Plus-size cyclist, Abby, takes a job leading a diverse group of cyclists on a two week bike tour from New York City to Niagra Falls. A man, Sebastian, whom Abby met a couple years ago is on this trip, unbeknownst to her. They had a quick fling, she left, and never contacted him. She now has a boyfriend back home. How will all this play out over the next two weeks? I was drawn in as I wanted to find out what was going to happen.

There were a couple other "drama" events that I was unsure of where they were going in the plot and chose to not let them sway my star choice.

Thank you Atria books and NetGalley for the ARC for my review.

I liked that this story had a lot of body positivity, but my likes unfortunately stopped there. There was entirely too much going on and I felt like a lot of unnecessary things were added just to make it relevant in the political climate that is happening in the US right now.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGallery in exchange for my honest opinion. I’ve been a long time reader of Jennifer Weiner’s books. Some I loved, some I didn’t. The Breakaway took me back to the good old days of my favorites. The plus sized Abby was relatable and the subplots with Morgan was timely and sadly relevant without being controversial. Overall, a good, easy read and I’d love to have a girls’ bike program for my daughter!

really enjoyed parts of this novel - the self image parts, the complicated mother / daughter parts, and the biking parts. However I HATE cheating in books I don’t think I’ll ever love a book that uses cheating as a plot device. Also I found the inclusion of every hot-button topic a bit clunky and heavy- handed, and a bit holier than though/preachy… even though Jw and I most likely have similar opinions on several things.

Thanks to the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Jennifer Weiner hooked me years ago and I never miss a book! The breakaway was a fast beach read which I enjoyed! Weiner always delivers with a relatable, not so perfect heroine whose flaws mirror our own. Character depth is always Weiners strong suit and despite being a "beach read" - Weiner is able to maintain the romance plot while writing a character that is richly developed. This book would be an absolute 5 star for me, except for a slight feeling of "political rhetoric" which took away from the escapism aspect which I have come to love about Weiners books! Thank you for the advanced copy - I will absolutely be recommending and purchasing for friends!

This is a breezy read about love and forgiveness. Abby is a flawed and relatable character--not everything in her life is picture-perfect, but she's determined to figure it out. That means pushing herself out of her comfort zone and leading a bike tour for the first time! As a plus-sized woman, again totally relatable, she has lots of self-doubts, but she proves herself and faces many challenges including confronting her judgmental mother and a past lover along with navigating the hodgepodge group of tour participants with their own problems.
I love Jennifer Weiner's writing and characterization; you feel like you know everyone of these characters personally and feel for them.
I definitely recommend you add it to your list.

Jennifer Weiner has another classic with The Breakaway! Abby Stern is happily set in her life, or so she keeps trying to believe. Her career might not be exactly what she wants, her boyfriend is suggesting they move in together which is great, (right???), she's almost comfortable in her plus sized body and she's been offered the opportunity to lead a two week long bike ride, which she's very excited about. What she's not expecting is to see the guy she had a very memorable one night hookup with in the group of bikers two years prior, and which she's fantasized about ever since! Will this be the beginning of the end for everything she's worked towards?

The Breakaway is a surprising novel which covers so much more than Abby and her issues. All of the characters are well fleshed out and given depth, even the minor ones. The conflict between Abby and her mother is so familiar to many of us who grew up in the 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond who were overweight. I also love that Ms. Weiner infuses the novel with so much of the local Philadelphia area, I also grew up going to the Cherry Hill Mall (still go there!) and many of the places in Philly she mentions. I absolutely loved this novel!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. Run right out and buy this one!

The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
I used to love Jennifer Weiner’s books, In Her Shoes, Good in Bed and others.
Lately I have been disappointed in her newer books and unfortunately her newest novel was a disappointment as well. As in many of Ms. Weiner’s novels, Abby, the main protagonist has a weight problem. As a matter of fact, she first met her boyfriend Mark as a teenager in a weight loss camp, she called fat camp. Years later, they meet again and they start seriously dating. Mark is now half of his teen age size and perfect husband material, making a good living as a podiatrist, has a nice apartment and loves Abby. Abby’s favorite thing is to ride her bike, Mark has never learned how to. This is just one of the reasons, Abby is comfortable, but not super happy in this relationship.
She is called upon to lead a bike group from New York City to Niagara Falls in the last minute, when a previous leader couldn’t make it .
I never learned to ride a bike myself, but I imagine, such a long and serious bike trip would not involve getting into the private lives of the drivers, personal relationships between Abby’s mother and herself. And oh yes, a guy, Sebastian , who Abby had a one night stand with two years ago is also on the trip. I don’t like books, where after the first chapter you know how everything will turn out and at the end of the novel you find out you were right and everything is tied up in a neat bow. Overall, can’t give this novel more than two stars, I was bored through most of it.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and opinions are my own only.

Abby is a thirty something year old, healthy relatively happy and comfortable in her own skin, even if it is plus size. Having fought with her mother about her weight for her whole life she has forged her own way. Does it really matter that she lives like a teenager, doesn't have a long term plan for her life and is in a relationship that seems so right but at the same time not so right? A favor is called in and she ends up leading a bike tour which includes Sebastian, her bar hook up from the previous year and off we go.
This is so much more than just a romance. It speaks of self love and caring for others. The topic of abortion comes up when one of the teenagers on her tour seeks out a Planned Parenthood for an abortion. It deals with relationships that we all have, with our parents, friends and lovers. I thoroughly enjoyed going on this ride we call life with Abby and her group.
#TheBreakaway#NetGalley#AtriaBooks

The Breakaway is a story of Abby Stern, an avid cyclist who struggles with her weight. All throughout her life, Abby has felt judged by boys, family and friends but now that she is in her 30’s, she is finally feeling okay in her body…now if only she can find her niche in life. When she’s given the opportunity to lead a bike ride across upstate New York, she comes up with an idea that might mark her future. However, when she shows up to lead the ride, she comes face to face with someone from her past who she never thought would want to see her again. Will Sebastian take her heart for a ride or is he here for the long haul?

TW: body shaming, pandemic reflections and abortion; I felt the last one was unnecessary to the storyline. Also, am I the only person who loathes reading about the pandemic? Let’s forget it ever happened please.

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

One thing I can always count on with Jennifer Weiner’s books is female characters I can relate to, and I’m a plus-size woman, so it was easy to relate to Abby and her feelings about size-acceptance and everything that goes along with that. But I do have to admit that The Breakaway is my least favorite of what I’ve read so far of Jennifer’s work. I was hoping for a light-hearted read, but with all the talk of abortion, polygamy, gender pronouns, etc. it felt politically driven. (I get enough of that from the daily news). Books are an “escape” for me, but sadly this one wasn’t. I have to agree with the reviewer who commented that Jennifer’s writing style has changed from her earlier books. Simply put, they just aren’t as fun as they used to be, and that’s very disappointing.

I enjoyed this book and read it quickly because the author does a good job of keeping you interested. I liked the main character Abby, but some of the other characters was not as devoted to.

"The Breakaway" by Jennifer Weiner goes at a nice pace, just like the cyclists in her novel. Abby, the main character, is learning a lot about herself and reflecting on her past while leading a group of cyclists through New England in the fall. She thinks she has her life figured out but events and people from her past accompany her on her journey.

I am a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner. I love who she presents as a person as well as many if her older books. This was the first book of hers that I liked in a few years. I liked the characters and was proud of her for tackling abortion. That said, I still miss her older books. I don’t know what has changed but the storytelling just isn’t as good. Almost like they are now written to be turned into a lifetime movie. Still, will always be a fan of hers.

[UPDATED] After some thought: 2.5 stars rounded up.

This is my first Jennifer Weiner book (even though I've had a couple of books on my TBR list) and I'm going back and forth on if it will be my last.

There was just a lot, maybe too much, happening which is why the ending felt rushed. Feminism, abortion, gender pronouns, polygamy, etc. all of it was through a lens of privilege, and as a Black woman, I just could not relate to how "easy" everything felt. One thing in particular that *really* bothered me was that there wasn't a single mention of the cost to get an abortion at Planned Parenthood. It seems small, but when Abby talks about helping other girls get access to health care, she only talks about getting to point A to point B (which I get because it's about cycling BUT), not the financial aspect of it all, including the $500+ it costs to get a medical abortion at Planned Parenthood.

Overall, the book was *fine* which is why I rounded up. I really loved the complexity of mother-daughter relationships as a daughter with a mother and how that was portrayed. I could have done with a lot less of the other characters and more of Abby telling Mark why they weren't good together, or more of Sebastian's healing journey, or how Abby and Sebastian do after he professes his love.

*** Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for an ARC in return for my honest review!***

I loved this book but I need an epilogue to that epilogue please Jennifer Weiner!!!!! I loved the characters, they were so well developed that I truly feel like I miss them now that I finished reading. I didn't watch the Vanderpump Rules Scandoval Reunion Part 3 as it aired because I couldn't put this book down and if that doesn't say enough than I don't know what will!

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Atria Books for an advance copy of this novel set in a bike club full of characters who change gears and have a better life.

One of the saddest phrases in the English language is what could have been. This phrase is quick to cut in many ways. Blaming the person thinking it for not taking a chance, or blaming someone else for not doing so. This phrase shows that people are content with a life that seems perfect in many was. Maybe it could be better, maybe it could be worse. These thoughts slowly effect a person, a poison of the mind that might spread, affecting relationships with lovers and families. Once awhile a person gets another chance, to see if the path less taken leads to a happier trail, or one that ends in a cliff. The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner is about a young woman, a bike club, her dark secret and her judgemental mom.

Abby Stern thinks she is finally happy, after years of being lost. Two stabs at graduate school, many diets, and finally love with a boy she met years ago. Engaged to be married, and finally at piece with her body image, an image not helped by her mother, Abby still has a doubt. A few years before Abby had met a man and had a night that she still remembers to this second. Maybe there is more to life than what the future seems to hold. A chance at leading a bike trip from New York City to Niagara Falls is offered, and Abby needing time and distance takes it. Only to find that her one-night stand is a fellow biker. And Abby's Mom is also on the trip. And a trip to think about the future just got a lot harder.

There is a lot that will be familiar to long time readers here. Weight, family, love, sex. The addition of bikes does make the book different, and the idea of bike clubs does sound like fun. The characters are kind of stock, Abby is not as nice as she thinks she is, the Mom is a little too invasive, and the man crush is very Hallmark movie acting, before he changes near the third act. Fans will like it. The bike club is interesting. A nice diverting read for the beach. Or to listen to while biking.

I want to thank Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC. I loved this book, plain and simple just loved it. I think it might be my favorite book by Jennifer Weiner so far. I might be a little biased, since I am from the Philadelphia area, so I love that I recognize and have been to the places she mentions in the book, and are familiar with the neighborhoods. I loved Abby, and just found myself identifying with her in so many ways. All of the different personalities of the members of the bike tour, and seeing how they formed their own little family over 12 days. The relationship between Abby and her mother and Abby really getting to know her mother. I really just loved everything about it.

I didn't really care for the main character, Abby, as it seemed she wasn't much better a person than some of the people she felt had caused her so much damage (mainly her mother).

Abby has been reunited with her teen boyfriend, and now they're on the path to getting married. But Abby has some feeling that there is something missing. When she gets the chance to lead a 2 week bike tour, she decides it will be a great way to escape and maybe figure out what's wrong with her - why wouldn't she be completely excited to marry someone who was pretty much perfect?

Then Abby finds one of the tour partcipants, Sebastian, is a man she had a one-nigh stand with several years ago. She's never forgotten that night, and the feelings are impossible to ignore during the 2 weeks.

There were a few other topics thrown in that really didn't add much to the story, but they didn't bother me- I felt they were pretty unrealistically portrayed and resolved.
I received an ARC from #NetGalley to share my honest thoughts and opinions.

In real life, the author has become an avid cyclist. Now she's written a book to reflect that passion. The main character, Abby, has a passion for cycling. She is asked to step in and lead a group bike trip, on which we learn about the other participants and Abby gets a couple of surprises.

Weiner's go to themes are present here, but as always, it's an enjoyable read. Even if I can't fathom cycling for 30+ hours a day!