Honestly, I wanted to like this book. I was excited about the synopsis. But it just didn't hold my attention. There is nothing wrong with this book, it just wasn't for me.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"The Break-Up Agency" is the perfect read for everyone who is looking for a couple of hours of good and romantic fun. It took me two chapters to find my way into the story, since you get thrown right into it without any sort of explanation, but once you're in, you don't want to get out. Loveable characters, a dog you just want to adopt right out of the pages and a plot that might be predictable, but entertaining nonetheless. I could hardly put this novel down and am looking forward to seeing it on the shelves.

I adored this book, it was everything a Rom-com should be. A main character who I’d love to hang out with (Ellie), a love interest I’m completely crushing on (American Dan), a couple of brilliant best friends plus … an amazing doggie- Gus.

The book tells the story of how Ellie sets up her business - Softer Landings - after helping her friend gently break up with a man. What Ellie doesn’t expect, though, so is that she’ll fall head over heels in love with one of the ‘dumpees’.

It’s a brilliant story, the plot covering many aspects of modern life and touching on sensitive matters which I don’t want to mention here and create spoilers - you need to enjoy this book spoiler free!

There is, of course, a happy ending and I was grinning from ear to ear as I read the final chapters. I was SO invested in Ellie and American Dan it was ridiculous!

A brilliant book which I highly recommend. If you’re a fan of rom-coms I think you’ll find this one irresistible!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Break-Up Agency by Sheila McClure. This book was different than anything I've ever read because I'd never heard of the break-up agency trope prior to downloading this novel. McClure's story is riddled with a lot of strengths and weaknesses, and I found that some of them were interchangeable.

The first thing I found to be both a strength and a weakness is the description and placing of landmarks. Having never been to Europe, this book did an amazing job of allowing me to travel without leaving the comfort of my home. However, I felt as if I was being bogged down by the constant insertion of the landmarks. I understood that American Dan was interested in all of the places mentioned, but it kind of felt like I was reading a fictional travel guide rather than a romantic story.

Another strength that also proved to be a weakness in my eyes is the characterization of not just the main character and her friends, but American Dan as well. I'm not sure if I was too far in my feelings while reading, but I felt as if a lot of his characterization was an exaggeration of what the author felt Americans were like. I'm also not sure if his characterization (at least in the beginning) was supposed to reflect what the characters felt or if his characterization was made out of assumptions and stereotypes.

As much as I wanted to love this novel because of the unique plot, I had to rate it 3/5 stars. I'll be giving this author's work another chance, but The Breakup Agency proved to not be my personal cup of tea.

I’ll start off by saying that this book isn’t one I’d Normally go for. I chose it as I like to explore different genres now and again and this one just jumped out at me. The cover is just lovely, it certainly did it’s job in catching my eye.
The premise of this is something I’d not heard of before. An agency that softens a break up. There was so much going on, more than enough to keep you occupied. Really well written, brilliant characters! All unique and all well rounded. I got so invested in it, I just had to keep reading.
Honestly, for this genre, this book is a stand out novel.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my arc
5 out of 5

The Break-Up Agency is my first book by author Shelia McClure.

The Break-Up Agency by Sheila McClure is a great book about second chances. This novel was about an agency that helps couples when they are breaking up. This feel good story shows that break ups don’t have to be horrible.
This story has you cheering for Ellie as well as the other characters. I loved how the characters interact with each other and how you can tell they make each other better.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be hard to get into, especially during the first few chapters. Just based on this, I typically would have chosen to put the book down but since I had received an arc, it was only through the obligation of reviewing it that I felt the need to continue on.

There were parts that I felt so much second-hand embarrassment (when she said “don’t be jelly, Simone” I literally cringed) and those moments alone were enough to make me not wanna continue reading. Secondly, I just couldn’t click with the main character like I had hoped to. Maybe it was because of the amount of inner dialogue, where I just couldn't keep focus on what Ellie was actually doing? Furthermore, the way that disabilities were brought up made me feel a bit uncomfortable (“happy pills”??? c’mon…). It definitely could have been approached with more sensitivity.

The concept of the book is what caught my attention, and I think it’s a great foundation but the execution could have been a bit better. I don’t think I really ever got “into it.” Like, at no point did I feel indulged in the plot. This was a lighthearted read but I don’t find myself reaching for it again in the future.

This wasn't the book for me. A large reason for that is because this has insta-love which is my least favourite trope ever. And the whole romance roots upon this insta-love which it made it difficult for me to care or root for it. There were cute moments but overall, the romance just didn't work for me.

The characters were okay though sometimes I felt the dynamics were confused. No spoilers but I didn't get Thea and Simon's friendship and overall, the characters were okay but entirely forgettable.

Positives include that it did hold my attention and I loved the premise. I also didn't see the plot twist coming and that worked for me. I definitely would have enjoyed this more if it wasn't for the insta-love which honestly made me want to tear my hair out. And Ellie was very forgettable so maybe more character development for her.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this.

I think the book's premise was fascinating and it was what got me requesting this book in the first place. A break-up agency is a concept that I could see happening in real life. I am not a massive fan of slow-burn romances, but I won't hold that against this book as it is just my personal preference. I felt that this book was a little bit difficult to get into. To be honest, I had to really force myself through a lot of the story as it got a little bit too long in some parts of the story. I probably would not read this one again, but it was something that I would recommend to others. It just is not my thing.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.


This was a good read for the most part. The concept was interesting but the execution could have been a little different.

What I liked about the book:
- Gus
- The funny Softer Landings interviews
- The slow-building friendship between Ellie and Dan.
- Ellie's friendship with the school librarian

Things that I wasn't particularly fond of that led to this rating:
- the writing, the first chapters were really confusing and hard to follow
- too much inner monologue
- some side characters that were there for no reason ( Diego )

I really enjoyed the chapters in the middle of the book because we finally saw Ellie and Dan interacting more. But then by the end, the book turned a little chaotic like it was at the beginning.

Also, one important thing around 41% : Ellie says something along the lines of " people who can't have kids probably wouldn't choose to work as a primary school librarian because it could be torture and then she compared it to unrequited love" . And honestly, that left me a little baffled.



Summary

When Ellie moves to London she gets her heart broken and starts a new job. When one of her new friends needs help to break up with her "too nice" boyfriend she offers to help. What she doesn't expect is that the "too nice boyfriend" (also known as American Dan) is actually a nice and kind person and someone who she could totally fall for. After the break up she offers to keep Gus, American Dan's dog, while he goes on a volunteer Missionar trip to Ethiopia. But Dan stops communicating with her shortly after.


Seeing how good Ellie was at helping people break up in a gentler way, encouraged by her friends she starts her company Softer Landings.

After a year American Dan reappears in her life with a new girlfriend. They quickly become friends but Ellie notices a difference in him but He refuses to talk about it.

After a while American Dan's girlfriend hires Ellie to break up with Dan in her place, only her plan is a little different from what Ellie usually does. Ellie feels guilty and tries to give her her money back but American Dan's girlfriend leaves the UK and can't be reached easily.

Ellie and Dan keep spending time together and they finally confess their true feelings... and of course something happens and they get separated. They eventually find their way back to each other and we find out what really happened in Ethiopia. And there is a happy ending!

The break-up agency stars Ellie Shaw, a break up specialist who starts Soft Landings. Soft Landings specializes in ensuring both sides of a break up leave the relationship feeling like it was the right path to take. She started doing this for her sister at a younger age and realized she was good at it. Her business starts after she ends up heartbroken in London and helping a coworker, Thea, end a relationship with American Dan, a guy that seems perfect to Ellie. Ellie ends up agreeing to take American Dan's dog while he goes out of the country to pursue a career dream. Upon his return, she is heartbroken to learn he has brought a girlfriend home with him.

Enjoy

- The questionnaires for the break up service were fun

- I loved Gus, the dog

- This book made me want to go to London!

Did not enjoy

- The book was hard to get into, it seemed sort of jumbled at the beginning

- It was stressful knowing that Ellie HAD to make things work with Soft Landings to ensure she would have an income; the whole business plan forced upon her made me anxious

- Ellie seemed to have a slight "whoa is me" attitude that bordered on distracting

- Ellie's relationship with her coworkers (friends) seemed to be very 'third-wheel' and I felt for her wanting to be included

- The fact that Ellie fell in love with her coworkers boyfriend without first meeting him and only off of her descriptions of things the coworker did not like about him

DNF AT 64%
This book was a lot. I tried to keep reading it, but I genuinely didn't have it in me to finish it. This book felt like it had everything but the kitchen sink which made it incredibly overwhelming. I do think that it would be enjoyable for some readers though. I just don't think I was the ideal reader. It also felt very predictable at the point I set it down, I felt like i could predict the ending of the book. Though I do really like the cover.

I was excited for this book based on the cover art and description, but it really fell flat for me. I’ve been on a huge romance kick lately, but I really struggled to even finish this one. It took me a lot longer than my normal reads.

I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, and none of them were exceptionally likeable. I will say that I enjoyed the development of Thea over the course of the book though. There was zero chemistry between the two main characters, and I felt myself getting bored with their interactions.

Overall this just wasn’t the book for me. I did receive a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After years of breaking up with her sister's boyfriends and going through a rough split of her own, Ellie decides to take matters into her own hands and create the break-up agency. Her new company will ensure that deserving "dumpees" leave the relationship feeling cared for and like they are better off rather than wonder what they did wrong to deserve a break-up. One of the first people she helps is her friend/co-worker Thea who needs to break up with Dan, but things go awry when Ellie starts to feel some sort of way in the midst of the break-up.

Flash forward one year later and Dan shows up again. Will Ellie act on her feelings even though Dan is in a relationship? Will she take Dan's girlfriend up on her unique offer? And will she ever figure out why Dan is giving off these mixed signals?

This book took awhile to get into and was honestly not my absolute favorite, but it was still a relaxing summer read. I would not necessarily call this a true romance as it felt more like a "finding oneself" novel instead.

Need to break up with someone? Ellie and her co-workers at Softer Landings will do that for you. Their goal is to offer gentle break ups. As Ellie has been offered to take this company to a higher level, the break-up that started it all is back. Dan was not her ex, but as Ellie was breaking up with him for his girlfriend, she fell in love with him. She also ended up acquiring his dog. Now that he’s back and has a girlfriend, his current girlfriend decide she wants to break up with him.

As I read about the premise of this book, it sounded very interesting. As I started reading the book, there were parts that hooked me, but a lot that started to lose me. The relationship that Ellie had with her coworkers was a very confusing one. She worked with them in her day job but also at Softer Landings, but she also socialized with them outside of work, even though she did not seem to consider them friends. I also did not like the way they appeared to treat her. Simon seemed to be OK, but I did not like Thea. Also, it was just not realistic how she instantly fell in love with Dan while she was breaking up with him for Thea. And, he just instantly handed over his dog, just like that? And the whole business that all of them worked at during the day was just very confusing. I think the plot had a good outline but I think everything in between could have been better.

I definitely will give this book a second read at a later time. That may help process details and make the story make more sense later on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC. Our thoughts and opinions are mine.

The Break-Up Agency by Sheila McClure was a fun read! I really enjoyed the story and loved the characters. Five stars!

I wasn't super crazy about this book. The premise was cute if a little far-fetched, but I could get past that for the sake of a narrative. However, as a disabled person, I couldn't get past the outdated ideas and language about disability. I didn't love that one of the characters was an off-screen disabled person whose only job in the narrative was to be an inspiration while dying. Disabled folks deserve better.

This book has so much potential, although at the start I was slightly confused, with the back and forth I wasn't sure who was who and what was where. This did put me off, but to review means to continue, so I pushed on.

The story line was a lot, although it was very easy to piece together what was coming next in a lot of it. The random pop up of characters was quite confusing.

However, I didn't not enjoy it, but it isn't one I would read again.

If you’re looking for an easy romantic comedy then The Break-Up Agency may appeal. With an entertaining side cast of over dramatic colleagues and intense bosses this is an escape from reality.

Is the premise totally believable? No. Could the main characters have had more depth to them? Yes. Are some of the issues and themes clumsily handled? Yes

But it’s lighthearted and easy to skim read when looking for a distraction.

I fell in love with the characters in this wonderful Rom com from Sheila McClure, every single one of them. Ellie is an adorable disaster who means well and American Dan is a heart throb of a hero with a heart of gold. Secondary characters such as Thea and Simon are laugh out loud hilliarious. Which is why the darkness that lingers in the shadows of this book is so painful to read. There is absolute tragedy. There is heartbreak. The result is a really fulfilling story of love, and loss, of heartache and redemption, of moving on in life and finding the One. There is a depth here which makes the humour sparkle even more brightly, and makes the happily every after deeply satisfying. I'd give more stars if I could. I love a comedy, but a comedy with teeth, one that makes you think and makes you feel, is always a treasure.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review.