Reviews - The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist

357 reviews for:

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist

Sophie Gonzales

3.47 AVERAGE

dnndavie's review against another edition

2.0

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

krin's review against another edition

3.25

The was a very rough start for me. Soooo much introspection and exposition. And the main POV character was not working for me (much teenage dramatics). I ended up listening to the audio of this book and if I hadn't sped it up super fast, I would have DNFed around 12%. But I thought I should see how it played out once the first dramatic milestone hit and in the end it was cute and fun enough that I don't regret listening to it. If you are looking for a YA book with very light fantasy, it's a quick and easy read.

I received a digital Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

(While I am not withholding my review, I would like to draw attention to the @readersforaccountability campaign for a response from St. Martin's Press about concerns they have raised.)

mackenzieduric's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing 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

sophia_734's review

3.0

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rach's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-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

“Another part of me was relieved, and felt lighter, because I’d figured out an important truth about myself. And I love that truth, because it’s me. Sometimes, you really just need to say scary truths out loud to someone you trust.”

In some respects, this story is a romance. There’s a best friends to “enemies” to finally being honestly in love relationship arc, and it’s just as sweet as you can imagine (other than the times you want to punch them because they suck at communication and keep hurting one another because they assume the other couldn’t possibly like them back). In addition to romance, though, this story is about all relationships, the need we have as humans to be deeply connected to one another, to feel loved and seen, and to have people you can trust.

I don’t know exactly where Ivy’s fear of abandonment comes from, since her parents are perhaps a little too involved in her life, but I sense it stems a little from her difficulty in connecting with people she doesn’t seem to have things in common with. When you only have a friend or two, it can be natural to fear that someday even that friend might leave you, too, especially if you suspect they were only friends with you because it was convenient (say, you grew up across the street from one another). So instead of holding tight to the person you love the most, you end up pushing them away before they can leave you, as if that will somehow soften the blow of being alone.

Oh, and add in all the angst of growing up, the queer confusion of having crushes on your friends and not knowing if they like you back, and the fear that you might trust the wrong person with your true self and be betrayed. Even though I hate Ivy and Mack’s fights and separation, I can see how it happened, especially when emotions are heightened and feelings were vulnerable. Even without their romantic feelings for one another, it’s hard to avoid jealousy when your best friend seems to have found a new person to hang out with, someone they get along more naturally with.

I loved Henry, not just because it’s awesome to see aro/ace representation, but because he came into Ivy’s life at a time they both needed some extra support. Ivy needed someone who didn’t make her feel like her interests were stupid, someone to show her there were people in the world who would love her for herself. Henry needed someone who he could be comfortable being himself around, with no expectations. He brought the fun, humor, and real talk when it was most needed, and had Ivy’s back when she needed to vent.

And luckily, Ivy somehow brought some magic intervention into their lives when she wish-summoned the fanfic version of her favorite fictional character into their lives. I felt a little sad for Weston sometimes because he was sort of his own person but not really. He served as both a symbol of what Ivy and Mack thought Ivy wanted in her perfect match, but also a mirror to show them how terrible things are when they aren’t real or earned. I’d almost say it was one big dream sequences except if it was, it was shared by 3 people, haha. In the end, Weston fades out of their lives as quickly as he appeared, but he was essential in forcing them each to be brave in their honesty with one another.

And I have to mention the sweetest scene, at the mall at the end where Ivy and Mack both admit to having secret crushes on one another. Aka what we all knew the whole time. So satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book, which is out now!

meldelizia's review

5.0

This was cute and fun and full of queer rep in the way I have come to expect from Sophie Gonzales and I absolutely loved it.
Imagine if your favorite fictional character came to life and played out all of your fanfic fantasies??? So good.

catreadthat's review

3.0

The first Sophie Gonzales book I didn't love... to be clear, I am a HUGE Sophie Gonzales fan, I've loved all her previous books. But this one... did not hit for me. I definitely didn't expect how zany this one would be -- Ivy loves to write fan fic about her favorite tv show, H-MAD and wakes up one day after a thunderstorm and the main character from H-MAD, Weston, shows up the next day and is in love with her. Ivy is forced to reunite with her former best friend Mack and her current best friend Henry to try and figure out how her fan fiction has come to life. It's written in two timelines -- the past before Ivy and Mack fought and friend broke up and the status quo. The jumping between the two timelines isn't seamless. And the conflict between Ivy and Mack is largely based on miscommunication -- which can really work as a YA trope (bc what high schooler is good at communicating) but it bordered on the extreme in this one.

I could see other people really liking this one. I wasn't expecting the heavy fantasy themes in what appeared to be a normal YA book and could never quite recover. But just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it isn't for you!