Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Madeleine Henry for the opportunity to read and review her debut novel - 4 stars for an intriguing glimpse into two very different worlds with interesting characters.

Allegra is an analyst at Anderson Shaw, the biggest firm on Wall Street. She's counting down until her 2 year mark, where she will receive her big bonus and can hopefully quit to pursue her real passion - yoga. But until that time, we get to see the crazy intense banking world, where everyone is expected to work 24/7 and still ask for more jobs. A contrast to the yoga world Allegra yearns for - a seemingly blissful calm place. However, not necessarily in this book as we see the cutthroat aspect of that business as well.

I enjoyed this book and its characters - just a breezy read with similarities to The Devil Wears Prada as far as bosses and pecking order go. The author writes this book from real-life experience - she worked at Goldman Sachs and also practices yoga. Her instagram feed of yoga positions astounded me!

I am like Allegra - who wouldn't want to skip out on the boring world of banking for relaxing yoga and social media fame. Sign me up. Unfortunately this book just didn't work for me. Although well-written, the humor that was promised wasn't there.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy.

I checked out this but could not connect with the writing style.

I read an ARC of the debut novel, Breathe In, Cash Out, by Madeleine Henry, courtesy of NetGalley and Simon & Schuster, in exchange for an honest review. Ms. Henry, a former Goldman Sachs analyst is definitely an up and coming author. She shows us how to be true to our hearts, and equally important, to trust our gut feelings when we suspect another person may be toxic.

Allegra Cobb has planned her career in finance since her high school days. Now that she is there, and on the way up the career ladder, she is not so sure this is the place for her. After learning how huge investment banking firms make millions off their interns and first-year employees, she needs a way to keep her sanity. She enters a national yoga competition and wins. Her new career plan is to hang tight at Anderson-Shaw long enough to get her huge end-of-year bonus, then “cash out” to become a yoga instructor.

After winning the national yogi title, she is suddenly pursued by famous “Instagram Yoga” influencer, Skylar Smith. Skylar’s Insta-photos are gorgeous, professional-looking photography. Next thing you know, Skylar has become a mentor for Allegra, who takes Skylar’s advice to heart, even when it is obviously career-suicide.

The story moves quickly right from the start, and is full of mostly intelligent characters whose quips and banter will keep you entertained. Still, it is hard to sympathize with an otherwise intelligent main character who does such stupid things. Obsessed with social media, Allegra finally gets wise, but not until she has almost destroyed both career options.

I enjoyed the story, but again, was dismayed to find such an immature adult main character. If you have experience in finance, you will likely enjoy her take on Wall Street types. If you don’t mind the f-word appearing on more pages than not, you may enjoy Breathe In, Cash Out.

What makes The Grumpy Book Reviewer grumpy?

• Redundancy: writing “hashtag #yoga” is the same as writing “hashtag hashtag yoga”;
• Incorrect pronouns (“we” vs. “us”);
• Using “further” in place of “farther”;
• Using “bring” in place of “take”;
• Split infinitives;
• Beginning a sentence with a conjunction;
• Misplacement of “only” within sentences – yes, we all do it, but that does not make it correct.

I took a little while to get into this book but once I got into it I didn’t want to put it down. Allegra was such a lovable character who I rooted for the entire book.

This was a really fun read for me. I've been in a reading slump and this book pulled me right out. I flew through the pages, enjoying both the writing style and the story!

Allegra is basically caught between two worlds: The Yoga world and Wall Street world. And she's eager to leave Wall street for good once she gets her bonus to teach yoga full time. This dynamic was definitely the best part of the story. One minute she's completely stressed out living on coffee and zero sleep, and the next - she's doing yoga in a coat closet! Hilarious!

The characters were very likeable and even though the while the storyline was a bit predictable for me, I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

I kept trying to read this and love it, but it just wasn't for me. Not a bad book but I couldn't relate to the characters and their every day life.

I enjoyed this book. All in all I think we can mostly all relate to being in a job where our passion doesn’t lie. I think this book accurately captures that. Unfortunately for me I lost interest halfway through the book.

My rating scale:
5☆ - I loved this book and it brought out true emotion in me (laughter, anger, a good cry, etc)
4☆ - I loved this book.
3☆ - I liked this book.
2☆ - I didn't really care for this book.
1☆ - I did not like this book at all and probably did not finish it.

This book seemed like it was going to be a good fit-chick lit for me (I will say I only read 2-3 per year), but I really had a hard time finishing this. There were some witty parts. I did enjoy Allegra's work mates and some funny scenes with them. My husband worked for many years in the financial field and so much of that pressure cooker work atmosphere rang true, but the story just got on my nerves at some point. I stopped reading it for weeks, thinking that maybe there was some outside force impeding me from enjoying it. Nope, came back, finished it, but no more than a 2 star for me, it was just...okay. Skylar was the height of annoying and I get that is the point, but it was just too much to get past. Maybe I'm too old for these characters? I think not, because I enjoy other chick-lit.

Is it really possible to reach for your true desires in life, rather than the large paycheck? Allegra finds herself in this exact situation in <I>Breathe In, Cash Out<I>. As an analyst at a big financial firm, Allegra has the potential to make A LOT of money if she just sticks to it. But sticking to it, means sacrificing everything else about her - such as sleep, social life, showers, meals, etc.

At a time where work/life balance is so prevalent in the work, <I>Breathe In, Cash Out<I> brings the challenges right to the surface. If yoga is your life's passion and what you want to do, should you sacrifice the large paycheck for a healthy lifestyle? I feel like this is what a lot of us corporate world employees struggle with on the daily. Now if only more of us had the guts to say "I quit", I wonder what the world would be like.

As a mother of four grown kids, one who is a core power yoga instructor, three who work in tech, many of the millennial insights found in Breathe In, Cash Out resembled conversations I over hear on their visits home. Henry was smart to take all the components from social media, high cost of living and the modern day stresses and turn them into a smart and snappy story!

I personally didn’t love this book, but it was precisely the kind of book I needed when I read it. A thoroughly predictable novel of a woman who hates her competitive corporate job and wants to pursue her passion of becoming a yoga instructor. She meets her yoga role model from Instagram, they begin to work together, and things go down. It’s basic brain candy, but sometimes that’s the book you need.

Meh. It was fine. I was able to read it quickly, as it held my attention, but it's not necessarily a book that I would have finished if I wasn't going to be reviewing it for Netgalley. There are a lot of characters in this book, and a lot of it seems over the top, though I don't doubt that that the behaviors portrayed are common in both finance and the Insta-yoga world. That said, there were somethings that felt like they were going to be more important than they were. In the very early pages of the book, the protagonist sleeps with a yoga guy that turns out to be her married boss (this isn't a spoiler because it's literally the first few chapters and I think it's mentioned somewhere in the book summary). You would think that that would become an important thread throughout the book, but it quickly fades into the background and is more or less barely relevant the rest of the time. It feels like it was a somewhat lame plot device at the beginning to grab the reader's attention, but then really was only there later to have the appearance of complex layers to the plot, when in reality it could have been omitted entirely and the book still would have worked.

The writing style also irritated me. It was like the author was trying to demonstrate that she had done her research (which obviously she has because she worked in finance and does yoga). Every chapter was filled with finance and/or yoga jargon and often got into the weeds with the day to day finance projects. I eventually started skimming those because the little minutiae details of a project had zero impact on the overall plot and I was getting bored.

The big twist also came suddenly and felt rushed. I appreciate that there were very few hints leading up to it, so it was truly a twist, but even that was buried in other details and had less space dedicated to it than some of the other more random things in the middle of the book.

Overall, it wasn't terrible as a chick lit book, but not nearly as strong as a lot of other books in the genre.

Thanks Netgalley for the e-arc!

I felt this book was a bit dragged out. It was clear from early on what was going on but I felt that it was a bit too heavy on the finance side of the story for me to be too invested.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of Madeleine Henry’s novel, Breathe In, Cash Out, in exchange for an honest review.

Recent Princeton grad, Allegra Cobb has landed a job as an analyst at the prestigious New York City investment firm, Anderson Shaw. She is on the fast track to success, yet her life feels empty. Her true passion is yoga and if she can just endure her insane work schedule until her annual bonus, she plans to quit banking and follow her dreams. However, staying sane while pulling all-nighters becomes more difficult when she meets Skylar. Skylar is a beautiful and magnetic yoga instructor with an popular social media following. Skylar brings Allegra into her circle, trying to convince her to leave her job early. In the beginning, Allegra is enchanted by Skylar, but she soon realizes that Skylar is not what she seems.

The themes of Breathe In, Cash Out will strike a chord with most readers. Like Allegra, a majority of the people I know, including myself, have put dreams on the back burner to pursue money or a more “sensible” career. Allegra was raised by a single father, who also pushed her to chase the dream of working in banking. Allegra is an overachiever, but the goal of getting an Ivy League education and working for this specific firm, was in big part because of her father’s pressure. It is a pressure not just to succeed, but to succeed in a specific way. Although my mom was nothing like Allegra’s father, I could definitely relate to Allegra’s desire to please her father and not disappoint. It’s a winning moment when Allegra decides that she must follow her own life path, even if it means disappointing her father or giving up what society would consider to be a dream job. We have one life and we must live it on our terms.

Breathe In, Cash Out also plays with the theme of trust. Allegra exists in a cut-throat world and trust is difficult. Allegra learns hard lessons when she puts trust in people who are only looking out for themselves and she devalues those around her who have her back. I liked the relationship between Allegra and her co-worker, Tripp. True to his frat-boy sounding name, Tripp seems like the last person that Allegra should trust. He’s charming and never seems to take life seriously. However, appearances can be deceptive. On the theme of appearances being deceptive, Breathe In, Cash Out explores the idea of being social media famous and how that does not necessarily equate joy or success. When we live in a culture that puts a heavy emphasis on perception, it is easy to lose perspective.

Based on the themes and premise, I was very excited to read Breathe In, Cash Out, but my expectations fell short. It was akin to having trouble starting a car. I would begin to invest in a storyline and then the pacing would stall.

For example, the story opens with Allegra having a one-night stand with someone who she later learns is her superior at work. This should have set up a ton of conflict and tension, but it doesn't. She quickly realizes that he is married and that he is treating the whole evening with her, as if it never happened. He is not a nice person or a good boss. Fairly quickly, Allegra realizes what is happening and to her, it is written off as a mistake. The potentially explosive scenario fizzles.

Skylar, who turns out to be the primary antagonist, is another example. There is a truly creepy situation with Skylar at the end of the novel, which I anticipated would lead to an even bigger scene or revelation. However, it is a false alarm. The storyline ends abruptly, which is unfortunate, as it was the most memorable scene in the story. It gave me the chills.

Breathe In, Cash Out was far too involved in the world of Allegra’s job with loads of technical terms and presentations, but skimpy on the character development. I could relate to Allegra’s conflict and passions, but I could not relate to her.

Henry had a great story idea, but Breathe In, Cash Out missed the mark. I cannot recommend it.

Attention overachievers: here's a book for you! Allegra Cobb supposedly has it all--a dream job, life, and education. But she's not happy. Her high stress job in the financial business has taken a huge toll on her and she sets her sights on another dream. Allegra is determined to get back into the yoga world and follow her passion to become a yoga teacher. Yogis and people in the financial world alike will relate to this story and root for Allegra. She meets some interesting characters along the way and sometimes makes questionable choices. The author's writing and dialogue is funny and witty and just realistic enough to keep the story going. This is an excellent choice for fans of Georgia Clark and Sophie Kinsella

Breathe In, Cash Out is a fun, laugh=out=loud book. The lives of the lowest in the financial industry in New York is something I would never do no matter the payoff in the end. this book just reinforced what I've always known. There were several characters that were fun like Tripp who never got Allegra's name right and that was on purpose. "Do you know how hard it is to come up with different A names.". The pretzel vendor, even though he was super rude, I enjoyed him. This was funny, sad, scary and all around entertaining.

I really enjoyed this book much more than I thought I could enjoy a book set in douchy finance bro culture. Even arrogant Tripp ended up charming me in the end, and nor were my worst catastrophizing fears about Skylar realized, which was comforting.

Breathe In, Cash Out was a joy to read! Taking place just over a short period of time, financial analyst Allegra, is mid early-life crisis. Having landed an intense job right out of school, Allegra is caught between the dramatic time consuming financial world and her desire to become a yoga teacher. Allegra has decided that she will remain at her current job just until her year-end bonus arrives. Breathe In, Cash Out follows Allegra as she attempts to be a quality employee, build new and develop old friendships and find herself. I found Allegra to be endearing, hilarious and overall incredibly entertaining. It was delightful to be along for her ride as she attempts to break out into a new role, one that she is not totally prepared for and cannot learn from her ivy-league background.
A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.