Book Review - The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

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Title: The Burnout

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Transworld Digital

Publication Date: 12th October 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

The irresistible new romantic comedy from the number one bestselling author. Discover the joy that awaits when you set yourself free...

Sasha is well and truly over it all: work (all-consuming), friendships (on the back burner), sex-life (non-existent). Sasha has hit a brick wall (literally).

Armed with good intentions to drink kale smoothies, try yoga and find solitude, she heads to the Devon resort she loved as a child. But it's off-season, the hotel is falling apart and now she has to share the beach with someone else: a grumpy, stressed-out guy called Finn. How can she commune with nature when he's sitting on a rock, watching her? Especially when they don't agree on burnout cures. (Sasha: manifesting, wild swimming, secret Mars bars; Finn: drinking whisky.)

But when curious messages start appearing on the beach, Sasha and Finn are forced to begin talking - about everything. What's the mystery? Why are they both burned out? What exactly is 'manifesting', anyway?

They might discover that they have more in common than they think...

This is vintage Sophie Kinsella at her very best.  I absolutely loved every single word of it. 

The staff at the Rilston hotel are totally hilarious, the various app notifications, the over the top manager,  they are all so eager to please, but it has what I would assume to be a slightly Fawlty Towers esque feel to it (I've not technically watched any). 

And the dynamics between Finn and Sasha are fabulous. From them fighting over a particularly comfy rock, to insisting on sitting other sides of the dining room, as they are definitely not a couple, its sheer brilliance.  Add in the very memorable scene which started with a joyfulness programme at work, ended up with Sasha running into a brick wall, with some utterly film comedy gold moments in between.   Not to mention the scene in Pret, which is also very funny. 

And those are just a few examples of things to watch out for, while Sasha returns to the Rilston, to recover from Burnout, and Finn is also there for similar reasons. And as they slowly get to know each other, something really lovely develops.  

And Sasha's plans for this "wellness break" are so amusing.  Ok just about everything tickled me in this book. 

It's funny, it's entertaining, it would make a fabulous film, and its completely fabulous! 

Thank you to Transworld and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.