Rating: ★★★

Summary:

Genre: Romantic Comedy/Chick Lit

Publication Date:  October 2023

No. Pages: 383 Pages

Keywords: Work Stress, Seaside, Romance

Content Warnings: Anxiety, Suggestion of Dementia, Loss of a Parent

Format: Paper back, Hardback, Ebook, Audiobook

Review

The perfect entry into Autumn, look no further for a cosy rom-com that will warm you from the inside out. Ideal for the colder months as despite it being set on a beach in Devon, it takes place in February and the sun has most definitely not got his hat on.

The Burnout opens with us meeting protagonist, Sasha, teetering on the brink of a work-related meltdown. Severely lacking self-care with no social life, she is single handedly keeping Pret afloat with a daily diet of halloumi wraps and choc bars. She is overworked and underappreciated by the busy startup she works for and it’s relentless ‘joyfulness programme’.

After a breakdown which involves attempting to join a nunnery and a brief encounter with a brick wall, she heads to her beloved childhood holiday destination of Rilston Bay, Devon. Staying in the once grange Rilston hotel, she intends to embark on a hula-hooping, smoothie filled wellness retreat, but it quickly becomes clear she isn’t the only one who could do with a little TLC. What the Rilston lacks in it’s crumbling walls and boarded up windows, the staff certainly make up for with their charm, however the intended peaceful retreat takes a turn when she is forced to share the windswept beach with the ill-tempered Finn. 

Most of the story is set on the blustery beach, where the scene setting is detailed enough to have you thinking you are stood right beside Sasha as she dips her toes into the frigid sea. Sasha has a charmingly clumsy and disorganised approach to life when we first meet her, and her faint hope that yoga on the beach and kale smoothies will cure the chronic stress of her day job is alarmingly relatable. The characters really make this story, and I particularly enjoyed getting to know the hotel staff who frequently give off Fawlty Towers energy. 

Although Finn, the brooding beach goer, is not what you would call likeable when we first meet him, he and Sasha are forced together by a mystery on the shore and he soon grows into someone all together more likeable. However, I can’t help but wish there was more space in the book for us to delve into to his past as this would really add depth of the storyline and the readers connection to him as a character. 

Surprisingly at first, I didn’t find myself being drawn back into the book but after a few chapters I found myself sneaking reading in wherever I could. The book has a couple of different sub plots which although at times perhaps felt a touch fanciful, were a welcome addition to the story and one in particular kept me turning the page in hopes of finding out the answer. It certainly lives up to it’s genre of romantic comedy and strikes the balance of being funny without coming across as gimmicky. 

Overall this is an easy, enjoyable read that I recommend if you want to sink into the familiar warm fuzzy feelings that rom coms can bring. While this wasn’t my favourite book from Sophie Kinsella, it’s certainly got me thinking about where my next escape will be too…

The Round Up

Standout Quote or Moment: Sasha’s arrival at the Rilston Hotel, probably my favourite setting of the book!

Read If: You want some light-hearted escapism that will leave you feeling cosy and warm on these dark evenings.

Similar Books: The little beach street bakery, Jenny Colgan. Sunrise by the Sea, Jenny Colgan. The Secret Seaside Escape, Heidi Swain.

Lasting Impression: A thoroughly enjoyable, heart warming book that will keep you laughing, guessing and rooting for its hilariously relatable main character.

Written by Megan Lee

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