Heartbreak Incorporated

by Alex De Campi

Norma Butikofer (Narrator)

Brought to you by Penguin.

Evie Cross had big dreams of becoming an investigative journalist but at 25 and struggling to make it in New York City, she's finally starting to admit that her dream is her side hustle and her day job is actually... her job. That is, until she signs on as a temp for a small consultancy whose principal, Misha Meserov, specializes in breaking up relationships. Misha is tall, infuriatingly handsome, and effortlessly charismatic-he can make almost anyone, man or woman, fall into bed with him. And he often does.

But the more Evie is exposed to Misha's scandalous world, the more she becomes convinced that he's hiding something... when a wealthy San Francisco tech CEO with a dissolving marriage starts delving into the occult and turns up dead, Evie has to decide between her journalistic desire for the truth and her growing desire for Misha.

© Alex de Campi 2021 (P) Penguin Audio and Rebellion Publishing 2021

• ISBN10: 1786183595
• ISBN13: 9781786183590
• Publish Date: 24 June 2021 (first published 22 June 2021)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Penguin Audiobooks
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (WAV)
• Duration: 11 hours and 9 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Heartbreak Incorporated is an odd but well written fantasy action romance mashup featuring a female investigative journalist written by Alex de Campi. Released 14th Feb 2024 by indie pub Rebellion, it's 304 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a spicy romance with mystery and fantasy elements. It does a reasonable job of the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink genre straddling, but in the end, the book might have been better served to have tried to find 3 or 4 genres and stick to them. 

Nearly every reader of modern romantasy/ romance adventure recognizes the prevalent physical descriptions which abound in the genre. (It's not a bug, it's a feature). This book has it in spades. The action driven plot has all the moving parts in working order, but readers will still need to bring a healthy suspension of disbelief to the read. There are some elements of distressingly ingrained misogyny, including from the female MC. It's sadly typical of the genre... and it's clear and present here, too.

Three and a half stars. It's a standalone read. Definitely spicy/explicit parts, NSFW. Worth a look for fans of the genre; and the author is better than average at plotting and action sequences.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.