ISBN-13: 978-0-373-77819-5
The Perfect Match tells the story of the love that blossoms between the rejected Honor Holland and the charming, handsome, in-need-of-a-green card British professor Tom Barlow. It’s about self-esteem, self-respect, loyalty, and dedication.
Honor has known Brogan since fourth grade. Although they were best friends and occasionally enjoyed moments of passion, their relationship was not the great romance she wanted. Despite their physical connection, Brogan doesn’t love Honor the way she loves him. As if being rejected isn’t enough, the knife is pushed even further in her heart when she learns he’s planning to marry her good friend and they’re expecting a child together.
Honor’s attempts to move on with her life and get over her life-long crush leads her straight to Tom, who is also suffering a heart-breaking past. Although he’s been able to get over the wife who left him, he hasn’t been able to cut the ties with the stepson she left behind; a stepson who, unfortunately for Tom, doesn’t seem to want to have much to do with him. Despite the young man’s bitterness and ill-behavior, not to mention the interference from the boy’s family members, Tom stands strong and continues to try to hang on to the relationship. Desperately wanting to stay in the country, Tom approaches Honor about marriage. Feeling abandoned and wanting to make a change in her life, she agrees. As pretend love turns to real love, these two struggle to deal with their true feelings, their inner demons, and the chaos of everything happening around them.
The author does a great job showing the characters realistically evolve. There is no all-of-a-sudden-I-see-the-light turn around. Self-discovery takes time, effort, and sometimes a lot of pain and the readers witness this throughout the novel. Relationships are nurtured, fences mended, and new dreams discovered.
The hero and heroine are both strong. They understand what they want and they go after it, full force, taking the bumps and bruises along the way. Although their motivations seem clear at first, as you continue to read, you realize there’s a lot more to them than just feeling rejected.
Rating system: Cups of coffee – the less the better
0: You won’t need any coffee to stay up for this one. It’s intriguing enough all on its own.
1: You’ll stay up late, but not all night. Brew one cup.
2: You’ll read as long as you’re not tired. If you are, two cups should do the trick.
3: I hope you got plenty of rest, you’ll need it, or at least 3 cups.
4: If the cable goes out, read the book. It’s better than nothing, I guess. Oh, don’t forget your brew!
5: Find anything else to do- doesn’t matter what it is. Don’t waste your coffee. Too much caffeine is bad for you.
My rating: 2 cups of coffee