Name: Breakup from Hell
Rating: 3.125 (4 reviews)
ISBN: 9780063045309

Ann Davila Cardinal

Breakup from Hell

Liz Griffin

“And I was hoping to see your bookshelves.” Okay, that’s the sexiest thing that anyone’s ever said to me.

Fans of Undead Girl Gang and The Babysitters Coven will love Breakup from Hell, a witty YA rom-com with a supernatural twist, starring horror novel obsessed Mica Angeles, who discovers the guy she fell for comes straight out of one of her beloved books. Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him. It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird. Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel. She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves? Clever, hilarious, and steeped in supernatural suspense, Breakup from Hell will keep you hooked until the last page.

the concept is there, really, and i like it (that's make me requesting the arc in the first place). but it's just all over the place; the kind of 'i am different' main character, a love interest that's likeable and seen as romantic prospect by the main character from literally their first meeting, and overall the story not so fleshed out and the characters a lot of times are very two dimensional. i probably would like it if i read it as an early teenager.. or maybe not. even a teenage me knew what i like. it's that bad for me. i can see if anyone would like it, but this just not for me.

also going to be honest i kind of skimming in some parts.

1.5/5 rounded up.

I read this in the span of like 4 hours, so there's that. But literally what. I can't even make that a question mark. I feel bamboozled, conned, tricked, hoodwinked, and swindled. The dialogue here read like "How do you do, fellow kids?" especially towards the end. Also the random character flip of Sam? girl what?? I thought we were gonna have a redemption arc maybe, but no??? also the names????? babes, it's a no from me. <spoiler> How are you gonna have Michaela, but then have the others named Raguel, Barakiel, and Zerachiel????? THOSE ARENT THE OTHER ARCHANGELS?????. This started off good and entertaining, if a bit juvenile, but as it went on it just kinda got... bland and uncomfortable? everything was too obvious, even for YA. and no one's actions made sense. I thought we got past the "I'm not going to give you any information for your own good even though there is 

something going on" trope. I just. I have no words. This felt very rushed and underdeveloped in terms of the background/lore and was just poorly executed. I also just did not vibe with the blatant religious overtones; this book tried to be neutral but really was skewing towards being very pro-Catholicism (I'm not really one to be interested in reading about real religions when I read--I'm here for escapism my friends). This was so falsely advertised it's laughable, and the book itself was laughable too. There was no chemistry, no fun romp with a twist, and no suspense to speak of.

Holly

I read this in the span of like 4 hours, so there's that. But literally what. I can't even make that a question mark. I feel bamboozled, conned, tricked, hoodwinked, and swindled. The dialogue here read like "How do you do, fellow kids?" especially towards the end. Also the random character flip of Sam? girl what?? I thought we were gonna have a redemption arc maybe, but no??? also the names????? babes, it's a no from me. <spoiler> How are you gonna have Michaela, but then have the others named Raguel, Barakiel, and Zerachiel????? THOSE ARENT THE OTHER ARCHANGELS?????. This started off good and entertaining, if a bit juvenile, but as it went on it just kinda got... bland and uncomfortable? everything was too obvious, even for YA. and no one's actions made sense. I thought we got past the "I'm not going to give you any information for your own good even though there is clearly something going on" trope. I just. I have no words. This felt very rushed and underdeveloped in terms of the background/lore and was just poorly executed. I also just did not vibe with the blatant religious overtones; this book tried to be neutral but really was skewing towards being very pro-Catholicism (I'm not really one to be interested in reading about real religions when I read--I'm here for escapism my friends). This was so falsely advertised it's laughable, and the book itself was laughable too. There was no chemistry, no fun romp with a twist, and no suspense to speak of.

jupiter

(arc review) 

BFH was a fun, fast paced book with an exciting plot and close group of characters. I loved how unique this book was. However, I found the book a bit too rushed at times, which made it kinda of hard to follow along with some scenes and dialogue. I would’ve like to see more build up in the beginning because a lot of the reveals were actually interesting.

(rating could change so I would give this 3.5 for now)

3.5 stars rounded up. Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for the advanced copy of this book. I must reiterate that the synthesized “narrator” is hella creepy. Would not recommend (except that because of my eye condition, it’s still better than eARCs, unfortunately.) And as of posting this review, Harper Collins union members have been on strike for over 40 business days, seeking fair wages and diversity initiatives.

What a fun, easy read! Great for fans of Wednesday or Buffy, and with a cast as uproarious as their odd (yet symbolic) names, Mica and crew are a delight. There’s some relatable teen drama/rebellion and angst, along with flutterings of (super shallow) “love.” And having a MC who is an avid fantasy/horror reader was fun!

3.5 stars rounded up. Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for the advanced copy of this book. I must reiterate that the synthesized “narrator” is hella creepy. Would not recommend (except that because of my eye condition, it’s still better than eARCs, unfortunately.) And as of posting this review, Harper Collins union members have been on strike for over 40 business days, seeking fair wages and diversity initiatives.

What a fun, easy read! Great for fans of Wednesday or Buffy, and with a cast as uproarious as their odd (yet symbolic) names, Mica and crew are a delight. There’s some relatable teen drama/rebellion and angst, along with flutterings of (super shallow) “love.” And having a MC who is an avid fantasy/horror reader was fun!

Breakup from Hell

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