An emotional novel about a woman coming to terms with her past- and the death of her sister. Dylan is a physician who just turned down a proposal because she can't get past her guilt about what happened. This moves slowly but it's one that will resonate.

2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Dylan has been with her BF, Cooper, for 9 years. They met at Freshman Orientation for Med School and have been together ever since. She's an OB/GYN Doctor and he is in Pediatrics. Dylan has one big goal to achieve in her field, earlier testing to reduce the number of maternal deaths due to complications like ectopic pregnancies - which is what her sister, Abby, died from 15 years ago. Dylan is driven by guilt, believing that she is responsible for the death of her sister. Cooper, however, has realized his goal. He's been made a partner at his practice and is ready to settle down and have a few babies with Dylan. She isn't ready. Her guilt over her secret about Abby's death keeps her at arm's length, even from Cooper. Nobody knows and she believes that if they did know they would walk away from her and she can't stand to lose anyone else. A series of events, and people, lead to Dylan's carefully constructed life unraveling and she wonders what will be left when she reaches the end of her rope.

EH. This was okay. It definitely wasn't awful but it wasn't spectacular, in my opinion. The reader is supposed to, I believe, have empathy for Dylan. I did not. I was annoyed with her. Her guilt over this promise she made to her sister might have made more sense had Dylan not gone through medical school and specialized in OB/GYN. However, she did so her guilt about her sister's death from an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy was super annoying and didn't make any sense. She had gained the medical knowledge required to know that her promise had nothing to do with Abby's death. I was also super annoyed that after being with Cooper for 9 years she still hadn't divulged her secret, which he would have quickly assuaged. I was annoyed with Dylan, ultimately, because she made Abby's death all about herself (Dylan) but tried to make it seem it was about Abby. Ugh. EH.

Really enjoyed this book. The protagonist is an OB-GYN whose life is falling apart due to old wounds that haven’t healed yet. I enjoyed the Portland, Oregon setting, the angst of trying to reconcile who she is becoming with who she was, the relationships with her parents and fiancé, and the first person accounts of her career. Well done!

This is a wonderful, engaging novel that touches on so many different issues. It gets to the heart of our stories in an emotional yet easily readable manner. Highly recommended!

I honestly had a hard time getting into this one. It wasn't very good and the flow of the book was up and down.

Rating: 3.5/5

This is a story which explores guilt, infidelity, forgiveness and is a very emotional read. I’ll be honest and say that after reading about a quarter of it I nearly gave up. I recommend you keep going, it does improve!

The main character is Dr Dylan Michels and the story starts with her turning down her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, even though she loves him. She’s filled with guilt and self-loathing over something in her past and until she comes to terms with that she’ll never really find happiness. The story explores her past and present, giving insights into her life and feelings through the first person narrative story.

It is a story of life, where people make mistakes that they regret but that, when they learn from their mistakes, they can move on. Sometimes, however, forgiving yourself is the hardest thing to do. The secondary characters obviously also contribute the the main character’s development and have significant roles to play as they learn that to err is human and no one is absolutely perfect all the time.

I requested and received a copy of this novel, via NetGalley. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

3.5/5 - appearances aren’t always what they seem and this is true for Dylan and Cooper. On the outside they seem to have it all; great careers, great house, great relationship but nothing is perfect. Dylan holds herself responsible for her sister’s death and believes that she can fix this wrong by dedicating herself to her work to help women. Of course she starts to crack under the pressure she’s put on herself.

Perfectly Undone is about letting go and forgiveness on a few different levels.

This month is all about finding our voice. These authors have found their own unique voice–telling stories of love, friendship, relationship issues in their own exceptional way.


The Astonishing Thing by Sandi Ward
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Pet owners know that a cat’s loyalty is not easily earned. Boo, a resourceful young feline with a keen eye and inquiring mind, has nonetheless grown intensely devoted to her human companion, Carrie. Several days ago, Carrie—or Mother, as Boo calls her—suddenly went away, leaving her family, including Boo, in disarray. Carrie’s husband, Tommy, is distant and distracted even as he does his best to care for Boo’s human siblings, especially baby Finn.

Boo worries about who will fill her food dish, and provide a warm lap to nestle into.More pressing still, she’s trying to uncover the complicated truth about why Carrie left. Though frequently mystified by human behavior, Boo is sure that Carrie once cared passionately for Tommy and adores her children, even the non-feline ones. But she also sees it may not be enough to make things right. Perhaps only a cat—a wise, observant, very determined cat—can do that . . .

Wonderfully tender and insightful, The Astonishing Thing explores the intricacies of marriage and family through an unforgettable perspective at the center of it all.

Strengths: Intriguing storyteller; compelling mystery; uplifting ending
Measure of Love: Teaspoon
Mood: Poignant
Why You Should Read This: Truly a distinctive story with such a unique voice. Both the storyteller and mystery of “Mother” leaving will keep you turning the pages.


Seven Days of Us: A Novel by Francesca Hornak
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It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.

For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding, while Olivia deals with the culture shock of being immersed in first-world problems.

As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down.

In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…

Strengths: Complex family relationships; Unexpected situations; Bittersweet scenarios; Uplifting ending
Measure of Love: Teaspoon
Mood: Poignant
Why You Should Read This: Plenty of secrets and close proximity makes this one compelling read. Unique plot device of quarantine and the English setting are an added plus!


Pupcakes by Annie England Noblin
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All she wants is a settled-down life

What she gets is a dog—and a whole new normal...

There he stood in the doorway: overweight, depressed and nearly homeless—a pug named Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy was Brydie Benson’s latest problem, arriving on top of her messy divorce and sudden move. Brydie needed a place to start over, so this rent-free home seemed a great idea. She just never counted on Teddy, or his owner, the Germantown Retirement Village’s toughest customer, Pauline Neumann

And because rent-free doesn’t mean bills-free, Brydie gets a night-shift job at a big-box grocery. Whoever guessed there were so many people who wanted baked goods after midnight?

Then, she gets an idea—why not combine her baking skills with her new-found dog knowledge? And so her store Pupcakes is born. Along with a new start comes a possible new love, in the form of Nathan Reid, a local doctor with a sassy Irish Wolfhound named Sasha. And as fall turns to winter, and then to Christmas, Brydie begins to realize that life is a little bit like learning a new recipe for puff pastry—it takes a few tries to get it just right!

Strengths: Pet/human relationship; multi-generational characters; HEA
Measure of Love: Teaspoon
Mood: Poignant and Humorous
Why You Should Read This: Definitely a feel-good book. Wonderful exploration of the different type of relationships -mother/daughter; female friendships, and cross-generation friendships— along with a perfect romance.

The Dirty Book Club by Lisi Harrison
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M.J. Stark’s life is picture-perfect—she has her dream job as a magazine editor, a sexy doctor boyfriend, and a glamorous life in New York City. But behind her success, there is a debilitating sense of loneliness. So when her boss betrays her and her boyfriend offers her a completely new life in California, she trades her cashmere for caftans and gives it a try. Once there, M.J. is left to fend for herself in a small beach town, with only the company of her elderly neighbor, Gloria, and an ocean that won’t shut up.

One afternoon, M.J. discovers that Gloria has suddenly moved to Paris with her friends to honor a fifty-year-old pact. And in lieu of a goodbye, she’s left a mysterious invitation to a secret club—one that only reads erotic books. Curious, M.J. accepts and meets the three other hand-selected club members. As they bond over naughty bestsellers and the shocking letters they inherited from the original club members, the four strangers start to divulge the intimate details of their own lives… and as they open up, they learn that friendship might just be the key to rewriting their own stories: all they needed was to find each other first.

Strengths: Unique characters; complex relationships; Uplifting ending
Measure of Love: Dash
Mood: Poignant and Humorous
Why You Should Read This: Great juxtaposition of the past and presence as the author illustrates the way women’s roles have changed even as we continue to face similar relationship issues.

Perfectly Undone by Jamie Raintree
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Yes is such a little word…

Dr. Dylan Michels has worked hard for a perfect life, so when her longtime boyfriend, Cooper, gets down on one knee, it should be the most perfect moment of all. Then why does she say no?

For too many years, Dylan's been living for her sister, who never got the chance to grow up. But her attempt to be the perfect daughter, perfect partner and perfect doctor hasn't been enough to silence the haunting guilt Dylan feels over her sister's death—and the role no one knows she played in it.

Now Dylan must face her past if she and Cooper stand a chance at a the courage to define her own happiness before her life becomes perfectly undone?

Set among the breezy days of a sultry Portland summer, Perfectly Undone is a deeply moving novel of family secrets, forgiveness and finding yourself in the most surprising of places.

Sometimes you have to lose your way to find yourself

Strengths: Appealing characters; forgiveness theme; Uplifting ending
Measure of Love: Teaspoon
Mood: Poignant
Why You Should Read This: Touching exploration how guilt and secrets can keep you mired in place. Second Chance at Love theme.

https://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2017/10/five-womens-fiction-books-for-october

After my wedding, I had a bit of a backlog going with my review copies (oops!) so I was pretty excited to finally be able to give my full attention to Perfectly Undone by Jamie Raintree. This book had been on my list of highly anticipated reads for October. From the synopsis to the amazing cover, I was completely sold.

The novel surrounds Dr. Dylan Michels, a woman who is completely focused. She is has a loving long term boyfriend, she is successful, hardworking and determined to make a difference in the lives of the women she encounters, especially after she could not help her own sister. Everything seems to be coming together, until everything begins to unravel. A deeply moving novel filled with family secrets, forgiveness and finding yourself, from the first pages I was captivated by the story and Raintree’s prose.

Thinking about this book, the first that came to mind was how much I really enjoyed the characterization. I felt like both lead characters were relatable and real; Dylan and Cooper were both very likeable. I found it hard to side with either of them because I could see both of their perspectives.

The novel as a whole read to me like a Colleen Hoover book and I feel is a very good thing! I devoured this one just as fast as a Hoover novel, in a single sitting. I feel like CoHo fans will relish in Perfectly Undone. It had the same type of vibe.

The only thing I found confusing was the back and forth between the present and then randomly switching to Dylan reminiscing about Abby's final days (her sister). There was no real rhyme or reason to this and it put me out of the moment.

Regardless of this small fact, I found myself absorbed in this novel, finishing it within a few hours. Fans of Colleen Hoover will love this one. 4/5 stars from me!

When your whole life falls apart, it’s time to figure out what really matters…
This is author Jamie Raintree’s first book. She has a long history of familiarity with writing, but Perfectly Undone is her first published novel. You can immediately tell that she has talent. Her words are chosen carefully and well. Her subject matter is important and interesting. And her ability to use descriptives helps you to connect with the scene and the dialogue.



Dr. Dylan Michels is a driven and dedicated OB-GYN. She has been together with fellow doctor, Cooper, a pediatrician, for nine years. But Dylan has secrets in her past. And these secrets prevent her from ever completely letting her guard down, or allowing herself to fully accept all the good things in her life. Focused on obtaining a competitive grant, Dylan tends to become neglectful of the other things in her life. Namely, Cooper. And when he asks her to marry him, their relationship begins a downward trajectory, with events that they may never recover from.

There are deep moments and tender ones. There are scenes that will make you sigh, and those that will have you sobbing. Some events will have you raging out loud, and others will cause you frustration. But there is definitely no shortage of emotional feels in this book. And although I believe there was a good story at its heart, I struggled to fully embrace it.

For me, Dylan is an incredibly difficult character to connect to. She often comes across as self-centered, churlish and even unlikable. She has a tendency to blame others for her problems. Cooper is seemingly the easy-going one, but at times he often feels like a fictional persona, until – finally- a flaw is revealed. Cooper’s sister, Meghan, and her husband Stephen, feature prominently in the book, but their backstory is incomplete, and there reconciliation even more so. So , in my opinion, the characters needed some work. My other issue was that there were just so many problems, many unbelievably tragic, throughout this book, that I felt almost all of them weren’t fully realized. It is tough for me to explain without giving away spoilers, but the issues felt inordinate and therefore stunted in their development, as there was little time to completely solve each one before the next erupted.

I thin Raintree shows great promise as a writer, and believe she will do well in the field. She just needs some experience and seasoning.

Perfectly Undone had all of the ingredients for a great women's fiction story but it unfortunately just fell flat for me. Dylan is a very successful obstetrician and is in love with her college best friend who just happens to be a pediatrician. The link in careers is spot on, but one takes their job a lot more seriously than the other - in that work life balance isn't even an option.

Because Dylan is hiding a secret, she continues on this consistent path for 9 years without revealing more to the supposed love of her life. Not only was this frustrating, but then of course someone cheats even though they are still very much in love with each other.

I guess I'm just not a fan of cheating and maybe there's a possibility of reconcile and maybe there's not. Clearly there was something broken from the beginning and I was easily frustrated with the actions of the characters. I stuck with it because there were definitely parts that kept me wanting to know more but it was just ok for me.

Dr. Dylan Michels is living with a secret, a guilty secret that threatens to shatter her world. This is a wonderful, thought-provoking tale, rich with complex characters and deep emotions. The writing is lyrical and draws you into the story immediately. Definitely recommend. Five stars!

“That’s the thing about secrets- they quickly become lies, and lies are a cancer, infecting every good memory, every gesture of love, every truth.”

There’s a lot of hype with this book right now. It’s part of booksparks #frc2017 and it’s their book club pick of the month. This book was also featured as a Tall Poppy Writers book last week! I was excited to read it (on time) for these events!

This book is really relatable. We have the main character Dylan who is a labor and delivery doctor who lives with her boyfriend (a pediatrician -- how cute is that pairing?). Dylan has been holding on to a terrible secret about her sister’s death when she was in high school. I found that every turning point in the story was realistic and I loved being along for the ride as Dylan coped with her past and worked on relationships with the people around her. I found this to be a very quick read (I started it Wednesday night-- and read 25% -- and read the remaining 75% in one sitting last night).

Dr. Dylan Michels has worked hard for a perfect life, so when her longtime boyfriend, Cooper, gets down on one knee, it should be the most perfect moment of all. Then why does she say no?

Perfectly undone tells the story of the seemingly 'perfect' life of Dr Dylan Michaels, a very successful Gynae and her would be husband Cooper. As the story unfolds, we learn about Dylan's career choice motivation - a childhood tragedy that would shape her life forever and prevent her from fulfilling and totally committing to a partner for life.

Her single mindedness in trying to right a wrong clouds every decision she makes and her life becomes completely focused on her work with little time left over for her private life. The story is a tale of grief, guilt, ambition and ultimately love and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did struggle at times willing Dylan to unburden herself but it all came out in the end! Highly recommend! Many thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Like it or not, secrets are part of life, but can relationships survive them?

Dylan is a woman on a well-established career path as an OB/GYN. She's successful, her patients love her, and her decade-long love affair with Connor, her live-in boyfriend, is better than most marriages. Just looking at him sends tingles through her. But guilt, secrets, and bad decisions have imprisoned Dylan, and no matter how happy she seems on the outside, the inside controls her fate.

Connor, the pediatrician who is madly in love with Dylan, proposes marriage to her repeatedly. He simply adores her. The time, however, is never right for Dylan.

Dealing with Mom and Dad is a challenge for Dylan, too. Not that anything is currently wrong, but the death of their daughter Abby years ago has left scars on everyone—Dylan included.

This Women's Fiction story started good—not great, not with a bang—just good. It held my attention barely enough to keep me turning "just one more page" until midway, when I realized it was hard to put down. By the end, it was a memorable book that I enjoyed reading. It's a good choice for a quiet weekend or a quick getaway. I'm glad I read it and I will be watching for the next book by this author.

I received a copy of this novel via NetGalley for an honest review.

OB/GYN (Dylan) struggles to balance her career and long-term relationship with boyfriend (Cooper). If she wins the research grant she's been hoping for, will she lose Cooper? Or, can she have both?

This debut novel follows Dylan, a very successive and driven OB/GYN as she cares diligently for patients, delivers babies, and pursues her real passion, a research grant to save women from ectopic pregnancies. But, a big life event forces Dylan to reconsider what's really important to her. Read this book to embark on Dylan's journey of self discovery as she learns to forgive herself for the mistakes she made in the past.

I'm not usually a huge fan of women's fiction, so I think that affected my overall rating. I definitely enjoyed parts of it and definitely the author's writing style. Also, the ending was touching, sweet, and fulfilling.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This is a very interesting and enjoyable read! Loved the characters and the book was hard to put down!

I have a weakness for flawed characters, so when Dr. Dylan Michael’s perfect life derails within the first chapter of Jamie Raintree’s Perfectly Undone, I prepared myself for what I was hoping would be an emotional ride.

 Me and this book got off to a rough start. From the first page, I had a lot of trouble relating to Dylan, which actually really baffled me because I saw a lot of similarities between our lives and our approaches to things. I share a lot of her opinions and fears, but I couldn’t relate to how she acted on them and had a really hard time connecting to the character. I also definitely couldn’t relate to her guilt over her sister or her drive as a doctor to redeem herself for what she felt so guilty for. That was a huge driving force of the book, making this was a huge obstacle for me to get past.

Sadly, I didn’t have a better time relating to any of the other characters at first, either, and I found Dylan and Cooper’s relationship lacking. I get it, she’s flawed, she pushes people away, but the more I got to know them as a couple, the more they seemed like they were forcing something that wasn’t meant to be. I get that relationships change, but Dylan had one foot out of the door since the beginning and never seemed fully committed to him, yet she claimed he changed all that in her and he was the only person who made her feel safe. He was understanding and supportive to a fault and she really took advantage of that and I just had no sympathy or empathy for her relationship troubles. Frankly, I didn’t like Dylan; she seemed like a really flat and selfish character to me.

Somewhere during the middle of the book, however, something shifted. Dylan started to grow and actually look at the world around her instead of herself for once and I couldn’t have been happier. The relationship she formed that helped her open here yes made me a little uneasy, but it was also kind of sweet in a way and I enjoyed watching Dylan come to terms with her own flaws and finally address her guilt and learn to accept that everything doesn’t have to be perfect or in control. These were parts of her character that I could also relate to and finally she was starting to acknowledge them in a way that connected us.

The writing was also a redeeming point. There’s a betrayal in the middle of the book (something of which I saw coming, which was annoying, but understandable), as well as a few other difficult and heartbreaking situations that come up and the way Raintree described the devastation was perfection. This part really cut deep for me and I finally started to feel something for Dylan and the life she was trying to find and piece back together.

This was such a strange read for me because I really didn’t like the way things started, but I’m glad I continued to read because the characters eventually grew into themselves, to book finally found it’s groove and it was really interesting seeing Dylan stripped down from the character we first meet and built back up into a strong, smart and balanced woman.

I am completely shocked that I’m giving this book 4 stars! When I first started reading Perfectly Undone, for the first third of the book actually, I wasn’t into it at all. I didn’t particularly like Dylan, or her obsession with righting a supposed wrong from years ago. The martyr is one of my least favorite characters. The characters were very flat and one-dimensional. I didn’t find them interesting, and it was hard to care about them. However, somewhere around the middle of the book, I suddenly couldn’t put it down. I honestly didn’t know how it was going to end. The characters became unpredictable, but in a very credible, realistic, human way. I wasn’t sure what their actions and reactions would be, and I discovered, to my surprise, I had become emotionally invested in them. Their actions and reactions, the choices they made, especially the poor choices, gave the characters life. There are several themes that ensure it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, (cheating, for example), but I thought the flaws and mistakes made the characters more human and believable. They were more interesting, and real. I thought the parallels between Dylan’s life and two other couples were a tad heavy-handed, and her mentor a cultural stereotype, but overall, I really enjoyed this book.

As I start my review, I still can't believe this book is from a debut author. This book has vivid imagery, but the author is skilled enough to know when to pull back and when to push the reader. The story is beautiful, painful, and yet manages to ride the line between the two. 

Our story starts with Dylan and her boyfriend, Cooper. Both are successful doctors, and Cooper and Dylan have been together for nine years. Cooper is ready for the next steps but Dylan is just sort of existing. She isn't unhappy, she isn't happy. She isn't really anything. Personally, Dylan's character worked for me. I understood her immediately and I feel like a lot of other women will too. 

Normally, books with the main character having some mysterious secret really irk me. Mainly because when the secret comes out, it's never as big as the story built it up to be. With this story, however, Dylan's secret regarding her sister's death seems less about the secret as the story goes on and more about forgiveness, of others and oneself. I appreciated this because it made the secrets more dynamic and more about moving on and how we heal versus being about a big confession and then the characters just automatically feel better. 

This book was truly wonderful. It made me think, it made me cry, and this author definitely made me open my heart while reading this book. The way ideas and feelings are presented caused me to open my eyes a bit and really see things from a different perspective. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants real characters with real life problems, and anyone who believes in the power of forgiveness and love.