Review: Cure for the Common Breakup

Summary: Flight attendant Summer Benson lives by two rules: Don’t stay with the same man for too long and never stay in one place. She’s about to break rule number one by considering accepting her boyfriend’s proposal—then disaster strikes and her world is shattered in an instant.

Summer heads to Black Dog Bay, where the locals welcome her. Even Hattie Huntington, the town’s oldest, richest, and meanest resident, likes her enough to give her a job. Then there’s Dutch Jansen, the rugged, stoic mayor, who’s the opposite of her type. She probably shouldn’t be kissing him. She definitely shouldn’t be falling in love.

After a lifetime of globe-trotting, Summer has finally found a home. But Hattie has old scores to settle and a hidden agenda for her newest employee. Summer finds herself faced with an impossible choice: Leave Black Dog Bay behind forever, or stay with the ones she loves and cost them everything…. -- New American Library

I read CURE FOR THE COMMON BREAKUP by Beth Kendrick a few months ago, and unfortunately I forgot to write my review. I've been a little scattered this summer with... everything, but as I was cleaning out my "finished" book cabinet, I saw it sitting there with it's adorable little cover. You might think that forgetting to write a review for a book I read means that I didn't enjoy it, but that just isn't the case with CURE FOR THE COMMON BREAKUP. This novel was a lot of fun and a perfect summer read!

CURE FOR THE COMMON BREAKUP tells the story of Summer Benson, a flight attendant who doesn't like being tied down to anyone or anything. That is, until she meets the handsome pilot Aaron. She's pretty certain he's going to propose and she's pretty certain that she will say yes, and then the flight they are on goes down. Aaron reassess his life and realizes that Summer might not be the woman he wants to be with forever.

Summer heads to Black Dog Bay, a Delaware beach town that is known for being the best place in America to bounce back from a breakup. There she finds some very kind people and develops some wonderful friendships. She also ends up working for Hattie Huntingdon, an older (and wealthy) woman who isn't exactly nice. And last but not least, she discovers Dutch, the very sexy town's mayor and can't fight the attractions she feels towards him.

Black Dog Bay is almost too perfect for Summer until Hattie throws a wrinkle into things. Should Summer leave Black Dog Bay and her new friends or follow her heart and stay?

CURE FOR THE COMMON BREAKUP was such a cute read. At its heart, it was a story about a woman finding love and friendship as well as rediscovering herself. It was a sweet story, but not too sweet -- it had some edge to it and a few surprises thrown in.

I absolutely loved Summer's character and I couldn't help but root for her each and every time she encountered a problem. At the beginning of the novel, Summer was a pretty tough character. It was apparent that she didn't look back and she was out to have a good time. However, after her world was turned upside-down, she began to realize that there was more to life and she softened. I really enjoyed seeing her transformation into the kinder, gentler Summer while also still holding onto her spunkiness.

I also liked that this book kind of felt like chick lit but actually had more depth to it. Every once in awhile, I just love reading a light story about a youngish woman. This book certainly seemed like it was going to be a breezy read; however, Summer and a few other characters had some complexity. This element of the novel just brought it to the next level for me.

And finally, I just loved how Ms. Kendrick brought the little seaside town of Black Dog Bay to life. I would love to visit this quaint town (although I could without the whole breakup part!) The setting was described perfectly and I could easily imagine what this town (and it's citizens) looked like. It was so well done that it almost became another character in the story!

I do think CURE FOR THE COMMON BREAKUP would make a cute book club selection. There is a reading guide available with eight questions. Some of the themes you might want to explore include loss, grief, fear, second chances, love, attraction, mentor/mentee relationships, friendship, healing, and community. Of course you'd have to serve some pretty ice cream flavors to match the cover!

Summer is quickly coming to an end, but CURE FOR THE COMMON BREAKUP is an ideal book to keep you in the summer mood!

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy of this novel.