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The First Time I Saw Your Face

by Hazel Osmond (Goodreads Author)

3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 · rating details · 62 ratings · 14 reviews

Jennifer had it all. But a terrible accident has taken almost everything.

Moving back home, her future isn't looking too bright. Until she meets Mack.

Sexy, dishevelled and just a little clumsy, he starts to make her believe that she can move on from the past and embrace life all over again. But he has a secret he'd do anything to protect and he'll have to betray her to kee...more

ebook, 400 pages

Published June 21st 2012 by quercus

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Jul 05, 2012 Hilary rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this, after wondering at first if I could get past my aversion to the theme of tabloid journalism and the deception and betrayal that went with it. Another hero bent upon making himself unforgivable, so the pivot for me was - would he pull it off? However, the set-up is quite clever, and the author might have read my mind in the way moral and ethical qualms were dealt with - reasons, if not excuses, for his extraordinarily dodgy actions - and suitable expiation made on the way t...more I really enjoyed this, after wondering at first if I could get past my aversion to the theme of tabloid journalism and the deception and betrayal that went with it. Another hero bent upon making himself unforgivable, so the pivot for me was - would he pull it off? However, the set-up is quite clever, and the author might have read my mind in the way moral and ethical qualms were dealt with - reasons, if not excuses, for his extraordinarily dodgy actions - and suitable expiation made on the way to a happy ending. I don't think it is a horrific spoiler to say that journalist Mack Stone is working undercover as nerdy writer Matt Harper to get a celebrity story and invade a family's privacy, but falls for his mark in the process, as she also falls for him - whoever he is. The heroine is particularly vulnerable after a terrible accident, and this really does open an almost unbridgable gap between them. One of the things that kept me turning the pages was to see just how that gap could be plausibly bridged. The novel tackles an unusual and sensitive subject, facial disfigurement, directly and with insight.

The setting is rural Northumberland, beautifully described, and obviously deeply familiar to and loved by the author. There is a lot of local colour- the heroine, Jen, is hunted down to her home on a farm; she works in the library in the local town; and has an abiding talent and passion for acting, though she has lost the confidence even to go on stage with her local amateur dramatic society. CueMack/Matt infiltrating her work, her hobby and her home.

I enjoyed the set pieces in the library - as a librarian, I'm well placed to know that they are pretty authentic, even if serious retraining of some of the staff may be in order (actually, that may only add to the authenticity ;) ). Otherwise, it's all straight from the wonderful comic strip Unshelved. Just one passage of personal discomfort where 'someone from the County Council' had arrived to talk to the staff about self-service and efficiency (but only because I have been that person). The production of Twelfth Night by the Amateur Dramatic Society was very engaging, and the choice of play, with secrets and disguises, very apposite (and preparing us for a similarly miraculous denouement at the end of the novel).

All these themes are gathered together with huge verve and skill. There are two massive plot twists (at least), characters to believe in and root for or hate as required, and the resolution of all these knots in a satisfactory way. I raced through it, really needing to know what happened in the end.

(less)

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Nov 05, 2012 Ari J Bookzilla rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: clean-read

There were some parts of Hazel Osmond's previous book Who's Afraid of Mr Wolfe? that I liked, and there were some parts that I didn't like.

However, with The First Time I Saw Your Face I have to say that I absolutely loved every single word of this book. The writing is gorgeous, I can't think of a better word - such beautiful prose, it was almost like poetry. There isn't a character that has no purpose, they are so colorful and vibrant and you fall in love with each and every one of them, (I espe...more There were some parts of Hazel Osmond's previous book Who's Afraid of Mr Wolfe? that I liked, and there were some parts that I didn't like.

However, with The First Time I Saw Your Face I have to say that I absolutely loved every single word of this book. The writing is gorgeous, I can't think of a better word - such beautiful prose, it was almost like poetry. There isn't a character that has no purpose, they are so colorful and vibrant and you fall in love with each and every one of them, (I especially loved Doug and Cress - apart from main characters).

The setting of the book, Northumberland, sounds beautiful. I have never been in England, but I wouldn't mind living up north based on the descriptions in the book, and it's another thing that I think Hazel Osmond is great at. She sets the scene right before your eyes and it's beautiful. I could almost feel the cold, I could see the greens, just amazing.

The romance is very subtle, at least from Mack's POV. He doesn't even realize what is going on until it's too late for him to get out of it, and then he realizes he doesn't even want to. You can see he's slowly falling for her, and it was so refreshing, because it doesn't happen overnight. I thought it was...amazing, the way he went from seeing the scar to seeing everything but the scar.

I know some people were on the fence about Mack, what he did was horrible, and I'm making no excuses for him other than - he did what he thought was good for his family. I have to say that I loved him, and I can't quite put into words why. He is not perfect. He never tries to justify what he is doing, he knows it's wrong, and he is disgusted by himself for doing it. His struggle between Matt and Mack is what won me over. He falls in love with Jen despite himself. With his character, you can definitely see things aren't always black and white.
Jennifer's lack of self-confidence was understandable, and the way she holed herself up, but you can tell, even before Mack comes into her life, that it's time for her to move on. Life goes on. Mack, despite his ulterior motives, helps her come out of that shell.
The ending made sense. What I didn't like is the way everything turned out to be easily avoidable (mainly, the Mack thing) with a bit of fact-checking - but then they would never have met.

A little over the first half of the book (65%-ish, to be more precise) is of slower pace. Once Mack is found out it really picks up, but it's not too fast and nothing is rushed.

For those who liked Mr Wolfe, I'd say this is an even better read. There are no graphic sex scenes, but there are beautiful descriptions of the setting, wonderful dynamic between characters, a funny setting up of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" (which fits the main story nicely) and the realistic portrayal of falling in love.(less)

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Aug 12, 2012 Rea Sinfield rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have been waiting for what seems like forever for Hazel Osmond’s new book to come out as I loved her previous book Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in on her new book The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.

Meet Jennifer she had her life planned out with her main ambition in life to be an actress but her plans take a nose dive after a serious accident which leaves beautiful and confident Jennifer with a horrendous scar across her face and her confidence has gone.

Mack arriv...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was lucky enough to win this book from a giveaway on Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog. I had already read, loved and reviewed the author’s previous book Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe? so I was very excited to be reading this.

This is one of those books which has a title similar to a song title, this means that I end up singing that song throughout – apologies to my family for the awful noise but I just couldn’t help it, it was all the books fault .

I was laughing after just a few pages as Mack and his niec...more I was lucky enough to win this book from a giveaway on Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog. I had already read, loved and reviewed the author’s previous book Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe? so I was very excited to be reading this.

This is one of those books which has a title similar to a song title, this means that I end up singing that song throughout – apologies to my family for the awful noise but I just couldn’t help it, it was all the books fault .

I was laughing after just a few pages as Mack and his niece Gabi were introduced, their conversation included her granny, particles and the marital status of pigeons! I was super intrigued by Mack and surprised that the author introduced him first because for some reason I had been expecting to meet Jennifer at the beginning, this wasn’t a bad thing at all and I think that it probably made me like him more than if things had been the other way round.

A silver centurion was the key to finding out a little bit more about Mack’s previous job and family life (not a pretty picture), it quickly became clear that Mack had a lot on his plate and I wanted to reach into the book and hug him – he seemed like a very huggable character at this point.

When Jennifer was brought into the equation, and in the way she was introduced, I just knew things were going to get unpleasant and that I may not want to hug Mack for much longer. Jennifer was a lovely character and I warmed to her straight away, when I realised what her ‘affliction’ was I found myself feeling very protective towards her but also keen to find out exactly what had happened.

Jennifer and her celebrity cousin, Cress, had a wonderful telephone relationship, I particularly enjoyed their way of talking in code just in case someone was listening in!

Mack was very perceptive and I couldn’t believe how well he played his new persona, Matt Harper. I was torn by this because although I felt really annoyed by what he was doing, I also understood his reasons for doing it. His first meeting with Jennifer didn’t go as I had expected but I’m glad the author wrote it in that way – I think it made it more believable.

There were so many parts of this book that I enjoyed: the drama club and all the characters who took part in it, Mack’s visit to the farm was rather amusing, Mack’s funny inner thoughts and Jennifer’s co-workers at the library were fantastic – thanks to one co-worker in particular I will always associate peaches with the very sexy Mack .

I loved the farming and countryside atmosphere of the book (sheep poop included), this was something I hadn’t expected but could relate to easily with my own experiences of farming and countryside living.

The story got rather intense towards the end with a few shocks thrown in and there were times when I couldn’t decide which way I thought it would go. I felt desperately sad for Jennifer as she went through so many ups and downs and didn’t know which way to turn.

The author’s witty style of writing made this book very easy to read, the sensitive subjects that were dealt with in this book were well written and accurate, Hazel managed to capture real life in a wonderfully entertaining way. The message that you should never judge a book by its cover shone through beautifully.

Another fantastic read, touching but funny and romantic too – this is a book that I would definitely recommend.(less)

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Jul 05, 2012 Chachic rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review-copy, signed

Originally posted here.

Hazel Osmond was kind enough to send a copy of her second novel, The First Time I Saw Your Face (quite a mouthful) after she found out that I enjoyed reading her debut, Who's Afraid of Mr. Wolfe . I really appreciate receiving a copy of this book from her not only because it's a signed copy, but also because it's not locally available. I'm always up for contemporary romance with more depth than usual and I feel like Hazel Osmond's books fit that description.

Let me take a m...more Originally posted here.

Hazel Osmond was kind enough to send a copy of her second novel, The First Time I Saw Your Face (quite a mouthful) after she found out that I enjoyed reading her debut, Who's Afraid of Mr. Wolfe . I really appreciate receiving a copy of this book from her not only because it's a signed copy, but also because it's not locally available. I'm always up for contemporary romance with more depth than usual and I feel like Hazel Osmond's books fit that description.

Let me take a moment to comment on the cover, I'm usually not a fan of real people in book covers but I think they did a great job in choosing the model who posed as Jennifer. I like how stylish she looks - from her French manicure to her classy black top (or is that a dress?) - reminds me a bit of Unsticky's cover. Only half of her face is shown and that's in keeping with the book's plot. Also, check out the hot pink spine, I think it looks good on my contemporary romance shelf:

The book's summary is pretty vague, isn't it? I don't think it would be too spoilery if I flesh it out. Skip ahead if you'd rather not know details about the book though. Jennifer was planning to be a successful stage actress when a horrible car accident leaves her face scarred. After the accident, she decides to come back to her family's farm, live a quiet life as an assistant librarian and forget her dreams of pursuing an acting career. Enter Mack Stone, former tabloid journalist who is being blackmailed to work undercover. His mission? Get as close to Jen as possible so she can dish out the details of her celebrity cousin's love life. Their story is told from alternating points of view, which I think is a good idea because readers will see how Mack was reluctant to take advantage of Jen right from the start.

The First Time I Saw Your Face is all about the slow burn - it's a quiet kind of romance filled with scenes that are all about the characters getting to know each other. I know I keep saying this but I'm a fan of romance that takes time to form. Jen feels like there's no way someone good-looking like Mack will ever be interested in her. And Mack has conflicting emotions, he genuinely likes Jen but he can't find a way to get out of the situation he's in. I was worried about these two and how the problems would get resolved once Mack's secret is out in the open. Overall, I found their love story sweet. I also liked how well-developed the secondary characters are - from their family members to the rest of the townspeople. Both of their families play significant roles in the story. I also found it interesting that the setting is Northumberland instead of London. Northumberland sounds beautiful based on the book's descriptions but I'm not sure if I could ever stand how cold it is over there. I had fun reading this one, very easy to get into so I recommend it to fans of Hazel Osmond's first novel as well as readers interested in British contemporary romance. The ebook has already been released and the paperback is coming out on August 16. (less)

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Sep 28, 2012 Rosie Review rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: good-read

I really enjoyed this book, however felt the middle bit let it down some what. The quality of writing is good. Very funny in places and well researched. But I found myself getting a bit bored after Mack got found out, thinking get together already! It was obvious how the book was going to end – which I don’t mind as it’s how they get there which I find more interesting. But I was starting to think, I don’t care how these guys get together just do it already!

The description used is good, I could...more

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May 15, 2013 Molly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I mainly picked up this book because of the beautiful cover (how shallow) I thought the model was actress Kristen Bell (a major likeness don't you agree?). However back to the book it question. I really did enjoy this book the concept was something I'd never come across before and that really intrigued me, who wouldn't want a bit of undercover journalist romance. The book was a real page turner, I didn't expect a lot of twists along the way. Matt/Mack was really likeable and I did really feel fo...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Stevie Carroll rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jennifer had a promising acting career before her accident, but now she works in a library while her cousin Cressida is a rising star in Hollywood. Mack is an underemployed journalist, who is tasked with digging up details of Cressida's lovelife -- or his own family's scandals will be exposed to the world. A wonderfully complex tale ensues as Mack finds himself posing as the author of a series of walking books in order to blend into Jennifer's village and gets far more involved with the locals a...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction, own, chick-lit

Mack Stone, once had it all, he was a high profile writer for a sleazy magazine, had a beautiful girlfriend and was going places, but that all came to a quick end when he arrives home one day to fine his girl in bed with his boss. Mack goes crazy and ends up loosing everything including his reputation, as his now ex-boss has blacklisted him in the writing world. So down on his luck he moves home to live in the apartment above his mother's house, which happens to be a good thing as she has taken...more Mack Stone, once had it all, he was a high profile writer for a sleazy magazine, had a beautiful girlfriend and was going places, but that all came to a quick end when he arrives home one day to fine his girl in bed with his boss. Mack goes crazy and ends up loosing everything including his reputation, as his now ex-boss has blacklisted him in the writing world. So down on his luck he moves home to live in the apartment above his mother's house, which happens to be a good thing as she has taken to the drink again. This way his sister Tess will be able to not have to worry so much about their mother and hopefully take more time for her and the girls and her husband Joe. But debt is piling up and he has nowhere to go, and his name is still blacklisted and there is only so much freelance work he can take to pay the bills. How can he turn this around? Just when he thought he was at a loss his ex-boss calls and asks to meet him. Against his better judgement he meets him, O'Dowd gives Mack an offer he cannot refuse because if he does his family will be in ruins due to bad publicity to do with a certain Sir Teddy that his mother had relations with?? In fear of his family, more his nieces and sister, Mack reluctantly takes the job to go north in search of a new famous Brit's, who has just gone to Hollywood, cousin. So off he goes to lie in his bed of shame.

Jennifer Roseby, a beautiful once aspiring actress, is now a quiet librarian assistant trying to keep to the shades since the night of the fateful accident that almost took her life. No longer taking the stage for fear of what people will say with the huge scar across one side of her face she now sticks to behind the scenes. Jenn and Cressida, her cousin, have always been close, but became closer after Cress's parents passed away and Cress lived with Jenn on the sheep farm full time.

What these two do not yet know is that both of their lives are going to quickly change in many different ways. Mack is going to get a story out of Jenn about her cousin Cress, break the news to his old boss and get back to his old life, while Jenn, on the other hand, does not think that her life will every change in this sleepy north town and is quiet content with it, even though she is constantly being called by her cousin to be given all the details of her new movie shoot that she is doing in California. Mack becomes a new person and begins to change, but is he just playing the roll he has created, "Matt Harper" a walker writing a new book? Jenn sees this new man and how he wants to be a part of things and before she knows it she is attracted to him, but can it be real? Would he actually feel the same way even with her now disfigured face? This little town is about to wake up and stuff is going to fly.

I fell in love with this book, such a sweet book written from both Mack and Jenn's point of views, which really made the reader get into each character's head to know what they were really thinking and feeling at all times during this chaotic journey of love and truth. This book made me laugh and cry a bit throughout it, though there were quite a few shockers in this book, some you never saw coming, good job Hazel Osmond! This book is set in North England, and having never been it was at first hard to imagine the places she was talking about, but looking the places up made me fall in love with the book even more and has sent a calling to me to go and visit this beautiful place. Some of the English slang at times was a bit tricky but upon further reading into the book it got easier to understand. Thank you Hazel Osmand for writing such a beautiful love story set in Norther England. I cannot wait to read the other book you have written!

I would like to thank Goodreads.com as well as Hazel Osmond for my copy of this book. It was thoroughly enjoyed and will be a nice edition to my book collection.(less)

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Dec 24, 2012 Leah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-2012

If you are looking for a simple, light romance, this book probably isn't for you. Hazel Osmond's books take one to a different place, and sometimes that place is uncomfortable. There were many uncomfortable moments in this book, but they served to make the ending even more satisfying. She takes things that could be cliched and provides a different twist. When I saw that there was going to be a theatrical production in the midst of the book, I had a bit of trepidation. I'm so tired of the cliche...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Dizzyc rated it 4 of 5 stars

Delightful setting in rural Northern England for this delightful tale of 2 people fighting their demons.

Jennifer an aspiring actress was involved in a terrible accident that left her permanently scarred. She hides away at the family farm fearing her future is mapped out for her by the well meaning Alex, but is it really what she wants?

Mack has gotten himself into a little situation and feels he only has one option to save the family name.

These two characters are brought together by deception and...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Rosie Bowers rated it 3 of 5 stars

I give this book 3.5! At the end I loved it! Even forgot about the bits I didn't like! I loved the characters and loved the plot! But I wasn't gripped until half way through! I stuck with it despite being bored occasionally. I think there could have been more going on to keep you in wanting to read more!
Admittedly I'm new to reading, and don't have much of a way with words my self! I like it simple! I did love this book and would recommend it to friends! Just stick with it!

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Feb 07, 2013 Brie C. marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Oh, book... Why do you tempt me with good reviews just to see my dreams of reading you die when I go to Amazon and can't find you? Why, book, why?!

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Dec 09, 2012 Faith rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own-it, romance, contemporary-romance, chick-lit

I started this book before i left the country and I could never really get into it. I was able to get half through this book before completely losing interest. I already know how the story will end so that wasn't really an incentive to continue. I found Jennifer to be flat and not really compelling as a character. I also found the tabloid storyline to be tedious and off putting. Also the different side stories of the townspeople made the story drag on and on. Maybe if I'm really bored I'll read...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Arushi marked it as to-read · review of another edition

THE BLURB.

OH MY GOD.

HYPERVENTILATING.

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Jan 02, 2013 Marie added it · review of another edition

it was such a nice book

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Shelves: kindle-to-read

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About Hazel Osmond

I live in Northumberland; I'm married with two teenage daughters and for twenty years I've been an advertising copywriter. I have a clean driving licence, (apart from where I dripped nail varnish on it) and am not yet at that age where I've started to grow a moustache without realising it.

How did I get into writing stories and books? Partly because of a woman's magazine and partly because of a man...more

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