Loved this! A second chance at love with your high school crush, how fun! I loved to watch Imogen grow and finally win!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins
Pub Date: October 31,2023

“ Its funny how as kids we’re so often told to follow our dreams. We draw pictures and write essays about who we want to be. Artists. Politicians. Athletes. Inventers. Movie Stars. The greats leaders of tomorrow. As we grow up, life throws us problems to solve, so we start solving them, and before we know it, we’re too busy try to pay the heating bill or ensuring our mom doesn’t fall out of a tree to pause and thing about our dreams, let along to chase them”

Imogen believes her life is cursed and with the help of her former crush they are determined to prove that wrong.

Her mother has predictions and one of these was that Imogen will always be second. Through out the story you catch glimpses of how every relationship, every contest, every moment she has never came in first. Follow Imogen through failed dates while reconnecting with her one who got away. Prepare to laugh and cry throughout this book.

I could not put this book down, when I did I wanted more than anything to pick it back up. Imogen and Elliot’s friendship/relationship is so beautiful and heartbreaking.
The conversations that take place between Elliot and Imogen really spoke to me as I think about grief (losing my father) thinking about decisions and how I ended up where I am, the people we choose to surround ourselves with, those paths we seldom take.

If you enjoy
Small towns and their chatter
Found community and family
A good laugh
Some mildly spicy scenes
Hot bartenders
Predictions and premonitions
Second chances
Friendships

This book should earn a place on your bookshelf this October
Thank you so much to @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review

•The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch 💔•

📚Genre: contemporary romance
🤔Rating: 🍺🍺🍺🍺(4/5)
#️⃣ of pages: 352
👯‍♀️ read if you like: second chance romance, quirky characters, small towns & friends to lovers
⚠️TW:
Publishing Date: October 31, 2023

👍🏼:
•this had all the feels of a GREAT rom-com movie!
•absolutely loved the quirky characters, the fact that her mom was a psychic & the bits of humor that brought to the table
•the writing and pacing of this book felt like it was exactly where it needed to be!

👎🏼:
•the chapters were sometimes pretty lengthy which made it hard for me to find a stopping point. But is that really a *bad* thing?! I just never stopped 😝

Overall…
Just an overall enjoyable read! Y’all know I don’t typically *love* romances, but I’ve been hitting the romance ARC jackpot lately! Even with the quirky characters, there was a lot of depth and development for each one in this story. This was a feel good story with just enough spice and plenty of smiles to outweigh Imogen’s previous heartbreaks 🫶🏼

Special thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and SMP for the e-ARC and Thank you to the author for the ARC copy in exchange for honest review. The author did an amazing job and I’d recommend it to anyone. I really loved the characters and the story. 4 stars !!

Thank you NetGalley and SMP for the e-ARC and Thank you to the author for the ARC copy in exchange for honest review. I am in complete awe of the author and her many many talents. I love the way she writes the story and immerses you in the story. I have loved and enjoyed all her books.

Well, this was an emotional must read! Every character in this story truly stood out. All of the relationships, the friendships, mother-daughter relationship, and love connections were so beautifully written. There was no bad guy or a good guy in the story, just real people with real problems and struggles and traumas. And I loved every single one of them. I adored this story! Jacqueline Firkins is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Thank you to #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I requested to read and review this book for for free from Stm Martin's Griffin Publishing Company. I was a little worried at first that this book would be more depressing then happy. But I was surprised it was more about happiness then what you think. Character Imogen has been dealt not a difficult life just a different life where for the most part she has been second best in almost everything in life from relationship to games. Great friends are sometimes hard to come by but Imogen friends Fanny and Eliot try their best with her. Her friends have also have been dealt things in life but I think that makes them friends whether they talk everyday or go a long time between their talks. They each have to take their own journey in life to know what they want or need. This book can be read anywhere. I would recommend a mature reader for this book.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch is an emotional roller coaster of failed relationships, and a young person with rather bad luck (or if you believe in the supernatural, she’s cursed). With an elderly mother, who can’t keep a steady job due to her clairvoyant tendencies, Imogen is committed to her mother’s well being as well as the small-town that takes care of its own.

But when the unexpected happens, which, of course, Imogen’s mother predicts, Imogen’s childhood crush makes an unannounced appearance and then the love story begins.

Intertwined with Imogen’s story are her ex-boyfriends, a further glimpse into her bad luck. It paints a grim picture, one that leaves Imogen with a broken heart, dwindling self-worth, and the reader wondering, if this poor character will ever get a happy ending.

Though there’s a bit of a love triangle (sort of, maybe, kind of) between Imogen and Eliot and Imogen and a character named Dutch (I hope the author actually explores this character for a future novel), I felt like the ending could’ve come sooner rather than dragging it out.

For me there was way too much, will Eliot commit or won’t he? This may have been resolved with two POV’s, helping readers to better understand Eliot’s mental health particularly flushing out his difficulty to commit to a long term relationship, among other things, but the title says it all.

This is Imogen’s story.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogene Finch is a book about a second chance love story. You follow Imogene, who is going through her latest heartbreak, which is no surprise to Imogene since her mother who claims to be clairvoyant predicted that she would never come first to anyone. But when Imogene's highs school crush Eliot comes back to town Imogene wonders if her mother's predictions could be wrong.

The premise of this sounded cute, and I like the second chance trope, but this one took me a while to get into and had a hard time holding my attention. I liked seeing the flashbacks to the time when Eliot and Imogene were in high school, and I also liked how over the course of the book Imogene who has always been a people pleaser learns to start putting herself first.

Overall, this was an okay read with some cute and enjoyable moments.

I wanted to like this book so much, having really enjoyed previous books from this author, but it just did not work for me. I'm glad to see that others are enjoying it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this arc.

This story follows Imogen. I oven comes second best to everything in her life, including relationships. When the boy she gave her heart to when she was younger comes back to town for a funeral, he is determined to show her that she can beat this prophecy from her mom and she can indeed be someone’s first.

While there is a romance element to Imogen and Eliot- I felt that the real arc of becoming first was Imogen learning to put herself first. It was an overall cute read, but I did find it boring and slow and times.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review.
**4.5 Stars**
The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins caught me off guard. I started this book thinking I would get a good laugh, tingle at a good romance and fly through this book like I do most rom-coms I come across. I did laugh, I did tingle but I in no way flew through this book. Let’s do a quick synopsis of the plot.
Imogen Finch is cursed. She will spend her life never coming in first, in ANYTHING, and I mean anything. So, she spends the first of her years trying to prove the curse silly or wrong, determined to win. And fails miserably. Never winning begins to wear her down to a point that she begins to see herself in such a negative light and is so sure of her failings that she gives up hope succumbing to a life full of disappointment and always being second best. In relationships, in contests, in her career she limits herself and that’s that. Until her first love and childhood best friend arrives home for his dads funeral. The boy who left without a backward glance, who never knew her true feelings for him. Suddenly Imogen is thrust into a journey of self discovery and realization that never coming in first may not be what is really holding her back from happiness.

This book is emotional. It deals with mental health in an inspiring and helpful way. It gives slice of life vibes tied up into a very calming and sweet romance. It has a lot of depth and shines a light on the idea that though the romance is fun and fulfilling, the things about relationships and love aren’t really about the romantic parts of it. It’s about clear communication, seeing the other person and meeting their needs while trusting them to meet yours. There’s this undercurrent of learning to know what you want and growing towards that, despite what the expectation from others is.

It took me awhile to read through and digest this story. I think because my expectations going into it were so grossly blown apart by the halfway mark, it took me awhile to switch gears so that I could give the book its due. Beautiful story telling, touching heart to heart moments and wonderful relationship developments between not only the love interests but the family and friends got me all up in my feels. This was an excellent ride and will have me thinking back on it for weeks to come.

“The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch” is a romance book about second chances by Jacqueline Firkins. The summary of this book sucked me in - seventeen breakups, clairvoyant mother, and a small town - sounds interesting. I even liked the fact that Imogen was someone trying to make ends meet as best she could - her multiple jobs made it sound like she was everywhere - and she was. I liked Imogen’s friend, Franny, though I think in real life she’d drive me a bit batty - but Franny had depth, which isn’t always found in side characters. While this is a romance book, there’s also more to the story - self-discovery and self-worth. This isn’t a just a sweet romance (in fact some of the “sexy time” I skipped), which helped give the overall story additional depth. I had two issues (maybe three?) with this book - the first was the pacing. There’s a lot of set-up that’s necessary for some of the story, but at times it seemed more detailed - aka making it a slower read - than it needed to be. Second, while I understand being a people-pleaser, it seemed to me that Imogen even at the end was not going to be “first,” which was disappointing. I liked parts of this book and didn’t like others, but I could see this being turned into a TV movie, which I might’ve enjoyed more. Overall, 3.5 stars.

Sometimes I know from the beginning of a book that I am going to love it. The opposite is true also. Unfortunately, this was one that I knew I would not enjoy a lot. I like friends to romantic partners trope the best, but this plot, although it fits that, is missed something. It felt like these two did not really belong together. The main female character, Imogen, is a people pleaser and wants to help everyone, at the cost of helping herself. Seems she was always drawn to Eliot because he was always unhappy.

The reader does get glimpses of the times they were friends growing up, but I did not receive enough information to see that they belonged together and that is the point of a romance book.

Honestly, I struggled to finish reading this book. I wanted to stop reading at many points, and flipped through the several pages of the sex scenes since it dragged on and I was very uninterested. I think this book is just meant for a much younger person than I am. The language is very crude at times. I don’t mind word usages if it is needed for character development, but it seems more for shock value or trying to be witty, than the essence of the story. That did decrease as the story unfolded, so it did seem to me to be shock value during the first fourth of the book. Maybe this is just normal talk for young people now.

Towards the end of the book, I was very interested in what the ending would be and was glad that I pushed though and read to the conclusion.

I loved the last book by this author and was looking forward to reading this book, but don’t know if I would read her next book, after this one. I know how much heart, soul and sweat goes into writing a book and I am sorry to state that, but every book is not for every person, and this one just isn’t for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

The writing? Phenomenal. Jacqueline Firkins' prose was eye candy. The setting? Imagine combining the quaintness and grittiness of a true beachside small town and that's what you get with Pitt's Corner, Oregon. Cloudy beaches, sandy dogs, classic diners, sticky bars.

And the story itself? Look. This book is "August" off of Evermore. Let me explain. We're talking a teenage love triangle. We're talking summertime regrets.

AND I QUOTE:

Back when we were still changin' for the better
Wanting was enough
For me, it was enough
To live for the hope of it all
Cancel plans just in case you'd call
And say, "Meet me behind the mall"
So much for summer love and saying "us"
'Cause you weren't mine to lose
You weren't mine to lose, no

Imogen Finch is living for the hope of it all. Wanting was enough for her, she would cancel plans if Eliot called, but he WASN'T. HERS. TO LOSE.

To try to put it more coherently: THE PREDICTABLE HEARTBREAKS OF IMOGEN FINCH is a story about how to make room for more than one love of your life and and the decision whether to fight against or settle into your fate. I loved this book, and I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: October 31, 2023
Imogen Finch is always second-place. In relationships, she is always the one who is cast aside while her partner chooses a life with someone else. In every contest or game she has ever participated in, Imogen has never- not once- won first place. So, when her most recent boyfriend breaks up with her for someone else, Imogen is not surprised and continues to live her life- working multiple part-time jobs and trying to take care of her mother whose premonitions and visions make her the town outcast. But when Imogen’s high school crush, Eliot, comes back to town for his father’s funeral, Imogen is once again inundated with all of the feelings she had for Eliot in high school but this time- Eliot feels them, too. But Eliot is a world-traveler, recording his adventures for his highly successful YouTube channel, and, after the funeral, Imogen knows that Eliot will be back on the road again. This time, Imogen knows she is not going to win, but is it even worth trying?
“The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch” by Jacqueline Firkins is a heartfelt story of love and friendship. Right away, I felt a kinship with Imogen who, in her late twenties, is so used to being the consolation prize she expects nothing else, putting a damper on any relationship she dares to attempt. Imogen narrates the story and many chapters end with snippets of Imogen’s previous relationships, cementing the second-place feelings that Imogen has.
Firkins has a way of taking a romance novel and adding creativity and a layer of individuality to them, making them even more entertaining and page-turning. In “Imogen”, the delightful eccentricity of Imogen’s psychic mother added a few laughs and helped to define Imogen’s character, both as to why she was the way she was and why she felt tied to her hometown. Firkins’ novel flows seamlessly, and doesn’t overdo it on the erotic or the saccharine, which can be a downfall in a lot of romance novels.
I am not a huge romance fan, but I enjoyed Firkins’ previous novel, “Marlowe Banks, Redesigned”, and decided to take another chance with “Imogen”, and I’m glad I did! Firkins’ relatable, quirky main characters make her novels the emotional, enjoyable and delightful reads they are and I look forward to any of Firkins next works.

This sweet friends to lovers romance is full of emotion, growth, and some fantastic spicy scenes.

Imogen has always been second best- her boyfriends dump her when they meet the woman they end up marrying, she has never won a trophy or contest, and she has never come first to anyone. She has been pining for her best friend from high school, Elliot, for years, and he has just come back to town for his father’s funeral. While Imogen loves the security of their hometown, Elliot craves the life of a wanderer, making it impossible for the two to really be together and still prioritize their own needs.

I loved the focus on self-care and loving yourself first, and adored the character growth as Imogen realized that she first needed to put her own self first before anyone else could do it for her. Her life at the start of the book is chaotic, with 6 jobs and family problems and having just been dumped. She is in such a better place by the end of the story, and her path to getting there felt raw, authentic, and endearing.

Elliot had some great lines that make him a fantastic book boyfriend. Swoon worthy, charming, kind, and always there for Imogen, he is the right person to shine the light on her and help her to face her own insecurities.

The storyline about Imogen’s mother seeing prophecies adding some great magic and mysticism to the overall tone of the story and was a fun addition.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought this was a really cute and sweet story and I was a big fan of the characters. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

This book was fantastic because of its thread of enduring love and friendship through good times and bad. The love story of Imogene and Eliot is special because it spans across their young lifetime and they see the beauty in one another’s perceived flaws. The author captures each character so beautifully — I love her writing style.
I also love the way the author gives the story antagonists yet very successfully makes the story better by NOT having them tags center stage. It was so well balanced and I fell in love with the characters,

This was a funny, heartwarming story about a woman who puts other people's needs before her own, but those feelings are never reciprocated as we open to the scene of her latest breakup, dumped for a woman who her boyfriend wanted instead of her. Apparently, this is due to a curse her mother had pointed out when she was eight years old and for twenty years, Imogen has tried to prove said curse wrong, but has failed to do this thus far, and her latest breakup was just an example of said curse.
Now, this story is as much her best friend Eliot's story as it is Imogen's. His father recently died, and he stands to inherit a house he doesn't want, with a life he doesn't want. He's rich but wants to walk to the beat of his own drum, and live life according to his own expectations, not based on a map drawn for him by someone else. Pitt's Corner is a rather small town where everyone knows everyone. Eliot's lived here his entire life, and he's determined not to live the rest of it there if he can help.
I can relate to both these characters on so many levels. I too come from a small town and as Eliot says, the longer I were to stay there the more my resentment and bitterness would grow. He wants to go and see the world, not stay still for too long in one place, because that would feel constricting and confining. Why limit myself? Imogen clearly suffers from a sever Inferiority Complex. She is a jack of all trades and master of none. Trying so hard to break her curse, she engages in a bunch of activities, which is quite impressive, but she feels that she's not good enough at any of it. She does art, plays sports, creates graphic novels, but because of this belief in this curse, believes none of it is good enough, and so neglects is all and lets it go by the wayside.
and makes herself into a doormat by settling for guys who do not love her way she needs to be loved. However, this whole time she's never truly loved any of them, as Eliot Swift is the only boy she's ever truly loved. And apparently, he feels the same way for her, which gets revealed about half-way through the book.
The problem???
Imogen wants to say in Pitt's Corner, Eliot does not, both for every good reasons. Due to his father's death and funeral, Eliot come back to Pitt's Corner, where he faces his past and has to face some hard truths, as does Imogen when their feelings become lain bare for the other. Hard decisions are made, and both are left to truly find themselves, curse or no curse.
So why four stars?
I loved the story, but some parts did not feel fully fleshed out enough for me to really feel an attachment for the characters although there was a lot of potential. It's funny how we never get a chance to meet or hear from Imogen's siblings, which is a shame considering the dilemma with her mother. Also, at some point, the book becomes much more about Imogen missing Eliot than it does about her trying to break her curse, but the ending does tie it together nicely about how one should live life freely and not make decisions based on signs and predictions of the future.
Also, the ends gets a little choppy and everyone seems to have their epiphany kind of quickly, so I don't get a full appreciation of Imogen and Eliot's development.
Overall, funny, brilliant, and lighthearted.