Review: Finding Perfect by Susan Mallery.

Rowena’s review of Finding Perfect by Susan Mallery.

Pia was your typical popular girl in high school – she made friends easily, cheered on the squad, and had her share of dates with the school jocks. But she’s always had a hard time committing to something, or someone. So when her best friend Crystal succumbs to cancer, Pia is devastated, but also shocked by the inheritance her friend has left her – her frozen embryos! Pia’s in a quandary. It’s not like she can just throw them away. But is she really capable of being responsible for another human being? For once, Pia throws caution to the wind and decides to embrace Crystal’s legacy. But as she struggles with her decision, another complication arises that Pia is totally unprepared for. She finally meets the man of her dreams…and her life becomes more confusing than she ever thought possible?

I sincerely hope this isn’t the end of this series. I am hoping with all that is in me that we’re going to get more from the town of Fools Gold. Over the course of this series, I have come to love that town so freaking much. Back when Charity was finding her feet in this new town, I adored how everyone rallied behind her and made her feel welcome. When Liz came back into town, she hated the town and was justified for doing so because they were horrible. With Liz’s story, we saw the downside of small towns but this small town wouldn’t let Liz feel the same way that she did the last time that she was in town and I forgave them for their mistakes of the past and just when you thought that there wouldn’t be any more love left in them, Pia’s story begins and they prove you wrong.

This is the third book in the Fools Gold series by Susan Mallery and I think it was my favorite of the bunch. What I found interesting over the course of this series is we meet Pia in the first book and she’s a total doll with Charity. Making Charity feel welcome, inviting her to make new friends by introducing her around and then in book two, our faith in the great Pia is tested when we find out about the teenager Pia was but Mallery does a fantastic job of redeeming Pia in my eyes.

In Almost Perfect, when Liz gets back to town, she’s not a Pia fan. She remembers all too well how Pia treated her back in high school and slowly, Pia wins her over. But as the reader, you’re connected with the heroine in AP and you feel betrayed by Pia because she was so great in Chasing Perfect and to see her in a different, darker light is no fun.

Of the three heroines in this series, I thought Liz would have been my favorite heroine because of how personal her story was for me but as much as I liked Liz, it is Pia that I want as my best friend. It is Pia who I want in my corner and it is Pia that I connected with the most. She was a fantastic heroine, one who led with her heart and her heart was gigantic.

The whole story is centered around the three frozen embryos that Pia’s friend Crystal left behind for Pia. It was actually my least favorite part of the book. I’m not going to get into why I don’t like it just know that when you read this book and read what Denise Hendrix says about the whole thing is exactly how I feel about it.

My favorite part of this book was the romance between Raoul and Pia. I loved the way that these two came together. I loved their first meeting, I loved watching them get to know each other and then watching them fall in love. I also adored that I knew Raoul from the Bakery Sisters series and man but it was good to see Hawk and Nicole again. It was so nice to see that the little boy from Sweet Spot got his happy ending and even though it wasn’t the happy ending I was expecting, it was still a good one.

Pia was a wonderful heroine but Raoul was a fantastic hero. He was scarred and he had issues but he got over them and with the help of the people of small town, Fools Gold, he found a home and his own family. That’s not to say that he was perfect because Raoul was anything but. I wanted to kick him in the shins so many different times (the thing with Peter, the thing with Pia and a few other things) but in the end, he got it right and it was so very easy for me to forgive a hottie like him. He grew up to be a good man and I adored him!

Susan Mallery wrote another wonderful love story that I totally fell right into. I enjoyed this book a great deal and can’t say enough good things about it. If you enjoy light, contemporary romances with great characters and a wonderful small town then you will enjoy this book. I definitely recommend this book and this series.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

Reading Order:

This book is available from HQN. You can buy it here.

Related Posts