The Breakup Tour

By: Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka

Narrated by: Dan Bittner, Brittany Pressley

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A rising-star musician has a second chance at love with an old flame she remembers all too well in this swoony romance from the acclaimed authors of The Roughest Draft.

Riley Wynn went from a promising singer-songwriter to a superstar overnight, thanks to her breakup song concept album and its unforgettable lead single. When Riley’s ex-husband claims the hit song is about him, she does something she hasn’t in ten years and calls Max Harcourt, her college boyfriend and the real inspiration for the song of the summer.

Max hasn’t spoken to Riley since their relationship ended. He’s content with managing the retirement home his family owns, but it’s not the life filled with music he dreamed of. When Riley asks him to go public as her songwriting muse, he agrees on one condition: he’ll join her band on tour.

As they perform across the country, Max and Riley start to realize that while they hit some wrong notes in the past, their future could hold incredible things. And their rekindled relationship will either last forever or go down in flames.

©2024 Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“If The Breakup Tour was a song, it would be ‘Long Live’ by Taylor Swift. It's deliciously zeitgeisty and so! much! fun! The Breakup Tour is at once sweet and angsty, full of music and second chances and talented people who make magic when they allow themselves to create art together. The perfect read for everyone who wants to relive the spectacular summer of The Eras Tour!”—Ali Hazelwood, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically

“How fitting that a pair of writers in perfect harmony would create a story about music that comes from the heart! The Breakup Tour is like a song you can’t stop humming—honest, sweet, and unforgettable."—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author

"You know that moment in a song when the drums first kick in? When the music builds into an anthemic chorus? When the bridge HITS with the emotional pulse of the whole song? That was the journey Wibberley and Siegemund-Broka took me on with The Breakup Tour. I ached for all the reasons Max was saying no to the life he wasn't sure he deserved—in the public eye, performing night after night. And all the reasons Riley had been saying yes for years, her talent and fame taking flight even as she couldn't forget the one person she'd left behind. I felt this one deep in my gut like the pounding bass of my favorite song."—Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of With Love, from Cold World

A fun listen

In a genre filled with male rockstars and average Jane female leads, it is refreshing to find a book where the rockstar is female. And with all of the hype around Taylor Swift and the Eras tour, a book inspired by her was sure to be a fun listen, and it was.

I really liked Riley - she felt real and I admit, I often imagined TS in the role - reading the lines, what her expressions would look like.

I listen to a lot of dual POV/couples books and it's a genre I greatly enjoy. But I struggled with Max. He was a likeable character for the most part, but his parts were... I don't know... flowery? He tended to wax poetic a bit much for me. Don't get me wrong, I swoon over a guy who is in touch with his emotions and sensitive side. But his language was more fanciful than most anyone would use in this era. More like an old fashioned romance novel in some places.

Despite that, I enjoyed the story and will give the author another try.

Swifties will love

Welcome to the… Break-Up Tour. My name is Taylor *checks script* Riley, and I’ll be your host for the evening!

This is a cute read for any Taylor Swift fan. The FMC Riley goes on tour reliving her past breaks-ups (much like her going through Eras). It just so happens that her high school/college(?) sweetheart joins her. Readers will spend time trying to figure out the parallels to Taylor Swift.

Why was this not a five star read for me?
It was a little slow.
Honestly, MMC Max was not my favorite lead.
I felt like their issues weren’t solved as a couple?
I spent too much time making parallels to Taylor Swift and it distracted me.
Here are some of what I caught:
Coachella, Calvin Harris, tour ending in Los Angeles, November = Back to December, Until You = All Too Well, mom and dad divorce, Joe Arden/Jake Gyllenhaal

Audiobook narration: Brittany was an 15/10, Austin was an 8/10

Heartbreakingly Beautiful

I understand that this was inspired by Ms. Swift however i feel like people are taking it quite literally and they really shouldn’t Riley is based off of Taylor but is not her. I personally loved this book it was refreshingly heart breaking i cried for a love that just couldn’t get the timing correct and i admired the performances from both actors! Amazing!

Very meh

This book started out great… and then it got annoying. Riley read off as selfish, infuriating and weird.
Max has no personality and adds nothing to the story. Other than he somehow manages to add himself to her tour and is for some reason obsessed with his familial obligation… which his family wants him to let go of… and he doesn’t want to. I didn’t find myself rooting for the main couple. At all. Both too different, insecure and whiny. The authors wanted the audience to believe they were this once great love story (they weren’t) and that in present day they continued to ooze undeniable chemistry (they didn’t).

I really wanted to love this one, I just didn’t connect with the story or characters.