whitney0498's review against another edition
5.0
Finding Perfect is the third book in the Fool’s Gold series and I just loved getting to reenter this world. In this story we get to meet some new characters as well as see some familiar faces. I was just drawn into this world and I just felt so much for these characters. This book just had my emotions all over the place and it just totally captivated me. I was on the verge of tears so much throughout this story and I just completely fell in love with these characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.
sunnierae2010's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
barkylee15's review against another edition
4.0
This is the best of the series so far, but I can't believe I am saying this, I wish it was longer. There were too many plot points and things of the past that got breezed over that needed to be fleshed out more in my opinion. Also, the whole realization of love part was a little fast and I didn't fully believe it. But like I said, I did enjoy it more than the other two, mostly because it was a unique plot.
alwaysreadingreview's review against another edition
5.0
Another great book by Susan Mallery. I am not sure if I said it before or not. I want to move to Fool's Gold. Not sure if they get earthquakes or not. That would be a big thing for me. I would love to have help from the town. Being disabled, having a disabled daughter, a son with asthma, I could use some help at times. Not sure if I like the idea of everyone knowing everything.
I loved the character of Peter. Sweet little boy that Raoul meets during the school's fire. Pia has grown up a lot since we have found out how she was like in high school. She hid behind her teasing others so others would not find out the truth about her. Pia sacrifices herself to have her friend's embryos implanted. She is terrified at the idea of being a mom to 3.
I loved the character of Peter. Sweet little boy that Raoul meets during the school's fire. Pia has grown up a lot since we have found out how she was like in high school. She hid behind her teasing others so others would not find out the truth about her. Pia sacrifices herself to have her friend's embryos implanted. She is terrified at the idea of being a mom to 3.
tasha_fullybooked's review against another edition
5.0
Once again Susan Mallery delivers another heart-warming story! I never expect anything less from her. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, from the other two books in this series, but it never fails that while reading a Fool's Gold novel I want to pack my bags and move there.
In Finding Perfect, Pia has decided to carry the embryos her late best friend Crystal has left to her. While she's struggling to wrap her head around this, Raoul steps up and offers to be her "pregnancy buddy." Pia and Raoul seemed to be the perfect match from the start, but Raoul has trust issues when it comes to women due to a betrayal by his ex-wife. So when Pia breaks the cardinal rule of their agreement by falling in with him, they go their separate ways. But how can he resist Pia? she's strong, loyal, bright, and funny. So Raoul takes Josh's advice and quietly hands over to Pia "his heart, his soul, and his balls."
Oh and Peter! He's such a wonderful little boy who has suffered way too much for such a young age. He added some very tear-jerking scenes to the overall story.
I very much hope to see more of Fool's Gold in the future. I want to see the triplets (Dakota, Montana, and Nevada) find love. And more than that, I want their mother Denise to find love again. I'm hoping Denise's "Max" is her daughter's new boss. If you haven't read a Fool's Gold novel, I recommend that you do. You won't be disappointed.
Read more of my reviews at Book Obsessed.
In Finding Perfect, Pia has decided to carry the embryos her late best friend Crystal has left to her. While she's struggling to wrap her head around this, Raoul steps up and offers to be her "pregnancy buddy." Pia and Raoul seemed to be the perfect match from the start, but Raoul has trust issues when it comes to women due to a betrayal by his ex-wife. So when Pia breaks the cardinal rule of their agreement by falling in with him, they go their separate ways. But how can he resist Pia? she's strong, loyal, bright, and funny. So Raoul takes Josh's advice and quietly hands over to Pia "his heart, his soul, and his balls."
Oh and Peter! He's such a wonderful little boy who has suffered way too much for such a young age. He added some very tear-jerking scenes to the overall story.
I very much hope to see more of Fool's Gold in the future. I want to see the triplets (Dakota, Montana, and Nevada) find love. And more than that, I want their mother Denise to find love again. I'm hoping Denise's "Max" is her daughter's new boss. If you haven't read a Fool's Gold novel, I recommend that you do. You won't be disappointed.
Read more of my reviews at Book Obsessed.
jenner33's review against another edition
4.0
I love how you get to know the people of fool's gold. I plan to continue to learn about them!
leahkarge's review against another edition
4.0
Welcome to Fool's Gold, California...And meet Pia O'Brian, town festival planner, and Raoul Moreno, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Fool's Gold's newest resident...
A few months previously, Pia's friend Crystal died and left her three frozen embryos. Frightened by the prospect of having babies, Pia returns to work and proceeds to have a breakdown in the presence of the famous, attractive Raoul for their scheduled meeting. They decide to reschedule and he leaves, going over to the elementary school to give a speech to some of the kids. While he's there, a fire starts and burns down the school. In light of this development, Raoul offers his kids' camp as a location for the temporary school. At their rescheduled meeting, Pia and Raoul discover a previously unknown connection: Raoul had known Keith, Crystal's late husband, and was there when he died.
This revelation causes Raoul to offer to be Pia's "pregnancy buddy" and to help her with the babies. He takes her to doctor's appointments and has sex with her, per her doctor's recommendation. When the embryos are finally implanted, Raoul proposes to Pia, offering to be there for her and to be a real father to the babies, to make a life with her, and she accepts. A few weeks later, it is confirmed that the embryos all attached successfully and Pia is pregnant.
At this point, Pia still hasn't come to terms with the fact that she was going to be having triplets. Everything comes into crystal clear focus after a day out shopping for maternity clothes and furniture with Charity and after she miscarries one of the babies. In the hospital after the miscarriage, Pia and Raoul finally understand that the babies are not only Keith and Crystal's, but they are Raoul and Pia's babies, too.
As Pia and Raoul spend more and more time together, it becomes abundantly clear to Pia that she has fallen in love with Raoul. It's also painfully clear that Raoul is afraid to trust after the betrayal of his ex-wife. Faced with no choice, Pia breaks off the engagement because she realizes that she cannot marry a man who doesn't love her back.
After some stern talkings-to and snubs from people in town, Raoul finally has an epiphany: he loves Pia and his life is empty without her. Racing through town, he runs to express his love and propose to her for real. After she accepts, the two of them go find Peter, the orphaned boy that both had gotten close to over the past month or so, and tells Peter that they want to adopt him. All three of them finally have people to love and love them back, and they live happily ever after as a family.
I have been eagerly awaiting Finding Perfect ever since I finished Almost Perfect, and I definitely feel that the wait was worth it. While Almost Perfect is still my favorite novel of the Fool's Gold series, I was not disappointed in Finding Perfect. Susan Mallery has produced yet another winner, yet another book I will always love.
I have to say that I honestly had mixed feelings about Pia in the beginning of this book, due to the different impressions and stories about her from the previous two books. In Chasing Perfect, I loved her, she seemed like the best friend a girl could have and Charity was lucky to have her. In Almost Perfect, it was revealed that she was the mean girl in high school and she was even a little mean to Liz in the present time, and as Liz is my favorite heroine of the series, I got a little defensive on her behalf. So, I came into this not sure how I would feel about her. After having read Finding Perfect, I can say with confidence that I have reverted back to my opinion of her from Chasing Perfect. It was wonderful to see more sides of Pia and finally start to understand her. Just like everyone else, she has insecurities, some trust issues, complete loyalty, and her own morals. She's a complex person in her own way, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her grow into herself in this book, into a completely confident woman who believed she could do anything she set her mind to.
Unlike with Pia, I knew I was going to love Raoul from the beginning. I loved the good impression I'd gotten of him in Almost Perfect, and I remember reading about him in the Bakery Sister's series (even though I haven't read Sweet Spot, Hawk and Nicole's book, the one that Raoul actually plays a large role in). Like with Pia, I enjoyed seeing him finally grow into himself and see that he needed to finally trust someone with his heart. I was heartbroken when Pia broke their engagement because he wouldn't give himself to her completely, and I was on the verge of crying when he basically rejected Peter. The ending, where her finally becomes the man he's always wanted to be, was absolutely beautiful and left me wanting more.
I absolutely adored Peter. He was the cutest kid and his faith and dependence on Raoul was downright beautiful. I was smiling like a fool at the end when Raoul and Pia finally come and tell him that they want to adopt him.
I enjoyed seeing characters from other books like Charity, Liz, Marsha, and Josh. I wish that Ethan had actually had some kind of presence in the book, not just his name being mentioned here or there. I loved seeing more of Montana and Dakota in this book and hope that the two of them, and Nevada, will one day have their own books.
One thing I was not expecting with the plot of the story was that the house Raoul was showing Pia was the one she and her parents had lived in years before. Reading that, and learning about her past, was a touching, heartbreaking moment.
I love, love, loved that Hawk and Nicole came to visit Raoul in Fool's Gold. Ever since I read about him knowing them in the Bakery Sister's series, I was anticipating some sort of cameo from those two in Finding Perfect. Needless to say, I was very happy to have them prove me right!
Again, Finding Perfect was a fantastic book and I believe it deserves every star I gave it. Also, I am really hoping that there are going to be more Fool's Gold books in the future, especially since this wonderful little tidbit can be found inside the book: "And look for more of Susan Mallery's fantastic stories set in Fool's Gold, coming in 2011!" I hope this is true and I look forward to more books starring the people of this wonderful town!
A few months previously, Pia's friend Crystal died and left her three frozen embryos. Frightened by the prospect of having babies, Pia returns to work and proceeds to have a breakdown in the presence of the famous, attractive Raoul for their scheduled meeting. They decide to reschedule and he leaves, going over to the elementary school to give a speech to some of the kids. While he's there, a fire starts and burns down the school. In light of this development, Raoul offers his kids' camp as a location for the temporary school. At their rescheduled meeting, Pia and Raoul discover a previously unknown connection: Raoul had known Keith, Crystal's late husband, and was there when he died.
This revelation causes Raoul to offer to be Pia's "pregnancy buddy" and to help her with the babies. He takes her to doctor's appointments and has sex with her, per her doctor's recommendation. When the embryos are finally implanted, Raoul proposes to Pia, offering to be there for her and to be a real father to the babies, to make a life with her, and she accepts. A few weeks later, it is confirmed that the embryos all attached successfully and Pia is pregnant.
At this point, Pia still hasn't come to terms with the fact that she was going to be having triplets. Everything comes into crystal clear focus after a day out shopping for maternity clothes and furniture with Charity and after she miscarries one of the babies. In the hospital after the miscarriage, Pia and Raoul finally understand that the babies are not only Keith and Crystal's, but they are Raoul and Pia's babies, too.
As Pia and Raoul spend more and more time together, it becomes abundantly clear to Pia that she has fallen in love with Raoul. It's also painfully clear that Raoul is afraid to trust after the betrayal of his ex-wife. Faced with no choice, Pia breaks off the engagement because she realizes that she cannot marry a man who doesn't love her back.
After some stern talkings-to and snubs from people in town, Raoul finally has an epiphany: he loves Pia and his life is empty without her. Racing through town, he runs to express his love and propose to her for real. After she accepts, the two of them go find Peter, the orphaned boy that both had gotten close to over the past month or so, and tells Peter that they want to adopt him. All three of them finally have people to love and love them back, and they live happily ever after as a family.
I have been eagerly awaiting Finding Perfect ever since I finished Almost Perfect, and I definitely feel that the wait was worth it. While Almost Perfect is still my favorite novel of the Fool's Gold series, I was not disappointed in Finding Perfect. Susan Mallery has produced yet another winner, yet another book I will always love.
I have to say that I honestly had mixed feelings about Pia in the beginning of this book, due to the different impressions and stories about her from the previous two books. In Chasing Perfect, I loved her, she seemed like the best friend a girl could have and Charity was lucky to have her. In Almost Perfect, it was revealed that she was the mean girl in high school and she was even a little mean to Liz in the present time, and as Liz is my favorite heroine of the series, I got a little defensive on her behalf. So, I came into this not sure how I would feel about her. After having read Finding Perfect, I can say with confidence that I have reverted back to my opinion of her from Chasing Perfect. It was wonderful to see more sides of Pia and finally start to understand her. Just like everyone else, she has insecurities, some trust issues, complete loyalty, and her own morals. She's a complex person in her own way, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her grow into herself in this book, into a completely confident woman who believed she could do anything she set her mind to.
Unlike with Pia, I knew I was going to love Raoul from the beginning. I loved the good impression I'd gotten of him in Almost Perfect, and I remember reading about him in the Bakery Sister's series (even though I haven't read Sweet Spot, Hawk and Nicole's book, the one that Raoul actually plays a large role in). Like with Pia, I enjoyed seeing him finally grow into himself and see that he needed to finally trust someone with his heart. I was heartbroken when Pia broke their engagement because he wouldn't give himself to her completely, and I was on the verge of crying when he basically rejected Peter. The ending, where her finally becomes the man he's always wanted to be, was absolutely beautiful and left me wanting more.
I absolutely adored Peter. He was the cutest kid and his faith and dependence on Raoul was downright beautiful. I was smiling like a fool at the end when Raoul and Pia finally come and tell him that they want to adopt him.
I enjoyed seeing characters from other books like Charity, Liz, Marsha, and Josh. I wish that Ethan had actually had some kind of presence in the book, not just his name being mentioned here or there. I loved seeing more of Montana and Dakota in this book and hope that the two of them, and Nevada, will one day have their own books.
One thing I was not expecting with the plot of the story was that the house Raoul was showing Pia was the one she and her parents had lived in years before. Reading that, and learning about her past, was a touching, heartbreaking moment.
I love, love, loved that Hawk and Nicole came to visit Raoul in Fool's Gold. Ever since I read about him knowing them in the Bakery Sister's series, I was anticipating some sort of cameo from those two in Finding Perfect. Needless to say, I was very happy to have them prove me right!
Again, Finding Perfect was a fantastic book and I believe it deserves every star I gave it. Also, I am really hoping that there are going to be more Fool's Gold books in the future, especially since this wonderful little tidbit can be found inside the book: "And look for more of Susan Mallery's fantastic stories set in Fool's Gold, coming in 2011!" I hope this is true and I look forward to more books starring the people of this wonderful town!
wildflowerz76's review against another edition
3.0
Pia's friend Crystal has just died and she's heartbroken. But when she finds out that Crystal left Pia her three frozen embryos, Pia is thrown for a loop. She's not even doing a good job taking care of Crystal's cat. Why would she be any better at taking care of kids? Now she has to decide what to do with the embryos.
Pia is certain that most people would have the babies themselves. There's even a conversation early on with Raoul about it. I felt certain we were then going to get a convo with Pia and her friends where she gets all sorts of differing opinions. But that never happened. She just decided on her own, based on the feeling that she'd be a horrible person NOT to have them. I've seen another review criticizing all Pia's friends for then saying that was the best decision, etc. But I have a different take. Yes, Pia should have thought about this some more. But once she's decided to go for it and has the embryos implanted, she's in it. So how would making her feel like she made the wrong decision benefit her? I think, at that point, you've just got to go with it.
This was MUCH better than the dumpster fire that was the last book. I didn't love it, but I did like it. Raoul was an idiot, as was Pia, but I still enjoyed reading this. Here's hoping the next one has a conflict between the two MCs that's more reasonable.
Pia is certain that most people would have the babies themselves. There's even a conversation early on with Raoul about it. I felt certain we were then going to get a convo with Pia and her friends where she gets all sorts of differing opinions. But that never happened. She just decided on her own, based on the feeling that she'd be a horrible person NOT to have them. I've seen another review criticizing all Pia's friends for then saying that was the best decision, etc. But I have a different take. Yes, Pia should have thought about this some more. But once she's decided to go for it and has the embryos implanted, she's in it. So how would making her feel like she made the wrong decision benefit her? I think, at that point, you've just got to go with it.
This was MUCH better than the dumpster fire that was the last book. I didn't love it, but I did like it. Raoul was an idiot, as was Pia, but I still enjoyed reading this. Here's hoping the next one has a conflict between the two MCs that's more reasonable.
clairederricks's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent quick read! Pia is an amazing character and following her journey was great!