"You're the thousand-dollar dress on the rack in this thrift store and I can't believe no one's picked you up yet."
Release Date: April 13, 2021
Genre: Contemporary romance, fiction
Rating:
Summary:
Ruthie Midona has worked the front desk at Providence Retirement Villa for years, living on-site at the beck and call of the wealthy residents-and the rare tortoises that roam the manicured lawns. She has her routine, and not much ever changes. Until she lays eyes on Teddy Prescot, the son of Providence's new owner and her new neighbor. Tall, tattooed, and with the most magical hair on Earth (just ask him), Teddy's in town saving up money to pursue his dream of opening a tattoo shop. He's the definition of risky, and Ruthie's dazzled at first sight-until he mistakes her for a little old lady.
Luckily, Ruthie has the perfect revenge for Teddy's insulting first impression. Her most eccentric residents have just placed (yet another!) ad seeking a personal assistant to torment. The Parlonis are ninety-year-old, miniature menaces, and not one of their assistants has lasted a week. Ruthie knows a quitter when she sees one and is more than happy to offer up Teddy.
To Ruthie's surprise, Teddy proves to be the ultimate hire, charming his way through the entire villa and into her heart with his joyful, never-serious outlook on life. But with the future of Providence hanging in the balance, and Teddy's family's plans threatening to shatter Ruthie's safe little universe, will Teddy be there when it really counts?
Review:
Let me tell you, I was starting to question my judgement. I was starting to think, am I too picky? Should I be lowering my expectations and standards for books? Why am I having such a hard time falling in love with them? Second First Impressions swept me off my feet and had me mesmerized. This book made me realize that you must be patient while you're waiting for "the one." I am melting. My heart is an ooey-gooey mess filled with an abundance of warmth and love. This book was utter perfection and had me captivated from the start.
This was another book I picked up on a whim while strolling through Barnes & Nobles (with no intention of picking up this book at all). I had picked this up alongside Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert in a fantastic buy one, get one 50% off. We love books and books that are a great deal!
I was immediately drawn in by two things: tortoises and bad boys. What a combination. The premise and setting of this book are so unique and very niche. I adore books that bring me into someone's special little world. Sally Thorne was able to do just that, I felt intrinsically connected to the little world of Providence Retirement Villa. I also feel that this would be a phenomenal book to turn into a movie BUT ONLY IF IT IS WELL DONE. We will need Sally Thorne on set but I also volunteer my services to help with casting, directing, and production. Count me in.
I do not even know where to begin with this review as I loved everything in this book from the first to the very last page. This was perfection. How many other words can I come up with for perfection? Flawless, sublime, magnificent, exquisite, immaculate. I am also writing this review with Taylor Swift's Lover playing on repeat because this song gives me the same vibes as Second First Impressions. Highly recommend.
Ruthie Midona and Teddy Prescott are POLAR opposites who have this undeniable, electrifying chemistry...even if their first impressions of each other were not very good. Their connection literally leaps off the pages and into your heart. There is instant chemistry, but this is a SLOW BURN, baby. I am here for it, let me wait, let me stew, let me yearn. They are enemies, friends, then lovers. My absolute favorite. I will say that after this slow burn when Ruthie and Teddy finally were able to consummate their affections, that was a bit lackluster for me after waiting for so long. HOWEVER, Ruthie is fairly underdeveloped and inexperienced when it comes to relationships and especially intimacy. Once I remembered Ruthie's significant lack of experience and her previous poor encounter, the writing for the sex makes complete sense. This was not an experienced woman having sex. This is sheltered, young woman who was essentially experiencing her first time all over again...but the right way this time! That made me realize how precious this moment was and how carefully selected the writing was. I would have also loved Teddy's perspective of their first time together, especially since Teddy has the experience when it comes to sex but not to intimacy, not to romance. That would have been such a treat but I will be happy with Ruthie's perspective.
The character development throughout this book from several characters! WOW! Applause, simply applause. I feel like I went on a journey with so many characters, even the antagonists of the book. I tend to prefer books that have flawed characters who experience development throughout the book. These flaws really humanize them and connect you to who they are but then you also get to grow with them throughout their story. This book is about never judging a book by its cover, growth, self-discovery. It is a book that features love but also shows love in many different forms of relationships. Melanie and Ruthie's new budding friendship, Ruthie's strained relationship with her parents, and Ruthie's relationship with Renata and Aggie. There were so many characters and so many storylines in this book and I was invested in every single one of them. I would have loved more insight into Teddy's relationship with his sisters, specifically Rose. I won't be too greedy though. I am very happy with how things ended, well...technically, the beginning of Teddy's relationship with his sister, Rose.
I absolutely adored Renata and Aggie throughout the entire book. There were so many moments that made me laugh out loud, especially with Renata's quirks. The ultimate shock, they were LOVERS, not SISTERS! The LGBTQIA+ representation, I am here for it. I had a feelin toward the middle of the book that our beloved Parloni ladies were a lot closer than we had originally suspected but the reveal was even better. Such a sweet, heartfelt moment.
Absolutely love the addition of the tortoises. As I work in veterinary medicine, the nods to the tortoises, sanctuaries, and Ruthie wanting to be a veterinarian, it really made me feel more connected to the characters and the story. It was so quirky and very adorable. Now that I am typing up this review, it does have me pondering: is the tortoise also a symbol of "slow and steady wins the race" in regard to Ruthie? Food for thought.
I was looking at some reviews of Second First Impressions after I read it. I try not to read them before because I really do not like to have any pre-determined impressions or opinions of a book. It seems that there is a 50/50 divide of people who really love this book and people who hated this book. A lot of people seemed to feel that Ruthie was too boring, the romance was slow, there wasn't enough passion. I felt it was so refreshing. This book was such a breath of fresh air and really gave me the sense of coming home. It was such a sweet, tangible romance that I can grasp between my fingers and feel so deeply in my heart. The main character does not always need to be this super quirky, charming, fiery personality and the romance does not always need to be so passionate right away and the characters cannot keep their hands to themselves. I loved that it was quite the opposite of what I have been reading. It was very precious and very special. I did read someone stating that Ruthie and this book truly were the embodiment of the color beige, as if that is an insult. Beige truly is such a wonderful neutral color that can be so refreshing and looks wonderful with many colors, many different phases of life. Not everyone is a red, a neon green, or a hot pink, it is okay to be beige and to love being beige.
Quotes:
"You're the thousand-dollar dress on the rack in this thrift store and I can't believe non one's picked you up yet."
"Brown-eyed sublime being. She of soft, deep cardigan pockets. Bubble-bath taker. Pool jumper. Cheese provider. Sunset glower. Heaven sent."
"It hurts that you don't know you're lovely, exactly how you are. You don't need to change. You don't need to put on a dress, like it's going to fix something. You don't have anything that needs fixing."
"Don't seduce Ruthie if you don't plan on sticking around, because she's a tender treasure that must be protected at all costs."
"I always thought that love would feel like something gentle, but this isn't. I feel a clawing, desperate need to hold his heart in my hand and to fend off anything that might damage it."
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