duchessrin's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Finally, a contemporary Judith McNaught novel that I didn't DNF. This calls for a celebration!
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Finally, a contemporary Judith McNaught novel that I didn't DNF. This calls for a celebration!
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
"A rootless foster child, Julie Mathison had blossomed under the love showered upon her by her adoptive family. Now a lovely and vivacious young woman, she was a respected teacher in her small Texas town, and she passionately lived her ideals. Julie was determined to give back all the kindness she'd received; nothing and no one would ever shatter the perfect life she had fashioned.
Zachary Benedict was an actor/director whose Academy Award-winning career had been shattered when he was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. After the tall, ruggedly handsome Zack escaped from a Texas prison, he abducted Julie and forced her to drive him to his Colorado mountain hideout. She was outraged, cautious, and unable to ignore the instincts that whispered of his innocence. He was cynical, wary, and increasingly attracted to her. Passion was about to capture them both in its fierce embrace...but the journey to trust, true commitment, and proving Zack's innocence was just beginning...." (From Amazon)
I liked this novel...it focused more on the suspense than the last book.
"A rootless foster child, Julie Mathison had blossomed under the love showered upon her by her adoptive family. Now a lovely and vivacious young woman, she was a respected teacher in her small Texas town, and she passionately lived her ideals. Julie was determined to give back all the kindness she'd received; nothing and no one would ever shatter the perfect life she had fashioned.
Zachary Benedict was an actor/director whose Academy Award-winning career had been shattered when he was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. After the tall, ruggedly handsome Zack escaped from a Texas prison, he abducted Julie and forced her to drive him to his Colorado mountain hideout. She was outraged, cautious, and unable to ignore the instincts that whispered of his innocence. He was cynical, wary, and increasingly attracted to her. Passion was about to capture them both in its fierce embrace...but the journey to trust, true commitment, and proving Zack's innocence was just beginning...." (From Amazon)
I liked this novel...it focused more on the suspense than the last book.
girlwithhearteyes's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
Perfect is more romantic suspense than any other Judith McNaught book I’ve read — not my favorite sub-genre — but she really knows how to tell a story. The main characters (Zack and Julie) don’t even meet until 20% into a 700 page book, but I was engrossed in their individual backstories. Julie in particular was the heart of gold type, and I just wanted the best for her. 🥺 Really, both characters needed more hugs as children.
The relationship did feel a bit instalove at times, but like ‘deep instalove’ since the surrounding drama gave it epic vibes. I guess the premise (he’s an ex-Hollywood actor who escapes prison years after being wrongfully convicted of his wife’s murder, she’s the school teacher he reluctantly abducts) limits the timeline.
Overall - there were parts I loved, parts I really liked, a few parts I side-eyed (where it definitely felt like a book written in 1993), so… 4 stars.
Perfect is more romantic suspense than any other Judith McNaught book I’ve read — not my favorite sub-genre — but she really knows how to tell a story. The main characters (Zack and Julie) don’t even meet until 20% into a 700 page book, but I was engrossed in their individual backstories. Julie in particular was the heart of gold type, and I just wanted the best for her. 🥺 Really, both characters needed more hugs as children.
The relationship did feel a bit instalove at times, but like ‘deep instalove’ since the surrounding drama gave it epic vibes. I guess the premise (he’s an ex-Hollywood actor who escapes prison years after being wrongfully convicted of his wife’s murder, she’s the school teacher he reluctantly abducts) limits the timeline.
Overall - there were parts I loved, parts I really liked, a few parts I side-eyed (where it definitely felt like a book written in 1993), so… 4 stars.
laurenjodi's review against another edition
4.0
A satisfying read. The story is sweet and the characters are charming. However, just like the first book, Paradise, the plot starts to wane just before the end.
caroli22's review against another edition
5.0
A M A Z I N G! I loved every chapter of this book! I give 5 fair stars not only for the very well written romance but also for the concept of the book as a whole. Literacy is something that didn't used to catch my attention because today I can't find almost anyone illiterate, but the truth is that illiterate people exist, and as it is written and explained in the book, living in the world we live in today without knowing how to read is like living in a dark world with all doors closed, without real opportunities for a better and more consistent life. Illiteracy is real and we have to do something about it, help, just like Julie Mathison did! Apart from that, I loved the romance, I love Zachary as much as I love Julie, they are two characters who have a lot to teach, like forgiveness. I found the book to be very affectionate, loving, charming and touching. I've never gotten tired of their story, it isn't cliche and yet it's perfect!
The poem will be in my heart forever:
" I used to be ashamed
And now I'm proud.
The world once was black
And now it is bright.
I used to walk head bent
And now I stand up tall.
I used to have dreams
But now I have hope."
Maravilhoso! Adorei cada capítulo deste livro! Dou 5 estrelas muito justas não só pelo romance muito bem escrito mas também pelo conceito do livro no seu todo. Alfabetização é algo que não me chamava muito à atenção pois hoje em dia não encontro quase ninguém analfabeto, mas a verdade é que pessoas analfabetas existem, e como está escrito e explicado no livro, viver no mundo em que vivemos hoje sem saber ler é como viver num mundo escuro com todas as portas fechadas, sem reais oportunidades para uma vida melhor e mais consistente. Analfabetismo é real e tem que se fazer algo em relação a isso, ajudar, assim como Julie Mathison fez! Aparte disto, adorei o romance, adoro o Zachary tanto como adoro A Julie, são duas personagens que tem muito para ensinar, como o perdão. Achei o livro muito carinhoso, amoroso, encantador e comovente. Nunca me cansei da história deles, foge ao cliche e mesmo assim é perfeita!
O poema vai estar para sempre no meu coração:
"Eu sentia medo
E agora sinto orgulho.
O mundo era preto
E agora é claro.
Eu andava curvada
E agora ando de cabeça erguida.
Eu tinha sonhos
Mas agora tenho esperança."
The poem will be in my heart forever:
" I used to be ashamed
And now I'm proud.
The world once was black
And now it is bright.
I used to walk head bent
And now I stand up tall.
I used to have dreams
But now I have hope."
Maravilhoso! Adorei cada capítulo deste livro! Dou 5 estrelas muito justas não só pelo romance muito bem escrito mas também pelo conceito do livro no seu todo. Alfabetização é algo que não me chamava muito à atenção pois hoje em dia não encontro quase ninguém analfabeto, mas a verdade é que pessoas analfabetas existem, e como está escrito e explicado no livro, viver no mundo em que vivemos hoje sem saber ler é como viver num mundo escuro com todas as portas fechadas, sem reais oportunidades para uma vida melhor e mais consistente. Analfabetismo é real e tem que se fazer algo em relação a isso, ajudar, assim como Julie Mathison fez! Aparte disto, adorei o romance, adoro o Zachary tanto como adoro A Julie, são duas personagens que tem muito para ensinar, como o perdão. Achei o livro muito carinhoso, amoroso, encantador e comovente. Nunca me cansei da história deles, foge ao cliche e mesmo assim é perfeita!
O poema vai estar para sempre no meu coração:
"Eu sentia medo
E agora sinto orgulho.
O mundo era preto
E agora é claro.
Eu andava curvada
E agora ando de cabeça erguida.
Eu tinha sonhos
Mas agora tenho esperança."
lutheranjulia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
fatal_poison_4_u's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
summermusings's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of my all time favorite romances. This is a book I donated at some point and I've missed over the years especially since it was not available on Kindle. Fast forward to the beginning of this month when Judith McNaught's backlist arrived on Amazon for Kindles. Queue the choir of angels. Work has been super busy, but rereading this old standby was like saying hello to old friends.
sammy234's review against another edition
2.0
Judith McNaught's books are either incredibly emotional or unbearably cheesy, and there is no in between. Perfect was the latter.
It was so cheesy that sometimes I had to put the book down out of secondhand embarrassment, and I get no pleasure out of saying that. McNaught is one of my favorite authors. I usually adore her work. I love her stupid, paranoid heroes and her Mary Sue heroines.
This book just didn't work for me, though. There was the classic big Judith McNaught misunderstanding in the second half, (which to be fair,I was expecting)where the hero thinks the heroine has betrayed him and so he turns on her until she can convince him of her innocence. But in this novel, shockingly, she did actually... turn on him? And it just diminished what should have been an incredible love story.
First she believes he's a murderer, then she doesn't and believes he's been framed, then someone tries to convince her that he is in fact a murderer, then a murder happens near where she lives and she somehow blames the hero. Even though he's fleeing the cops and in a different country at that point. Like why would he come back to just murder some random dude, oh my gosh. Especially since he wanted to prove his innocence above all else.
I don't know. I get that Judith McNaught novels can get a little formulaic, but the big misunderstanding here didn't work too much so I couldn't enjoy it this time, when usually I wouldn't care. I was also hoping for the book to take another plot direction that it absolutely did not. Zach and Julie were supposed to run off together after he broke out of prison and be sort of like Bonny and Clyde, which I was personally very excited for. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Instead we got a lot of boring domestic scenes. Julie's father yelling at Zach about the dangers of premarital sex! Julie's entire small town talking about them having premarital sex for some reason! The entire town talking about sex in general! Going to the fair! Meeting Patrick Swayze! A rather heated baseball game! Elderly townsfolk that have no influence on the character's lives or the plot falling in love! Disrespectful taxi drivers that charge you extra for messing up your love life! Zach, throwing a party after he just got released from prison!
Not exactly riveting stuff, to be honest. Two stars.
It was so cheesy that sometimes I had to put the book down out of secondhand embarrassment, and I get no pleasure out of saying that. McNaught is one of my favorite authors. I usually adore her work. I love her stupid, paranoid heroes and her Mary Sue heroines.
This book just didn't work for me, though. There was the classic big Judith McNaught misunderstanding in the second half, (which to be fair,I was expecting)where the hero thinks the heroine has betrayed him and so he turns on her until she can convince him of her innocence. But in this novel, shockingly, she did actually... turn on him? And it just diminished what should have been an incredible love story.
First she believes he's a murderer, then she doesn't and believes he's been framed, then someone tries to convince her that he is in fact a murderer, then a murder happens near where she lives and she somehow blames the hero. Even though he's fleeing the cops and in a different country at that point. Like why would he come back to just murder some random dude, oh my gosh. Especially since he wanted to prove his innocence above all else.
I don't know. I get that Judith McNaught novels can get a little formulaic, but the big misunderstanding here didn't work too much so I couldn't enjoy it this time, when usually I wouldn't care. I was also hoping for the book to take another plot direction that it absolutely did not. Zach and Julie were supposed to run off together after he broke out of prison and be sort of like Bonny and Clyde, which I was personally very excited for. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Instead we got a lot of boring domestic scenes. Julie's father yelling at Zach about the dangers of premarital sex! Julie's entire small town talking about them having premarital sex for some reason! The entire town talking about sex in general! Going to the fair! Meeting Patrick Swayze! A rather heated baseball game! Elderly townsfolk that have no influence on the character's lives or the plot falling in love! Disrespectful taxi drivers that charge you extra for messing up your love life! Zach, throwing a party after he just got released from prison!
Not exactly riveting stuff, to be honest. Two stars.