes out. Not bad for a debut author. Not bad at all.

[Hazel (Stay Bookish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at Stay Bookish

The Break-Up Artist caught my attention even before I read it. The mere title had me intrigued and excited. Pre-reading, I already thought that the concept was very clever but only when I immersed myself in this noteworthy story did I discover exactly how fantastically clever and awesome this book was.

The main character, Becca, breaks up couples for a hundred dollars via Paypal. She plans elaborate schemes in secret and she does her task well. When she’s asked to break up the ultimate powerhouse couple of their high school, the inseparable SteveandHuxley, Becca is faced with the biggest challenge of her career as The Break-Up Artist. Even if it means having to endure her ex-bestfriend, Becca is determined to complete her mission- for the sake of all singletons.

Finding a suitable guy to date is a study in Darwinism. Survival of the hottest.

Just a few chapters in, I already found myself liking the protagonist a lot. Becca had a convincing voice and it didn’t hurt that she was witty and funny- traits that I always look forward to and hope to see when reading a contemporary such as this one. True to her anti-romance job, Becca is a cynic herself. I enjoyed reading her skeptic attitude when it came to love and I liked that it was realistic as well as reasonable.

Becca’s sister, Dianne, went through a terrible heartbreak and Becca was the one to witness it and be the one to help her sister pick up the pieces. Also, Huxley, her former BFF, dumped her for a guy. So yeah, I found Becca’s ‘love sucks’ mentality to be believable. Also, I liked how her backstory and the subplot with her sister moved the story to an emotional direction. All that said, neither Becca nor her story is without flaws. Even when I wasn’t a fan of Becca or her actions, I found most of them to be honest still.

Whenever somebody wants to get out of a relationship, but they don’t want to say the real reason, they use the love excuse. How can such a strong feeling just go away? It’s not a cold.

I’m saying it right here, right now: The Break-Up Artist is not a romantic story. It does tackle romance, but in a completely different and refreshing way. Not to get all too personal, but I was a Becca back in high school and maybe even now that I’m in college. No, I don’t split couples for a hundred dollars but like Becca, I’m a singleton- a singleton that sometimes does feel inferior to those who are in a relationship. Thus, I was able to really relate to Becca and also appreciate the story’s theme.

Love isn’t always perfect- sometimes it’s just an archetype, sometimes it hurts really bad, sometimes it’s only pretend. But when it’s real, whether it’s a romantic kind of love or the love of a friend- it’s worth it. With a unique plot and a relatable narrator, The Break-Up Artist is definitely worth reading!

[Mike Zemelko · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Break-Up Artist is an amazing book! From catty high school shenanigans to touching family moments, this is a very well-rounded read capturing the dynamics between friendship, love, and family. Becca's internal monologue was the best part and delivered the book's best zings. Becca needs a one-woman show!

[Jana (The Booksnob) · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading a series of really depressing books for the past one week, this book was so refreshing. This was a quick, fun read. If you are ready to throw logic out the window, and accept coincidental situations, then this book is for you.

[Charnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more reviews and giveaways, go to http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot....

This was an interesting book, and one that I find really hard to review. For every part of it that I really enjoyed, there was a part that I really didn't enjoy. By the end of the book, I found it really hard to sum up exactly how I feel about the book overall. I think my feelings are pretty underwhelming, much like the book. 

I found the premise of this really interesting, someone who makes a living from breaking up couples. I was curious to see how it would work in the book, and what my feelings would be on it. I have to admit to not really getting the point of what Becca does, or really understanding her reasoning behind it. I think she needed to leave people alone and let them learn from their own mistakes, instead of trying to teach them her own jaded lesson on love.

I really enjoyed the dialogue in this book, well most of the time at least. It contained quite a lot of hilarious banter between characters, and I couldn't get enough of it. This book actually made me spit out my drink because it took me by surprise and made me laugh so much at one point. I think the quote was the following:

"I don't think it's right to congratulate someone for having an ugly baby. It will only encourage her to have another."

I found that absolutely brilliant, I just could not stop laughing. The book is full of moments like that, those moments where you need to try and contain your laughter because you are in a public place, and don't want to look crazy. 

Becca is actually a hard character to sum up. There were definitely parts of her personality that I sincerely enjoyed. Other times, I kind of wanted to jump inside this book so I could shout at her. I thought her work as the Break-Up Artist was a little pointless. She came across as a little bitter, jaded and miserable at being single because of it, the exact thing she protested she wasn't. But when she comes out with comments like, 'You don't know what it's like being single in this school.', it does make it look like it is about that. She started out as a very witty character, she had a brilliant personality. Unfortunately, she began to grate on me over time and she got to be a little too annoying.

There was one character who came across as more of a caricature than a real character. The personality was just a bit too exaggerated, like he was only there to prove Becca's opinion of men right. I really didn't like that aspect of it, or how that storyline worked itself out. The character became just a silly plot device, with no actual personality.

3/5 Butterflies

With a really interesting, and some brilliant witty dialogue, The Break-Up Artist had some truly great moments.Unfortunately, overall it left a lot to be desired and was a little underwhelming by the end. Becca grated on me after a while, some characters where too caricature like and not realistic. For every part I enjoyed there was another part that I didn't. It's still worth a read, and I think others might enjoy it more. 

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Break-Up Artist was one of my most anticipated books of 2014 and sadly it just did not live up to my expectations, at all. The entire time I was reading I was outlining my issues with the book in my head, but I kept telling myself that if it ended in a certain way it would make up for everything I didn’t like along the way, but sadly that didn’t happen.

Maybe I’m crazy, but I thought the concept of a girl running a business that breaks couples up would be funny, not sad. I do think that Philip Siegel was trying to be funny, but mostly it just really depressed me. Becca, the main character, is 16-years-old, but she’s the most jaded person I’ve ever met (and I say this as someone who mostly thinks sappy love is over the top and ridiculous). Becca’s hatred of love started several years before when her BFF at the time, Huxley, dumped her in favor of a guy. Add in Becca’s older sister being left at the alter and Becca has made it her mission in life to destroy love. Maybe if Becca was 45-years-old and divorced that whole attitude could have worked for a humorous angle, but because she’s so young and so inexperienced (she’s never had a boyfriend) it just combined to make her seem holier-than-thou, naive, and unnecessarily bitter.

Not to mention that pretty much every character in this story is a caricature. My hunch is that the personalities are supposed to be exaggerated to make a point, and I will readily admit I prefer more realistic stories, but still, I don’t think the characters in this story worked, especially the male/female dynamics. As a woman I was offended that pretty much every girl in Becca’s school not only immediately dumped their girlfriends upon getting a boyfriend, but seemed to think the only way they would be a worth something as a human being would be to have a boyfriend. I’m not saying that isn’t what some people do or how some people feel (I’m at the age where all my friends are getting married so I know), but this story took that idea to such ridiculous lengths. Then there are the guys who all are pretty much such sleazy losers that as a woman I was upset on the guys’s behalves.

This story is also filled with tons of overused teen stereotypes: the dumb jock, the catty popular girl, the comic book nerds, clueless teachers, and disengaged parents. Combined with the whole caricature thing the stereotypes made the characters in this book feel one-dimensional and I never connected with them or rooted for them at all. Well, that’s not true, I actually rooted for the couples that Becca was trying to break up because I felt so bad for them.

Which brings me back to the whole idea of what Becca was doing. Much like the main character in Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend, Becca’s lack of self-awareness made her seem kind of like a sociopath. But, since she’s young and is under the influence of her crazy, bitter older sister, I kept telling myself to reserve judgement, I mean maybe the whole point of the book was Becca coming to realize what she was doing isn’t right and getting to see the other side of love. I’m not going to ruin the ending, but that’s not quite what happened. In my mind Becca was unequivocally the bad guy for breaking up all these couples and the fact that some of them would have broken up anyway doesn’t change the fact that what she did was wrong. There’s also a secondary plot line that features Becca becoming the “other woman” in her best friend’s relationship. I was sad for Becca that her best friend was ignoring her for a guy, but I don’t think I could ever sympathize with someone who’s trying to steal her best friend’s boyfriend and it was just another reason for my to dislike Becca and struggle with the story.

Bottom Line: The Break-Up Artist was just too over the top for me. Maybe I’m taking it too seriously, but the extreme stereotypes and caricatures and the ridiculous nature of the story just didn’t work. Not to mention that the main character was immature and seriously misguided. I still think the idea of the story has potential, but this version of it lacked the elements to pull it all together.

I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are (obviously) my own.

This review first appeared on my blog.

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews.

How many books do we see centered on couples getting together and romance, resulting in eye-rolling corny scenes and cliche lines? Becca totally feels our pain, so she spends her spare time breaking up the cheesy couples at her school for some cash.

The Break-Up Artist opened with a lot of potential, Becca started out to be a really hilarious, sarcastic character that is sick of the couple territory at her school. There is a shortage of males – much less dateable ones – at school, and all the women seem to be clamouring for their attention. The men can pretty much get who they want, and happiness is defined by coupledom. To Becca’s disgust, everyone swoons over her ex-best friend Huxley’s new squeeze, who are the perfect IT couple. I was all for the revenge plot stirring in Becca’s head, as she gets an offer she can’t refuse on splitting these two up.

What resulted however, was Becca’s bitterness becoming extremely evident as she makes derogatory remarks at everyone with a partner, including her best friend Val who has just entered a new relationship with Ezra. Becca starts treating Val like the plague and becoming jealous of the time she spends with Ezra, and not her. She’s one of those friends who just can’t be happy for you when you get into a relationship because she’s more preoccupied with the fact that she doesn’t have anyone else to spend time with.

I try to concentrate on the movie, but all I can see are my best friend and her boyfriend slobbering all over each other. We used to be friends.

Becca also does some pretty terrible things to break up the couples around school, as she hacks into people’s phones, plants condom wrappers in their cars and hooks them up with their ex-girlfriends. Although Becca’s parents have a healthy relationship, she thinks they are in a loveless marriage because they don’t do big romantic gestures all the time, like the people at her school. This is a girl who has a warped sense of love and romance, and it made her extremely unlikable and someone who judged quickly and bitterly.

After the terrible way she treats her best friend, it turns out she was just jealous as she starts to develop feelings for Ezra. She kisses Ezra behind Val’s back and starts wanting him for herself, while he continues to date Val. Being someone who was so bitter about relationships, I couldn’t believe she went into one herself by being the other woman no less, and it became clear that Becca was just a lonely, jealous bitch at heart.

All you’ve done is lie and deceive and manipulate just so you don’t have to walk down the hall alone. You needed a boy, and you got one. But that boy is a genuinely good guy who deserves someone who actually cares about him.

The world within The Break-Up Artist was also an incredibly dramaticised one that bordered on being unrealistic and slightly offensive. Every girl in the novel seem to be mindless cardboard cutouts who talk about makeup, boys, gossip and shopping no matter how intelligent they were. Every single woman is desperate to be in a relationship, so any boy, regardless of how attracted they were to them or how well matched they were could pick them up using cheesy movie lines. Couples would form at the drop of a hat and they would become official after just 1 date. This is not a world I enjoyed hearing about or wanted to be in, based on the stereotypical characterisations of high school students and relationships.

I would love to tell you that The Break-Up Artist gives us something to take away with after setting up such a bitter dramaticised world of relationships, but sadly, that is not the case. The book had so much potential to send us a powerful message about relationships but still honouring your friendships, but it chose to focus on an inane experience from an unlikable teen instead. Some people will enjoy this, but by the end I just wanted to break up with the book.

I received this book from Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review.

[Ari · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let's not beat around the bush, as it won't help anyone.. The thing is, this book was not for me.



It is not a bad book, it's just that it didn't sit well with the other contemporary stories I've read lately (and I've enjoyed so much more). I've imagined something opposite from Hitch -the movie- (as a side note I didn't even know there was a "The Breakup Artist" movie, but there it is, from 2009) with a YA background and lots of fun, but something was missing and I am not sure if I can put my finger on it to actually point it out to you.

There was way too much bitterness - the sister, the ex girlfriend, all the couples in the school - even Val and her new boyfriend. It all affected the main character in a way or another and I couldn't make myself see the world through her eyes at all.
There were also the other 'paired' characters (in a relationship) that seemed to think that they were somehow above the single ones (they made me roll my eyes and want to punch them) and ignored everyone from their past life because of/for their partner.

I didn't understand the people that wanted to break those couples apart either. They didn't have good reasons for that (but shallow explanations), so the artist's job wasn't 'fun' for me, but quite unfair from the start.

Anyways, the thing is people don't act in real life as described in the book, and it gave me a strange 'disappointing' feeling (for the lack of a better word).
Yes, you get to spend more time with that 'someone' and less time with your friends (Let's be honest here, you are doing them a favour, they wouldn't possibly enjoy seeing you and your boyfriend all over each other - as you will be, let's face it). So it's good for everyone if you have a bit of privacy. But that doesn't mean that you will forget that you have friends and a life of your own for someone else.
On a second thought... if you DO, I'll just change my mind and get back to this book, plotting how to bring you back to reality.

So, with this as a background I couldn't get invested into the story. It didn't ring true to me, I didn't have fun when I should have. If you come into it with a very open mind you will probably enjoy it a lot more. It also helps that the writing is good, some characters are actually nice and the cover is lovely.

This is not a full review as I didn't get to finish the book (and I am actually sorry about that, as my hopes were pretty high).
Maybe I could have changed my opinion by the ending (actually, I am not saying that I won't ever be in the mood for it, there's a chance I'll like it better some other time) but I just wasn't into it right now and it is not fair for me to rate it..
I keep my options open, so you can come back after you read it, maybe you'll convince me to give it one more try.

Book source: ARC received for review from the publisher. Thank you.
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[Leigh Collazo · Rating 1 out of 5]

More reviews at Mrs. ReaderPants.

IF THIS BOOK WERE FOOD, IT WOULD BE: low-sugar brownies; it looks better than it tastes

WHAT I LIKED: Not much. The premise is cool, and I like the front cover. There are several awkward high school moments--best friend makes out with boyfriend in front of Becca, deciding where to sit in the cafeteria after a fight with best friend, faking illness to avoid confrontation at school--that many readers will identify with.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The characters. These are really some horrible people. Seriously, who am I supposed to root for here? Becca, our protagonist, is bitter, mean, manipulative, and spiteful. So what if she was ditched by her best friend four years ago? Understandable to be upset, but it happened FOUR YEARS ago and in middle school. She has a new bestie now, one who cares for Becca despite her sourface take on the world. And of all the boys in her school, Becca falls in like with her best friend's boyfriend. Oh, and she breaks up couples for money. And judges people she doesn't know HARSHLY when she should really take a long, hard look in the proverbial mirror. Why would I want to root for this awful girl?

Then we have the best friend, who apparently cannot survive high school life without a man and sucks face with the boyfriend in front of Becca constantly. We have a complete tool for a boyfriend/love interest and a former best friend who was a bitch and kind of still is. There's a scorned older sister, who was left at the altar years ago and still skulks around the house in an old sweatshirt and...blames her friends for her fiance's actions? Huh? Add in clueless parents, a lot of gossipy girls, and the creepy "Mr. Towne," and you start praying for a zombie apocalypse or alien invasion to come and just take these people out.

THE BOTTOM LINE: It's a cool premise, but the horrible characters really ruined this one for me.

STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: Don't have it. No plan to get it.

READALIKES: For better Girl Power or Female Solidarity themes, try Smart Girls Get What They Want (Strohmeyer), Keeping the Castle (Kindl), or Fat Cat (Brande)

RATING BREAKDOWN:

Overall: 1/5--started to give a 2, but after writing the review, I just can't do it
Creativity: 3/5--the premise is great, execution is not
Characters: 1/5--thumbs down on all of them
Engrossing: 2/5--took me 3 weeks to finish (but I DID finish!)
Writing: 3/5--it's okay, nothing special but nothing horrible either
Appeal to teens: 2/5--some situations will be familiar to many high school students
Appropriate length to tell the story: 2/5--took me 3 weeks to finish!


CONTENT:

Language: none
Sexuality: mild; some kissing, locker lust
Violence: none
Drugs/Alcohol: none

[Just a person · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Break-Up Artist came on my radar when I saw it for review on Netgalley. I liked the premise, and even though I knew that the main character, Becca would probably undergo a crazy transformation on her views of dating and love.

Sure enough, at first, Becca was very jaded. She scoffed at PDA, and she felt a solidarity with her other single friend Val. She'd lost her best friend from earlier in life when she dated a new guy quarterback and her popularity skyrocketed, and on top of that Becca's sister was left right before her wedding. So, she has seen the pain and the devastation that being in a relationship can bring, so she offers her services to break up couples, thinking she is saving them from pain later on. She gets pretty divisive in her goals to break up others, and gets a challenge she isn't sure that she can do.

I guess some of my problems were that the characters seemed really immature at times and that there was maybe too much drama for me at times. I know that some of this is just the nature of the book and subject. It's about a girl who breaks up couples, so I should have predicted there would be fall out and then also the actions of Becca catching up to her. And they did, but I think that she first went downhill in her actions rather than a steady character growth and realization about the realities of life, love and relationships. I know that as a freshman in high school that you aren't going to have full understanding, but I think that she just saw things in a slanted light without the full stories on what she made her decisions made on.

I like how things wrapped up though, and I wanted to know what would happen overall, so while I had the above issues, I also didn't want to stop reading and it kept my interest. I liked the friendship between her and Val , that they clicked and understood each other so well. I love when stories emphasize good friendships that can last through the excitement of new boyfriends or even when not-so-smart and harmful to other person decisions are made and there is forgiveness. I also like the closeness of Becca and her sister. Even though a lot of their time together is spent plotting the break-up artist stuff, they do have real conversations and I love how much Becca cared and pushed Diane to face some of the things that was wrong in her life and reconcile with some of her friends.

Disclaimer: There is cheating, and while I hated every minute of it, I think that it taught that character a lot. It was hard to see it behind a best friend's back, but it was okay for me considering nature of the story as well as drama level. I still don't condone it, but understand that hormones can make us believe crazy stuff and make poor decisions.

Bottom Line: Solid friendship and family relationships but as expected a lot of drama and people hurt, but also healed.

[Shaheen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Becca provides a unique service at her school: she breaks up couples for $100 via PayPal. She calls herself The Break-Up Artist, and is always there to help girls get their best-friends back after they’re ditched for boys or popularity.

There are two reasons that Becca has such a toxic view of relationships. The first is that her best-friend Huxley ditched her to go out with a quarterback and become the most popular girl in school, and the second is that her sister Diane was dumped on her wedding day. It’s completely understandable why Becca thinks romance is a waste of time and that she’s doing a good thing by breaking up these couples for their friends – love makes people pretend to be something they’re not.

But even knowing this didn’t make Becca very likeable for me. I just don’t understand why she didn’t realise how destructive her behaviour was sooner – she mentions she’s seen broken up couples be really sad in the cafeteria but is still remorseless.

Of course, Becca’s stance on relationships change when she starts falling for her best-friend’s boyfriend.

This story isn’t new. It’s been told many times before (the author even mentions movies like My Best Friend’s Wedding as an inspiration), but what’s interesting is the way Siegel tells this story. He chooses the point of view of a girl who is clueless about all types of relationships: between friends, between lovers, and even between siblings.

However, I still find it very hard to believe that “Mr Towne” would hire Becca to break up the most popular couple at her school – her ex-best-friend Huxley and the quarterback Simon. Even if there is someone called The Break-Up Artist at a school, an adult (and especially an adult in the position of power that Towne is revealed to be in) has many tools they can use without resorting to a teenager. The pressure he puts on Becca to break up the couple is unrealistic as well – the threats, bribes and cajolery didn’t seem like an adult interacting with a teen, but rather two very stupid, immature teens who can’t tell where high school drama ends and the real world begins.

The Break-Up Artist isn’t a groundbreaking narrative, but this 2014 début offers a light, fun read about relationships that many audiences will enjoy. There are hints to a sequel and I’ll be coming back to see how Becca grows and whether her friendship with Huxley can be saved.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .

[Mariko (The Storybook Kingdom) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A copy of this book was provided by the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review is also posted on The Storybook Kingdom

So my thoughts on The Break-Up Artist? So much bitterness with a side helping of catty. Maybe I didn't fully prepare myself before I starting reading this book, but I was taken aback by how these girls acted. Maybe my memories of high school have gotten fuzzy as I've gotten older, but are there really people out there like this in high school?

Ok, I knew that Becca was no angel when I got into this. I mean she breaks people up for a living. But I just couldn't really like her. Well maybe I liked her a tiny bit at the end, but just a little. The general problem I've noticed when men write about teenage girls as main characters, at least in the books I've read so far, is a trend of the girls not feeling real to me. Maybe I haven't read the right books. It's just something I've personally felt. Becca never felt genuine to me. I never connected with her feelings throughout most of the book.

For the most part I was hoping for something funny and cute before I starting reading this book. I don't think I got that. Since I already knew Becca got paid to beak up couples, the worst I was hoping for was cynical. What I got was mean and bitter. Oh and Becca's sister? I honestly wanted to slap her. I understand that getting your heart broken sucks, but seriously she was still a grown woman. Why their parents let her wallow like that I'll never understand.

I had higher hopes for The Break-Up Artist. But in the end, it just wasn't the book for me. I ended up taking a two book break in the middle of reading this in order to take a minute and try to give this book a second chance. Unfortunately, that didn't work.

[Elizabeth Curington · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had some fun, quirky moments, but I feel it was ultimately forgettable. I don't think I will remember a single character's name after tomorrow and the plot will be fuzzy in a week. It just didn't give me something new and exciting.

I liked the idea of an enterprising student breaking couples up for money. I just didn't like Becca much. She was so cynical and took everyone's reasons for doing things at face value. Very annoying. And she let herself be manipulated into a corner without ever researching who had hired her. Also, who truly believes all people are only defined by who they are in a relationship? I was a teenage girl once (not THAT long ago) and still work with them, and no one I have known has been that biased about people.

I actually thought Huxley was the most believable character in the whole book. Manipulative mean girl one minute, possible friend the next, demanding but loving, too-cute girlfriend to teacher's golden girl--the only well-developed character in the whole book (also the sister's friends, but they show up too briefly to matter much).

So I read it in a day, liked it, but will delete this from my brain very soon.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Read InAGarden · Rating 2 out of 5]

After her sister is broken up with just hours before getting married, Becca decides to embark on a part-time job of breaking up couples. She advertises her services and is paid when she achieves results. Becca's fairly negative view of couple-hood is tested when she develops a crush on Ezra - the boyfriend of her own best friend. Instead of telling her best friend, Val, about this crush or ignoring the crush she actually acts on it and starts a relationship with Ezra behind Val's back - and even begins to plan how to break up Ezra and Val. While there are moments when Becca realizes that her business and actions are morally corrupt she always finds ways to justify her actions making herself a thoroughly unlikeable character.

[Kristen Lippert-Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Becca breaks couples up for money? How awful, right? WRONG. How *funny* is more like it. She's got her reasons and they're complex ones that you might just find yourself empathizing with. This is a sweet, hilarious book with a touch of mystery that kept me guessing all the way to the end. It raises questions about balancing friendship and first love and reminds you how easy it is to judge others until you're in the same boat. Did I mention it was really funny? Yeah. Totally. You're going to add the term "relationship zombie" to your own personal urban dictionary, no doubt.