I adore Weiner's books so was excited for this one. It’s nice to have a book about an overweight character that’s comfortable in her own skin. I love the mother/daughter relationship in this book, the setting was unique and ending wrapped up everything nicely.

I loved this book! I loved the main character! I live in New York State so it was fun to read about the biking trail! Thank you for the arc of this book!!!

Abby is in her early 30's, overweight, lacking a real job, and her mother is constantly trying to get her to lose weight. BUT her boyfriend is a doctor, while a podiatrist really and he wants her to move in with him. If only she wanted to... The only thing Abby really likes is riding her bike, which is how she ended up leading a bike tour from NYC TO NIAGARa falls. This group of people happens to include the only guy she had a 1 night stand with, completely ghosted, and has thought about ever since.

Jennifer Weiner is the kind of author that I stop reading whatever I’m reading to pick up her book! If you follow Wiener on social media you know she’s an avid cycler which is evident in this book!
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Abby seems to have it all, but she can’t escape the nagging feeling that something’s missing. When an opportunity arises to lead a cycling trip she takes it, allowing herself time to reflect on what she really wants out of life. This is a story about healing, finding yourself, complicated familiar relationships and love.
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Huge thank you to #atria and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review?

The Breakaway was a perfect summer read! The cast of characters may initially seem like an unlikely bunch, coming from all walks of life, but I love how they bond and support each other throughout their journey. The messages of female empowerment and support throughout were inspiring. Just a tiny note - toward the end there was a reference to a guidance counselor, and I wish the book had used the proper terminology of school counselor. (More info here: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/c8d97962-905f-4a33-958b-744a770d71c6/Guidance-Counselor-vs-School-Counselor.pdf).

I received a free copy to review on NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

Thirty-three-year-old Abby Stern seems to listen to the voices of the past rather than seeing the person she is. She agrees to lead a group of bikers over two weeks and more than seven hundred miles, As the journey moves forward she starts feeling like things aren't right in her life. The people with her, also has issues that they work on. A lot can happen in 2 weeks and 700 miles,
I could relate to this story. I enjoyed the adventure, the experiences, and the things they discovered along the way.
I received an ARC from Atria Books.

I've always loved the body positivity in Jennifer Weiner's books and this book is no exception. This book deals with Abby, and her relationship with her childhood sweetheart, a new love interest, and her mother. All separately but equally as important as its made her the woman she is today. Jennifer Weiner's books tend to be made into movies as well and I do hope to see the "The Breakaway" in a big screen one day. 5/5 stars.

Told from multiple perspectives, THE BREAKAWAY explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, women's reproductive rights, as well as the societal expectations placed on women. With Weiner's trademark acerbic wit and strong characterization, THE BREAKAWAY is a must read.

I vividly remember purchasing my first summer read after graduating high school and it was Jennifer Weiner’s In Her Shoes… I quickly became a fan! Years later and with the help of bookstagram her more recent titles I have devoured and I was so excited to see her latest with the theme of a bike trip! If you follow Jennifer on Instagram you know she has a passion for bike riding and I was so excited to see how she would write about it.

Let’s just say she inspired me to dust off my peloton… and yes I know it’s different then hitting the pavement 😂 IYKYK.

I loved this book and is a new favorite of mine of hers. I’m sad to see the negative reviews circulating on GR due to the topics that Weiner touches upon. This book was refreshing with real life coming off the pages. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters in the group and felt Abby’s character to be strong and poised throughout! Also Sebastian sounds like a major fictional babe and now I’m craving spaghetti! 😂

Looking forward to what she does next!

Absolutely loved this new one by Jennifer Weiner! I love that Weiner always touches on social issues. This one included abortion. I thought she did it really well. The main character also was a fitness instructor who also struggled with her body image and not having the ideal body type. I loved that part and thought it was really well done!

TW: Abortion and Body Shaming

I am not a romance novel type of girl usually, but I love Jennifer’s writing so was interested in this book. The main character, Abby, who speaks a lot about being overweight, takes us on her journey to find love.

While Abby talks constantly about being plus size, she also has the perfect boyfriend, and another hottie who finds her beautiful. I started to get annoyed because it seemed like everyone loved Abby, but Abby herself. At the end of the book, I really hoped she would, but I was left feeling like she still wasn’t complete.

While the story is unique, and has some very sweet moments, it was a 3.5 rounded up to 4 for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Breakaway is a very cute romance with the second chance at love trope. However, it's also the story of a strong woman, who has built a good life for herself despite having been forced to fight with her own body weight since she was fairly young.
On the outside, she has her life together, but once she starts asking herself if she's truly happy, she wonders more and more. Not only if she's happy, but what happiness is.
To help out one of her best friends, Abby agrees to lead a bike trip from Central Park to Niagara Falls. And everything about the actual bike trip seemed like so much fun! I need to find out if those kind of tours exist in the real world - if not, they really should.
There were some pretty heavy subjects that were treated very delicately and with a lot of finesse, and that made me love Abby and some of the other female characters even more.
The romance aspect was really well done, especially because Abby - while plenty confident with a lot in her life - wasn't sure she could trust that a man really, really wanted her. And so, that made him have to work for it.

An enjoyable summer read about a plus-sized woman in her early '30s trying to get her life on track on both a personal and professional level. Abby Stern is living in Philadelphia and mostly happy with her life although she still has gig jobs instead of a career. She has been dating Mark, her childhood sweetheart from weight-loss camp for the past two years and getting engaged seems like the next step but Abby feels that something isn't right even though Mark is perfect on paper. An offer to lead a two week group bike tour on the Empire Trail from New York City to Niagara Falls provides Abby a chance to get away and think about what she really wants. To Abby's surprise, the tour group includes her disapproving mother as well as Sebastian, a serial dater she had a one night stand with two years earlier and hasn't seen since. The group sets off from NYC and while sparks fly with Sebastian, Abby tries to figure out if she wants to move in with Mark, begins to patch her relationship with her mother, and manages the tour participants and issues that come up all while biking 50+ miles a day.

There's a lot going on in The Breakaway - there's the romance dilemma of which man is right for Abby, the evolving relationship between Abby and her mother and the question of what Abby wants to do professionally. There's also an abortion side plot which could have easily been a separate book of its own. I didn't care for Sebastian as a love interest but other than that I thought this was well-written and a good summer beach read!

This was a 3.5 star read for me but I'm rounding up to 4 because I appreciate that Jennifer Weiner continues to incorporate current issues pertaining to women's rights into her novels despite criticism from more conservative readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I once enjoyed Jennifer Weiner books. I felt she was a voice that was missing in the book world. And then she disappeared. Not literally, but her voice no longer had the same impact it once did. Weiner’s books became superficial, pointless and just downright cringy. I promised myself I would never read another Jennifer Weiner book again.

But I was offered an advanced copy of Weiner’s newest book, The Breakaway, and I thought I would give her another chance. And now I mean it. I will NEVER read another book from the author again.

The Breakaway was beyond ridiculous. Here is my laundry list why:

• Jennifer Weiner used to write Women’s Fiction, but this book was strictly romance. And not a very good one. The teen romance books that I used to read in the 80s were written better than this book.
• The main character, Abby, and a love interest had no chemistry. They essentially fall in love with each other after a one-night stand, even though he is a serial womanizer who never had feelings for anyone before Abby. The extent that the author shows their deep connection is that they eat pasta in bed together.
• Abby is almost engaged to someone she met in summer camp. On paper, her boyfriend is perfect. But she questions their life-long commitment because he doesn’t know how to ride a bike. What?!?!?!
• Throughout the book, there is tension between Abby and her mother. The tension quickly resolves itself at the end of the story for reasons that almost caused me to throw the book across the room.
• While I don’t have issues with the author’s beliefs, I felt Weiner went a bit over the top with the politics. This could have been a great opportunity to show a more personal side of women’s reproductive rights. But, the author did not handle it with the care that the story needed. She was preachy, shoving her beliefs down the reader’s throats. Instead, what could have been a learning experience turned into something that was inaccessible for many. I can see a lot of readers having an even more negative opinion about “liberalism” than they may have previously held after reading this book.
• Cheating. Just no.

Overall, the book was a waste of my time. The only good thing that came out of the experience for me is that I will never waste time on a Jennifer Weiner book again.

On a side note: The May 2023 Amazon First Reads offered a novella called Golden Hills, also by Jennifer Weiner. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this is a companion story to The Breakaway.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this complimentary book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this new book from Jennifer Weiner. I have come to trust that when I see Jennifer Weiner's name, I know I will enjoy the book, and The Breakaway did not disappoint.

The Breakaway is the name of the cycling group that Abby is a part of. She has been asked to be a last minute tour leader. She has a wonderful boyfriend, Mark, who she was reunited with as adults after being friends together at a "fat farm" they both attended in their youth.

On this ride, Abby is forced to face someone from her past, as well as her mother. Each day, Abby is faced with challenges as a leader, as well as personal challenges.

What I loved about this story, is that even though I have no interest in the cycling world, this story was thoroughly enjoyable. I also could empathize with Abby from a body positivity perspective.

I would strongly encourage you to read this book!

Triggers: Abortion, body shaming
This author is well known for her character driven stories, and that is prevalent in this new release which centers on a group of strangers touring New York state by bikes.

At the heart of the story is Abbey Stern, a plus-sized woman who is struggling with the direction of her life. As a favor, she agrees to fill in for a friend on Breakaway Bicycle Tours, leading a ride from New York City to Niagara Falls. The author uses this ride to explore the lives of Abbey and her fellow riders through their alternating POVs, including one who Abbey just happens to know intimately after a one-night stand years prior.

Sebastian Piersall is a P-L-A-Y-E-R. He's never had an interest in relationships, but his one night with Abbey had him yearning for more. After being ghosted, he makes do with other women warming his bed, but is very excited to reconnect with Abbey on this trip. The only problem is now she has a boyfriend.

Through their POVs, we learn about how both these characters handle this reconnection and explore whether they deserve a chance. One thing I loved about them is that Abbey's curver size is never discussed, something she is not used to, growing up with parents that sent her to a "fat camp". It is clear Sebastian likes Abbey just the way she is, and his lack of judgement has her exploring the state of her current relationship.

In addition to this couple, the storyline also involves a rider who is gripping with an unwanted pregnancy. I won't go into the details of what happens, but given this is a controversial subject, it is worth noting. I liked how the author navigated this part of the story - while it definitely leans towards one side of the subject, it is still handled with care.

So, what happens when the adventure tour comes to an end? Is everyone happy? Maybe, maybe not, but they are in a space after to chase that happiness. Getting to a HEA is a bit messy, but in the end, I think it all worked out.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Abby is thirty-four years old plus-size woman in a difficult situation. Her boyfriend, Mark, has asked her to move together, but there is something inside her that keeps her unsure about her relationship with him. When she is offered a job as a tour guide on a bicycle trip for a couple of days, she accepts it just to delay moving in with Mark. This tour becomes full of unexpected events, especially when Abby finds out that her one-night stand man, Sebastien, is part of it too. And to make things worse, her mother is also a participant. The reader follows the main character and several of the secondary characters’ POVs during the course of that tour.

This is the third book I've read by Jennifer Wiener. I like the author’s writing style and her interesting way of storytelling. Breakaway was no exception because all these pros were very much there. The main focus of the book is the romantic relationship between Abby and the two men. So the main characters are well developed.

However, what this book lacks are the additional subjects and themes that the author usually injects into her stories. There are several other themes here too, but their impact, I’d say, isn’t as strong as in the previous books I’ve read. The other thing that I felt was unnecessary was the POVs of the side characters. I’m not sure that enhanced the story or the reading experience for me. Regardless of the cons of this book, I still enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who wants something fun and light to read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for review.
This book follows Abby and all of the relationships around her. She is dating Mark but is still stuck on an old fling, Sebastian. We also see Abby’s relationship with her mother and her body. This book was a great read. I really enjoyed all of the other characters’ conflicts and how they rounded out. The mentions of pop culture like COVID or TikTok tended to take me out of the story. However, I think the author seemed well versed on topics of social media and pop culture, so it wasn’t too bad to read.

Jennifer Weiner's "The Breakaway" was thought provoking and honest, touching on many issues such as body shaming, family conflict, infidelity and abortion. It had me in all my feels, but was such a fun book to read even with all the heavier topics.

This might be my favorite rom-com I've read this year. I loved the setting of a bike trip, and I loved the narrator, who was imperfect, unlike a lot of narrators who seem to have an awesome career or family. I also liked that she kind of screwed up in the book, and the addition of the relationship with her mom. Inventive and refreshing for someone who reads a lot of books in this genre, but not completely out of left field.