Customer Reviews

First Impressions

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Forty-nine year old Agent Jared McBride feels too old to do another field assignment, but his boss insists. Agent Roger Applegate had been selling out his country for fifteen years, but swallowed incriminating notes just before the feds arrived; they found the hard way a scrap that named an Eden Palmer with her social security number. The Feds want to know the connection.

Jared is to investigate forty-five years old single mom Eden who recently left New York City when she inherited a home in Arundel, North Carolina from the late Alice Farrington who she once worked for. Jared learns that when his target was seventeen she was coming home from choir practice when she was raped; when she became pregnant her parents tossed her out of her home. Alice took her and her newborn into her home, but Eden fled when Melissa turned five because her employer's son was a pedophile.

Jared knows he must be cautious because someone killed agent Tess Brewster in Arundel. To get close to Eden he begins to court her, but for the first time Jared is emotionally involved as he has fallen in love with his mark who may be a traitor.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS is a delightful romantic thriller that stars two wonderful middle age protagonists, both wanting to start over. Jared is caught between duty and love as he finds the warm Eden is a fabulous beautiful person who he desires and is so removed from his FIRST IMPRESSIONS of a victimized Mother Theresa (based on her file). Eden just wants to connect, but also begins to learn that a house is not a home. Together with a fine support cast they provide fans with an enjoyable romantic suspense.

Harriet Klausner

Another stinker from Deveraux.. Its not as bad as Carolina Isle.. but that's not saying much. Does Devereux not want to be a romance novelist anymore- she has taken out all romance. All that is here is a high school version of a John Grisham novel.. but worse. I miss my Devereaux of old where there were these great characters that you fell in love with that inturn fell in love with each other. There used to be good dialogue that made you smile, laugh out loud or even made you tear up. It is hard to believe the author who wrote Rememberance would put her name on a book so very badly written an call it a love story.
Very badly done Deveraux.. very badly done.
Look for her earlier works.. if this is any indication of her future writng there are all going to be worth missing.

The first book I read by Jude Deveraux was SUMMERHOUSE. I really enjoyed that story, about four friends with a little bit of "magic" mixed in. I then read Mulberry Tree, which I really liked. I was really hoping I would like FIRST IMPRESSIONS, and while I liked the idea (my "First Impression" was that it would be a good read!), I found that it dragged on a little too much, and as the chapters moved forward, I found myself thinking, "What else could go wrong?" Everytime it seemed like the "mystery" was solved so that the story could shift from mystery to relationships, the characters were hit with another mystery to solve, and more danger ahead. By the time I was about 3/4 through the book, I had had enough mystery and danger. I wanted to know what happened with the relationships that were formed in the beginning of the story.

Even once I finished the book, I wasn't completely satsified. Too many questions remained unanswered, and it was all wrapped up nice and neat and "tied with a bow." After reading the last few pages, I didn't think it left a "Lasting Impression" on me!!

The characters introduced in the beginning of the book provided promise for a character driven story, but seemed to loose momentum along the way. For example, I found the daughter, Melissa a little annoying and bratty by the time she reappeared later on in the book. Her first appearances in the beginning of the story didn't make the same impression she made later on. The character of Brad was confident and strong-willed when first introduced, but later turned into a bit of a whimp!! I found this type of inconsistency several times throughout the book. Characters seemed to do a 180 degree turn-around, and took on different personalities as the story progressed. While this may seem to be a form of character development or growth under the pen of other authors, I didn't find this to be the case in this book. The story is definitely more plot-ridden, rather than character-driven, so I didn't find myself emotionally attached to any of the characters.

I'm also not a big fan of mystery, which this book is loaded with. A little bit of mystery mixed in with romance is fine, but FIRST IMPRESSIONS took it a little too far. I found myself skimming the paragraphs, grabbing the highlights, just to get through it. At times I felt like I was reading the latest script was a romantic-comedy (kinda like the Meg Ryan & Kevin Kline characters from French Kiss!). I could see this story on the big sceen, but it just didn't play out well within the pages of a novel.

For fans of Jude Deveraux, it's a good one to check out of the library and true fans may not want to miss it, but new readers who have never read Jude Deveraux may want to skip this one, and read one of her older releases. Maybe then, come back and read FIRST IMPRESSIONS, and see what type of "impressions" Ms. Deveraux makes on you!

If you loved Nancy Drew as a kid, you will love this adult version. It absolutely took me back to those days when I couldn't wait to read what happened next and solve the mystery - only this one has an adult twist.

"It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! --- It's Raining Men! Amen!" Eden Palmer's life takes an unexpected turn once again when two handsome men come into her life at the same time, and Eden's temperature "is rising." The plot of FIRST IMPRESSIONS is the fantasy of women worldwide --- a choice between two men who are in hot pursuit. Who will Eden choose: the man who makes a good first impression, or the man who makes the lasting impression?

A successful editor at a New York publishing house, Eden's love life has been limited. "The city (New York) was full of young, beautiful, young, gorgeous, young women. Eden felt that she'd never had a chance." However, "God bless Mother Nature, she's a single woman too...She taught every angel to rearrange the sky so that every woman could find her perfect guy..." In Eden's first 24 hours in her hometown of Arundel, North Carolina, her first impression of town lawyer and widower Braddon Granville --- "broad-shouldered with a thick chest" and "a thick mane of salt-and-pepper hair. Very handsome indeed" --- offers hope for Eden's nonexistent love life. A few hours later, she realizes that her first impression of Jared McBride, an undercover FBI agent sent to seduce information out of her in connection with a mysterious death, is less than chaste.

Eden returns to Arundel, North Carolina to take possession of Farrington Manor, willed to her by the petite and spirited Alice Augusta Farrington. She recalls her life there as a scared and pregnant 17-year-old girl taken in by Alice Farrington after she was thrown out by her parents when they disbelieved that the town minister raped her. The baby girl who Eden raised as a single mom and to whom Eden is completely devoted is about to be a mother herself, and Eden decides to move back to Arundel despite her previous history there to "find out about myself." There is nothing like the attentions of two virile men to boost Eden's confidence and make her forget the past.

Eden Palmer is being watched 24/7 by the FBI. Her name was found on a piece of paper in the stomach of a dead man, and the FBI thinks she is the key to why he was murdered. Eden is suspicious of Jared McBride's presence in Arundel, but invites him to stay in the eighteenth-century Farrington Manor so she can keep an eye on him after she viciously attacks and hurts him in a darkened room. Jared's involvement with the FBI soon becomes evident and helps Eden unravel the mystery of the Farrington Sapphires. The scene where the sapphires are discovered is one of the novel's most riveting passages.

Slowly, very slowly, Jude Deveraux develops a sexual chemistry between Jared and Eden that keeps the reader interested. This is the only undercurrent of romance between characters that keeps the novel alive. Will the lasting impression of the man who pursues Eden (despite her desire not to be pursued any longer) and who makes love to her in a secluded candlelit shed with the rain sprinkling on a tin roof win her heart? Not until the novel progresses in the second half does the storyline pick up and flourish. FIRST IMPRESSIONS is quick to pair Eden with Braddon and make mention of marriage between the two, long before there is any strong relationship built between the characters.

As the mystery of the Farrington Sapphires is unraveled and Jared heroically disperses of multiple poisonous snakes hidden in Eden's bedroom and rescues her kidnapped daughter, we come to realize that Braddon Granville's pedigree doesn't stand a chance against the bravado and body of a man whose "years of exercise had kept him in trim fit."

The strongest theme of FIRST IMPRESSIONS is a powerful statement about finding oneself and triumphing over life's unexpected events. Eden is forty-something and still discovering herself and her passions. Most importantly, she discovers the kind of man whom she allows to become the "Great Love" of her life. The man who leaves a lasting impression on Eden and who pursues her relentlessly triumphs over the man who egotistically depends on his first impression.


--- Reviewed by Hillary Wagy

I am proud to admit I am a fan of Jude Deveraux, but this book was better than the rest I have read. The heroine was believable. The story kept me trying to figure out what was going to happen next. I was surprised to the very last page. If you like Jude's books, you will love this one.

I have been a huge fan of Jude Deveraux, at least of her early work. She, like many of my favorite authors seem to have lost their knack for writing a good, interesting stories. Maybe its the money. I imagine she could write 200 pages about a toaster, and because her name is on it, would be paid millions. It seems desire and effort are no longer there.

I struggled for 4 weeks to read this book. I was sooooooo bored, I could hardly stand to pick it up again and again. There is nothing to it. I have no idea what I would describe the story as. There was nothing of substance. Every chapter had the same ho hum tone. It never went anywhere. I certainly could care less about 18th century gardening.

The thing I found most interesting about this book was in Deveraux's dedication, at the beginning of the book. She dedicated it to a few women (?friends) , who asked for a character to have an "exciting adventure" with "lots of humor". After reading that, I looked forward to such a story.

One hundred and eighty pages into it, I hadn't even cracked a smile, nor did I find anything interesting, or exciting going on. I was shocked to see some great reviews from others on this book. I don't understand. Read some of her early books, including my all time favorite, "A Knight in Shining Armor". That, is a wonderful book, story, etc. Its the whole package.

First Impressions, taken at its title, in my opinion, would be a dud.

Save yourself. You'll never get that time back.

While not up to par with her previous books, this book offers a lot of the author's staples: humor, romance and interesting characters.

I am a huge fan of Jude's. However, this book rambled along. If your looking for humor like you are used to seeing in her older books, you won't find much of it in this one. The supporting characters weren't very supporting with the exception of the leading man (not men). This book is worthwhile to check out from the library though.

Eden Palmer has had a hard life. Raped at seventeen, her parents kicked her out of their house when they found out she was pregnant. She made her way to Arundel, North Carolina where an old reclusive woman, Mrs. Farrington, took her in and took care of her. Five years later, Eden fled with her daughter in the middle of the night because Mrs. Farrington's son, a pedophile, moved in and was looking at her daughter in an odd way.

Many years later, Mrs. Farrington is dead and has willed all she owns to Eden. The happiest years of Eden's life were spent in the old Farrington manor and so she moved to Arundel to take a look at the house. Meanwhile, the FBI has just discovered one of their undercover agents was murdered in a hit-and-run in Arundel. They're investigating a possible spy living in Arundel and centered on the investigation is Eden. Jared Montgomery is sent in under cover to romance Eden and get her to talk about what she knows. But she proves to be a much more difficult nut to crack. Not long after she moves in to Farrington manor, attempts are made on her life and Jared must figure out who is behind the attempts on Eden's life and why they want her dead.

I'm a big fan of Jude Deveraux's works but I have to say this one was really disappointing. I couldn't really get into this book. The pace was slow and there was way too much narration. The pages are filled with details that, I think, could've been condensed so the flavor of the main plot isn't diluted to nothing more than bland tasting forage. The characters, while well conceived, didn't get any empathy from me. Eden is so dense that I spent more time frustrated with her than with trying to wade through pages of non-sensical, useless dialogue and details in order to get back to the main storyline.