“Second First Impressions is the warmest, coziest, sweetest book of the year, an absolutely perfect blend of humor and heart. I want to live inside Sally Thorne’s brain.” —Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling of Beach Read
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game, soon to be a movie starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, and 99 Percent Mine comes the clever, funny, and … Hale and Austin Stowell, and 99 Percent Mine comes the clever, funny, and unforgettable story of a muscular, tattooed man hired as an assistant to two old women—under the watchful eye of a beautiful retirement home manager.
Dazzle (n): Brightness that blinds someone temporarily.
Position Vacant: Two ancient old women residing at Providence Retirement Villa seek male assistant for casual exploitation and good-natured humiliation. Duties include boutique shopping, fast-food fetching, and sincerely rendered flattery. Good looks a bonus—but we aren’t picky.
An advertisement has been placed (again!) by the wealthy and eccentric Parloni Sisters. The salary is generous and the employers are 90 years old, so how hard could the job be? Well, none have lasted longer than a week. Most boys leave in tears.
Ruthie Midona will work in Providence’s front office, and be at the Parloni’s beck and call, forever. That’s sort of her life plan. If Ruthie can run the place in her almost-retired bosses’ absence, with no hijinks/hiccups, she has a shot at becoming the new manager. She might also be able to defend her safe little world from Prescott Development, the new buyer of the prime site. Maybe after all that, she can find a cute guy to date. All she needs to do is stay serious—and that’s what she does best.
Until, one day, someone dazzling blows into town.
Teddy Prescott devotes his life to sleeping, tattooing, and avoiding seriousness. When Teddy needs a place to crash, he makes a deal with his developer dad. Teddy can stay in one of Providence’s on-site maintenance cottages—right next door to an unimpressed Ruthie—but only if he works there and starts to grow up.
Ruthie knows how this sweetly selfish rich boy can earn his keep—and be out of her hair in under a week. After all, there is a position vacant…
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Have you ever had a book sneak up on you? Like you’re not really sure how you feel about it for the majority of the book, but then you find yourself trying to hide your tears behind your mask in the hair salon by the end? No? Ok, just me then. u2063
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This book did exactly that to me! I found the beginning slightly slow-moving and more than a little quirky. Having said that, I did enjoy the characters and they ultimately kept me reading – and I’m glad I did. u2063
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Ruthie – though self-conscious and unsure of herself, led a very structured life. u2063
Teddy – dripping with self-confidence and swag but longing for a comforting routine. u2063
Melanie – a strong-willed friend who was trying to find her place.u2063
The Parlonis – snarky, loyal, and exactly who I want to be when I’m that old. u2063
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To me, this story was more about friendship and growth than it was a romance, though there was some of that too, grand gesture and all. Finding your place in the world is something I think we all struggle with at some point in our lives and this was a beautiful example of these characters finding where they belonged. u2063
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Thanks to this book, I’m itching for another tattoo and kind of wish Teddy was real so I could have him design it! u2063
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I definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a sweet story about friendship and love! Thank you to the publisher for the #gifted copy!u2063
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SECOND FIRST IMPRESSIONS by Sally Thorne is a book about twenty-somethings Ruthie Midona and Teddy Prescott who cross paths at the retirement villa where they both work. For very different reasons they’re both aware that their lives need some major readjusting. What follows is a sweet, slow-burn romance where two dissimilar people ultimately realise they are looking for the same kind of connection – a connection they might find with each other.
The writing flows well, and it’s pleasant to read but beyond this, it’s not a book that would stick with me if not for the secondary characters that come with it.
I absolutely loved villa residents Renata and Aggie Parloni. They are what I enjoyed most about this book. Their quirks, their antics, and the outrageous things they do and say are delightfully hilarious and were so much fun to read. Their story is the hidden gem in this book.
Ruthie Midona loves working at the Providence Luxury Retirement Villa. She feels safe and loves taking care of everyone at the retirement home. From the little golden endangered tortoises to the residents who live there – Ruthie doesn’t ever want to leave the comfort of being there.
That is, until she meets Teddy Prescott. Teddy is the opposite of Ruthie. He is brash, bold and a lady’s man. Where Ruthie is buttoned up, Teddy is tattooed and moves from place to place at a moments notice. Turns out Teddy is the son of the owner of the retirement home. But Teddy’s father is tired of him not being reliable and tells Teddy he can have a place to stay at the retirement home if he earns his keep.
Thus begins Teddy’s job as an assistant to two cranky 90 year old women. Teddy has run all of their errands and do everything they ask him to. Ruthie doesn’t think he’ll last a week! Will Teddy show Ruthie that there’s more out there than the comfort of the retirement villa. And can Teddy stand to be in one place too long or will he bolt as he keeps saying he will.
Second First Impressions was one of my most anticipated books of this year. Sally Thorne is an amazing author and she has a way with her words that just make you feel. But sadly Second First Impressions missed the mark for me. I had a really hard time connecting with Teddy or Ruthie and definitely did not feel the chemistry or attraction between them. Where Ruthie was so charming and sweet, Teddy was abrasive and hard to like. His jokes fell flat and I really couldn’t see why Ruthie was so charmed by him.
While I loved Ruthie’s friends and the people who reside at the retirement home, I just felt like there was a lot going on without really anything happening. I did eventually enjoy the friendship between Teddy and Ruthie, but the romance aspect of it wasn’t working for me.
Audiobook:
Story: 3
Narration: 4
Overall: 3
This was the first book that I listened to narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya. I thought she did a wonderful job voicing Ruthie. I could always tell when other characters were being voiced by the change in her voice!
While Second First Impressions isn’t my favorite book by Sally Thorne, I did enjoy Ruthie’s character and her growth by the end of the book.
I received a complimentary audiobook and copy of this book from the publisher.
In 2018 I read Sally Thorne’s ‘The Hating Game’ and absolutely loved it. I was very excited to get an opportunity to read her latest novel.
‘Second First Impressions’ is not ‘The Hating Game,’ once you understand this you can appreciate it for what it is; a fantastic, character driven, slow-burn romance.
Our protagonists, Ruthie, 25-year-old retirement villa manager and Teddy, 27, the tattoo artist son of the new owner of said retirement villa, are seemingly complete opposites, but are they really that different?
After an awkward first meeting they both think they have each other figured out. They allow their first impressions to dictate the way they see each other.
Teddy and Ruthie are both dealing with issues stemming from trauma they suffered as children, which has shaped them into their current selves. They have allowed their hang-ups to stop them from becoming more than what everyone expects them to be. Both are now determined to prove to themselves and others that they are more than the sum of their greatest mistakes.
It’s very clear that Teddy and Ruthie like each other, but they try to convince themselves that getting involved would only hinder their plans. Obviously, they were wrong. Watching these two become friends and then work up the courage to want more was so fun and surprisingly emotional. There were many times I wanted to both shake and hug Teddy and Ruthie, but they figured it out in the end.
Sally Thorne created a wonderful world and I loved everything about ‘Second First Impressions’ – Ruthie, Teddy, all of the supporting characters: Mel, Aggie, Renata, the tortoises, and that Epilogue; sigh.
This is 384 pages?! I devoured this in less than 1.5 hours. Either someone miscounted or I was that engrossed with this read. Surprisingly this romance novel was a decent follow-up to ‘The Hating Game’ because after reading an excerpt of ‘99 Percent Mine’, we’re just going to pretend that never happened.
Considering everything, I thought this was pretty cute. Predictable, yet cute and surely not the best follow-up I’ve read but I have read the worst. I loved the funny dynamic between Ruthie, Teddy and Melanie. Though the romance aspect to her and Teddy relationship was lackluster—platonically? They rocked it. I am all for the opposites attract trope but I couldn’t imagine her and Teddy as a couple at all. Sure they had a few cute scenes but nah. I didn’t care much for the lovey dovey stuff and was more focused on the humor bits because the Parlonis sisters stole the show for me! They were an ultimate duo and the breakout characters of this novel. How they put Teddy through the ringer was comical and my fingers are crossed in seeing more of them in the future.