Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins is a lovely, if not sometimes, heart-breaking second chance romance.
Imogen is a girl who grew up with an eccentric mother and perpetual heartbreak. After living her life, always being second place, it's what she thinks she deserves and how she sees herself. When her childhood crush returns to their small town for a short forced visit, Imogen can not help feel things despite knowing he is leaving in a few short days.
The  character development and slow burn in this book are fantastic. Imogen and Eliot are both burdened with their own problems. I was tearing up at times and giggling at others. This was a very enjoyable, emotional read. I recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this charming novel.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch wasn't for me. I can't really pinpoint what I didn't like about the book....I just wasn't interested in continuing! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

The blurb really caught my interest with this book and I was really looking forward to reading it. However, once I got started, it all just kind of felt apart for me. I didn't really get engaged in the story or the characters. It kind of fell flat for me.

This was a lovely but often sad story about a young, talented woman with a big heart who didn’t believe she deserved being first for anyone. Imogen was selfless to a fault and though I was extremely wary of Eliot whose need to travel the world felt ominous, his devotion to Imogen was undeniable. I loved how he respected and treated her, as well as her friends and those in the town who were very protective of Imogen. There’s something poignant about the story, sometimes evoking joy, laughter and sadness in the same moments, that made it special. It seems to be Firkin’s signature and I’ll always read whatever she writes for that reason.

This is one of those easy to get wrapped up in, must finish in one go romance. Imogen is relatable, likable, and overall a great lead. The romance is heavy, and there is a lot of difficult moments and personal growth throughout. I was completely charmed! I didn’t love all the flash backs, as I don’t know if they added enough and they hit a repetitious note. However overall this is great, highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch was such a sweet romance, with a unique premise! Imogen Finch has just been broken up with for the seventeenth time. But, just like all of the others, she's not quite as devastated as she could be...because she saw it coming. Over twenty years ago, Imogen's possibly clairvoyant mother made a prediction that Imogen would never come first at anything or to anyone, and Imogen has certainly been seeing its effects in her love life. But when Eliot Swift, Imogen's childhood friend and secret high school crush, returns to their small town after a decade of being away, Imogen wonders if maybe it's time to try again. Will Imogen remain doomed to a second-place spot forever? Or might she find love, belonging, and maybe even some magic in the most unexpected places?

I really enjoyed this book! The story is so heartwarming, and the characters are quirky yet relatable, from our lead, Imogen, to the love interest, Eliot, to the side characters like family members and friends. I also thought the small-town setting was so charming! I just loved following Imogen as she realized that she needed to put herself first in order to realize she deserved better in other aspects of her life, too. The friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance was a sweet addition, and you can't help but root for Imogen and Eliot's love story! I wanted even more. This was my first of Jacqueline Firkins's books, and now I can't wait to read her others, too. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I’ll take Dutch please. Who doesn’t want free shots?

This is the cutest romcom ever!!! Obsessed with Eliot and Imogen’s cute banter and friends-to-lovers trope! However, Imogen kind of frustrated me at the beginning cause of how she kept on overthinking and letting her “curse” ruin her life. Glad Eliot’s there to help her come to terms with it. <3

First of all, I want a story for at least one side character. Frannie and Dutch are both amazing characters and I want to read about them (though not as a couple). Honestly, I love Dutch, he would make a fantastic lead male, he just isn’t it for Imogen. Firkins made a great set of characters- flawed and multi-fauceted… wonderfully intriguing. I even liked the mistress- honestly, who would have thought? The only one-note, cliché character was Elliot’s mother. The people, the community, felt real… strong. Even as no one wanted to hear Imogen’s mother’s predictions everyone looked out for her- I think that’s about how it would shake out. The reactions were honest.

I loved how the author didn’t try to shy from Imogen’s issues, or Elliot’s- that they took it seriously and got help. There was not magic moment where everything just worked out as there so often is in romances. Each person got the help they needed in order to be better- together or apart. I loved that. (That said, I was low-key making plans to riot if it didn’t work out. Joking… a little.) Elliot is a wonderful character, I loved how much he wanted to support Imogen. His issues ensured that he couldn’t see the town- the house- as home,that he couldn’t be still anywhere. He never tried to hide that. At the same time, he tried to figure out how to keep Imogen in the loop, to be more present. I actually like that neither of them gave up what they needed in the name of love.
The play between the characters was great, and I loved the humor the contests brought to the book (seriously, corn shucking and earthworm charming?). It had a good flow to the story and was a fun, fast read for me. I would give it four stars. I loved it, but I wanted more.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
On the adult content scale there is drinking, language and some fairly explicit sexual content. I would say level four spice- not too explicit and it never got in the way of the plot or slowed it down. While it is definitely geared toward adults, I would say fifteen plus would still be appropriate.
I was lucky enough to recieve an eARC from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. My thanks!

This was extremely cute. A very bingeable read with characters that you really feel for. I also loved the sort of magical element of the predictions made by Imogen’s mom in an otherwise grounded book.

“The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch” by Jacqueline Firkins
Three Friends finding Love, maybe?
A good story with a heart that keeps getting broken. Or does it just get a bit bumped around and bruised? I liked this story and empathized with Imogen. I hope you enjoy this story, too! Happy Reading ! !
Note: this review expresses my honest opinion.
I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley.

I really liked Marlowe Banks so I was really looking forwa d to Imogen Finch and it was good but I didn't completely love it. I like that her characters are imperfect I like that Imogen needed to heal herself. I didn't really like the whole business with the curse and I wanted more resolution. I also didn't really like Elliot that much like he was nicer to Imogen than others but he was still selfish and immature. The thing that bugged me the most though was claiming the town had 347 residents but yet they could Support all these businesses and Imogene could find so many guys to date. At least make it 3,047 And even then that all seems unlikely.

I enjoyed this book. I found there was growth with the main characters and I rooted for them throughout the story. I liked that the main character’s past was shared through short anecdotes about breakups.

Thank you so much for letting me read this book. I loved the premise and the author is just lovely, but it just felt a little like a downer and didn't land well for me. It's totally me and not the book.

This was a delightful story with relatable, interesting characters. The conflict was realistic and didn't feel forced. I liked the small town setting and the minor characters.

I didn’t really like this book. I think that it’s more of a “not for me” situation and that someone else might love it. Definitely me and not the book.

I loved this story of love and friendship. I really liked Imogen and her quest for love.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh my god! I love this book. It was amazing and exceptional.

The story was unexpected. Really refreshing and very strange. The characters were well developed. I absolutely adored Imogen. Even though it was a romance novel but I loved Imogen and Franny’s friendship. That solid bond we often overlook to see the drama of love affair. At the end of the day that is the bond that will stick with you. I heartbreaks, happiness and everything else.

I also liked that it didn’t have a happily ever after. Which made the book even better.

I can predict this book doing very well! ;)

Imogen is convinced she is cursed to never come first in anything. She lives with her mom, taking care of her and working 6 jobs to make ends meet: She’s had 17 relationships and every one has ended because they found someone better. She’s been in love with her childhood best friend Eliot for years and he returns to town for his father’s funeral.

I really really wanted to love this one but it fell flat for me. I love second chance romance but all of the discussion of the “curse” was just too much. And half the time the reason she lost was accidental, like falling or something. I also (sorry) thought this book would have been better if it ended with her moving on from Eliot who she harbored feelings for and really taking a chance with Dutch. Side note - Franny and her daughter were more interesting characters to me and I really loved their scenes!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: October 31, 2023

Rating: 3 stars

This book and I have a complicated relationship. There were parts of the story that I was invested and drawn right in but then there are other parts that I felt disconnected. I wasn't sure if I could put my finger on why I felt this way. This book has tropes that I usually really enjoy:
- Small town
- Second chance (sort of)
- Friends to lovers

However, the parts of the story that I felt disconnected led me to realize that those parts read like this book was a sequel. The writing style itself was amazing! I grinned and chuckled at some parts plus found myself falling into the story.

I think this would have been a 4/5 star read for me if there was either dual POV between Sasha and Eliot or dual timeline so we could learn more about their relationship back in high school. With the book only being in Sasha's POV and present time, I found that as a reader, I was supposed to understand their history even though it wasn't explained.

A book that is part finding oneself, part romance, needs a protagonist I can root for, and despite a lot of lovely elements in this novel, I couldn't warm up to the titular Imogen Finch. Imogen's clairvoyant mother made a "prediction" when Imogen was just a child that she would never come first in anything or to anyone. I mean, just stop and think about that. What kind of monster would say that to a child, no matter what sort of "powers" they may or may not have? And what kind of person would just meekly accept that as their fate, getting dumped over and over, giving up on a career they love before they even really try it, and working a bunch of menial jobs to try to support that same mother? When Imogen's secret high school crush Eliot comes back to town after years of adventuring and not being in touch, sparks fly, but their completely opposing lifestyle needs provide plenty of conflict. I was not expecting this book to suddenly go full-on open-door in the bedroom scenes, but there we were and I did do a bit of skimming. When another love interest was on the horizon, I knew that it was going to be a blip and distraction to our protagonists' love journey, but I was really wishing for Imogen and this other guy to be together and stay together. Props for having main characters in love who openly discuss choosing to be childfree, so yay for that! The writing is good and the setting is good, so I would try future books of Firkins, but this one didn't quite do it for me. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for a digital review copy.