Name: Second First Impressions
Rating: 3.636430678466076 (339 reviews)
ISBN: 9780349428932

Sally Thorne

Second First Impressions

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 façade. 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.

Astriar Eclipse 

4.5|5 ⭐<br />Este es el primer libro que leo de esta autora y aunque se que es conocida por su libro/película The Hating Game nunca pensé que fueran la misma por lo general no busco un libro cuando lo empiezo y casi siempre son al azar aquellos que empiezo sin estar en mi tbr, por lo tanto fue interesante saber que era la misma autora. <br />Ahora sí definitivamente este libro llegó en el momento correcto para mí y por lo tanto lo ame con la fuerza de mil soles. Cómo personajes principales tenemos a Ruthie que la voy a proteger de todo y de todos no saben que alma más pura puede que ah alguien le moleste la forma en que actúa o se desarrolla con los demás pero es total mente comprensible por las cosas que ha pasado y como ha crecido para Ruthie llega un momento de su vida donde dice tengo que empezar a vivir porque siente que se está respirando por hacerlo hay es cuando entra nuestra querida Melani una gran compañera de trabajo quien le dice que le puede ayudar para ser una persona más abierta respecto a las relaciones ya que ella es una profesional en crear citas y unir parejas, deben saber que el lugar de la trama es una residencia para adultos mayores y aunque esté puede sonar un poco aburrido tenemos personajes que solo añaden un poco más de alegría dónde destacan las Parlei una pareja de ancianas que son una de las personas mas ocurrentes de las que he leído y por último pero no menos importante tenemos a nuestro oso Teddy que es un personaje que tiene una apariencia y una personalidad que difiere una de la otra. Cuando se conocen Ruthie y Teddy no es de la mejor manera hay confusiones y malos entendidos pero una vez que esto se supera comienza una verdadera amistad que como saben se transforma en algo más. ;)<br />Quiero que sepan que parte de que me haya gustado este libro es que todos los personajes tienen un principio y un fin dentro de su historia sabemos que es lo que sigue y para donde van cosa que por lo menos a mí me fascina, además de ver un crecimiento en cada personaje no solo de los principales también de los secundarios, sin duda no se si alguna vez Sally decida escribir un libro de Melani pero será uno que si se decide en hacerlo se añadirá al tbr sin dudarlo..<br />Los quiere ast✨

Cute Story! The roles of the characters were a bit exaggerated but it was okay. Liked the happy ending for all of them and the setting was also interesting. Bonus points for Mel and the Parlonis

Marie

Marcy Pursell 

** spoiler alert **
           I absolutely loved the Hating Game, but was disappointed by Second First Impressions. It had a different feel, and though I liked it overall, I didn't love how Ruthie was described, nor how everything wrapped up so neatly at the end with Providence and Teddy's family relationships.

extremely unlikeable/unbelievable characters huhu

This hits the checklists of chick lit romance books:

You really can’t go wrong with that formula!

Super cozy and will give you fluttery feelings, my only critic would be that the conclusion was resolved way too fast and the redemption arc patched up like there hasn’t been any significant childhood trauma and neglect lol.

Jawahir M

This hits the checklists of chick lit romance books:

Introvert homebody girl with questionable fashion taste and a penchant to avoid risks at all costs

Extrovert tattooed bad boy who lives life one adventure at a time and has killer hair

Side character who pushes main girl character to find love, only for main boy character to realize he wants to be that love badly.

You really can’t go wrong with that formula!

Super cozy and will give you fluttery feelings, my only critic would be that the conclusion was resolved way too fast and the redemption arc patched up like there hasn’t been any significant childhood trauma and neglect lol.

Yasmin Dunnewind

Finishing the year with a book I did not like. The characters didn't do anything for me and maybe I just don't really like this authors writing. Because I also didn't like The Hating Game and both books where just bleh

julie reads

honestly better than the hating game idk why

A Novel

Morgan Thomas

I enjoyed this much more than I thought. I really loved Thorne's first book "The Hating Game" very much. Any reluctance I had in reading this book came from a fear that I would love the first book a little less. Thankfully that did not happen. I was a bit thrown by the writing in the beginning but it became very cute and sweet and that kept me engaged. She did such a wonderful job I wasn't even bothered that it took that about 230 pages for our hero and heroine to get together. 
There were also some lovely emotional subplots but I felt the ending to resolve them was a bit to sentimental for my taste.

Joana da Silva

This is a 3-star review because Sally Thorne gave me The Hating Game, otherwise, it would've been a 2-star. I had many, many feelings while reading this book, most of them negative. Ruthie annoyed the hell out of me for the first half of the book and Teddy seemed too much of a cliché. I even told my friends I was reading this one out of spite, pure spite, because I was so frustrated. How can the same person make me swoon with The Hating Game and then make me grind my teeth with this one? I didn't have a good experience reading it but the wrap-up was so cute that made it kind of worth it. Kind of. Still debating on it. 
I know I read rom-coms filled with clichés for a living, but this good-girl-meets-bad-boy-who-needs-to-get-a-grip was too much for me. I'm aware that this worked for some people, but the way Thorne chose to address some mental health issues was so... I don't know, wouldn't have done it like that. Maybe it's my lack of faith. 
Picturing Teddy as Damiano from Måneskin did wonders for me, so I'm just leaving it out there.

thea lockburn 

** spoiler alert **
           I didn't really enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed "the hating game". In my opinion, I didn't really like the fact that teddy and ruthie got together (im sorry). I actually really liked Kurt and I wished that he had more interaction with the characters in the book more.

I took so long to read the book to the point it actually hurt. I tried my best to read it in the shortest time possible because I honestly just wanted to get it over and done with. 

I'm giving it 2 stars as the characters in the book were actually quite interesting and was what made the book tolerable.

Shreya Punj

DNFed this midway. Wtf was this book. Sally Thorne is a one-hit wonder. Please don’t even bother buying this.

“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 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…

celene

Lyric Hooey

Because of the reviews I was pretty skeptical going into this book, but I love this genre and author so I figured it was worth a shot. The first like 50 or so pages aren’t great, to be honest.... but then it turned into a storyline that I found so charming! I really enjoyed this book overall. I’d give it 3.5!

It was a cute romance, can be seen as sad by some people. Personally i didn’t think it was that sad but to each their own

Tilly Franklyn

It was a nice story where the main character found herself. The love interest was so annoying. The Parlonis were the best part of this book.  

emma chaffey

The main characters are just so freaking horny all the time! The author wrote, that this is basically a written down daydream and yep, that's what it feels like. Weird and not realistic but good enough because you are just looking for a happy end, it doesn't necessarily have to have an amazing plot. This book still got me sometimes, some parts were really honest and I liked that, it did touch on a few insecurities, that I also have, so that helped it of course. All in all, wouldn't read it again, but I've also read worse things. 🤷‍♀️

Inga Kühn 

Eeeeesh, cringe content alert. ⚠️
The main characters are just so freaking horny all the time! The author wrote, that this is basically a written down daydream and yep, that's what it feels like. Weird and not realistic but good enough because you are just looking for a happy end, it doesn't necessarily have to have an amazing plot. This book still got me sometimes, some parts were really honest and I liked that, it did touch on a few insecurities, that I also have, so that helped it of course. All in all, wouldn't read it again, but I've also read worse things. 🤷‍♀️

Andrea Rodriguez

This book was kind of just... eh for me. It was cute enough, I guess, but I was expecting more. Maybe it’s because I absolutely loved The Hating Game and wanted this book to be it so badly, but it wasn’t. 

The characters just weren’t it for me. They were supposed to be 25 and 28 (I think), but they seemed so much younger. It all felt a little too childish for me, especially Teddy’s character. I’m honestly blanking now, wasn’t he supposed to be 28 or her age? Regardless, he didn’t feel 28 to me, or even 25. I’d believe 21 much more easily. 

The ending felt rushed to me and not very believable. Specifically, the part with his sister. On one page she’s telling Ruthie how she doesn’t think of him as a brother, and like, 2 pages later she’s crying and everything is all better now. I don’t know - like I said, I loved the Hating Game so much and this just didn’t do it for me like that book did. That being said, it did have it’s sweet moments, and I only kept reading to see how it all would develop.

Tracie McMurray

It was cute! I liked the characters at the retirement home!! So funny. But the love interest was too much for me. Wish he was written with a few more flaws. The back story was good! But his singular focus seemed inauthentic.

Jasmine Hanson 

Nicole

I'd been a little hesitant about reading this book because of all the mixed reviews I'd seen but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not quite as good as The Hating Game but it's still pretty good. Both MC were very sweet and funny and the romance was nice.

megan rapoza

Okay so i don’t know how to explain my feelings for this book, i think i liked it? 

THINGS I LIKED:
I loved the idea of the story, and i love a slow burn romance. I really enjoyed the elderly characters and how much we got about their lives! Renatas sass really made the book for me along with Mel and her contribution to changing Ruthie was very cute. I also loved how you would not assume Teddy would be such a warm and compassionate person by the way Sally describes him on the back of the book and i loved the surprise i got from that , soooo cute :)))

THINGS I DIDNT LIKE:
I felt as if the timeline of the story could’ve been a little more clear ESPECIALLY in the epilogue. When i finished the book i had no idea how much timed passes from the Christmas party so it made it a little confusing. I also felt as if the beginning of the book (and by beginning i mean until the last 80 or so pages) was SO SLOW like i don’t even remember any big parts of the story until the thrift store scenes with everyone shopping for Ruthie. 

The plot was adorable i just felt like there was too many details for non important things and not enough details for the actual important things. The amount of description on teddys hair was insane even though i understand that Sally wanted to show how big of a deal it was to him but OKAY LONG STORY SHORT it’s cute i think i did like it

Shay Henrion

Stop doing this to my emotions, Sally Thorne. 65 stars!

Turtle lover

good. I just wans't very much into it. It was very contemporary. i mean it revolves around the story and a lot has happened and only has a few sweet and fluffy moments but so far good and great.

Kaitlyn Cortez

I thought Ruthie was written in an incredibly boring way, but that didn’t stop me from loving this story. A very cute and cozy romance.

Second First Impressions

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