Review: 'The Breakup Doctor' by Phoebe Fox (2014)

Call Brook Ogden a matchmaker-in-reverse. Let others bring people together; Brook, licensed mental health counselor, picks up the pieces after things come apart. When her own therapy practice collapses, she maintains perfect control: landing on her feet with a weekly advice-to-the-lovelorn column and a successful consulting service as the Breakup Doctor: on call to help you shape up after you breakup.
But when her own relationship suddenly crumbles, Brook finds herself engaging in almost every bad-breakup behavior she preaches against. And worse, she starts a rebound relationship with the most inappropriate of men: a dangerously sexy bartender with anger-management issues—who also happens to be a former patient.
As her increasingly out-of-control behavior lands her at rock-bottom, Brook realizes you can’t always handle a messy breakup neatly—and that sometimes you can’t pull yourself together until you let yourself fall apart.   A few months ago I was contacted by author Phoebe Fox about possibly reviewing her debut chick lit novel, ‘The Breakup Doctor’, which was released on the 10th of June 2014 by Henery Press. As soon as I checked out the novel, I really liked the cover and the blurb promised a fun and interesting read. I looked forward to reading more about breakup doctor Brook Ogden and hoped the book would live up to my expectations!   Brook Ogden has her life in order: she has her own place to live, she has a boyfriend whom she’s happy with, and she has her own therapy practice as a mental health counsellor. However, when she suddenly finds herself without an office space, she needs to find another job. Luckily, she manages to land on her feet as she is asked to start writing a weekly advice column as the ‘Breakup Doctor’, helping others getting through their break-ups. Yet, while Brook is busy helping others, she doesn’t take the time to deal with her own issues, such as the horrible break-up in her past. Sometimes it is necessary to fall apart before you can truly deal with everything life throws at you, but is Brook really ready to do just that and follow her own advice for a change?   The title of this book, ‘The Breakup Doctor’, already gives away what this story is all about. I straight away loved the idea of the main protagonist, Brook, being a counsellor helping other people dealing with their relationships and break-ups in the form of an advice column. The first chapters of the book are quite slow-paced, providing the reader with enough time to really get to know the heroine, Brook. She is easily likeable and it was refreshing to read about a female protagonist who is definitely not perfect and makes mistakes, just like all of us. I really enjoyed reading about her and seeing her character develop as the story progressed.    There’s a good collection of secondary characters as well; I specifically fell in love with Brook’s best friend, Sasha, who keeps getting her heart broken over and over again and Brook is always there to help her pick up the pieces. I’m excited about the fact that this is only author Phoebe Fox’s debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what else she has in store for us. Her writing is well-paced, entertaining and easy to get into, and I’m incredibly excited that there will be a sequel to this book. ‘The Breakup Doctor’ is a thoroughly enjoyable, light, chick lit read; perfect to pick up when you’re going through a break-up or some relationship trouble yourself, because this story will undoubtedly put a smile on your face. Rating:

8,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.