Take a photo of a barcode or cover
anyaemilie 's review for:
Second First Impressions
by Sally Thorne
Thank you to William Morrow (via NetGalley) for the ARC!
This was very cute and sweet and fluffy and low-stakes, and a perfect spring break read since I am stuck inside while the weather can't make up its mind (it's been snowing off and on and I'm about over this).
Ruthie runs a retirement community, dresses like an old lady, and has pretty much decided she will live the rest of her life and die there. And she's okay with that. Until Teddy shows up. He's the boss's son, and a bad boy. He's covered in tattoos, and is untrustworthy (or so Ruthie has been told). His dad needs somewhere to stash him so Teddy can prove that he can finish something for once in his life while he saves money for his own tattoo studio. And Ruthie has the perfect job for him: personal assistant to Renata and Aggie, two of the most ruthless and demanding residents of the retirement community, who have run through dozens of assistants already. Teddy is determined to prove himself, while Ruthie doesn't think he'll last a week. She also doesn't think she's in any danger of being charmed by him since she clearly lacks any appeal with her wardrobe of brown cardigans and grandma glasses. But when Teddy moves into the unused half of her on-site cottage and they start to spend more time together, Ruthie learns more about why Teddy is the way he is, and she starts to see that maybe she's not happy just accepting her lot in life.
This book was soooo super cute. Teddy is charming as HECK and very swoony. It never felt fake, though, even though the whole time we are led to believe he's a bit of a player and has never been serious about anything in his life. Ruthie is sweet and naïve, but opens up throughout the book, and learns what she really wants in life. She also has a very dry sense of humor, which I LOVE, and reminded me of myself a bit.
I was not really a fan of the religious stuff, but it's not a super huge part of the plot. It's mostly just referenced in Ruthie's past, but it does have an influence on her character. Her parents suck, full stop. I would have liked to have seen the mental health aspects of Ruthie's character a little more developed because I feel like it was kind of just plonked in there and not really examined very much.
The side characters were super fun. I aspire to be as wacky as Renata when I'm 90-something years old, and Melanie was also super cute and added a lot of fun to the plot.
Relatedly, I would now like several more tattoos.
Anyway, this was very cute and fun, and I really enjoyed it! Not as intense as The Hating Game for sure--it definitely felt much more low-stakes than that one--but really enjoyable!
This was very cute and sweet and fluffy and low-stakes, and a perfect spring break read since I am stuck inside while the weather can't make up its mind (it's been snowing off and on and I'm about over this).
Ruthie runs a retirement community, dresses like an old lady, and has pretty much decided she will live the rest of her life and die there. And she's okay with that. Until Teddy shows up. He's the boss's son, and a bad boy. He's covered in tattoos, and is untrustworthy (or so Ruthie has been told). His dad needs somewhere to stash him so Teddy can prove that he can finish something for once in his life while he saves money for his own tattoo studio. And Ruthie has the perfect job for him: personal assistant to Renata and Aggie, two of the most ruthless and demanding residents of the retirement community, who have run through dozens of assistants already. Teddy is determined to prove himself, while Ruthie doesn't think he'll last a week. She also doesn't think she's in any danger of being charmed by him since she clearly lacks any appeal with her wardrobe of brown cardigans and grandma glasses. But when Teddy moves into the unused half of her on-site cottage and they start to spend more time together, Ruthie learns more about why Teddy is the way he is, and she starts to see that maybe she's not happy just accepting her lot in life.
This book was soooo super cute. Teddy is charming as HECK and very swoony. It never felt fake, though, even though the whole time we are led to believe he's a bit of a player and has never been serious about anything in his life. Ruthie is sweet and naïve, but opens up throughout the book, and learns what she really wants in life. She also has a very dry sense of humor, which I LOVE, and reminded me of myself a bit.
I was not really a fan of the religious stuff, but it's not a super huge part of the plot. It's mostly just referenced in Ruthie's past, but it does have an influence on her character. Her parents suck, full stop. I would have liked to have seen the mental health aspects of Ruthie's character a little more developed because I feel like it was kind of just plonked in there and not really examined very much.
The side characters were super fun. I aspire to be as wacky as Renata when I'm 90-something years old, and Melanie was also super cute and added a lot of fun to the plot.
Relatedly, I would now like several more tattoos.
Anyway, this was very cute and fun, and I really enjoyed it! Not as intense as The Hating Game for sure--it definitely felt much more low-stakes than that one--but really enjoyable!