Second First Impressions

Ruthie Midona is a preacher’s daughter and the live-in office manager of a retirement complex, although she wants to become a vet. While running an errand, she meets Teddy, a free-spirited tattoo artist who’s the son of the retirement complex’s owner. He reappears at the retirement complex, takes a job with the Parloni sisters (who may be more than sisters), and begins to steal a place in inexperienced Ruthie’s heart, despite the vituperations of office temp Melanie, Ruthie’s tech-savvy dating coach, who fears Teddy will run her over. Jennifer Jill Araya brings a musical background to her first-person narration of 25-year-old Ruthie in Thorne’s (99 Percent Mine) newest. The listening experience is enriched by Araya’s pregnant pauses, accents, dramatic emphasis of certain words, and easy rhythm and lively voice that suggest the characters’ youthful freedom.