The Heartbreak Hotel ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O'Clover 

G👀dreads About Summary

A bed-and-breakfast for the brokenhearted might hold the key to another chance at love in this achingly hopeful debut romance.
Louisa Walsh emerged from a tumultuous childhood with a degree in counseling, a wealthy boyfriend, and her sunny outlook on life mostly intact. But that optimism is tested when she’s dumped and left unable to afford rent on their gorgeous house in the mountains of Colorado. Even with her life in disarray, Lou knows losing the one stable place she’s ever called home is not an option.

Her plan: ask her reclusive landlord, Henry Rhodes, to let her stay for free in exchange for renting out the house’s many rooms as a bed-and-breakfast. She’s shocked when he agrees to her terms, and even more surprised to discover Henry is a handsome thirtysomething veterinarian with silver at his temples and sadness in his eyes. One who does not take it well when Lou starts marketing her B and B as a retreat for the recently heartbroken.

But as the Comeback Inn opens its doors to its weary, hopeful guests, Lou and Henry find themselves dancing around both their undeniable connection and the closely held secrets that threaten to topple this fragile new start. A chance at love, here, could be too close to home…or it could be exactly where their hearts finally heal.

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Rom Com

The How/Why: Recommended because of the narrator. She was part of the cast of The Mother-Daughter Book Club. 
I don't typically listen to two books at a time but I needed something Chick Flick-ish to supplement Mona's Eyes. Apparently I can't only take art history in smaller doses! 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🎉 Overall Storytelling? 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕

🕮 Would I want a sequel? Maybe 🤷 I liked the cast of characters so maybe more of a spin-off than a sequel. 

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Yes ➕ She has If Not You coming out in September. Currently NetGalley only has the e-Book available. I'll keep an eye out to see if the audiobook becomes available to request. 

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Griɇf, Mɇntal IllneŞŞ & FɐmilɎ Trɐumɐ

🌶 Spice? Yes, Google says 2.5-3 on a scale of 5. I'll let you know!
Update 2.5

🌪 Plot Twist? Yes, more of discovery than a twist.

👟 Pace? Good

💻 Tidbits ~ After a big breakup, Louisa (Lou) can't afford to stay in the beautiful rental house she adores. After moving from place to place with her unstable mother most of her life, this is the only place she's lived that feels like home. 

She hatches a plan to turn the house into a B&B retreat for the brokenhearted. She'll live there for free running the place, the guest fees will cover the rent. 

Enter handsome and single landlord, Henry. He has a love-hate relationship with the house. He can't live there, he won't sell it. Much to her surprise he agrees with her plan. 

Enter best friend Mei, also newly broken up with, they commiserate over their relationships and she stays to help Lou get her plan up and running.

Enter her older sister Goldie who has Lou's best interest at heart in a very judgmental since she's always had to watch over her. She has an adorable five year old son Quinn who adores his auntie. 

Enter in the mix is a very interesting cast of guests all while the romance is hatching between Louisa and Henry. I predict a year from now they will all be invited to the wedding!

Enter Lou and Goldie's needy and manipulative mother with BPD. She was a piece of work and very colorful in her own way. In my head I had the vision of Flo from Alice, the old sit-com.

Not to worry, you won't need a database spreadsheet to keep the characters straight. 

Lou uses her degree in counseling to help the broken hearted in a very good and productive way. She has knack for it and is very patient while giving out great advise. At times it felt like it was bordering a self-help book. Very relatable relationship advise covering grief and emotional healing.

Why I deducted 1 Star.
-Half Star - As the romance is underway Louisa and Henry both have big secrets. When revealed I was disappointed in the "You lied to me. But you lied to me. But that was different" dialog. As if her undisclosed truth and his deep trauma are somehow on a level playing field. There is no scale to make it emotionally equal, nor should there be (IMO).
-Half Star - For someone who was so patient and understanding of others, her reaction seemed over-the-top. 

That aside, I thought it had cozy mountain home and small mountain town vibes, surrounded by good advise and relatable characters. 

Favorite Character: Mei. She gets the Best Friend Award. I wouldn't mind a spinoff following what fierce and fisty Mei does next. 

Honorable Mention: The Tattoo. 💓

🎧 Narrator: Brittany Pressley 👍

🎧10.16 hours (Libby) 🕮 352pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue *DNF*

Image
  When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow *DNF* The cover is the best part G👀dreads A glittering, glamorous portrait of the golden age of American department stores and of three visionary women who led them, from the award-winning author of The Plaza . The American department a palace of consumption that epitomized modern consumerism. Every wish could be met under one roof – afternoon tea, a stroll through the latest fashions, a wedding (or funeral) planned. It was a place where women, shopper and shopgirl alike, could stake out a newfound independence. Whether in New York or Chicago or on Main Street, USA, men owned the buildings, but inside, women ruled. Genre: NonFiction, History, Fashion, Biography. Circa early 1900's. I listened a little while I was puttering around in the casita in the morning. There is a part where she says the sales ladies would say "Oh Harriett" to warn another employee that a customer could not be pleased. Like a take off of modern day ...
Read more

Killers of a Certain Age ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Image
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn From Goodreads: Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon. They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills. When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death. Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I really liked it a lot. It ho...
Read more

Home of the American Circus ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Image
Home of the American Circus by Allison Larken  G👀dreads After an emergency leaves her short on rent, thirty-year-old Freya Arnalds bails on her lackluster life as bartender in Maine and returns to her suburban hometown of Somers, New York, to live in the house she inherited from her estranged parents. Despite attempts to lay low, Freya encounters childhood friends, familial enemies, and old flames—as well as her fifteen-year-old niece, Aubrey, who is secretly living in the derelict home. As they reconnect, Freya and Aubrey lean on each other, working to restore the house and come to terms with the devastating events that pulled them apart years ago. Set in the birthplace of the American circus, this deeply moving novel is an exploration of broken families, the weight of the past, and the complicated journey of finding home. Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Family Drama Dual Timeline: ETA: This is listed as dual timeline but I thought it was more like memory flashbacks. It's ...
Read more