This book was sweet and fun; all the feels for a light hearted read! Imogen is a likable heroine that you’ll be sure to root for.

Imogen Finch has had a crush on Eliot Swift for as long as she can remember. However, he always seemed more interested in their mutual friend Franny, even taking Franny to the prom in high school. As soon as they all graduated, Eliot escaped their small town (and his overbearing family), swearing never to return.

In the years since, Imogen has kept tabs on Eliot's life through his YouTube channel and occasional updates from Franny. But when Eliot's father dies and Eliot unexpectedly returns to their small town, Imogen can't imagine watching him leave again.

It doesn't help that every guy she has ever dated hasn't been "the One," because none of them have been Eliot. And Imogen's mother is a bit fae and spouts predictions that no one wants to hear. Yet Imogen returned home after college instead of pursuing her own dreams to make sure that her mother was safe and looked after. Unfortunately, that has consigned Imogen to a life of always seeking to please others, to feel worthy of being loved.

So, when she's faced with Eliot's return, it opens a Pandora's box filled with longing, crushed dreams, fears of the future, and so much more. She's usually able to hide all of that from everyone who knows her. But Eliot's always known her better than she even knows herself.

This friends-to-lovers romance was sweet in a lot of ways, but a bit too spicy for my taste, although nicely balanced with moments of genuine intimacy as well.

Thank you to Jacqueline Firkins, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Rating 3.5/5
(Rounded to 4)

Imogen Finch has never had good luck in the relationship department, in fact she is apparently cursed to always come in second and never win at anything. But when Eliot, the only guy she has ever loved, comes back home Imogen has no idea what to do. Eliot hasn’t talked to her in years since leaving after graduation. But Imogen and Eliot soon pick up like no time has gone by. As awkward talks are had Imogen and Eliot open up about past regrets and feelings. But will Eliot stick around this time and stay connected or has Imogen’s curse made sure their newfound romance will fail?

This romance was very angsty, but I appreciated how much each character had to use introspection and work on themselves and their mental health issues. This was a well written second chance romance.

I loved everything about this book!!! One of the best second chance romance books I’ve read in a long time and one of my favorite tropes! I found myself thinking about the plot of this book after I had finished it!

<i>I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I wasn't expecting this to hit so hard or go so deep!

At first, I struggled to get into it. It seemed slow, almost plodding, and wasn't holding my interest. But then Eliot and Imogen starting talking about dreams set aside and I was hooked. That moment was poignant and honest and raw and real -- it resonated with me to an uncomfortable degree.

The charachters were great! I loved each of them, even Eliot's awful mother. They're nuanced and quirky and felt like friends.

I understand why this is working the romance market but the romance almost seemed secondary to me. Sure, it's steamy and full of UST and everything delicious! But it was more a story about working on yourself, about being the best version of yourself FOR YOURSELF.

This is a story of restlessness and grief, of care and dreams deferred, of change and taking charge of your fate.

I definitely recommend it but prepare yourself for depth!

I liked the uniqueness of this story with its touch of quirkiness and romantic curse. I liked the connection between Imogen and Eliot; you could feel their chemistry and the understanding they share. I just can’t help but feel like I was missing something from the story but I don’t know what. Overall still an enjoyable read.


Thank you publishers and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins.

The premise of this book seemed so cute, first crush, estranged besties and second chance romance, but unfortunately I didn't love this one. The storyline felt like it was missing a lot of plot points (why Eliot left and never came back/intricacies with Imogen's mom), the characters felt messy, the romance lacked chemistry but instead was just something comfortable that they defaulted to (if they had both been pining for the other for a couple of decades, there should have been more sparks at the very least). With two characters who both had some woe is me self esteem going on (with no explanation why) the plot ultimately fell flat 😒.


Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Imogen is a struggling artist who never saw herself as good enough. She returns home to Oregon to care for her mother who is considered to be clairvoyant. She told Imogen that she sees her never being first in life to anyone. I felt horrible for her. 

What her mother saw seems to be true, She was dumped seventeen times so far. Then enters Eliot Swift who was her best friend many years ago.

I enjoyed this story and the message about self-confidence that it brings. However, I did find it sad at times. Imogen is such a sweet and caring girl who is so young and talented and she just never believed that she would ever be put first in life to anyone. I loved seeing Imogen’s character growth. This is a great second chance, small-town romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Imogen’s mom is clairvoyant and made predictions for each of her children’s lives when they were young. Only Imogen did not get an ideal prediction - her mom saw that she would never be first at anything. Now, Imogen is an adult going through her 17th breakup and that prediction is feeling very real and she is ready to give up on love completely. But when her childhood best friend and high school crush comes home after years of traveling the world, she might just be ready to give love one more try.

I loved Imogen’s journey and her self-growth, but I wasn’t always rooting for her and Eliot - at times it felt like she was willing to sacrifice too much for that relationship and that their lifestyles were just too different to work long term. That being said, the writing was beautiful and Imogen’s character development was so well done that I really enjoyed this book even if I didn’t always want her to end up with Eliot. And despite my hesitation with him, Eliot was such a kind and gentle partner for Imogen and I appreciated his protectiveness and genuine care for her. I also loved the interludes between some chapters with the stories of Imogen's various heartbreaks and why her relationships didn’t work out. This book was a joy to read.

I liked Jacqueline Firkins' previous book (Marlowe Banks, Redesigned) though found myself frustrated by the hot mess main character. I liked her writing enough to give The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch a try. I felt a little more connected to Imogen, mostly because of her return home to care for her mother, her hard-working spirit/hustle, and giving up on her artist dreams for practicality. I did not care for the hot mess male MC Eliot and found him to be a whiny rich boy who only cares about himself and his tattoos. I just wanted him to go away. I would have preferred more character development of Imogen's mother... more medical background on her condition and the mother-daughter relationship. Overall, I liked the story but wanted more relationship substance and less of the hot mess trope. Maybe the trope appeals more to a younger/different audience though (I'm a professional 40-something woman who already had a doctorate in my mid 20s... I never did much of the hot mess thing myself).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I love love loved this! I almost missed the email from the publisher that I could download this and I am so glad I caught it in time! This was my first book by this author and her writing style when it comes to romance was top notch. This had a great blend of uplifting tones & serious ones. I also really enjoyed Mama Finch's predictions and storyline. I loved the friendships in this and the side characters also had my heart.

Read if you like:
-Self discovery
-Second chance romance
-Friends to lovers
-Small town

Thank you Netgalley & SMP Romance for a gifted copy!

I didn't love this, and I didn't hate it. It was just entertaining enough to keep going, without being something that I rushed to get back to. For a romance book, I felt that romance was the thing that was lacking the most.

This author writes the most lovable and most broken characters I've ever read. I didn't think I could love a book more than the last one of hers I read, but I was wrong. I adore this book. It is superb. Get out your Kleenex boxes, you're going to need them!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for an extraordinary book. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed Marlowe Banks, Redesigned by this author, so I think it was the premise of The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch that didn’t work for me.
I was intrigued by the curse, but I felt the execution was lacking. It even said things along the line of is it curse or is she self sabotaging? I wish it just leaned fully into the curse.
After seventeen breakups, I was frustrated. It didn’t feel like goofy or bad luck anymore, it felt like Imogen was settling and making bad choices. Yes, some of the scenarios resulted in things beyond her control, but she also let a lot of people walk all over her.
When she reconnects with Eliot, I also found him unlikeable and as their relationship progressed, I felt like Imogen deserved better. And then the ending…
I would read other books by this author as again, I think it was the premise that wasn’t working for me.
Thank you St. Martin's Griffin for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This gave me Good Luck Chuck vibes where every partner breaks up with Imogen and then their next partner is the one. Which only means that there's one perfect match for Imogen and there's where Eliot comes in. I enjoyed the second chance romance and I loved their chemistry. What I didn't love is how immature the two of them were. It just felt a little juvenile to me, but it was still entertaining.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of “The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch” by Jacqueline Firkins. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had previously enjoyed ‘Marlowe Banks, Redesigned’ so I was looking forwards to picking up another book by this author. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. The setting was really strong and I was intrigued by the prophecy element and how that would impact Imogen’s story. But it ended up making Imogen a doormat for everyone else. This felt like it should have been women’s fiction and not a contemporary romance. Imogen even dates another guy towards the end of the book which was confusing. It didn’t add to the story and they broke up just as fast. I feel like I would have rather read the Imogen and Dutch book that could have been rather than Imogen and Eliot’s story.

Imogen and Eliot’s story was uncomfortable to read. Imogen is just a third wheel to their other friend Franny and Eliot. Franny somehow didn’t realize that Imogen and Eliot had feelings for each other and then Franny and Eliot end up sleeping together. I don’t know why the author included this. It made Franny seem like a bad person. Like she seriously had no idea her two supposed “best friends” were in love with each other? Come on now.

So Eliot ghosts Imogen and Franny after high school and does his own things with a travel YouTube channel to get away from the expectations of his rich miserable parents. I hate the poor little rich kid trope. Boo hoo you have money. Maybe stick it to your parents by helping people who need it? Eliot’s dad dies and Eliot comes back to town where he and Imogen finally realize they had feelings for each other. Eliot ends up inheriting his dad’s house and then they destroy a bunch of stuff they could have sold to help people. I really didn’t like Imogen and Eliot’s relationship and this was just a really distasteful scene. Eliot ends up still going to travel again so Imogen is second again and what was the point of this story? They aren’t long distance so Imogen tries to date the bartender but doing so helps her realize she loves Eliot which duh. This just made her seem like a terrible person but I didn’t like any of the characters. I was just incredibly surprised that this was thrown into a supposedly contemporary romance story.

2/5 stars

Quirky And Spicy. Straight up: If quirky books with a touch of magical realism/ off-the-beaten-path type vibes isn't really your thing... eh, you likely won't like this book. If spicy books with several (I wouldn't necessarily call them "frequent") on-screen sex scenes of various forms isn't your thing... this probably isn't the book for you, as it does feature them. If you're looking for a "perfect" "cowboy rides off into the sunset with his woman in the saddle behind him" type HEA... the HEA here works for this couple, but aint that type. So maybe this isn't your thing either, but in your case I'd say give it a shot anyway, as it *does* fulfill all known "requirements" (which I use loosely, as I've been known to wage war with purists on them) for the romance genre... in its own ways.

For those that are still here... this is actually a fun, off-beat, light-yet-serious tale of one woman's search for love - despite the curse from her mother - and the dude who has always been there but hasn't always been there. At around 350 pages, it isn't short, but it also isn't unnecessarily drawn out either. Sure, maybe some scenes could be cut (I know, the "clean" / "sweet" crowd wishes the sex scenes were cut, and I'm sure other readers would want others cut), but overall the tale works well with what it has and nothing actually feels *truly* out of place.

Ultimately, I had fun with this zany tale and its road-less-traveled take on love, and those looking for a romance book that isn't like seemingly literally *every other romance book out there* I think will at least enjoy that this one *does* go places many don't. Very much recommended.

I liked the premise of this book and the banter between characters. While I found the middle to be a little slow pace-wise, I was happy with the ending.

Although this book was slow to get into, it turned out really great. I like the characters, the plot is realistic and doesn't follow the predictable tropes I thought it would. When Imogen suffers through her seventeenth breakup it freaky not so much suffered as expected. After all its starting to feel more like a curse like her mother said... that she'd never come first to anyone or at anything. Then her high school crush returns to town after wandering through adventures around the world. Eliot tries to convince her she just has to win at something to get her confidence back and then try for love again. But the more time they spend together trying to find her win the more he becomes all she wants. But could he ever put her first over his need to travel?
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.