Review: 'Reader, I Dumped Him' by Lorelei Mathias (2016)

Relationships come and go, but the Break-up Club membership never truly expires. 
Holly Braithwaite and loveable loser Lawrence have been together for five years. But the obvious cracks in their relationship can no longer be ignored and Holly soon finds herself saying ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’
In the shock aftermath of their break up, Holly finds unlikely companions in Olivia, Harry and Bella. Together, they form the Break-up Club, as they support each other through their mutual melancholy and find ways to love, laugh and function as human beings again.
Break-up Club meets every Sunday. Each week, as the comedy and drama unfolds, they discover a new BUC ‘rule’. And, one by one, the rules become vital markers on their journey to recovery…
Today I've got a review of another exciting recent release by Harper Collins UK! On the 4th of February, Lorelei Mathias' novel 'Reader, I Dumped Him' was released and I was lucky enough to get a review copy of the book via NetGalley. I think the cover is gorgeous and enough reason already for me to want to pick this up, but the idea behind the plotline also caught my interest straight away. A group of friends who decide to start a Break-Up Club after all of their relationships have suddenly come to an end; I couldn't wait to read more about this story and was really excited to sit down with the novel and give it a go!
Twenty-something Holly Braithwaite has been together with her boyfriend Lawrence for several years. However, Holly can't help but not be 100% happy with their relationship and before she really realises it herself she has broken up with him. Luckily, Holly has her room mates and friends Bella, Olivia and Harry to help her through the tough times to come, especially when they discover they've all recently become single. Together they decide to start the Break-Up Club, complete with its own set of rules to make sure they all get through their break-ups as quickly and unbroken as possible. However, ending a relationship is never simple and it turns out to be quite a challenge for all four of them to deal with the changes in their lives, while sticking to their club rules as much as possible.
As soon as I heard about 'Reader, I Dumped Him' I loved the basic idea of the story; a group of friends who decide to start their own Break-Up Club to help each other get through the difficult stages of being dumped/ending a relationship. The book starts off in a great way with a list of the rules the club has and I was really curious to get to know the characters better. I liked Holly and her friends Olivia, Bella, and Harry, and really enjoyed seeing how they dealt with things, together and individually. However, I couldn't help but feel something was missing while I was reading the book and this feeling, unfortunately, didn't go away. 
I didn't really connect to any of the characters. I would have loved the chance to learn more about Bella, Olivia and Harry because they now felt like secondary characters the reader doesn't really need to know too much about, while I think the friendship between the four characters is one of the best things about this story. I also felt like the plot was missing something; there was a great basis, but it just didn't add up to what I was hoping I would be. Overall, 'Reader, I Dumped Him' is a light-hearted and fun read all about dealing with break-ups and the importance of having your friends there to support you along the way. I'm certainly curious to read more of Lorelei Mathias' work in the future and I did enjoy this book, it just didn't completely live up to my expectations. 

Rating:7/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.