Jacqueline Firkins

Living with her aunt's family in Mansfield, Massachusetts, for a few months before turning eighteen and starting college, Edie is torn between Sebastian, the boy next door, and playboy Henry.

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things

Beth Livingston

** spoiler alert **
           I really wanted her to get with Henry. Why spend so much time on Henry and for us to start to like him then make her get with Sebastian who wasn't around a lot. I want another book maybe set after college where Eddie & Henry get together. I give it a 2 just because of Henry & Eddie's chemistry.

laura

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.

Leelynn Brady

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and HMH Books for Young Readers for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I guess I can add an additional disclaimer here and say that I personally have never read Mansfield Park nor watched any of the adaptations of this book, so I was pretty lucky enough to go into this pretty much blind. It actually worked out in my favorite because I got to take this book as if it were its own thing, no retelling to speak of, and just see what I would enjoy about it. Which, yes, I did get to enjoy it and I was pretty content with my time reading this.

The first thing that made me appreciate this book really was how Edie had to deal with her privileged relatives. It sucked honestly, because it was like her cousins were so out of touch with reality that didn’t exist outside of their rich circle, that it was pretty frustrating to hear them say some pretty rude and hurtful things to Edie. However, I was seriously impressed with how she was able to control her actions and not beat the crap out of her cousins whenever they would say stuff. All that retail work must have paid off, seriously. And I appreciated that Edie herself paid attention to the kind of privilege and luxury that they had and never let it get to her head, especially since it wasn’t hers permanently. If that makes sense. I don’t know if it’s because she didn’t come from that life, but she was really good at calling out privilege – internally maybe – when she saw it. I know she didn’t probably want to call it out verbally all the time because that would isolate her in this world, but she didn’t shy away from her thoughts.

I also felt so bad for Edie and the grief that she was going through, and how her crappy aunt basically told her to get over it. Like… her mom died and her aunt was like “yeah well, she was my sister and you don’t see me wallowing in grief. Get over it.” That wasn’t verbatim by the way, but it might as well have been. I couldn’t imagine not being allowed to mourn for the one person in my life that actually gave a crap about me, did what she needed to in order to give me a life, and was just suddenly gone just like that. That was her real family, her mother, and now she’s basically alone.

Not to mention that she was in foster care for three years before her aunt finally took her in. So what does that tell you about “blood is thicker than water”. I know that’s not the full quote, but everyone focuses on that part, and in this case, that was a huge lie.

Then, I liked how musically inclined she was. I have never been able to write a song in my life, no matter how much I enjoy singing and listening to music. My brother is the musical one in the family, composing his own music and all that. So I thought it was really cool how easy it was for her to write a song just like that. I was a little jealous of that because it’s so creative and I’ve always wanted to be creative but I could never do something like that. I think if she was willing, she could have used that to help her get through her grief as well, not just the feelings she was having for an old childhood friend. But that’s okay. Music can help us figure out a lot of things in life, not just pain or love.

It may not have been “perfect” but when is a book every legitimately perfect? I still thought it was enjoyable and I think that there will be a few contemporary romance fans that will enjoy this, whether they are fans of the original story or not.

Alicia Haws

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
3.5 STARS

This debut novel was a light and cute contemporary YA. It started out a little slow for me, but about 30% in, it really picked up and i zoomed through it. My favorite thing about the book is that there is a lot of heart poured into this story about self discovery and family relationships. I did feel that the character development fell flat a tiny bit. It almost felt as if Edie, even though she went through all this self discovery, didn't change at all. I think this is why I didn't absolutely love the romance although it was cute. I was not much of a fan of the ending. It might just be me, but I felt that she picked the wrong guy.

Overall, even though a few things fell flat for me, this was a sweet and enjoyable story, and I am glad that I picked it up.


  Special thanks to Netgalley, HMH Books for young readers, and Jaqueline Firkins for the eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions


Content Note: Moderate amount of language throughout, some sexual innuendos, dialogue and situations with little to no detail, heavy kissing/petting, and teen drinking.

Aubrey Erskine

For the full review visit my blog:
 http://shelflifechronicles.com/2020/0...

Hearts Strings and Other Breakable Things is a modern day retelling of Mansfield Park. Mansfield Park is one of Jane Austens' most disliked books and now I know why if it's anything like this retelling. Beware of spoilers ahead, I don't know how to write a review without any since the synopsis gives us nothing.

In this charming debut about first love and second chances, a young girl gets caught between the boy next door and a playboy. Perfect for fans of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. Mansfield, Massachusetts, is the last place seventeen-year-old Edie Price wants to spend her final summer before college. It’s the home of wealthy suburban mothers and prima donnas like Edie’s cousins, who are determined to distract her from her mother’s death with cute boys and Cinderella-style makeovers. She’s got her own plans, and they don’t include any prince charming. But as she dives into schoolwork and getting a scholarship for college, Edie finds herself drawn to two Mansfield boys strumming for her attention: First, there’s Sebastian, Edie’s childhood friend and first love, who’s sweet and smart and . . . already has a girlfriend. Then there’s Henry, the local bad boy and all-around player who’s totally off limits—even if his kisses are chemically addictive. Both boys are trouble. Edie can’t help herself from being caught between them. Now, she just has to make sure it isn’t her heart that breaks in the process.

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things

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