First Impressions: Off Screen Conversations with a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness

A fast, enlightening read. I found this book thoughtful and interesting. Another reminder to be kind as you never know what a person has been through or is going through in life.

Absolutely impressive; Always have love in your heart for others and God will do you right. Love this book, a good 👍 read.

We learned so very little about Matt James during his season of the Bachelor. The show spent so much time on the petty drama of a few female contestants and spent very little time helping us get to know Matt James and his top 4 contestants. This book is not your typical Bachelor book but an honest and vulnerable look at Matt James' life, his family, his faith and how he became the incredible man he is today. It was no small task being the first black lead of the Bachelor in 20 years of seasons and Matt came in never having been on the show as a contestant. The poor guy was thrown to the wolves and ABC did a poor job of showing us the INCREDIBLE and stand up person that he is. Thanks for writing this book Matt, I only wish that we had learned all about you during your season and you could have written this book about your experiences with ABC Food Tours. Is there a second book in you?

I have read all the bachelor books and this is by far the best one. So relatable and so authentic.

This is WAY more than just another Bachelor book. It really explored who Matt James is and everything that led up to the Bachelor. 10/10

This book is totally about Matt's life ... NOT his whole experience on "The Bachelor." I was so bored until the last page of the book. Don't waste your money unless you truly want to know his life story.

In First Impressions, Matt James opened up about his personal life story and how he became the first Black Bachelor on the hit reality tv show, The Bachelor after two decades of it being on air. He explained how he led a prayer to God at the start of the first episode and this led to controversies. In the book, he shared how his mother accepted Jesus as her Savior. Most of it was because she saw her coworker life and how joyful she was. He explained how his mother married his dad and how unfaithful he was in their marriage. She stated how she never trashed him in front of her two children. She chose forgiveness towards him and Matt revealed his personal struggle with forgiveness and seeing it as a weakness. He explained how he grew in his own personal faith and how his brother stopped believing later on after he went to prison a few times. In the book, he also opened up about being half white and how people viewed him differently when they learned that his mother was white. He opened up about his experiences growing up and how his own grandfather treated him differently. He also discussed the topic of racism, the wrongful death of George Floyd, and the protests that occurred. In the book, he also shared how he became an NFL athlete and the experiences he faced during that.I would recommend this awesome book to anyone who enjoyed watching him on the Bachelor. I don’t watch this show personally but I enjoyed reading about his personal life and how he is a Christian trying to assist others through his nonprofit, ABC Food Tours. I loved how in his Bachelor book he focused more on his roots and Christian values. I was deeply touched by his story of his grandfather and how he refused to tell his brother, John and him that he loved them. He also shared how he wouldn’t help John with his math homework and judged him for his grades. Even though he has a degree in chemical engineering. He would show the other grandchildren more love and attention then John and Mark. I also love reading about how all that changed when his grandfather needed help after falling down. This story is a wonderful example of forgiveness and change.