Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Heartbreak Incorporated by Alex de Campi is an adult romance and action mash-up. At least, it is until halfway through the book, when a fantasy subplot emerges. Evie Cross has been temping at various jobs when she decides to join an investigation agency. Her interview with Misha Meserov goes okay, but she's in no position to make demands. She steals sushi from the work fridge because she doesn't have enough money. Here's a quote from when Evie meets Misha for the interview:

“Next,” sighs a low, husky male voice from the doorway, the sort of voice that sounds like it should be whispering lazy secrets across linen sheets. There is the smallest hint of another, older accent behind the cool, received-pronunciation British vowels; something from considerably further east.

Not only does Misha have an exotic accent, he's only great at fighting and getting out of scraps. But does his quick reflexes and anger hide a darker side to his personality? Here's a quote from when Misha has to fight some security guards at a party:

"Seeing Misha shift into aggressive motion, Evie understands that his body's considerable strength isn't the product of fancy trainers and endless repetitions in a gym. He moves like a fighter, a soldier; like someone who has had a lot of training and even more practice experience in f***ing other people up."

When Misha hires Evie to join his agency, she has mixed feelings. However, she soon gets an offer to write an expose on Misha's company. Will she bite the hand that feeds her if it means she can get her dream job?

The plot is exciting for the first half of the book, when suddenly, a fantasy subplot emerges and sort of takes over the original plot. I was prepared for a romance and action mash-up based on MIsha's investigation agency. Suddenly, the main characters are looking for an evil book that causes people to die. I took off a star because of this abrupt 180 degree turn, but I was still intrigued enough to keep reading. Then, I took off another star because of an extremely long sex scene near the end. I don't think I realized what I was signing up for when I started this book.

Overall, if you're looking for an adult romance and action plot, and you don't mind it turning into a fantasy halfway through, then you'll enjoy Heartbreak Incorporated. If any part of the story sounded interesting to you, check out this book when it comes out in June!

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I was initially drawn to this book but the concept of the private investigation agency +young girl temp + guy with shady past as I quite enjoy those combinations. A supernatural-thriller-romance with a few twists you don't see coming, and some you do, with relatable characters and some comedy thrown in for good measure,

The characters are all very well written and with much more depth than you initially think, a lot of the secondary characters are well fleshed out but not to the point they distract from the story. I read the book in a couple of hours because the story was gripping enough that I wanted to find out what happened next, fast-paced but not rushed.

When you start reading this book and get to know Misha you will definitely be lulled into a false sense of security by what you think his shady past is. I think the author did this on purpose and I loved the trickery of it. I guessed his sister's secret early on, though, but maybe that was the point.

This book definitely sets up for a potential sequel, though can easily stand alone. There are a few unanswered questions that left me wanting more (but in a good way), specifically regarding Pavel and HIS past. And what the future holds for Misha now. My only gripe with this book (and trust me it is very slight) is there was not as much focus on the "heartbreak inc" cases as I would have liked. I would have liked to have seen more clients and more investigating of cases that were nothing to do with Misha's past and just "a job", but hey- that could be material for book 2, no?

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this novel.

This was such an interesting, enjoyable book. Even though I am huge sci fi/fantasy nerd I usually struggle to engage with this genre in its written form so I wasn’t sure if this book was really for me. The blurb pulled me in though and I’m glad it did. The main character Evie was great, a good mix of curiosity, smarts and relatability. There was a frisson between her and Misha right from the start which you wanted to see develop and grow. Misha was wonderfully intriguing, complicated and tortured. The author did a great job of building the mystery around him as the connection with Evie was building as well. Some good supporting characters as well in this in Masha, Kevin, George, Pavel and Claudia . I especially liked Gemma who turned out to be more relatable than I initially thought she would be. The author has done some great work building this world and setting up potential future stories in it. I really hope we get to revisit these characters as I think there is so much more story to tell but if not the ending is pretty satisfying. Definitely worth a read (4 ⭐️)

This book has everything romance,heart break,betrayal forgiveness and paranormal mystery. i loved this book it's characters the story was unique . I hope that this is a series. Best book of 2021!

A different kind of thriller, I honestly think a lot of readers will enjoy this. I know I did I really like the characters and I was excited to see what would happen next.