Second First Impressions

Extreme opposites are drawn together in the most unlikely of circumstances in this sweet, cheeky rom-com from Thorne (The Hating Game). Theodore “Teddy” Prescott is a tattoo-covered, motorcycle-riding, itinerant rich boy; straitlaced Ruthie Midona is an administrator at the affluent Providence Retirement Villa who rarely leaves the compound—and has rarely been kissed. Good girl gets the bad boy may be a popular trope, but the quirky supporting cast of crazy rich old people and Thorne’s precise and original prose give the premise new life. Teddy first meets Ruthie at a gas station and offends her by assuming she’s in costume as a character from The Golden Girls. That might have been the end of it, had Teddy’s father not recently acquired Providence. Now he decrees that Teddy should temporarily live and work on-site while getting his life on track. Ruthie and Teddy inevitably grow closer, but longtime social outcast Ruthie struggles to imagine Teddy sincerely liking her, let alone wanting more, and Teddy has some emotional baggage of his own. The couple bond in part over their surprising mutual love for a late 1990s, 7th Heaven–esque family drama. As with that show, readers longing for laughter and heart will find comfort here. [em]Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary. (Apr.) [/em]