When her mountain of e-mails and work stress become too much to bear, Sasha Worth runs away and tries to join a convent, only to hit a brick wall--literally. The opening of The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella, which tackles a serious subject with humor, sets the tone for this rejuvenating rom-com.
After the wall incident, Sasha takes temporary leave from her job at a tech company. She travels to Rilston Bay, the seaside resort where she vacationed every year with her family as a child, though she hasn't visited in 20 years. She's now going during the off-season, but she'll have the beach to herself to practice the activities she envisions will make her healthier: yoga, meditating, communing with nature. She's shocked, however, to find her beloved resort is now run-down, with sketchy rooms and furniture. Her plans are further disrupted when the rude man she encountered on the train shows up as a guest at the same hotel. The two keep their distance, until they realize they can help each other heal as well as revitalize the resort itself.
Even when exhausted by life, Sasha is a classic Kinsella (My (Not So) Perfect Life; Finding Audrey; I've Got Your Number) protagonist: quirky, kind, and optimistic. Her relationship with Finn, the grumpy fellow hotel guest, refreshingly takes its time to build, allowing Sasha to find her own strength. Together the two rediscover simple joys like surfing, something they both did as children at Rilston. As their former instructor used to say, "you have to enjoy the ride. The ride is it." Kinsella reminds readers of the same when it comes to life. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, reviewer and freelance editor at The Edit Ninja