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.

Imogen has gone through 17 breakups all ending as she knew they would because her mother told her decades ago that she would never come first to anyone or in anything. And so far, her mother has been spot on. This broke my heart. Poor Imogen. She was nothing but sweet, kind, and caring almost to a fault. My heart literally ached for her!

Eliot, one of her childhood best friends, aka her secret childhood crush, comes home for his father’s funeral. They start spending time together, and Eliot is determined to break the curse. I thought it was so cute that he was going to do anything he could to make sure Imogen won. Imogen is a wonderful artist.  He even picked a drawing contest between Imogen, Franny, and himself. Even then, something happened (can’t tell you because it would be a spoiler duh) where she wasn’t able to be in first place.

I wasn’t too sure about Eliot, tbh since he lived a very nomadic lifestyle, but he surprised me in the end. I’ll be honest their relationship had me holding my breath for a bit. I wanted it to work out, and I wanted them to be together, but not if Imogen had to change anything about her or her life. She already gave up so much for so many people in her life.

This is a wonderful second chance romance/friends to lovers book. There was even a HEA. That’s all the spoilers you’re going to get from me.  Even though I’m normally not a romance reader, I wish I had this one sitting on my shelf!

In support of the SMP boycott, I will be withholding my review of this title until SMP speaks out. If the boycott is resolved, I will update with a full review.

I wish I could write a better review of this one. The premise was so cute. I just couldn’t connect with the characters. The story moved slowly and felt disjointed. I kind of skimmed to the end.

Imogen Finch loves to be "in love"! She molds herself around the men she dates and serves them in all she does. However, time after time, Finch is dumped for another woman who most often goes on to be her ex's one true love. Finch lives with her mother, who has a unique sense of prophecy, and has cobbled together a series of part time jobs to pay the bills. When HER one true love returns to town, Finch's life is put in turmoil as she navigates turning unrequited love into the real thing. Jacqueline Firkins writes a great romance and leaves the reader cheering for all of the characters involved.

This was an enjoyable friends-to-lovers romance. Riddled with clairvoyant predictions that influenced Imogen's life choices, she changes when her old friend and the love of her life, Eliot, comes back into her life. While Eliot navigates a death in his family, returning to his old town and rekindling his old friendships, he also gives into what he felt for Imogen all those years ago. It's an interesting and enjoyable romance that demonstrates that sometimes we are in our own ways regarding what we want and deserve.

OK, First off, it made me cry and I began to doubt that there would be a HEA, but the author pulled it off just before the finish line. When Imogen Finch was 6 years old, her mother a modern day Oracle, sadly told her that she would never be first at anything, and as prophecies often do, it became self profiling. Not for lack of trying. With her 2 best friends, Franny and Eliot, they tried for years for her to win at something, but ALWAYS something ridiculous would prevent it. And then she was devastated when Eliot left town and eventually ghosted her. She eventually grew up, went to art school and graduated with a degree in illustration. She is very talented, but shortly thereafter, she needed to return home to Pitt's Corner, Oregon, to help her mother. Her art career was forgotten and she struggled juggling jobs to keep their home. Now pushing 30, after her 17th boyfriend has dump her for someone who was just a little bit better, she comes to an epiphany, after all the boy friends she had dated, Eliot was the only one she ever loved. Here comes their second chances, after one of her mother's predictions, the prodigal son returns. I don't want to give anything else away, but it is a heart wrenching tale.

It is a beautifully written, original story, with fabulous character development of fabulous characters. This I say voluntary, honest and unbiased review for a gifted copy from NetGalley.com of The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch.

I got about a quarter of the way in to this book, and then just could not find myself reaching for it or wanting to continue at all. I might try again later, though! I like the idea of the story, but Imogen is so "woe is me" that it's a bit unbearable to read right now. I'm also not a huge fan of Eliot. The first impression of him was not the best, and if I'm not in love with the MMC then it's so hard to keep going haha

This was a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

Thank you to the author Jaqueline Firkins, publishers St. Martin's Griffin, and thank you also to NetGalley for an advance digital copy of THE PREDICTABLE HEARTBREAK OF IMOGEN FINCH. All views are mine.

Opening quote: [We] both know love isn't always what we want it to be... but that doesn't mean it isn't worth having. Even when it leads to hard goodbyes. Loc.2570.

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I'm not always a fan of this form, but I adore the text messages between Imogen and Frannie. Their dynamic in this medium is warm and humorous. I connect to the story through these sections because this friendship feels good to me!

2. The spice is developed and delivered so well in this book, with steamy scenes perfectly spaced out, and just dirty enough to make me blush!

3. As much as I despise the main character and her trajectory, I am still happy she got a sort of happy ending. So if you're into that, I still recommend this book!

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. None of this is particularly believable. It's just one ridiculous scenario after another.

2. Seriously this character makes me sad and I just really don't like her. She has no self respect. She lets these dudes treat her horribly and doesn't say a word. I find this totally unsatisfying in stories, where it's actually safe for women to tell men what assholes they are! Being a not-at-all passive person, I'm struggling to connect to this particularly passive protagonist.

3. I just don't find it entertaining to read about all these guys treating the protagonist horribly (so she can just take it, wordlessly, again). I'm tiring of the story's pattern already and I'm only halfway through this thing.

4. I don't tend to care for narrative composed this heavily of dialogue. Granted, there are exceptions, but when this much talking happens, usually nothing else happens. All the action is off page and the characters, talking to each other, become play callers for the novel.

Rating: 👨‍🏫 🧑‍🏭👷 bad dates
Recommend? Sure
Finished: Nov 2 '23
Format: Digital copy, Kindle, NetGalley, SMPI
Read this book if you like:
🛴 character driven books
💖 romance
❤️‍🩹 second chance romance
💔 seventh chance romance
👩🏼‍🤝‍👨🏽 friends to lovers
🫢 miscommunication
🥰 happy endings

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch follows Imogen after her 17th heartbreak when she is ready to give up on love altogether... until her high school crush comes back to town. With encouragement and support from one another, Imogen and her high school crush, Elliot, are able to grow as characters past their traumas and develop together in unimaginable ways.
Imogen Finch's world is captivating and drew me in SO quickly. I loved every character in this book and how all had something to add to the story. While this book is marketed as a romance, I would say the romance takes a backseat to the growth and development that occurs throughout the book. The romance for me was unnecessary and almost hindered the other emotions and actions.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a cast of characters and an almost magical world to get lost in for a little while as characters grow alongside one another in spite of any past experiences.

I loved the premise of this book. It felt a bit Hallmark to me with the small town setting and the crush returning to said small town. Poor Imogen has had 17 failed relationships and when her crush Eliot returns to their small town, Her mother predicted "that Imogen would never come first at anything or to anyone", and after being dumped 17 times for other girls Imogen starts to believe it. Imogen and Eliot embark on trying to find her one win to prove that her mom was wrong.

It was great reading the interactions between them and in the setting of the small town. I liked the character development and growing relationship between Imogen and Eliot. It also delves into self-worth/confidence and finding that one person that puts in the work equally.

The predictable heartbreaks of Imogen Finch is a really great romance that reminded me to be kind to myself, regardless of where I am in life and keep being a hopeful romantic. It’s one of my favorite reads, ever.

Overall, I loved the author's writing style! But sorry, somehow this one didn't work for me. I have to admit - I was quite intrigued by the title and went in prepared for it. The plot somehow fell flat and I couldn't connect with the MCs. So even though I kept picking it up to finish reading, in the end I couldn't finish beyond the halfway mark.
It was also confusing to me (at times) as to how they would keep the relationship going with the MMC being a traveler.

That being said, I very much loved the author's first book - Marlowe Banks, Redesigned and would love to check out her upcoming releases!


Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley, #ThepredictableheartbreaksofImogenFinch