| Title | : | Perfect (Second Opportunities, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0743474171 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780743474177 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 704 |
| Publication | : | First published May 1, 1993 |
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....
Perfect (Second Opportunities, #2) Reviews
-
DNF after 200 pages.
You know, I usually have a lot of patience when it comes to books.
I don't mind if they first do it at 70%.
They don't even have to do it at all.
I don't mind if the story progresses slowly.
It doesn't have to progress at all.
AS LONG AS I GET MY HEROES IN THE SAME SCENES TOGETHER!!!!!
Separations in the book I just don't like, ever!
In this one, the hero and the heroine didn't even meet until page 150!
I mean, THAT much detail about their pasts is really, REALLY not necessary. I could give you a recap of everything that you need to know in a couple of sentences.
Anyway, I thought I could continue after they've actually met but by then I completely lost interest in it and now I simply don't care about the book at all.
I had the same problem in the first book from this series and I thought it would be different, but sadly, no.
So here's me saying goodbye forever to Judith McNaught's contemporaries :)
-
My re-read was just as PERFECT the second time around.
“She wept with shame for her lack of will and with fear for a love she couldn't control.”
I loved this one. It’s an oldie but stands the test of time.
Rugged, charming, alpha hero.
Sweet, hometown, innocent heroine.
What’s not to like?
Long ago and far away I dreamed a dream one day
And now that dream is here beside me
Long the skies were overcast
But now the clouds have passed
You're here at last
Chills run up and down my spine
Aladdin's lamp is mine
The dream I dreamed was not denied me
Just one look and then I knew
That all I longed for long ago was you
Chills run up and down my spine
Aladdin's lamp is mine
The dream I dreamed was not denied me
Just one look and then I knew
That all I longed for long ago was you
For the first time in his life, he finally knew how it felt to have a home and a family. Julie was his home, his family
It had drama, romance, laughter, tears, family, friendship, misunderstandings, make-ups … everything I love in a good book.
Loved catching up with the characters from the previous book, Matt and Meredith.
-
3.5 Stars
Once again I’m impressed with the author’s ability to tell a story and create such a well-developed storyline. And once again I didn’t get the maximum satisfaction from it.
After reading Paradise and all of the reviews here I was sure I was about to read a story of epic proportions:
A prison escape?
A tortured, cold, brooding hero?
A smart and strong heroine?
The enemies-to-lovers trope?
"I'm falling for my captor" theme?
A slow burn romance?
Except the proportions were not so epic…
I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it because I did. I liked the story but it was so damn long. It took forever for the main characters to meet and then to finally get together.
Sure, the hero had some brooding and assholish qualities but his mood swings and behavior changes from cold and grumpy to saccharine sweet and sappy were giving me whiplash.
The heroine, on the other hand, was too perfect, too idolized in my opinion.
And the whole prison escape thing? It seemed kind of laughable to me. I don't know much about the U.S. legal system and prison rules and policies (except from movies) but I don’t understand how a person serving a sentence of imprisonment is allowed to drive a prison warden to town every week and go grocery shopping and do other chores alone and unsupervised ?
Overall, this was a lengthy and quite an exhausting read with an interesting plot lost in the sea of details and twists. I don’t know why, but I feel like this author’s descriptive style just doesn’t work for me.
I’m sure I would have loved it more had I read it when it was first published. -
Well what can I say? The title says most of it. I found this book Perfect!! I loved it, and couldn’t put it down for the first 450 pages. Then I had to work and was so ticked that I couldn’t get right back to it. It was written in the early nineties, and does have a little bit of a dated feel, but that didn’t bother me at all.
In the late 70’s, Zack was brought up in an extremely wealthy, yet cold family environment. At 18 he is heartlessly thrown out. He ends up in Hollywood working a job that happens to land him on a movie set. The director ‘discovers’ him, and he becomes the biggest movie star in the country overnight. In 1988 he is convicted of murdering his wife, a famous actress. He’s sitting in jail in Texas five years later ready to execute his escape plan.
Julie was born on the streets of Chicago and abandoned. She fell into the system, moving from home to home. Because of her life as a small child, she had a lot of health problems that kept her out of school. Yet, her teachers promoted her to the next grade anyway, because she was ‘a good girl’. By age 12, she was basically illiterate and starting to hang out with the rougher kids. She is given a break by a psychologist that places her in a wonderful family in Texas. She grasps at this new chance for life with both hands and never looks back. Over the years, she lives her life ‘perfect’. She becomes a school teacher for at risk and handicapped children, she’s active in her small town community, and she’s ‘kind of’ engaged to a man who is soon to be a minister.
After part of Zack’s original escape plan gets botched, he ends up carjacking Julie and making her drive him to a secluded cabin in Colorado. You can really feel the torment with Zack not really wanting to involve her, but he is in survival mode. He can’t let her go; because he knows she’ll go directly to the police. Or will she? After a few days, she begins to see what a complicated, yet caring man he is. She starts to doubt that this man is capable of murdering his wife. They spend a week together in total seclusion. She falls in love with him, and he will not admit it to her or himself that he loves her too. Once he feels it’s safe for him to leave the cabin and send her on her way home, he coldly severs ties with her and she is crushed. He intends to hideaway from the world and live as someone else, and she wants him to try to prove he is innocent of murdering his wife; let alone guilty of kidnapping.
This story is so emotional. I teared up a lot. I was rooting for both of them the entire time. Zach has never felt love from anyone before, and he has such a hard time accepting it; especially from someone as pure as Julie. When he finally admits he loves her in a letter, it is SO good! There is good suspense plot, action, tears, joy, passion… I just loved it. -
Rate: Infinity and beyond ∞
There is no review I could ever write that will do this book justice. I can't even say this book is perfect, not because it's cheesy, but because this book will never be just one word. Reading this book isn't just reading some words on some pages and enjoying the story. No, these seven hundred and four pages are like nothing I've ever read before. I can't even say that any of the other Judith McNaught books I've read come close to the brilliance of this one. As much as I loved Paradise, Matt and Meredith's story kept coming close to but not reaching as far as Perfect did. Paradise made me feel every emotion I have ever felt before but Perfect made me feel those and so many new emotions. Emotions there aren't even names for yet. Perfect had me trembling so hard, tortured, sobbing for relief and frightened to the point of nausea but somehow there was never a moment where I wanted it to end.
To sum up briefly, Perfect tells the story of Zack Benedict, once the most admired and adored actor/director of Hollywood but now a convicted murderer serving a 45-year sentence for a murder he didn't commit, and Julie Mathison, the kind and endlessly loving school teacher who devotes all her time to helping disabled children and illiterate women. After Zack successfully escapes prison, he abducts Julie and forces her to drive him to a hideaway house in the Colorado mountains. Initially Julie is frightened and desperate to be released from captivity but with every minute spent in the presence of Zack, she soon realises he is no murderer and her treacherous heart falls in love with him even though doing so will only guarantee her a lifetime of heartbreak, pain and longing.
From the beginning to the very end this novel took my heart and ran away with it. Zack was easily established as the tortured and dispaired hero who desperately deserved someone to love him. Julie's kindness and unwavering love were exactly what Zack needed. I say that Julie's love was unwavering because even though she did betray him, she never stopped loving him ~
"And you," Zack said somberly, tipping her chin up, "are an angel. Do you have any idea how I've felt every time I watched you on that film?"
She shook her head, and he said, "I felt loved. Incredibly, completely, unconditionally loved. Even when you thought I was a deranged murderer, you were still fighting and crying for me."
At first I found it hard to come to terms with Julie's betrayal but in the end I didn't find myself blaming her. She truly did believe she was doing the right thing but the way it happened was so tragic it tore at my heart. The scene at the Mexican airport will forever stay with me. When Zack and Julie are reunited the book takes on the same playful tone it did during their happy moments in Colorado but this time Judith McNaught lets readers enjoy the laughter and joyfulness without heartbreak around the corner. The last 80 pages of the book are filled with the tiny moments that make love whilst the first 600 or so show us the angst and agony of achieving something so magical.
If you haven't already read this book, I would recommend this to you with all of my heart. My all time favourite book and definitely one I see myself re-reading over and over. -
10 stars!!!!!! Does not matter how many times I reread this book it guts me every single time. 😭
Such beautiful love story, with a lot of heartbreak and angst. But also the love between these two is so poignant and heartfelt. There is laughter, anger and a lot of heartbreak. And the chemistry is wow, jumps off the pages.
The character growth and depth of both Julie and Zack is phenomenal!!! I just don't see this kind of writing anymore. JM had such a gifting in writing beautiful, emotional and multi faceted hero's and heroines.
Zack, what a complex jaded hero. So much hurt and sadness in his past, he's totally closed off. But it takes a very special heroine to love on him and help him heal and find a once in a lifetime love in Julie. And Julie, wow, oe of my all time favorite heroines of all time. A woman who is smart and strong but yet has such a tender and gentle soul.
I had such highs and lows in this book, know one moves me like this author. I like in this couple world for days, and the feelings of happiness linger as well. Then I get so sad that there isn't anything out there like this anymore. Well no wonder I reread her and Julie Garwoods books almost every two years.
If I could give this 10 stars I would. This book has everything possible in it, but the best of all is the most moving and beautiful love story out there. Definitely my top books of all time.
Would absolutely love to see this made into a movie. It has everything that would make it a hit.
If you've never read this I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend it. And have a box of Kleenex right next to you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was fantastic and wonderful and, poignant, moving, touching, affecting, powerful, stirring, emotive, heart-rending, heartwarming, impassioned, etc....
I think you get the picture.
I love this book and it deserves a ten star rating that's what this book deserves!!!
I'll never get tired of reading Zack and Julie's story. Absolute Perfection!!! -
For quotes/comments as I read and others commentary:
Buddy Read Perfect
700pgs. 700 PAGES
The first 30% was good, with amazing development and laying foundation down for our characters. In newer published books, that first 30% would have been edited down to around 10%. I miss layers like that. Having said that, oh my god, could a lot have been edited out. I think. Secondary characters that seemed to add depth to the story, characters, and setting, started to become skim worthy as they didn't seem to add to the main arc. There's twin sisters that add flavor and a thinking commentary storyline but towards the end, I was wondering what the point was. Adding to a lesser degree, the heroine's boyfriend Greg(?) and the storyline of a FBI agent falling in love with heroine. They add to the layers of the story but they also meander the reader from the main arc and end up disappearing with no real conclusion; I was left with "what's the point?”
This would not only satisfy your old tv show Dynasty cravings, this would fulfill 3 seasons worth. I feel like I lived three lifetimes reading this. Season One is the childhood of our heroine and hero and the development of how they came to be as adults, Season Two is the November sweeps lust, murder, kidnapping, and D-rama, and Season Three is the lies, betrayal, revelations, and happily ever after.
All this D-rama of secondary character stories, lusting, murder, and life living is told through an early '90s romance view point. I ended up not liking the hero because of his overly aggressive, I know you love me/want me so I'm going to sexually man handle you until your body forces you to admit it, a heroine who could be read Mary Sue-ish with some innocent, too sweet to be real, 26yr old virgin, wishy washy, and "Perfect", a puritanical vibe, and a overhanging view that good wives are cooking and doing laundry.
The murder mystery got a bit washed out as it was pushed to the background by the D-rama and not for my 21st century woman self, views. After I read the last sentence, I started to think about the ranting review I was going to type up, until I saw the Author's Note. Due to our heroine's childhood, she grew up illiterate until the 5th grade. As a result, she becomes a middle school teacher and after hours teaches adult women to learn how to read. Then in the note, the author talks about how harshly illiteracy affects women, which is also shown through secondary characters (heroine's grown women students) she weaves in how women are trapped in abusive relationships and poverty because of their illiteracy. She brings up a program called "Literacy. Pass. It. On.", a program funded by Coors Light and how it is working to help women gain literacy. I looked the program up and through my weak, quick research it went five years and earned 5 million dollars (looks like they were shooting for 40mil). Was this whole book, a story rife with sexism and clearly a prevailing view of its time, showing and relating to women, a cloak for a message of how women are held back and a way to help prevent that? Maybe, maybe not. It is why I love the romance genre, because there is a message here, even if its veiled, because maybe it had to be. Social commentary and women reaching out to women, hearing, acknowledging, and addressing our issues, that is what is commonly hidden behind those bare chest men covers.
Did I like the story as a whole? No, too much editing needed, main couple's relationship was not built on a believable, solid foundation, and the whole Dynasty-like D-rama. However, the sub-plot of illiteracy and its harmful effects on women and how we can help them? Sign me up every time. (Secret: The romance genre is chalk full of this and why I'm signed up a lot for these books)
The Literacy. Pass. It. On. Program is not around anymore but please considering donating whatever you can at any literacy non-profit/charity. Share the love of reading -
This book was such a great surprise!
I’ve started 5 books and was getting quite desperate to find my mojo back when this book was recommended to me.
It is kind of an all-in-one, packed with action, mystery, comedy and romance.
However, what touched me the most was the suffocating feeling of helplessness due to the injustice committed against Zach.
Balance, harmony and justice rule my sign: Libra (♎). I despise injustice.
So, let me start getting the negative out of my way first: grandma Stanhope.
My only issue in the story is that I was left holding a grudge against her.
She didn't deserve forgiveness so easily.
What an evil witch!
When that predictable "making peace" scene happened I had to roll my eyes, only to soon be taken by surprise with another tearful moment. One of the many I have to say.
"I'm Jamison Zachary Arthur Stanhope."
So that was it!
Now that the bad is out of my way I am ready to tell a little bit about this amazing story.
Julie is a teacher in a little town - She is fiery, funny, stubborn, witty, intelligent, brave, generous and compassionate.
Zack is a Hollywood actor/director on top of his game – Until his wife is murdered when they both were shooting a movie and Zack became the principal suspect.
Condemned for a crime he didn't commit Zack is sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Two lives destined to collide by fate when Zack decided to escape from prison after 5 years behind the bars.
Julie was the unfortunate person who crossed his path when Zack needed a car to get away.
Firstly she innocently offered him a lift but soon she found out who Zack really was and his plans to get out of the Country. Horrified, she attempted to escape but there was nowhere to run.
Julie was then taken hostage and kidnapped by Zack.
After a few unexpected events they were forced to stay a few days in a recluse house in the mountains waiting for a chopper – one more step towards his final destination: South America – when he finally would release Julie.
In these few days a resentful, cynical, disillusioned and callous Zack gets to know Julie.
His defences started to crack. A heart enfolded by ice because of too many injustices done to him, started to melt.
Beside her idealism Zack felt terribly old and jaded. He was nine years older and a thousand times harder than she, and yet something about her softened him and made him like being soft, both of which were new experiences for him.
Julie is one of the most amazing female characters I had ever come across.
She had an ugly past which could have shaped her in a bitter person. However, she took the only good opportunity life handed over to her when she was 11 year old and did the most of it to become a better person.
And what a beautiful and captivating person Julie turned out to be.
Zack didn't stand a chance.
Loved it! Gripped until the last page
Thanks Jessica <3 -
*Screams*
*Rips book apart
*Throws it to the ground*
*Jumps on book until pulverized*
*Gets out lawnmower*
*Mows over it multiple times*
No just no.
I’ll start with the positive. This book made me and my reading buddies Whiskey
review here & Obsidian
review here wonder:
Is consent consent if you are a hostage?
I’m of the mind that no it’s probably not.
The other positive, it was good, infuriating fun to read with those two.
And, really that’s where my positivity sinks into the ground like the pulverized book in a solid rainstorm.
I was kind of hooked at the beginning. I wouldn’t call it good, I’d call it kind of fun to read. Call it novelty, I give you permission. And then Julie, our ‘heroine,’ who is incredibly perfect due to her pious family who adopted her at 11, built a snowman. And I thought, “Well, what is this fresh hell?” And the book Perfect answered me back with a resounding, “Just the beginning, Sam.”
Characters always have questionable choices, kind of like regular people. And just in case you want to read this, I won’t go into the complete nonsense of this book. Why would you want to read it? Some people LOVE this book! For me, it just hasn’t aged well. The hero is incredibly emotionally manipulative. Sweet and innocent Julie is far too perfect and your basic TSTL for me. The dialogue made me want to scream, just like the rest of the book. Or as I said in a b-r thread,
“Lord knows their dialogue makes me wants to rip out my eyebrows by individual hairs.”
They were always ‘joking’ when they weren’t really. My eye got twitchy….And twitchier. See, apparently if you save someone, it negates former bad acts, makes former bad acts unbelievable, and future bad acts like sexual assault and abuse just something that will never happen again.
Also, women in this book are told constantly to calm down. So aside from overbearing, dominant asshole men and women who think it’s their duty to cook, they all overreact and talk too much.
There’s also an incredible amount of rehash and replays in this book, so it rounds out at something like 700 pages. Not to brag, but I could’ve done it in like 150...
Not since
Blue-Eyed Devil have I loathed a book so completely that i finished. And funnily, this reminded me of that from the get-go, which should have told me something.
There’s lots of good stuff over on
b-r thread -
So here's the thing. I love, love, love romance books. I love the HEA, I love the hot sex scenes, I love a guy that is totally into the heroine and the heroine being kick ass. But as we have all said here time and time again, older romance novels are problematic. There are a lot of tropes that just don't get done anymore unless that's a genre that you are trying to market to these days. These book had a whole mess of issues that made me cringe. Then again, this was written in 1993 so I was trying to give McNaught some leeway here, but honestly there was so much other stuff that didn't work that I just could not give this above two stars. I bought this book and have no intention of even looking it's way again.
I think that McNaught's historical romances are set up a bit better than this book though we still have the trope of heroine does something and hero takes it badly without listening that appears twice in this one. We also have the heroine is a virgin and has the best first time ever trope. Let us not even get started on the TSTL kicks that Julie kept getting on throughout this entire book.
"Perfect" is book two in the Paradise contemporary romance series that McNaught wrote. Book one is "Paradise" starring other characters that appear in this book as secondary characters (Matthew and Meredith). Book two is focused on Zachary Benedict and Julie Mathison.
Zachary Mathison is thrown out of his family's home by his grandmother. Zack then is able to turn around and become a stuntman (of course he did) and from there go on to acting and directing. He ends up being a highly respected actor and is now in the process of directing his wife in what many are calling an Oscar caliber film. When Zack finds his wife in disarray with the lead actor on the film and demanding a divorce. When a scene involving a gun leads to her death, Zack is then charged and convicted of her murder.
Julie Mathison is a foster kid that is shuffled around until someone realizes her potential. She is eventually sent to live with the Mathison family in Texas and promises she will do whatever she needs to be the "perfect" daughter, sister, friend. She eventually grows up and becomes a teacher and is happy with her life with her boyfriend (I think his name was Greg) even though she feels like something is missing from their relationship (it's the sex Julie, that's what is missing).
When Zack escapes from jail he eventually comes across Juile at a cafe, Julie because she realizes he has on new jeans and invents a reason for why he would have on new jeans (no I am not kidding) gives him a ride where eventually Julie figures out that Zack is an escaped convict who then takes her hostage. He just has to guys cause he's so drawn to her. I mean he's been in jail for five years (ughhhh).
That is just the bare bones to this story. We also have a plethora of characters in this one. Why McNaught got into Julie's brother Ted's romance in this one made no sense. That is honestly why this book was so endless and went on for more than 700 pages. She could have just broken up Ted's story and at least laid out the bare bones in this one without taking away from the main story.
That said, Ted sucks and can kick rocks. Most of the men in this story just sit around and either treat the women they supposedly care/love like crap through verbal and sometimes physical abuse (Zack and Ted) or they sit around and decide they know that's good for the woman (Zack, Paul-the FBI agent who falls for Julie, Julie's dad, Ted again (you still suck) or the feel like they have ownership over Julie's chastity (Julie's freaking father). The last few chapters of this book are actually about not having sex before marriage. I could not deal with this many men in my life being that up in my body.
To wrap it up most of the men (not Matt) are awful and I honestly thought the character of Paul was a freaking chump. Who hangs around someone who is not into you at all?
Katherine and Meredith were better heroines in my eyes than Julie. Julie is passive through this whole freaking book. And her going from being a virgin to all of a sudden wanting to have sex with Zack, who has kidnapped her by the way blows my mind. I wonder if McNaught even thought of the implications of Stockholm Syndrome? Zack repeatedly makes Julie tell him she believes that he is innocent. I mean even if she didn't believe it, you are alone with a guy with a gun what are you going to say/do? I think that would have been an interesting side road for her to go down.
The initial part of the book with regards to writing held a lot of promise. I always get annoyed when an author rushes the backstory to characters to get to the meet cutes and all. But McNaught did a very good of setting up Zack and Julie's circumstances. However, as I said above, there was way too much going on. This book did not need to be 700 pages. The flow was up and down depending on where McNaught took the story. Sometimes we would follow Zack and Julie around, then we would shift back to Ted and Katherine, Matt and Meredith, and then freaking Paul.
The writing in this book hurt my soul sometimes, but hey at least Sam (AMReader) and
WhiskeyintheJar/Kyraryker are having fun making fun of it.
Some of the passages where I include the percentages just so you can see my notes/comments as I was reading:1 percent-“If you don’t like my offer,” Margaret informed her in a steely voice, “then I suggest you get yourself a job as a waitress or find yourself a pimp, because those are the only two careers for which you’re fit right now.”
DAMN.19 percent-"Julie had never before offered a hitchhiker a ride; the risks were far too high, but she decided to do it this time, not only because he’d changed her tire or because he seemed nice, but also because of a simple pair of jeans—new jeans."
So Julie is not smart is what you are saying. Also don't tell me how she doesn't even let men come into her home and she's all let me give a total stranger a ride cause of his jeans.24 percent-"He had tasted her lips and felt their response to him. His starved senses wanted to feast on the entire banquet."
He has literally kidnapped her at gunpoint?! Maybe wait a while on the hot smexy times.28 percent-“Have something to drink,” he ordered, thrusting a long-stemmed glass toward her. “Drink it, damn it!” He made a visible effort to soften his tone. “It’ll help you relax.”
Ughhhhhhhh. I mean sure, let's get her drinking so you can do whatever. Gah.31 percent-“My father is a minister!” she wept. “He’s a respected man and you’ve made his daughter into a public slut! I’m a teacher!” she cried hysterically, “I teach little children! Do you think they’ll let me teach children now that I’m a national scandal who wallows in the snow with escaped murderers?”
You have literally just kissed the dude! How do you go from that to I am a slut?! Also I should not be laughing at this, but I am.31 percent-“I’ve spent the last fifteen years of my life,” she sobbed brokenly, struggling harder against his grasp, “trying to be perfect. I’ve been so perfect!” she wept,"
You have been lame and exhausting. I have only been reading this for a little bit, but no, you have not been perfect.40 percent-"Apparently, she had withheld her virginity from her own boyfriend, who obviously loved her and wanted to offer her respectability and a future. Tonight, however, she was willing to surrender it to an escaped convict who was incapable of loving anyone and who had nothing whatsoever to offer her."
Enough said.42 percent-"Her body stiffened with the brief pain, but before he could react, her arms were around him and she was opening for him like a flower . . . welcoming him, sheathing him."
I love how back in the day all virgins in romance land either had the easiest first time ever or were assaulted by the hero. FYI these two didn't even use condoms. I can't with Julie having sex with a convicted criminal and not even thinking about STDs. AIDS was a thing back in 1993 and my first thought would be men being raped in jail or raping others and ugh this is why sometimes I have to yell at myself to just read and not get all actually about books, but it's hard.44 percent"Now she looked at the man she loved"
So much wrong here I can't even.
FYI, you can follow Whiskey's buddy read updates, here:
10 percent
25 percent
50 percent
The ending was ludicrous. I am not a fan of male characters being abusive to the heroines and it all just getting wiped away. There of course is HEA that honestly I don't see is remotely believable, but hey at that point I just wanted to be done with this. -
2.5 Stars
Overall Opinion: Ten...years...later. JK. This did feel soooooo long and slow for me though. It took me 4 days to read! That says a lot when I typically take 1-2. I’m not even really sure why I kept at it. I wasn’t really connecting with or even liking the characters and I thought their connection to each other was out of nowhere. I actually agreed with the H in (somewhat cruelly) saying that the h was confusing lust and sex for love! Then for him to confess feelings of love in a gushy way after they separate right after he makes that comment?! I wasn’t feeling it. This was on my tbr list for what felt like forever and there are lots of raving reviews, so I think that might’ve contributed to my persistence in finishing it. But if I’m being completely honest, I feel like I lost 10 years of my life (😅) on a mediocre and really dated (hello VHS tapes and Barbara Streisand) romance.
Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Julie and Zach’s story. Zach is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and incarcerated for ~5 years when de concocts a plan to escape. Things go wrong and he ends up taking Julie hostage. They butt heads for a while but then start to realize things about one another and fall in love. There are some suspenseful scenes, the mystery is solved, and some sweet and sexy times...and they get a HEA ending.
Point Of View (POV): This alternated between focusing mainly on Julie and Zach in 3rd person narrative.
Overall Pace of Story: Slowwww. I surprisingly never skimmed.
Instalove: No, they take a while to develop stronger feelings.
H (Hero) rating: 2.5 stars. Zach. Yeah, I wasn’t a fan. I thought he was a jerk, cold, and too self centered for my kind of H.
h (heroine) rating: 3 stars. Julie. I get that she was supposed to be super wholesome and good, but it often made her cross that line into doormat status for me.
Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed
Push/Pull: Yes
Heat level: Mild. They have some tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.
Descriptive sex: Yes
OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: Yes
Sex scene with OW or OM: No
Cheating: No
Separation: Yes, a few times
Possible Triggers: Yes
Closure: This has a pretty good epilogue with what I would call a HEA ending . But....enough already with the cheesy name dropping movie stars and celebrities at their wedding — 🙄🙄🙄🙄!
Safety: This one should be Safe for most safety gang readers -
5 Stars! Very enjoyable book with an epic quality!
Perfect is a rather lengthy read at 674 pages, but I was never bored and the story was just riveting! The author draws you in with the compelling history about the main character's childhoods and the circumstances that bring them together. This takes up a good chunk of the book, but has you understanding Zach’s hard exterior and why Julie is so eager to please. It was an interesting and necessary set-up and made them easy to relate to.
What really sealed it for me was that the last 60 or so pages that give the reader wonderful bonus material. It was extra time to spend with the characters under different circumstances after a read that left at times left me very anxious. Those last pages summed up the book wonderfully and felt like a beautiful extended epilogue
There was some laugh out loud moments and plenty of dialogue which broke up the narrative and made it easy to connect to the characters. I also enjoyed the appearance of two characters from Paradise, the first book in the series, who played significant roles in this book. Which I might add is another amazing read and would recommend being read prior to Perfect. It's not imperative, but Mathew and Meredith's story is just as compelling as Zach and Julie's, and when they show up in this read you'll understand who they are.
My only complaint is that two secondary character's fates felt unresolved. One of them had a key role in Zach’s life and the other in Julie’s. It might not bother other readers, but I felt the need to know what happened to them and hope they have a book of their own. Still a 5 star read for me and I look forward to reading more of Judith McNaught's books, she is an exceptional author! -
The title says it all: PERFECT!!!
I loved everything in this book: Julie, Zach, the story, the simplicity of the words used to tell it, the way it was written, the witty dialogue, the secondary characters, tehir stories, the immense love Julie and Zach had for each other... ALL OF IT!!!
The way Ms. McNaught writes is simply WOW!!! It just touches something in me and I simply melt!
Every part of this book is so interesting that I don't know where to start!
The part of Zach's life before meeting Julie with the descriptions of the movie world; the part of Julie's life when she's an illiterate and orphaned street urchin; the part of Julie's strife to help the less fortunate being them illiterate women or handicapped children; the kidnapping part, the falling in love part; Zach's usless fight to do the right thing for Julie; Julie's defence of Zach's innocence; the friendship between Zach and Matt...
There're so many beautiful things in this book that it is very difficult to choose the best or the more touching one!
It's rather long, but as I read I was wishing that it were even longer, just to be able to stay with everybody and keep reading and reading and reading!
This is a wonderful, wonderful book and every romance reader should read it.
It is even better if you read the previous book in the series, so you can get to know Matt and his story! -
I'm not a giant fan of contemporary romance, but I've always had a soft spot for Judith McNaught's books. Mainly because she was the first romance author I ever read! I'm not entirely sure why, but I always find her stories engaging and enjoyable. This one proved no different.
This was not my first read of Perfect. It is however the first time I've read it in many years. This time around I did spot a few more flaws. Some of the authors views are a touch dated and a few of the supporting characters got completely forgotten about towards the end. That said, none of that overly hurt my enjoyment of the story.
The story is interesting enough. Zac Benedict, former movie star and Hollywood golden boy, has spent the last 5 years in prison for the murder of his wife. He escapes from prison in the hopes of proving his innocence. Unfortunately things do not go smoothly and before long he is forced to snatch a hostage in the form of Julie Matheson. This is a romance so of course the pair fall madly in love with each other!
I liked both Julie and Zac. They were different characters, but I liked them as a pair and enjoyed their story. The non-romance part of the plot was also fairly interesting, which is always a plus.
Rating: 5 stars. I'm going to keep the original rating for nostalgia's sake. -
Five perfect Stars.
It was a very good read.
Julie was a small town sweetheart. Zack was a charmer, a black sheep, and a social outcast.
Julie - a School Teacher and Zack - a film Actor and Director
Two very different people came together and create a beautiful story. The chemistry between Julie and Zack was just Amazing.
I liked every turn of the story. Some people will say that the author was dragging the story or there was no need to explain Julie and Zack past life ... Blah Blah blah. But without explaining their past life we couldn’t have felt the depth of the characters and the story. Another thing, I liked about the book is author didn’t rush the ending.
I liked Ted and Katharine little love story also. They were cute together.
I liked the other characters- Dominic, Matt, Meredith, Mr. and Mrs. Mathison, every one of them.
And that simple but perfect poem, Oh !!!!!
“I used to be ashamed
And now I am 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.” -
Loved Zach. Hated Julie the betraying, preachy cow and was massively disappointed that she did not die by a toilet seat to the head. She was utterly useless and I hated her with a passion. But the writing was good and the story fun. Except for Julie.
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Now THIS is how you write a convict on the run falling for his kidnapped hostage. Authors take notes! :P
I don't even know where to start with this. A roller coaster of emotions. My gaaaawd. I love how I can rip a book apart to shreds when I'm not happy with it and can't seem to shut up but when it's a 5 star book I'm tongue tied and can never do the book justice. I'll give it a try....
My very first Judith McNaught book. It was love at first sitting. I seriously could not put this down 10 pages in. And it's funny because I picked this up very hesitant and kinda dreading it after inadvertenly finding out that the hero and heroine don't meet until 150 pages in. Wut wut waaaahut? Blasphemy!!!!! What cray cray author would do such a thing like that? So of course I was prepared for a whole lot of foot shuffling, stalling, dragged out summarizing, painfully slow plot. Yeah....not even close. McNaught beautifully introduces readers to both the hero and heroine and their difficult heartbreaking pasts, their family background and how they come to be where they are in life before running into each other. I'm a big fan of details and she doesn't hold back with the details which I really liked. We get to see how our hero Zack Benedict rises to become the heart throb A-list actor and director and how Julie Mathison becomes Julie Mathison before crossing paths with Zack. Their back stories were so vital to the story and made it so much more rich and exciting and unpredictable in many ways. It gave a lot of dimension to the story and characters, the character development in particular is absolutely brilliant. If you like good writing and storytelling then this is the book for you. Just because the hero and heroine aren't making goo goo eyes and sucking face by page 50 shouldn't be reason to quit this. And why should they for that matter? I'll take quality over rushed slap-stick quantity any day of the week thank you.
I honestly didn't mind that Julie and Zack don't meet so quickly because the story was so compelling and enthralling. It made absolute total sense. I really enjoyed both characters' back stories, seeing Zack in the Hollywood lifestyle going through the ropes of filming a movie was very impressively handled. I could picture it so clearly. McNaught really impressed me with how vividly she painted the Hollywood backdrop, the ins and outs of being on set and shooting a big film, the egos, the scheming, the groupies and users. It came off very real and held nothing back. I also loved the suspense aspect of the story. Throughout 90% of the book I had no idea what was going to happen next. And the dialogue just sucked me in and made me melt to the floor. Good lord the dialogue. *sigh* Yes there are some uber sappy and tres corny lines thrown out with some unnecessary exclamations!! in there too (much to my frustration) but nonetheless they are sweet and charming and very heart warming moments.
I found Zack to be ridiculously sexy, endearing and a total sweetheart. I found his complexities and contradictions absolutely delicious. His brooding grouchy attitude towards outsiders, people he doesn't trust was so much fun and a total contrast to how he interacts with the people he cares for (which is a total of 3 people). He's very cynical and aloof and sometimes can be cold and harsh but he's got a big vulnerable heart he tries very heard to barricade behind a wall of ice. And he's done a good job hiding it for much of his adult life until one Julie Mathison changes everything. :P And damn can that man use his words well. Lord lord lllllorrd. He's quite the romantic when he wants to be and had me melting all over the damn place with the stuff he would say to Julie. *fans self* Oooof. Take me LOVA!
Julie Mathison is what you can categorize as a sweetheart 'perfect' prim heroine but has a willful pride, a stubborn streak and a fierce passionate heart. I absolutely adored her as the little pixie street urchin girl. She comes a long way and it was wonderful to see. I loved her big heart and innocence but there were moments when she tested by patience. And there were a few moments I wanted to physically throttle her but what's great about McNaught's writing is she exceeds at giving us in-depth POVs. Really great character reflection. You get inside both Zack and Julie's heads and get a better understanding of where they are coming from. It endeared me to them both. The character development in this was wonderful. I can't say there was a moment where I hated or even blamed Zack for anything. He's written as this aloof ice cold man who's supposedly selfish and cruel towards people who don't know him. The only thing he was guilty of being selfish of was wanting someone to believe in him and love him for him. Be still my damn heart. Come here baby!
I will admit to being conflicted with what Julie does during the climactic portion of the story, I was angry, annoyed and wanted to pull my hair out. But the author really makes up for Julie's short coming in this case by backing it up with plenty of self-reflections riddled with self recrimination, torment, guilt and shame. That helped tremendously in sympathizing and understanding where Julie was coming from.
Anywho, these two were complete opposites from personalities, to backgrounds and beliefs. I adored seeing Julie melt his heart and charm him. He tries to fight so hard to falling in love with her and even accepting it but it was great to see it play out. I loved these two so much and so happy they got their HEA, it took a long road to get there but the reunion was a wonderful pay off. Yes it's a totally sappy gushy love story but it has it's dark moments and is filled with angst, suspense and drama. There were countless scenes that had me going back and re-reading. That's a big positive in my book. If you have me re-reading parts more than once I'm a fan of yours for life. :P Brava Judith McNaught! I'd recommend this to anyone, Judith McNaught fans or new readers. It's a very condense read with a lot of ups and downs and turmoil between the hero and heroine but it's very worth the read.
5 stars!!! -
Just as great as the first book in the "Second Opportunities" series and equally prolix. I loved both the MCs and I enjoyed the reappearance of the first book's couple. A little bit rushed at the end and I didn't like the way the author resolved the accusations against Zach but all in all an enjoyable story.
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REREAD 6/2021
Originally read in 2007
PERFECT was perfect with every written chapter. Before I start writing about my thoughts on the book, I love that the author touches on the foster system and literacy in children and adults..
My thoughts on this book was, WOW, and this is my 3rd book from this author. Her writing style was excellent in the way she includes all her characters in the book with everyone having an important role and also getting to know each character personally not just Zack and Julie. Even though Katherine and Ted wasn't the main characters of the book, it was great getting to know them and their history together and see them fall in love all over again. Matt and Meredith Farrell, it was great reading about them again, the author crossed them over from her novel PARADISE which is also a good book. Also getting to know Paul, the F.B.I agent who also fell in love with Julie, he was such a sweet heart but sorry Paul its all about Zack. There are more characters who you just fell in love with *smiling* won't be able to name everyone, I am just in love with this book..
Zack and Julie, I love their chemistry together from beginning to end well written, the best part for me was Zack taking her hostage and their letters, very romantic, emotional, exciting just everything you could possibly feel at that moment reading especially Zack's letter to Julie. Everything was just PERFECT even the love scenes. This book is so in depth and detailed as the author shows her signature style in everything, the characters, place and time. A job well done to Judith Mcnaught.
Get this book you will love it and it will surely make you see how talented this author is and how wonderfully she writes,I thought it was so good it should have been written has a television movie, its worth a PERFECT 10.
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Reread 6/2021: M y thoughts are still the same years later. -
Translation widget on The blog!!!
Judith McNaught este una dintre autoarele mele de suflet atunci când vine vorba despre romane romance contemporan sau historical romance. Cărțile sale au povești de impact, emoționante, intense și pline de pasiune.
Perfect este una dintre cărțile mele preferate, citită și recitită de foarte multe ori de-a lungul anilor. Atât de des încât nici nu se mai vede bine titlul cărții pe coperta principală. 🙂
O poveste de dragoste plină de adrenalină și suspans, unde cititorul stă cu sufletul la gură de la început și până la sfârșit. Cu personaje puternice și curajoase, adevărate modele pentru cititori și o intrigă intensă și pe muchie de cuțit, romanul de față reprezintă tot ce ți-ai putea dori să citești. Iar în aceste vremuri de izolare este perfectă pentru evadarea din terna realitate.
Recenzia mea completă o găsiți aici:
https://justreadingmybooks.wordpress.... -
Hay libros a los que siempre vuelvo, y este es uno de ellos.
Amo muchísimo esta historia y a Zach ♥ -
Loved this book. :)
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I simply adored this book! What I loved most about it is the patience that JM took in telling Zack and Julie’s story. Which would explain the length of it! A little long but well worth every minute.
The initial setting of this book was in the mountains of Colorado. A place that I love! But from there they are brought back to Julie’s small Texas town which was a wonderful place. All the secondary characters were fabulous. They added so much to the story. Oh and Matthew and Meredith (from book 1) were back. ❤
Zack and Julie went through a lot. There was never a dull moment. There were moments when my heart was breaking for them and moments when I couldn’t get enough of the sweet love they shared.
My review may be vague but just know that this book is absolutely PERFECT! ❤
I highly recommend it. -
I have read 3 of McNaught's books and I think it is time for me to move on to a new author.
Don't get me wrong - I liked Paradise, but I think Perfect and Kingdom of Dreams were just so flat. And full of empty drama.
I vowed to stop reading anything McNaught after reading Kingdom of Dreams because I had a problem with the plot/character development: in my opinion, I think the hero was really unjustly mistreated by said author and theheroinebimbo was seriously favoured, despite her annoying tantrum and ridiculous decisions. For what the hero was worth, he surely should have/could have done better, but for some brain-glitch.
For Paradise, this was not the case. To a certain extent, yes, Meredith got onto my nerves at the second half of the book (for every reason Matt listed) but she kinda redeemed herself a little bit. I'm a nice person (feel free to disagree), I have forgiven her.
What I meant to say was, second opportunity was provided for McNaught; she redeemed herself with Paradise, but in Perfect, the same problem I had with KOD resurfaces (in my opinion). Julie falls in love with Zack, and *gasp!* Zack falls in love back, gracious and suave as he is. No spoilers here, but after that Julie makes terrible and cringe-worthy mistakes, making Zack suffer the consequences. THe mistake is worse than infidelity (maybe, maybe not), , it is mistrust. Right when Zack's balance and love for her lies in this sole quality.
While I deem myself as a feminist and hate it when the guy mistreats the supposedly love-of-his-life, I can't stand it when the opposite holds true, feminism and all.
I think McNaught didn't delve into the issue of guilt and mistrust as deeply as I would have liked, as if Julie's sins were part of the everyday of couples (God I hope not, or else I'd rather stay single forever). In the end, this book seemed like another goddamned chick-flick novel, catered to women as a mode of escapism where in that unrealistic world, men should and are expected to bend and contort their principles, dignity and self-worth for their very, very fortunate other half, no matter how embarrassing and whiny these females are. -
Long ago and far away,
I dreamed a dream one day—
And now that dream is here before me.
Long the skies were overcast,
but now the clouds are passed—
You're here at last.
Chills run up and down my spine.
Aladdin's lamp is mine.
The dream I dreamed was not denied me.
Just one look and then I knew—
That all I longed for long ago was you.What an absolutely brilliant book!!!!! It was a masterpiece of captivating plot and sizzling romance.
I loved that the story spanned over years, that we got to see an 11 year old Julie, who had been through so much, who was such a sweet and lonely little girl, and an 18 year old Zach and his horrible family who forced him to face his future alone. And then skipped to 10 years later where we see a very successful Zach directing his movie, finding out his actress wife was cheating on him, and then the murder of said wife while filming. And then the present day, 5 years later where a wrongfully imprisoned Zach is determined to escape. And how Julie and Zach crosses paths, him forced to kidnap her and take her to his hideaway.
And from there the story just kept increasing in pace and intrigue as we watch these two battle wills, and see Julie realise that the cold and harsh Zach might just be as innocent as he claims to be. And Zach finally finds a woman who sees him for himself, not his fame and his wealth. And the bond that forms between captor and captive brings a love that both have yearned for, but also a complication that neither wanted, because Zach is a fugitive and the only future he can give Julie in one on the run.
I can’t believe how much I loved this book. It’s not often that you read a 674 page romance where the pages just fly, and where the storyline just grabs you from the first page until the last. And I loved every page.
Those tomorrows waiting deep in your eyes—
In the world of love you keep in your eyes—
I'll awaken what's asleep in your eyes.
It may take a kiss or two.
Through all of my life…
Summer, winter, spring, and fall of my life…
All I ever will recall of my life, is all of my life.
With you.I loved both Julie and Zach, her with her innocence and warmth, with her caring heart, and him with his jaded outlook on life and love.
After the humiliation of his trial and the dehumanizing effects of prison, it was heady merely to be looked at like a man, not an animal. But to have her look at him as if he were brave and fine and decent was a gift more precious to him than anything he'd ever been given. He wanted to crush her in his arms, to lose himself in her sweetness, to wrap her around him like a blanket and bury himself in her, he wanted to be the best lover she'd ever had and to make this night as memorable for her as it was going to be for him.
The romance was fantastic. The chemistry between Julie and Zach was electric and seeing them fall for each other was simply wonderful. The emotions I felt during their very difficult journey to their HEA was amazing and consuming.
And the plot…. I can’t remember the last time I was riveted as much by the storyline of a book. Their sad histories, the kidnapping and time they spent in hideaway, the mystery regarding his murdered wife, how hard Zach tried to do the right thing for Julie, how hard Julie fought for Zach, and everything that happened until the end was just superbly written.
This is only my second book by this author, and just like
Paradise, which is one of the few second chance romances I loved, I adored this book. I can’t wait to read more of her books, and to be blown away by her stories. I can’t recommend this book enough. READ IT. -
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4.5 stars Reread
First of all: this is a CR set in 1993, so there wasn't any trace of Computers, Cell Phones or Internet in the story. It felt really natural to read it without those influences, and the same story set in 2015 wouldn't have worked the same way, with the same suspense level and the same sense of adventure.
After enjoying it immensely the first time reading it (with my favourite BR ladies), I got the sudden urge to do so again, just because I knew what I could expect.
Sounding like a broken record, I can only repeat what in my opinion applies to all novels by Judith McNaught: She writes satisfyingly emotional novels, may they be Historical or Contemporaries, and she succeeds in creating a roller coaster ride for her readers to take, leaving them emotionally drenched, but still totally happy to have taken that journey.
Perfect is about a former superstar actor turned convict, and how he kidnaps a demure and innocent Texan girl while escaping from prison.
It's about Zack and Julie, two people who could not be more different in every sense of the word, yet develop deep, deep feelings for each other.
I love their relationship and how it develops. They forge a close bond, not necessarily a trust filled one, but still a close one. They have chemistry like few other couples I've read about in Romance, and there's a fine balanced sway of the physical attraction and the emotional and rational attraction. In some parts, especially towards the end, the emotions tended to be nearly, but only nearly, overdone, but all in all it was a delight and a change to the meh-reads this year to be so involved with the main characters.
The side characters all were realistic and were fully formed characters, not only there to fill Zack's and Julie's plot, so it got never boring.
Boring isn't a word that applies to this story at all. The part where Zack, escaping from prison after being judged guilty of murdering his wife, kind of spontaneously kidnaps Julie? That's only the beginning. There comes much more action and suspense, until the mystery is solved rather quietly and not dramatically towards the end. -
No one writes relationships better than McNaught! She is one of - if not the- best in the genre. With each new book, she takes situations, responses and the emotions behind them and makes them absolutely real and intrinsic to the reader. Her gift is in understanding exactly how a person would respond to a given circumstance, then drawing out the perfect emotion one would feel in that situation. Amazing!
"Perfect", however unrealistic the plot line may be, had me so involved with the characters that I found myself dripping tears in numerous parts - something I RARELY do even once! It is because of the improbable storyline that I realized just how great McNaught's writing really is. When one doesn't even care that the events are outlandish, they are enjoying the experience so thoroughly, one must acknowledge greatness. I especially appreciate the fact that Ms. McNaught never allows herself to run out of room before she gives a thorough and acceptable conclusion. SO many authors spend so long in setting up the plot, background, tension etc. that they forget the most important part in a romance readers enjoyment, a satisfying ending! In this particular story, that conclusion actually covers bases we didn't even think of! How rare is that?!? -
Five PERFECT stars!!!
"What book are you reading?" "It's my book—an early copy, fresh off the press."
He smiled and said it aloud: "You named it Perfect."
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10 stars
Perfect is and will always be my favorite Judith's book.
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Para los amantes de las novelas románticas, ésta, dentro de las que he leído, las supera en todo y la recomiendo.
Si bien
Judith McNaught no tiene libros que sorprenda en sus argumentos Perfecta es una obra que se compone de pequeños detalles desde la infancia y la adolescencia de los protagonistas, mostrando los problemas que deben superar para convertirse en adultos más tarde.
Me ha gustado porque es una novela romántica actual y mezcla el mundo cinematográfico de Hollywood en el que está sumergido Zachary y la sencillez del pueblo y de la vida de Julie. Perfecta es una gran historia de amor, fe, lealtad, valor y segundas oportunidades.
En esta novela hay dos momentos magníficos que siempre estarán en mi memoria: la mejor historia de amor que se desarrolla en las montañas de Colorado y la excelente rueda de prensa que la protagonista realiza al final de su secuestro.
Dentro de su género esta novela lo tiene todo, no le sobra ni le falta nada.
Estará en mis favoritas por siempre.
100% recomendado
