Your Big Break [Paperback]

Johanna Edwards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2006

Dani Myers has become an expert at romantic breakups ever since she was hired to "facilitate" them for clients of Your Big Break, Inc. In other words, she dumps people for money. But company rule #5 (do not get personally involved) is getting harder to obey. One of her dumpees is turning out to be the kind of guy she might just want to pick up on the rebound. and a new client has just walked in, begging for Dani's help breaking up with The Big Jackass, who's been leading her on all this time-and now turns out to be married.

It would be a routine job except for one problem: the so-called Big Jackass is married to none other than Dani's mother.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

ncEdwards's latest light read follows the professional and personal travails of Dani Myers, a 28-year-old single Bostonian who breaks hearts for a living. As employees of Your Big Break, Inc. ("It's not you, it's us!"), Dani contracts with disgruntled lovers to do the dirty work of ending their relationships. Dani encounters a conflict of interest when a voluptuous redhead hires her to dump a man she calls the "Big Jackass," and who turns out to be Dani's father. Dani enlists the help of her slacker younger brother in telling their mother about the affair, and the two discover that their parents' dynamic is not what they had assumed. To greater comic effect, Edwards details Dani's ill-advised attempts at matchmaking for her clients, as she goes above and beyond her job description to promote the "healing process." Breaking rules plus hearts (she's not supposed to get personally involved with clients), Dani falls for one of her dumpees, Brady Simms, a handsome lawyer-turned-schoolteacher. Though ably plotted and brimming with escapist fun, this book doesn't resonate with the same humor and poignancy as did Edwards's debut, The Next Big Thing.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Breaking up is hard to do. Dani Myers does it for a living. As a "communications specialist" for Your Big Break, Inc., she does the dirty work for dumpers--from Dear John letters to property retrieval to breakup recovery kits. But Dani has trouble obeying one of the company's cardinal rules: "Do not get personally involved." She dispels the guilt from breaking couples up by playing matchmaker for her dumpees. Of course, she ends up falling for one herself. Things are already getting complicated when a new client turns out to be her father's mistress. The premise may seem farfetched, but Edwards makes it work with realistic characters. Readers will find the themes of the novel very relatable--who hasn't experienced heartbreak or the excitement of new love? Chick-lit enthusiasts will welcome this fresh and funny addition from the author of The Next Big Thing (2005). Aleksandra Kostovski
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (March 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425207846
• ISBN-13: 978-0425207840
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,258,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty and engaging, June 17, 2008

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Your Big Break (Paperback)

For Dani Myers - the best way to get over heartache is to help others through the process. As a communication specialist for "Your Big Break," a company specializing in doing the dumping for you, she acts as the bad guy and gets rid of your pesky soon-to-be-ex as well as retrieves your personal property. Keeping her occupation secret from her family, she is shocked when her latest client is her father's mistress, becomes close friends with a habitual client's ex, and manages to make love connections for some of her recent dumpees. Then to top it off, she's attracted to Brady, one of the dumpees who has no idea of the role she played in his break up or her company strict no getting involved policy.

Edwards's sophomore novel retains the wit and stellar storytelling she displayed in "The Next Big Thing." Readers will relate to Dani's life teetering like a roller coaster as she tries to keep all her balls in the air. The dialogue is crisp, the secondary characters are well drawn, and the plotting is tight. Bar none the best ending paragraph of any book I have read! I read it cover to cover in a day and absolutely loved it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once again Johanna did it, June 21, 2008

By 

Heidi Dawn "Heidi" (Memphis , TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Big Break (Paperback)

I might be bias alittle since Johanna is a personal friend of mine. I went to HS with her and took a socialogy class with her. I have all her published work. Thru out this book I saw a very funny romantic comedy (movie). Same thing with "The next big thing". Johanna is a smart , witty , beautiful and simply wonderful writerand person. I am honored to know her.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars liked it better than the first book, June 8, 2006

By 

Kim - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Big Break (Paperback)

I actually liked this book better than The Next Big Thing. It was so much fun and truly original. I laughed the whole way through and the book was an extremely quick read. I picked it up for vacation and finished it in three days. Definitely recommended. My only critique is the ending came a little too fast. But overall this is a winner!