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Discover the sensual and sweeping power of love in New York Times bestselling author Judith McNaught's contemporary romances that will make "you laugh, cry, and fall in love again" (RT Book Reviews)—now available for the first time on ebook.A rootless foster child, Julie Mathison has blossomed under the love showered upon her by her adoptive family. Now a lovely and vivacious young woman, she is a respected teacher in her small Texas town and is determined to give back all the kindness show more she has received, believing that nothing can ever shatter the perfect life she has fashioned.
Zachary Benedict is an actor whose Academy Award-winning career was shattered when he was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. After the tall, ruggedly handsome Zack escapes from a Texas prison, he abducts Julie and forces her to drive him to his Colorado mountain hideout. She's outraged, cautious, and unable to ignore the instincts that whispers of his innocence. He's cynical, wary, and increasingly attracted to her. Desire is about to capture them both in its fierce embrace but the journey to trust, true commitment, and proving Zack's innocence is just beginning. "A mixture of virtue and passion that is almost—ahem—perfect" (Kirkus Reviews) this is a captivating tale that fans will adore. show less
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*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 show more 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 show less
*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 show more 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 show less
I’ve been umming and ahing about a rating for this. In some ways it’s a fab book and in others, most definitely not. I’ve plumped for 4 because I cried several times and I desperately wanted to know what happened. It’s very well written - I truly couldn’t see how the characters were going to get out of their predicament. If it hadn’t been a romance then I wouldn’t have been able to finish it because of the suspense.
But, the romance is schmalzy, the ending a bit trite. And the leads are separated for a large portion of the book. They don’t even meet until page 120.
I love a good kidnapping though - one of my favourite tropes.
Notes
• Jesus its taking ages to get going. I've just peeked forward and he doesn't escape from show more prison until pg 110.
• 'dinner served by his houseboy'. Wowser that's old fashioned language... Pg 49
• Pg54. Casual reference to guns. Getting dodgy vibes from this. But, I guess the beginning had some very liberal social policy aspects so perhaps the hero will have a change of heart? Um nope. In my defence, I’m British so I don’t get the gun thing…
• Pg103. Zack's relationship with the Sandini family in prison. She does know how to make me cry, this author. I cried at the beginning too. The bit about Julie's childhood.
• Pg 120. They finally meet!
• Pg 159. First kiss. To stop her escaping.
• Pg 174. Side plot re: Julie's brother Ted and his ex-wife Katherine. ‘After six months of marriage, he couldn't adjust to living in a house that was never cleaned and eating meals that came from cans.' Just as well he didn't marry me then!
• The shame of having a baby out of wedlock! This book is set in 1993 not fucking 1893! Or maybe they were that judgemental in small town America?
• Pg 317 If you can't fool me, ridicule me.
• Pg 346 Problematic scene. Forces her to orgasm to prove a point. Subsequently breaks down to apologise. Abusive behaviour. Let's put it down to the 1993 publication date.
• It is very dramatic and gripping. But I'm not sure it's what I'm after. Its a bit too big! I can admire the craft but I want a more intimate story. This is romantic suspense.
• It all hangs on whether Zack is telling the truth and I just feel so uncomfortable with the idea that a woman should blindly believe what a man says because she' loves him'.
• Also Julie is a bit too perfect. Makes me want to puke.
• Oh God its a roller coaster - I feel sick. She turned him in. Okay, Judith McNaught was an amazing author. She didn't blindly believe him.
• Crying again. He's been released because Emily's dad confessed to the murders and he hates Julie.
• It's wierd that she is dating the FBI agent because he reminds her of Zack.
• Ending was a bit sappy. The FBI guy didn't get a decent send off. I'd have run off with him.
• I feel like I've been run over by a truck. show less
But, the romance is schmalzy, the ending a bit trite. And the leads are separated for a large portion of the book. They don’t even meet until page 120.
I love a good kidnapping though - one of my favourite tropes.
Notes
• Jesus its taking ages to get going. I've just peeked forward and he doesn't escape from show more prison until pg 110.
• 'dinner served by his houseboy'. Wowser that's old fashioned language... Pg 49
• Pg54. Casual reference to guns. Getting dodgy vibes from this. But, I guess the beginning had some very liberal social policy aspects so perhaps the hero will have a change of heart? Um nope. In my defence, I’m British so I don’t get the gun thing…
• Pg103. Zack's relationship with the Sandini family in prison. She does know how to make me cry, this author. I cried at the beginning too. The bit about Julie's childhood.
• Pg 120. They finally meet!
• Pg 159. First kiss. To stop her escaping.
• Pg 174. Side plot re: Julie's brother Ted and his ex-wife Katherine. ‘After six months of marriage, he couldn't adjust to living in a house that was never cleaned and eating meals that came from cans.' Just as well he didn't marry me then!
• The shame of having a baby out of wedlock! This book is set in 1993 not fucking 1893! Or maybe they were that judgemental in small town America?
• Pg 317 If you can't fool me, ridicule me.
• Pg 346 Problematic scene. Forces her to orgasm to prove a point. Subsequently breaks down to apologise. Abusive behaviour. Let's put it down to the 1993 publication date.
• It is very dramatic and gripping. But I'm not sure it's what I'm after. Its a bit too big! I can admire the craft but I want a more intimate story. This is romantic suspense.
• It all hangs on whether Zack is telling the truth and I just feel so uncomfortable with the idea that a woman should blindly believe what a man says because she' loves him'.
• Also Julie is a bit too perfect. Makes me want to puke.
• Oh God its a roller coaster - I feel sick. She turned him in. Okay, Judith McNaught was an amazing author. She didn't blindly believe him.
• Crying again. He's been released because Emily's dad confessed to the murders and he hates Julie.
• It's wierd that she is dating the FBI agent because he reminds her of Zack.
• Ending was a bit sappy. The FBI guy didn't get a decent send off. I'd have run off with him.
• I feel like I've been run over by a truck. show less
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 show more 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:
DAMN.
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.
He has literally kidnapped her at gunpoint?! Maybe wait a while on the hot smexy times.
Ughhhhhhhh. I mean sure, let's get her drinking so you can do whatever. Gah.
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.
You have been lame and exhausting. I have only been reading this for a little bit, but no, you have not been perfect.
Enough said.
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.
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. show less
I think that McNaught's show more 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. show less
This is my favorite modern romance book. The story has tension and romance and some steam, all wrapped up in a mystery as well. I love the couple brought together in this book, and their story of getting together.
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 show more 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:
DAMN.
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.
He has literally kidnapped her at gunpoint?! Maybe wait a while on the hot smexy times.
Ughhhhhhhh. I mean sure, let's get her drinking so you can do whatever. Gah.
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.
You have been lame and exhausting. I have only been reading this for a little bit, but no, you have not been perfect.
Enough said.
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.
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. show less
I think that McNaught's show more 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. show less
Judith McNaught's Perfect is the second book in her Second Opportunities series and the second book by her that I've read. The first book of the series, Paradise, was an amazing read for me that now has a place among my all-time favorite romances. I'd heard equally good things about Perfect, and while it was a great read, it ever so slightly missed the bar that Paradise had set. Much like with Paradise, the hero and heroine of Perfect are given extensive backstories that begin when they're both pretty young, but unlike Paradise, their romance doesn't get started until over 100 pages into the story when the hero kidnaps the heroine, taking her hostage after escaping from prison. Not only did it take significantly longer for the romance show more to get started, but having it start the way it did, put a bit of a damper on the initial emotional connection for me. Even though I never once believed that Zack actually murdered his wife, his actions at first aren't exactly honorable. The more time they spend holed up in their mountain hideaway, the better things get, but eventually, they still must part ways. After that, there were a few parts that moved a bit slowly for me, because I was beyond eager for the real killer to be found and for them to reunite. Also, Julie is extremely trusting of Zack, but when things go badly and her trust is truly put to the test, she comes to believe he really is guilty. At this point, she starts dating an FBI agent who was working on the case. Even though it was clear that she still loved Zack through all of the turmoil, I once again, couldn't help feeling like there was a bit of a damper on that all-important emotional connection. Admittedly the author did bring things full-circle with a touching reunion, and while the subsequent scenes of Zack and Julie's two week courtship were kind of sweet, I couldn't help feeling like things maybe could have been wrapped up a little sooner. Overall, though, despite my few nitpicks, Perfect was an enjoyable read.
When the story opens, Julie is an eleven-year-old street urchin, who was abandoned as a baby. She was shuttled around from one foster home to the next her whole life, and she can't even read. In spite of her circumstances, she's obviously a brilliant, sweet, empathetic girl, who I liked immediately. She just needed responsible adults in her life who were willing to help her reach her potential. She found that in her psychologist who recognized that potential and helped get her adopted by a loving family who then helped her reach it. Now, as an adult, she is a teacher, not only of kids, but also of a group of illiterate adult women. Julie's family gave her their absolute trust, so she in return decided to be 'perfect' to be worthy of that trust. I think in large part because of the love and trust her family showed her, Julie is very trusting of others, which is why she fell for Zack's story and gave him a ride after he'd escaped from prison. Even after she found out who he really was and he'd officially taken her hostage, she handled herself very well. She used her intelligence and ingenuity to try to escape, but when all her attempts failed, she still lashed him with her sharp tongue. Eventually, after being holed up with him in a luxury mountain-top cabin for a few days, she comes to believe he couldn't possibly be guilty of his wife's murder. That's when things start to heat up between them. After Zack sends her home so that he can flee the country, she stands by him, maintaining his innocence to the press and never painting him as the monster they seem to think he is. She's his staunchest supporter and loved him to the point that she was willing to run away with him until some unexpected information comes to light. Then her faith in his innocence falters. While I understood her reasons and very well might have felt the same way, I couldn't help feeling that it somehow marred her love for him just a bit. Even after that, though, it's obvious that she still cares for him and it killed her to do some of the things she did. Once the real killer came to light, Julie was more than willing to make amends, but by then, Zack didn't want anything to do with her.
When we first see Zack, he's eighteen and being thrown out of his privileged life and luxurious home by a seemingly cold-hearted grandmother. After that, he hitches a ride to Hollywood, where he gets discovered and builds a new life for himself as an Academy award winning film actor and director. Unfortunately his cheating wife is shot to death on the set of his latest movie, and everyone believes Zack did it. He's convicted and sent to prison for 45 years, but after serving only five, he's about to go insane and decides to make a daring escape. Things don't quite go as planned, which is how he ends up kidnapping Julie. From those opening pages, Zack is a pretty sympathetic character, who I never believed killed anybody. He does make some threats against Julie and hold her at gunpoint, but he also shows some surprising moments of vulnerability, which convinced her (and me) of his innocence and decency. Julie is a breath of fresh air to Zack, partly because she isn't particularly impressed by his super-stardom, and partly because she's nothing like the starlets and other Hollywood types who were only interested in him for what he could do for their career. She's pure and innocent, far from the jaded, cynical person he's become. Her zest for life is infectious. Being around her makes him feel like a different person – someone normal. Except for one sex scene that was rather rough and not really my cup of tea and which I mostly understood his reasons for and for which he later made up, Zack is a tender and considerate lover. He also behaves selflessly in sending Julie back to her family, refusing to take her with him out of the country. Zack has some hard, stubborn alpha male moments, but also plenty of kind, loving moments that help to make up for them and balance him out.
Before reading, Perfect, I had no idea what the connections were between it and Paradise. Even though they didn't share the same last name, I thought maybe Julie was Matt's sister from Paradise. That definitely wasn't the case. I guess Ms. McNaught just really likes the name, which is fine by me since that's my name too.:-) Anyway, the actual connection is that Matt and Meredith, the hero and heroine of Paradise, appear several times as secondary characters. Matt is Zack's best and really his only true friend, and he and Meredith are the only ones who never lose faith in Zack's innocence. In fact, Matt moves heaven and earth to prove it. We also get to see more of Matt's amusing bodyguard/chauffeur, Joe O'Hara, who apparently appears in another of Ms. McNaught's books, Someone to Watch Over Me. We also meet FBI agent, Paul Richardson, who seems like a good guy but who kind of gets left out in the cold when Julie and Zack reunite. He shows up again in book three of the series, Night Whispers.
Even though there were a few small things that kept Perfect from being 'perfect,' it was still a very good read. While the book as a whole might not have been quite flawless for me, it did contain one of the most perfect love scenes I've ever read in a romance novel. Once Zack and Julie finally start talking and getting to know one another on a more personal level, it builds a strong sense of intimacy and connection that makes their first love scene utterly beautiful. It's filled with the tenderness, love and passion I crave in a romance. Zack's love letter to Julie is also pretty darn perfect. Those things alone made it worth all the ups and downs they have to suffer through to get their HEA. With two keepers in a row under her belt, Judith McNaught has earned a spot on my favorite authors list, and I look forward to checking out the rest of the Second Opportunities series and more of her backlist titles soon. show less
When the story opens, Julie is an eleven-year-old street urchin, who was abandoned as a baby. She was shuttled around from one foster home to the next her whole life, and she can't even read. In spite of her circumstances, she's obviously a brilliant, sweet, empathetic girl, who I liked immediately. She just needed responsible adults in her life who were willing to help her reach her potential. She found that in her psychologist who recognized that potential and helped get her adopted by a loving family who then helped her reach it. Now, as an adult, she is a teacher, not only of kids, but also of a group of illiterate adult women. Julie's family gave her their absolute trust, so she in return decided to be 'perfect' to be worthy of that trust. I think in large part because of the love and trust her family showed her, Julie is very trusting of others, which is why she fell for Zack's story and gave him a ride after he'd escaped from prison. Even after she found out who he really was and he'd officially taken her hostage, she handled herself very well. She used her intelligence and ingenuity to try to escape, but when all her attempts failed, she still lashed him with her sharp tongue. Eventually, after being holed up with him in a luxury mountain-top cabin for a few days, she comes to believe he couldn't possibly be guilty of his wife's murder. That's when things start to heat up between them. After Zack sends her home so that he can flee the country, she stands by him, maintaining his innocence to the press and never painting him as the monster they seem to think he is. She's his staunchest supporter and loved him to the point that she was willing to run away with him until some unexpected information comes to light. Then her faith in his innocence falters. While I understood her reasons and very well might have felt the same way, I couldn't help feeling that it somehow marred her love for him just a bit. Even after that, though, it's obvious that she still cares for him and it killed her to do some of the things she did. Once the real killer came to light, Julie was more than willing to make amends, but by then, Zack didn't want anything to do with her.
When we first see Zack, he's eighteen and being thrown out of his privileged life and luxurious home by a seemingly cold-hearted grandmother. After that, he hitches a ride to Hollywood, where he gets discovered and builds a new life for himself as an Academy award winning film actor and director. Unfortunately his cheating wife is shot to death on the set of his latest movie, and everyone believes Zack did it. He's convicted and sent to prison for 45 years, but after serving only five, he's about to go insane and decides to make a daring escape. Things don't quite go as planned, which is how he ends up kidnapping Julie. From those opening pages, Zack is a pretty sympathetic character, who I never believed killed anybody. He does make some threats against Julie and hold her at gunpoint, but he also shows some surprising moments of vulnerability, which convinced her (and me) of his innocence and decency. Julie is a breath of fresh air to Zack, partly because she isn't particularly impressed by his super-stardom, and partly because she's nothing like the starlets and other Hollywood types who were only interested in him for what he could do for their career. She's pure and innocent, far from the jaded, cynical person he's become. Her zest for life is infectious. Being around her makes him feel like a different person – someone normal. Except for one sex scene that was rather rough and not really my cup of tea and which I mostly understood his reasons for and for which he later made up, Zack is a tender and considerate lover. He also behaves selflessly in sending Julie back to her family, refusing to take her with him out of the country. Zack has some hard, stubborn alpha male moments, but also plenty of kind, loving moments that help to make up for them and balance him out.
Before reading, Perfect, I had no idea what the connections were between it and Paradise. Even though they didn't share the same last name, I thought maybe Julie was Matt's sister from Paradise. That definitely wasn't the case. I guess Ms. McNaught just really likes the name, which is fine by me since that's my name too.:-) Anyway, the actual connection is that Matt and Meredith, the hero and heroine of Paradise, appear several times as secondary characters. Matt is Zack's best and really his only true friend, and he and Meredith are the only ones who never lose faith in Zack's innocence. In fact, Matt moves heaven and earth to prove it. We also get to see more of Matt's amusing bodyguard/chauffeur, Joe O'Hara, who apparently appears in another of Ms. McNaught's books, Someone to Watch Over Me. We also meet FBI agent, Paul Richardson, who seems like a good guy but who kind of gets left out in the cold when Julie and Zack reunite. He shows up again in book three of the series, Night Whispers.
Even though there were a few small things that kept Perfect from being 'perfect,' it was still a very good read. While the book as a whole might not have been quite flawless for me, it did contain one of the most perfect love scenes I've ever read in a romance novel. Once Zack and Julie finally start talking and getting to know one another on a more personal level, it builds a strong sense of intimacy and connection that makes their first love scene utterly beautiful. It's filled with the tenderness, love and passion I crave in a romance. Zack's love letter to Julie is also pretty darn perfect. Those things alone made it worth all the ups and downs they have to suffer through to get their HEA. With two keepers in a row under her belt, Judith McNaught has earned a spot on my favorite authors list, and I look forward to checking out the rest of the Second Opportunities series and more of her backlist titles soon. show less
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 show more 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 show less
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 show more 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 show less
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Judith McNaught is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including "Night Whispers", "Remember When", & "Until You". She lives in Kemah, Texas. (Publisher Provided) Judith McNaught was born in San Luis Obispo, California on May 10, 1944. She graduated from Northwestern University in 1966 with a degree in business. Her first novel, show more Tender Triumph, won the Critics Choice Award in 1983. She won it again in 1988 for Something Wonderful. She received Best Historical Novelist honors for Whitney, My Love in 1985 and for Once and Always in 1987. She received the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. She was also the first female executive producer at a CBS radio station. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title*
- Verscheurd door het verleden
- Original title
- Perfect
- Original publication date
- 1993
- People/Characters
- Julie Mathison; Zachary Benedict
- Important places
- Keaton, Texas, USA; Colorado, USA
- Dedication
- Dit boek is met liefde en begrip opgedragen aan die miljoenen Amerikaanse vrouwen die dit of welk ander boek niet kunnen lezen. Vrouwen die door omstandigheden in hun jeugd het plezier en de waardigheid te kunnen lezen, hebbe... (show all)n moeten ontberen. En het is opgedragen aan de speciale, zorgzame mensen die hun tijd en inspanning hebben gegeven aan het programma "Alfabetisme". Geef het door.
This book is dedicated with love and understanding to those millions of American women who cannot read it or any other book, women whose childhood circumstances have deprived them of the adult pleasure, and the dignity, of be... (show all)ing able to read. And it is dedicated to the special, caring people who've given their time and efforts to the "Literacy. Pass It On." program. - First words
- (Prologue 1976) Margaret Stanhope stood at the doors that opened onto the veranda, her aristocratic features set into an icy mask as she watched her butler pass a tray of drinks to her grandchildren who had just returned for ... (show all)the summer holidays from their various private schools.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)In the midst of one of the most achingly poignant moments of his life, Zack burst out laughing.
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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