Second First Impressions

Second First Impressions (2021) is a contemporary romantic comedy by Australian author Sally Thorne. Thorne is a USA Today best-selling author, known for her popular debut novel, The Hating Game, which was later adapted into a feature film. Her work often employs popular genre conventions, including the opposites-attract dynamic. In Second First Impressions, a cautious 25-year-old retirement village manager finds her orderly life disrupted by the arrival of the charming and chaotic son of the property’s new corporate owner. As he takes a job working for two mischievous residents, she is forced to confront her past and open herself up to new experiences. The novel explores themes of Embracing Risk to Escape Self-Imposed Limits, The Unreliability of First Impressions, and Redefining Home and Family Through Connection.

This guide is based on the 2021 Piatkus paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of mental illness and sexual content.

Plot Summary

Second First Impressions is a contemporary romance told from the first-person perspective of Ruthie Midona. Events are interpreted through Ruthie’s organized and risk-averse point-of-view.

Ruthie Midona, a 25-year-old who feels decades older than her peers, is the acting office manager at Providence Retirement Villa while her boss, Sylvia Drummond, is on a cruise. Her quiet, routine-driven life is disrupted by Melanie Sasaki, a vibrant temporary assistant who is determined to get Ruthie into the dating world. Ruthie’s days are consumed by caring for the eccentric residents, particularly the demanding and mischievous Parloni sisters, Renata and Aggie. Her primary goal is to run the office smoothly and secure the manager position permanently upon Sylvia’s return. This ambition is complicated by the villa’s uncertain future, as it was recently acquired by Prescott Development Corporation (PDC), a company known for redeveloping its properties. All tenancy agreements are set to expire the following year, causing anxiety among staff and residents.

The Parloni sisters have a habit of hiring and tormenting young male assistants for their own amusement. After their latest assistant quits, they task Ruthie with finding a replacement. While Ruthie drafts a professional job advertisement, Renata insists on her own version, which seeks a young man for “exploitation and good-natured humiliation” (15). Ruthie posts the ad, hoping to resolve the sisters’ constant need for assistance. While running errands for the Parlonis, Ruthie encounters a young, heavily tattooed man on a motorcycle at a gas station who seems unable to pay for his fuel. She pays his bill, but he laughs at her conservative clothing and hairstyle, mistaking her for an elderly woman in costume. Hurt and embarrassed, Ruthie gives him her email address for repayment and leaves.

The next day, the man from the gas station arrives at Providence with his father, Jerry Prescott, the owner of PDC. The man is introduced as Jerry’s son, Theodore “Teddy” Prescott. Jerry announces that Teddy has been kicked out by his roommates and will be staying in the vacant half of Ruthie’s on-site cottage. To keep him occupied, he applies for the Parloni assistant position. Teddy endures the sisters’ bizarre interview, which includes a “white shirt challenge” where he is given one hour and $300 to buy Renata the perfect white shirt. He impresses them with his charm and resilience and is hired.

As Teddy settles into the cottage next door, he and Ruthie form a close friendship, sharing a thin wall that allows for constant communication. Their bond deepens, marked by a growing romantic tension. Teddy confides in Ruthie about his dream to save enough money by Christmas to buy a share in his friend’s new tattoo studio in a town called Fairchild. Meanwhile, Ruthie grapples with her developing feelings for Teddy, her deep-seated fear of change, and her unwavering sense of duty to Providence. Melanie encourages her to start dating, creating a profile for her and setting weekly challenges to get her out of her comfort zone. Ruthie’s insecurities are rooted in a past trauma; she was blamed for the theft of $10,000 from a church fundraiser as a teenager after she may have left a door unlocked, which resulted in the loss of her college fund and her parents’ trust.

Teddy thrives at Providence, becoming a favorite of the residents and handling the Parlonis’ antics with good humor. He accidentally injures one of the endangered golden bonnet tortoises that lives on the grounds, and he and Ruthie work together on its rehabilitation. Teddy’s father and his half-sister, Rose Prescott, who is managing the site review for PDC, call to check on him and warn Ruthie that he has a history of being charming but unreliable, often leaving people behind. Despite their warnings, Ruthie and Teddy’s connection grows stronger as they bond over their favorite TV show, Heaven Sent, and share details about their difficult childhoods.

Melanie’s plan moves forward with a makeover and an active online dating profile for Ruthie. As Ruthie begins messaging potential dates, Teddy becomes increasingly jealous, attempting to sabotage her efforts. The tension culminates in a passionate kiss in a thrift store dressing room. They confess their feelings for each other and spend the night together. Teddy reveals his complicated family history; he is the product of his father’s brief second marriage, and his four older half-sisters, including Rose, have resented his existence since he was introduced to them at age eight. Shortly after, an audit of Providence reveals that Ruthie’s boss, Sylvia, has been embezzling funds for years by falsifying reports and underpaying Ruthie. Later, it is revealed that Sylvia also falsified the number of townhouses, secretly skimming revenue from the “missing” fortieth house.

When Rose learns of Ruthie and Teddy’s relationship, she issues an ultimatum: Teddy must leave Providence immediately, or Ruthie will be fired for unprofessional conduct. Teddy asks Ruthie to run away with him to Fairchild, but she cannot bring herself to abandon the residents or leave under a cloud of suspicion. Heartbroken, Teddy leaves to pursue his dream, and Ruthie is left to face the fallout.

Grieving Teddy’s departure, Ruthie finds a new sense of purpose. Supported by Melanie, she decides to fight PDC’s redevelopment plans by seeking an environmental injunction to protect the endangered tortoises. She also realizes that Sylvia’s long-term embezzlement makes her a likely suspect in the church theft from her youth. With newfound clarity, Ruthie plans to resign from Providence and apply for an internship at the Reptile Zoo to pursue her childhood dream of working with animals. She even types up a resignation letter, signaling she is truly ready to leave Providence.

At the annual Christmas Prom, which Ruthie and Melanie organized, several resolutions unfold. The Parloni sisters attend together and reveal they are a romantic couple, not siblings, by proposing to each other. Jerry and Rose arrive, and Rose announces that Providence will not be redeveloped. Instead, PDC will build affordable retirement housing on adjacent land. She also informs Ruthie that she is owed significant back pay. Teddy makes a surprise return, having cut his long hair and dressed in a suit, a gesture symbolizing his readiness to conform and work for PDC. He offers to sacrifice his share in the tattoo studio in exchange for saving Providence. Moved by his selflessness, Jerry and Rose release him from the deal. Rose and Teddy reconcile after years of estrangement.

Ruthie and Teddy reunite, reaffirm their love, and plan a future together. Ruthie officially decides to leave Providence and move to Fairchild to be with him and pursue her veterinary studies. Her plans are aided by a surprise inheritance from Renata Parloni, who passes away before the events of the epilogue. In the epilogue, Ruthie and Teddy are living together in Fairchild. Ruthie is studying and interning at the Reptile Zoo, while Teddy is successfully running his tattoo studio. Ruthie closes her long-running Heaven Sent online forum, symbolizing her final step into her new life.