This Is How It Happened (Not a Love Story): Jo Barrett

This Is How It Happened (Not a Love Story), Jo Barret. 294 pages. 

FROM THE BOOK JACKET:

Madeline Piatro devoted four years of her life to her boyfriend Carlton - and, in return, got romance, flowers, and the best sex she’d ever had. But then he dumped her - by email, no less! He used her, he broke her heart…and he even cost her the marketing job she dearly loved. Now Maddy’s on a mission. She wants revenge and she wants her career back.

But Maddy’s about to discover that getting even, no matter how justifiable, isn’t as easy as it might at first appear - even with a batch of arsenic brownies, the help of a professional (if bumbling) hit man, and the advice and best wishes of her very best friends.

I thought Carlton was a jerk from the very beginning. This made it a bit hard for me to feel sorry for Maddy, because I thought she was kind of stupid for not seeing/ignoring his behaviour. Maybe it’s because I’m not a really romantic person, but I definitely saw through him. It was actually astonishing that he became more of a jerk as the novel progressed.

The chapters alternate between the past and the present; that is, when Maddy met and started dating Carlton and after they broke up. Near the end of the book, as the past story meets the present, they converge. 

This book was clever and amusing. I felt that it could have been condensed, but that wasn’t a huge problem. The epilogue was a little too “happy ending” for me, but then again, Maddy definitely deserved a happy ending.