When I saw that Sally Thone was coming out with a new book, I was so excited. I absolutely loved the Hating Game and re-read it all the time. The main female character is Ruthie who is 25 going on 125 and is acting office manager for a small, but wealthy retirement community. She has a lot of anxiety and fears that cause her to hardly ever leave the premises and stick to her routines.. She has her hands full with the residents especially with two wealthy ladies who can't seem to keep any help they hire. (I LOVED Renata and Aggie. They were some of my favorite characters in the book. There should be a book just with them as the main characters) I was howling with laughter everytime Renata opened her mouth! They scare off every errand boy they hire within a week by making them do the most ridiculous things. In comes handsome and very charming Teddy, who is the son of the new owner of the retirement community. His father is talking about demoing the community, which sparks fear in Ruthie that she might have to face a new future. Helped by her co-worker and friend Mel (another great supporting character), and her Sasaki Method, Ruthie has new experiences and learns that facing fears is overwhelming and scary, but sometimes facing them leads to great rewards and great love.

Her newest novel will not leave fans disappointed and was completely enthralling from the first chapter. A hilarious romantic comedy, "Second First Impressions" is a funny, and romantic book. Sally Thorne does a great job of capturing the emotions and feelings of first love. I flew through this book and can't wait for her next one!

Sally Thorne is BACK! Thank goodness. I feared we'd never recover after 99 Percent Mine. But here we are.

<i>Second First Impressions</i> is the considerably more than a light hearted romance between two quirky, unusual people (though it is that too). It's a deep dive into the long-lasting effects of family trauma faced during adolescence on a woman's ability to establish herself in adulthood, to take herself seriously, and to create a life for herself.

I'm impressed with all the layers and different elements Sally Thorne successfully included, the strongest being the cast of multi-faceted, fascinating characters. <i>And the turtles</i>.

I did think the romance element was the weakest bit of the story- it feels a bit like the author decided Ruthie and Teddy should be in love... and so they are. I don't know that it's 100% believably developed. But I also decided that that doesn't really matter. Oh, well.

I had a lot of fun and am excited (again) for anything Sally Thorne writes!

A hilarious romantic comedy, "Second First Impressions" is simply a lovely, funny, and romantic book. Ruthie has worked at a retirement community for years and is pretty set in her ways. Enter Teddy, a tattoo artist, who utterly upsets her world view. Hilarious and utterly heartfelt, Sally Thorne does a great job of capturing that innocence of first love. Quirky, fun, and with thoroughly unique characters, I enjoyed this standalone. For fans of steam or quick paced tales, this one may not be for you. A guarantee of slow burn romance and laughs about turtles abound if you like that sort of thing! :)

On a personal note though - I think some editing needs to still occur. The ending was rushed and the beginning didn't seem to jive with the tone of the rest of the story.

Sally Thorne is back with Second First Impressions. After her wonderful debut novel, The Hating Game, and the mixed response 99% Mine received, it may not only be the title, but perhaps a request to give this book a chance to make a second first impression on romance readers.

Ruthie Midona is the oldest 25 year old. She manages the Providence Retirement Villas and it has been all consuming, but it is a comfortable existence since she is hiding from past mistakes and lost dreams.

Enter Melanie Sasaki, a temp determined to get Ruthie to reclaim her real age with her (patent pending) Sasaki Method, her step by step dating program.

After a meet-unattractive (opposite of a meet-cute?) with Ruthie at a gas station, Teddy Prescott, estranged son of the Villas owner, shows up with his father. He is desperate for money to start his own business and his father wants him to work. The only job available is the one offered by residents Renata and Aggie Parloni.
An excerpt from their ad reads:
Two ancient old women residing at Providence Retirement Villas seek make assistant for casual exploitation and good-natured humiliation.

Sally Thorne’s wit and humor are back in full effect.

After getting to know the real Ruthie underneath all her superficial protections, Teddy asks for a chance at a second first impression. Their enemies to friends to lovers delightfully develops.

All the characters have hopes and dreams that have been thwarted, but they support and uplift each other in funny and charming ways.

Second First Impressions is an endearing romance and was a joy to read.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet retelling of the perennial favorite good-girl-meets-bad-boy. Perhaps a little farfetched that the bad boy was quite as unexpectedly good as all that, but still enjoyable, with Thorne's signature wit and quick dialogue.

The angst in this was so good! I thought all of the characters were so wonderful. I really love the evolutions of them. This was so sweet.

This book was like slipping into a deliciously hot bath after a long day. It was heartwarming, delightful, funny and quirky.

Gather around me, contemporary romance community, while I ask myself what in the absolute hell this book was.
Some caveats:
1. The Hating Game was an absolute gamechanger for me. It's the literary equivalent of a warm bath and I revisit it whenever I'm feeling in need of cheering up. I recommend it to everyone and will never not love it.
2. I waited absolute a g e s for this book to come out. I suffered through 99% Mine, cheerful in the fact that surely it was just a one-off and it's so hard to top The Hating Game and the next one will be better.
My friends, Second First Impressions was _not_ better and I feel like that scene in Silver Linings Playbook where whatshisface closes the book and throws it out the window.
Guys, the lead character is so sad and depressing and has decided her life is entirely over at the age of 25 because she had a semi-traumatic experience once in her #youth where no one in her life believed her when she said she locked a door and some money got stolen. Apparently she went from her pastor parent's house to this fancy retirement compound where she now lives to work, takes baths, watches 7th Heaven, and dresses like a frumpier Bella from Twilight. Friends, this is dumb. No one is independent enough that they can live on their own and apparently be 2nd in charge of a 40 resident compound, but also so sheltered that she doesn't even own a pair of jeans.
And the dude. Come on now. At first I was sort of on board-- I didn't love the ~daughter of a pastor religious thing~ but hot motorcycle dude I could get behind. But he was kind of a jerk and the whole angle with him being the ~damaged~ love child of the guy who bought the retirement compound was a little too easy. And the dad being like "hello son i haven't seen in a while, you live here now. don't sleep with your neighbor. get a job you unprofessional lout. bye!" was silly???? I have no idea what he looks like except a shit ton of Ed Sheeran style tattoos and long black hair. Ed Sheeran meets Snape??? And his stupid "give" and "take" knuckle tattoos? Urgh.
Listen, I just do not understand the _timing_ of this book. They literally JUST met but he wants to jump her ankle length Mennonite skirted bones. Sure jan. He somehow, and for some reason, falls absolutely in love with her because she's organized and he's a dirty tattoo artist who can't commit to anything or buy shampoo. It's not realistic. It's not real. None of this felt real!
I won't even bother talking about the secret-lesbian elderly couple because they served no purpose and I definitely won't get into the whole money thieving side plot because it wasn't interesting. And it's truly amazing that the lifelong conflict between the dude and his sister was resolved in under 2 pages.
I could have forgiven all of this-- every single stupid detail-- if the sex scenes paid off and were swoony and hot. And Sally couldn't even give me that. It took, what, 86% of the book to FINALLY get there and then she might as well have faded to black on me. What was that? That was nothing. This was an affront.
I guess I have no choice but to go reread The Hating Game to get this bummer read out of my brain. 👎

I liked both of Sally Thorne's previous novels, though I found them to be different from each other. This third book is a whole different thing again, and I think I liked it a lot.

Ruthie is a 25 year old who is stuck in a rut and not looking to get out and Teddy is a lost soul, meandering through life. Neither has healthy relationships and they are opposites as personality types. They work together and form a bond and then fall in love.
Ruthie and Teddy don't exactly feel like actual people that would exist in the world, but I think they still resonate in their relationships with the world and each other. A lot of the thoughts and feelings they describe are interesting and insightful.
The side characters are cute, but again, don't actually seem like real people. And the whole story is a bit too precious, but somehow it works? It was very moving in its examination of human frailty.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and can finally review this 10/10 novel.

Second First Impressions

I need to start by saying that for three years now (I think), The Hating Game has been my favorite romance novel. While it holds a special place in my heart until I die, Second First Impressions has become the front runner for romances that hold my heart. I’ve even re-read scenes this weekend when I was needing something happy to occupy my mind.

Now for the actual review:

Ruthie, daughter of a Reverend and wholly predictable from the tv show she watches every night to the glasses around her neck, is acting as interim manager of a retirement community for the rich and elderly. She does her job well, but there are three hindrances:
1. Aggie and Renata, two elderly hoots that love to torture their revolving door of male assistants, leaving Ruthie in a bind every time one runs off;
2. The development company that purchased the retirement villa and stuck a vague expiration date on the whole community; and,
3. Teddy, the son of the CEO of said development company that landed himself as her neighbor when he needed a new couch to crash on.

But, Ruthie thinks she can tackle all three problems with one tied up solution. Teddy becomes the assistant to Aggie and Renata, and she can show Teddy the magic of Providence to convince his father not to shut it down.

This book had everything wrapped up in a tiny bow for the perfect Blair package. A predictable heroine with a lifelong adoration for a tv show that helped her through her roughest times. A hero who doesn’t hide his emotions but, instead, seems almost too open about his every thought and feeling. TORTOISES. Two biddies reminiscent of Grace and Frankie or Sophia Petrillo. Humor. Wit. Desire. Lust. Heart-stopping moments of raw honesty and breathtaking “awww”‘s. I clutched my chest so many times. I cried twice. I laughed constantly. And, I fell head over heels in love with Teddy Prescott in all his tattooed/long super model hair glory. The highlights I have in my ebook are insane.

I am IN LOVE with this one. Sally, you continue to be the best at the game.

I think I'm one of the few readers who liked Sally Thorne's second book more than her first, and I liked this one better than both! Her prose has always been strong but I found this story sweeter and more effortlessly heartwarming than her previous novels. Widely read contemporary romance fans will notice that the plot and setting share some DNA with Ruthie Knox's serialized novel Roman Holiday, which I also enjoyed, but having a friends-to-lovers relationship in Second Impressions worked even better for me, and I fell in love with all the supporting characters here (especially the tortoises and the Parlonis). Finally, since Teddy's ink--and his hair!--didn't make it onto the cover, I'd love to see a Pinterest board or some kind of extras for this book featuring his tattoos if any publicity people happen to be reading this. :)

Thorne's newest novel will not leave fans disappointed. We have Ruthie who is 25 but going on 125 and is the administrative assistant at a retirement community. She has her hands full with the residents including two rich ladies who can't seem to keep any help they hire. Every-time they hire a boy to run errands for them they scare him off within a week with their ridiculous requests. Then they hire Teddy, hot tattooed Teddy, whose dad also happens to own the retirement community and is thinking about retrofitting his investment.

Ruthie is terrified that something is going to happen to Providence Retirement community, the only home that she has had for the last six years. She also hasn't had a boyfriend since prom and doesn't know how to move forward in her life. Mel a friend and employee decides she need s a new life and to date. But the only person that Ruthie has eyes for is Teddy, who is off limits.

I have a confession. I loved "The Hating Game" AND "99 Percent Mine" Don't care come at me! I know that Thorne's second book was very divisive to those that loved her first novel. But I enjoyed it. I also really enjoyed this book. Placing the novel in a retirement community and making the hero a cinnamon roll tattooed hero with a huge heart was a welcome change of pace in romance. There is inclusion of LGBT characters that I appreciated. Ruthie is a heroine that is relatable and a bit of mess.

The only issue I had in the book is a reveal that happens towards the end about a show that Ruthie loves that felt more plot device than a well thought out and fleshed out narrative. Personally I have some conflicting thoughts about it and I wish the author had fleshed it out.

ALSO why is the guy on the front cover not covered in tattoos. That is my only other complaint because hot Teddy deserved to be represented with all his tattooed glory. If you enjoyed Thorne's other work this book will be a delight to you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had to limit my reading time each day in order to not finish this book too fast. Sally Thorne does it again. I think I have re-read The Hating Game 20 times since I first picked it up, and I feel like I will do the same with this book.

Second First Impressions was completely enthralling from the first chapter. Ruthie is acting office manager for a small, but wealthy retirement community and has a lot of anxiety and deep rooted fears that cause her to never leave the premises and she loves to stick to her routines. But she's happy to have this life.

In comes mysterious Teddy (super handsome and extremely charming) son of the new owner of the retirement community. Talks of demoing the place spark fears in Ruthie, and she has to now face a new future. New experiences, friendships, and facing fears are overwhelming to her at first, but Ruthie truly thrives in her new life.

Ruthie is such a complex character that you are drawn to the moment she's introduced. I felt like I was rooting for her the entire time. Teddy felt the same way. Her side characters, Melanie, Aggie, and Renata were ridiculous and I loved them all.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Sally Thorne does it again! I gulped this book down in 2 days! Ruthie is a Tidy Girl who meets Teddy, the tatted, charming man with hair that women would kill for. Though they are complete opposites they learn to find middle ground and maybe even a love match.