Ratings30
Average rating3.6
A lovely and cozy read which I found difficult to put down, not because there was exciting action to follow but simply because of how sweet and inviting the characters were. Definitely a book I'll revisit when I want something comforting!
I am sad to say that I really struggled with this book. I don't know if subconsciously my mind was expecting another THG or maybe if I had never read THG in the first place and read SFI first, maybe I would have liked it better. I just couldn't get into it but because I loved THG so much, I wanted to keep going. It finally picked up around the 80% mark but unfortunately by that point, it was too late to save the book for me. I'm beginning to think The Hating Game was a fluke but I really hope not. Also I really wish authors would stop making their characters dress like old ladies.
”I prayed for peace, quiet, certainty. And it's you. I'm in love with you.”Based on the reviews I have seen I think I am about to have an unpopular opinion but I enjoyed this way more than I did The Hating Game.I found this book so entertaining and silly and just an overall good laugh. It gave me the found family trope that I absolutely live for.Were some parts cringey? Yes. Were some parts predictable? Yes. But I laughed and that's what I was looking for when I went into this.I couldn't help but love the Parlonis and Teddy's interactions. The things she would make him do and he just took it like a champ had me giggling because of how silly and out there it was. The humour of it and Teddy's wit and banter in general is what made me enjoy this as much as I did.Something that I loved about this story was how supportive Ruthie and Teddy were towards one another. They never asked for the other to change anything about themselves. Even though I felt that the romance started off too quickly to my liking, I felt as if the romance between the two was very sweet and genuine.This was the perfect definition of a rom-com.
Sadly, I was never invested in Second First Impressions.
I disliked Teddy and Ruthie. Both characters lacked depth and neither of them had any growth IMO. The reason Ruthie lived her life like she did felt flat and didn't make any sense. Being inside Ruthie's head was cringey and the way she thought about Teddy was awkward. There was no chemistry and the relationship felt forced. There were a few interesting, funny secondary characters and that was it.
My dislike of the main characters made it tough to keep listening to the audiobook. I put it off for more than a month, thinking that maybe I wasn't in the right mood for it, but after I got back to it I felt the same way. Can't believe I finished it.
This one didn't work for me.
This was ok but I really struggled with Teddy as a hero. I just couldn't understand his appeal the give and take tattoos really irked me. The constant reminder of how much he was 'taking' just irritated me more and more . As I was reading this, there was one quote from [b:Red, White & Royal Blue 41150487 Red, White & Royal Blue Casey McQuiston https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566742512l/41150487.SY75.jpg 61657690] that kept ringing in my head. Worst of all, Henry is good. Alex doesn't pretend to care about the rules of the game, but his primary turn-on has always been competence. I think this quote perfectly encapsulates my own feelings towards romantic heroes. I love heroes who are good at something , anything really. We are told over and over again how good Henry is at tattooing but we never get to see him in his element. Instead, we get this seemingly aimless Henry who doesn't struggle too much to achieve his goals because of a string of good Samaritans and a rich daddy.Teddy aside, this still wasn't a perfect book. The ending fell flat and Melanie felt like a token character of colour, very much like the throw-away line at the end about making Providence more inclusive
so ruthie's parents didnt report the stolen money to the police bc they were embarrassed, BUT they made ruthie get up in front of the church community to admit her ‘irresponsibility' for losing it??? make it make sense!!!
Not crazy good, just your average romance, but still worth sticking around until the end.