The First Love

(2 customer reviews)
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Description

When her mom enrolls Calli in an equestrian riding class with a bunch of boys nearly half her age, she is miserable…until she realizes there is something different about her instructor, Justine. While young Calli is learning what love is about, Justine goes after her ambitions and promises to return. 20 years after their initial meeting, Calli goes to France to write, knowing that is the last known location she has of Justine, even though she has no idea if she still lives there or how to even find her. Is anyone ever truly free of their first love?

2 reviews for The First Love

  1. J Jarvis

    I was not familiar with Erinne Bates’ work until I came across the audiobook on Audiobooks Unleashed. The premise sounded interesting so I gave it a try. I loved the story was told through Calli’s perspective throughout, providing the listener with a view of her awakening to other women and her relationship with Justine. The part I enjoyed most is that it does not take a standard romance path with these two characters. There were times I kept expecting certain outcomes based on reading other romance books, but this one continued to go in different directions, which I found very refreshing.

    The narration by Lucy Emerson was fantastic, providing different accents to the various characters, which kept the story interesting and enjoyable to listen to.

    I don’t want to go into a lot of detail so as not to spoil the book for others. I found it to be a story that I couldn’t stop listening to and I think many others will as well. If you are stuck in a rut when it comes to romance novels, give this one a try. It will leave you breathless at times as well as heartbroken at others. It was a fun listen and is one I’ll be listening to again.

    I received a copy of this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

  2. Jude

    When Calli’s mother insists she takes a riding class with twelve-year-old boys, the seventeen-year-old isn’t happy, until she meets the instructor. A former Olympic equestrian athlete from Ireland, Justine steals Calli’s breath. And when she’s looking for a place to stay and Calli’s parents offer her brother’s room, all sorts of dreams come true. Until life interferes and the young women get separated for many years.

    I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would. The narration was pretty good, even with the foreign accents. I’m always rather tough on French accents and Lucy Emerson’s was okay, but do the French really not know about dirty martinis? I had never before heard of vodka with olives. Then again, I don’t drink cocktails… And is going to the Louvre such a big event when you’re staying in Versailles? I mean, yes, the Louvre is wonderful, but why does it sound like Calli wouldn’t have found her way there without Justine? Didn’t anyone tell her about the RER?

    I know these remarks aren’t very important and they probably wouldn’t have stuck with me if I had been carried away by the story. I felt the book stayed on the surface of things for more than half of it. I never really connected with the characters and didn’t find them very likeable. At first, I was surprised by both young women’s immaturity (Justine is twenty-one at the beginning, so not a teenager anymore, a young woman with a job, far from home). I quite liked the chemistry between them, and that’s something that stayed until the end. Far from being a sweet romance about two young women and their first love, this novel is really about Calli’s journey to get over this very powerful first love.

    Most reviews are very positive so it’s probably just that this book isn’t for me. The First Love is a debut novel, and as such, it’s promising.

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