Published: 15 December 2020
Series: N/a
Pages: 285
Warnings: Language, family abuse, violence
Elliot has just made the list of America’s hottest bachelors. A successful business mogul who has made a name for himself in Silicon Valley, Elliot’s life is just about perfect—that is until an incriminating photo of himself appears in a tabloid magazine. If anyone discovers who the other person in the photo is, his career would be ruined.
Penny’s life has been anything but charmed. Struggling to make ends meet, she’s determined to make a better life for herself. Desperate to rescue her little brother from the same troubled life she had growing up, Penny will do whatever it takes to make sure he’s safe. Now that she’s starting an internship at a large corporation, she can only hope this is the start of something better.
And that’s when an asshole named Elliot Faulkner makes her an offer she can’t refuse.
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The Breakup Plan started off with a real uphill battle to get me on side. We met our leading man, Elliot, pretty early in the story. And it didn’t take very long for me to decide I didn’t like him. And it took even less time after that to work out that saying I ‘didn’t like’ him was a major understatement – he was obnoxious. (Some of the comments he comes out with would make any woman question why she would choose to be around him.) There are reasons for the way he is, but I struggled for a large part of the book to feel empathy for him. However, I did get there by the end (sort of, anyway).
Elle Vaughan does a fantastic job of creating a character in Elliot that really evokes a strong reaction from me as a reader. At first I felt anger towards him, which then morphed to annoyance and eventually to somewhat of a cross between acceptance and happiness for him. I can’t say I ever came to like him, but I did enjoy his progression throughout the novel. And I really like that his character provokes me to form strong opinions along the way.
Penny is doing her best to get ahead after a tough start in life. And she is focussed on trying to find a good job to get her into a position where she’ll be able to help her little brother get away from that same tough start. That is how she comes to take an unpaid internship, working with Elliot, but she quickly realises that she hates it. And let’s just say that Penny isn’t shy when it comes to speaking her mind, so we the readers (plus everyone in the story) find out rather promptly each time that something (or someone) displeases her. With Elliot being on the top of that list!
Penny has some big uphill battles that she needs to face during the course of the story, but I like the way that she faces everything head on. She isn’t shy about standing up for herself & doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind. That strength comes in handy towards the end when she really needs to step up and take some tough action.
Adding confusion to the issue between the two of them, aside from the internship, Elliot offers her a ‘job’ that she can’t refuse. And because of that, Penny and Elliot need to spend a lot of time together. That’s when we start to see a more acceptable side to Elliot, as Penny begins to influence him. And in return, Penny starts to be more accepting of him, too. But it’s not all hearts and flowers between the two of them. Misunderstandings, and some poor communications – mixed in together with a dose of mega chemistry between the two of them – creates a rather topsy-turvy atmosphere that at times keeps them both on edge with each other.
The story moves along well & towards the end, I found myself not wanting to put it down. In the early stages though, when Elliott’s character was first being established, I found him so objectionable that I was finding I had to push on to keep reading. I’m glad I did, though because I ended up getting enough my dislike of Elliot enough overall to enjoy the book.
I did think though that The Breakup Plan ended REALLY suddenly. The majority (not all) parts of the storyline had been wound up & it could have ended where it did without quite as sudden a jolt, but it sort of just stopped. In movie terms, you would be leaving the cinema saying that they have set it up for a sequel. But I haven’t found any sign online of a sequel coming for this book, so we will have to wait & see. But I’ll be there to get my copy if there is a follow-up, as I want to know what happens next…
Thank you to Xpresso Tours & the author for my copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Elle Vaughn is an avid book lover – especially romance novels. She’s the author of the Anna and Quinton novella series and is always working on a new story project. When she’s not lost in her character creations she can be found chasing around her toddler, being outside in the Colorado outdoors, gardening and attempting to cook for her family!
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