Unpredictable

by Eileen Cook

Sophie isn't crazy, she just wants her guy back. And posing as a psychic to give his new girlfriend a fake reading designed to break them up isn't going overboard, is it? Don't answer that.

Faking psychic powers turns out to be fun, especially after a few lessons from Nick, the cute skeptic, who teaches her all the tricks of the trade. But her readings do a lot more than she could have predicted. Now she must decide whether to accept her rising stardom in a less-than-honest line of work-and whether the best option is trying to rekindle her old flame or finding romance with someone new. And, most importantly, she needs to figure out whether the answers lie in the stars-or in herself.

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Humor, Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2007

About the author

Eileen Cook spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer.

You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her two dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

Reviews

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophie Kintock is my kinda girl. She's funny. Clever. Quick on the uptake. And just a little bit devious.

Some girls will do almost anything to keep a man, but Sophie takes extreme measures when her boyfriend of 6 years suddenly leaves.

* She breaks into the laundry room of Doug's apartment building and steals half of his socks, leaving no matching pairs. That way he'll realize how much he misses her and the way she used to do his laundry.

* She randomly moves his car to different parking spaces. (He doesn't realize he left an extra set of keys.) Maybe he'll think he's going crazy. Maybe he'll realize there's something missing in his life. Like a crazy girlfriend!

* She buys a birthday cake. Plops it on a plate. Runs a butter knife through it so it'll look homemade. Then she visits Doug's mother.

* She pretends to be a psychic and does a reading for Doug's new love interest, Melanie "Melontits". Of course, she tells Melanie to avoid the relationship at all costs and gives her tips on how to romance Doug. Said tips are really things that drive Doug nuts.

Eventually, Sophie gets lucky with her "psychic" powers and a prediction comes true. This leads to an offer for a spot on a local radio talk show. She wouldn't have achieved this if she hadn't met Nick, a professor who coaches Sophie on the tricks of the trade. Nick is a beta male all the way - a sensitive guy in glasses who is about as adorable as they get.

I laughed so hard during the first chapter of this book! Very creative. I can see why New Line Cinema snatched up the rights to this book. It will make an awesome romantic comedy on the Big Screen and I'm curious to see how the script is re-written. However, I'm only giving the book 4-stars because the focus of the book was on getting Doug back. The romance came in the last 25 pages or so of the book.

Lessons are learned. Relationships are mended and the right guy is chosen in the end. :)

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is laugh out loud funny. Even though it is a bit predictable, the characters are brilliant. Men might find the idea of a ex-girlfriend doing everything in her power to get her ex back a little like fatal attraction, but most women would understand the idea of your life getting turned upside down and doing everything in your power to correct it, even if that means pretending to be psychic to chase off your ex's new girlfriend and stealing his socks out of the laundry. Fantastic rainy day read!

[Canan · Rating 3 out of 5]

nasıldı?
şöyle söyleyeyim..zaten bu türle aram pek iyi değil..aslında okumak ve yüzümde kocaman bir tebessüm bıraksınlar istiyorum
ama genelde olmuyor.
Neden?
Çünkü ben kızın kendisini salak durumuna düşürmesini, yada komik sahnelerin saçma sapan durumlardan değilde zekice espirilerden olmasını bekliyorum..
Çok mu şey istiyorum? :) Sanırım..
Neyse kitaba gelecek olursak çok ahım şahım bir kitap değildi..Can sıkıntıısına boş bir vakitte okunacak türdendi.Hani okumasanızda olurdu.
Kızceğizimiz Soph, eski erkek arkadaşını geri kazanmak için türlü işler,dolaplar çevirirBuna medyum olduğunu söylemekte dahil..Akabinde olaylar gelişir.Derken işler çığrığından çıkar.Yorum yaptığı bir görü gerçek olur ve gazete,radyo derken Soph televizyonlara kadar çıkar.
Ama işin güzel tarafı erkek arkadaşını geri kazanmış, bununlada kalmayarak tek taşı kapmıştır.
Peki mutlu olması gerekirken neden mutsuz ve kayıp hisseder kendisini?
Bunun nedeni Dr.Nick olabilir mi?Hani şu doğaüstü olan her tür şeye 'şüpheci' yaklaşan profesörümüz..
Kim bilir?

Neyse efenim uzun lafın kısası kızımızı çoğu yerde köşeye sıkıştırıp hi bilmediğim şiddet içerikli fantezilerimi gerçekleştiresim geldi..
Bu nedir ya..delirtti bu Soph, beni.Yahu o durumda dönen bir adamı nasıl kabul etti bünyesi anlamadım..
Ya Nick, gariibim ona hem üzüldüm hemde takdir ettim.Son ana kadar tam bir beyfendiydi..Şeyyy son anda azıcık niyeti bozmuş olabilir ama biz onu görmezden gelelim :)
Eğer elinizdeyse kitap ve boş vaktiniz varsa okuyun ama okumazsanız çok bir şey kaybetmezsiniz :)

[Anja · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book opens with Sophie sneaking into her ex-boyfriend’s new apartment building’s laundry room. He dumped her 3 weeks ago and her Mensa worthy plan to get him back includes stealing one half of each pair of socks he has in the dryer. Her other brilliant maneuver was to move his car from one parking space to another in his work garage using the spare key he left behind in their shared home when he moved out. She thinks he will realize he is losing his mind without her in his life and come back to her.

Sophie ends up hiding from Doug (the ex) who has entered his laundry room mid-scheme and overhears him making a dinner date with another woman. Being the brainiac that she is, when Sophie discovers the woman believes in psychics, she arranges to trick this woman into a false reading to make her break up with Doug.

Sophie meets a cute college professor, Nick, who hires her at her workplace to dig up some research for a group he belongs to that discredits psychics. He ends up teaching Sophie how the fakes manipulate people who want to believe. Sophie winds up on the radio giving psychic advice.

The book is extremely predictable. It is a mash-up of several books I’ve read in chick lit. The main character is a moron. I was astonished to learn she is 31 years old. I have no idea why Nick helped her deceive her ex. I was disappointed that their friendship developed mostly off-screen. Sophie’s best friend, Jane, is a sharp tack and futilely attempts to steer Sophie into critical thinking.

My biggest problem with this book is the author’s habit of starting nearly every chapter on a tangent and further digressing in the middle of plot and dialogue. I was so bored because Sophie has nothing of interest or relevance to say in these tangents. The plot certainly wasn’t keeping me entertained. The humor was weak and relies on Sophie’s embarrassment and humiliation.

I have no idea why I purchased this book. The only reason I can come up with is that after reading Tales Of A Drama Queen, a far superior book about being a fake psychic with humor and character growth, Amazon must have recommend this book to my gullible self.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fabulous story by Emily EK Murdoch! So far I have enjoyed every single book of hers that I have read … and I can’t wait to read more. This is a heartwarming easy to enjoy romance that is perfect for all lovers of romance!

4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚Disclosure: I received a review copy of this #book from Dragonblade Publishing via #Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, comments, and interpretations of the story are my own and bias free. I did not receive any money in exchange for this review. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to review. 🦄 @dragonbladepub
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[Kelly Hager · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Sophie's boyfriend breaks up with her, she doesn't take it well. (Understatement of the year.) She plays small pranks (using a spare set of keys to move his car from one parking spot to another; breaking into his apartment building to go down to the laundry room and steal his socks) and then gets the best idea EVER. She'll pretend to be psychic and tell his new girlfriend to back off because he really belongs with his last girlfriend.

(Did I mention that this isn't YA and Sophie is a grownup?)

Yes, it's tempting to say that Sophie is completely insane, but that's doing her a disservice. (I mean, yes, she is, but who hasn't been devastated by a breakup? And who hasn't wanted to do these things? Live vicariously through Sophie!)

Unpredictable is an absolute delight. Sophie may be a little crazy post-breakup (or have what Liz Lemon would call sexually transmitted crazy mouth) but she's also laugh-out-loud funny and a very endearing heroine.

I think it's also very easy to relate to Sophie, because we've all wanted to do this post-breakup. It's just that most of us talk ourselves out of it (and for good reason). Sophie just lacks that filter. And the scenes where she's pretending to be psychic are hilarious (but also sad). On the plus side, she does realize that what most people want is hope, and while we can debate the ehtics of lying to people for a good cause, she does at least give them that.

And that's basically the moral, you know? We all just want hope.

Eileen Cook has written another wonderful book (and unfortunately, I am now down to one more adult fiction title and three middle grades. I hope a new book is coming out soon).

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I didn't finish this book. I couldn't bring myself to it. I blame Goodreads. I've discovered a flaw in their reviews, most of them are too "fan girl". You look up a book and see these glowing reviews with GIFS and the whole shebang and you're thinking "yeah, this is going to be fun!" and then it's not. I've always enjoyed reading "chick lit" if you take it with a much needed grain of salt they can be a quite entertaining way to spend the afternoon and are usually funny (like the first Bridget Jones, the Nanny Diaries, the Devil Wears Prada).

I started reading this book because so many of the reviews mentioned it was "laugh out loud funny", I thought, great, bring it on! The premise was a woman trying to get her ex back with help of new guy and obviously was going to realize that ex was a loser and new guy was better and they'd run off into the sunset. I get that part of this genre is that usually the female character is flawed and screws up along the way, I can deal with that. The thing about this crap of a book I half way read, was that the lead wasn't "flawed" she was this horrible narcissist that is two steps from being a con woman.

The "funny" parts are so excruciating that at one point I almost forgot I was reading with KW and my instinct was to hurl it to the wall. The fact that people, SEVERAL people read this book and not only did not have an issue with how this character was using people but thought it was funny made me want to scream.

[Melliane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mon avis en Français

My English review

J’avais acheté ce roman il y a bien longtemps, je suis toujours avide de trouver de nouveaux romans légers pour passer un bon moment. Et c’est précisément ce que ce roman nous offre pour notre plus grand plaisir !

Sophie est au trente-sixième dessous depuis que Doug l’a quittée du jour au lendemain après 6 ans de relation. Quand elle apprend que Mélanie, la nouvelle petite amie de Doug, va voir des voyantes, il lui vient alors une idée, : en devenir une et ruiner leur relation pour qu’il revienne vers elle. Mais cette histoire va vraiment la dépasser quand elle fait une séance à une amie de Mélanie et que ce qu’elle dit permet d’éviter un désastre. Devenue célèbre malgré elle, notre héroïne va devoir faire des choix, mais elle va aussi croiser la route de Nick, un universitaire sceptique qui va l’aider malgré lui.

J’ai passé un très bon moment avec ce roman et c’était une lecture vraiment divertissante. Sophie va passer de situations rocambolesques en situations rocambolesques et quand elle peut enfin s’en sortir, elle s’enfoncera davantage dans les ennuis. Pourtant, tout ça lui permettra peut-être d’ouvrir les yeux et de voir la vérité.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that if you don't think about it too much, you can enjoy it, but the second you start to take a deep dive, it's a total mess. So i'll keep this short so i don't ruin the enjoyment i did get out of it.

Our main character, Sophie, made so many wild decisions it seems impossible that she could have been that daft. Did she really think she could go on the radio show of her ex-boyfriends new girlfriend's best friend (did you follow that?) and NOT risk him hearing it?

The character of Doug felt like a classic villain - to a point it was unrealistic. She was with this guy for six years and he was like this always? girl, RUN.

I also felt like Nick's high opinion of Sophie was totally undeserved. I actually loved the character of Nick - he felt well-developed and interesting, but Sophie gave him exactly zero reason to ever think of her as smart, warm, funny or complex. She was a selfish brat at every turn.

Also, by the 3rd or 4th time Sophie asked, at the end of a chapter "what could go wrong?" it felt a bit trite.

If you're looking for a quick, easy romance read with an interesting look at how psychics (maybe) make their predictions, this is a fine read, but it doesn't need to move to the top of the pile.

[LadyAileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il destino non si scrive è un delizioso chick-lit ambientato a Vancouver (aspetto secondario) e vede protagonista Sophie, una donna con un lavoro soddisfacente, un'amica, un cane e un fidanzato con cui ha una storia che dura da 6 anni e spera di sposare presto, peccato che Doug, l'amore della sua vita, ha deciso di lasciarla. Sophie è disperata ma lo diventa ancora di più quando scopre che frequenta una nuova donna, a quel punto farà di tutto pur di riaverlo anche fingersi una sensitiva...
Il romanzo è scritto in prima persona (Sophie è l'unico punto di vista) e anche se ha un finale prevedibile, resta un romanzo divertente (lo scambio di email con l'impiegato della banca mi ha ricordato Becky, la protagonista della serie I love Shopping) e leggero.
Lo stile è scorrevole, semplice e fresco, la trama è particolare e offre anche qualche spunto di riflessione (questione sensitivi e i loro "poteri").
E' davvero difficile non provare simpatia per la protagonista anche se si presenta come una persona immatura, ironica, sognatrice ed eccentrica (a volte rasenta la follia soprattutto quando fa delle cose davvero assurde ma sono quelle più esilaranti).
Spero di poter leggere qualche altro libro di quest'autrice perché le sue storie ti lasciano con un bel sorriso.

[Lucrug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un storia divertente,con un personaggio femminile molto stravagante e con una immaturità che diverte e che la porta a fare delle cose assurde pur di raggiungere il suo scopo....

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too wordy. She over explained every single thing in the entire book. It got boring fast.

[WildBookBosomed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a light read. Predictable most times (the irony of the title)- but the book always stays true to being girly. I laughed and chuckled my way through every chapter- which makes it worth telling other girls/women to read it for the mere giggle.

Basically the book is about a young woman desperate for her past relationship- who poses as a psychic to fake out her ex's new girlfriend. Of course she finds her own path by the end of the novel. Reading that summary might make you think it is a novel for young adults, but it could be entertaining for any woman under the age of 35 (give or take..lol)

I know there was more then one time I chuckled at the mere dramatizations and contrived scenes- but that is what makes a chic book I suppose...I did laugh MORE for the thinking to myself.."yep, a woman would do that"..."yep, a woman thinks that".."yep, we are psycho, this woman is a god for carrying it out...".. Ha...

I do have to say that I have two favorite chapters- one is the first when the main character is the laundry room and is stealing her ex's socks..I laughed hysterically. I also absolutely loved the scene where the main character is getting engaged- and every thought that runs through her head me me giggle- but not nearly as much as the image of the safety pin in her pants... very honest

I clearly want Sophie to be a real person and perhaps even in my life- she would not only be entertaining but one I would personally cheer for..

I am glad I read this in between all my ample supply of depressing themes of depression, murder, death, and doom that I usually gravitate too.

[Ari]

I picked this up after reading "The Education of Hailey Kendrick" which I loved. Still, I'm a bit slow reading this book since I don't really relate to the character, but I like a lot Eileen's writing so I'm gonna keep going :)

PS: I am always loosing my socks, maybe I have an ex-boyfriend trying to drive me crazy :))

PSS: If your best friend tells you that you are crazy, maybe (just maybe) you should think about it, because she might be not joking at all :))

____________________________________________

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[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 étoiles.

Si la vue du paysage devient lassante, les occasions d'observer les passagers sont sans pareilles. C'est l'équivalent des chaînes du câble. On peut toujours compter sur un mélange détonnant. (...) Des gamins qui cavalent en hurlant à tue-tête dans les allées, sous l'oeil de leurs parents qui font semblant de ne pas les connaître. (...) Les bons jours, on peut surprendre des conversations de couples qui se disputent ou discutent de l'avenir de leur relation.

Le livre parfait pour un après-midi ensoleillé: léger, mignon et amusant.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't exactly call the PLOT of this book unpredictable, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. The author has a great way of describing things, making me laugh out loud a couple of times, and the story was very cute. I loved that the coincidences that all authors rely on to propel their stories forward didn't feel forced, and all the characters were grounded in reality yet still quite funny. All in all, a fun read.

[Huong · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got through 22% of the book and just couldn't take it anymore, so I DNF'ed it. Started off decently with a witty plot, but got more crazier and stupid with each passing page. I extremely dislike reading contemporary books with characters in my age bracket that are so insipid. Felt like such a wannabe Bridge Jones (another book/character I despise). The email exchanges between Sophie and her bank financial advisor was the final straw of stupidity. No, you aren't cute...not even remotely.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was adorable and funny. I love an author with a sense of humor. I found this author via her blog and I'm very glad that I did. Her heroine was lovable even through her series of missteps in her mission to win back her ex-boyfriend. I really enjoyed this book and only wish it had lasted me longer than the few hours that it did.

[Ipshita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was a let down. I definitely expected more than a nonsensical, frustration-filled story from Eileen Cook. There were times when I thought the story might become better, but it kept hitting the disappointing-counter again and again. Unfortunately, I also didn't find much humour to it.

[Danielle Lemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of this book is ridiculous enough to be funny and entertaining, but the heroine is thoroughly unlikeable for the most part, causing chaos around her, and never appears to have a moment of redemption to merit the happy ending she receives.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous new author with a fresh, witty voice. A must read for fans of romantic comedy, Jennifer Crusie and women's fiction.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny voice. Reminds of Sophia Kinsella

[Mr. Pe Mr. Pe]

this book is great i recommend this to everyone

[Stacy]

So far so good...it's a light, funny read.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious book. Really easy and quick read and extremely entertaining. Definitely a must-read for those who've ever had a hard time with a breakup.

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unpredictable is very predictable, but completely entertaining.
I gave it an extra star because it made me laugh so often. Great beach read!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very PREDICTABLE and hokey chic lit.

[SeaBae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming, original, and a joy to read!

[Danica · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book frustrated the hell out of me...I just cannot stand Sophie's desperation. I know it's part of the "comedy" of the book but it just did not work for me. Blehhh...

[Zeynep Bayrak]

Kahkaha atarak okuduğum,acayip eğlenceli bir kitaptı,ba-yıl-dım.