The First Time I Saw Him (A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick)

By: Laura Dave

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman, Tessa Albertson, Colin Donnell, CJ Wilson

THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED SEASON 2 OF THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME STARRING JENNIFER GARNER

A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB SELECTION!

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

THE SEQUEL TO THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME

“Taut prose matches the story with moments of emotional poignancy...a tense story, but a surprisingly tender one.” —The Washington Post
“Action-packed and deeply felt, this sequel is every bit as incredible as The Last Thing He Told Me.” —Mary Kubica
“A novel worth your time.” —The New York Times

Laura Dave continues Hannah Hall’s pulse-pounding journey in the riveting and deeply moving sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling blockbuster and Apple TV+ show, The Last Thing He Told Me.

How far would you go for a second chance?

Five years after her husband, Owen, disappeared, Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter, Bailey, have settled into a new life in Southern California. Together, they’ve forged a relationship with Bailey’s grandfather Nicholas and are putting the past behind them.

But when Owen shows up at Hannah’s new exhibition, she knows that she and Bailey are in danger again.

Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them. As a thrilling drama unfolds, Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety—and finds there just might be a way back to Owen and their long-awaited second chance.

A gripping, rich, and deeply moving novel about the power of forgiveness, The First Time I Saw Him picks up right where the epilogue for the “genuinely moving” (The New York Times) The Last Thing He Told Me left off, giving readers the eagerly awaited and absolutely exhilarating sequel to Dave’s global blockbuster.

Narrator sounds like

If you listen at 1.1, the main narrator, Rebecca, sounds a lot like Jennifer Gsrner, who's stars in the adaptation if the first book. I found that at the auto narration rate, it was a slooow listen. As a sequel, it does its job picking up where it left off and creating an ending or the opportunity for a continuation especially as a series.

Great narration

The writing and story were good, but predictable. I think I figured out the end before the end of part one. The narration was great and helped to distinguish the characters and timelines.

The story line was amazing continuing after the previous book

I like that there were different narrators for each characters
Often there are 5+ characters with the same narrator which sometimes makes listening not as enjoyable

I was hoping for a little more

I expected a little more. I really never got into the story, I felt like something was missing in the plot.

The narration of Hannah was flat.

Although the plot was not too complicated, the story was both confusing and anticlimactic. Even though years had passed, the characters played their parts as if they already knew what would happen next. No one character is likable or relatable. I didn’t care how it would end. I listened just to get to the end.