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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
When she finally reveals the killer the only thing I could think was "You're friggin kidding me! That's Great!" lol which are things that rarely happen to me
I have read this book many times.
The relationship between Jaine n Sam is so perfect...love all the fight. Always make me laugh n excited.
Sam Donovan is totally Mr.Perfect for me ^_^
The relationship between Jaine n Sam is so perfect...love all the fight. Always make me laugh n excited.
Sam Donovan is totally Mr.Perfect for me ^_^
I've never even heard of Mr. Perfect or Linda Howard until I went down a Goodreads rabbit hole one day. I was kinda just poking around on this website when I came across a list of the best romance suspense novels and to my surprise, Mr. Perfect was at the top of the list. And I can easily see why because Linda Howard has crafted a book that was compulsively readable, with a mystery that has a surprising twist at the end and an extremely lovable couple at the center of it. Howard is also surprisingly brutal with the characters as she really isn't afraid to hurt the characters that we've come to care about.
Mr. Perfect is about a group of four friends, who jokingly come with a list of attributes over lunch that they believe would make the perfect man. Each of the girls have been unlucky in love in their own way. One is married to a man who seems to be gradually losing interest in her, the other is dating a man whom she has never been able to date exclusively. The third is cohabiting with a younger man, although the other friends don't believe that there's a lot of depth to that relationship. Finally, the last has had two broken engagements and no desire to add a third engagement to her collection. Though the list starts off as a joke, it quickly starts to circulate around their office and it blows up, becoming a national firestorm. The four friends don't exactly enjoy the attention or infamy that this list brings them but they bear it as best as they can. Little do they know that someone out there isn't pleased with this list at all and believes that they are actually belittling him. Soon, one of the friends turns up dead and the situation becomes more dangerous than any of them could've imagined.
Janie Bright is the main character of our novel, the girl who has had two broken engagements and it's pretty easy to root for a girl like Janie. She has a pretty caustic sense of humour, doesn't take herself too seriously and is fiercely loyal to her friends. Janie also a pretty hot neighbour, Sam Donovan, who happens to be a cop as well. And that's a really fortunate turn of events for her because as the situation becomes more dangerous, Sam becomes a person that Janie can easily rely on. I've a weakness for these sorts of love-hate relationships and while Janie and Sam start off on the wrong foot, the two of them eventually get things right. Their interactions and dialogue were always fun to read about too.
And finally, of course I've got to say something about the mystery at the center of the novel. While it's pretty clear from the start who the person behind the killings are, I still found the eventual reveal somewhat surprising because of a "twist" that's introduced in the last quarter. Furthermore, the way that the characters are targeted is actually pretty clever too. And like I said, Howard really isn't afraid to put the characters through the wringer because she can be pretty brutal with the four girls at the center of the list.
Mr. Perfect is about a group of four friends, who jokingly come with a list of attributes over lunch that they believe would make the perfect man. Each of the girls have been unlucky in love in their own way. One is married to a man who seems to be gradually losing interest in her, the other is dating a man whom she has never been able to date exclusively. The third is cohabiting with a younger man, although the other friends don't believe that there's a lot of depth to that relationship. Finally, the last has had two broken engagements and no desire to add a third engagement to her collection. Though the list starts off as a joke, it quickly starts to circulate around their office and it blows up, becoming a national firestorm. The four friends don't exactly enjoy the attention or infamy that this list brings them but they bear it as best as they can. Little do they know that someone out there isn't pleased with this list at all and believes that they are actually belittling him. Soon, one of the friends turns up dead and the situation becomes more dangerous than any of them could've imagined.
Janie Bright is the main character of our novel, the girl who has had two broken engagements and it's pretty easy to root for a girl like Janie. She has a pretty caustic sense of humour, doesn't take herself too seriously and is fiercely loyal to her friends. Janie also a pretty hot neighbour, Sam Donovan, who happens to be a cop as well. And that's a really fortunate turn of events for her because as the situation becomes more dangerous, Sam becomes a person that Janie can easily rely on. I've a weakness for these sorts of love-hate relationships and while Janie and Sam start off on the wrong foot, the two of them eventually get things right. Their interactions and dialogue were always fun to read about too.
And finally, of course I've got to say something about the mystery at the center of the novel. While it's pretty clear from the start who the person behind the killings are, I still found the eventual reveal somewhat surprising because of a "twist" that's introduced in the last quarter. Furthermore, the way that the characters are targeted is actually pretty clever too. And like I said, Howard really isn't afraid to put the characters through the wringer because she can be pretty brutal with the four girls at the center of the list.
dark
mysterious
tense
Love Linda Howard!
Even her books that I don't like, are fun to revisit for the angst.
However...
Her suspense books do give me pause because I'm kinda squeamish. And LH will kill off characters you might like (just a word of warning). I also hate being in the villain's head space. Here we get treated to short bouts of psycho nutbars POV every couple chapters.
I'm listening to the audiobook so I just fast forward a couple minutes.
Jaine and her 4 friends write a silly list of what makes up their ideal/perfect man.
The 'LIST' goes viral (before viral was a thing) and next thing you know they are on Good Morning America talking about it.
But the list also triggers the mania of killer.
And who can help? Two of the friends are single and live alone, and the other 2 lose their significant others because their widdle feelings got hurt over the 'LIST'. Essentially leaving them all vulnerable.
But Jaine's next door neighbour Sam, turns out to be a detective. This is the guy she doesn't get a long with and who she thought was a drunken bum for the first few weeks she lived there.
I loved Sam and Jaine's witty dialogue and dynamic chemistry. They felt like peanut butter on toast, or coffee and cream. All the side characters were fabulous, even the ones that were annoying.
I loved the scene near the start of their relationship where Sam's in his kitchen naked at night with the lights on and the curtains open. SOoooo of course Jaine had to call him to tell him to close his curtains... while she stood there and enjoyed the view. (snicker)
The killer's identity kept me guessing for most of the book.
Safety is good
Violent safety is OK
Even her books that I don't like, are fun to revisit for the angst.
However...
Her suspense books do give me pause because I'm kinda squeamish. And LH will kill off characters you might like (just a word of warning). I also hate being in the villain's head space. Here we get treated to short bouts of psycho nutbars POV every couple chapters.
I'm listening to the audiobook so I just fast forward a couple minutes.
Jaine and her 4 friends write a silly list of what makes up their ideal/perfect man.
The 'LIST' goes viral (before viral was a thing) and next thing you know they are on Good Morning America talking about it.
But the list also triggers the mania of killer.
And who can help? Two of the friends are single and live alone, and the other 2 lose their significant others because their widdle feelings got hurt over the 'LIST'. Essentially leaving them all vulnerable.
But Jaine's next door neighbour Sam, turns out to be a detective. This is the guy she doesn't get a long with and who she thought was a drunken bum for the first few weeks she lived there.
I loved Sam and Jaine's witty dialogue and dynamic chemistry. They felt like peanut butter on toast, or coffee and cream. All the side characters were fabulous, even the ones that were annoying.
I loved the scene near the start of their relationship where Sam's in his kitchen naked at night with the lights on and the curtains open. SOoooo of course Jaine had to call him to tell him to close his curtains... while she stood there and enjoyed the view. (snicker)
The killer's identity kept me guessing for most of the book.
Safety is good
Spoiler
No deets on Sam's dating history except he was married when he was younger and it wasn't true love. Jaine had 3 separate failed engagements but she's only mid 20s. But they weren't love either. Nobody for either in the last few months at leastViolent safety is OK
Spoiler
it's a serial killer story so it has creepy stuff, but the violence isn't described in gory detail. Just enough to understand what happened. But there was some sexual violence alluded to.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Will won’t regret reading this book!
An oldie but a goodie! I woke up yesterday really needing fluff. Mission accomplished, because this was fluffy fun. Jaine has some of the best lines I've ever read in a book :)
interesting read! i liked the friendship between the girls & the cute banter-y romance between the cop & the mc. but i found the thriller aspect a lil lacking, since they didn’t spend enough time in my opinion discussing the aftermath of the murders. like “oh, one more bestfriend of mine died, so sad, lemme go make my wedding plans to the guy ive known for a week.” bruh
This would have been better if Nevertheless, I enjoyed myself and, against my better judgment, read late into the night trying to finish this. I was surprised that it took so long for the murdering to begin and kickstart the non-romance side of the plot, but it definitely worked.
Spoiler
there was no instalove (engaged in a week? I'm sorry, I just don't buy it) and I was far enough along in my psychology major to know whether the psychology of the killer was accurate.
I really enjoyed the beginning, mostly the arguing between Jaine and Sam. After the introduction of the psycho killer it wasn't as enjoyable, mostly because of stupid/irritating mistakes people made allowing the killer to continue killing. 3.5 stars