Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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“Brown-eyed sublime being. She of soft, deep cardigan pockets. Bubble-bath taker. Pool jumper. Cheese provider. Sunset glower. Heaven sent.”

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

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I can see how Second First Impressions, Sally Thorne’s third book, isn’t going to be a five-star book for many readers – heck it wasn’t for me until quite near the end. But this book hit me in the feelings and had just the right kind of relatively low stakes, emotions are the plot set up for me. I was delighted; I understand if you were not. In this outing Thorne is playing with opposites, both in her protagonists and in the thematic work she […]

This is getting a lukewarm reaction from a lot of people, but I absolutely loved it.

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

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Thank you, Sally Thorne, I needed this exact book. Our cast of characters: Ruthie, a twenty-five going on 125-year old, who has only ever worked at this one retirement village and plans to work there forever, because she loves it, and it’s comfortable and safe there among the old people and the endangered tortoises that wander the property. Among the residents are the Parloni sisters, Aggie and Renata, who hire themselves boys to run ridiculous errands (the inspiration for the book*) and basically take care […]

Just a quick check and yes, The Hating Game holds up

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

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Re-read: After reading Thorne’s latest (Second First Impressions) I wanted to see if maybe my memories of her first novel were being seen through some rose colored glasses. I am happy to report that no, not in the slightest. The Hating Game perfectly nails the first person inner monologue neurosis protagonist and the ETL, two tropes that are very, very frequently given short shift in Romancelandia. Thorne definitely has a very distinct sort of voice that she uses to write her (exclusively female, exclusively white) (I will […]

Not quite The Hating Game but excellent secondary characters

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

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Like many people, I really liked The Hating Game and was so-so on 99 Percent Mine. This is another 3.5 star book but rounded down, because as an adult woman who lives in the world I never quite was able to lower my haunches where our male lead (Teddy) was concerned. As I noted re: Just Last Night, you need have both growth and tropes to get to a earnt HEA. My issue here was that Teddy never really earned the right to his HEA, especially after spending a […]

A sweet, but ultimately slightly unconvincing romance – the rest of it was great, though

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

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3.5 stars Ruthie Midona is mid-twenties going on old-age pensioner, dressing like a Golden Girls-cosplayer, and has dedicated the last six years of her life to the Providence Luxury Retirement Villa. She doesn’t just work the front desk there and go out of her way to make life flow smoothly for the residents, she also lives on-site and hasn’t really had any complaints. In her spare time, she cares for the endangered turtles who populate the grounds of the retirement community, having given up on […]



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