The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club

Jessica Morrison
5 Spot (2007)
ISBN 0446699128
Reviewed by Stephanie Rollins for Reader Views (6/07)

I have read “The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club” for 4 hours straight, because I just had to see if Cassie and Mateo would come to their senses.  You must read this book.  While you are buying your copy, buy copies for your friends.  You will find yourself calling them to discuss: Cassie and Mateo, Cassie and Jeff, Cassie and Dan, and Cassie and Antonio.

Cassie lives by “The Plan.”  She created “The Plan” when she was seventeen.  She is great at her career and she has the perfect guy (Jeff).  I find so much humor in “The Plan.”  Then I realized I have had a plan since middle school.  Maybe I need counseling….Anyway….

She is engaged.  Then she gets fired for being too perfect.  She finds an eviction notice on her door right before catching Jeff with his legs around Lauren doing the nasty to blaring classical music. 

What is she to do?  She grabs her clothes, checks into a pricey hotel, gets drunk, and orders plane tickets and rents an apartment in Buenos Aires; however, this is not in “The Plan.”  The only thing that makes her follow through with it is Jeff’s doubt that she has the courage to do such a thing.  Screw Jeff.  She pawns her ring, and shows Jeff that she is up for the adventure.

In Buenos Aires, she stays in a cute apartment behind a nice family that sort of adopts her.  She meets many gorgeous men.  “Shouldn’t every woman have one wild fling with a sexy foreigner?”  She meets Zoey, a Texan with much flair and attitude.  She is also a dumpee.  They meet to bash cheating ex-boyfriends.  “She even joins in on the Jeff bashing, not letting a little thing like never having met him slow her down.”

Cassie starts a blog that bashes her ex and describes her adventures in Buenos Aires.  It becomes so popular that a group of broken-hearted individuals starts meeting Cassie weekly.  This becomes The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club.  The club has a special toast that starts out the drunken gathering:  “Here’s to the ones we love.  Here’s to the ones who love us.  Here’s to the ones we love who don’t love us.  Hell, screw them all, here’s to us!”

In the meantime, Cassie meets Dan.  He is perfect—too perfect.  Antonio is but a fling.  He is a fling I wish upon all women who have been cheated on.  He is great-looking, and he can hardly speak English.  Is that a perfect fling or what?

Mateo and Cassie have a love-hate relationship that has caused me much frustration.  Can they just hook-up?  They obviously are attracted to each other.  She begins to blog about Mateo.  Mateo reads her blogs.  This puts a damper on their smoldering attraction.

Through the entire book, I wanted to sit Mateo and Cassie down (after the fling with Antonio, of course).  They needed my guidance to realize that they are falling in love.  Will they look past their heartbroken pasts to see they are a perfect match?  Maybe Cassie will just marry Dan.   He does fit nicely into “The Plan.” 

If you are single, you may very well find yourself booking a flight to Buenos Aires.  The book is that great.  If you are not single, just live vicariously through Cassie.  Go out and buy “The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club.”  Grab a few copies for friends.

 

 

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