Second First Impressions
Ratings30
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings30
Average rating3.6
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game 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. Distraction (n): an extreme agitation of the mind or emotions. Ruthie Midona has worked the front desk at the Providence Luxury Retirement Villa for six years, dedicating her entire adult life to caring for the Villa's residents, maintaining the property (with an assist from DIY YouTube tutorials), and guarding the endangered tortoises that live in the Villa's gardens. Somewhere along the way, she's forgotten that she's young and beautiful, and that there's a world outside of work--until she meets the son of the property developer who just acquired the retirement center. Teddy Prescott has spent the last few years partying, sleeping in late, tattooing himself when bored, and generally not taking life too seriously--something his father, who dreams of grooming Teddy into his successor, can't understand. When Teddy needs a place to crash, his father seizes the chance to get him to grow up. He'll let Teddy stay in one of the on-site cottages at the retirement home, but only if he works to earn his keep. Teddy agrees--he can change a few lightbulbs and clip some hedges, no sweat. But Ruthie has plans for Teddy too. Her two wealthiest and most eccentric residents have just placed an ad (yet another ) seeking a new personal assistant to torment. The women are ninety-year-old, four-foot-tall menaces, and not one of their assistants has lasted a full week. Offering up Teddy seems like a surefire way to get rid of the tall, handsome, unnerving man who won't stop getting under her skin. Ruthie doesn't count on the fact that in Teddy Prescott, the Biddies may have finally met their match. He'll pick up Chanel gowns from the dry cleaner and cut Big Macs into bite-sized bits. He'll do repairs around the property, make the residents laugh, and charm the entire villa. He might even remind Ruthie what it's like to be young and fun again. But when she finds out Teddy's father's only fixing up the retirement home to sell it, putting everything she cares about in jeopardy, she's left wondering if Teddy's magic was all just a fa ade. Hilarious, warm, and romantic, Sally Thorne's novel delivers an irrepressibly joyous celebration of love and community for fans of 99% Mine and The Hating Game.
Reviews with the most likes.
I am sad to say that I really struggled with this book. I don't know if subconsciously my mind was expecting another THG or maybe if I had never read THG in the first place and read SFI first, maybe I would have liked it better. I just couldn't get into it but because I loved THG so much, I wanted to keep going. It finally picked up around the 80% mark but unfortunately by that point, it was too late to save the book for me. I'm beginning to think The Hating Game was a fluke but I really hope not. Also I really wish authors would stop making their characters dress like old ladies.
”I prayed for peace, quiet, certainty. And it's you. I'm in love with you.”Based on the reviews I have seen I think I am about to have an unpopular opinion but I enjoyed this way more than I did The Hating Game.I found this book so entertaining and silly and just an overall good laugh. It gave me the found family trope that I absolutely live for.Were some parts cringey? Yes. Were some parts predictable? Yes. But I laughed and that's what I was looking for when I went into this.I couldn't help but love the Parlonis and Teddy's interactions. The things she would make him do and he just took it like a champ had me giggling because of how silly and out there it was. The humour of it and Teddy's wit and banter in general is what made me enjoy this as much as I did.Something that I loved about this story was how supportive Ruthie and Teddy were towards one another. They never asked for the other to change anything about themselves. Even though I felt that the romance started off too quickly to my liking, I felt as if the romance between the two was very sweet and genuine.This was the perfect definition of a rom-com.
Sadly, I was never invested in Second First Impressions.
I disliked Teddy and Ruthie. Both characters lacked depth and neither of them had any growth IMO. The reason Ruthie lived her life like she did felt flat and didn't make any sense. Being inside Ruthie's head was cringey and the way she thought about Teddy was awkward. There was no chemistry and the relationship felt forced. There were a few interesting, funny secondary characters and that was it.
My dislike of the main characters made it tough to keep listening to the audiobook. I put it off for more than a month, thinking that maybe I wasn't in the right mood for it, but after I got back to it I felt the same way. Can't believe I finished it.
This one didn't work for me.
A lovely and cozy read which I found difficult to put down, not because there was exciting action to follow but simply because of how sweet and inviting the characters were. Definitely a book I'll revisit when I want something comforting!
