Book Review: Almost Perfect
Note: I have never before reviewed a book that I DNF’ed, however NetGalley said it was appropriate (and recommended!!) so here we are.
Almost Perfect by E. F. Todd
Publish Date: 10/31/23
Publisher: Sugar Beaver Books
First off, I want to thank Sugar Beaver Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. I was excited to give it a try, the cover looks fun—it’s a Christmas Romance. My favorite!!
The writing was good, with some stellar examples of great writing shining through. So why did I DNF?
I DNF’d Almost Perfect at almost the 20% mark. 18.6% I believe, if you want precision. The reasons why we’re two fold: character and pacing.
V is a Doctor. A practicing doctor. The disconnect may have been the choice to have the heroine go by an initial instead of something like Vee, even. For me, naming a character by an initial would be more appropriate when the character is edgy and wise. Or if the narrator is slyly trying to make things “anonymous”. To further the disconnect V felt incredibly young and sheltered. Her and her friends struck me as more college age than professionals—and it had nothing to do with the Doc in love with a bar tender aspect.
The pacing was also off. When it came to the first love scene (I think) is when I finally closed the book. It felt like it was taking two chapters for him to kiss his way up her leg. It did not in fact take that long, but when a romance reader is bored by the love scene and is a few pages into it…. It needs to be tightened.
But worst of all, there was no Christmas in that 20 percent. I know it comes, I just couldn’t hang in there to get to it.
We can be honest and say the pacing issue might have been because I could not connect with the main character, V. It probably was.
There are some great lines in this story though, and I look forward to the next story this author has up their sleeve.
Thank you again to Sugar Beaver Books and Netgalley for providing me a copy for review.
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