Anna Gracia’s delightful “The Breakup Vacation” falls squarely in the cutesy, rom-com, love triangle literature trope and makes for a perfect summertime read.

The story follows Grace, a college senior who faces heartbreak when her boyfriend Josh unexpectedly dumps her before their pre-planned trip to Los Angeles. Joining her two best friends in Cancun for a post-breakup beach vacation, Grace will navigate love, friendship, and self-discovery. While in Cancun, Grace meets Daniel, a soccer player from Hawaii who is interested in her. Grace is torn between exploring her attraction to Daniel or trying to win back Josh.

While the romance plot plays up the physical chemistry between Grace and Daniel, and Grace’s journey from heartbreak to self-realization is relatable, the love triangle aspect would have benefitted from deeper emotional depth, making it more nuanced. Unfortunately, the characters feel somewhat one-note, making it difficult to feel emotionally invested in their narrative. Additional layers to the supporting cast would have enhanced the overall experience. The novel's pacing, however, is perfect. It's brisk and lively, truly capturing the essence of a wild week in your early 20s.

Despite its flaws, “The Breakup Vacation” offers a fun and boisterous celebration of friendship, forgiveness, and falling in love. The lush setting and witty writing make for an enjoyable, light-hearted beach read that captures the rollercoaster of emotions after a breakup. Readers looking for escapism and a dash of romance should definitely give this a try.

I was so excited to read this book but unfortunately it fell really short. Loved the cover and you would think that you’re going to get a steamy romance but the book was really dull and hard to get through. The characters had no depth behind them and I found myself rolling my eyes constantly. This one was a huge flop.

This felt very juvenile as I read it. I know the characters were in college, but they felt very immature and not like adults figuring things out on their own! Between the friendships and the relationships, the book was all over the place and I didn't find myself really rooting for any of them. I managed to read the whole thing because I was curious about Daniel and how that plot point would progress, but the back and forth with Josh, the catty-ness and drama of the rest of it was too much to make it enjoyable. It was fine but I wouldn't recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my review.

This book is a great beach read and is somewhat fun.

I struggled with the main character and found her to be, frankly, questionable in terms of her actions and morals. The overall plot was captivating, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was younger (or in college still). I wish the characters were more likeable, that would have greatly improved this.

1.5 stars

As a reader I never like giving a book a low rating, but I can't give The Breakup Vacation any higher than this. When I went into this book I was looking forward to a fun summer romance. And unfortunately, that's not what I got. I even debated having this be a DNF, but I didn't have much longer to go, so I pushed through.

Instead of a fun summer romance, I got a drama filled vacation with characters I just couldn't like. There was so much lying and planning and just so much drama. The fact that Grace was chasing Josh most of this book and let him use her was just so frustrating. Knowing a guy doesn't want you, but still going after him just felt so wrong. Especially lying to the friends you're on vacation to go hook up with him.

Besides that I don't even really feel like I know the characters. They all stayed very much surface level and I didn't connect with any of them. The only thing I did appreciate was Grace's friends trying to tell her that Josh was bad news and deserved so much better. It kind of ends on this note, but I just couldn't enjoy it.

This was such a fun read for me!

While I did start to feel a little annoyed with the main character’s actions toward her ex, I understood where she was coming from AND I was hooked from the start and read it in 2 sittings.

An easy, but fun read with a little bit of spice and drama in the mix!

Honestly, when I was first starting this book, the way Grace acted made me feel so stressed. However, as I read more, I understood why she acted how she did. As she grew, the story became more and more beautiful. I know that self-esteem can be heavily impacted by relationships, and this book show how having the right people around you can help you heal in many ways. I am so glad that I read this!

I hate to give a book low rating, but oof. The characters in this were absolutely insufferable and very stereotyped. Some of the things the FMC said, should never have been put into print. The pop culture references were awful. I’ve also never read/seen a character punch someone in the boob so much. Just why!?

When Grace's boyfriend, Josh, breaks up with her, she suggests a girls' trip to her friends Tiff and Camille. While they think this is a trip for Grace to get over Josh, she secretly goes to Cancun to follow him. It's essentially a comedy of errors that backfires for Grace, especially when she starts to fall for Daniel. It's a different take on romance.

My God. This book was a total disaster. I knew I was in for a rough time when “Who needs pockets when you have boobs” was like the 8th sentence of the book, and the main characters had gotten drunk at least twice before the first chapter ever ended…but I was not prepared for just how horrible this book would end up being.

I guess we’ll start with the main character. She’s a pile of garbage. The end. She has no redeeming qualities. Don’t even bother looking if you read this book. She frequently makes stereotypical (and honestly, quite offensive) statements to and about her friends.

Next, I guess we’ll talk about the drinking. Personally, I don’t have a problem with characters drinking, but the overindulgence in this book was just too much. You meet the main character, she’s wasted and trying to hook up with her ex-boyfriend when another girl shows up. Her friends take her to Cancun, all they do is drink, and they’re blacked out for most of the book. The plot is non-existent, in part, due to the fact that the characters are all wasted all the time. It was beyond annoying.

The cover is cute on this book, but that’s about the only redeeming quality…and it’s not even representative of the characters. The main character is half Asian, another has a septum piercing, and yet another is covered in tattoos. Tell me where you see any of those details on this cover?

I feel like this book is going to fool a lot of people into thinking it is something that it’s not, and that upsets me greatly. This book is immature, poorly written, superficial, and stereotypical, and that’s being nice. I will never understand how this even got published.

Please don’t read this. If you already bought it, yeet it into the river. This was a gigantic waste of time.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review! This book is a great spring break/beach read! Grace recently went through a breakup and has a hard time letting go of the relationship. She finds out that her ex is going to Cancun on a work related trip with a possible fling, so Grace convinces her friends to go on a girls trip so she can secretly keep an eye on her ex and try to get back together with him. Little does she know there is a hot soccer player ready to sweep her off her drunken feet! Throughout the book, it is clear that Daniel, the soccer player, is the better option for Grace and her ex has many red flags. We all go through breakups and process them differently and I could empathize with Grace to how she handled her breakup and how giving a chance to a vacation fling might be a way to get over her feelings for her ex, Josh.

I agree with another review that this sounded very much like a genderbent Forgetting Sarah Marshall but I had to dnf it. It just was not very good in my opinion. I didn't get romance anywhere in this book and I really tried to be open to it. I just did not enjoy this at all.

The premise of this made it sound like it would be an extremely entertaining rom-com story. The plot did prove to be entertaining but I wish there was a bit more character development. A lot of Grace's behavior seemed immature and I would have liked to see her have more character growth. The female relationships felt forced and the romance between Daniel and Grace was often overshadowed by the other plot elements. Overall it was a quick entertaining read and I would recommend it to others.

"The Breakup Vacation" offers a lively rom-com experience set in the vibrant backdrop of Cancun. The story promised a blend of romance, self-discovery, and comedic escapades, making it an enticing read for fans of the genre. However, while it delivered on the entertainment front, it fell short in character depth and development.

The protagonist, Grace, and her friends felt one-dimensional and stereotypical, hindering the reader's ability to fully connect with their journey. Grace's obsession with her ex-boyfriend and her manipulative actions seemed immature, making it challenging to empathize with her story.

Although the romance between Grace and Daniel had its moments, it often took a backseat to exaggerated plot elements. Despite these flaws, the book still offered an enjoyable reading experience with witty banter and a lively holiday setting.

While it touched on themes like race and friendship dynamics, these aspects could have been explored more deeply for a more impactful narrative. Overall, "The Breakup Vacation" is a solid three-star read, perfect for a light-hearted escape into sun-soaked adventures and spicy encounters.

This was not my favorite romance novel. It lacked connection from the characters and was a struggle to get through at times.

This was a very quick audiobook to fly through, however I was missing some meat in this story. I found the female friendships to see forced and that made it hard for me to really get into this one.

A fun vacation romance with a hilarious girl gang. I really liked the characters in this one and the friendships between the girls were great. I also loved Daniel and wow was he spicy 😉 he brought out the best in Grace. I definitely recommend this one on audio as it was a quick listen and was very entertaining!

Book Review:

****Disclaimer: After reading this book I have come to the realization that I am not the target audience! While I was disappointed with this story, it might be the perfect fit for someone else.

I was originally drawn to this book because the cover was cute and the title/ description sounded interesting. As a huge fan of YA fiction I thought it would make for a great summer/ beach read. Sadly, I struggled to finish this book. I was ready to DNF it about 40% in, but felt I needed to push through because I received it as an ARC.

My main issue with the book was the characters. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect with a single one. I found them ALL to be off putting. While they are young and have lots of learning to do, their lack of maturity was rough.

***This book is full of excess drinking, playing emotional games, and explicit sexual scenes.

Special thanks to Netgalley, MTV Books, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and Anna Garcia for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was bad. Full stop. It is full 90s MTV Spring Break in book form. 0% substance 100% tequila. I feel bad ripping a book so bad because someone spent the time to write it but this was just not it. And it also felt kinda racist 😬

The Breakup Vacation by Anna Gracia

Thank you MTV Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

Blurb:
It’s the summer before senior year of college, and Grace is about to make the worst decision of her life in this “sexy, sun-drenched cocktail of chaotic good fun and heartfelt hilarity” (Sarah Kuhn, author of the Heroine Complex series) that captures the messiness of your early twenties, while highlighting the necessity of girlfriends at any—and every—age.

✨ My thoughts:
I Absolutely love the cover of this book and it was a quick one to get through! I got just the book I thought it would be… some spicy romance between people in their twenties, living young, wild, and free. I see some reviews hating so much on the book having shallow characters but personally I thought we got exactly what the book promises. I thought it was entertaining and fun… a book I’d like to read on a beach vacation!

Haters gonna hate!

Happy reading 📖