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From the publisher: A Life Less…Hers

Grace Mills craves being perfect almost as much as she craves raspberry scones. In fact, her life would be perfect if only she could lose ten more pounds, if only the pastry café she co-owns with her sister would turn a profit, if only the hottest guy at the gym would look her way…

And then “if only” comes true. Grace is suddenly straddling two lives: an alternate reality where she’s a size two, weathergirl celebrity and being chased by the hot guy.

I’ll rate this book the way the girls in my book club (and the ladies of my favorite review site, SmartBitchesTrashyBooks) do it: with an A-F grading system. This system also appeals to my former English teacher soul.

I have to give Craving Perfect a C. The three main reasons for this include:

• The fact that it never became a must-finish for me. There was never a moment in the book where I had to read more, needed to learn what happened next – the book just never rose to that level, even at its climax. One of the main reasons for this was heavy handed foreshadowing – by page fifteen I knew what the ending would be – and I was right.

• The disappointing performance of the heroine. I am fond of a self-deprecating heroine; but this girl’s attitude was extreme to the point of pathetic. Before the end of the first chapter I was grinding my teeth in irritation. It’s one thing to long for a better bod, or to lust after a cute guy at the gym. However, the heroine fantasizes about the cute guy to such an extreme that it is off-putting. Not to mention his behavior makes it clear that he’s an a-hole. Her poor judgement makes it very hard for me to trust any choices she makes, or put credence in who she is as a person.

• The “vehicle” in which the plot of the story gets delivered. I do not want to include spoilers without warning, so I’ll go into detail below, but let me say that I did not appreciate the method Grace achieves her “dream reality” nor the way it gets played out. I felt it caused awkward plot jumps and led to insufficient character building. I also think the author jumped ship on her own plot device, leaving it clunky and disjointed.

Ok – so by starting out as such a negative Nancy you may be wondering why a C? Why not a D or worse? Well, the book had enjoyable moments as well. Let me be fair and present three positive counter points:

• The author has a nice handle on dialogue. Overall I felt the characters spoke to each other in a natural cadence, and their internal dialogues expressed conflict without sounding trite.

• The concept of the book itself: suddenly getting everything you always thought you wanted and realizing it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be, is a trope I have enjoyed ever since reading Wishes by Jude Deveraux when I was a junior high girl who would love for some guardian angel to make my dreams come true. Having those dreams fulfilled and then discovering you were better off as the person you already are is heartening.

• The romance between the hero and the heroine works. I have some issues with how the romance develops (mainly the pacing of it) – but Fichera builds a relationship between the h/h I believed, and had me cheering for them. Sometimes it can be hard to build romance in a contemporary setting, but I think the author wrote some lovely moments that were enjoyable to read. The author does a nice job setting up their attraction…plus, what’s not to love about a hero who finds an average “real” woman sexy?

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of Craving Perfect with intent to review. Thanks to the author for allowing me the chance to read it and honestly express my views. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own (that’s what the “IMO” stands for). I am a nit-picky reader with plenty of hang-ups, and many people adored this book; so don’t just take my word for it, go read it!

Check out more reviews of Craving Perfect on GoodReads

Craving Perfect is available from Carina Press, and from now until July 31st you can save 20%.

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