Review: “Imperfect”
I read and reviewed the first in the series “Perfect” and it ended on a cliffhanger, so I decided to keep reading. Both books came to me via a book club.
The Premise
Now pregnant with FBI agent Kieran’s baby and engaged to be married to him, Seryna’s life has taken an unexpected turn. With her brother in jail, things have settled down a bit, and Seryna is looking forward to married life and becoming a mother. When Kieran whisks her off to an engagement trip in the British Virgin Islands that turns into a wedding, life could not be more perfect. That is, until he suddenly disappears at the hands of kidnappers. Forced to overcome her worry and grief over his absence, Seryna focuses on her studies and starts college. There, she meets Ryder and they become fast friends — and perhaps, much more. Can she leave the memory of Kieran behind?
The Pros
Again, the descriptions are where this author’s talent shines through. Nature scenes make you feel as if you are there in the mountains and on the beach, and I loved these parts. The characters are well developed — from her bubbly friends to Kieran’s bossy sister and aloof parents, and even the nefarious characters are nicely crafted. The female friendships make it fun and enjoyable to read, as we can easily picture these young girls being thrilled to experience the lap of luxury, cute boys, and all the possibilities of the future opening up to them. The sex scenes are also titillating (though at times oddly placed), if that’s what you’re looking for — as I expected it, this time around, I’ll put it in the “Pro” column!
The Cons
My qualms with this second book were similar to the first one. The steady pace that was building took too long to get to the height of the action — easily, 10 or more chapters could have been cut from the front end of the book, because the real tension doesn’t begin until Kieran is kidnapped (I think this was in Chapter 27 or 28, thereabouts). Then, when it finally does get there, it falls flat — it’s over and done with quickly… then there’s a flash of action later down which also happens really quickly and is followed by a lot of dialogue explaining what happened.
I also felt like a lot of the novel’s real estate seemed to be dedicated to Seryna’s jealousy over other women admiring Kieran and not believing in their love because she was so young. Finally, I really, really, really, REALLY wish we had seen things from Kieran’s viewpoint while he was captured, rather than told way afterwards. This would have made for a much more enjoyable, tense read.
Conclusion
I took a couple of months to get to the second book, but I am glad I got there in the end and finished their love story. Again, I’m conflicted about not really “liking” the main character in these two novels (because she claimed to be strong and independent and loyal, but her actions showed otherwise), but then that’s not always necessary for a novel, and we are all human with these traits and self-delusions. I’m also conflicted because I absolutely love some aspects of the writing, despite not being totally sold on the books. The writing talent for description is what kept me coming back.
I would love to read more by the author, but the erotic suspense genre didn’t meet all my expectations — there isn’t a lot of “suspense” and too much flowery descriptions; and for erotica, it’s well written but just feels like the talent could also be applied elsewhere. I did notice the writer also writes in other genres (fantasy) so I may check those books out. As for these, as the sex surpasses the story in both “Perfect” and “Imperfect”, I would recommend if you are in the mood for something steamy with a bit of dark flair. If you like more story, this may not be for you. I am in between both camps, so I gave this a fair rating based on that.
