Book Review: Breakup Boot Camp by Beth Merlin

Media Type: eBook
Title: Breakup Boot Camp
Author: Beth Merlin
Publisher: Firefly Hill Press
Pages: Paperback; 249
Release Date: November 19, 2019
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Genre: Adult, Comedy, Romance

HDB Rating: 3*

Recommended to: Readers who enjoy a heartfelt look at grief and breakups.
Add it on: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

After weeks of training to whip Joanna Kitt into shape for her big day, her picture-perfect engagement to her high school sweetheart is torn in two, and Joanna is left out on her perfectly toned rear end. To put the past and her heartache behind her, she sets off for two weeks at the renowned Retreat House Breakup Boot Camp in Topsail Island off the coast of North Carolina.
Despite her sadness, Joanna throws herself into the experience hoping surfing, yoga, spa treatments, meditation, and talk therapy will be enough to help her get over the one man she’s ever loved. But she soon learns the Boot Camp is only the first step to healing her broken heart. Joanna will have to come to terms with the career she abandoned, the losses in her life she never fully accepted, and the role she played in the ending of her relationship. .
When she meets Todd Aldrich, the handsome and mysterious hotel chef, she has the chance to take her renewed heart out for a test drive and see if she is ready for new beginnings and new love.
Will 12 steps be enough to get her life back on track? Or will her getaway to get over him prove healing the heart takes a whole lot more?

What an interesting story of self discovery. When we meet Joanna, she is happily engaged to the only man she’s ever been in a relationship with and is working on her perfect wedding. High school sweethearts, how romantic. Until it’s not.

As Joanna’s life starts to implode she is left distraught and grieving the relationship she thought she had. Through an interesting recommendation, Joanna decides to give Breakup Boot Camp a try.

I have to say, one of my favorite characters of this whole story is Joanna’s sister Merritt. She takes care of her sister in the way every sister should. Brutal honesty, soft hugs, and a lot of sincerity. It was refreshing to see a positive and thoughtfully written sister relationship.

I have to say, while there are some funny moments, this book was a bit more serious than I was expecting. Not in a particularly bad way, just not as lighthearted as one might expect from the cover. We go on Joanna’s journey of betrayal, happiness, anger, and all of the various steps of grief. It is a tumultuous journey at times that pulls at your heartstrings. You can physically feel the whirl of emotions that Joanna experiences.

The boot camp activities and therapy brought together an interesting group of women, each with their own struggles. It is a pleasure to read about positive female relationships that aren’t centered solely on happy times. Going through something awful together really creates a bond for Joanna and her new friends.

If you’re ready for a roller coaster of emotions, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of this book. Prepare yourself for a little self reflection and you’ll be sure to enjoy the story.

Beth Merlin has a BA from The George Washington University where she minored in Creative Writing and a JD from New York Law School. She’s a native New Yorker who loves anything Broadway, rom-coms, her daughter Hadley, and a good maxi dress. She was introduced to her husband through a friend she met at sleepaway camp and considers the eight summers she spent there to be some of the most formative of her life. One S’more Summer is Beth’s debut novel.
Author links:http://www.bethmerlin.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16493075.Beth_Merlin
https://twitter.com/bethmerlin80
https://www.facebook.com/bethfmerlin/