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By the Numbers #1.5
First Time: Penny
With the wounds from a bad breakup still healing, Penny Parker is reluctant to dive back into the dating scene. She’s especially wary of being set up with an older man, but Ian Pratchett wants the same future she’s after: family, stability, and true love. Though all the signs point to Ian being The One, can the timing ever be right between two people born decades apart?
242 pages, ebook
First published August 4, 2015
23 people are currently reading
295 people want to read
About the author
Abigail Barnette
63 books1,273 followersAbigail Barnette is the pseudonym of Jenny Trout (alias Jennifer Armintrout, an author, blogger, and funny person. Jenny made the USA Today bestseller list with her debut novel, Blood Ties Book One: The Turning. Her American Vampire was named one of the top ten horror novels of 2011 by Booklist Magazine Online. As Abigail Barnette, Jenny writes award-winning erotic romance, including the internationally bestselling The Boss series.
As a blogger, Jenny’s work has appeared on The Huffington Post, and has been featured on television and radio, including HuffPost Live, Good Morning America, The Steve Harvey Show, and National Public Radio’s Here & Now. Her work has earned mentions in The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly.
She is a proud Michigander, mother of two, and wife to the only person alive capable of spending extended periods of time with her without wanting to kill her.
As a blogger, Jenny’s work has appeared on The Huffington Post, and has been featured on television and radio, including HuffPost Live, Good Morning America, The Steve Harvey Show, and National Public Radio’s Here & Now. Her work has earned mentions in The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly.
She is a proud Michigander, mother of two, and wife to the only person alive capable of spending extended periods of time with her without wanting to kill her.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
June 6, 2016
First Time is an adult contemporary romance novel written by Abigail Barnette. It is a spinoff from Ms. Barnette's amazing The Boss series and it consists of two books, one in Ian's perspective (First Time: Ian) and one in Penny's perspective (First Time: Penny). Being a huge fan of The Boss series, I will loyally read any and every thing connected to it...even two perspectives of the same exact story. I read Ian's POV first (because I love Ian's character), and although I wasn't totally sold on Penny's character, I thought I should read her POV regardless because if anyone can change my mind about a character it's this author!
As noted in my review for Ian's POV, I still find Penny to be an inappropriate pairing for Ian. Her emotional baggage and maturity level need a lot of work. She's cute, energetic, young, and a huge ray of sunshine at times for Ian, but she is also impulsive, needy, insecure, and did I say immature? Yeah. However, it was helpful to see things from her point of view and I can empathize with her character's past and present struggles much more now. She's still not OK for my number one guy but I guess I can live with it. Ms. Barnette manages to keep me engaged and invested regardless of my personal opinions and that's why both POV's of this story get a shiny four stars from me.
My favorite quote:
"People who knew I was a virgin always seemed to think I started every relationship with a disclosure. The way I saw it, sex was no guarantee for anyone. It wasn't an obligation."
6/3/16:
Time to check out Penny's POV. I wasn't totally sold on Penny while reading Ian's POV in First Time: Ian but if anyone can change my mind about a character it's this author. Just love Abigail Barnette!
As noted in my review for Ian's POV, I still find Penny to be an inappropriate pairing for Ian. Her emotional baggage and maturity level need a lot of work. She's cute, energetic, young, and a huge ray of sunshine at times for Ian, but she is also impulsive, needy, insecure, and did I say immature? Yeah. However, it was helpful to see things from her point of view and I can empathize with her character's past and present struggles much more now. She's still not OK for my number one guy but I guess I can live with it. Ms. Barnette manages to keep me engaged and invested regardless of my personal opinions and that's why both POV's of this story get a shiny four stars from me.
My favorite quote:
"People who knew I was a virgin always seemed to think I started every relationship with a disclosure. The way I saw it, sex was no guarantee for anyone. It wasn't an obligation."
6/3/16:
Time to check out Penny's POV. I wasn't totally sold on Penny while reading Ian's POV in First Time: Ian but if anyone can change my mind about a character it's this author. Just love Abigail Barnette!
August 22, 2016
I think this is a cute idea. Abigail Barnette wrote two books regarding the relationship of one couple. Book #1, First Time: Ian (First Time #1) focused on Ian Pratchett's side of the story and now "First Time: Penny (First Time #2) focuses on Penny Parker.
I have to say that I was pretty bored by both characters for most of the book. Penny is in her early twenties (I want to say 22 but I don't have the energy to go look it up right now--ETA looked it up, yup she's 22) and she gets set up on a bind date by her boss with 53 year old Ian. The boss in the story is named Sophie and is the main character in her "The Boss" series. Since I have never read them before, I got spoiled on some events from those books which were talked about here. So if you are planning on starting this or Ian's book, know that things get discussed which will spoil you on that series.
Let's get the main thing out of the way. There is a huge age difference (22 to 53) which I can honestly say I have seen handled better in other books. Off the top of my head I really liked Dee Ernst's "A Different Kind of Forever" even though that book had the older woman and younger man, and in "Jane Erye" by Charlotte Bronte where we had Jane Erye and Mr. Rochester.
This book only touches upon this a few times, and the two main characters discuss children, but don't really discuss the fact that any kid they have together in the next year or two, would have an older father and a fairly young mother. Penny's friend and roommate Rosa at least keeps bringing it up, but it seems like it goes out one ear into the other. The fact that Penny only was legally able to drink a year prior to this book start gave me hard pause.
Besides Penny finding Ian hot (as soon as she sees him) that is all I got from her. I didn't get why she was so into him right away because I didn't see it myself (he swears a lot so she likes that). Besides the fact that there is a huge secret that is revealed regarding Ian, his past sexual exploits that turned me off the character right away. I just couldn't get past that at all since it sounded like that was something that he was really into, and for him to all of a sudden be okay with not doing that anymore for a person he just started seeing read a little false to me.
Penny is also a virgin (though she owns a vibrator) and I really didn't get her reasoning at all behind that. First, she goes into her family superstition, then she turns it around to say that she is scared of being hurt by someone that really doesn't love her, and then it is back to not wanting to fall in love, etc. It didn't make a lot of sense to me.
We find out some about Penny's upbringing and her terrible parents, but I wish that we had gotten more backstory on her in college and her first relationship. Things got aluded to here and there, but I felt like I was digging through a lot of subtext that was going on. It seems implied that Penny was spoiled and kind of an asshole before going to college, but then that changed.
Penny is immature though. We get to see signs of her immaturity throughout the book and I was pretty over it by the end of the book. Her focusing on fortune cookies, astrology, numerology, etc. and her using those as the reasons why she knows she is going to fall in love and be with Ian is tiresome.
Ian fell flat to me through this whole book. I didn't get why he was even interested in Penny past her age and her looks. There was no "there" at all with this guy. I don't know what he did all day that left him exhausted all of the time. And it's not quirky to not have food in your house. Frankly I thought that was the whole thing with both him and Penny. There were a lot of quirky things about both of them that did not equal them being fully developed. I didn't feel like they were real at all.
Other characters in this book don't fare as well. We have some interactions with Penny's boss, Sophie which turned me off (I have the first book in "The Boss" series that I am rethinking right now).
Penny's roommate Rosa is a transgender woman, but other than that, I didn't get a feel for her either. We know that she has a back and forth relationship with her ex and that was about it. I wanted to know more about her, what she did for a living (I can't even recall if it was said). What does Rosa get out of her friendship with Penny besides having to mother hen her all of the time?
We get to meet Penny's parents (garbage people) that Ian calls fairy-tale monsters, and I have to say that they were a little over the top. Once again, they didn't feel real to me.
I thought the writing was okay, I found a couple of typos here and there. Also there were certain phrases I was so confused about, such as "Obama jeans"? I was wondering if that means he wears terrible jeans or what? I don't remember ever seeing President Obama in badly looking jeans. But maybe I just haven't looked hard enough. Anyway it was jarring to me.
The flow was a little up and down throughout the book. I think that's because there was just a lot of Penny thinking about Ian, what to wear for Ian, what to do with her hair, (you get the picture). Also after the two characters finally do the deed, the book turned into an entirely other book.
The setting of New York was done very well I have to say. It was nice to see New York change through the seasons (summer into fall and then winter). I just didn't get enough of that. We do have these two going out and about. But mostly they are holed up at Ian's place or Penny's apartment.
The ending was a bit of a mess to me. There is always a reason why the heroine and hero break up or kept apart, and then things are hand waved away in the end.
I have to say that I was pretty bored by both characters for most of the book. Penny is in her early twenties (I want to say 22 but I don't have the energy to go look it up right now--ETA looked it up, yup she's 22) and she gets set up on a bind date by her boss with 53 year old Ian. The boss in the story is named Sophie and is the main character in her "The Boss" series. Since I have never read them before, I got spoiled on some events from those books which were talked about here. So if you are planning on starting this or Ian's book, know that things get discussed which will spoil you on that series.
Let's get the main thing out of the way. There is a huge age difference (22 to 53) which I can honestly say I have seen handled better in other books. Off the top of my head I really liked Dee Ernst's "A Different Kind of Forever" even though that book had the older woman and younger man, and in "Jane Erye" by Charlotte Bronte where we had Jane Erye and Mr. Rochester.
This book only touches upon this a few times, and the two main characters discuss children, but don't really discuss the fact that any kid they have together in the next year or two, would have an older father and a fairly young mother. Penny's friend and roommate Rosa at least keeps bringing it up, but it seems like it goes out one ear into the other. The fact that Penny only was legally able to drink a year prior to this book start gave me hard pause.
Besides Penny finding Ian hot (as soon as she sees him) that is all I got from her. I didn't get why she was so into him right away because I didn't see it myself (he swears a lot so she likes that). Besides the fact that there is a huge secret that is revealed regarding Ian, his past sexual exploits that turned me off the character right away. I just couldn't get past that at all since it sounded like that was something that he was really into, and for him to all of a sudden be okay with not doing that anymore for a person he just started seeing read a little false to me.
Penny is also a virgin (though she owns a vibrator) and I really didn't get her reasoning at all behind that. First, she goes into her family superstition, then she turns it around to say that she is scared of being hurt by someone that really doesn't love her, and then it is back to not wanting to fall in love, etc. It didn't make a lot of sense to me.
We find out some about Penny's upbringing and her terrible parents, but I wish that we had gotten more backstory on her in college and her first relationship. Things got aluded to here and there, but I felt like I was digging through a lot of subtext that was going on. It seems implied that Penny was spoiled and kind of an asshole before going to college, but then that changed.
Penny is immature though. We get to see signs of her immaturity throughout the book and I was pretty over it by the end of the book. Her focusing on fortune cookies, astrology, numerology, etc. and her using those as the reasons why she knows she is going to fall in love and be with Ian is tiresome.
Ian fell flat to me through this whole book. I didn't get why he was even interested in Penny past her age and her looks. There was no "there" at all with this guy. I don't know what he did all day that left him exhausted all of the time. And it's not quirky to not have food in your house. Frankly I thought that was the whole thing with both him and Penny. There were a lot of quirky things about both of them that did not equal them being fully developed. I didn't feel like they were real at all.
Other characters in this book don't fare as well. We have some interactions with Penny's boss, Sophie which turned me off (I have the first book in "The Boss" series that I am rethinking right now).
Penny's roommate Rosa is a transgender woman, but other than that, I didn't get a feel for her either. We know that she has a back and forth relationship with her ex and that was about it. I wanted to know more about her, what she did for a living (I can't even recall if it was said). What does Rosa get out of her friendship with Penny besides having to mother hen her all of the time?
We get to meet Penny's parents (garbage people) that Ian calls fairy-tale monsters, and I have to say that they were a little over the top. Once again, they didn't feel real to me.
I thought the writing was okay, I found a couple of typos here and there. Also there were certain phrases I was so confused about, such as "Obama jeans"? I was wondering if that means he wears terrible jeans or what? I don't remember ever seeing President Obama in badly looking jeans. But maybe I just haven't looked hard enough. Anyway it was jarring to me.
The flow was a little up and down throughout the book. I think that's because there was just a lot of Penny thinking about Ian, what to wear for Ian, what to do with her hair, (you get the picture). Also after the two characters finally do the deed, the book turned into an entirely other book.
The setting of New York was done very well I have to say. It was nice to see New York change through the seasons (summer into fall and then winter). I just didn't get enough of that. We do have these two going out and about. But mostly they are holed up at Ian's place or Penny's apartment.
The ending was a bit of a mess to me. There is always a reason why the heroine and hero break up or kept apart, and then things are hand waved away in the end.
October 9, 2015
I went into this one thinking it might expand on Ian's story but it was the exact same only from Penny's point of view. While it was fine I don't always get this thing with having to have points of view. I hope they tell us more of what happened with Ian and Penny with the next book in the boss series as I liked them, but I definitely enjoyed Ian's more so than Penny's.
February 24, 2022
j’ai autant aimé que le tome 1
j’aurais juste aimé qu’il y ait un petit épilogue ou juste qu’on apprenne que Penny avait eu un nouveau bébé (après la perte de Agnès) mais autrement j’ai adoré cette romance qui change de ce que j’ai l’habitude de lire.
dans ce second tome il déménage aux Bahamas! Ian travaille et Penny va reprendre les études en sciences de la biodiversité marine
j’aurais juste aimé qu’il y ait un petit épilogue ou juste qu’on apprenne que Penny avait eu un nouveau bébé (après la perte de Agnès) mais autrement j’ai adoré cette romance qui change de ce que j’ai l’habitude de lire.
dans ce second tome il déménage aux Bahamas! Ian travaille et Penny va reprendre les études en sciences de la biodiversité marine
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2015
Content warnings: mentions of abuse, mentions of murder & death, mentions of BDSM, high sexual content, abusive parenting,
I don't know which was worse. Reading the bit about Penny's parents from her side or Ian's side. Either way, they're utterly despicable people. And the fact people like them actually exist makes me angry. And sad for the kids who get born to them.
I enjoyed this just as much the second time around of reading it. I really do honestly enjoy reading both sides of a story about people. But that also might be because I'm kind of nosy when it comes to books especially the fluffier ones. It also might be because I get attachments to characters and like to see how their partner perceives them and what their partner thinks as well.
I think the things I love the best about this book (and consequently the other side of the story book) is Ian never pressuring her and her never feeling pressured. And Ian wanting to share the good and bad of his life with her as well as her willingness to try to share it all despite her personal beliefs. Especially when it comes to religion. Religion is important to Ian and he asks her if she'll join him at church one day so that he can share that with her. He explains that he never expects her to convert. Just that he wants to share it with her at some point but he won't pressure her to do it.
The characters feel like actual real people. I mean despite the rich guy and not so rich girl thing. Because that's the only thing that doesn't really feel real but I know occasionally does happen. But everything else feels real. Straight down to their arguments. And their handling of said arguments like adults. Instead of being written as adults but arguments sound like a bunch of pre-teens arguing. It's a fairly big pet peeve I have in books. And I love that Danny is shown as a person who happens to be a priest and isn't the typical stuffy stick up his arse representation of a priest that we usually get in media.
Most of my feelings have already been stated in Ian's story so there's not much more I can say.
Read my review of Ian's story here.
I don't know which was worse. Reading the bit about Penny's parents from her side or Ian's side. Either way, they're utterly despicable people. And the fact people like them actually exist makes me angry. And sad for the kids who get born to them.
I enjoyed this just as much the second time around of reading it. I really do honestly enjoy reading both sides of a story about people. But that also might be because I'm kind of nosy when it comes to books especially the fluffier ones. It also might be because I get attachments to characters and like to see how their partner perceives them and what their partner thinks as well.
I think the things I love the best about this book (and consequently the other side of the story book) is Ian never pressuring her and her never feeling pressured. And Ian wanting to share the good and bad of his life with her as well as her willingness to try to share it all despite her personal beliefs. Especially when it comes to religion. Religion is important to Ian and he asks her if she'll join him at church one day so that he can share that with her. He explains that he never expects her to convert. Just that he wants to share it with her at some point but he won't pressure her to do it.
The characters feel like actual real people. I mean despite the rich guy and not so rich girl thing. Because that's the only thing that doesn't really feel real but I know occasionally does happen. But everything else feels real. Straight down to their arguments. And their handling of said arguments like adults. Instead of being written as adults but arguments sound like a bunch of pre-teens arguing. It's a fairly big pet peeve I have in books. And I love that Danny is shown as a person who happens to be a priest and isn't the typical stuffy stick up his arse representation of a priest that we usually get in media.
Most of my feelings have already been stated in Ian's story so there's not much more I can say.
Read my review of Ian's story here.
December 1, 2015
Penny and her quirks had me smiling and laughing. I love the way she thinks and I love that she gave Ian a chance even with a huge age gap. The story progresses slowly but it's to make you see how taking it slow can be a good thing.
And let me just say that at the very end, that phone call...it still kills me. It plays a part in The Baby(the latest in Neil and Sophie books).
*Loaned*
And let me just say that at the very end, that phone call...it still kills me. It plays a part in The Baby(the latest in Neil and Sophie books).
*Loaned*
August 7, 2015
Abagail Barnette can do no wrong. I am just as in love with Ian and Penny and I was with Sophie and Neil. So cute.
August 9, 2015
I enjoyed it as a light read, although it was about a 22 year old virgin dating a 53 year old man. They are both sweet, intelligent people. And I loved his bickering closeness with his sister in Brooklyn, although it does seem odd he would confess to his nephew the priest - that's just too much and there are many other priests in NYC to confess to after all.
The age difference did seem extreme to me though, and I'm shamefully aware of how wildly inappropriate I would think it was if their sexes were switched.
I do feel like he was far, far more aware of the age difference than she was. She never really seems to understand what this means if they stay together. She sees him now, not what he'll be like in a decade or two. She's on the edge of adulthood, he's on the edge of old age.
He also gives conflicting messages about work/life balance. On one hand, he says he's holding back to just 60hoirs per week work because his partner had a heart attack and he himself wants to watch out. And he's yearning to have several children in the next few years.... On the other hand he's considering taking a billion dollar project that could propell his firm from mid-rank to top-rank. He doesn't seem remotely aware that these goals don't mesh.
Unlike many of This author's books, the sex (which is very vanilla) is kept to a minimum, and far more related to moving the story forward than to being the point of the story. I prefer this, although I would be happy to never have to ever read another deflowering as long as I shall live.
The age difference did seem extreme to me though, and I'm shamefully aware of how wildly inappropriate I would think it was if their sexes were switched.
I do feel like he was far, far more aware of the age difference than she was. She never really seems to understand what this means if they stay together. She sees him now, not what he'll be like in a decade or two. She's on the edge of adulthood, he's on the edge of old age.
He also gives conflicting messages about work/life balance. On one hand, he says he's holding back to just 60hoirs per week work because his partner had a heart attack and he himself wants to watch out. And he's yearning to have several children in the next few years.... On the other hand he's considering taking a billion dollar project that could propell his firm from mid-rank to top-rank. He doesn't seem remotely aware that these goals don't mesh.
Unlike many of This author's books, the sex (which is very vanilla) is kept to a minimum, and far more related to moving the story forward than to being the point of the story. I prefer this, although I would be happy to never have to ever read another deflowering as long as I shall live.
August 8, 2015
3.5 stars
This book was okay.... No where near as good as the Boss series. The beginning was kind of slow... Penny was kind of juvenile, silly and annoying. I didn't feel their love for each other - felt too rushed. The ending was seriously abrupt but it leaves room for another book. Hopefully the next stage in their journey will be told in one book. I'm going to read Ian's POV but I'm going to come back at a later date because I don't feel like rereading the exact story I just finished.
This book was okay.... No where near as good as the Boss series. The beginning was kind of slow... Penny was kind of juvenile, silly and annoying. I didn't feel their love for each other - felt too rushed. The ending was seriously abrupt but it leaves room for another book. Hopefully the next stage in their journey will be told in one book. I'm going to read Ian's POV but I'm going to come back at a later date because I don't feel like rereading the exact story I just finished.
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August 22, 2023I can't even rate this book because it was so bad but also somehow really enjoyable? Recounting the absurdity to my friend was enjoyable at least.
Disclosure that I didn't know Ian's story "came first" so I haven't read that (and I won't) but I was mostly intrigued by the POV of Penny having her first experience as an adult. For what its worth, I thought the sex scenes were authentic and great. I love seeing couples in stories being real and talking about things and the author highlighting the awkwardness of it all.
Outside of that, everything else was super flat. The characters had no real depth, and their reasoning for liking each other wasn't palpable. I don't mind an age gap but homegirl was delusional of how she thought things would go. The only time I was rooting for Penny was when they broke up and she told him she wasn't going to wait around for two years on a maybe.
The secondhand embarrassment of the dinner with her parents was god awful to the point of unbelievable. These were educated, well-mannered people.. idk the whole "you can't understand how it feels to raise a child you're disappointed in" bit was cringy but didn't feel plausible.
Don't get me started on the "curse" that made zero sense. Logistically, I still don't understand how that was supposed to work. And for it all to be a ruse because apparently Penny was shaping up to be such a ho that her parents had to "scare her straight" into not having sex... like... come on. Also, it seemed like a convenient excuse for why she hadn't had sex yet when it was convenient to the story. Because other times it was because she didn't want to get hurt. Also... can we all agree that 22 is not that damn old to still haven't had sex. Like... you're basically a child still.
The ending was all rushed. I still don't actually know why Ian got divorced. A 53 year old man lying to his sister when he's so straight-forward about everything else just doesn't track. And sure enough Penny just forgives everything. We won't even discuss the disgusting inner monologue at the end of the book where she basically wants him to put a baby in her despite having only dated for three months and having not talked to him in two because they broke up and just got back together five minutes prior. Like... I can't even.
I'm dumber for having read this... but sometimes you need to just turn your brain off and this accomplished that goal. 10/10 would recommend for the absurdity alone.
Ah... there was a trans character... which was the only voice of reason throughout the entire thing. And whom I would've liked more from.
Oh yes... and TW/CW: domestic abuse (out of NO WHERE), murder/violent deaths described, parental mental and emotional abuse
Disclosure that I didn't know Ian's story "came first" so I haven't read that (and I won't) but I was mostly intrigued by the POV of Penny having her first experience as an adult. For what its worth, I thought the sex scenes were authentic and great. I love seeing couples in stories being real and talking about things and the author highlighting the awkwardness of it all.
Outside of that, everything else was super flat. The characters had no real depth, and their reasoning for liking each other wasn't palpable. I don't mind an age gap but homegirl was delusional of how she thought things would go. The only time I was rooting for Penny was when they broke up and she told him she wasn't going to wait around for two years on a maybe.
The secondhand embarrassment of the dinner with her parents was god awful to the point of unbelievable. These were educated, well-mannered people.. idk the whole "you can't understand how it feels to raise a child you're disappointed in" bit was cringy but didn't feel plausible.
Don't get me started on the "curse" that made zero sense. Logistically, I still don't understand how that was supposed to work. And for it all to be a ruse because apparently Penny was shaping up to be such a ho that her parents had to "scare her straight" into not having sex... like... come on. Also, it seemed like a convenient excuse for why she hadn't had sex yet when it was convenient to the story. Because other times it was because she didn't want to get hurt. Also... can we all agree that 22 is not that damn old to still haven't had sex. Like... you're basically a child still.
The ending was all rushed. I still don't actually know why Ian got divorced. A 53 year old man lying to his sister when he's so straight-forward about everything else just doesn't track. And sure enough Penny just forgives everything. We won't even discuss the disgusting inner monologue at the end of the book where she basically wants him to put a baby in her despite having only dated for three months and having not talked to him in two because they broke up and just got back together five minutes prior. Like... I can't even.
I'm dumber for having read this... but sometimes you need to just turn your brain off and this accomplished that goal. 10/10 would recommend for the absurdity alone.
Ah... there was a trans character... which was the only voice of reason throughout the entire thing. And whom I would've liked more from.
Oh yes... and TW/CW: domestic abuse (out of NO WHERE), murder/violent deaths described, parental mental and emotional abuse
October 30, 2017
Okay, so I decided to read this book while I was waiting for The Sister to be released. I had high hopes, and I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed! The only reason I gave it 4 stars out of 5, is because I wanted more from Ian and Penny, similar to Sophie and Neil. Who knows, maybe once the second edition to Penny and Ian is released, Abigail Barnette will go more in depth with their love story. Regardless, this is a MUST READ! Especially if you love The Boss Series.
December 27, 2017
This is exactly the same book as First Time: Ian, only from Penny's point of view. I thought it was really unnecessary to rewrite the same book, so I didn't enjoy this as much and definitely skimmed some scenes that were word-for-word the same.
August 18, 2017
Dans la même veine que le tome 1, avec quelques petites longueurs mais dans l'ensemble bon moment.
June 3, 2018
A fun and filthy read.
August 3, 2021
I love this author's writing style. She is so funny! This is a cute, realistic romance.
January 22, 2022
Read on Radish. Loving this age-gap romance!
January 1, 2016
I think I liked Ian's side of the story just a smidgen more, just because of how hilariously awkward he is, but I really liked Penny's too. It added a lot to the story and it was nice to see that they were feeling the same feelings for each other in the beginning and Ian wasn't just being a sex-crazy guy. They really had a powerful connection right from the start. In the next book, WE NEED MORE ROSA! By far my favorite side character.
Representation matters, and Barnette has always been very aware of that in her books, but both First Time books show that more than ever. It was so powerful to me to see trans people of color (especially trans women) represented, and, even as an off hand comment, to have sex workers portrayed in a non-negative way. It shot Penny up to being my favorite character Barnett has ever graced us with.
Ian/Penny have taken the spot in my heart where Sophie/Neil used to live and I hope hope hope there will be just as many books for the two of them.
Representation matters, and Barnette has always been very aware of that in her books, but both First Time books show that more than ever. It was so powerful to me to see trans people of color (especially trans women) represented, and, even as an off hand comment, to have sex workers portrayed in a non-negative way. It shot Penny up to being my favorite character Barnett has ever graced us with.
Ian/Penny have taken the spot in my heart where Sophie/Neil used to live and I hope hope hope there will be just as many books for the two of them.
April 18, 2016
book 2 was the one I kinda fell in love with Penny and the story. Book 1 was the one that made me love their relationship. beyond stereotypes amd expectation. I read both book nearly at the same time. by the end I just finished Ian first. I loved it. reading nack book 2 wasn't that hard, it would have been if the POV gave so much. Reading repetitions is not great but I was quite okay with it, sure I will admit I skipped a few dialogues.
So yeah, I totally enjoyed this love story!!! I just wished an epilogue, one sweeter that it would be so dorky but so them!
oh yeah, Penny I love her. Maturity? she wouldn't gain that with age, wisdom yes. but she was a girl, a woman and herself and wouldn't change. so the age thing wasn't at all a dealbreaker in this book, for me as a reader.
So yeah, I totally enjoyed this love story!!! I just wished an epilogue, one sweeter that it would be so dorky but so them!
oh yeah, Penny I love her. Maturity? she wouldn't gain that with age, wisdom yes. but she was a girl, a woman and herself and wouldn't change. so the age thing wasn't at all a dealbreaker in this book, for me as a reader.
January 12, 2016
This was an absolutely adorable romance story, and it felt fresh from other romance stories out there. Yes, it's technically spicer than most romance novels, but it begins positively chaste and sweet. I loved the concept of the companion romance story, and the relationship had enough turns that both books had something new to discover. The two complemented each other, but could easily stand alone on their own, so one doesn't have to read the other if the so chose. I was delighted by First Time, and I think readers should give it a chance.
November 6, 2016
I chose to read Penny's POV first.
Penny seemed *very* young and immature, all over the place temperamentally. It's part of the reason I didn't really feel the "true love" from either of their perspective. I mean, they barely knew each other and were facing some pretty serious logistics problems when they started talking about marriage and kids. For some reason, I was a lot more comfortable with Sophie and Neil.
Also - are young women in this day and age as stupid about condoms as Penny? And even if she was a moron, why did Ian go along with it?
Penny seemed *very* young and immature, all over the place temperamentally. It's part of the reason I didn't really feel the "true love" from either of their perspective. I mean, they barely knew each other and were facing some pretty serious logistics problems when they started talking about marriage and kids. For some reason, I was a lot more comfortable with Sophie and Neil.
Also - are young women in this day and age as stupid about condoms as Penny? And even if she was a moron, why did Ian go along with it?
August 16, 2015
This was so cute and so sexy and so entertaining! I read the two books at the same time and it was such a great reading experience, they were so in sync it was lovely! Although, I feel like the ending was rushed for some reason? (Spoilers ahead, you've been warned) Maybe this is just me being a sucker for angst, but it almost felt like no time had gone between their break up and the getting back together, but nevertheless, I loved it and I loved Sophie's and Neil's cameos!
September 17, 2015
I LOVED THIS BOOK! Penny and Ian may not seem to be meant for one another, due to their age difference, lifestyle difference - just overall differences - but they make it work in the end.
Great story, really well-developed characters, love the plot. The book sucked me in from the very first page to the very last. Now, to read Ian's side...
Great story, really well-developed characters, love the plot. The book sucked me in from the very first page to the very last. Now, to read Ian's side...
August 20, 2015
Book 2 of the booktubeathon complete!
September 12, 2016
2.5 stars.
December 2, 2015
A carbon copy of Ian's story from Penny's POV, which unfortunately didn't add anything to the story.
September 6, 2022
Re-read 29 June - 2 July 2016.
22 August - 6 September 2022.
22 August - 6 September 2022.
September 20, 2016
I didn't read this one from Ian 's perspective. But I liked this one. The it was soft and sweet. I it wasn't demanding and had just enough conflict to keep me interested. Just a nice sweet story.
July 29, 2024
I don’t read a lot of books in this genre but I really like this author. I alternated chapters between each book and I’m so glad I did. I flew through these books, and enjoyed every minute.
March 30, 2021
I love a good spin off series!
August 5, 2015
Another great Abigail Barnette book. Yay!
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