I tore through this book in a day. I adored it. It was unique and original, while still having the comfort of your typical romance novel. Friends to lovers and small-town tropes are favorites of mine. Eliot and Imogen complimented each other in a lovely way. I love how they knew what the other needed and gave them the space to have that in life. Both have different things that drive their life decisions... Imogen's need to be in town for her mom and Eliot's need to not be tied to a town that has so many bad memories. It was a beautiful story, full of heart.

The book was way more emotionally heavy than I was expecting it to be.

***spoilers ahead***
Imogen in the end stayed with someone that still didn't put her first. She was second to his travels. And she could've have had someone that was always going to put her first. So the story didn't end with a broken curse; she was still in it.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

I read Jacqueline Firkins's last book, Marlowe Banks Redesigned and loved it. I wish I felt the same way about Imogen Finch. I had to skip to the end of the book because I really did not like many of the characters. I got what Eliot wanted to do with his life but he was so wishy-washy.

I did enjoy the growth that she goes through and how the book ends. I guess I'm more of a hopeless romantic where things fall where they need to without a shake up.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the e-ARC of this book. This review is my own opinion.

This was a fun take on the classic second chance romance. Honestly, a lot of the story was really about personal growth and learning how to advocate for one’s self in a relationship more than a classic romance. Our main characters grow a lot and I really liked watching their growth.

The only thing I wanted more of: the quirky townspeople that were apart of their lives.

I don’t read a lot of woman’s fiction but I throughly enjoyed this one. I loved Imogen finch she is such a selfless person always putting the people around her first. Going thru 17 heartbreaks is a lot to say the least. I loved that she finally got a happily ever after.

Thank you st Martin’s press and netgalley for an arc.

Loved the characters and as usual, I’m a sucker for second chance romances but something about this one missed the mark for me. A cute read but nothing exactly memorable!

A good adult romance novel, with great characters and writing!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Oh my gosh, this wrecked me.

Imogen is cursed to always come second. In everything. Destined to never be anyone's main priority. And man, did I feel that right down to my bones. This felt so authentic and dynamic, and was honestly a joy to read (even though it did make me tear up). Imogen is a delight of a character. Eliot is complex and darling. Even the secondary characters are vibrant.

This felt like the perfect balance of self-discovery and romance. It definitely tugs at the heartstrings while still being cute, and charming, and a little silly.

I loved everything about this one.

I am so glad I was able to read this one! It was such a sweet book and I loved the characters. I loved the back and forth dialogue and the writing kept me hooked.

What a precious second-change, friends-to-lovers storyline! It was such a lighthearted and sweet rom com that I read in one sitting. I loved it so much! I look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted ARC of this title!

This story had more depth to it than I thought it would have. When I picked it, I thought it would be a fluffy rom-com, but it was so much more and I absolutely adored this book. I loved all the characters in the book, especially Imogen, that lady is a saint compared to me.

There were parts that I absolutely hated her having to go through but in the grand scheme of it all I knew she had to go through for her growth, and I was so sad when the story ended because I wanted to know more about what happened with every one.

This is a really strong book. But I can’t decide what I liked better, the romance or the character growth. And I don’t mean one sided character growth. I think every character in this book went through some sort of inner reflection at some point in this book. If that sounds like a bit much, it really isn’t. It’s just that every character is so well-rounded and thought out. And while you don’t really see the inner monologue of every character self-reflecting, it’s still there on the sidelines and it adds to the story in some way.

But aside from that, the romance was just so heart-warming. I wanted it to work…but also I didn’t. And that’s a tough spot to be in as a reader and it’s a challenging spot for the author to put the reader in. But Jacqueline Firkins does this so gracefully and you can’t help but feeling like the heartbreak was needed for everyone. I couldn’t help but fall in love with every aspect of this book. I was so sad when it ended. This is more than just a romance book. It’s almost a healing self-help book as well. I devoured this book in two days, and with that I think I am on a reading high. I highly, highly recommend this book.

This is a second chance love story. Imogen has been through quite the ringer with exes, but when her high school crush returns to their coastal town... can he cure her heartbreak? The answer is... read the book to find out! This is definitely a cute story.

I loved this story and its characters. Heartwarming story about friendships, chosen family and how having a great support system can make such a difference in your life.

And it contains the perfect amount of spice.

This was a very romantic and sweet book. A little sad at times. It tells the tale of Imogen Finch who has been broken up with 17 times. An old flame returns to town and Imogen is hopeful this will be her chance. She has carried a torch for him all these years. Sad and sweet at the same time, if you are a fan of romantic stories this might be for you.

This one is a soul searching gut-wrencher. My heart broke so many times as I could relate to Imogen’s constant feeling of always being second to something or someone else. It is a sweet second chance romance, which I love, but which also should come with a disclaimer. While there’s a happy ending, it’s not as neat as most second chance romances are…this felt more real in a way.

My thanks to the publisher, St. Martin’s, and NetGalley for letting me enjoy and cry over this one. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins wrecked me a few times toward the end. I loved this book and the chemistry between the main characters, Imogen and Eliot. Imogen has to be one of the unluckiest in love characters ever, she's had seventeen relationships where her beaus left her for someone else. Her mom is somewhat of an eccentric clairvoyant and predicted years ago that Imogen would never come first at or with anyone, so Imogen feels this is her destiny. Eliot is her childhood best friend that she secretly harbored a massive crush on for years, but he went moved away and went 'no communication' soon after high school graduation. For family reasons, Eliot is temporarily back in town and is bound and determined to help Imogen break her spell of bad luck by winning a contest. They enter coloring contests, corn shucking contests, any old contest they can, but all to no avail. Imogen and Finch are both quite quirky, but also the most lovable and kind pair. I very much enjoyed this author's previous novel, "Marlowe Banks, Redesigned" and was so happy to also find this book to be entertaining and engaging. I am definitely looking forward to more books by Jacqueline Firkins.

Poor Imogen. She’s been dumped seventeen times and is returning to her coastal home to lick her wounds, when she encounters the One That Got Away: Eliot, back in town for his father’s funeral. He’s determined to help her crack her mother’s prophecy that she will never be first in anything she tries (hence, all the breakups–they all leave her for someone else) with a series of summery challenges to win SOMETHING.

Chapters of the present-day narrative’s experiments with games, contests, and competitions are interspersed with scenes from relationships gone wrong and Imogen’s texts with her bestie Frannie, sprinkled with humor, pathos and spice in equal measure.
The will they/won’t they is a strong pull as the author explores Imogen’s history and personality, asking the central question of whether Imogen’s mother is clairvoyant… or if Imogen just has really bad timing. Eliot doesn’t seem to believe in the curse, even as he helps Imogen to break it. To what degree is her mother’s prediction a self-fulfilling prophecy? What’s the flaw in Imogen’s selection of partners? To what degree are we responsible for the role we play in our own recurring disasters in our lives? The amount of angst in this book makes it less a romance than women’s fiction, and with the strong focus on the female protagonist, Eliot comes off less well developed and a little hero/savior complex for me. Still, it was a quick and enjoyable read.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #ThePredictableHeartbreaksOfImogenFinch from #NetGalley, courtesy of #StMartinsPress.

I have so many conflicting thoughts on this story. Its heart wrenching, traumatic, sweet, therapeutic, and real. Jacqueline Firkins is a new to me author and this was a great book that I couldn't put down by its interesting plot of a cursed young woman unlucky in love and life in general. Always second best. Maybe she has low self esteem and could benefit from therapy, maybe its the years of just trying to survive. There's the whole being between a rock and a hard place and there's Imogen.

She loves love and being in a couple. In the past, it didn't matter if it wasn't the right guy because the right guy ran away at 18. Ghosted her and their best friend Franny. Until he comes back at the death of his father.

Taken from Google after searching what the meaning of seeing a Swift bird is: Swift birds are revered in various cultures as messengers from the spiritual realm. Swift sightings are associated with good fortune, joy, and the fleeting nature of opportunities. Dreams of swift birds symbolize personal freedom, agility, and the ability to overcome obstacles with resilience.

I don't doubt that Firkins used the symbolism in making her characters and plot. Childhood best friends, unrequited love, second chance, touch of magical realism with an unbreakable curse and s smallish -not cheating love triangle.

I feel conflicted in how this wrapped up and I think for the character growth of Imogen, she needed more and I don't think Eliot can deliver. While they have shared memories, they have completely different personalities which don't complement each other. This showcases the spectrum of mental health and how important it is to support others, to show up, to ask how someone is doing.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the e-arc copy. I will definitely read more from this author.

Content: language, a few intimate open door scenes, emotional abuse and parental neglect, death of a parent

While I did find myself enjoying this book while reading, it was a like not a love for me. The character development of Imogen was great. I love that she was able to grow over the course of the book. That being said, I found Eliot, the main male character, to just be a bit too much! He's almost TOO brooding, TOO unattached, TOO melancholy, etc. It made it hard to read at times. I do feel like the character development was there, and this was definitely a character based book, but I just honestly didn't connect to Imogen or Eliot like I normally do in romance novels. It's probably just a me thing, but it doesn't stick out for me as a book that I would recommend to everybody.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.