It makes me sad to write this because this really was an enjoyable series at first, but having slogged unpleasantly through the last three books, I’m just relieved that it’s over.

As I mentioned in my review of the fourth book, it’s frustrating that the series allowed Jessica to age but the tone and approach of the books didn’t age with her. She’s in her mid twenties, but she and all of the rest of the characters still behave like they’re in high school, and their lives and actions feel geared toward a high school audience. No one this age acts or thinks this way.

I’ve seen some reviews saying this book reads like fan fiction which feels a little harsh. Still, I can see where the opinion comes from. The endless on/off of Jessica and Marcus is boring and exhausting, and resolves in a way that only a high school mind would think it would, which speaks to my earlier point.

I’m a little surprised that this series has been resurrected and effectively re-promoted, because I think we demand better than this as a YA audience these days, especially among adult readers of the genre. I do think the series is a little more palatable in audio format, but I think the author’s standalone novel The Mall is more with it, so to speak, and better than anything we ever got out of this series after the first book.

At this point, Jessica and Marcus are at an airport trying to navigate through their history and the looming awkwardness.

I read the first and second books a while back but never got the chance to read the third and fourth books (which are on me). Given the context though, I feel like McCafferty did a good job of recalling past memories/scenes and I loved seeing how characters that I came to know early on, still were present in the last book. It also made me a bit sentimental knowing and seeing how everyone grew up.

While I feel like this was a decent homage to all the books before, I wish that more happened. There are a lot of flashbacks, but not a lot of action -- mainly just them talking in the airport. This definitely would’ve made a larger impact on me, had I read books 3 and 4, but I’m still glad to have had the chance to catch up with the Jessica Darling cast one last time!

***
Thank you NetGalley for my arc!

There's not much to say. If you loved Megan McCafferty's beloved series, you'll love the audiobook. There's things that don't hold up over the years, but Jessica and Marcus absolutely do.

I loved the Jessica Darling Series back in high school! I knew I needed to grab the opportunity to review the audiobook for the conclusion of this series. Getting to listen to the last book made me feel like I was 22 again. *Cue the Taylor Swift song*

This rating is sponsored by nostalgia and by the narrator of the audiobook. She did a fantastic job perfecting Jessica’s chaotic energy during the entire book. It made the audiobook even more enjoyable. I do think you need to read the entire series to appreciate this book but I would recommend both the series and this audiobook.

I received a review copy from NetGallery and Macmillan Audio and I voluntarily provided an honest review. This does not affect the opinion of the book or the content of the review.

I have enjoyed all of the Megan McCafferty books in this series. It is fun to catch up with an old character you “met” in high school. Jess is now a young adult, but her feelings and actions toward Marcus are similar to the first book, which I enjoyed.

It pains me to rate this book so low because the rest of the series was so good. This last book though seemed like an afterthought, a way to tack on a nice, pat, happy ending despite the fact that these characters have grown-up and moved on. But even if the premise of this book (which is really just a alternate ending to the fourth book in the series) was entirely plausible there were a few other things I just couldn't get over.

Jessica Darling is running through Newark’s airport trying to catch her flight to St. Thomas, for the wedding of her high school friends Bridget and Percy, when she runs smack into her past. Literally. Out of the blue, she actually runs into her first love Marcus Flutie. Right there in the airport.

Marcus was looking out for her as he’d heard her name over the airport intercom. It stopped him in his tracks. Could they be calling for her Jessica Darling, his Jessica Darling and not the porn star, at the Newark airport, just as he’s there too? So he’s alert but not quite ready when she not only shows up right in front of him but mows him down in her rush to catch her flight.

They catch up for a few awkward minutes, the first time they’d seen each other in years. Then Jessica has to go, rushing to catch her flight. She is the officiant for the wedding after all. She has to make it to the Virgin Islands on time. But she gets to the desk at the gate, and the woman working there points out that the door is closed. Once the door is closed, there is nothing more the airline can do.

As Jessica finds herself later standing in line at customer service, along with 20 members of the Barry Manilow International Fan Club, who had also missed their flight (they were heading to Las Vegas for the last night of his farewell tour), Marcus spots her again. He sees her standing in line, waiting to get another flight to St. Thomas, and he can’t make himself move on.

Once Jessica gets through the line and has a ticket for the next day, she bumps into Marcus again, and the two of them decide to sit down and talk over coffee. Marcus talks about his time at school, his major, his work helping out in Louisiana as they are still rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina four years previous. Jessica talks about her friends, her family, her work.

They wait for the next flight to the Virgin Islands, to see if Jessica can make it on standby. But when they get to the gate, they see dozens of other people in front of her, and she gives up. They decide to get a hotel room for the night and take the shuttle. And while they don’t have anything special planned for that hotel room, the more time they spend together, the more they realize what they want from each other.

And apparently, it’s Barry-aoke with the also-stranded members of the Barry Manilow International Fan Club.

Perfect Fifths is the final installment of Megan McCafferty’s Jessica Darling series that started way back in high school. Now, Jessica and Marcus are in their mid-20s, and the story comes full circle. I listened to the audio book for this one, and Katie Schorr once again is the ideal voice of Jessica as she finally gets the chance to catch up with Marcus in person. With memories and anecdotes from the previous four books, Perfect Fifths is a lovely look back at the decade these characters have lived since the series started and a perfect ending as well.

If there is one thing that I always wanted more of in the Jessica Darling books, it was time. I wished they would slow down. Instead of one book being several years all in one volume, I wanted time to slow down, to be with these characters for longer. I finally got my wish. Perfect Fifths doesn’t capture several years all in one book. In fact, it doesn’t even capture 24 hours. There are lots of flashbacks and old memories to look back on, but the book happens in real time, just Jessica and just Marcus, face to face for the first time in years. We’re not reading journal entries or letters (although there is some of the word salad poetry). I loved this version of the story, all happening right in front of my. My only regret is that this is the last book in the series. The world needs more smart, strong women like Jessica Darling!

A copy of the audiobook for Perfect Fifths was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I was so excited to see this on Netgalley, thinking it was a new Jessica Darling book... until I realized I read this back in the aughts and this is just a re-release. Lucky for me, the series is still fun as ever. Since I read it on paper last time, the audio version was the perfect reintroduction. The narrator does a good job capturing the feel of this book. I'd highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a fun romance that skews towards more towards "new adult" than just YA.

Oh Jessica Darling, I just adore your character. I stumbled across this audiobook without knowing it was a series. I listened to it as a standalone, and I liked it. From Jessica missing her flight to running into her ex Marcus at the airport it was a fun story. It was easy to listen to and follow along. There was nothing that stood out as amazing, but I would recommend it as an easy read or listen.

Perfect Fifths is a smartly written book. Majority of the book centers around conversations between the characters, especially the leads Jessica and Marcus, but McCafferty's writing is able to prevent the story from becoming choppy or feeling as though it is dragging along. As someone who was not previously familiar with the Jessica Darling series, I do believe that this book would have been more enjoyable if you were already a fan of the series (which is pretty standard) but believe that you can pretty easily gather the most important features of the characters and their relationships with each other without reading the previous installments. I would suggest this if you have already read the series, are a fan of reconnection stories, or heavy dialogue based romances.

I was able to review the audio version of Perfect Fifths and I believe that it added to my overall enjoyment of the story. Personally, I tend to speed up audio books just a bit and I feel like in doing so with this one, you really bring more of that charotic energy that scenes like running to catch a plane or trying running into an ex really calls for. I believe that the narrator was the perfect fit for this story.

As someone who loved this series back in high school, I was super excited for this. I enjoyed it and thought it was a solid ending to the Jessica Darling series.

This books was poorly written. It was far too juvenile for my taste, and the repetitive phrases made me cringe. The characters were boring and I was not a fan.

Perfect Fifths is the fifth and final book in the Jessica Darling series and follows early twenties Jessica Darling. As Jessica attempts to catch a flight to her friend's Caribbean wedding, she has a second chance run in with Marcus (as awkward and funny as only Jessica can). Perfect Fifths chronicles their time together after Jessica misses her flight and is the reader's first chance to read/listen to the story from Marcus's perspective.

I really looked forward to listening to Perfect Fifths and having the chance to find out how the Jessica Darling series ended. After Fourth Comings, I wasn't quote sure what to expect. Two constants throughout the series: I love Jessica's snark/brutal honesty and I find the audiobook narrator to be a great fit for the books. I liked that the book gave a glimpse into the mind of Marcus; I recall watching a Megan McCafferty interview after the release of Sloppy Firsts and I agree that having his perspective in only the fifth book was a good choice for the series. The book spans a pretty short period of time and there was definitely no shortage of interesting moments. Some side stories were a bit odd in my opinion, but I have to say I stayed interested because I just HAD to know how the series would end. Perfect Fifths wraps up Jessica's story well, and I think fans of the series will appreciate the final installment. 3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC; this is my honest and voluntary review.

Having not read the preceding books in the series, I knew I would be playing a bit of catch-up. I was able to catch on to the characters' background, current plotlines, and previous relationships. I felt the narrator did a nice job changing her voice to reflect the different characters and to change the inflection to make the story come alive.

The plot of this novel was incredibly disinteresting to me, however. There was very little action. The characters reunited, and from the way the author tells it, they were each other's great loves. However, I have no idea what makes Jessica Darling or Marcus Flutie likeable as they were both incredibly boring. They spent much of the novel in conversation at the airport bar. Why so much of the book was spent going nowhere (literally and figuratively) at the airport is beyond me.

When they finally went to a hotel, Marcus became a predator who didn't believe his ex could fall asleep on him. I had a difficult time listening to this audiobook as I did not enjoy it at all.

Jessica Darling is now 25 and navigating being a young professional. What she doesn’t expect is to literally run into Marcus in the airport. A missed flight leads to a day together, and although they have both changed over the years, the connection is still there.

After following almost a decade of Jessica’s life when reading the series this year, I am so glad this book ended the way it did. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Jessica in book 5 and this book really wrapped everything up nicely. Jessica matured so much by this book while still maintaining the hot mess essence that makes her so endearing. I’m so glad I read this series this year.

Huge thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC. I listened to this series on audiobook and I loved the narrator throughout. She really brought Jessica’s personality to life.

Cute a fulfilling conclusion to Jessica Darling's story. Long time fans of Jessica's ups and downs will enjoy this wrap up. I wouldn't recommend it to readers who are not already familiar with the series as a lot of knowledge about characters is assumed.