A fun summer read about the lives of four Atlanta women at different ages and stages who are all part of a co-ed book club. The story switches perspectives from each woman as they go through unique life challenges trying to find their happily ever afters in the face of significant setbacks. You can really tell the author's love of books and book clubs and that she's gone through difficult times - in an author's note at the beginning of the book she writes about how her husband died from COVID at the start of the pandemic and how heart-breaking that was! As a member of my own therapeutic book club I related over the struggle to find the perfect name and looking forward to book club night as the highlight of the month. Definitely recommend, especially for fans of The Jane Austen book club, The bromance book club or In a book club far away. Thanks to NetGalley for my e-ARC.

Favorite quotes:
"This is a group that only supports and does not judge."

If there are more than two voices in a book I always get scared I'm not going to be able to follow along. That is not true with this book. It has 4 very distinct voices. This story is about so many relationships - love and friendship being the basis. This is the second book of Wendy's I have read and I will keep coming back for more. Put this on your Summer TBR!!

The sassiness of Wendy Wax's books are what I look forward to the most. This one was for sure a home run!

“Books —and the words that form them— have gotten me through a lot of things I’d like to forget.” // “Just thinking about book club and how warm and welcoming a group it is, I feel lighter.”

If you have ever been part of a book club, you will know that more often than not, they are a lot more than just a book club. This is illustrated perfectly in Wendy Wax’s new novel, The Break-Up Book Club, which is a multigenerational story told by four women that are part of the same book club, whom are all at different stages of their lives and trying to get by after being hurt by the men they loved. However, the book club is more than a place where they discuss books over food and wine; it’s also a place where people from different backgrounds and ages can come together, no matter if they have read the book or not, a place to find comfort and not feel judged. Ultimately, The Break-Up Book Club depicts how a group of strangers can become friends and also family.

The story has four narrators: Judith, Sara, Jazmine, and Erin. Judith is an adult woman whose kids don’t live at home anymore and who’s husband is away on a business trip. She is crushed and starts questioning her marriage when her husband accidentally calls her and she overhears a conversation in which he says she is boring and they are just used to each other at the moment. Sara is a teacher and is forced to take care of her mother-in-law (who can’t stand her) whilst her husband works out of town. She is also crushed after making a devastating discovery regarding her husband’s life. Jazmine is a single mother, a former tennis player, and a sports agent who tries so hard to keep her life balanced whilst she starts dating again (enemies to lovers fans… you will love this). Erin is Jazmine’s new assistant and has just been dumped days before her wedding by her long-term boyfriend. The whole set of characters are lovable and quirky and each goes through a big character development by the end of the book! It’s amazing to see how they find themselves again and find the courage to delve into new chapters of their lives after going through so many hardships.

At first, it takes a while to get used to this multiple-narrator POV and get a sense of who is who and what their relationships and stories are like. It also takes a little bit for the book club to make an appearance and start seeing how each character connects with each other and the other members of the book club. However, once you get the storyline figured out, it’s hard to put the book down as you want to know how each of these four strong women’s personal stories develop. Wax did a wonderful job intertwining these four stories and moving from one to the other as the reader gets through the book.

The pace of the book is neither fast nor slow, it’s the perfect pace to dive into these stories without feeling like you’re rushing through them or that they’re dragging. And, even though the plot was predictable at times, this is still a fun read! The book club bits are very enjoyable as well and it’s funny to see all the shenanigans this diverse group gets up to. If you are part of a book club, you will probably understand and if you aren’t, well this will definitely make you want to try joining one or at least it will spark some curiosity in you! There is never a dull moment and like it is stated in The Break-Up Book Club, it’s always very interesting to see how differently people experience the same story.

It’s also worth mentioning that the message from the author at the beginning of the book is actually heartbreaking, which is why it’s impressive how she was able to pour herself into this book and produce such a heartwarming and comforting read when she must have been struggling so much.

Overall, The Break-Up Book Club is a fun and feel-good story about the power of books, book clubs, and friendships. It’s the perfect book to lose yourself in for a little while and find comfort in the way people can come together and form strong friendships through shared experiences and books.

I adored this story! It was the perfect tale of friendships and finding your own happiness. I love Wendy Wax and this might be a new favorite.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆
This is one of those books which needs a little patience, but once you get into it, it is both moving and entertaining. The premise is simple: follow the lives of four book club members as they navigate the perils of being single again. The reasons vary, their situations are different, but through the book club they have a shared friendship and support network. There is a large cast of characters, a flurry into online dating, and an unexpected sting, which together give a lot of movement to the book, but there are also quiet moments of reflection and reassessment.

The Break-Up Book Club by Wendy Wax is more than a book about women in a book club. We get to meet a group of diverse women who are going through some challenges. I thought the author created realistic characters going through true-to-life situations. I loved Between the Covers bookstore where the book club meets each month (I want a bookstore like this in my area). The Break-Up Book Club is a well-written with the story moving along at a steady pace. The point-of-view changes between Erin, Sara, Judith, and Jazmine. It is easy to keep track of each lady because their voices are unique. I liked seeing the ladies grow as individuals and in their friendships. Dorothy, Sara’s mother-in-law, is a character who shows us that you truly never know a person. The book does contain foul language and intimate situations (just to let you know). The Break-Up Book Club is an engaging and emotional story that had me staying up very late to finish it. I liked getting to know this group of women who find comfort and a sense of belonging in the book club. There is humor in the story as well. I especially loved the names the people came up with for the book club. There were some amusing suggestions. I also loved all the wonderful books discussed and mentioned throughout the book. The Break-Up Book Club is a great book to read while lounging by the pool or while on vacation. The Break-Up Book Club is a pleasing tale about a louse of a spouse, firm friends, startling revelations, a composed mother-in-law, shocking secrets, and a bevy of books.

Title: The Break-Up Book Club

Author: Wendy Wax

Publisher: Berkley

Format:  trade paperback $17.00 US, I read the e-book which was provided by NetGalley.

Published On: May 18, 2021

Genre: Women's Fiction/Contemporary Romance

There's something special about books written by Wendy Wax. Simply said, her books focus on the tight bonds women weave through friendship.

In her latest novel, "The Break-Up Book Club," we're introduced to the members of a book club in a historic home outside of Atlanta. The club was created by Annell Barrett who "just wanted more readers to come to her store." With the promise of wine and food, the book club began with five women discussing "The Secret Lives of Bees."

We meet Judith, who invested her inheritance in her and her husband's Chicken Lickin' franchise. She was the one to motivate him, entertain potential franchise purchasers and he gets all the credit. He also never invites her along on business trips. They have two grown children, who have their own lives, so Judith is bored. But then something happens that changes her life forever.

Jazmine is the first and only female sports agent with StarSports Advisors. Her heart was set on being a professional tennis player, but an accident put an end to that. She's got her hands full with a unhappy football player. Her career is cutting into her time she needs to spend with her daughter. Then there's the pressure by her family for her to start dating. The lesson she has to learn is trust.

Poor Sara has no life. Her husband is working out of town and he's arranged for his mother, Dorothy, to live at their home. So it's Sara that's watching over her and doesn't have a moment of peace. She can't even escape to the bathroom to read without her mother-in-law knocking on the door. Sara is frustrated and hates living like this. And then they learn the truth.

Erin is filling in for Louise at the agency Jazmine works for. She and her boyfriend, Josh, are getting married. But on the day after Christmas, Josh breaks Erin's heart. He's not ready to get married. He feels it's more important to focus on his baseball career. Erin's life lesson is gaining confidence and skill and planning a new future.

While there are more members of the book club, these are the characters Wendy mainly writes about. You would think with so many of them to follow you'd be confused, but you aren't. In fact, you can't wait to learn what each woman will do to improve the quality of her life. Even better is how close they become through their life experiences and one decision a number of them make. You've gotta read it. Would be great as a Lifetime movie.

Four out of five book clubs

Denise Fleischer

gottawritenetwork.wordpress.com

May 31, 2021

Such a fun cast of characters brought together in this book. Erin, Sara, Judith, and Jazmine could not be more different but yet they bond over books and lots of wine, continuing to show the reader that the bonds made at a book club are some of the strongest bonds. Each of the women is learning to navigate a new set of life circumstances and finding that happily ever after isn't always what they thought it would be.

Oh my goodness, I absolutely delighted in this book!

Four very different women (and their friends, a wonderful cast of supporting characters) come together through the power of reading and books to survive the curves life is throwing at them. A called off wedding, a difficult mother in law, and just general life crises are what unite these women and bond them together to help each other through. Written in such a lovely, lighthearted way that you won't be able to stop reading. Highly recommend.

I love, love, love, loved it.  The cover is quite stunning and immediately draws you in. The book's title entices you to read it. All of the diverse points of view were fascinating. This was a fantastic read for me.

A book club that gets together and talks about books, life, and anything else they can. As the book club continues to get together it becomes more of a group of friends. They share their lives, their dreams of the future, and their histories. I loved seeing how close they all worked to get and how their lives intertwined as each one had their own struggles and successes.

The friendships Jazmine, Judith, Erin and Sara have are unique in that if not for the book club they may not have met. Yet, they come together, have each other’s backs as needed, and support each other through all the ups and downs of life. The other members of the book club have smaller roles in their lives but they also are great friends.

I really enjoyed this beach read that was not quite a fluffy book. There was family drama, work issues, and life problems but through it all friendship won out.

I always read the prologue and/or messages from the author and the message Wendy Wax wrote had me tearing up. I struggled to read during Covid, I cannot imagine writing a book during Covid.

A very good story following the different lives of women in a book club. I really enjoyed each characters development throughout the book and how their paths connect. I look forward to checking out more books by Wendy Wax in the future.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

With an author’s note that pulls at your heart strings, The Break Up Book Club is a journey of different members of the local club. We experience these very different women go through life-changing moments, all supported through their friendships formed through their love of reading. This story weaves an intricate story of friendship and second chances

With the help of your friends, you can get through just about anything!

This is a touching read of friendship, loss, and heartache, but most importantly the strength to finding oneself and move on.

Told through the perspective of four very different and distinct voices. You are taken on a journey as they find their inner strengths to pick up the pieces of their lives and move forward.

The book club always serving as the place everyone can let their walls down and be open and honest with each other and themselves.

I felt every character was well developed and enjoyed each perspective equally.

Wendy Wax has written a touching novel about life and love that every reader will connect with at some level. I know I certainly did.

My only quibble with this read is I would have liked to have seen one of the main characters be a male. To see love and heartache through his eyes. Perhaps Chaz the EMT?💁🏻‍♀️. He would have just given the book a bit more balance (but that’s just my opinion).

Overall a highly enjoyable read that Susanne and I just flew through in only a few sittings.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to Berkley Publishing.

Earnest & Endearing.

At the Heart of “The Break-Up Book Club” is Friendship, Support, and a Love of Books. What more could one ask for?

When life’s trials and tribulations impact several different women who attend the same book club, they can lean on each other for guidance and support. Sharing book discussions, friendship, heartache, tears, laughter, baked goods, chocolate, and wine, these ladies realize they can survive anything as long as they have each other.

I personally adored this novel and was immediately drawn into each characters’ storyline, especially that of Jasmine’s and Sara’s, whose personal strife reminded me a bit of my past. From the strength each character found within, to the strength these women drew from each other, I was all in, cheering from the sidelines.

My favorite part of this novel (besides the friendships, which I loved) was “Between the Covers” - the book store frequented by the book club members. It sounded absolutely fabulous and made me wish I could visit and attend the book club with Jasmine, Erin, Judith, Sara, Chaz, and all of the other characters in this book.

“The Break-Up Book Club” is a well-rounded character-driven novel that stole my heart. I highly recommend it for those who love contemporary and/or women’s fiction.

This was a buddy read with Kaceey that we both enjoyed.

Thank you to Dache’ J. Rogers at Berkley Publishing Group for the arc.

Published on Goodreads and Twitter.

After reading a couple of negative reviews, which seems to be my current MO when picking a novel, I decided I was only going to give the book a quick couple of chapters and then put it aside. I couldn’t put it down. From the beginning, I fell in love with all the characters, except for the cheating husband but no one would like him. There is the prerequisite humor, the heartache, the bonding of unlikely friends, and the realizations that life does go on.

As for the ending, I wasn’t too thrilled, but as I thought about it, I’m not sure how it could be different. There were too many independent storylines that needed to meld and by doing it the way it unfolded, as farfetched as it was, Wendy Wax brought them to the needed conclusion with just enough breathing room to keep friendships intact.

There is a possibility The Break-Up Book Club can be a jumping-off point for the ladies like 10 Beach Road was for Madeline, Avery, and Nikki, but we will have to see what Wendy has in store.

Thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for my e-arc copy!

I love books about book clubs. It always is fun to see a bird's eye view into different groups and any story that creates discussion around books - I am always here for it!

Wendy Wax has penned a fun read full of an array of strong characters that you're compelled to continue reading about in this story. Told from their multiple perspectives, we navigate through their bonds of friendship and their love of books as these women share life and navigate hardships and moments of joy together.

It has been hailed as one of 2021’s Best Beach Reads
by multiple sources and I couldn't agree more!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy of The Break-Up Book Club by Wendy Wax in exchange for my honest review. This is the first book that I have read of hers and I am excited that her backlist is so extensive!

The members of the Atlanta Book Club have been reading, chatting, and sharing cocktails together for years. Some have come and gone over the years, but the ones that have stuck it out are so much more than just fellow club members, they are like family. The story focuses on 4 of the women, but the supporting characters from the book club were just as important to me!

I was totally hooked by all the strong characters in this interwoven story. They each had their own individual storyline and I was equally interested and invested in each of them. Each of the women is at different crossroads in the story. And I really appreciated that each of the main characters were in such different seasons of life, from their early 20's to their 60's. All of their problems and struggles felt so realistic and the delicate subjects were handled perfectly. 

I have to say that one of my favorite things about this book overall, is the underlying theme of friendship and the way that everyone in the Book Club supported each other. The club is filled with a diverse group of women and men, and you could really feel how they were more like a little family... they really came together at the end  with a bang of a twist ending! 

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that has read and enjoyed books by Robyn Carr, Kristan Higgins, or Nora Roberts! This book was a Five Star book for me and it is available now, so I hope you will consider picking it up soon!

OMG this was a fun book to read, especially if you love books and bookstores. I actually added several of the books mentioned to my TBR list.

This is a book from several perspectives: Judith, who longs to spice up her marriage after she hears her husband refer to her as a "good egg" when she is butt-dialed accidentally. Erin, who is about to marry her prince charming in a fairy tale inspired romance. Jazmine, a hard working sports agent whose tennis career was ruined by a car accident, raising her 13-year-old daughter, a budding tennis star herself. Sarah, a former foster kid who thought she found the man of her dreams, except he is hiding a deep dark secret and his mom, who lives with them, hates her.

All these women and a smattering of other characters come together over a love of books and eventually they all join the book club together. The book club itself is a charming band of merrymakers, including Carlotta, who used to be Carl, twins who finish each other's sentences, a quirky bookstore owner and a handsome EMT, to name a few.

These is a delightful story with lots of strong female characters, who when faced with challenges, rise to the occasion and fight for what they want. There is a bit of chick-lit aspect to this but I think any book lover would enjoy it. I certainly did as I read it in one afternoon.