This is my favorite modern romance book. The story has tension and romance and some steam, all wrapped up in a mystery as well. I love the couple brought together in this book, and their story of getting together. ( )

This is another of my all time faves. I love the very real character of Julie and Zachary. The story wrenched me through love, suspense, laughter, and tears. I read this book in a single day because I didn't want to put it down once I started. Judith McNaught is Phenomenal with her characters. I still go back every couple of years and read it again and I'm always surprised at how good it is all over again. ( )

So here's the thing. I love, love, love romance books. I love the HEA, I love the hot sex scenes, I love a guy that is totally into the heroine and the heroine being kick ass. But as we have all said here time and time again, older romance novels are problematic. There are a lot of tropes that just don't get done anymore unless that's a genre that you are trying to market to these days. These book had a whole mess of issues that made me cringe. Then again, this was written in 1993 so I was trying to give McNaught some leeway here, but honestly there was so much other stuff that didn't work that I just could not give this above two stars. I bought this book and have no intention of even looking it's way again.

I think that McNaught's historical romances are set up a bit better than this book though we still have the trope of heroine does something and hero takes it badly without listening that appears twice in this one. We also have the heroine is a virgin and has the best first time ever trope. Let us not even get started on the TSTL kicks that Julie kept getting on throughout this entire book.

"Perfect" is book two in the Paradise contemporary romance series that McNaught wrote. Book one is "Paradise" starring other characters that appear in this book as secondary characters (Matthew and Meredith). Book two is focused on Zachary Benedict and Julie Mathison.

Zachary Mathison is thrown out of his family's home by his grandmother. Zack then is able to turn around and become a stuntman (of course he did) and from there go on to acting and directing. He ends up being a highly respected actor and is now in the process of directing his wife in what many are calling an Oscar caliber film. When Zack finds his wife in disarray with the lead actor on the film and demanding a divorce. When a scene involving a gun leads to her death, Zack is then charged and convicted of her murder.

Julie Mathison is a foster kid that is shuffled around until someone realizes her potential. She is eventually sent to live with the Mathison family in Texas and promises she will do whatever she needs to be the "perfect" daughter, sister, friend. She eventually grows up and becomes a teacher and is happy with her life with her boyfriend (I think his name was Greg) even though she feels like something is missing from their relationship (it's the sex Julie, that's what is missing).

When Zack escapes from jail he eventually comes across Juile at a cafe, Julie because she realizes he has on new jeans and invents a reason for why he would have on new jeans (no I am not kidding) gives him a ride where eventually Julie figures out that Zack is an escaped convict who then takes her hostage. He just has to guys cause he's so drawn to her. I mean he's been in jail for five years (ughhhh).

That is just the bare bones to this story. We also have a plethora of characters in this one. Why McNaught got into Julie's brother Ted's romance in this one made no sense. That is honestly why this book was so endless and went on for more than 700 pages. She could have just broken up Ted's story and at least laid out the bare bones in this one without taking away from the main story.

That said, Ted sucks and can kick rocks. Most of the men in this story just sit around and either treat the women they supposedly care/love like crap through verbal and sometimes physical abuse (Zack and Ted) or they sit around and decide they know that's good for the woman (Zack, Paul-the FBI agent who falls for Julie, Julie's dad, Ted again (you still suck) or the feel like they have ownership over Julie's chastity (Julie's freaking father). The last few chapters of this book are actually about not having sex before marriage. I could not deal with this many men in my life being that up in my body.

To wrap it up most of the men (not Matt) are awful and I honestly thought the character of Paul was a freaking chump. Who hangs around someone who is not into you at all?

Katherine and Meredith were better heroines in my eyes than Julie. Julie is passive through this whole freaking book. And her going from being a virgin to all of a sudden wanting to have sex with Zack, who has kidnapped her by the way blows my mind. I wonder if McNaught even thought of the implications of Stockholm Syndrome? Zack repeatedly makes Julie tell him she believes that he is innocent. I mean even if she didn't believe it, you are alone with a guy with a gun what are you going to say/do? I think that would have been an interesting side road for her to go down.

The initial part of the book with regards to writing held a lot of promise. I always get annoyed when an author rushes the backstory to characters to get to the meet cutes and all. But McNaught did a very good of setting up Zack and Julie's circumstances. However, as I said above, there was way too much going on. This book did not need to be 700 pages. The flow was up and down depending on where McNaught took the story. Sometimes we would follow Zack and Julie around, then we would shift back to Ted and Katherine, Matt and Meredith, and then freaking Paul.

The writing in this book hurt my soul sometimes, but hey at least Sam (AMReader) and
WhiskeyintheJar/Kyraryker are having fun making fun of it.

Some of the passages where I include the percentages just so you can see my notes/comments as I was reading:

1 percent-“If you don’t like my offer,” Margaret informed her in a steely voice, “then I suggest you get yourself a job as a waitress or find yourself a pimp, because those are the only two careers for which you’re fit right now.”

DAMN.

19 percent-"Julie had never before offered a hitchhiker a ride; the risks were far too high, but she decided to do it this time, not only because he’d changed her tire or because he seemed nice, but also because of a simple pair of jeans—new jeans."

So Julie is not smart is what you are saying. Also don't tell me how she doesn't even let men come into her home and she's all let me give a total stranger a ride cause of his jeans.

24 percent-"He had tasted her lips and felt their response to him. His starved senses wanted to feast on the entire banquet."

He has literally kidnapped her at gunpoint?! Maybe wait a while on the hot smexy times.

28 percent-“Have something to drink,” he ordered, thrusting a long-stemmed glass toward her. “Drink it, damn it!” He made a visible effort to soften his tone. “It’ll help you relax.”

Ughhhhhhhh. I mean sure, let's get her drinking so you can do whatever. Gah.

31 percent-“My father is a minister!” she wept. “He’s a respected man and you’ve made his daughter into a public slut! I’m a teacher!” she cried hysterically, “I teach little children! Do you think they’ll let me teach children now that I’m a national scandal who wallows in the snow with escaped murderers?”

You have literally just kissed the dude! How do you go from that to I am a slut?! Also I should not be laughing at this, but I am.

31 percent-“I’ve spent the last fifteen years of my life,” she sobbed brokenly, struggling harder against his grasp, “trying to be perfect. I’ve been so perfect!” she wept,"

You have been lame and exhausting. I have only been reading this for a little bit, but no, you have not been perfect.

40 percent-"Apparently, she had withheld her virginity from her own boyfriend, who obviously loved her and wanted to offer her respectability and a future. Tonight, however, she was willing to surrender it to an escaped convict who was incapable of loving anyone and who had nothing whatsoever to offer her."

Enough said.

42 percent-"Her body stiffened with the brief pain, but before he could react, her arms were around him and she was opening for him like a flower . . . welcoming him, sheathing him."

I love how back in the day all virgins in romance land either had the easiest first time ever or were assaulted by the hero. FYI these two didn't even use condoms. I can't with Julie having sex with a convicted criminal and not even thinking about STDs. AIDS was a thing back in 1993 and my first thought would be men being raped in jail or raping others and ugh this is why sometimes I have to yell at myself to just read and not get all actually about books, but it's hard.

44 percent"Now she looked at the man she loved"

So much wrong here I can't even.

FYI, you can follow Whiskey's buddy read updates, here: 10 percent

25 percent

50 percent

The ending was ludicrous. I am not a fan of male characters being abusive to the heroines and it all just getting wiped away. There of course is HEA that honestly I don't see is remotely believable, but hey at that point I just wanted to be done with this. ( )

*Screams*

*Rips book apart
*Throws it to the ground*
*Jumps on book until pulverized*
*Gets out lawnmower*
*Mows over it multiple times*


No just no.

I’ll start with the positive. This book made me and my reading buddies Whiskey review here & Obsidian review here wonder:
Is consent consent if you are a hostage?

I’m of the mind that no it’s probably not.

The other positive, it was good, infuriating fun to read with those two.

And, really that’s where my positivity sinks into the ground like the pulverized book in a solid rainstorm.

I was kind of hooked at the beginning. I wouldn’t call it good, I’d call it kind of fun to read. Call it novelty, I give you permission. And then Julie, our ‘heroine,’ who is incredibly perfect due to her pious family who adopted her at 11, built a snowman. And I thought, “Well, what is this fresh hell?” And the book Perfect answered me back with a resounding, “Just the beginning, Sam.”

Characters always have questionable choices, kind of like regular people. And just in case you want to read this, I won’t go into the complete nonsense of this book. Why would you want to read it? Some people LOVE this book! For me, it just hasn’t aged well. The hero is incredibly emotionally manipulative. Sweet and innocent Julie is far too perfect and your basic TSTL for me. The dialogue made me want to scream, just like the rest of the book. Or as I said in a b-r thread,
“Lord knows their dialogue makes me wants to rip out my eyebrows by individual hairs.”

They were always ‘joking’ when they weren’t really. My eye got twitchy….And twitchier. See, apparently if you save someone, it negates former bad acts, makes former bad acts unbelievable, and future bad acts like sexual assault and abuse just something that will never happen again.

Also, women in this book are told constantly to calm down. So aside from overbearing, dominant asshole men and women who think it’s their duty to cook, they all overreact and talk too much.

There’s also an incredible amount of rehash and replays in this book, so it rounds out at something like 700 pages. Not to brag, but I could’ve done it in like 150...

Not since Blue-Eyed Devil have I loathed a book so completely that i finished. And funnily, this reminded me of that from the get-go, which should have told me something.

There’s lots of good stuff over on b-r thread ( )

For quotes/comments as I read and others commentary: Buddy Read Perfect

700pgs. 700 PAGES

The first 30% was good, with amazing development and laying foundation down for our characters. In newer published books, that first 30% would have been edited down to around 10%. I miss layers like that. Having said that, oh my god, could a lot have been edited out. I think. Secondary characters that seemed to add depth to the story, characters, and setting, started to become skim worthy as they didn't seem to add to the main arc. There's twin sisters that add flavor and a thinking commentary storyline but towards the end, I was wondering what the point was. Adding to a lesser degree, the heroine's boyfriend Greg(?) and the storyline of a FBI agent falling in love with heroine. They add to the layers of the story but they also meander the reader from the main arc and end up disappearing with no real conclusion; I was left with "what's the point?”

This would not only satisfy your old tv show Dynasty cravings, this would fulfill 3 seasons worth. I feel like I lived three lifetimes reading this. Season One is the childhood of our heroine and hero and the development of how they came to be as adults, Season Two is the November sweeps lust, murder, kidnapping, and D-rama, and Season Three is the lies, betrayal, revelations, and happily ever after.

All this D-rama of secondary character stories, lusting, murder, and life living is told through an early '90s romance view point. I ended up not liking the hero because of his overly aggressive, I know you love me/want me so I'm going to sexually man handle you until your body forces you to admit it, a heroine who could be read Mary Sue-ish with some innocent, too sweet to be real, 26yr old virgin, wishy washy, and "Perfect", a puritanical vibe, and a overhanging view that good wives are cooking and doing laundry.

The murder mystery got a bit washed out as it was pushed to the background by the D-rama and not for my 21st century woman self, views. After I read the last sentence, I started to think about the ranting review I was going to type up, until I saw the Author's Note. Due to our heroine's childhood, she grew up illiterate until the 5th grade. As a result, she becomes a middle school teacher and after hours teaches adult women to learn how to read. Then in the note, the author talks about how harshly illiteracy affects women, which is also shown through secondary characters (heroine's grown women students) she weaves in how women are trapped in abusive relationships and poverty because of their illiteracy. She brings up a program called "Literacy. Pass. It. On.", a program funded by Coors Light and how it is working to help women gain literacy. I looked the program up and through my weak, quick research it went five years and earned 5 million dollars (looks like they were shooting for 40mil). Was this whole book, a story rife with sexism and clearly a prevailing view of its time, showing and relating to women, a cloak for a message of how women are held back and a way to help prevent that? Maybe, maybe not. It is why I love the romance genre, because there is a message here, even if its veiled, because maybe it had to be. Social commentary and women reaching out to women, hearing, acknowledging, and addressing our issues, that is what is commonly hidden behind those bare chest men covers.

Did I like the story as a whole? No, too much editing needed, main couple's relationship was not built on a believable, solid foundation, and the whole Dynasty-like D-rama. However, the sub-plot of illiteracy and its harmful effects on women and how we can help them? Sign me up every time. (Secret: The romance genre is chalk full of this and why I'm signed up a lot for these books)

The Literacy. Pass. It. On. Program is not around anymore but please considering donating whatever you can at any literacy non-profit/charity. Share the love of reading ( )