This was cute and I got into it right from the start; my interest wasn't sustained, however, and I was much slower to finish this.

There is about the cover that initially drew me in and what followed was a delightful, heartfelt read. Imogen Finch believes that she's cursed and finally ready to give up on dating. After all, she is never going to find The One. Enter Eliot Swift, Imogen's high school crush just returned from adventures abroad. Eliot is determined to "break" Imogen's curse. What follows is a story of healing and discovering who you are and what you want from life.

I really loved the characters in this book. They are fully fleshed out and really easy to connect with. I was so invested in the character development throughout the book. I enjoyed their journeys to healing their trauma and finding their place in the world. It was truly a coming-of-age story for adults.

I would say that the weakest part of the story was the romance aspect. While I loved Imogen and Eliot individually, it didn't seem like the author really spent a lot of time developing the romantic relationship between them. Don't get me wrong, they were cute together and I was rooting for them, but it just felt like there was some missing element to really make my heart swoon. Regardless, this book told a beautiful story, and I really enjoyed it.

I have to give some side love to the naming of the MCs! I love birds and this was such a fun ohmage to them! Also, side love to the side characters. They were absolutely delightful. I will definitely be reading more of Firkins' work.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

This was a beautiful but sometimes sad story about a young, talented woman with a big heart who doesn't believe she deserves being happy or first in anything. Imogen is selfless to a fault and Eliot's devotion to her is undeniable and commendable. I loved the depth of this story and characters. The story is poignant sometimes funny and and yet sad in the same moment, Highly recommended.

I loved Ferkins previous novel, Marlowe Banks, Redesigned, so I had high hopes for Imogen Finch. While I was intrigued by the premise, and still really enjoyed Ferkins style of writing, the plot fell flat for me.

I wanted to root for Eliot and Imogen, and in the beginning I did. By the end, I didn’t care too much if they got together. I actually think if they’d explored the love “triangle” a bit more, it could have made for a more interesting story.

The last part that bothered me was so much of the plot revolves around this supposed “curse” that is upon her and her mother’s ability to make predictions. By the end we had basically no answers to any of that and it just became this mostly forgotten plot point. It just didn’t work for me.

This one didn’t quite work for me, but maybe the next will be a winner. I’ll still be reading her future stories!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins in exchange for my honest review and opinion. This was such an adorable rom/com book that I loved from the first page to the last! Do yourself a favor and escape the crazy world we live in and read this book at your first opportunity!

*The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch* is a lighthearted yet somewhat formulaic novel that dives into the life of Imogen Finch, a young woman navigating relationships, personal growth, and self-discovery. Firkins' writing is charming and often humorous, and there are moments of genuine insight into the challenges of love and identity. The protagonist, Imogen, is relatable and easy to root for, though some of the secondary characters felt underdeveloped.

While the book is enjoyable in parts, it doesn’t fully break away from the typical romance novel tropes. Predictability takes away some of the excitement, and there are moments when the story feels a bit repetitive. That said, it’s a good pick if you’re looking for an easy, feel-good read but don't expect anything particularly groundbreaking. It’s an enjoyable story with just the right mix of humor and heart, but it doesn’t quite hit all the emotional notes it aims for.

What a lovely book! I was so invested in Imogen’s journey and growth. It was a heartwarming and captivating story that had me hooked from start to finish.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch is full of endearing characters. It's about second chances and is so hopeful and uplifting.

I really connected with the author's writing and how she brought everyone to life. I can't wait to read more by her

This book was a challenge for me to connect with. Both the plot and the characters were somewhat of an enigma.

This was a DNF for me at about 25%. I really enjoyed the author’s first book but couldn’t get into this one. I would try another book from the author though

Firkins's characters are endearing and relatable, and the author's vivid descriptions of the small-town setting create a charming and nostalgic atmosphere. The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch is a delightful read that will leave readers feeling hopeful and inspired. It's definitely one to check out!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins
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“Sometimes wanting something, even with your whole heart, isn’t enough to make it the right thing to want.”
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Imogen has just been through her seventeenth breakup. She’s come to believe a prediction that her well-intentioned and possibly clairvoyant mother made over twenty years ago: that Imogen would never come first at anything or to anyone. But when her high school crush comes home, Imogen has new motivation to try again.
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What I liked:
-I adored Imogen. I felt so bad for her and I wanted her to get a win SO BAD.
-This book was seriously super emotional. I couldn’t stop listening to it.
-I loved the bartender. I thought he and Imogen had such great chemistry and banter.
-I appreciated the journey the romance went on through this book and that it wasn’t easy. I loved that it was messy and real and that made the ending a lot better.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I teared up so many times reading this. It you love emotional books with quirky characters then I would recommend.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press / St. Martin's Griffin for an eARC of this one! These are my honest thoughts!

I ended up enjoying this one so much more than I thought! Imogen is destined for heartbreak, as her mother predicted early in her life, through some sort of premonition (and all of her mother's premonitions come true so... she believes them). She's destined to always come in second place, and that includes her love life. And this reminder is one she's faced 17 times in her life, from her crush on her best friend in high school to present day, where her boyfriend breaks up with her because he's been cheating on her and he's in love. Heartbroken over the fact that nothing ever works out and then with fact that her mother stands in her kitchen one morning with a new premonition that ends up bringing her best friend/crush back to their small town and back into her life, it's the catalyst Imogen needs to take her life back into her hands... by trying to fulfill the prophecy on her own.

Things I loved about this story:
- It was so emotional. I cried and I laughed with these characters in equal measure.
- The necessity of human connection is such a central part of this story. We all need it, and it looks different for all of us.
- Unburying of dreams and the dusting off of one's talents that you made small for other people
- Imogen opening up as her true self to Eliot, possibly for the first time in her whole life
- Eliot realizing he's only ever desired running away from things... and maybe how that is truly a toxic approach to life

This one gets a solid 4-star rating from me. I really liked it.

I adored this book - it was unpredictable and really funny. Imogen can't catch a break when it comes to anything. If she enters a contest or a race, she will lose. Tossing coins for heads/tails - she will always lose. Her boyfriends all leave her for someone else and come to her for sympathy when their new relationship goes south. Sometimes she is even a bridesmaid.

When her old high school friend Eliot Swift returns to town to sell the house he had grown up in, he doesn't believe in her curse. They had dated briefly in high school, before Eliot had left to tour the world, paying his way by taking local jobs along the way. He only returned to town to settle the estate and sell the family home as his father had died. He and his father were not close or even friendly. But friends do sometimes become lovers and this happened here. But Eliot is not one to stay anywhere for very long, so where does this leave Imogen?

I highly recommend this book for lovers of second-chance romance, and the joy of watching two people discover their own unconventional way of being happy. I received this e-arc from the publisher St. Martin's Press and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

really enjoyed this story of finding a love for yourself in the midst of trying to make everyone else love you.

Imogen is determined that she holds a curse to forever be second at everything, never first. When an unexpected event bring her childhood best friend and former crush, Eliot, back into her life, he vows to help her change her luck. While Imogen is a homebody who is forced to help take care of everyone around her, Eliot is full of wanderlust and refuses to stay still. The two discover that maybe their friendship means more than either of them initially thought, but discover that their firsts in their lives may not match up.

I truly enjoyed the underlying story with this. While Imogen is trying so hard to be first with others (her mom, her dad, her friends, her employers), she never puts herself first either. Her character arc was a really fun journey and I loved her by the end of the book .This was one story that I truly didn’t know how the ending would happen, so I was pleasantly surprised with how everything was wrapped up.
Overall, this was a super cute childhood friends-to-lovers that I’m sure others will love as well!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this story. All opinions are my own!

The character development for the main character Imogen was really the highlight of the book. However, some of her attitudes made it difficult to be fully invested in her story, and were a bit much to deal with while reading. Also, Eliot seemed to be portrayed as a saviour/hero, which is something that deters me from being invested in the romantic relationship. The miscommunication and love triangle aspects were also messy and took away from my enjoyment of this book.

I'm so late on reviewing this one but I sincerely adored it! While it wasn't quite as good as the first one, it was still incredibly heartfelt and swoony. I thought the author did the second chance romance trope justice! The only thing I wish is that we had gotten to see more of the relationship and personal growth on page - the ending felt rushed even if it also had me all emotional! Other than that I really enjoyed it!

4.5 stars

I read another book by this author back in January of 2023 called Marlowe Banks, Redesigned and loved it so when I got an email with a NetGalley widget allowing me to have access to this book I had to jump at the chance to read it. This is a friends to lovers second chance romance. Imogen and Eliot have been friends since they were kids, and Imogen has always had a crush on him but never said anything. After Eliot graduates he leaves town, and they lose touch, but he returns after a decade away and things go from there. I thought this was such a cute romance and I loved the communication in this book. It did get a bit repetitive when it came to Imogen's "curse" and the ending was a bit of a letdown but overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch was a delight. I particularly liked that I was not ever convinced if the "curse" was real or not, and that there were moments when I was not sure how the story was going to end. This romantic comedy title will be recommended for purchase by my library.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a advanced copy for this book.

I give this book 3 stars. I personally enjoyed Imogen and her friends. The story was interesting, I loved the town and how it was like a close knit community. I wasn't a fan of her love interest Eliot though. For me he was just to selfish and running away from issues instead of getting help from the beginning.
I was really rooting for them in the beginning until he decided to leave. Yes, it was predicted by Imogens mother that he would leave and the book was about Imogen's self growth which I really enjoyed. I don't feel like Eliot deserved Imogen at all. Maybe, she should have grown into herself. Maybe she should have stayed with Dutch. I feel he was more of a man for Imogen than Eliot could ever be.