Emily and Austin set high expectations with The Roughest Draft. The Breakup Tour was like a Taylor Swift tour love story. I love the underlining hints towards all the swifties! i didn't care for the celebrity romance but the second chance trope hit so hard for this and i was here for it because tens year is a long time to never forget someone you loved. This also has dual POV which you can tell clearly there is two different POVs just because there are two different authors. I love both of these authors so much and i can't wait to see what they write next! Thank you so much to Emily & Austin for this book, and thank you Berkeley Romance and Netgalley for letting me read this!

I think maybe this was not for me, or maybe I went it expecting more but sadly this was not something I loved. I am not a huge fan of TS but it felt very strange to use what the media says to perpetrate someone, if they were trying to appeal to the fans.... yeah.

Other than that I didnt think the main characters had a lot of chemistry. This could have been great and it just fell short for me personally!

Some people criticized this book because it feels too similar to Taylor Swift, basically. I’m not here to point fingers or criticize these readers, because to each their own. Personally, I have to agree with them on the fact that, yes, I spotted the Taylor Swift vibes. And, yes, I WAS LIVING for it, okay.
I’m not going to rewrite the synopsis here, I’ll just jump straight into it. Riley was a fantastic main character. Yes, I got the Taylor Swift vibes from her, as in, she’s this rising superstar writing about her ex-boyfriends and break-ups, pouring her heart and soul into her songs and the lyrics, too. I’m a swiftie, not going to lie, so I absolutely enjoyed it for that parallel, for sure. That being said, I just found Riley as a character absolutely wonderful. She’s determined, talented and I personally found myself rooting for her, from the very start.
Max, oh, Max had my whole heart. While he used to play piano and dream of music with Riley, he’s now taking care of an old folks’ home, basically, but always wondering what could have been. Max is so damn stubborn, at times, but I found him so endearing, as well.
Obviously, there’s romance in this book. Obviously, you’re rooting for it, right from the very start. I really, really enjoyed the slow-burning, second chance romance in this story. Max and Riley loved each other deeply in the past and I really enjoyed seeing them reconnecting after so long, seeing them banter again and, slowly, fall for each other again. These authors always catch me right in the feels with their romances. They know how to write beautifully romantic moments, they know how to tug at your heartstrings and find the notes that will make you swoon and yearn and, ugh. I just love it okay. I think they’re really, really strong romance writers and I found that in each and every one of their adult romance books.
This brings me to my next point: the writing. As always, I enjoy Austin & Emily’s writing immensely. They know how to play with words, how to send you straight into a character’s head and make you understand them, deeply. They know how to play with emotions, too and just captivate me with a story. In The Breakup Tour, I found all of this talent again and I just couldn’t stop reading. The story’s told from both Max and Riley’s POV and I enjoyed both immensely. AND there are song lyrics in there as well, which were excellent. I’d read more of these, for SURE.
Last, but not least, the setting is fascinating. I love celebrity stories and here, I had so much fun touring along with the characters, from the tour bus to the concerts, it was SO much fun.
What more can I say, I love these authors with all of my heart. If you’re a Swiftie, if you enjoy celebrity/musician romances, second chance romances and just beautiful writing, 200% recommending this always.

I was fortunate enough to win an e-ARC of THE BREAKUP TOUR by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka from a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy spring!

As a Swiftie, I approve of this book. The Breakup Tour truly gave me all the "break up" feels. The authors did such a great job evoking feelings that are attached to breaking up: sadness, longing, devastation, grief over the relationship.

Max and Riley are the past definition of Blank Space's "so it’s going to be forever or it’s going to go down in flames?" and the present definition of Midnight Rain.

He stayed behind to take care of his parents' business, she left to chase her dreams. And now they're reunited after she sought him out, because the most famous song in her breakup album is about him, and she wants the world to know who it's about. But reuniting isn't all sunshine and rainbows; it's chaotic, it's filled with longing stares, and will-they-won't-they.

The lyrical prose of this story certainly stole the show for me. I will say that it almost felt like the authors were trying a little too hard to make it known that this was Taylor Swift coded. And while it seems as if most of the story relies vastly on "telling" and not "showing", the writing is certainly immersive and pulls the reader in, just as much as if the characters were showing us. Add to that the beautiful imagery woven into the story, which once again pulled me in and made me feel like I was on tour with the band, a la Daisy Jones style.

WHEWWWWY!!!🥳🥳🥳

Thank you #partners @berkleyromance & @prhaudio for my #gifted copies

Do I Know You? by @wibbs_ink & @austins_b was on my *Top Three Romance Novels* list last year! 🔥 (if you haven't read it, you're missing out). So to say I was ecstatic to get my hands on their newest, The Breakup Tour, is an understatement. And y'all.... they DELIVERED! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Did you know this is a husband/wife romance author duo? How hot is that!!? So without further ado, let me tell you about The Breakup Tour 👇🏼

The Breakup Tour
Emily Wibberley
Austin Siegemund-Broka

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

THE SET UP: Riley is a promising singer-songwriter, Max is her boyfriend.... until he isn't. Their breakup hits Riley hard, and she pours her heartbreak into her music. 🎶

Years later, Riley compiles an album of "breakup songs", which immediately thrusts her into the spotlight, landing her a bestselling album and tour: The Breakup Tour. The biggest hit of the album is the song she wrote about Max.

When Max and Riley reconnect after ten years, and Max agrees to join Riley on tour, the music isn't the only thing full of angst and feeling. Will these two finally get their chance at love? Or is their love better left to the pages of Riley's songs?

THE BEST PARTS: The romance, the music, the swoon, the pining, the feeeeeels!!!! 😭 I've said it before and I'll say it again, I just mesh with these authors. Their writing just resonates with me. It's intelligent, it's clever, it's mature. I rarely pause to highlight quotes from a book. Maybe once every 20 books. Yet I paused and highlighted at least a dozen times while reading The Breakup Tour. Beautiful beautiful beautiful.

These two are firmly on my auto read list! 🔥

Note: this book is a tribute to Swifties. I am *not* a Swifty, but that didn't matter one bit. 💕

I know I am in the minority here but I really wanted to love this one, but didn't. I am not sure if it was the comparison to Taylor Swift or something else. She is just so overdone at the moment. It also could be that it was exhausting to be in the main characters head all the time.

You can't like them all and I've seen a lot of reviews that are the opposite of mine, so I'd definitely give this one a try if you are a fan of music. I did really enjoy that aspect of the book and the lyrical prose.

Dan Bittner and Britanny Pressley narrated this one. I am such a fan of Brittany's narration, especially in rom coms and thought Dan brought a lot to the love interest.

The Breakup Tour is the story of two people - a famous musician, Riley, who goes on tour for her new album which is entirely breakup songs and her college boyfriend for whom her most popular break up song was written. This book oozed Taylor Swift and the lyrical genius way she captures a broken heart. It was so fun to see the behind the scenes of the tours, to see Riley embracing her fame and move past her former boyfriends. The song lyrics smattered throughout were fun and it actually felt like the characters’ inner dialogues were written in a way that would make great song verses, folklore style. So in this day and age when Taylor Swift is ruling the world and showing young girls that they can be strong, successful, confident and outspoken women, I love reading books with similar characters.

Read because of Taylor swift. Also didn’t love it because of Taylor swift.. it made me angry for her. It just wasn’t what I was hoping when it was marketed towards swifties.

Sandy M’s review of The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 24 Jan 24

When I read the blurb for this book now, I’m not sure why I decided I wanted to read it. I’m usually not one to go for musician/touring stories, but something hit me somehow and I ended up with it. This is also my first book by Emily Wibberely, and sorry to say, I didn’t notice there’s a second author involved – so obviously my first book by him too. I have discovered the authors are a couple, having met and fell in love in high school. They did their own thing during college, then married, and now are writing books together. So it’s a good guess this book comes from a place of romance and love.


And I wish that’s enough to have made me warm up to Riley, our heroine. To a point I understand her reluctance when it comes to Max, but not when it comes to her future. Maybe that’s the age difference between young adults and the older me.

Riley and Max were young and in love, had the same dream and were on the same path – until they weren’t. Riley wasn’t about to lose her dream when Max decides he has to stay home to take over the family retirement home when his parents decide to step down. Riley continues with their plans and eventually hits the big time. Now she’s written an entire album about her breakups over the ten years since she last saw Max. Her ex, who is a famous movie star, is causing problems when it comes to her No.1 hit, so she heads back to her hometown.

Max has been happy with his life, ten years of family, including those retired members whom he plays piano for nearly every night. Then suddenly things are thrown for a loop when Riley shows up, needing his help. Max is her inspiration for the song her ex is high jacking in the news, so she’s asking Max to go public with her to get the truth to the masses. Needing money to fix up the home, to stave off closing it down, he agrees only if he can go on tour with her. Maybe he will find some of those long-ago dreams after all.

I enjoyed the premise of this story. I like the look into the camaraderie on the buses, songwriting, and the balance of real life and fandom for stars. What I have a hard time with is Riley. While she hasn’t totally given in to fame – most of the time she has a good head on her shoulders – but there are areas where she’s just a youngster without enough guidance, especially when it does come to her failed relationships – enough to fill an entire album with songs about those failures. She also can’t give up the fame – even when she realizes near the end of the tour she still loves Max. He still isn’t enough for her to slow down.

Max is the high point, the spotlight, if you will, in this book for me. He’s grown over those ten years, accepted responsibility, and knows himself quite well. He doesn’t need constant adulation to keep going. He knows when to step down, what’s important in life. Yes, dreams matter, but there’s a lot more to life down the road. So I’m happy he’s known both worlds. He’s a much more rounded character than Riley, by a long shot. I sure wish she’d been the one to do the growing up and groveling, so to speak.

All in all, I still enjoyed the story, loved Max, and may try another book by this duo in the future.

Grade: B

You know as soon as I heard this was Taylor Swift inspired, I had to check it out! Highly recommend if you are a swiftie and enjoy second chance or celebrity romances!

The Breakup Tour follows Riley Wynn, who according to the cover art, looks just like Taylor Swift, and is known as “The Breakup Queen”. A recent divorcee, Riley has just released an 12-song LP titled The Breakup Record, with each song focusing on a different failed relationship — in a similar vein to Taylor Swift’s Midnights concept, where each song was inspired by something that kept her up at night. When Riley’s ex-husband claims the lead single, Until You, is about him, Riley decides to call its true inspiration, Max Harcourt, and ask him to come forward. Max, who has been running the retirement home that his family manages, and playing music for their residents, has his own proposition in mind: he’ll let Riley spin whatever story she wants if he can play the piano on her tour. I think there was so much potential for The Breakup Tour — the dynamic between the touring musicians, different adventures on each tour stop, angst/yearning/pining, Max struggling with Riley’s fame, among many other things, but was ultimately left disappointed. I’ll be left thinking about what this book could’ve been, and what it was. I do wonder how others who are less involved in the Taylor Swift fandom will perceive this book, and if they’ll find it more enjoyable!

This book didn't go quite how I wanted it to. It was slow, internal thought heavy, and a bit boring at times.

I honestly didn't love either Max or Riley. Max was fine, but a bit dull. There wasn't much substance to him. And it felt like Riley was a contrived character. She was obsessed with writing music and having experiences that contributed to writing a good song. I know that was part of her character flaw, but it didn't feel right. Also, I felt like I never really got to know her. She was constantly putting on this front and so, even at the end when she was supposed to be a new person, I still didn't know her very well.

The actual tour part of this book didn't start until the halfway point. This isn't my biggest gripe of the book by far, but it's something I noted.

The song lyrics were a nice touch. I kind of expected them from a book about music and music writing, but it was still nice to get them.

Overall, this book was a big letdown. Fairly boring with half-fleshed-out characters, I can't recommend this book, even if it does have a pretty cover.

The Breakup Tour follows Riley Wynn at beginning of her rise for superstardom as a country-pop star. In the last 10 years of her career, she has dated and broke up with a lot of other well-known men. But her latest break up, a divorce from an A-list actor, has her reeling. So she decides to use her breakups for her next record. A 13 song record each song about a different relationship. But the most important and popular song from the album ends up being about her first love who she never really got over, Max Harcourt. When Max broke her heart 10 years ago, it set Riley on a path thinking love would never last. However, Max proposes to go on tour with Riley to try to capitalize on her success to help his family's retirement home business and maybe get closure on this important relationship and his music career.

I enjoyed the breakup tour, but I was not in love with it. It was advertised as an homage to Taylor Swift, but I think the magic and spark between Riley and Max wasn't truly there for me. I didn't feel the spark. The writing was a lot of telling instead of showing. You got descriptions of events after the fact and lets of internal debating from the main characters. I could definitely see many readers loving this book, it just wasn't for me.

You don’t have to be a Swiftie to love this one. Riley is THE musician. She is a superstar on tour celebrating her breakup album, performing in a wedding dress singing each song that represents a certain breakup. (Sound familiar?) When her ex husband tries to gain even more social media traction by claiming her most famous song is about him she knew it was time to take matters into her own hands contacting her college boyfriend, her true inspiration. I think you can already guess where this is headed and let me tell you, I rooted for this second chance romance! This one hit all the right notes.

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads @prhaudio and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
.

For readers who are a fan of Taylor Swift, this one is for them. I have read many of this famous author duo’s books and this one was good. I enjoyed the storyline of this book especially as it deals with the inside of the music industry. Riley is recently divorced and writes a breakup album which is a hit and now has a tour where her ex from college joins. I have to say that I didn’t enjoy the romance part of the book as much as the self-development. I liked seeing more of Riley and Max develop their personal lives into their careers as those who loves following singers, it’s nice to see how they balance out their lives. The pacing was good in the beginning but then it became fast at the end. This book is told from both Riley and Max’s pov.

Riley is a famous singer who is known as the breakup queen. She doesn’t want to be alone and music is her life. Then there is Max who sees Riley but his life at home is in ruins. I enjoyed seeing them develop in this book but I wish there was more conflict involved. As for Riley, I wish her ex-husband was in the story more, and for Max, I wanted to see how he felt about his past life in the future. There are some side characters but not any main ones that overtake the book. I liked how supportive the mom was and how much she cared for her daughter. The romance was tame as I just didn’t feel the chemistry develop between the MCs. I felt it was too rushed and with their lives, it was hard to know what they really thought of each other.

The ending was okay but again very rushed. I did enjoy the fact that the authors added the whole song lyrics at the cute end. I think if this book had a more developed storyline it would have been fantastic. There were just a lot of plot holes left in the story. Overall not a bad read and I think if you love Taylor Swift, you would want to pick this book up.

*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🔥🔥

Quick Breakdown

Second Chance
Celebrity Romance
Forced Proximity
Taylor Swift Inspired
Dual POV
Open Door - Mild Details

Thank you @berkleyromance for the gifted eARC & finished copy & @PRHaudio for the gifted ALC #berkleypartner

Max & Riley’s lives went in completely different directions after they broke up in college. He went on to manage the family’s struggling assisted living while she followed their once musical dream, becoming the next American pop princess a la Taylor Swift.

After 10 years apart, the pair reunite for her multi city tour promoting her new breakup album. Max will get the opportunity to see where his life could have gone if he continued to aspire to play piano professionally while making money to fund the family business. Riley’s hoping Max’s presence will thwart her toxic ex husband from claiming her most popular song was inspired by him.

There was a lot to love here. Emily & Austin’s writing felt as poetic & lyrical as I’d expect from a Taylor Swift song. It was beautifully descriptive & sucked me right into the pop star world. There are countless hidden Easter eggs woven into the story, too. I highly recommend you give this a go on audio. I listened more than I read & I credit Brittany Pressley & Dan Bittner for that. They gave another great performance together & I was completely enraptured.

Full disclosure: Second chance romances aren’t always my favorite. This one is done in a single timeline with the occasional flashback, giving all the angst & tension you look for with this trope. While I felt for both of them, I didn’t connect with the MC’s & their romance like I have with others & I think it’s because I struggled with how their initial split played out. Granted, these two fools were only 19 or 20 years old, so.. 🤷🏻‍♀️ There was a pretty amazing grand gesture at the end that made me full on swoon, though 🙌🏻

I'm pretty conflicted on this one as a romance novel. I think it's pretty good for a general fiction book about music and artists who write about their romantic experiences but the romance wasn't what I expected. It's there in the music and through the performances but it seems to be lacking offstage in the everyday activities and lives of the main characters that should be what builds a relationship. I have read a few of their books before that I've enjoyed and was very excited to pick this one up but it was a bit of a slow read for me. The cover is gorgeous and I like the inclusion of song lyrics and flashbacks in the text because they're fun but also they are entirely necessary to believe in the love between Riley and Max. There are also full lyrics to a couple of the songs at the end which is nice and it definitely brought me back to when I was a little kid and wanted to be a singer/songwriter.

The Breakup Tour is dedicated to Taylor Swift fans and Riley is inspired by her. While I'm not a big fan, I enjoy some of her music so I didn't go into this thinking I'd either love it or hate it as I'm sure some people who are big fans or critics might have. The comparisons are there and the nods to Taylor Swift are obvious even if you don't follow her career, but you can also read this without thinking about Taylor at all. The story is told in dual POV but while I feel like we get to know Riley pretty well, Max still felt like a stranger to me. I didn't love his reason for not staying with her either time but the grand gesture at the end is cute. Overall, this was an average read for me and I'd recommend it to people who are interested in music and reading about singer/songwriters in fiction.

I read and reviewed an advanced digital copy of this title through NetGalley provided by Berkley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Berkley Romance for the digital ARC and PRHAudio for the audiobook. I read some on my Kindle, but mostly listened to the audiobook. Dual narrators Dan Bittner and Brittany Pressley did an amazing job making me feel like I was there alongside Riley and Max. The Breakup Tour is a
second chance & celebrity trope romance. Riley is inspired by Taylor Swift and Max is her college sweetheart who chose not to join her when she headed to Nashville to start her music career. Now a superstar, Riley sets off on her Breakup Tour, with songs all about her breakups. One of her songs of course, is about Max. Due to Max being in a position where he needs money to hold on to his family's business, Max decides to join Riley by playing piano for the song that's about him. I mean, you just know that's going to lead to lots of reflecting about their past relationship.
This is a dual POV story with lots of inner monologues and thoughts of the main characters. I really appreciated the dual perspectives and loved that the audiobook included a male and female narrator. I'll be honest, I can't call myself a Swiftie so I can't really comment about content specifically related to her. I did happen to catch some song title easter eggs and there are probably many that I didn't catch.
Second chance romance is becoming one of my faves and I think Max and Riley had a fun story that wasn't rushed. I really enjoyed this book and it solidified Emily & Austin as auto-buy authors for me. I absolutely love their writing. I don't know how to explain what it is that I love about it, other than that their word choices and writing style comes across as romantic and at times, poetic. I love the metaphors they use. They are great romance writers and I can't wait to purchase my paperback copy to add it to my Emily-Austin collection.

4 ✨

Thank you Netgalley, Berkley Publishing and both Emily and Austin for this ARC.

Tropes:

♡ Celebrity romance
♡ Taylor Swift vibes
♡ Second chance
♡ Forced proximity
♡ Slow burn

Before I start I just wanna say that this book is definitely a book you have to read from beginning to finish to understand the whole concept of. The beginning might feel bleak but it’s all part of the journey that Riley is on.

As a huge Swiftie myself the second I heard about this book I knew I had to read it and when I got a chance to read The Breakup Tour my inner Swiftie jumped up and down. The authors wrote this book heavily influenced by Taylor Swift and the main character Riley Wynn in all her glory. This story does take a specific approach to show how relationships, breakups, heartbreak and instant fame can affect an artist.

Riley Wynn’s level of fame rises almost from one day to the other when she releases a breakup song inspired by her college sweetheart, the one that got away. Now with a full album filled with songs inspired by breakup and exes, she has a huge tour to go on. But when she gets divorced from her now ex-husband, he starts to claim that her number one hit “Until You” is about him (spoiler alert: it’s not). To stop that from spinning out of control she seeks out Max Harcourt, the real reason behind the song and a person she hasn’t spoken to in a decade. Max agrees to help her change the narrative about the song if she lets him go on tour with her and help save the retirement home he’s running.

I feel like the dilemma that Riley goes through most of the book is if she can write anything other than heartbreak songs. It’s very valid feeling, when if you like her have been disappointed over and over again. She truly doesn’t think that she can find that kind love that’s worth writing love songs about. I think this book was a great reflection of how much criticism a female artist gets from not only the world around her but also herself. There’s a lot of self criticism and self doubting in Riley’s inner dialogue and it was pretty harsh at some points, but that just showed how human she was.

But when it comes to her relationship with Max, I truly think reconnecting with him played a big part in overcoming that fear of not being able to express herself through other emotions than heartbreak. Max was just so sweet and very down to earth and it was certainly the kind of guy Riley needed. Riley’s willingness to sacrifice her own happiness was something that hurt to read but the process from her doing that to her learning how to let love in her life again was beyond beautiful.