The Burnout by Sophie KinsellaStar Rating:
Spice Level:
Published by The Dial Press on 10/10/2023
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy, Women’s Fiction
Format: Kindle (416 pages)
Source: Purchased
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She can do anything . . . just not everything.
Sasha has had it. She cannot bring herself to respond to another inane, “urgent” (but obviously not at all urgent) email or participate in the corporate employee joyfulness program. She hasn’t seen her friends in months. Sex? Seems like a lot of effort. Even cooking dinner takes far too much planning. Sasha has hit a wall.
Armed with good intentions to drink kale smoothies, try yoga, and find peace, she heads to the seaside resort she loved as a child. But it’s the off season, the hotel is in a dilapidated shambles, and she has to share the beach with the only other occupant: a grumpy guy named Finn, who seems as stressed as Sasha. How can she commune with nature when he’s sitting on her favorite rock, watching her? Nor can they agree on how best to alleviate their burnout (Sasha: manifesting, wild swimming; Finn: drinking whisky, getting pizza delivered to the beach).
When curious messages, seemingly addressed to Sasha and Finn, begin to appear on the beach, the two are forced to talk—about everything. How did they get so burned out? Can either of them remember something they used to love? (Answer: surfing!) And the question they try and fail to ignore: what does the energy between them—flaring even in the face of their bone-deep exhaustion—signify?
This book resonated with me on so many levels. I fully identify with Sasha & her burnout. Sophie Kinsella was writing directly to me/about me when describing Sasha’s state of mind about work & how it was affecting her mental health & personal life. Have I tried to join a convent & run into a brick wall while escaping my horrible office & coworkers? No, no I haven’t. But the landslide of emails, the constant inescapable workload & the irritation with useless colleagues/upper management? Yup. The lack of desire to cook, see friends & have fun? Yes, 100%. Nail on the head. On top of all that, the beach is my happy place, so right off the bat I thought this was going to be a 5-star read. Come on, reading about how work can overtake your life, ruin it, chew you up & spit you out? And then going to the beach to recuperate & heal? SIGN. ME. UP. And this was a 5-star read, until about the 85% mark.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I still loved it. Finn was adorable & lovable & the perfect MMC for this story. The mystery of the messages left on the beach, Terry & his wisdom, & the side characters at the hotel. All perfection. I laughed out loud, I cried, and then I laughed again through tears.
So why wasn’t it 5 stars? The ending. I expected the 3rd act breakup. My heart was prepared. And sure, Sasha & Finn got their HEA. And I am nothing if not a HEA girl. But their reconciliation felt rushed, and then the book just ended. On a fantastic callback line, I might add. But I wanted more Finn & Sophie. I needed a hefty, happy epilogue, or a couple more chapters about them reuniting & their life together after burnout.
The whole book felt like eating a delicious ice cream sundae with all my favorite toppings. Then right at the end, I was left with nothing but excess hot fudge & nuts at the bottom of an empty bowl. The ratio was wrong. I needed one more bite of ice cream to balance everything out & make it perfect.
I guess I’m nitpicking though. I’ll definitely read this book again to be reminded of Terry’s infinite & awesome wisdom about surfing, which somehow relates wholly to everything in life.
“Kids, you have to enjoy the ride. The ride is it.”
“Why are you worrying about the sea? The sea sure as hell isn’t worrying about you.”
“You’re never failing, you’re learning. Learning how to manage the sea and how to manage yourself. Everything you did today, right or wrong, was experience. Experience! Can’t beat it. And you’ll learn from it, just you wait.
“No one remembers the wipeouts. They don’t! People remember the triumphs! Now, you want to know why you wiped out? Because you tried. You tried, my dear. And that puts you above most people.”
“Could we walk along the waves while I tell you why I fell in love with you in the first place?” ❤️