Loved this book, the story of Ruthie and Teddy - a case of opposites attract. She knows he is leaving but falls for him anyway, so what will happen and will they have a future together.
I loved both of the main characters, and some of the old ladies were hilarious!

Second, First Impressions centres 25-year-old Ruthie, an organised woman who dedicates her life to her work: caring for residents at a luxury retirement village. Ruthie has worked there for years, lives onsite and maintains her routine – nothing ever changes. Until she meets Teddy, the son of the new owner of the retirement village. Tall, dark and handsome Teddy is too laid back according to his father who suggests he get a job at the retirement centre to help him grow up. Unimpressed Ruthie decides to give him the most difficult job of caring for two wealthy demanding residents – none of their assistants have lasted a week. Teddy beings to charm the village and remind Ruthie of feeling young again – but will he stay committed for long?

I enjoyed this book - it was uplifting and comforting. After a couple of chapters, I was hooked and read it in two sittings. Ruthie and Teddy were well written genuine characters, each with their own personal issues they are trying to overcome. I grew to love them more as the book went on. The story is a perfect balance of humour and a ‘coming of age’ element.

There were additional elements/ wider characters to this story which really added to the appeal. The two elderly women that Teddy cared for were hilarious. They had such a heart-warming story which gave the book a lot of value. The village gardens are also covered in by endangered turtles which a few lovely animal loving scenes!

I loved this story all about how first impressions can be misleading, and you have to work to get what you want. Our main characters meet due to being involved with the same care home, and it’s plain to see the love they have for the residents, and how they’re also fighting their attraction to each other. It feels as though our heroine has a form of agoraphobia, yet wasn’t too severe with it. There was the big bad corporation out to get them, a sneaky bad guy, and the perfect HEA. For a slow building romance, this was well written and very enjoyable

Sally Thorne is a firm favourite of mine when it comes to romance. I loved The Hating Game and was excited to read Second First Impressions! This is a sweet romance novel with Thorne's signature wit and steaminess. It was an enjoyable read but I didn't connect with Ruthie and Teddy's relationship as much as I'd have liked. I couldn't feel their chemistry until 70% of the way in despite them being almost instantly attracted to one another. Ruthie was also a little frustrating because she was infantilised by everyone around her and ended up infantilising herself a fair bit. Overall a nice read!

I think I expected more from this book. But it felt like for the first 30pc I was completely lost with this book, and had little to no idea what was happening here.

I really didn't like Ruthie. She was annoying, and I really wish she hadn't been written as 25 going on 105.

Did this book suffer from me overhyping it because of how much I LOVE The Hating Game? Potentially. But they're completely different books and totally different vibes, and I really struggled to disconnect how much of a 180 each book was from each other.

Sadly, it wasn't for me.

I'm a little disappointed that my own first impressions of this book was that it didn't live up to The Hating Game. This was my second Sally Thorne read, so I guess you could say it was my second first impression her. I LOVED The Hating Game (the book, not the cringey movie version) and the building relationship between the two main characters. In comparison, Second First Impressions fell a bit flat. I didn't particularly like either of the main characters or care for them, I found them two dimensional and unrealistic. If anything, I don't have very strong opinions on this book at all. I certainly didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I'm left feeling rather indifferent and that annoys me even more.

One small solace is that I did really enjoy the addition of the two old ladies. They were great.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of "Second First Impressions" by Sally Thorne.

I loved this contemporary book by Thorne! The writing style was gorgeous, the romance felt minimal. It was just the perfect read for me.

For a while there I wasn't sure I was going to like this much, but by the end Ruthie and Teddy had totally won me over. This is a very sweet, slow romance and fairly unadventurous, much like our heroine. But it also has a lot of quiet charm, and I really enjoyed that.

The side characters maybe slightly outshine Ruthie, which makes sense because Ruthie is a very quiet character and everyone around her really isn't. Melanie with her determination to find a match for Ruthie and prove her Sasaki Method works was so much fun, as were the Parlonis. The way they tortured Teddy made me grin, and I can only hope I'll have as much fun when I get to be their age. Teddy is loud and ever-present, but oh so sweet, and, much like Ruthie, I found myself helplessly charmed by him.

The moments with just Ruthie and Teddy bantering were among my favourites, even though none of it was very exciting. I had fun imagining all of Teddy's tattoos. I like the "give" and "take" ones the most because of how they were woven into the narrative.

I would've liked a bit more exploration of the painful moments from their pasts. The author does touch upon it a bit here and there, but I would've liked more detail there. The ending was a bit rushed, and everything wrapped up very neatly in a way that doesn't feel remotely believable (because this isn't how corporations or government systems function), but it's a romance with an expected HEA so I was able to let it slide. There is a third act conflict, but that gets resolved very easily as well. Nice to skip most of the drama, but maybe a bit too quick.

If you're looking for a soft, cozy, warm hug of a story, this may very well hit the spot.

This is a delightfully heartwarming read which allows us to follow the love story of a very unlikely pair. As with all of Thorne’s books, this is an absolute gem to read.

This is a cute and fun read with a whole cast of fantastic characters. I have loved most of them minus Ruthie’s parents.

I’ve read all all of this author’s books. The Hating game is still my favourite but this is a close second. This is a book that has lifted my mood and left me smiling.

This moves at a good pace and has moments that have made me laugh out loud. I have enjoyed this one. This is definitely a book I will be recommending to fans of the genre.

A Five-star read that got there in the end. I will be honest this took me a while to get through, as it was okay for the first two thirds, but it was the final third that made the whole book for me, I liked Ruthie and her journey, and it was so nicely done. But it was the Parloni’s that made the whole thing for me, their comedic timing and demands. Teddy was complex and the more you get to know him, the more you understand him. Melanie was another sparkling performance that made this story for me, all of the characters together create a great story, it was just the background that needed a little work.

I don't know if it was me or just the book but this did start out a little strange, I felt a little off balance by the characters, but it did eventually settle into place before too long. But there were times I struggled a bit with the love interest.

Our primary focus was Ruthie, the daughter of a preacher, who is only twenty-five but definitely acts like an old soul in a young woman's body. She works in a retirement village and as we get to know more about her, we see that she is her own worst enemy.
At the point in time our book starts, Ruthie has been left to manage the office. She finds herself caught in a strange situation...where she wants to take the next step to finding romance and moving her life forward though she lacks the impetus to do so. Thankfully she has her temp, Mel, who takes it upon herself to give Ruthie a helping hand. This gets something of a spanner in the works with the arrival of Teddy Prescott, the son of the new owner, who has his own demons to lay to rest.
Of course their first meeting is less than satisfactory. We know from the outset they are attracted to each other and what was nice to see was that everyone around them could also see it.
There were some incidental storylines running alongside this that provided a little light relief.

This was just as expected from this author (a personal favourite) it was such a lovely little romance and I really enjoyed it! Perfect as a nice chill read! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read the book early!

Bethie is a woman in her mid twenties who works in a retirement village and never leaves and only day meets the owners son.
I wanted to like this book but the main character was just so unlikable! She was 25 and wore grannie clothes including a pair of glasses on a chain.
The romance is pretty much insta attraction but her being frustrating and there are some very cringe lines.
The ending of this book however was really sweet.

I initially struggled to get into this book but then did find myself hooked and finished quite quickly in the end. Ruthie obviously had an instant attraction to Teddy and I liked the way the relationship developed quite quickly. From a UK readers perspective, I found the book felt like it was from a different culture of humour and conversation.

This book snuck up on me. True to its title it took until my second time picking it up to actually get into it but once I started to properly read it I was hooked.

The book did start off a little slow for me, I wasn’t sure if I could be interested enough in the lives of the senior citizens and I felt like there was also a lot of forced humour that came off as very dry. Thankfully, this only lasted for a couple chapters and then the book improved vastly.

Teddy Prescott, oh my god TEDDY PRESCOTT!!!! I love him. He is such a softie, literally a soft himbo disguised as a dark bad boy. My favourite quote of his????

“Want to know a secret? Neat and tidy is my absolute favourite type of girl” AHHHHHHGHSHSHSHSHSH

I also ended up liking Ruthie a lot more than expected, personally I felt like a version of me from the past would have related with her a lot. Yes, she made some dumb decisions but so did Teddy. If anything Teddy made more dumb decisions. I will captain the Ruthie Defense Squad.

Melanie is an absolute babe and she is the best friend anyone could ask for. And I ended up liking the Parloni ‘sisters’ a lot more than I thought I would.

Overall 3.5 stars. Would I recommend? Yes

This wasn't as good as The Hating Game.

Really enjoyed the quirky secondary characters, but thought that Ruthie's insecurities and OCD were a bit too much.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book I’ve read by Sally Thorne. The Hating Game has been on my tbh for ages so I was excited when I saw another novel by Sally Thorne available for request. Second First Impressions is an enjoyable and easy read. The characters were lovable and there was many entertaining and funny bits to the story. This is a slow burn romance that I quickly read. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy light hearted romance and coming of age stories. I look forward to reading other books by Sally Thorne!

I loved the Hating Game so had high hopes for this but unfortunately, it disappointed. It felt like a hastily written story that I couldn’t engage with and I can’t really find many positives.

I blitzed through this book over the weekend as I just could not get enough. Light and witty I enjoyed every second. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.