This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Victoria Sutton
I was thrilled to receive Never Google Heartbreak to review. The title alone was enough to draw me in (and make me ‘google heartbreak’ obviously) and I loved the contrasting colours and glittery hearts on the cover. The debut novel of author Emma Garcia, it looked and sounded like exactly the sort of book I love to devour…
Viv Summers leaves her fiancé Rob after he calls off their wedding for the third time; but only to teach him a lesson. When he doesn’t get in touch and then reveals that he’s met someone else, Viv is heartbroken. In the depths of her despair she googles heartbreak. Finding so many other tales of woe Viv decides that there should be somewhere for all these broken hearted people to be able to come together online and, with the help of Michael from the IT department at work, she sets up her own website.
The website is a welcome distraction but she still wants to get back together with Rob and will try anything. Some of the usual things like a new dress and haircut, some a little more extreme! She is supported along the way by her friend Lucy and, her best friend from uni, Max. It is Max in particular whom Viv comes to rely on and she discovers a side to their relationship she hadn’t thought about before…
I would love to say I’ve never done anything like any of those things Viv does in an attempt to win Rob back. I would love to. But I can’t. So from the outset I absolutely sympathised with her. I laughed for her, I cried for her. At times I wanted to die (of embarrassment) for her and at others I cheered. It is safe to say that I adored Vivienne Summers, faults and all, and really cared about what happened to her. It was like I opened the pages and I found a friend.
The side plots all weave neatly into the story. Viv’s relationship with her Nana provides insight into her background. Her workplace adventures bring added humour with characters in there I’m sure we all know in real life! In fact the supporting characters throughout the novel are all excellent: Christie for humour, Rob as the villain, Nana for the aww factor, but I must confess to having a soft spot in particular for Dave…
The fast pace of the book and my inability to put it down meant I finished within twenty-four hours. With a heroine to root for, a hero to swoon over, and a story so honest and compelling, Emma Garcia has written Chick Lit at it’s best. I can’t wait to read her next novel!
10/10