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.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not sure if this book is truly supposed to be a rom-com type book but it is trying to be sold that way. Any of the times that she doesn't come first in either her relationship or a silly competition it just made me a little sad.

One of the things that I loved about this book though is that the characters felt insanely realistic. Imogen and Eliot didn't change everything completely about themselves for each other.

I also might be in the minority for this but as much as I did like Eliot, part of me liked Dutch just the tiniest bit more. I would have loved to see more of him.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch was such a pleasant surprise! Imogen Finch has been through 17 break ups, but she’s never surprised by them. But when her childhood first love Elliot Swift returns home, he’s determined to show her she’s not second best. This is such a lovely story of friendship and second chances. There is such warmth and community in this coastal town and such well-developed characters. There’s so much growth and heart, it’s really charming! My heart went out to Imogen—she gives so much love and yet she can’t see herself for the sunshine of a person she is. There was never a lack of communication and the friendships in this were just beautiful. It definitely has some heaviness but it really is just a lovely read with wonderful characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I have been reading a lot of fantasy recently, and getting into a romance book really brought me back and reminded me why I love them. This was really good! I was pulled in from the very beginning. I couldn't put this down. I love the development of the story and characters. Jacqueline has such a way with words and every time I read (or re-read) her books, I find new, cute things that make my heart swell even more. She just does such a great job with pulling you into the story, and Never wanting to let it go. The emotion and swooning she pulls out of me is unreal! If you enjoy YA contemporary or romance, definitely grab this one!

A great friends to lovers story, with lots of pining and reflecting. The writing was very engaging and the characters were fun to get to know.

This book has the sweetest love story and mutual character growth I've read in weeks. It gives me heavy Sarah Dessen feels, and I loved every single bit of it.

Imogen feels cursed and has learned to shove down her needs and wants in lieu of other's needs. Eliot is a childhood friend who fled his family life and is now back in town for a few days. She only knows how to stay and he only knows running away. Watching them learn and heal from each other and apart was so beautiful. They really have such a beautiful love story. The spice hits about halfway through and is full of beautiful consent. The first scene in particular is a few pages long (I skip through smut so that's about all I can say). Their first kiss was adorable. So many beautiful moments.

Tropes: finding oneself, healing, friends to lovers, childhood friends, artist x wanderer

Content Warning: mentions and cartoon doodles of "Satan's t*sticles", explicit s*x, lots of flashbacks from past terrible relationships, "naughty" daydreaming, caring for mother with a form of dementia, psychic mother

This was a wonderfully-written, absorbing rom com with a flawed-but-likable protagonist, an interesting and fully-fleshed love interest, and well-developed side characters. I enjoyed reading it and found myself turning pages long after I'd meant to put it down.

But something about the conceit of the story didn't sit right with me, especially toward the end. Imogen Finch is, according to her mother's nature-based divination, destined to never come first. She can't win awards, can't get the best grades, and - most importantly - can't be the most important person to anyone. Every man she ever dated was destined to leave her for someone else.

I was curious to see where the story would go. Would Imogen break the curse? Would she find a man to whom the curse didn't apply? Would she realize she didn't need a man and that she only needed to be first to herself? The book explored all these possibilities, but the eventual answer was... none of the above. Imogen would remain secondary to everyone, including the love interest. And not for what felt like a good reason - simply because he was so fantastically self-centered that nobody could be very important to him, which Imogen considered rather noble (presumably because she was used to this treatment from her mother). I loved most of this book but had to deduct an entire star for the way the relationship and the love interest's character evolved in the last 20%.

This is my first Firkins book, and it won't be my last. A quirky romance that sort of went where I was expecting, but with some surprises along the way.
First I was thinking, how could some people have such horrid parents, but then I remembered mine,plus all the Reddit AITA stories, so yes it is possible.
Also, in a strange twist, this is the 3rd book I am reading this week where the mother and/or the a character, have some kind of clairvoyance of the future.
Imogen, our titular character feels she has a curse of coming in second in all things, and her 17 breakups where the male finds another women is a terrible record for this 28 year old.
She gives up her dream of using her love of drawing, she returns home to take care of her mother in a small town in Oregon. The question asked and answered in this book is, does she get a second chance at love when her high school unrequited love, Elliott returns home for his father's funeral.
Imogen, her best friend Franny, and Elliott were inseparable in High School, but his rich father wanted to dictate Elliott 's life, so he left town and essentially became a travel blogger.
What will happen when Elliott returns to town? Read this book to find out.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This review is my honest opinion.

This was a cute romance but very much not my type of book. I know exactly the reader I would recommend this to. Some parts started to drag a little for me so I ended up Dnfing about halfway through but that is more because I wasn’t the right audience for the book and nothing at all to do with the book itself.

What a fantastic book! As someone who can relate to never being first (ha) I enjoyed this premise. The steamy parts were exactly the kind of spiciness I like to read. Can't wait to read future books by this author.

Read if you like:
🎨 Artist FMC’s
🏘️ Returning Home
😘 Friends to Lovers
🌞 Sunshine MC’s
♥️ Swoon Worthy Romances

We all know or have been the person that didn’t feel like they deserved to be out first, and for those that can identify with that- please read this book, and you may see yourself in Imogen and I hope you see you are worthy after reading this and deserve to be put first.

This book truly pulls all the emotions out and is so beautifully written! If you are looking for your next emotional read with some romance to it, I highly recommend checking this one out as it was too good to pass on!

Thank you SMP for my ARC of this one!

Imogen lives her life knowing she will never finish first at anything thanks to a prophecy her mom had when she was little. She goes into everything she does knowing that no matter how good she is something will come along to ruin it and her love life is no exception. So when her mother starts to have more visions about possible changes coming Imogen is brought face to face with her version of the one who got away. Will history repeat itself or will she find a way to break her curse once and for all. Overall a nice read enjoyed the characters enough though never felt totally connected with them. Enjoyed the book and would recommend it. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't love this rom com nor did I hate it. It was just kind of meh. But I'm glad that I read it. And I will read other books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this ARC!

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch was a cute second chance rom-com that features a friends to lovers story. While there were elements of this book that were fairly predictable for a rom-com, there were also elements that were surprising and refreshing. The story revolves around Imogen and her "curse" of never being first - in relationships, in art contests, and in her life. In addition, there is a supernatural element that I felt was incredibly inconsistent. Imogen's mother makes very life changing predictions in a "we don't talk about Bruno" sort of way and in some moments it's taken seriously and in others it's played for laughs.

I really did not enjoy the ending and I felt that the book could have explored a few more chapters to be able to provide something solid. Overall, this is a cute read but be prepared that there are some heavy themes involved.

As I've said before, I am a total sucker for character growth. The story of Imogen Finch and Eliot Swift had plenty of that. I appreciated that the author showed their growth and their relationship over a decent chunk of time rather than a super-duper quick romance. The sort-of twist on the "curse" her mom said she had was wonderful and really helped me enjoy Imogen's personal story more. The ending felt a little rushed to me, but it was still a great way to end it! (And fair warning...there are at least a couple open-door scenes where I felt a need to avert my eyes haha.)

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was different from many contemporary romances that I have read! I really connected with Imogen’s character and think many late 20s early 30s people will feel the same. The connection and love story between Elliot and Imogen was so genuine which made the overall story very enjoyable. Looking forward to reading more of Firkins’ backlist and future work!