Cover Image: The Perfect Find

The Perfect Find

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Member Reviews

Well, this was a one-sitting job! Couldn’t put it down!

I didn’t realise it was a re-release of an older book - it popped up on NetGalley and I jumped on it as soon as I saw Tia Williams. It’s funny how much books have changed in a few years - I could feel that this would have been an amazing release with a predominately Black cast in 2016, but I could also feel some of the things that had dated (eg. casually calling someone bipolar or schizophrenic).

Jenna is 40, in a job that is beneath her, dealing with the aftermath of a huge breakup. She meets Eric, the new videographer she needs to work with, and all sorts of complications pop up: their clear attraction in the workplace, their age difference and life goals, and his mother.

Things I liked:
- Jenna and Eric were SO CUTE AND TENSE AND WONDERFUL. They had everything. Banter, chemistry. And their steam! Holy crap. It burned 🔥🔥🔥
- Sometimes I find age gap romances weird because usually one of the characters doesn’t feel their age. In this case they were spot on, language and behaviour wise, and Eric’s emotional maturity was delightful
- The fashion setting
- I’ve stewed a lot on this. It’s controversial. But I loved the ending. Many hated it. But it felt right for what they both needed. Could do with a sequel though!

Things I didn’t like:
- A few ableist remarks that probably wouldn’t fly in a current release
- Dated pop culture references
- I couldn’t get a good sense of time in this book. Some things felt really rapid. Anyway, I got lost on timing
- How much this consumed my thoughts. I couldn’t sleep after I finished it! I was so caught up in the ending

In short: A really fantastic read, pleased to see a push to re-release in 2021. Eric is adorable and you’ll all want your own Eric.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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I think I should have read this before Seven days in June.

This book follows Jenna, who at 40 has upended her life and started to work with one of her rivals. The only problem is that she needs to make a perfect web series to keep her job and the man who's videoing the whole thing is Eric, her rivals son and someone Jenna finds a little too irresistible.

In terms of characters, I found everyone fairly likeable, I thought that the side characters were better but that may just be my thing against main characters. Although I did love Eric as a love interest. I was not however a big fan of the dialogue at all, it annoyed me, not to the point I stopped reading the book but I was still very annoyed.

I did feel very convinced about the romance. Sometimes there's an issue of romance feeling very instalove but this wasn't an issue here. It did feel very natural and gradual and I enjoyed that a lot.

The ending was very Tia Williams, I can't complain because I was kind of expecting it but I wasn't a fan of it at all. Despite that I did think it made sense, it didn't feel out of place or out of character which I think is great.

Overall, it was just okay, I think if I read this first I would have enjoyed it a lot more because Seven days in June was so damn good but I still enjoyed it.

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This was a quick and easy read that I enjoyed. It was a good story and I liked that it had older woman/younger man as that is rarely written about. It was relatable and I would love to read it again in the summer.

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thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

this was fucking brilliant.

i’m gonna be honest and say i was wary because i didn’t know whether an age gap romance where the woman was older was my thing. i suppose it’s because i haven’t read or watched many examples of it. but wow. it was amazing.

i loved jenna and eric together. i loved how well they clicked, and how realistic it was that they were in different stages of their lives and wanting different things, and that they went away from each other but came back together - it was fate. and they got their happily ever after with their kid…

it was so lovely to read and tia williams might be quickly be becoming one of my favourite authors. i think i rated this down maybe only because i connected with the side characters less than in seven days in june, but i still adored this book.

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This was a lovely light romance with an older woman younger man romantic line. It was a good read but nothing too special. Would recommend for a quick read.

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4.5 stars

Another author recommended this book and having noted it a while ago, I’m glad I decided to follow up on it because this book is a lot of things. It’s age difference, it’s so incredibly funny and it about impossible love. I savoured this read because I lacked reading time and really this helped me dwell in the book for a week.

I love an older woman, younger man trope and this book worked that angle so damn well. Age isn’t their only complication, being colleagues and a familial connection makes this ten times worse. These two however, bond over friendship, similarities, shared love of things and it’s a lovely slow spiral. There’s a fair amount of spatting too.

“Look,” said Eric, “we had such a promising start to this conversation. We can’t do yesterday again. I have banter burnout.”

And banter is right, the diaglogue and interactions were everything and so well written.

Jenna is such a ‘real’ character, flawed, sometimes ridiculous with a huge heart. I found her to be a strong woman, such that I could be satisfied with her decisions. She had learnt what she didn’t want in life and sought better; I admired her. Eric was a hot, immature and yet sweet guy, he grew on me. These two together were something something but more than that there was a longing, a deeper connection.

“It was like she’d left her personality in a cab somewhere years ago, and he’d found it, dusted it off, and delivered it to her doorstep wrapped in a red velvet bow. She felt alive, understood, -and drop-dead sexy.”

So, this is contemporary romance done good, it felt different to what’s generally out there and I devoured that spark of uniqueness and humour. Highly recommended.

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Having loved William's Seven Days in June I was expecting another compelling adult romance but The Perfect Find isn't a particularly solid read. First of all, it feels very dated even if it was first pub. in 2016 or something. There are too many passé references, digs at the 'young' millennials, and other stuff that just didn't age that well. Some of jokes too were of rather poor-taste (early on there is a 'woman thinks man is gay because he cares about his appearance or whatnot'). The romance itself toes the line with being problematic. The age-gap between the two leads is rather big however, what makes it worse, are the 'he's not underage' jokes.

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I absolutely loved this! What a fantastic plot, beautifully written, intertwining the relationships between the characters in such an fantastic and realistic way. I devoured this in 1.5 days. Phenomenal.

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