5 STAR CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE: Second First Impressions Review

Summary (from the publisher):
71nBJym9arLRuthie 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 Rating: 5/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

Sally Thorne is the author of one of the arguably most popular contemporary romances, The Hating Game. I remember seeing it in one of Sarah J. Maas’s email newsletters after she had LOVED it. I thus read it back in 2016, but don’t necessarily have strong memories, especially since I’ve developed into & grown as a contemporary romance reader since. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of her second book, 99 Percent Mine – I had trouble settling to the plot & dialogue – so I 100% admit that I was nervous going into Second First Impressions. I thought this book would be my make-or-break deal with Sally Thorne and I am so, SO happy to report that I not only LOVED Second First Impressions, but it is one of my favorite books of 2021! 

Second First Impressions follows twenty-five year old, Ruthie, who is in charge of a retirement village for the old & wealthy where she’s worked at for the past 6 years while her boss is on vacation. Ruthie can’t imagine her life without Providence, since she doesn’t haven’t the best relationship with her reverend father & mother based on mistakes she made as a teenager. Aside from the residents, her only company is Mel, a temp who’s been hired to help out Ruthie with admin but is much more invested in getting Ruthie back in the dating world. 

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