Name: How to Hack a Heartbreak
ISBN: 9781643584546

Kristin Rockaway

"By day, Mel Strickland is an underemployed helpdesk tech at a startup incubator, Hatch, where she helps entitled brogrammers--"Hatchlings"--who can't even fix their own laptops, but are apparently the next wave of startup geniuses. And by night, she goes on bad dates with misbehaving dudes she's matched with on the ubiquitous dating app, Fluttr. But after one too many, Mel has had it. Using her brilliant coding skills, she designs an app of her own, one that allows users to log harrassers and abusers in online dating space. It's called JerkAlert, and it goes viral overnight. Mel is suddenly in way over her head. Worse still, her almost-boyfriend, the dreamy Alex Hernandez has no idea she's the brains behind the app. Soon, Mel is faced with a terrible choice: one that could destroy her career, love life, and friendships, or change her life forever"--Provided by publisher.

How to Hack a Heartbreak

Swipe right for love. Swipe left for disaster. By day, Mel Strickland is an underemployed helpdesk tech at a startup incubator, Hatch, where she helps entitled brogrammers--"Hatchlings"--who can't even fix their own laptops, but are apparently the next wave of startup geniuses. And by night, she goes on bad dates with misbehaving dudes she's matched with on the ubiquitous dating app, Fluttr. But after one dick pic too many, Mel has had it. Using her brilliant coding skills, she designs an app of her own, one that allows users to log harrassers and abusers in online dating space. It's called JerkAlert, and it goes viral overnight. Mel is suddenly in way over her head. Worse still, her almost-boyfriend, the dreamy Alex Hernandez--the only non-douchey guy at Hatch--has no idea she's the brains behind the app. Soon, Mel is faced with a terrible choice: one that could destroy her career, love life, and friendships, or change her life forever. Kristin Rockaway is a native New Yorker and recovering corporate software engineer. After working in the IT industry for far too many years, she finally traded the city for the surf and chased her dreams out to Southern California, where she spends her days happily writing stories instead of code. When she's not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, and planning her next big vacation.

The only thing that kept me reading was the friend group. The romance wasn't believable, the characters weren't fleshed out, and in an effort to be relatable, the MC just seemed whiny with small doses of courage.

Kate B-L

Tish

This book was just straight up not very good. Mel was so annoying and she just acts crazy over everything. we don't see any real character development until about 75% through the book. I had very high hopes because I thought the whole premise sounded fun but it just came off as very preachy and man hating, very unrealistic.

Gisela Ayala 

Kathleen Mullins

This book had a good premise but was so frustrating. It was a classic "all your problems could be solved if you communicated!" so the main character was super annoying. Also the software dev aspects just made me angry as a woman in tech, both because I really *felt* her pain, but also because everyone was so BLATANTLY sexist it wasn't even subtle. Obviously some people are outwardly like that, but for everyone to be was just a bit painful.

Sofie

Kayla 

We all need a little romcom now and then which is one of the reasons I picked this one up. It’s also one of the lowest rated books on my Goodreads TBR so I wanted to do my own little test. .
.
Mel works at a start up incubator where she fixes the computers of the men who are working on their own start ups. I liked Mel, I thought it was so cool that she had this job and that she was interested in coding and app development. Alex, her love interest, was also really interesting and quite sweet. .
.
After some terrible online dates Mel sets up JerkAlert. A blog where women can upload profiles of the jerks they have gone out with as a warning for others. Pretty cool premise. .
.
Overall the book was interesting, Fast paced and I like the challenges Mel went through. So the rating on goodreads is 3.42 and I think this is pretty accurate. This book was entertaining, there were some flaws (Mel is way too paranoid and no one communicates well at all) but over all it was pretty good.

Linda Quintanilla

How to Hack a Heartbreak will great joy as you read through the hilarious rom-com story. 
Mel is a very hard-working women that she gets underestimated since she works with so many male in her field. While she dealing with the stresses of work, she also deals with horrible dates too. She has enough of men taking advantage that she takes revenge in the best way possible. Every underestimate a women at all. They are the force that cannot be beaten. And that's what Mel did. She created the most creative app that rates men personality and it is a hit! And I am not surprise at all.
It may be unexpected for Mel but her app is exploring bigger than most. And I love it so much. 
How to Hack a Heartbreak is a fun romance read that will brighten up your day.
Four star

Paulina 

Ta historia miała duży potencjał. Opowieść o programistce, która wpada na pomysł aplikacji pod wpływem frustracji po kolejnej nieudanej randce - P O T E N C J A L. Tyle możliwości: seksizm środowiska, podkopywanie jej wiary we własne umiejętności, to jak kobiety tworzą własne kręgi aby się wspierać, toksyczność aplikacji randkowych i całego przemysłu IT, toksyczność anonimowości w sieci, konsumpcjonizm relacji międzyludzkich. Naaah... Po raz kolejny skupmy się na kolesiu bez właściwości jako ostatecznej nagrodzie, wyznaczniku sukcesu i nie zapomnijmy wspomnieć #notallmen

Cute, quick read that was definitely more women’s fiction than romance IMHO. I enjoyed Mel’s journey with her career, but I didn’t get the swoons I wanted from the romance, which seemed secondary.

Kourtney

** Read my full review on momwithbooks.wordpress.com **

We are introduced to Mel Strickland. She is the voice you hear, or the person you see, when your computer at work is not working. The underappreciated and underpaid IT help desk worker. She works at a company, Hatch, that invests in startups, so she constantly sees new “Hatchlings” cycling through. Each time, it is a frat-house, male dominated culture. Mel also is on a dating app, known as Fluttr (think Tinder). It is par for the course that Mel, and many other women, receive unwanted pictures of men of…well..let’s just say the type of pictures that made Anthony Weiner famous. She’s been stood up by Fluttr dates. And she goes on public transportation only to have an unwanted “run-in” with a guy that pushes her over the edge.

It turns out that Mel is not just an IT tech, but she is also a coder. She creates a website she calls Jerk Alert, to help women find out that if that guy they are messaging with is worth it, or if he is among the losers that stand women up, send unwanted pictures, or worse. With the help of a good friend who works in PR, all of a sudden Jerk Alert has gone viral! Couple that with a review popping up on Jerk Alert of a guy Mel is dating (who she also works with) and Mel has a whole new world of confusion to deal with!

** SEE MORE AT momwithbooks.wordpress.com **

I received this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ana Couto

Thank you to Harlequin Books for my free copy in exchange for an honest review!

When I first heard about HOW TO HACK A HEARTBREAK by Kristin Rockaway, I was immediately intrigued. The story follows Mel Strickland, a help desk clerk at a startup tech company full of self-righteous misogynistic men who never grew out of their frat-boy phase. And like most people, she's also had terrible luck with dating apps. One night after another wave of unsolicited dick pics, Mel reaches her limit and decides to use her brilliant coding skills to create her own app, which allows women to document dating app profiles of harassers and abusers. It's called JerkAlert, and to Mel's surprise, it goes viral within a matter of hours.

As someone who met her current boyfriend on Bumble, I was really curious to read this story. I had a few online dating mishaps before meeting him, so I guess you could say I have a love-hate relationship with these apps. What I loved about this book though is the realistic (and sometimes hilarious) depiction of all the crap women have to put up with in the online dating sphere (not to mention the tech industry). I was rooting for Mel from the very first page, and it was so much fun watching her character growth as the story progressed (I can only wish someone like her and her creative ideas actually existed). In terms of the romance, I think overall the book was definitely more focused on Mel as an individual and her personal development (which I really appreciated!). I think you’ll enjoy this book if you’ve had any kind of experience with the modern dating scene (especially if you’re frustrated with it).

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram

(2.5 stars) Review can also be found here at Booked J. 

Let's face it. Most of us know the awful truth about online dating, even if we don't actively participate in it. This truth being that sometimes, we run into some serious creeps of all ages and locations. From genuine fear of our lives, to unsolicited dick pictures, subjecting ourselves to jerks who lack any sort of common sense or decency, and more, there are a lot of complications that come with both dating and even merely existing online.  

How to Hack a Heartbreak addresses this pretty quickly in the form an app designed by its main character, Mel: JerkAlert. It is an app that I wish were real because, honestly, it would save a lot of time. When I first read the synopsis, I was like, yes, finally, something that promises to address this! A woman working in coding? Check. Taking down trashy men with no boundaries? Check! I'm in.

In a lot of ways, How to Hack a Heartbreak successfully portrays women in tech, the complications of navigating online dating and so much more. It is feminist, rocks a fantastic lead character and has a lot of great qualities going for it. And for the most part, How to Hack a Heartbreak creates a balance between traditional rom-com goodness that gives readers the warm and fuzzies and serious topics.

Before starting the novel, I definitely had the image in my mind that it was going to be an updated version of Sex and the City with a lot of Silicon Valley vibes. This is what many reviewers had led me to believe and they were fairly accurate in this regard. Admittedly, I felt like it could have done more to stand out as its own work when compared to the above. 

The novel itself isn't bad, per se. I think that a lot of my issues with How to Hack a Heartbreak came from it not being quite compelling enough for my personal taste. I found myself nearly DNF it on many occasions and had to struggle through some parts of it for one reason or another. I felt mostly indifference towards everything, despite its premise being highly appealing, a great lead character and having some seriously good moments in it.

Something about it just didn't connect with me and it is what it is. I will say that How to Hack a Heartbreak has an exceptionally powerful message to it and I think that a lot of readers will fall in love with Mel, her relationship with Alex, and the manner in which Mel gains her own voice and learns to stand up for herself, and women, when it comes to sketchy behavior. How to Hack a Heartbreak arrived at just the right time for many, even if it wasn't my favourite read of the year.

How to Hack a Heartbreak

Reviews

Highlights