Cure for the Common Breakup

by Beth Kendrick

Overview

Welcome to Black Dog Bay, a tiny seaside town in Delaware known as “the best place in America to bounce back from your breakup.” Home to the Better Off Bed-and-Breakfast, the Eat Your Heart Out bakery, and the Whinery bar, Black Dog Bay offers a haven for the suddenly single.
 
Flight attendant Summer Benson lives by two rules: Don’t stay with the same man for too long and never stay in one place. She’s about to break rule number one by considering accepting her boyfriend’s proposal—then disaster strikes and her world is shattered in an instant.
 
Summer heads to Black Dog Bay, where the locals welcome her. Even Hattie Huntington, the town’s oldest, richest, and meanest resident, likes her enough to give her a job. Then there’s Dutch Jansen, the rugged, stoic mayor, who’s the opposite of her type. She probably shouldn’t be kissing him. She definitely shouldn’t be falling in love.
 
After a lifetime of globe-trotting, Summer has finally found a home. But Hattie has old scores to settle and a hidden agenda for her newest employee. Summer finds herself faced with an impossible choice: Leave Black Dog Bay behind forever, or stay with the ones she loves and cost them everything....

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101635971
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/06/2014
Series:	Black Dog Bay Series , #1
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	238,604
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Beth Kendrick grew up in New England, but now lives in sunny Arizona, where she dreams of white Christmases and colorful fall foliage. She hasn't watched a horror movie in years, as doing so requires her to sleep with the closet light on. (Yes, really.) She is the author of The Week Before the Wedding, The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service and The Bake-Off, along with six other novels.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Beth Kendrick has reminded me once again exactly why I love her books so much. Cure for the Common Breakup is packed with humor, wit and a lot of heart.  A charming and exceptionally entertaining story!  I can’t recommend this book highly enough.”—Jane Porter, national bestselling author of The Good Wife

“Beth Kendrick has written a sharp, sassy, surprisingly emotional story that will make readers laugh out loud from page one and sigh from the heart at the end.  Light and lovely perfection!"—Roxanne St. Claire, New York Times bestselling author of The Barefoot Bay Series

“Utterly delightful! Summer Benson will charm and disarm her way into the hearts of readers as easily as she does the residents of Black Dog Bay.”—Meg Donohue, USA Today bestselling author of All the Summer Girls

Acclaim for Beth Kendrick
 
“Kendrick writes with a wicked sense of humor and great wisdom about the power of friendship [and] the importance of true love.”—The Chicago Tribune 

“Kendrick proves she is the leader of the pack when it comes to fashioning cheekily clever love stories, and her latest will delight readers with its delectably acerbic wit and charmingly complex characters.”—Booklist (starred review) 

“In an engaging story about matters of the heart, Kendrick perfectly captures the struggle between who we really are and who we want to be. With its endearing characters and page-turning plot, this novel balances humor and emotion in a way that begs it to be read in one sitting.”—RT Book Reviews

 

Reading Group Guide

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Black Dog Bay, a tiny seaside town in Delaware known as “the best place in America to bounce back from your breakup.” Home to the Better Off Bed-and-Breakfast, the Eat Your Heart Out bakery, and the Whinery bar, Black Dog Bay offers a haven for the suddenly single.
 
Flight attendant Summer Benson lives by two rules: Don’t stay with the same man for too long and never stay in one place. She’s about to break rule number one by considering accepting her boyfriend’s proposal—then disaster strikes and her world is shattered in an instant.
 
Summer heads to Black Dog Bay, where the locals welcome her. Even Hattie Huntington, the town’s oldest, richest, and meanest resident, likes her enough to give her a job. Then there’s Dutch Jansen, the rugged, stoic mayor, who’s the opposite of her type. She probably shouldn’t be kissing him. She definitely shouldn’t be falling in love.
 
After a lifetime of globe-trotting, Summer has finally found a home. But Hattie has old scores to settle and a hidden agenda for her newest employee. Summer finds herself faced with an impossible choice: Leave Black Dog Bay behind forever, or stay with the ones she loves and cost them everything....

ABOUT BETH KENDRICK

Beth Kendrick grew up in New England, but now lives in sunny Arizona, where she dreams of white Christmases and colorful fall foliage. She hasn't watched a horror movie in years, as doing so requires her to sleep with the closet light on. (Yes, really.) She is the author of The Week Before the Wedding, The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service and The Bake-Off, along with six other novels.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Louis L’Amour wrote, “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.” Are there parts of your own life that bear this out? What do you think about this as a slogan for the town of Black Dog Bay and the heartbreak tourists? What other slogans might be appropriate?
2. Summer and Ingrid establish an unorthodox mentor-mentee relationship, in which they both learn from each other. What are the most valuable lessons each learns?  Think about mentors you’ve had in your own life—do you think you changed their lives, even as they were changing yours? How so?
3.  The Whinery provides humor, support, and a sense of community to women struggling to recover from romantic setbacks. If Jenna decided to open a second location of the bar in your town, what amenities would you add? What would your signature cocktail be called, and what would be in it?
4. Lavinia Leighton, the founder of Black Dog Bay, was saved from drowning by a big black dog, which often represents depression in Western literature. Profound loss can result in profound life changes and spiritual awakenings. In your own experience, which factors predict whether someone will “sink or swim” after an unbearable heartbreak?
5.  Summer is a born adventurer in many ways, including her reckless approach to romance. Paradoxically, she uses flirtation and physical “intimacy” to keep men at a safe emotional distance. What makes Dutch different, in her eyes? What do you think he sees in Summer that makes him respond to her differently than to all the other women who have asked him out?
6. In some ways, Hattie Huntington exemplifies the phrase “money can’t buy happiness”. What do you think her greatest fear is? Her fondest wish?
7.  Hollis tells Summer that the mystical black “ghost dog” appeared to her because she had turned a corner on her road to healing. Why do you think the dog appears to Pauline and Hattie at that particular moment in France? Do you think reuniting with Mies would have healed Hattie in the same way that reuniting with Pauline did?
8. Compile your own breakup playlist. Bonus points if you can sing every syllable at the top of your lungs while crying in your car at a stoplight.

Editorial Reviews

Beth Kendrick has reminded me once again exactly why I love her books so much. Cure for the Common Breakup is packed with humor, wit and a lot of heart.  A charming and exceptionally entertaining story!  I can’t recommend this book highly enough.”—Jane Porter, national bestselling author of The Good Wife

“Beth Kendrick has written a sharp, sassy, surprisingly emotional story that will make readers laugh out loud from page one and sigh from the heart at the end.  Light and lovely perfection!"—Roxanne St. Claire, New York Times bestselling author of The Barefoot Bay Series

“Utterly delightful! Summer Benson will charm and disarm her way into the hearts of readers as easily as she does the residents of Black Dog Bay.”—Meg Donohue, USA Today bestselling author of All the Summer Girls

Acclaim for Beth Kendrick
 
“Kendrick writes with a wicked sense of humor and great wisdom about the power of friendship [and] the importance of true love.”—The Chicago Tribune 

“Kendrick proves she is the leader of the pack when it comes to fashioning cheekily clever love stories, and her latest will delight readers with its delectably acerbic wit and charmingly complex characters.”—Booklist (starred review) 

“In an engaging story about matters of the heart, Kendrick perfectly captures the struggle between who we really are and who we want to be. With its endearing characters and page-turning plot, this novel balances humor and emotion in a way that begs it to be read in one sitting.”—RT Book Reviews

 

From the Publisher

2014-04-01
A Delaware beach town that's famous for being the best place to recover from a breakup embraces Summer Benson, an injured flight attendant intent on healing. After a lifetime of running from place to place and man to man, Summer thinks she may be ready to settle down with Aaron, a dreamy pilot everyone tells her is the ideal man and who seems ready to pop the question. But after a disaster forces everyone to pause, Aaron reconsiders his options—"I love you. But I don't love you enough"—and Summer is left to lick her wounds, emotional and physical. Finding her way to Black Dog Bay, she immediately connects with locals in a way she hasn't since her teen years; for the first time in her adult life, she feels ready to stay put for a while. Add in Dutch, the sexy mayor who makes her heart pound more than Aaron ever did, and Ingrid, his teenage sister, who makes her heart squeeze, and Summer may actually consider long-term plans. But her dreams for the future meet a huge obstacle when the local curmudgeon and real estate mogul takes a personal interest in her and decides to use her as a pawn in a power struggle steeped in past vendettas that puts the idyllic town at risk. Kendrick's writing is witty and captivating, and her characters are an endearing swirl of complexity—especially Summer, with her external brashness and internal subtlety. The plot whistles along, taking a few unexpected turns that make the inevitable happy ending more textured and satisfying. With snappy dialogue and a breezy tone that still manages to support emotional depth, the author keeps us turning pages and rooting for Black Dog Bay and everyone in it.

Kirkus Reviews