this isn't YA? my mistake. DNF 20 or so pages in, this book is a mess. it sucks because the cover makes you think you're in for an emily henry-like treat and its so so bad.

Well written. I have no further suggestions. I think this has a similar plot line to other books but it also seemed unique in the writing style

Thank you to Simon and Schuster, MTV, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I went into this with such high hopes after reading the synopsis, and the super cute cover. Unfortunately this book was nothing like I expected. To start, the constant micro aggressions the author wrote repeatedly in this book were quite shocking to read in 2024. Just not a good look. Secondly, I don’t think any of the characters in this story were even remotely likeable, except Daniel. Grace is the FMC who spends all her time chasing after a boy who wants nothing to do with her, while also lying to her friends. Grace’s ex boyfriend Josh may be even worse than her because of his misogyny, and he treats he like crap but she still is chasing him. Then Graces best friend Tiff…. truly I have no words. I understand conversations can get heated and people can say things they don’t mean, but the things Tiff said to Grace were so disgusting and wildly inappropriate. Would also like to mention the way Tiff was constantly forcing everyone around her to drink so much alcohol, specifically shots, made me extremely uncomfortable. She was basically a walking Red Flag.

Now as for the plot of the story, there really wasn’t one. Everyday of their Cancun vacation is the same as the day before, getting extremely drunk and then spending the next day hungover. The “romance” aspect of this book wasn’t there, and most of the story where the author tried to be quirky or fun with the storyline, just fell extremely flat. This would have been a better and lighter read if it was written in the spirits of a fun Spring Break trip, and not a romance story.

If I were you ,I’d steer clear of this book, because honestly it’s not even worth the 1 star rating.

Grace has just got dumped by her college boyfriend, whom she is still totally in love with. So when she finds out he is heading to Cancun for film work, she heads there too with her best friends. What ensues is a week of her chasing Josh around a foreign country, while also lying to her friends about what she’s doing. Whenever she isn’t with Josh, she’s out with her friends partying. They meet a group of Soccer players and begin hanging out with them. Grace starts to see relationships and boundaries differently once she starts spending time with Daniel. Will she figure it all out before she leaves Mexico?

I'm not sure who the target audience is for this novel about college students gone wild in Cancun. It's not really YA given of the spice (or is it?) and it's not truly a cross over because the characters are so immature. How much you enjoy this might depend on how you feel about reality tv. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A pass from me.

I enjoyed the beach setting of this book. There was also some funny moments. But the characters were not enjoyable. I found the girl group to be extremely painful to read about and they lacked any likeable traits. There also was zero romance for a book that is labeled as such.

I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, it seemed like a fun little romp based on the description. It was positioned as an adult book, which seemed at odds with the characters and plot, but I still kept an open mind. What we got was a slightly juvenile and flat book that feels more geared towards teens exact for the explicit sex. There didn't seem to be a lot going on for it, and I found the characters quite immature, and the story boring. College students go on vacation to chase an ex-boyfriend and have meaningless vacation sex? That's it. I nearly DNF'ed it a few times and yet somehow there was just enough interest for me to keep reading, hoping that something interesting would eventually happen, and yet I finished the book still wanting. It was entertaining but not really fulfilling or satisfying. This probably makes for a quick beach or poolside read, but not much more.

When I read the synopsis of this book, I was excited to try it as a good beach read. However, it was all over the place and I found the MC to be obnoxious and self-centered, and she really didn't get redemption in my opinion. And also the pining over her ex and the whole hooking up with both him and Daniel kind of gave me the ick. I did like the biracial representation, but other than that and the setting of the story, I just could not get into it.

Summary
Grace's boyfriend breaks up with her because "he doesn't have the time to commit to being a good boyfriend". But they still act like a couple in a lot of ways, so Grace wants to get him back. When he heads to Cancun with another girl to get some 'behind the scenes' movie experience, and Grace's friends suggest a girl's trip to cheer her up, she suggests Cancun. They don't need to know that Josh is there too. When Grace meets a local, half Taiwanese guy (like her), they click immediately. And now she is trying to juggle Josh, her friends and now Daniel and Grace realizes she needs to figure things out.

Review
I wanted to like this one more than I did. It was fine. Grace was not a character I connected with or especially rooted for, so it made it hard for me to really get immersed into the story. It is a college story, and the characters definitely lacked maturity in how they handled their friendships and relationships. I liked Daniel and I appreciated Grace's experience as she began to open her eyes and see things for how they were. She finally made some decisions and stood up for herself and what she wanted, so I respected that.

I had to DNF this because I didn't really like Grace. I really like the cover but the story just isn't for me.

Thank you for the ARC!

This book had so much potential but fell short. I loved the romance and the vacation aspect of it but it had way too much in the middle going on. It explored too many topics that weren’t necessary. If it had just stuck to the romance and vacationing it would have been perfect. Kind of disappointed

I struggled with this one. I couldn't decide whether to rate it two or three stars. My dilemma was that it wasn't as good as my usual three-star ratings, but for me, a two-star is just a nicer one-star and that felt too mean for this book. I've settled on a two-star rating for now, though, because the main character made me want to rip my eyes out.

It was...not what I was expecting, and not in a good way. A big reason I read romance (or books with romantic subplots) is because I want the main character to have a happily ever after. Occasionally, the main character is so goddamn annoying that I want her to rot in hell. This was said occasion. I may be a bit jaded in this scenario, though, because the MC (Grace) reminds me of one of the worst roommates I've ever had in my entire life. So much so, that I moved states to never have to deal with her again. I think Grace's friends should think about that.

Grace was not a good friend or someone I could root for. I struggle to side with someone who throughout HALF of the book is pining over a man who DUMPED her and tried to find ways to make him love her again. Even though he told her he doesn't want a relationship. Girlie, respect the man and leave him alone. But she continues pining after him even after she meets the love interest (Daniel) and hooks up with both of them the same day. Which, you do you boo, but I don't like it. Especially since both the men don't know about each other at all. Then, throughout the whole book, she's lying to her friends about said ex-boyfriend because they don't like him. But the reason they don't like him is because he dumped you, babes. Like, get a grip and move on. I hated her. Like, too much. In all fairness, though, the friends were also kind of annoying so maybe it's fate that they're friends.

Also, the ending was stupid, in my opinion, but that feels so minuscule compared to my grievances about Grace.

There were aspects of this book that worked for me, but overall I didn't care for The Breakup Vacation. It was hard to read about Grace pining after a guy who clearly sucked. Plus, the excessive drinking and drunk behavior became tiresome. There were some conversations that I found interesting, like Grace and Daniel talking about their experiences being mixed race.

I absolutely adored this book! This was my first book written by this author and I can’t wait to read more from her! This book had me laughing, crying, shook and the romance had me swooning! I also loved all the movie quotes at the beginning of every chapter, the first one was titanic and I just knew I’d love this book!
Thank you to net galley and the author for allowing me an ARC of this book!

I'm having a tough time rating this one; it's somewhere around 2.5 stars for me. There are some positives but overall I didn't love it and it just wasn't the book for me. I'll admit that I totally judged this book by it's cover and did not thoroughly read the synopsis.
The most positive thing I can say about this book is that it is actually really, really funny. Most of the time, the banter was perfect. This book addresses some serious issues as well such as racism, income inequality and consensual sex. I liked the movie quotes at the beginning of each chapter (though I didn't always get if and how they related to that particular chapter).
The downsides are that most of the characters are annoying or downright unlikeable. I mostly liked Daniel and Camille and that's about it. Grace lying to her friends and shamelessly chasing a guy (Josh) who treats her badly is just NO. Most of the characters have very few redeeming qualities and I have to wonder how the three women stay friends. I guess it's all the drinking. And there is a LOT. Like an annoying amount.
Though it is touted as an "adult" novel, it definitely has strong YA vibes (the author has previously written YA) and I am definitely not the target audience. "Adult" as in 18-21 would be more accurate. (The publishing imprint should have given me a clue).

Thanks to NetGalley and MTV Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing) for the advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

LOVED the premise of this book and the themes of friendship and sisterhood. Grace was a main character you have an on again off again love for, but it's relatable.

I honestly really tried to like The Breakup Vacation, but all the characters were so awful. I ended up DNFing

I really struggled with this one. I found all of the characters to be super unlikable and really didn’t find the story all the enticing.

Thank you to Netgalley and MTV Books for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

A gender-reversed Forgetting Sarah Marshall YA romance that didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Grace is ready for a big trip with her boyfriend before senior year of college. However, her plans are upended when he dumps her. Her friends take her to Cancun, where she devises a plan to win back her ex. When she meets a gorgeous soccer, Grace may have another change of plans.

This was not my favorite. Loved the plot, but not the execution. I never grew to love Grace and didn’t find the romance to be believable given how in love with her ex she was in the beginning. Maybe Gracia’s next book will grab me more.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Immature children pretending to be adults. YA knock off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Poorly written. Not worth it.

This story might have tried to do too many things but sadly in the end I’m not sure hit the nail on any too well.
It was fun and quick, enjoyable in a light read but ultimately not too satisfying or lasting in my mind. This might be because the characters felt one dimensional to me —serving a specific purpose in the story… including the two love interests.
The best part was the destination girl trip and (being French) the French girl… although even she seemed stereotypical.