Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Burnout

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The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

8 reviews

zeevee93's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is the third Sophie Kinsella book I’ve read in 2 months and it is by far my favourite. The book feels like a warm hug—the perfect comfort read that’s highly relatable, laugh-out-loud funny while also being caring and compassionate. Kinsella has always had a knack for creating characters that feel so real, but this time, she’s outdone herself.

The story follows Sasha, who’s hit her breaking point and decides to take a much-needed break from her hectic life. As she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, humor, heart, and a touch of romance is expertly woven together into the narrative with Kinsella’s trademark wit shining through on every page.

While some plot points may feel predictable, the warmth and authenticity of the characters more than make up for it. You can’t help but love Sasha because, in truth, there’s a little bit of Sasha in all of us. In today’s world, we’re often pressured to juggle multiple responsibilities, constantly push ourselves to the limit, and wear our stress as a badge of honor. Kinsella does a fantastic job of addressing mental health and the real challenges of recovering from burnout. It’s not as simple as suddenly deciding to drink kale smoothies, do yoga, and manifest a better life!

The thoughtful, compassionate, and accurate handing of dementia was commendable. Anyone who has been affected by the disease will undoubtedly get a tear in their eye and a warmth in their heart while reading this. The way she balances these serious themes without losing the book’s light-hearted tone is truly masterful. The scene in the final chapters had tears rolling down my face but also smiling eye to ear (if you’ve read the book you know the scene!)

I also really appreciated the attempt at including authentic autistic and ADHD-coded characters, even though they weren’t overtly identified as such. By subtly and respectfully brings these traits into the story, the characters feel even more genuine and relatable. I would have liked them specifically identified but that’s just a personal preference.

The pacing was a little slow towards the middle, however ai honestly didn’t mind. I was so caught up in the charm of the secondary characters and the little seaside town I wasn’t bored despite the lack of major plot development in parts.

Sasha’s internal monologue did become somewhat grating and monotonous in parts but only briefly before I was drawn back in to the story.

Overall, The Burnout is a delightful and meaningful read that will leave you smiling and perhaps a little more in tune with what really matters in life. It’s a good reminder that it’s okay to hit pause, take a breath, and rediscover the joys of living.

Content Warnings

waybeyondblue's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

My first Sophie Kinsella book! Other than being a bit longer than I anticipated (and probably more than a bit longer than the story needed), it was a solid pick! A funny, lighthearted, hopeful British romance with a good dose of "women's fiction" running through it and a even a smidgeon of mystery.

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callidoralblack's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings

jenniferbbookdragon's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Sasha is burned-out, to the point of fleeing her workplace and pleading with a nun to let her join the convent (despite the fact she isn't Catholic). When her family finds out how far she has spiraled, then arrange for her to go to the seaside town they went to every summer when she was a child. In February.
I enjoyed this book more than I expected to, as I never wanted to read Kinsella's Shopaholic series. The quirky characters at the hotel and the surrounding community were fun, and once Sasha started connecting with the people around her she became much more interesting and relatable. The romance was equal parts funny and sweet, with the challenges common to the genre.
I predict an adaptation, probably on Netflix or Hulu.

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thebruce's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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bringmybooks's review

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Thank you to NetGalley, The Dial Press, & Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

Ahhhh, Sophie Kinsella. Love it or hate it, there’s no in between (for me). This wasn’t one of my more recent favs (see: Party Crasher, which I LOVED), but I think for some of her die hard fans it’ll be just fine.

A couple notes:

The first 10% is classic Kinsella and I loved that

There’s a tiny bit of instalove, meh

A big part of the subplot is just that … sub(par)

This would make a fantastic movie but novelization didn’t hit right

If this gets made into a movie I will watch it for Herbert alone and that is not a lie

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abby2207's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was so good! I really loved all of the characters. They were all so quirky and lovable and realistic. Sasha was an awesome FMC and I thought she was super relatable. There were some parts of this book that made me laugh out loud, which is not something that I do often when I’m reading. Sasha’s self-improvement journey was lovely, and I loved the depictions of father daughter relationships. Adding in some romance and a dash of mystery made this a super enjoyable and comforting read.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC! The Burnout is out on Tuesday October 10th!

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