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Second First Impressions
Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne is $1.99! Elyse gave this one a B+:
The theme of slowly exiting your safe space when the time was right was so timely and on point for me. It was because Teddy was so kind and gentle with Ruthie in her journey to come out of her shell, and appreciative of who she was without wanting her to change (but supporting her desire to) that this book worked. When Teddy and Ruthie begin to fall for each other, it made total sense.
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine comes the clever, funny, and unforgettable story of a muscular, tattooed man hired as an assistant to two old women—under the watchful eye of a beautiful retirement home manager.
Distraction (n): an extreme agitation of the mind or emotions.
Ruthie 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.
Hilarious, warm, and romantic, Sally Thorne’s novel delivers an irrepressibly joyous celebration of love and community for fans of 99% Mine and The Hating Game.
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Tools of Engagement
Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey is $1.99! This is book three in the Hot & Hammered series, which are romances that focus on home reno projects. I’m a Bailey fan, but I’ve been rather disappointed by this series. However, your mileage may vary!
In Tessa Bailey’s latest rom-com, two enemies team up to flip a house… and the sparks between them might burn the place down or ignite a passion that neither can ignore!
Hair, makeup, clothing, decor… everything in Bethany Castle’s world is organized, planned, and styled to perfection. Which is why the homes she designs for her family’s real estate business are the most coveted in town. The only thing not perfect? Her track record with men. She’s on a dating hiatus and after helping her friends achieve their dreams, Bethany finally has time to focus on her own: flip a house, from framework to furnishings, all by herself. Except her older brother runs the company and refuses to take her seriously.
When a television producer gets wind of the Castle sibling rivalry, they’re invited on Flip Off, a competition to see who can do the best renovation. Bethany wants bragging rights, but she needs a crew and the only member of her brother’s construction team willing to jump ship is Wes Daniels, the new guy in town. His Texas drawl and handsome face got under Bethany’s skin on day one, but the last thing she needs is some cocky young cowboy in her way.
As the race to renovate heats up, Wes and Bethany are forced into close quarters, trading barbs and biting banter as they remodel the ugliest house on the block. It’s a labor of love, hate, and everything in between, and soon sparks are flying. But Bethany’s perfectly structured life is one kiss away from going up in smoke and she knows falling for a guy like Wes would be a flipping disaster.
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The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman is $1.99! Several of us were excited for this one because we’re all suckers for bookishness and bookstores. However, this falls more toward women’s fiction than a contemporary romance. Have you read this one?
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.
When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They’re all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She’ll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It’s a disaster! And as if that wasn’t enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn’t he realize what a terrible idea that is?
Nina considers her options.
1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)It’s time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn’t convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It’s going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.
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Any Rogue Will Do
Any Rogue Will Do by Bethany Bennett is $1.99! This is book one in the Misfits of Mayfair series and features a fake relationship. Book two was recently featured in an edition of Cover Awe. I’m actually pretty curious about this series, if anyone has read it and would like to share their thoughts.
He ruined her reputation―now he’s the only one who can save it.
For exactly one season, Lady Charlotte Wentworth played the biddable female the ton expected―and all it got her was society’s mockery and derision. Now she’s determined to be in charge of her own future. So when an unwanted suitor tries to manipulate her into an engagement, she has a plan. He can’t claim to be her fiancé if she’s engaged to someone else. Even if it means asking for help from the last man she would ever marry.
Ethan, Lord Amesbury, made a lot of mistakes, but the one he regrets the most is ruining Lady Charlotte’s reputation. He’s older and wiser now, but his attraction to Lottie never wavered. Going along with her charade is the least he can do to clean the slate and perhaps earn her forgiveness. And, if he’s lucky, her love.
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“Game Changer” and “Heated Rivalry”, the first two books in Rachel Reid’s m/m hockey romance series, are on sale for $1.99 each on Kindle. “Game Changer” had a tag that said “limited time deal”, so I don’t know how long this price will be valid.
I need to snag the Bennett
I’m torn on the Waxman (Bookish life…). I was reading the summary thinking, “This sounds great!” until I got to the end: “It’s time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn’t convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It’s going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.”
Please, please tell me this isn’t a book where an introvert gets “fixed.”
@WS: I honestly didn’t get the impression that Nina was actually introverted at all. She talks about her schedule at the beginning, and apparently she meets a group for trivia at a bar/restaurant every week, and then lists all these other social activities that occur on a regular basis – outside of her job. It’s like the author didn’t know what it actually means to be introverted, but just assumed it meant “someone who likes books/reading” and left it at that as a popular keyword that might get more attention. TBH, I didn’t make it very far into the book before I bailed on it.
Ooh. I’ve been waiting for Second First Impressions to go on sale.
After seeing the cover on Cover Awe, I purchased and read Any Rogue Will Do and then rolled right into the second in the series, West End Miss. They were … sparkly. Engaging stories and characters with sufficient external and internal conflict to be interesting. I was disappointed to learn that the third – a happy ending for a character in West End Miss – won’t be available for a few months.
@WS, unlike @HeatherS, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was one of the books I enjoyed most last year. She found change happening around her, took a deep breath, and moved forward.
I liked The Bookish Life of Nina Hill quite a lot.
I enjoyed SECOND FIRST IMPRESSIONS. I briefly worked in a nursing home, not quite the same as a retirement community, but the antics some of the residents get up to in the book made me remember funny moments.
I enjoyed Any Rogue Will Do. Well-developed characters; the Rogue is delightful in a soft-hearted Beastly way and the story moves along quite nicely in the usual manner (tropes galore). I bought the second book in the series because I liked the (Rogue’s best friend) character who will be featured. Ultimately it has ended up in the charity bag though, as it doesn’t pass the Kleypas Test as a potential re-read.