Unpredictable [Paperback]

Eileen Cook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 2007

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Sophie will go to great lengths to win back her ex-boyfriend Doug. While spying on him, she finds out that his new girlfriend, Melanie, plans to attend a psychic fair. Coincidently, Sophie meets Nick, a professor and member of a skeptic community devoted to defrauding psychics. Nick teaches Sophie how to impersonate a psychic so she can warn Melanie away from Doug, but her stint at the fair leads to Sophie becoming a semi-celebrity when she unwittingly saves another attendee’s life. Soon she’s keeping up the psychic charade on a local radio show, and her newfound fame lures Doug back. Despite its title, Cook’s romp is predictable, and readers know where true romance will be found. But they will stick with this entertaining, humorous debut to see how long it takes Sophie to figure it out. --Aleksandra Walker

Review

"Fresh, funny and quirky, an absolute delight."
-- Annette Blair, national bestselling author of The Scot, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

"I don't have to be clairvoyant to know you'll read this book in one sitting."
-- Beverly Bartlett, author of Cover Girl Confidential

"Packed with humor, romance, and magically human characters>"
-- Wendy French, author of sMothering

"Destined to climb on top of the bestseller lists."
-- Romantic Times

"A wonderful debut."
-- USA Today bestselling author Nancy Warren --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (February 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042521396X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425213964
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,043,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eileen Cook is a multi-published author with her novels appearing in six different languages. She spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer. Her latest YA release, The Education of Hailey Kendrick was published in Jan 2011. Discovering that she had even more unresolved issues from her childhood than she imagined, she has also started writing middle grade books. The Fourth Grade Fairy series was published in April 2011.

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 husband and two dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unpredictable has it all, February 19, 2008

By 

Jean DeVilbiss "jeandev" (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Unpredictable (Paperback)

I'm so glad to find a new writer like Eileen Cook - what a fabulous read! So funny you can fall right off the couch laughing, but sweet and tender too! There is no checking of pages to see how many are left or how long it will take to get there.

Between the tragedy of mismatched socks and the hilarity of the moving car, this woman's bullets hit the mark every time.

The characters are well written - the book is terrific! I'll read anything you write for sure! When is your next coming out?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars so far removed from the tracks that she can't even hear the train whistle, August 10, 2008

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Unpredictable (Paperback)

Expected an engagement ring, Sophie instead gets dumped by her long time boyfriend Doug. Convinced it's just a phase, she feels no guilt in breaking into his apartment and hiding things so that he will see that he can't function without her and come crawling back. But she doesn't count on Melanie, the buxom blond that lives in Doug's building. When she overhears them discussing a date as well as Melanie's interest in psychics, a plan only Lucy Ricardo might attempt enters her head. She enlists a local psychic buster to help her fool Melanie into believing that she should dump Doug. When one of Sophie's predictions come true, she becomes a celebrity, but will her new fame bring her heartache and her man to go with that swollen ego?

Cook's debut novel is a complete gem. I laughed so hard at times that I got many stares from people on the train. Sophie is her own worst enemy and her antics will have readers in stitches, simultaneously cheering and jeering her on. I am really looking forward to her next novel - hers is a refreshing voice in women's fiction.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unpredictable fun, April 14, 2008

By 

Bearette24 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Unpredictable (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. The protagonist, Sophie Kintock, is a lovable goofball who wants her ex-boyfriend back. The fact that he is an obvious dirtbag doesn't deter her. She learns that his new, "melon-breasted" girlfriend believes in psychics, and she hatches a far-fetched plan to give her a psychic reading persuading her to leave the dirtbag. Things get complicated when some of the predictions Sophie makes come true.

In some ways, Sophie was an unreliable narrator; her inability to see her ex-boyfriend's true nature is one example. She also thinks his stuffy parents are fabulous. However, the discrepancy between reality (which is clear to the reader) and Sophie's perspective provides a lot of humor. The plot was also totally original.

My only complaint with the novel was poor proofreading. Phrases were sometimes repeated twice, and prepositions were left out. However, this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel, and I definitely plan to read the author's next book.