From #1 New York Times bestselling author S.C. Stephens comes a complex romance about finding your purpose, living your dreams, and loving your soul mate.
Valerie would never do anything to hurt her sister, but when the man of Valerie’s dreams turns out to be her sister’s new boyfriend, remaining loyal to her family becomes increasingly difficult. Valerie knows nothing can ever happen between her and Jake, but that doesn’t prevent her from growing hopelessly fond of him.
By keeping her distance, Valerie is mostly successful in pushing her feelings for Jake aside, but when she struggles to land a job after culinary school, it’s Jake who offers her the opportunity of a lifetime working with a world-renowned chef…and also, working with Jake.
Valerie’s heart twists with indecision. Does she take the job of a lifetime cooking and sailing around on a yacht, but torture herself in an isolated situation with a man who is perfectly made for her yet absolutely off limits? Or does she reject the offer that could get her so much closer to making her dreams come true?
Title : Something Like Perfect
Author : SC Stephens
Format : eARC
Page Count : 206
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Publisher : Montlake Romance
Release Date : June 23, 2020
Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ .5
Micky’s 2.5 star review
I knew I was getting into an unholy mess with this book and that blurb but what started off as a eating popcorn watching events unfold, quickly moved to a ridiculous plot peppered with unbelievable convenience. I enjoyed SC Stephens last survival story but this one did not work at all for me. Only forge forward into this book if you are okay with cheating, it’s up there in the blurb and its a pretty taboo take on that trope. I can flow with this trope but it still felt a bit icky to me and I think that’s down to how the story was told and the characterisation.
I’m going to start with what I liked and then move to what didn’t work for me. This is a short book, just over 200 pages, it was quick to read and hard to put down. A bit like a crash unfolding that you cannot look away from. The time passed as I just read from front to back. So, you could say this was gripping. There was definite chemistry between the two MCs but when it came to chemistry playing out fully, I didn’t feel much.
What didn’t work for me was the story or rather the story direction. The way that the author took this to an almost ridiculous scenario moved me from like to almost writing it off. I can flow with a bit of fantastical licence but this story went deep into impossibility for me. I felt this more so, once the MCs were coming to the end of the book and the big awful situation was over. There was too much convenience in everything to do with the plot and the story felt rushed. I can’t help thinking with another 150 pages or so, this could have been fleshed out so much better.
I know SC Stephens can write a great book in the tropes that SOMETHING LIKE PERFECT hit but on this occasion it just wasn’t for me.
Thank you to Montlake Romance for the early review copy.
A Take from Two Cities 