Fans of Matchmaking for Beginners and A Happy Catastrophe will enjoy another Maddie Dawson novel with delightful characters, even if the plot is more of a stretch than her previous novels. Super fun if you suspend a little disbelief in the set-up (a woman starts a business where she dresses up like a bunny and helps the heartbroken rid themselves of reminders of their failed relationships) and some inconsistent actions from most of the characters throughout. I love the worlds that Dawson puts together and how they seem like real humans - maybe the inconsistencies I take issue with are actually true to human behavior, now that I think about it! It's no spoiler to say that her books end up with a happy ending, so if you're looking for a low-stakes, delightful story, this will fit the bill.

𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭!

A fast-paced, heartwarming, laugh-out-loud, quirky, unusual, original and feel good story. This is one of those stories that leaves you feeling good. A delightful read.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours for this tour invite.

𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗽 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘁 by Maddie Dawson released January 3, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Billie Slate and her BFF Kat are sick of wallowing. Other people wallowing, that is. That is how Snap Out of It is born, in a fit of drunken laughter late one night, and shifts the course of Billie's life. Part performance art, part minor therapy, part magic, Snap Out of It centers on the Heartbreak Bunny coming to the homes of the heartbroken and removing all the items that are keeping them stuck in the dumped dumps-- photos, a garlic press, a python print bra, anything could really be the culprit. The Heartbreak Bunny removes the items while hopping around and helps the wallowing move on by snapping them out of it. But Billie's skills are put to the test when her business goes viral, her first ex-husband incessantly texts her, and her own daughter's relationship begins to fall apart. What's a bunny to do?

Billie is a fantastic narrator, letting the reader in on her storied history which includes two divorces and a widowhood. But she is so much more than her romantic past-- and so is everyone else she meets. Billie cares more about the person than the couple, more about the heart of who they are than who broke their heart. Billie wants to help people find their way back to themselves, to what brings them joy and grows them as a person. But even Billie is stumped when her daughter's marriage crumbles. How do you help those who don't want to be helped? The Heartbreak Bunny was not called by her daughter, but Billie IS the Heartbreak Bunny. And how in the world are you supposed to make your poet ex-husband stop texting you? Especially when he eschews all punctuation?!

Like all of Maddie Dawson's titles, Snap Out of It is quirky, humorous, and has well-developed, relatable characters. Yet it also has heart and depth, making the reader think just as often as they laugh.

This particular cast is expansive, lovable and unforgettable. From the lost and wandering that Billie collects and lets stay in her row home to the Heartbreak Bunny clients, each character is well developed regardless of how little time they have on the page. From 90 year old Calvin with his ten year plan to Marisol, Louise, Mason, Joey, the TikTok girls! This cast is great fun, and shows how inviting people into your home invites them into your life and heart in the best ways.

There is so much to love about this novel. The relationship between Billie and her daughter, Louise, is relatable through all its ups and downs. The theme of found family is strong with the crew that Billie invites in, from her dearest and oldest friends to the heartbroken she tries to help. The heart of this novel is truly building a life you're happy with, engaging in the activities you love with the people you love to spend time with. There is great beauty in ignoring conventionality and living your own authentic version of life.

Thank you to author Maddie Dawson, NetGalley, and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy such that I could share my honest opinions.

We’ve all known someone who, after having their heart broken, ended up wallowing in the heartbreak—agonizing over every moment, every memory, and every memento of the relationship. And in Snap Out of It by Maddie Dawson, one woman sets out to heal those heartbroken wallowers in the quirkiest of ways.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

cute novel about a woman in her 60s who is trying to change her life by helping the heartbroken; in the meantime, she has daughter issues, boyfriend issues and housemate issues.

4/5
This was such a cute, quirky, and funny read. Maddie Dawson is such a wonderful writer that she really makes you feel for her characters and really brings them to life. This was my first book by her and I can say it will not be my last.

I loved how strong Billie was while she was crazy at times she knows what she does and doesn't want and doesn't care what others think! I also loved her personal growth throughout the book you can feel her growing and learning. While the rest of the characters were wonderful Bille was definitely my favorite.

One aspect I was not expecting was the magical aspect of the book, while it was unexpected it didn't take away anything from the book.

Thank you Netgalley for gifting me an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review.

This was a fun book with quirky characters. Billie Slate runs a business with her friend, Kat, helping people cope with broken hearts from relationships that have dissolved. The business is called Snap Out of It, and Billie dresses as a bunny while visiting clients at their houses. Billie's first husband, Victor, left her thirty-five years ago for another woman and wants to return to her after his second wife, Juliette, dies. One of Billie's clients's father, TV personality, Mason Davis, is also interested in Billie. Which man will she chose, if either one? Read this engaging book and find out . I highly recommend it to other romance readers. I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley, and the opinion expressed is strictly my own.

I read and enjoyed Maddie Dawson's Matchmaking For Beginners, so I was thrilled to read her newest book, Snap Out Of It.

This was a fun one. How could a story about a bunny hopping in to clear out all the reminders of your heartbreak be anything but? And when that's not enough, Billie the Heartbreak Bunny channels her witchy grandmother's wart removing spells for some extra hilarity.

I loved all the quirky characters that Billie collected, especially Calvin. Billie's advice for moving on and not letting yourself wallow in sadness was so awesome and straight-to-the-point. However, I wasn't really a fan of the way the author distinguished between pro-love but anti-romance. It seemed a bit confusing, but maybe that was the point. It's not always easy to differentiate between love and the thrill of being romanced.

I read the first 3 chapters and then began skimming until the end. This book's message is very old fashioned, I didn't connect to the characters or the plot or the cheesiness. Not for me. The epilogue was so hallmark movie.

Maddie Dawson has a way of writing uplifting books that feature people in turmoil essentially rising from the ashes.

In SNAP OUT OF IT we meet Billie who comes up with a genius idea for heartbreak bunny. EVERYONE needs a heartbreak bunny. Someone dressed as a literal bunny that hops into your home and removes every reminder of that past relationship you can’t stop wallowing about.
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In the midst of helping people get over their own heartbreak, Billie’s own crushing heartbreak returns. But in helping people with their own heartbreak, she might find her own recipe to heal her own heart.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This book was everything the synopsis said it was going to be. I fell in love with the character’s and their personalities. Calvin, Billie’s 90 year old housemate, was so funny and he gave the best conversations and advice. At first I didn’t know how I felt about the daughter, but I ended up liking her. What Billie’s business does for people after a breakup was relatable to me. I’m not one to keep reminders of the relationship around, I want it all out, and that is what Billie helped people come to terms with. While I didn’t always agree with her outlook on romance and love, everything was relatable. It truly was a heartwarming read that had me smiling, laughing, and at times frustrated (but in a good way). I was so happy with how the ending wrapped up and how it was a little about self-discovery.

Thank you @maddiedaws and @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, and I'd like to thank them for the early read and the opportunity to give my honest opinion of the book.

I was so excited about this new book by Maddie Dawson, I'm such a fan of her quirky, lovable characters however this one missed the mark with me. Even though I loved the idea of a more mature leading character, Billie, I just never connected with her. It always felt like her life was exactly the opposite of what the "heartbreak bunny" would tell people. Maybe that was the point but I could never connect with her as a character. The rest of the cast I wanted to scream at more than anything, except Joey and Calvin- more Joey and Calvin less whiny Louise and deplorable Victor. The progression of the story moved very slowly and I found myself just wanting the book to be over with so I could write my review. I did finish because I made the commitment to give an honest review in exchange for an early copy of the book. Sorry, Maddie Dawson, this was a miss for me.

Have you ever needed a Heartbreak Bunny?⁣
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Oh, so you’ve never heard of one? Well, let me explain.⁣
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Can’t stop wallowing or get that certain someone who tore your heart in two out of your head - because there are just too many reminders of them around you? Enter the Heartbreak Bunny. ⁣
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Hopping into your home, whisking away all the things that make you think of that past relationship you want to desperately forget. And I mean, what could cheer you up more than someone in a bunny costume bouncing around your home cleaning up your yucky mementos?⁣
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When Billie comes up with the genius idea to help people SNAP OUT OF IT - as weird as it may be - she’s suddenly gone viral. But when her own big heartbreak returns just as her heart might finally have found a new snuggle bunny… she’s forced to hop down a love rabbit hole she never expected to revisit.⁣
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Adorable and sweet, funny and unique - Snap Out of It will have you wrapped up in a charming tale (tail?) of family, love, and second chances, oozing with delightful wit and whimsy, and just a touch of bunny magic.✨

This was so cute! I loved reading this, it was an overall light-hearted story with a lot of quirky characters. And it gave me a bunch of laughs when I really needed them.

One thing I will say is that there were a lot of characters that I didn’t necessarily all connect enough with to be able to keep track of them.

What better way to start off a new year than reading a fun, can't-put-it-down kind of book like this one? Snap Out of It tells the story of Billie who with her friend Kat dreamed up the idea for a Heartbreak Bunny, someone who would enter the home of someone dealing with a break up and remove things from the home that are keeping the heartbreakee wallowing in misery. There is so much more to this story - it's about strong women, the sacrifice mothers (especially single mothers) make to raise their children, family, friendships, chaos, compassion, and letting go enough to let love enter your life after heartbreak. Maddie Dawson's books are just fun to read and I am looking forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

while i enjoyed going through this novel, I feel like it is essentially the same as every other book with this trope. It did not bring anything new to the table for me and I didn't feel very connected to the characters.

Maddie Dawson did it again and wrote a sweet charming love story of family and friends and those that matter and make a difference in your life. I enjoyed the humor sprinkled throughout the book and the very real moments that come with living in a world with other people. Maddie has a way of bringing hardships full circle and leading her characters to something beautiful. The Heartbreak Bunny is a fun idea and I loved the author's note at the end.

Billie is a refreshingly strong, positive character, age sixty. Living in a big, loveably-scruffy old house with a variety of interesting characters, Billie is a bohemian figure who lives life to the fullest--but she draws the line at love. Twice divorced and once widowed, Billie doesn't believe in love anymore. She and her friend run a fun little home-based business in which Billie dresses up in a rabbit suit and goes to the homes of folks who are wallowing in heartbreak. By performing a kind of performance art exorcism, Billie helps them break free so they can enjoy life again. When she helps the adult son of a local TV personality, the father is so grateful he becomes part of Billie's life. When her feelings for him veer dangerously close to love, she chooses fear instead. The overall arc of the story is that she has to fight being stuck herself, in her aversion to love! As she travels this path, we meet her whiny, needy, narcissistic daughter Louise (can you tell I disliked her intensely?) and Louise's father Victor, who is all that and worse.

The theme of this novel is that of being stuck in your ways: would you recognize it, if you were? If you do see the truth, can you change? Where is your sacrifice necessary and where do you lay down the boundaries? It's a smart, colorful, entertaining read with original characters and relatable life situations, especially for those over fifty. Highly recommend.

3.75/5 stars! This is my second read by this author and I found it to be an entertaining and humorous read. Billie is showing us that women can still find love, or choose not to pursue it, at any age. I really liked this lens as I haven't read many contemporary romance books featuring older FMC. The issue I had with the story was that Billie and her alter ego bunny character were so divergent that they didn't make sense. There was no cohesion, nothing to pull the characters together.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Contemporary Fiction

The trouble with love is . . . wallowing.

At least that is what Billie and her friend Kat decide when the come up with the idea for the Heartbreak Bunny. Billie will dress in a bunny costume, hop into the lives of people who are wallowing after a breakup, remove their homes of the leftovers of love - the old clothing, love letters and other detritus. The premise being that once your home is actually cleared of these objects you can start to move on; reclaim your own life.

Billie, being the crazy eccentric that she is, doesn't simply quietly hop into her customer's lives. She ends up counseling them, giving them pep talks and even doing some spells. While she is helping to clear one home, the young man's father shows up. He is fascinated by what Billie is doing and since he is the host of a morning show he insists she come on TV to talk to his audience about what she does and how the Heartbreak Bunny came into being.

Billie was married and when she got pregnant her husband left her and her daughter. She has been married two other times - one of which ended in divorce and one that ended when her husband died. She admits that these were not marriages made of love. In fact, she really no longer believes in love - romance - yes, passion - yes, but happily ever after - no. She has filled her life and home with a collection of people and been busy enjoying life. Her daughter, however, did not appreciate this eclectic lifestyle and is very different. Billie's daughter Louise is married to a photographer and she and her husband run a very successful blog. Their home is clean and uncluttered and made up of areas that are perfect backdrops for various photoshoots they need to do.

Without giving away too much - things go off the rails for Louise and Billie's belief system is called into question. This book is full of sweet mother/daughter moments, moments of great hilarity and some moments that are so realistic you almost have to stop reading. It was the complete package.

That being said, this book was just ok for me. The sense of humor felt very British in a way, but then some times very farcical and frantic. Other than the character of Billie, the other characters don't feel fully formed, so it was hard to connect with them and their story.

All in all this was a pleasant hop through the vagaries of romantic life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.