Edie has been in foster care for three years since her mom passed away. Her mother’s sister, Norah, brings her to their home as her new guardian to improve her. Norah and her daughters, Maria and Julia, make it their mission to improve Edie through makeovers, new clothes and unsolicited advice. Edie doesn’t feel like she belongs or is even wanted other than as a project for them. Her long ago friend, crush and first kiss, Sebastian, lives next door but he has a girlfriend, Claire. Claire’s brother Henry is a player and he’s showing interest in Edie. Edie doesn’t trust him until he shows her that he’s actually a nice, sweet guy that truly cares for her. The relationship they build helps ease crush pains. She learns a lot about herself through her relationship with Henry and grows as a person. This book is more than I expected and it tugged at my heart. 5 stars!

Super cute contemporary love story about a girl right before she heads off to college. I typically really enjoy these stories and this one was no exception!

I can appreciate a coming of age story for what it is: teen confusion in the midst of finding their place. Quick read, the characters are relatable, just not my favorite read.

‘Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things’ by Jacqueline Firkins was a super sweet read with great writing.

I did not like this book. I don't enjoy a main character who is "not like other girls". It feels so yuck and antifeminist. This was marked DNF on goodreads

Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, it is not for me. Since I didn't finish it, I will not post a review on Goodreads. Thanks again and best of luck!

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own

This book was just okay. I liked the male characters and I liked the love triangle, I just didn’t like how the main character handled everything. The cheating was not okay and everything involved with that was weird. I liked the plot of the book and most of the characters but I did not really feel a connection to Edie. I also feel like all the female characters are not the best and didn’t feel connected to any of them either.

I’d recommend this book to contemporary and love triangle lovers.

I unfortunately did not love this book. It was hard for me to get through it. I know others enjoyed it, so I recommend checking their reviews out.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

I think this is more of a 3.5 out of 5. I will round up to 4 stars.

This was a solid debut and I’d love to read more from Firkins. The whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking, “This is Cinderella with a nicer stepmom”…or aunt in this case. It was good enough to hold my interest, but definitely didn’t wow me.

In this story is a very awkward love triangle, where I didn’t like who ended up together. Personally, I didn't love this one. I really believed in one of the couples that I felt like they were meant to be.

The writing and the humor in were great.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

I did like this read. But i felt like both the pacing and also me feeling connected to these characters were not as strong as I waned it to be. This is a book that I would have enjoyed being in the POV of the other male leads would have helped. I enjoyed the elements of retelling and I liked the various art elements like music, theater and english that enhances this story. I really liked the various romances in this book and found them both to fun. I def liked one more then the the other. I also found the realtionship between the cousins was a fun one. I liked this read and really enjoyed the epilogue and how this story was wrapped up.

I received an e-arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing this book after just a couple chapters. I tried forcing my way through more chapters in hopes that things would get better but between not meshing with the writing and absolutely hating the main character, I couldn't make myself read any more of the book. I found myself annoyed with the main character from the start and just didn't understand her or the attitude she seemed to have.

After looking further into other reviews I decided to ultimately dnf it as it didn't seem like the issues I had were going to get better.

This was incredibly sweet and adorable, albeit a bit cliche at times but overall I really enjoyed it. What I found to be the highlights of the book were the writing and the humor. Other than that I didn’t find anything particularly outstanding about this one although I do feel I would have enjoyed it a lot more when I was younger!

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book courtesy of Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This book, at its core, is about love, lust, and friendship.

After Edie is finally accepted into her aunt and uncles home, after spending three years in foster care, she is faced with her last semester of high school, reconnecting with family, and love.

I adored this book. Were some things a little too predictable? Yes. Did I love how it all unfolded anyway? Also yes. This book is filled with love as well as the sorrows of heartbreak and it is all beautifully paced out from start to finish.

The characters are wonderful! I adore our main character and I love the side characters just as much. I didn't care for Edie's two cousins at first but they grew on me and also grew as people. Claire was....what you would expect from the boy-next-door's girlfriend, but she did have her own issues going on and in the end I can see why she said some things she said. The boys were charming, sweet, funny, smart, everything you want from a good cheesy romance. The only characters I really think lacked was the aunt and uncle. They were so prominent in the first few chapters to simply being an afterthought. Not that I really minded, they were miserable and the aunt was too self centered, but they could have had a little more to do.

Even though it is pretty clear how the story will end, I still found myself rooting for the other option. So much so I almost stopped reading at the 82% mark to keep the story where it was. I didn't do that. I went through the last chunk of drama and heartbreak that one knows is coming when things are too perfect with just a tad bit too much left to read. The only thing I'm disappointed about is how little of a specific character we see at the end of the book. I could have gone with a few more chapters.

Overall this was a great read! If you're a fan of love-triangles and swoon worthy romance, this is one to pick up!

I am always a sucker for a good contemporary so that is why I was so excited to read this one. Sadly, this was just not a good read. I kept telling myself I should have stopped reading but I pushed through, that was such a mistake.

This certainly did not read like a fluffy rom-com as it was full of cheating, betrayal, cheating, cheating, lies, and more cheating. I felt it kept happening because the characters allowed it too. They had money so they just brushed all of it off. That's not how things work in real life and it was so frustrating to read about it.

The characters were self-centered, one sided, flat, and void of any personality. None of them had any redeeming qualities and therefore I did not care for any of them. I did not care what happened to them because they did not care what happened to them.

I would not recommend this to anyone. There are a ton of better contemporary books in the world and life is too short to read bad books.

This is a story of a girl who has had a very tough hand dealt to her. Three years after the death of Edies beloved mother she is sent to live with her aunt, uncles and cousins. This are the same family that she used to spend every summer with until a falling out 7 years prior. We follow Edie as she navigates the intense and demanding social dynamics of her situation while trying to move on past the intense crush on the boy next door. I enjoyed watching the changes in the relationship between Edie and her cousins.

I wanted really bad to like Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things. But I didn't. Unfortunately I found it boring and it ended up a DNF for me.

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things by Jacqueline Firkins is such a fantastic read!
If you enjoy books with love triangles, amazing characters and all the feels! Then this is the book for you!!!
Will definitely be picking up everything this author writes!

Heartstrings and Other Breakable Things, a reimagining of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, introduces Edie Price, who after three years in foster care is taken in by her wealthy aunt in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Her two cousins Maria and Julia decide to embrace her as a makeover project. Meanwhile literary Edie is trying to secure a scholarship to college and nurse a crush on boy-next-door Sebastian Summers.When a notorious wealthy bad boy takes an interest in her, Edie finds she must put first impressions aside and get to know more about Mansfield high society and her adoptive family. She is determined to follow her late mother's advice, "If you let your heart drive, don't forget to bring your brain." Although seemingly a lightweight romance, this novel is filled with witty dialogue and includes a subtle examination of societal expectations and prejudice.

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things by Jacqueline Firkins is a modern day retelling of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and as a fan of Jane Austen I knew I had to read this novel. Sadly, I wasn't a fan of this novel.The main characters were just not likeable, which is sad because you rarely see Mansfield Park adapted.