Heartbreak for Hire: A Novel

Written by Sonia Hartl

Narrated by Shaina Summerville

A smart, sexy, and witty romantic comedy—perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Sally Thorne—about a twentysomething who lives out every woman’s fantasy: getting paid to give men who do us wrong a taste of their own medicine. But when a previous target unexpectedly shows up at her office, she’s forced to rethink her life as a professional heartbreaker.

Brinkley Saunders has a secret.

To everyone in the academic world she left behind, she lost it all when she dropped out of grad school. Once a rising star following in her mother’s footsteps, she’s now an administrative assistant at an insurance agency—or so they think.

In reality, Brinkley works at Heartbreak for Hire, a secret service that specializes in revenge for jilted lovers, frenemies, and long-suffering coworkers with a little cash to spare and a man who needs to be taken down a notch. It might not be as prestigious as academia, but it helps Brinkley save for her dream of opening an art gallery and lets her exorcise a few demons, all while helping to empower women.

But when her boss announces she’s hiring male heartbreakers for the first time, Brinkley’s no longer so sure she’s doing the right thing—especially when her new coworker turns out to be a target she was paid to take down. Though Mark spends his days struggling up the academic ladder, he seems to be the opposite of a backstabbing adjunct: a nerd at heart in criminally sexy sweater vests who’s attentive both in and out of the bedroom. But as Brinkley finds it increasingly more difficult to focus on anything but Mark, she soon realizes that like herself, people aren’t always who they appear to be.

With Sonia Hartl’s “bitingly funny” (Publishers Weekly) prose, Heartbreak for Hire is a clever romcom you and your girlfriends won’t be able to stop talking about.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jul 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781797126036

Sonia Hartl

Sonia Hartl is the author of YA and adult romance. Her books have been featured in PopSugar, BuzzFeed, Vulture, Book Riot, and Life Savvy, among other publications, received a starred review from BookPage, and earned nominations for the Georgia Peach Book Award, YALSA's Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year, ALA's Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, and ALA's Rainbow Booklist, and was named an Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Young Adult. When she's not writing she enjoys board games with her family, attempting to keep her garden alive, or looking up craft projects she'll never get around to completing on Pinterest.

Reviews for Heartbreak for Hire

[Meryn · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A premise for which it was far too difficult to suspend disbelief, with an unbearable main character who caused all her own problems. It didn’t make any sense why the love interest kept pursuing her. The constant digs about academia just felt petty, and family drama shoved in at the very end was just weird. Not to mention the over-the-top “feminism” was just irritating. No thanks.

[angelica_fernandez_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was so much fun, had me laughing constantly... just loved it.

[SerendipityReads · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was a DNF for me, which is rare. I usually force myself through to the end. But I found I neither liked nor hated this book enough to care about how it turned out.

In spite of a seemingly unique premise, and the author's best efforts, the characters in this book just came across flat, and the events of the plot just too unbelievable to even care about. There just wasn't anything to really grab onto and relate to, in spite of a leading man who would normally appeal to me.

Ultimately, this review could have been one word long: MEH.

[Sully Alvarez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pretty cute story. Your typical romantic novel and I definitely enjoyed it.

[Morgan · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The premise was interesting enough to keep me listening... but it's not very well executed. The characters are mostly one dimensional, the situations and interactions don't feel real or realistic. I kept thinking "this would never happen..." also the ending was a bit of an anticlimax, it felt like, it's a romantic comedy so she has to make up with the guy and her mom at the end, but it wasn't very convincing at all.

[Helene Bjørnstad · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The MC and the premise of the book was unrealistic in the sense that the book was focusing on forced feminism that made the character look jaded and stupid at the same time. Such an easily manipulated character is not empowering to read about. This made the book frustarting to read

[Courtney Buczek · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I could easily see this being turned into a movie if they focused more on the relationships of the heartbreakers. I enjoyed it!

[Will F · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story was better than many other rom-com books. I thought that the premise had enough going on to potentially make a screen play or a miniseries. The narrator was also very good and could put a lot of emotion into the story.

[Caleb Miller · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Nah for me. I hated the love interest, not interested in asshole dudes. Too much trauma, not enough empathy.

[Jenna Vaughn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Eh, this was okay but too drawn out. The ending irritated me because people don't just make decisions like that based on off-handed comments. The MC was annoying and not endearing. Sure wasn't living true to get values but expected everyone else to?

[Hayley Wood · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Super fun read. I loved the concept behind ‘sticking it’ to an ex by becoming a heart breaker. The growth the mc goes growth is amazing.