Member Reviews

Would love to write a review once HarperCollins decides to come to the table and negotiate with the HC Union.

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I really liked this book. It had semi-quick pacing, and a unique premise, but something didn’t quite hit home for me. I think it was a mixture of the “insta-love”, and characters I didn’t quite click with. I was good, and I enjoyed reading it, but felt a little immature compared to my usual YA reads. I

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This is a YA supernatural Rom-com that will have you on your toes to find out what happens. It was so good. I devoured it.
I just reviewed Breakup from Hell by Ann Davila Cardinal. #BreakupfromHell #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]Edit

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Well, that relationship didn’t end well.

It’s Mica’s senior year, and she is ready for a change. Tired of what feels like a small life in a small Vermont town, she feels drawn to stranger Sam. He’s only supposed to be in town for a couple weeks, but something is growing between the two of them. The more time that she spends with Sam, the more Mica starts to change and the more Mica starts to see.

Maybe her small life in a small Vermont town isn’t so small after all.

This one is definitely a ride. Complete with chapter inscriptions from the Book of Revelation and a breakup resulting in a blowup of biblical proportions, this one is good for fans of the Scooby Gang found family and teenagers taking on the ultimate evil aspects of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (or similar aspects in newer iterations of that narrative). Breakup from Hell would make a fun campy movie or teen dramedy series.

I received an advance copy of the book from HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperTeen, and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

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Fast start to this book, which I really appreciated, since lately, I seem to have a ten minute concentration time.

Some other things to adore about this book is friendship, When you are young and in school you have friends and it doesn't seem like that big a deal, but when you get older, well, it's hard to find again. I love that this book really leans into friendship and as it turns out; when the going gets tough ..

Mica finds herself in a near instaneous High School romance, like the kind you only read about or in this case, the kind that is too perfect, like in a horror story. Her smalltown Vermont lifestyle is instantly more interesting and after a while she starts to realize that something is off, seriously crazy dangerously off about Sam, the perfect boyfriend.

Mica loves horror, but it does take her a while to figure out that she is living in horror movie and that she might not be the main character that makes it to the end.

I got some really fun Dracula vibes and a little bit of the creepiness of Rosemary's baby along with the more modern shades of Buffy and Angel and Buffy and Spike.

I do kinda wish the story was longer.

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I loved the paranormal aspect of this, I thought it was super cool. I'm not the biggest fan of "insta love" so that threw me off and I feel like made the pacing feel... fast but at times slow? It was very weird. I loved the main character and I feel like she had a lot of representation in her which is so needed.

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This book was very surprising to me it subverted many of my expectations the story started maybe like what I was thinking of but it quickly went a completely different direction that direction was really interesting though. It was a great good vs evil story the romance was different than expected I still loved everything about this book. I really loved the characters I especially loved Mica she was different than what I expected from the lead in a paranormal romance. I also loved her friends and the other romantic interest Rage he was much better for her I really liked how they got together by the end. The story was really interesting it started out like your typical paranormal romance with Maci meeting a new and interesting guy that she likes really quickly faster than she should of. After than weird things happen and things just go wrong often so after that other things happen and the new and interesting guy becomes something that Mica would not of expected at first. After that the romance of her and Rage starts with many bumps in the road other not so nice things happen and Mica and her friends find something out and set out to save the day after a while all is well and the also has a great ending to a great romance with her and Rage.

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This book was fun. Mica was a strong character and her take no bs personality was fun to read.
I would've enjoyed a bit more explanation as to how the friends are related to their angelic ancestors. The ending felt a bit abrupt.

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Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy of this book.

What a fun, easy read! Great for fans of Wednesday or Buffy, and with a cast as uproarious as their odd (yet symbolic) names, Mica and crew are a delight. There’s some relatable teen drama/rebellion and angst, along with flutterings of (super shallow) “love.” And having a MC who is an avid fantasy/horror reader was fun!

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This book was RIDICULOUS. But not entirely in a bad way 😂. It’s like a mix of Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Twilight meets Lucifer the TV show meets Riverdale? Like the CW would LOVE this for a show 😂.

The story is fun, it seems to sort of poke fun at itself, I mean there are Buffy, Twilight, and Lucifer jokes, a random Indiana Jones joke, other weird references that I’m not sure teenagers in high school in current day would actually say?

But the writing was just a mess. The descriptions were repetitive and cliched. It was a lot of “the page was kissed with gold” or “the sun kissed the sky” or “he wore old fashioned clothing”. The dialogue had so much cheesy name calling, calling someone a goth-ho or devil-ho or a biatch (LOL - do teens still say that?!) and everything was “so badass”.

And the ending was also very messy, and it was supposed to be all about Mica having a support system except her friends just sort of disappeared from the novel at 85%-ish and we regroup with them at the end and get a paragraph recap of what they were up to, but it was in dialogue written like no one actually talks, like it had been part of the book earlier on but instead they copied and pasted it into dialogue in a later draft?

Overall, this had a lot of potential, but just didn’t meet expectations. There’s a scene where Mica knocks Sam’s (the devil’s son) phone off a throne or something and he’s legit like “NOT MY PHONE!” And I died 😂😂😂.

If you’re looking for a super fast, supernatural, CW-teen cheesy read, with okay-ish writing this is for YOU. 😂📚

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This was a cute paranormal romance, that I finished in one sitting. It was a cute Ya book and I enjoyed it a lot.

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3 - 3.5 Stars for Breakup from Hell

One thing that's important to know is that you CANT go in to this book taking it very seriously. This book is campy/silly/very YA and reads like an episode of Supernatural combined with The Vampire Diaries.

It has a lot of moments where its fun and other comedic moments where its funny but overall I found it to be extremely predictable and the plot points that were most important to this book were very rushed. There wasn't much of a love triangle as there was just our MC bouncing back and forth between the new handsome guy and the childhood best friend which is a pretty common trope. When you're reminded though that this book all takes place over the course of two weeks though the timing of everything feels extremely rushed in just about every way.

If youre wanting a quick and easy read thats got a bit of charm and (again) feels like an episode from an early 2000s CW show then this is the book for you (I dont mean that in a bad way lol).

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I’m sorry this one just wasn’t for me. I read the first fifty pages and couldn’t get into it. It was giving me rip-off Twilight vibes.

I won’t be mentioning it in any social media outlets, as it was a DNF for me.

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I liked this book. This was a fun and intriguing read. I thought the characters were likable and the story held my attention well. There's plenty of twists to keep you on your toes and eager to keep reading.

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Unfortunately I won’t be giving. Feedback due to Harper Collins strike. Once the strike is over I will edit on goodreads.

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the concept is there, really, and i like it (that's make me requesting the arc in the first place). but it's just all over the place; the kind of 'i am different' main character, a love interest that's likeable and seen as romantic prospect by the main character from literally their first meeting, and overall the story not so fleshed out and the characters a lot of times are very two dimensional. i probably would like it if i read it as an early teenager.. or maybe not. even a teenage me knew what i like. it's that bad for me. i can see if anyone would like it, but this just not for me.

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This book would have done my teen angst heart so happy! Although I’m no longer a teen in high school, this book still really appealed to me. It definitely scratched that “just tell me what you are!!” Itch that Twilight gave me so long ago. Like I’m 99% sure what you are, but I’m gonna need you to say it 😂. I thought that the comedic timing was on point and so was the sarcasm. I loved the diverse cast or characters and the powerhouse of females; especially the unyielding Abuela. This book gave me a huge dose of nostalgia in the best way! It was a really fast paced Paranormal read, perfect for teens and lovers of the genre.

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I went into this without knowing anything about the book and from the cover thought oh a cute YA rom com where the boy ends up being a demon or something and it kind of starts that way. But then it takes a turn that I was pleasantly surprised with. My Buffy-loving heart was so happy with this book! It was fast, built quickly and I enjoyed the characters. The book has references to Catholic mythology that you don't need any background knowledge of that religion other than God and Satan to follow. If you enjoy YA books about friendship, breakups, and demons then this one is for you.

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I was very underwhelmed with Breakup from Hell. I thought the concept was fun, but the execution left a lot to be desired. The pacing was uneven throughout the book with the first part almost moving too fast and the second half bogging down. I also felt like the characters were making connections that they had no business making which caused the first part to feel very superficial. I also thought that there were plot points that could have been fleshed out better. They were mentioned once, ta-da moment!, and then we never get the why and the how. The second half had me rolling my eyes with how it all unfolded. And then once again, characters started making connections, and plot points started unraveling faster, and then it was over. I was left feeling like I wasn't sure what I had read.

I don't recommend this book because it doesn't feel like it was fully finished at the time the arcs went out. I have no interest in reading a final copy to see if any of my issues were fixed.

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This was a fun book to read. It’s got some suspense– the world may literally end if Mica and her friends can’t figure out how to stop it. But it’s also got a lot of fun banter between friends, a best friends to lovers thread, and a powerful main character with a strong connection to her mom and grandmother.

BREAKUP FROM HELL is set in a small Vermont town, which I also really liked. It feels very much like a small New England place, with a small downtown area filled with interesting shops and some surrounding farmland. I liked the way the story used the landscape at different points. It was kind of funny to see this quaint little town erupt with apocalyptic events.

I really liked the relationships between Mica and her friends, especially Zee and Rage. They were a loyal friend group with a very can-do approach to things. They stuck together and needed each other in order to piece everything together. I also loved Mica’s relationship with Abuela. They didn’t always see eye to eye, but they both loved each other so much, and ultimately wanted the best for one another. I thought Abuela’s notes on the fridge were fantastic.

All in all, I thought BREAKUP FROM HELL was a fun read, perfect for fans of paranormal books like BITTERWINE OATH by Hannah West.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

This review will post to my blog on 1/9/23.

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