At First Glance

My Rating: ★★★★★

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Publisher: Bling! Romance

Release Date: November 1, 2018

Genre: Clean Contemporary Romance

Estate planner Penny Thornton loves dusting off items others gloss over, especially since she relates to feeling tossed aside for the "bright and shiny." When her younger sister's approaching wedding launches Penny back into the throes of her dysfunctional family, she decides to use the festivities to close the gap in their relationships even if it means appeasing them and finally losing the few pounds they've hounded her about for years.

But she doesn't expect to meet two very different men in the process: East Fisher, the personal trainer who personifies everything she believes she could never attain, and Jonah Black, a man who reminds her so much of herself. Both men are more than they appear at first glance, and each seems interested in her romantically.
As Penny uncovers their hidden layers, she discovers when it comes to love and matters of the heart, she's got a lot to learn about estimating value.

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My Review

At First Glance is Susan Tuttle's debut novel and all I can say is WOW! From the first chapter I was invested in the story and found myself rooting for poor, sweet Penny from the start. I saw so much of myself in her and, in my mind, became very protective of her, going so far as to literally growling out loud while reading parts where people were mistreating her, while getting some strange looks from my family. The girl that doesn't seem to measure up on the outside has a heart of gold, her beauty lying on the inside, and luckily there is an amazing man that saw that beauty from the very beginning.

I loved the progression of the narrative and how the focus was on the theme of beauty being on the inside and not on the outside. The sister dynamic and the mother/daughter relationship, though frustrating, is realistic and incredibly well-written, and I loved the happy ending. I closed this book thinking about my own self-acceptance and how hard I am on myself. Though it is a fiction, it does make you think about your own ideas of beauty and how you see yourself.

For a debut novel, I am a little more than impressed and cannot wait to see what Susan Tuttle in store!