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A review by arimireads
The Problem With Perfect by Philip William Stover
Look, I’m not saying The Problem with Perfect is a bad book. I’m just saying that if it were a person, it would be that one annoyingly accomplished student in your seminar who always has a 12-step plan for success and somehow manages to look effortlessly put together at 9 AM. You admire them, you kind of hate them, and yet you also secretly want to be them.
The book itself is, well, fine. The plot moves along at a decent pace, the characters are engaging enough, and there are moments of genuine insight. But there’s also something a bit too polished about it, like a perfectly curated Instagram feed that makes you question every life decision you’ve ever made.
Now, onto the romance—because obviously, what is literary escapism without a bit of yearning and emotional damage? The main couple has that will-they-won’t-they energy, but in a way that sometimes feels more like why-are-you-two-like-this. There’s tension, misunderstandings, deep conversations that would never happen in real life, and just enough mutual pining to keep me invested. But at times, their relationship development feels a bit too constructed, as if a relationship therapist moonlighting as an author mapped out each stage with a flowchart titled "How to Manufacture Emotional Growth."
There are, of course, swoon-worthy moments that had me aggressively highlighting my Chromebook screen like I was preparing for a literature exam, but there were also scenes where I wanted to reach into the book, shake both characters, and yell JUST COMMUNICATE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Their emotional obstacles feel real, but also weirdly over-engineered—like, yes, people have baggage, but does it always have to be this thematically symmetrical?
Final verdict: enjoyable, thought-provoking, but a little too neat and polished for its own good. If you like books that make you reflect on your own existence while still being entertaining, this is worth a read. If you prefer to avoid existential crises in your free time, maybe stick with something a little messier.
A hot mess. It is not up for negotiation. Would I read this again- absolutely not- but would I read other books of similar stories? Absolutely. Would I read other books by this author? Absolutely.
The book itself is, well, fine. The plot moves along at a decent pace, the characters are engaging enough, and there are moments of genuine insight. But there’s also something a bit too polished about it, like a perfectly curated Instagram feed that makes you question every life decision you’ve ever made.
Now, onto the romance—because obviously, what is literary escapism without a bit of yearning and emotional damage? The main couple has that will-they-won’t-they energy, but in a way that sometimes feels more like why-are-you-two-like-this. There’s tension, misunderstandings, deep conversations that would never happen in real life, and just enough mutual pining to keep me invested. But at times, their relationship development feels a bit too constructed, as if a relationship therapist moonlighting as an author mapped out each stage with a flowchart titled "How to Manufacture Emotional Growth."
There are, of course, swoon-worthy moments that had me aggressively highlighting my Chromebook screen like I was preparing for a literature exam, but there were also scenes where I wanted to reach into the book, shake both characters, and yell JUST COMMUNICATE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Their emotional obstacles feel real, but also weirdly over-engineered—like, yes, people have baggage, but does it always have to be this thematically symmetrical?
Final verdict: enjoyable, thought-provoking, but a little too neat and polished for its own good. If you like books that make you reflect on your own existence while still being entertaining, this is worth a read. If you prefer to avoid existential crises in your free time, maybe stick with something a little messier.
A hot mess. It is not up for negotiation. Would I read this again- absolutely not- but would I read other books of similar stories? Absolutely. Would I read other books by this author? Absolutely.