Second First Impressions

Like the last two Sally Thorne books I've read, I fell into this one head-first. I couldn't put it down. And while I couldn't put it down, it also occurred to me that this felt like such a different novel from Sally Thorne than I'd read before.

In a way, this book felt very young, almost naïve and juvenile. We have characters in their mid-twenties, but they read very much like teenagers. Ruthie felt very much like an old soul, and an insecure teenager, at the same time. Which, in retrospect, may have been the point. Ruthie was raised in such a strict, conservative environment where every action that wasn't picture perfect was shamed in borderline abusive ways. It really is no wonder that she felt so young, yet so old.

On the flip side, Teddy felt like he had all the impulsive irresponsibility of a teenager, but the career trajectory of an adult who knows what they want. Teddy has the brash, almost narcissistic over-confidence of someone who'd needed it in order to get by. 

When you get right down to it, I really did feel like I was reading a YA contemporary romance, rather than a contemporary romance for adults. (Until we got to certain scenes, then it was very, very apparent that this wasn't a YA romance.) 

Despite the characters being adults, this book really rather was a growing up story. Melanie, Teddy, and Ruthie all growing up, learning about themselves, and discovering what they need, and how they want their futures to look. Having recently gone through this myself, in my 30s, it really made me realize - it's never too late to grow and change.

It's never too late to discover new things about yourself, change your career path, figure out what's going to make you happy, and to go for it. With this in mind, I can deal with the young feel of the book. Because no matter your age, you can always feel young again.