Perfectly Imperfect by Harper Sloan Published by Tantor Audio on February 9th 2016
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Shirl Rae, Zachary Webber
Amazon Audible
**Standalone novel**
Mirror, mirror ... who's the fairest of them all?
I still cringe when I hear that line. A fairy tale that had girls pretending they were the fairest, the most beautiful, and the most entitled. A fairy tale most couldn't grow out of turned my haunted childhood memories into a living nightmare. Girls who grew up believing that pile of garbage became the meanest of all 'mean girls.'
And those mean girls were right - it was a line meant for all the beautiful people in the world - and I knew the answer would never be me.
The women with long legs, flat stomachs, and perfect chests.
The type of women Kane Masters gravitated toward.
Well, that's definitely not Willow Tate.
No. That will never be me.
Because I'm completely imperfect.
And ... I hate myself.
I have no idea what Kane could possibly see in someone like me when he could have them.
Perfectly Imperfect has a good message about loving oneself despite a fat shaming society that places too much emphasis on unrealistic body image. Unfortunately, the weak execution of the plot eclipses the intriguing premise.
Kane is a hunky Hollywood superstar. Willow is an overweight self-conscious doormat. Kane happens to like his women with a little meat on their bones, and he’s instantly attracted to Willow. As the title suggests, she can’t get past her imperfections, and that makes a relationship with the hottie a bit challenging.
The majority of the book is about Willow battling her insecurities. There’s way too much repetition, and it dilutes the impact of the message. The narrative is also overly flowery. I thought I would lose my mind if I had to hear about Kane’s “cerulean orbs” one more time. Who even talks like that?
The end of the book is perhaps the weakest part. When the secret that’s been hinted about since the beginning of the story is finally revealed, it seems illogical. The fact that extremely resourceful individuals would come up with such a ludicrous solution to the problem was the final nail in the coffin of my potential enjoyment.
I listened to the audio book version and it provides one major bonus: Zachary Webber. Le sigh. His narration alone brought my rating up a half star. It made me long for more chapters written from Kane’s point of view. If you think this story might be your cup of tea, I highly recommend going the audio book route.
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