Heartbreak Incorporated by Alex de Campi: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Heartbreak Incorporated by Alex de Campi

I picked Hearbreak Incorporated by Alex de Campi on NetGalley based on the cover, partly expecting urban fantasy, partly soft horror maybe. The contents didn’t match my expectations at all, not even with reading the description.

This was an odd book, in good and bad. It was genre fiction, but the genre kept changing. It started as chick-lit that morphed into a mystery, then paranormal, erotica, and eventually into horror of sorts. But at no point it was typical of any of it.

That’s because of its chosen style. The book is written in third person present tense, which created a vast distance between the main character Evie and the reader. The narrative seemed to slog on instead of drawing the reader in. It’s not a long book, but I found the style so exhausting I had to pause several times and it took me days to finish.

It was a well-written third person present though, with good eye for detail that made the main character’s life believable. But it didn’t manage to convey the sense of urgency that especially the ending required, or let the reader in on the jokes of the first half. It made the reader feel as dreary as Evie’s life was.

The story follows Evie who’s working on a series of temp jobs while fooling herself she’s going to break into journalism in a world where paid journalism is dying. New York is expensive and she’s down her last dollar when she snags a job with a private investigator. They investigate by going undercover on behalf of the client, usually to prove first-hand that a spouse is having an affair. The owner is a charming man who sweeps Evie off her feet without trying. Pity she’s set things in motion that’ll make him hate her. She’s decided to use him as her a ticket to journalism. That’s the chick-lit part.

Misha isn’t a typical alpha mail of UF and paranormal romances. He’s bisexual for one, and dresses to emphasise his attractiveness to both genders. And his behaviour is intriguing enough to make Evie to suspect that he kills some of his clients. She needs to prove it though. That’s the mystery section. But when she learns the truth, she no longer wants to write the story about him. That’s when the book evolves into paranormal territory. The rest of it flows in similar vein.

That’s also when the book started to lose my interest, mostly because Misha opening up to a person he’s known for a few days isn’t believable. But Evie plunges into his world, only to end up betraying him.

The ending definitely isn’t what I expected. It might set a series, though it concludes the book well. But if the reader is expecting a happily ever after, or even for now, they’re up for a disappointment.

All in all, this was a good book that I didn’t like as much as I hoped I would. But if you’re bored with first person narratives, and want to read something atypical while similar, this is for you. The cover should be changed though. But to what, I have no idea. I can't imagine what would describe all aspects of the book in a satisfying manner.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.