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A review by bee_thebibliophile
Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
5.0
I’m in love with Sally Thorne’s writing style - it’s so easy to read and enjoyable. Second First Impressions is another great example of how she can bring a concept to life, making it funny and poignant at the same time. While I felt like this one was a little slow to start, it really picks up about 25% of the way in and I couldn’t put it down from there!
Ruthie Midona is an old soul who is holding on to a lot of trauma from her past. Her experiences and the things her family put her through caused her to revert to being scared, solitary and set in her ways so that nothing bad happens again...and that means staying in her retirement community bubble, not letting people in. While this story is about Ruthie and Teddy, I think the most important story here was Ruthie’s personal growth. She comes out of her shell (ha - pun intended!) and becomes a real person, not just the shadow of one that her parents forced her to become by not standing by her/supporting her when things didn’t go as planned. Ruthie has been acting like a 125-year-old, not a 25-year-old for way too long and it took Melanie, Teddy and the Parlonis becoming a bigger part of her life to show her how to act her age. Sally Thorne excels at writing great female characters who have quirks but aren’t “quirky,” they’re just real.
I love Teddy Prescott with my whole heart. He’s a lost soul, just looking for some stability to keep his life on track and prove to his family that he can make something of himself. He wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s hilarious and he rolls with the punches, but he also has so much depth that he keeps hidden for fear of people taking him even less seriously than they did before. I found it really sweet that he gravitates to Ruthie and her apartment as he wants to become part of her routine, part of her life, because it’s something he’s always craved but also he knows how important it is to her from the very beginning.
It took me a while to get on board with their love story, but I can see how good they were for each other. Their constant banter and the ease of their relationship was really refreshing, even before she let herself love him. In the end, it definitely made sense, but it took me a minute to get there myself.
Renata and Aggie Parloni and Melanie Sasaki are some of the greatest side characters I’ve ever read. Renata and Aggie’s antics are outstanding and so, SO funny, but they also love Ruthie and Teddy and want what’s best for them. Their quippy exchanges with everyone and the tasks that they give to Teddy are too much but also so perfect for these eccentric ladies. And Melanie was the perfect foil to Ruthie - she’s everything she’s not, but also aspires to be more like her (stable, inspired, doing something she loves). Without her inserting herself into Ruthie’s life, I’m not sure Ruthie would have been brave enough to do anything out of her typical routine or trust herself to be more than the timid person she was before.
My one complaint? Everything wrapped up really quickly in the final chapter...so many plot points introduced and wrapped up in a really short period of time. But, all in all, Second First Impressions is another great Sally Thorne read that will leave you laughing out loud and falling in love with her characters.
Ruthie Midona is an old soul who is holding on to a lot of trauma from her past. Her experiences and the things her family put her through caused her to revert to being scared, solitary and set in her ways so that nothing bad happens again...and that means staying in her retirement community bubble, not letting people in. While this story is about Ruthie and Teddy, I think the most important story here was Ruthie’s personal growth. She comes out of her shell (ha - pun intended!) and becomes a real person, not just the shadow of one that her parents forced her to become by not standing by her/supporting her when things didn’t go as planned. Ruthie has been acting like a 125-year-old, not a 25-year-old for way too long and it took Melanie, Teddy and the Parlonis becoming a bigger part of her life to show her how to act her age. Sally Thorne excels at writing great female characters who have quirks but aren’t “quirky,” they’re just real.
I love Teddy Prescott with my whole heart. He’s a lost soul, just looking for some stability to keep his life on track and prove to his family that he can make something of himself. He wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s hilarious and he rolls with the punches, but he also has so much depth that he keeps hidden for fear of people taking him even less seriously than they did before. I found it really sweet that he gravitates to Ruthie and her apartment as he wants to become part of her routine, part of her life, because it’s something he’s always craved but also he knows how important it is to her from the very beginning.
It took me a while to get on board with their love story, but I can see how good they were for each other. Their constant banter and the ease of their relationship was really refreshing, even before she let herself love him. In the end, it definitely made sense, but it took me a minute to get there myself.
Renata and Aggie Parloni and Melanie Sasaki are some of the greatest side characters I’ve ever read. Renata and Aggie’s antics are outstanding and so, SO funny, but they also love Ruthie and Teddy and want what’s best for them. Their quippy exchanges with everyone and the tasks that they give to Teddy are too much but also so perfect for these eccentric ladies. And Melanie was the perfect foil to Ruthie - she’s everything she’s not, but also aspires to be more like her (stable, inspired, doing something she loves). Without her inserting herself into Ruthie’s life, I’m not sure Ruthie would have been brave enough to do anything out of her typical routine or trust herself to be more than the timid person she was before.
My one complaint? Everything wrapped up really quickly in the final chapter...so many plot points introduced and wrapped up in a really short period of time. But, all in all, Second First Impressions is another great Sally Thorne read that will leave you laughing out loud and falling in love with her characters.