Author: Nora Roberts
First published: 1984
Length: 283 pages
Setting: Contemporary. Sharpsburg, Maryland.
Sex: Reasonably explicit and frequent.
Hero: Corporate CEO taking a breather.
Heroine: Former High School teacher now starting an antiques shop and museum.

A nice enough M&B with a gently developing romance. Easy to read and simple.

References:
Author's website: http://noraroberts.com

(Read in Mistletoe and Snow ISBN 978-0-263-25017-6)

-CR-

“First Impressions” is the story of Shane and Vance.

A sweet Nora Roberts small town romance which involves the classic plot of deception, love and miracles, set in the holiday season.

The hero is a billionaire businessman who takes a break from his hectic life to reside in a countryside. When asked about his profession, he confesses to being a carpenter, primarily to his vivacious and loving neighbor Shane. Shane has a heart of gold, and spends all her time helping the townsfolk. When an enigmatic stranger intrudes upon her life, she never expects to take one look and know that he’s her soulmate.

Their love story is filled with uptight and psycho exes, crazy mothers and meddlesome friends. The lovemaking is hot and angst is medium. Ends leaving a smile on your face.

Safe
4/5

Another goodreads shelf recommendation. This one really made me homesick. Which is why I added the forth star to my normal three star rating that I normally give for a solid read.

It was so refreshing to see good, small town people, helping out and stepping up. Also fun to think back to all the crazy grapevine gossip that goes hand in hand with small town living.

Great characters, great writing... I had a great time.

Iba muy bien hasta que se puso todo melcocho. Nojombre, eso me arruinó el libro. Iba muy genial.
Me dio mucha risa al inicio, cuando ella le dice a la amiga: este es el hombre con el que me voy a casar, sólo que aún no lo sabe.

The relationship between the characters starts right away in the first chapter. I could relate to Shane as she is just a normal girl looking to make her own path. She would remind you of yourself or any friend on the street; just a normal person. Vance, on the other hand, is a very angry, bitter man who just wants to retreat from his distinguished life. Nora Roberts builds the tension in the relationship as she always does. An easy read that I didn't put down til the end.

something about this narrator ...certain bits ... wordage ...she sounds like Winnie the Pooh? no clue why? but my ears hear? i enjoy this read and i enjoyed the idea ...what a great idea ... leaving the rat race and opening and taking over an old home ... museum and antiques ...what fun! love the characters ... great listen and fun time just enjoying it in my everyday life.

"Cuando consigues una cosa, solo puedes pensar en qué es lo próximo que quieres para ser feliz, no puedes disfrutar de lo que tienes porque estás demasiado preocupado pensando en que alguien tiene algo mejor."




"—No soy idealista. Simplemente, no doy por sentado que siempre hay alguien esperando la oportunidad de poder aprovecharse de mí —de repente, Shane se sintió mucho más calmada, pero también más triste—. Creo que merece la pena correr el riesgo de confiar en los demás, porque se pierde más al no hacerlo.
—¿Y qué pasa si traicionan tu confianza?
—Que te recuperas y sigues adelante. Solo eres una víctima si decides serlo."

Officially DNFing this one. The insta love is too much but I could have looked past it. What I couldn’t look past were the scenes where the male protagonist, Vance, totally disregards the female character as she struggles against him during a kiss scene. He goes on like nothing is happening and after a while the main character, Shane, gives in to his advances. She also overlooks his moodiness and bad treatment because she instantly knew he was “the one”.
Do not recommend!

Escaping the rat race of the city, Vance Banning moves to a small rural area and makes it known that he is a carpenter, out of work and refinishing a rundown house. Next door, Shane Abbott former school teacher, also has quit the city life and is going to restore her grandmother's house into a museum and antique shop. When they meet something stirs in each of them. She thinks he's the one, but he tries to fight it at all costs. She is patient at knows he will realise one day that he loves her too. A good easy-to-read romance story.

I read this book when it was first published and enjoyed it. I guess in 40 years my taste has changed. The book is so old school. Neither character is really likeable.

Nora Roberts got much better as the years passed. I am going to stick with her more modern books. Although I will have to say that I have just about had it with her serials. They are not stand alone. Stick with the May novels and the J D Robb books. Forget the serials unless you are going to make them stand alone.

I enjoyed this romance novel. Shane Abbott's neighborly friendliness to her neighbor, Vance Banning is unwanted. Shane feels sorry for Vance's unemployment status so she offers him a job. Little does she know, there's more to Vance than what she sees. A cute romance.

My beautiful late nan owned every single one of Nora’s books.
So when she moved in with us for her last few years we spent the time reading our way through every single one together.
Granted they are not the type of books I like to read, but they were still really good and sweet.