Review: Second First Impressions

Like a lot of other rom com readers, I fell in love with Sally Thorne's The Hating Game. Her latest novel, Second First Impressions, was almost as delightful but since there was a such a high bar to meet "almost" means a contemporary romance novel that I had so much fun reading over the span of a weekend.

Here's the book's description:

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. 

This is a slow burn rom com that's heavy on, well, the heavier subjects and lighter on the rom and the com. There were hilarious moments and some swoony moments (the scene in the changing room was a good one) but a lot of heartwarming and heartbreaking ones, too. Ruthie clearly had some sort of trauma in her past that was keeping her from exploring the world outside of the retirement home she worked at. Her friends helped her get past that trauma (I still think that perhaps she needed some professional help too) as she tried to learn what a "normal" 25 year old should be acting like. There was a lot of soul searching too and she had to figure out what was really important to her and what she wanted to do with her professional life. 

As for the romance part of the rom com, you know that Ruthie and Teddy should end up together but they hold off for a long part of the story. For the most part I felt that spoke well of Teddy. He clearly wanted Ruthie but knew she wasn't ready to dive into a relationship, even if she was working with Melanie on online dating. He could be pushy, though, and I sometimes found it hard to get a good handle on his personality. I think that was happening because he had been putting on a front so he could impress his family but he was also pretending like he didn't care. Teddy had a lot to work out too, just like Ruthie. They finally realized they worked better when they were together and that was really lovely.

If I had to get nitpicky, I'd have to say that not a whole lot happens in this novel. It's the day to day of a woman who is starting to realize that perhaps her life isn't as fulfilling as she thought it was. Ruthie is, technically, the main character of the story but the secondary characters - Teddy, Mel, and the Parlonis (the elderly residents who boss Teddy around) - are what help the story shine. The most action took place in the last part of the story and was a bit rushed. There were little hints to a few things but at the end it was like, bam bam bam and The End.

One of the main things I took away from the story (which might not be what everyone identified with) was how important your found family can be. Sometimes, like with Ruthie, there's a rift between family and, I think, finding friends around you who become family is so important. You need people in your corner and I was so, so very happy when Ruthie found her people. 

Second First Impressions was a fun and sweet offering from Sally Thorne. It's not quite as good as her debut but it offers an entertaining enough escape for those who enjoy rom coms and I still want to check out what she writes next.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, via Edelweiss in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*