In Anna Gracia's novel, The Breakup Vacation, we are introduced to Grace, a young woman facing the aftermath of a heartbreaking breakup. Struggling to move on, Grace finds herself caught in a web of questionable choices and hidden truths. When her best friends, Tiff and Camille, propose a girls' trip to Cancún to help her heal, Grace sees it as an opportunity to escape her heartache, conveniently omitting the fact that her ex, Josh, is also present. As the story unfolds, Grace finds herself juggling her friends, the lingering presence of Josh, and a burgeoning connection with a charismatic local named Daniel, who shares her Taiwanese heritage. The complexities of her situation intensify, and Grace starts to wonder if she can maintain her facade. Will her past decisions and the need for closure sabotage the meaningful relationships she holds dear? Gracia skillfully captures the essence of being twenty-one, where love is still new and adulthood feels both within reach and just out of grasp. The Breakup Vacation is a delightful portrayal of true friendship, self-discovery, and the exhilarating chaos that accompanies young adulthood. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and heart, the novel explores the trials and tribulations of navigating relationships, both romantic and platonic, in the midst of personal growth. The characters in The Breakup Vacation are relatable and endearing. Grace's journey of self-reflection and coming to terms with her choices is authentic and captivating. As readers, we empathize with her internal struggles and root for her to find the closure and happiness she deserves. Gracia's writing style is engaging and evocative, transporting us to the sun-soaked beaches of Cancún. The vivid descriptions and lively dialogue bring the setting and characters to life, immersing readers in Grace's world and her rollercoaster of emotions. Overall, The Breakup Vacation is a captivating tale that explores the complexities of love, friendship, and personal growth. Gracia's storytelling prowess and relatable characters make this novel a must-read for anyone seeking a heartfelt and entertaining story. Whether you're navigating the ups and downs of young adulthood or simply looking for an engaging and enjoyable read, The Breakup Vacation is sure to captivate and leave you yearning for more.

In this emotionally charged narrative, the author navigates the intricate web of human relationships, unraveling the impact of lies and deception. The characters grapple with the consequences of their actions, showcasing the fragility of trust and the resilience required to rebuild shattered connections.

As the plot unfolds, the author delves into the psychology of deceit, exploring the motivations behind lies and the toll they take on both individuals and the fabric of relationships. The book serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility of trust, making readers reflect on their own experiences and vulnerabilities.

This compelling exploration of the human experience skillfully blends the highs and lows of emotions. It's a gripping tale that resonates with readers, prompting introspection about the complexities of trust, forgiveness, and the enduring power of genuine connections.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of The Breakup Vacation by Anna Gracia.

I enjoyed this book! The storyline, characters, and writing style was fun and easy to read. It’s a great romance book but ultimately values friendship and sisterhood which I thought was amazing. I would recommend this book to others!

Probably would have enjoyed this one more 5 years ago. Now that I am less than a year to 30 *gags*, I find myself being more annoyed at the characters naivety than enjoying it. Grace, Tiff, and Camille - a girl gang - who take a girls trip to Cancun to help Grace mend her broken heart following the split with her boyfriend, Josh. Grace suggests Cancun knowing he will be there so she can try and win him back. Things get complicated (and frustrating as a reader towards the main character Grace) as she starts to get interested in a local man and keep up her long string of lies. I never really found myself invested in the main character or her relationships - whether it be romantic or platonic.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to advanced read this rom com! Out March 5th, 2024

Three friends take vacation in Cancun and one of them has ulterior motives. She plans on meeting up with her ex-boyfriend to try and win him back. Lots of drinking, going to clubs, and hangovers. Slow plot, stalls out several times.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Whip smart with several disguised lessons amidst all the schenanigans, most kids won’t even realize they’re learning important life lessons while reading. This is a stellar follow up with the same humor, heart, and brutal honesty from Gracia’s debut. The world needs more books like this!

The premise and cover had me super excited to read this one. Some bits could use a little more work, (and I read an ARC, so that's entirely possible that it is happening), but overall, it's a story of a wild international trip for a trio of college seniors, with some steam in there for good measure. A little preachy at points, but overall enjoyable.

This was not good. I literally only read one chapter, but I had to put it down. I have read enough books in my life to know where a book like this was going to go, and I have no interest. I usually give three star ratings to books that I DNF here since we have to provide a star rating, but from what I have read, I can tell if I actually finished it, it would be a one or two star read at most. This was disappointing to say the least.

Cute beachy rom-com, definitely over the top crazy plan by Grace to plan their girls trip to "accidentally" run into Josh.
Characters aren't super relatable for me, but I would not fall into the drunk girls beach trip demo LOL
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the EARC

The premise of this book was intriguing- a rom-com set in Cancun where the protagonist plans to win back her ex but then meets a new flame. There were moments of sexiness and fun, but cringe-worthy actions by the main character overshadowed the bright spots in the novel.

Grace, an aspiring actress, plans a trip to Cancun to win back her ex-boyfriend, Josh. Josh wants to be a filmmaker and will be in Cancun for work. She convinces her best friend, Tiff (who is rich) to finance the trip and their friend, Camille (a college friend who is studying abroad from France) joins them. Tiff and Camille believe that the purpose of the trip is for Grace to get over Josh, when in reality, Grace has plans to ditch her friends and try to win Josh back.

On their first night out at the clubs, Grace encounters Daniel, a sexy soccer player who is instantly attracted to Grace while she is pretending to be "Carmen" her alter-ego. She juggles the two men, while making a slew of poor decisions and lying to her friends. Grace eventually has to face up to the mountain of lies she has accumulated, but I'm not sure she suffers true consequences from her actions as her friends and love interest quickly forgive her.

These girls had tequila running through their veins as they took shot after shot all day and all night. The amount of alcohol consumed by these young girls had me worried for their personal safety. There were themes of racism, girl-on-girl hate and racial generalizations. Grace and Daniel are both biracial and form a bond over their shared backgrounds.

Halfway through, I went back to confirm the genre of this book, as I found the romance aspect lacking.

Romance Tropes: Love Triangle, Instalove

Overall - I had a difficult time connecting to the characters and rooting for the main love interest.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Although I loved the premise of this book, it felt a little disjointed at times. I wanted to love it but found myself pulled away easily.

I think this would be great to read over the summer, or a vacation read. I think it definitely hits some great notes but overall it was hard to connect to any of the characters.

I really tried to give this a fair shot and I went in with low, low expectations based on other reviews that I saw. I was really interested in this book from the synopsis and the cover is so cute but this was definitely a let-down. The characters were nearly impossible to root for and lacked depth. I appreciated that the female main character, Grace, was biracial but that was never really explored in the book and there were so many other problematic themes that arose throughout. There was so much annoying and over the top girl-on-girl drama that I can't stand in books or movies or really any content I consume. I couldn't get behind the romance and the plot was all over the place.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After Josh breaks up with her, Grace continues to allow him to enjoy the benefits if having a girlfriend without actually having one. She knows eventually he will want her back, but when she shows up to her nemesis at his house with plans to head to Cancun, she is fuming. When he besties throw out the idea of a trip to get over him, Grace immediately offers Cancun. When she keeps running into Daniel on their trip however, she wonders if getting Josh back is really what she wants.

Ok Josh was absolute garbage. Seriously, the worst of the worst kind of man. I wanted to shake some sense into Grace that this man was not worth her time. That said, Daniel was not exactly my type of guy either, but he was light years better than Josh! Though I didn’t really get why he likes Grace? Overall though, I had really high expectations for this book, and it didn’t quite meet them. I wanted to imagine myself in Cancun while reading, but there was essentially no location descriptions. And how these girls drank as much as they did without ending up dead is beyond me. They seriously took like 7 shots in a row on the regular yet were able to still make it out of the house and down several margaritas. I felt like throwing up just thinking about drinking that much. Basically I just wanted more from this one. More character development, and more atmosphere.

This book shouldn't have hit as hard as it did, but unfotunately I related a ~tad too hard to the FMC and this book left me B A W L I N G. While some of this book seem juvenile and silly and you're just screaming at the FMC to stop being so delulu, this book was way too accurate and really struck me. The MMC was of course a dream boat but all the character work Gracia did in letting Grace come into her own and find her own power and stop relying so much on how others perceive her was kind of beautiful and incredibly empowering.

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Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review

I was super hyped about this book. The cover is absolutely gorgeous but I was disappointed in the characters.. Neither Grace or Josh were very likeable.

Ohhh man. I wanted to like this one so much after reading the description.

After the third “Caity blah blah blah Ruiz” I was already starting to be over this novel.

The characters were so bland and weren’t very likable in my opinion. In short, Grace is pathetic, Tiff is a spoiled brat, and Camille is a bimbo.

Tiff’s boob slapping thing was horrendous. These girls are meant to be 21 years old, not 13.

I can’t comprehend why they would go on this vacation to be drunk basically the entire time. One particular instance that was incredibly immature (further showing how awful the characters are) the 3 main characters go to dinner with a celebrity and Tiff gets so drunk that she starts eating food off of the table. In front of a celebrity. Where are your manners? What are the redeeming qualities for the characters because I have a hard time finding any.

In the end, I’m not sure how our FMC and MMC get into such a serious relationship talking about visiting each other’s different countries after they spent just 5 days together, MOST of which was spent arguing over something dumb or making out in some form. So unrealistic. 1.5 stars.

The Breakup Vacation by Anna Garcia is a romance set in Cancun. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. The biggest issue I had was that I did not like the characters, especially the main character. I cannot love a book if I don't like or can't connect with the characters. I found the main character to be extremely frustrating to read which made it hard to see other good things about the book. I did not connect with the romance in this book either because the characters had no personality. The beach setting was fun but that's about it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

This book was all kinds of MTV Spring Break messiness and I loved it. Grace makes poor decisions post-break up (can we call it a break up) with Josh who didn't want to commit in the first place. And you may wonder why Grace would persuade her friends to take a trip to Cancun, withholding the fact that Josh would be there too. But Grace is hung up on him because she thought what she experienced is love. And maybe it takes a super hot and thoughtful vacation fling to experience something better. Something more worthy of her time.

The Breakup Vacation depicts a wild time between a close group of friends and the mistakes one makes in their 20s, experiencing the ups and downs of relationships for the first time.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Reading the synopsis back now, I’m not sure why I thought I would enjoy this book. When Grace is unexpectedly dumped, her friends plan a trip and Grace agrees because she knows her ex, Josh, will be there too. Grace becomes a not so low key stalker but she also keeps running into an actually worthwhile guy, Daniel. Almost no one in this story is likable and they seem really immature. Grace calls herself a feminist but she struggles with A LOT of internalized misogyny. I am just not the target audience of this book and I’m honestly not sure who would be.