When socialite Farrah Ridley wakes up outside a courtroom in Baltimore, awaiting arraignment on unknown charges with no memory of how she got there, she doesn't think her life can get much worse. Accused of getting drunk with an underage girl named Willow and then launching illegal fireworks into Willow's high school, Farrah reluctantly accepts a plea deal that includes a year of community service working in the high school they vandalized. She's assigned to work with guidance counselor Michael Giancarlo (aka Mr. G), the head of a new after-school program designed to help students like Willow who have faced legal troubles. Mr. G hopes to keep these students engaged long enough to graduate, putting them on a path for future success. The problem is that he can't seem to identify a common interest that will hold all of the students' attention, plus now he's stuck with Farrah, who he worries will be more hindrance than help. Surprisingly, she turns out to be great with the kids and a huge asset to the after-school program, but she's also the biggest temptation Michael has ever faced in his time as an advocate for abstinence.
Farrah was definitely my favorite part of this book. Her character grew tremendously over the course of the story. It's a shame it took a drunken act of vandalism to put her on the right path, but she made the most of the circumstances and changed her life for the better. Even though she came from a privileged background completely opposite that of the kids she and Michael were trying to help, Farrah really connected with them and seemed to understand them in a way Michael (and most of the other adults in their lives) couldn't. As for Mr. G, while his stance on virginity and abstinence got made fun of a lot, I kind of understood his point; if one isn't ready to take responsibility for the consequences of one's actions, maybe he or she shouldn't be taking those actions in the first place. The problem was his tendency to lecture, which also made him seem very self-righteous at times. His relationship with Farrah really humanized him and made him a lot more likeable.
Overall, I loved "Farrah & the Court-Appointed Boss" and highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I look forward to whatever Pru Warren writes next.
*Review copy provided by the author via Elle Woods PR. All opinions expressed are my own.
About "Farrah & the Court-Appointed Boss"
For fans of Christina Lauren, Lucy Score, and Sally Thorne: When a carefree party girl comes up against a determined virgin, sparks fly! Farrah’s family has gotten her out of countless scrapes. But when a judge refuses to overlook the fact that she shot illegal fireworks into a school (oops), Farrah is forced to return to the nightmare she thought she was ten years past: Back to high school. It’s too much to bear without a martini. Wait—no drinking too?!
Michael is a guidance counselor and a determined advocate for virginity. The last thing he needs is red-headed chaos assigned to help him keep a “dirty dozen” of at-risk teens in school. But it turns out the kids love Farrah. And to Michael’s horror, he does too. Now what’s he going to do?
A wild fashion show plan, turf wars between the teens, a party girl forced to sober up and a strong-willed virgin forced to loosen up; what could possibly go wrong? A steamy, laugh-out-loud romantic adventure from the author of ELLYN & THE WOULD-BE GIGOLO.
Note: The Ampersand series doesn't need to be read in order, but it might be more fun. Each successive book takes as its hero or heroine a secondary character from the book before.
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