Book Review: SECOND FIRST IMPRESSIONS by Sally Thorne

     

SECOND FIRST IMPRESSIONS 

by 

Sally Thorne

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.

***

My Thoughts

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. 

Review copy courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher.

*
About the Author

Sally Thorne is the USA Today bestselling author of the office rom-com The Hating Game (2016) . It is her debut novel that has sold in over twenty-five countries and is being made into a major motion picture, to be directed by Peter Hutchings.

Sally Thorne lives in Canberra, Australia and spends her days writing, reading, drinking cups of tea and obeying the every whim of Delia the Pug and her paint Quarter Horse, Louie. She lives with her husband in a house filled with vintage toys, too many cushions and a haunted dollhouse.

https://www.sallythorneauthor.com/