It was SO good! A lot of the time a sequel cannot live up to the first book but Laura Dave did not .disappoint

I am a big fan of Laura Dave, so I enjoyed this follow-up novel to “The Last Thing He Told Me.” But, as a reviewer, I must warn anyone who reads this that it is not a standalone novel. So, for those of you who love Hannah and Bailey as I do, read LAST THING first or at least watch the well done streaming version.

This is a great twisty unexpected story of the past coming back and threatening Hannah and Baikey. It moves quickly from place to place and has a very compelling plot. I can assure you, if you love Dave, this will keep you riveted once again.

Since I need closure, I found this a satisfying coda to her earlier novel. I highly recommend reading both novels.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me this ARC to review.

4.5 stars

Highly recommend doing a reread of The Last Thing He Told Me prior to reading this one, as it literally picks up where the last left off. Dave packs a ton into this less than 300 page read, and you will find yourself totally consumed. Multiple perspectives and time periods are offered, which allows for the reader to get a complete picture. Having watched the TV show, it was easy for me to visualize Jennifer Garner and Angourie Rice back in action-- I really hope that Hello Sunshine picks up the sequel!

❗️ Before you turn the first page, make sure you’ve read “The Last Thing He Told Me.”❗️
In this gripping sequel, Hannah’s rebuilt life unravels the moment she spots Owen, her missing husband at her art gallery after five long years. Shortly after, a cryptic text warns her to leave, just as news breaks of Bailey’s grandfather Nicolas Bell’s death. Years of planning spring into action, sending Hannah and her daughter Bailey racing to Paris. The threat leads back to Nicolas, once the loyal enforcer who took the fall for powerful crime boss Frank. While Frank had vowed to protect them, his ruthless heirs have other plans. Now, Hannah and Owen must decide, how far will they go to protect their daughter?

In this emotionally rich and gripping sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave reunites Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter Bailey with danger and longing when Owen reappears, thrusting them back into a relentless flight for safety—with forgiveness at its emotional core

Picking up right where the previous book, The Last Time I Saw Him left off, Laura Dave's sequel The First Time I Saw Him gets right into the action.

It's been five years since Owen left and Hannah and her twenty two year old daughter are a tight unit, both having moved from Northern California to Los Angeles, having created full lives without Bailey's father Owen. But suddenly he's back and Hannah knows that the future she's prepped them for is here. Bailey and Hannah must go on the run to save themselves and hopefully to find a life with Owen at the end of the chase.

Having loved the first book, I was prepared to get right back into Hannah's world and see what was next. The action is constant, but this time there is a lot of reflection about these characters and what brought them to the present and how their lives have been inextricably altered. Another excellent story of a bit slower pace in parts than I would have liked. 4 stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The First Time I Saw Him is a perfect sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me. I will admit I had to go back and read a summary of the first book before I began the sequel. It’s been a few years! Right from the start the sequel was off and running full of suspense as Hannah and Bailey were on the run. This book filled a lot of holes from the first book. I learned more about the crime family and how the grandfather and Owen were involved. There were a lot of chapters that went back in time, but it helped me understand the relationship of the grandfather and crime boss Frank. It was an easy and very fast read. Highly recommend!

4.5 ⭐ rounded up!

I love when a book has you turning page after page and you can't stop reading. This book has fantastic pacing and will keep you up all night, so do yourself a favor and set aside time to binge read it. 🙌

This book covers Hannah and Bailey's life after Owen disappeared. They are much closer now and Nicholas has become a part of their lives.

When Hannah sees Owen she isn't sure what to think. Especially the next day when someone texts her and tells her to look in her pocket and she finds a thumb drive. It must be him, but why now? Everything changes when the next text says to, "Get out of the house NOW."

This moment kicks off a series of events that put Hannah and Bailey on the run. What has changed? Why are they no longer safe?

Try to keep up through the twists and turns as Laura Dave leads the reader on a wild ride.

Thank you to netgalley for an ARC to enjoy.

I've read all of LD's books and really enjoyed this one... It felt a bit unreal and was imagining the screenplay and sequel on apple but still enjoyable although it was far fetched. Good look with the book and hope to see more!

The First Time I Saw Him is the long-awaited sequel to Laura Dave’s blockbuster The Last Thing He Told Me, and it delivers on every promise. Picking up exactly where the first book left off, it plunges Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter Bailey into another high-stakes fight for survival that will test the strength of their bond and their resolve.

Five years after Owen’s disappearance, Hannah and Bailey have built a new life in Southern California. They have forged a fragile peace with Bailey’s grandfather Nicholas and are finally putting the past behind them. That illusion shatters when Owen appears at Hannah’s art exhibition, a silent warning that danger is closing in once again.

What follows is a tense race to stay ahead of the threats. As Hannah works to keep Bailey safe, she is faced with the possibility of reuniting with the man she has never stopped loving. Dave balances the momentum of a thriller with the emotional pull of a family drama.

For readers who were captivated by Hannah’s fierce determination in the first book, this sequel is both satisfying and addictive. It honors the original while expanding the world and deepening the relationships that made it unforgettable.

#SimonAndSchuster #TheFirstTimeISawHim #LauraDave

I just finished The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave and I honestly couldn’t put it down! If you read The Last Thing He Told Me, you already know how intense and emotional that story was, but this sequel takes it up a notch. It picks up five years later, with Hannah and Bailey trying to build a quiet and stable life in Southern California. But then out of nowhere, Owen shows up and everything they thought was behind them comes crashing back. It’s suspenseful and full of tension, but what I love most about Laura Dave’s writing is how grounded and emotionally complex her characters are. Even with all the danger and twists, this story still centers around love, family, and trust. There’s a mix of action and emotion that kept me completely hooked. If you loved the first book, this one delivers everything you’d hope for and more!

Oh my word. This much-anticipated book is everything I had hoped for and more. And yet, I still feel greedy for a third installment…

Often when I see a question about strong FMCs, I think of Hannah Hall. She will forever be a superhero in my eyes. Having taken her husband’s mysterious note and subsequent disappearance in stride, working to emotionally and financially support a new stepdaughter who hates her, and at the same time, working to figure out how to help her missing husband, she easily became my literary icon.

And before I go on, if none of this sounds familiar to you, please stop reading this review immediately and go back and read The Last Thing He Told Me, the book that proceeds this one. In fact, I highly recommend a read of it, even if just a reread to refresh your memory— something I wish I had done prior to jumping into this book, in order to keep supporting characters straight.

While I had been okay with Laura Dave ripping my heart out à la “the could have been boys still love you”, I was over the moon to learn there was a sequel that would pick up just where the first story left off. And my friends, the transition was seamless. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought Dave wrote this book immediately after writing TLTHTM. Not a beat was missed, the action taking off right from the go. In fact, the action never let up until the very end (and oh does this fact show in my nails…eek).

To prevent the risk of any spoilers, I will end my review with one last thought. Read this book. If you are like me, and desperately wanted more to Hannah, Owen, and Bailey’s story, you’ve gotten it and it’s perfect.

Read if you like:
▪️action packed stories
▪️strong FMCs
▪️family dramas
▪️forbidden romance vibes
▪️dual timelines
▪️ensemble casts
▪️lovable characters

A huge thank you to Scribner Books for the advanced copy.

SO many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave, the amazing sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me. It was everything fans could hope for.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I loved The Last Thing He Told Me and this was an amazing sequel for where that left off. Of course a story where the characters want to leave the past behind them is made better when it won’t seem to stay there and that’s exactly the plot of this book. Once again I enjoyed Hannah and Bailey’s characters and felt the shock they did throughout this book. Lots of thrills and drama in this book and I love that Hannah will do anything and everything to keep Bailey safe. The theme of strength and forgiveness are important in this sequel and the plot is once again easy to follow.
Review will be posted on Instagram and Amazon on pub day and links added to NetGalley.