laurenjodi's review
4.0
Almost Perfect
3.5 Stars
Ethan Hendrix, scion of the town's founding family, and Liz Sutton, daughter of the local "fallen woman", were hot and heavy as teens until the night he betrayed her. Now over a decade later, Liz returns to town and must face the consequences of her devastating secret. Can Liz and Ethan forgive each other for the past and fine happiness for the future?
Another series that I had put on the back burner for some unknown reason as Mallery writing is very engaging.
Unfortunately, this particular installment contains several unappealing tropes including a secret baby, a jerk hero and the ubiquitous lack of communication that plagues contemporary romances.
Although the secret baby trope is somewhat mitigated by circumstances beyond Liz's control, this does not fully assuage her responsibility for failing to inform Ethan of his son's existence. That said, Ethan's behavior leaves much to be desired both in his teen years and as an adult. He is completely unlikable from the start, and as such is is difficult to believe in the second chances romance.
Nevertheless, the book is very well written and Mallery manages to reel the reader in, in spite of rather than due to the characters themselves.
3.5 Stars
Ethan Hendrix, scion of the town's founding family, and Liz Sutton, daughter of the local "fallen woman", were hot and heavy as teens until the night he betrayed her. Now over a decade later, Liz returns to town and must face the consequences of her devastating secret. Can Liz and Ethan forgive each other for the past and fine happiness for the future?
Another series that I had put on the back burner for some unknown reason as Mallery writing is very engaging.
Unfortunately, this particular installment contains several unappealing tropes including a secret baby, a jerk hero and the ubiquitous lack of communication that plagues contemporary romances.
Although the secret baby trope is somewhat mitigated by circumstances beyond Liz's control, this does not fully assuage her responsibility for failing to inform Ethan of his son's existence. That said, Ethan's behavior leaves much to be desired both in his teen years and as an adult. He is completely unlikable from the start, and as such is is difficult to believe in the second chances romance.
Nevertheless, the book is very well written and Mallery manages to reel the reader in, in spite of rather than due to the characters themselves.
beckyschwartz's review
4.0
Ok I think I hated this book. Or at least I hated Ethan. Vehemently. He was just awful in some really specific and infuriating ways. But I couldn’t give it any less than four stars. I think maybe I loved Liz. That balanced out my hate for Ethan. Loved her, hated him.
The book was almost redeemed by a moment at the end where someone in a crowd suggests that Ethan doesn’t deserve Liz and someone else responds something like “if we all married who deserved us, there’d be loads of single women.” It almost made me feel better about how terrible I thought Ethan was and how I feel he never really redeemed himself. I wish Mallery had just made him a little less horrible from the outset.
I did finish this book in a day though, so if nothing else, that should recommend it enough.
The book was almost redeemed by a moment at the end where someone in a crowd suggests that Ethan doesn’t deserve Liz and someone else responds something like “if we all married who deserved us, there’d be loads of single women.” It almost made me feel better about how terrible I thought Ethan was and how I feel he never really redeemed himself. I wish Mallery had just made him a little less horrible from the outset.
I did finish this book in a day though, so if nothing else, that should recommend it enough.
sweetdreams_sunshine's review against another edition
5.0
Ugh this book was so much better than Chasing Perfect.
Unlike Charity, Liz was easily one of my favorite female characters that Susan Mallery has written. She is strong, intelligent, caring and despite the fact that she had a tough upbringing, she's not a pessimist. Plus there's the fact that she is an author and loves books. Ethan, while being totally frustrating, and male (to be honest), at times was great too. I liked their romance because they didn't just "fall back in love" they had fights and difficulties.
Also this book kind of had me from the start because I have a real weakness for romance novels that involve kids and these kids were great. Melissa, Abby and Tyler were typical children. Melissa was a typical teenager, Abby was just plain adorable and Tyler was a typical preteen boy. All of the family moments in this book were great because they didn't always have happy times, they had plenty of difficult moments as well. Plus I do have to add that all of the Hendrix women were great.
I do also have to add I really loved Liz and Pia's friendship. As well as Ethan's friendships with Josh and Raoul. I just really liked that this book was not just about the romance but about so much more.
So it's definitely a 5 star rating for me.
Unlike Charity, Liz was easily one of my favorite female characters that Susan Mallery has written. She is strong, intelligent, caring and despite the fact that she had a tough upbringing, she's not a pessimist. Plus there's the fact that she is an author and loves books. Ethan, while being totally frustrating, and male (to be honest), at times was great too. I liked their romance because they didn't just "fall back in love" they had fights and difficulties.
Spoiler
I found the ending to be charming; because while it's something that's been done in romance novels before it was different because Ethan choice to do what he did without knowing that Liz was there, so it wasn't like he had an ulterior motive.Also this book kind of had me from the start because I have a real weakness for romance novels that involve kids and these kids were great. Melissa, Abby and Tyler were typical children. Melissa was a typical teenager, Abby was just plain adorable and Tyler was a typical preteen boy.
Spoiler
Also I loved Liz's speech to Tyler about gender and the power of assumptions. I found that to be especially great.I do also have to add I really loved Liz and Pia's friendship. As well as Ethan's friendships with Josh and Raoul. I just really liked that this book was not just about the romance but about so much more.
So it's definitely a 5 star rating for me.
michellesantiago's review
3.0
Since reading Two of a Kind, I decided to pick up an earlier book in the series that had a secret baby and second chance romance trope. Just like Two of a Kind, it was predictable but entertaining enough. I liked the heroine a lot, but I didn't really like the heroes. He was angry at the heroine for not telling him about his son sooner. Also, she explained multiple times that she made an attempted to tell him twice, and he just didn't want to understand where she's coming from. He was so annoying. I'm getting annoyed all over again and now I want to change my rating from a 3 star to a 2 lol
bibliophile24's review
5.0
Susan Mallery is one of my favorites, and she didn't disappoint me this time, either. I recommend her to all romance lovers!!
shms's review against another edition
2.0
1.5* I'm not sure what to call these 'meh' type reads. They deserve a category of their own. Good writing, lously plot and characters that irritate.
shmsy's review against another edition
2.0
1.5* I'm not sure what to call these 'meh' type reads. They deserve a category of their own. Good writing, lously plot and characters that irritate.
whitney0498's review
5.0
Almost Perfect is the second book in the Fool’s Gold series and I just loved getting to reenter this world. In this story it focuses on Liz and Ethan and I just loved getting to learn more about them. It was just so easy to get lost in this story and I just so much fun with them. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this series.