The Burnout DEALS
The Burnout, published in 2023, is written by best-selling English author Sophie Kinsella, who is best known for her Shopaholics series that was adapted into a movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Sophie is the queen of the romantic comedy genre and has sold millions of copies of her works worldwide. I tend to grab a Sophie Kinsella novel when I’m looking for a fun, light-hearted read. The Burnout was just that.
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The Burnout Summary
Sasha is so burnt out from work that she has no personal life. She doesn’t even have it in her to make herself a meal. It all gets to a point where she simply cannot cope with all the stress and ends up acting out of character in hilarious ways.
Sasha ends up going to a beach resort that she used to love as a child. Unfortunately, the hotel is in need of major upgrades, and Sasha doesn’t even get a decent room. To top it off, the February weather isn’t ideal for a beach holiday. The only positive thing was that the beach was deserted, and she got to enjoy some solitude until someone else showed up.
Now Sasha has to share the beach with a handsome, obnoxious guy (Finn) with his own issues. They try ignoring each other at first, but then things become competitive. When a series of mysterious messages appears on the beach, Finn and Sasha work together to figure out if the messages are meant for them.
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Strengths
This novel has a great opening with laugh-out-loud moments as well as instantly being relatable to anyone who has experienced burnout from work (which, I’m assuming, is nearly everyone on the planet!). This really hooks the reader in and makes them want to keep reading about what happens to Sasha next.
The middle of the novel is where you’ll find the rom-com bits dotted with a mystery element to keep things interesting while giving the characters a reason to work together. The romance continues towards the end of the novel as expected, but there is also a secondary story to help end on a high note. This kept the story from getting boring.
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The story starts out very strong with a lot of hilarious moments, but this sort of plateaus in the middle and drops off towards the end. The pace seems to slow down as the story continues on a slightly more serious note to incorporate the secondary storyline of Terry, the old surfing coach.
Readers may also find some of the comedic moments, like at the hotel, for example, a little over the top. Sasha could have easily asked the hotel staff to make adjustments that didn’t involve them having to go out of their way to accommodate certain requests (made by her mother on her behalf) and ultimately making Sasha feel guilty about not adhering to her mother’s plans for her.
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Key Themes And Takeaways
The Burnout covers themes of self-care and setting boundaries. It is a really good reminder of how easy it is to lose yourself in your work to the point that you begin to lose yourself. There are a lot of conflicting priorities in our lives, and we tend to put work above all else. As much as we need work for our livelihood, we also need our health.
Enjoy every moment. Because if you don’t, what’s the point? The ride is it.Enjoy every moment. Because if you don’t, what’s the point? The ride is it.
Mental health is so important, and a lot of workplaces do have a culture where they value employee wellbeing. However, it is up to us to really tune in to what our mind and body are telling us. You are ultimately responsible for your own health, so do take the time to unwind and take care of yourself.
Verdict
This hilarious yet relatable romantic comedy, entwined with a heart-warming tale at the end, is the perfect light-hearted, feel-good read by Sophie Kinsella.
*Disclosure: We only recommend books that we love and would read ourselves. This post contains affiliate links, as we are part of the Amazon Services LCC Associate Program and others, which may earn us a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
The Review
The Burnout
This hilarious yet relatable romantic comedy, entwined with a heart-warming tale at the end, is the perfect light-hearted, feel-good read by Sophie Kinsella.
PROS
- Relatable
- Hilarious
- Relevant theme
CONS
- Pace
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