Publishers Weekly
07/11/2022
Taking a light, comedic approach to the historical and macabre, Thorne (The Hating Game) delivers laughs, thrills, and heart in this rom-com riff on Mary Shelley’s classic monster tale. In 1814 England, eccentric Angelika Frankenstein, sister of Victor and his partner in crimes against nature, is firmly on the shelf at 24, has more money than she knows what to do with, and is utterly clueless when it comes to relating to people. On the same night that Victor creates his famous monster, Angelika creates Will, stitching together her dream man using carefully chosen parts from the morgue. For Angelika, it’s love at first sight. Will, however, is lost in this new world, with only the faintest clue of who he was before dying and coming back to life. As he searches for self-knowledge, he teaches Angelika about empathy and compassion, putting her on a path to redemption. But the possibility of Will’s imminent demise couples with the loss of Victor’s monster to create a tempest of epic proportions. Thorne does a good job showing the transformation of the Frankenstein siblings from unsympathetic mad scientists into heroes readers will be happy to root for while still maintaining the gothic atmosphere throughout. This is a delight. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"Take everything you’ve come to love in a Sally Thorne novel: witty banter, a sexy, toe-curling romance, and voice that pirouettes off the page, but add one part Tim Burton. Dear reader, that is what’s waiting for you, and we are OBSESSED. This is Sally Thorne at her absolute best." — Christina Lauren, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
“This book is genuinely, fantastically nuts, and I adored every single second of it! Jelly is the lonely, horny, enterprising heroine of my heart, Will is the most adorable love interest to ever grace a book, Belladonna gave me P&P 2005 flashbacks and deserves all the apples, Lizzie and Victor had me dying laughing every time they came on screen, and then there’s the plot, which is deliciously bonkers and utterly unique!” — Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis
"I laughed, I cried, I fell in love. I am so impressed at Thorne’s ability to switch genres and maintain a solid, relatable author voice. With every release, she proves that she is an absolute force to be reckoned with. I have never read anything like this before— It was brilliant." — Belle Aurora, USA Today bestselling author of Raw
"I was hooked the moment I read the first page, and adored every delightful word of this book. It gave me Bridgerton meets The Addams Family vibes: a little bit spooky, a little sweet, with a wonderful, loving cast of friends and a creative, heartwarming romance that kept me on edge right up until the very end...The banter is world-class, and I caught myself laughing out loud and staying up far too late to read just one more page. We need more wonderfully weird romances like this!" — Ruby Dixon, #1 Amazon Store author
“Second First Impressions is about realizing that life is short, and that to live it to the fullest we must be both selfish and selfless. It urges us to soak up the beauty of each passing moment—and this wondrous book is a good place to start.” — Entertainment Weekly
"Thorne brilliantly pens a hero as the damsel in distress and a heroine as the rich, sheltered suitor of a gothic manor who seduces him...Thorne's neurodivergent themes made this a tender read. Angelika Frankenstein's desire to dress Will up in her wealth, like a very rich and gallant suitor, shifts the gender roles. It's a very sexy mixture of the Addams Family if written by Young Frankenstein’s Mel Brooks. Sally Thorne writes a bold, seductive gothic heroine." — Buzzfeed
“Thorne manages to bring all the characters to vivid life, endearing them to the reader through the enumeration of their quirks and fleeting revelations about their pasts. Each scene between the protagonists—whose first meeting will make you laugh and wince simultaneously—is a delight, as is Ruthie’s motley found family.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Second First Impressions
“Second First Impressions is the warmest, coziest, sweetest book of the year, an absolutely perfect blend of humor and heart. I want to live inside Sally Thorne’s brain.” — Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read
“Sally Thorne satisfies hearts longing for laughter in their love stories….Their battle of wits is tremendously fun—acerbic and sexy and filled with tension. The result is a wicked, witty romance that will capture readers’ hearts long before Joshua manages to capture Lucy’s.” — Sarah MacLean, Washington Post, on The Hating Game
“If you miss romantic comedies, the kind that were so funny, you would pay $15 to see them in the theater—plus the cost of popcorn and candy—this novel will make you very happy indeed...The rising tension and Thorne’s biting dialogue will make you wish for the romantic comedies of days gone by—or just more books like this one.” — NPR Books on The Hating Game
Emily Henry
Second First Impressions is the warmest, coziest, sweetest book of the year, an absolutely perfect blend of humor and heart. I want to live inside Sally Thorne’s brain.
Christina Lauren
"Take everything you’ve come to love in a Sally Thorne novel: witty banter, a sexy, toe-curling romance, and voice that pirouettes off the page, but add one part Tim Burton. Dear reader, that is what’s waiting for you, and we are OBSESSED. This is Sally Thorne at her absolute best."
NPR Books on The Hating Game
If you miss romantic comedies, the kind that were so funny, you would pay $15 to see them in the theater—plus the cost of popcorn and candy—this novel will make you very happy indeed...The rising tension and Thorne’s biting dialogue will make you wish for the romantic comedies of days gone by—or just more books like this one.
Sarah MacLean
Sally Thorne satisfies hearts longing for laughter in their love stories….Their battle of wits is tremendously fun—acerbic and sexy and filled with tension. The result is a wicked, witty romance that will capture readers’ hearts long before Joshua manages to capture Lucy’s.
Entertainment Weekly
Second First Impressions is about realizing that life is short, and that to live it to the fullest we must be both selfish and selfless. It urges us to soak up the beauty of each passing moment—and this wondrous book is a good place to start.
Library Journal
★ 08/01/2022
Why bother looking for the perfect man when you can create your own? So goes the reasoning of Angelika Frankenstein, heroine of this homage to Mary Shelley's classic monster story. Angelika, sister to the infamous Victor, is tired of her village's most unsuitable suitors, who are all afraid of her. Borrowing parts from recently deceased male specimens, Angelika brings her ideal man to life one stormy night with the help of Victor's chemistry. Newly born "Will" awakens confused and disoriented, with no memory of his past and no choice but to accept the help of the Frankensteins to survive. Though he was (literally) made for Angelika, who he finds beguiling, he also feels pulled to his previous life. The theme of finding one's true identity runs deeply through the story, as Angelika's selfishness and possessiveness of Will gradually give way to a new understanding of her privilege and responsibility toward others. VERDICT Thorne (The Hating Game) surprises with this unexpectedly thoughtful gothic rom-com. Readers looking for a dash of spookiness mixed with romance and humor should add this to their must-read list.—Kathryn Howe
Kirkus Reviews
2022-06-22
Meet Victor Frankenstein’s sister—and the newly animated and confused love of her life.
Wealthy orphans Angelika Frankenstein, 24, and her older brother, Victor, have devoted themselves to scientific pursuits ever since their parents died 11 years ago thanks to their church’s faith in prayer over medicine. Served by their dour and aging housekeeper in a sprawling Gothic mansion, they’ve been trying to bring the dead to life—and this time they appear to have succeeded twice over. But Victor’s creation runs off into the forest, and Angelika’s made-to-order beau is an amnesiac with body dysmorphia thanks to having been brought back to life with the help of other people's limbs. Naïve spinster Angelika is anxious for his love. But between the newly named Will’s bafflement at his resuscitation, Victor's imminent wedding, the search for his missing experiment, the appearance of a military man with romantic inclinations toward Angelika, and Will's investigation into his previous identity, the course of true (scientifically assisted) love is not running smooth. The motley cast—secondary characters include hungry villagers, a greedy priest, an angelic baby, and an ardent pig—serves as a bathetic backdrop to Angelika’s character arc of becoming less thoughtless and more charitable. A paranormal fairy tale that is skeptical of its main protagonist’s desires, this comic-horror take on the classic novel feels like a cross between The Addams Family, “Sleeping Beauty,” and the subset of romances starring men of the cloth. Will’s physical torment and emotional distress echo Mary Shelley’s creature’s suffering, and his happily-ever-after with Angelika feels discomfiting and precarious despite the return of bodily vigor and the eventual end of his celibacy.
For readers who like their rom-coms to resemble Young Frankenstein.
