Perfect

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful story, but.....
Review: I must say, I enjoyed Perfect very, very, very, VERY much for the first, oh - third of it. When I started it I never wanted to put it down, but I did have to sleep at night and go to work the next day. HOWEVER - I agree with one other reviewer who loses interest in romance books the minute the hero & heroine "get together" and/or profess their love for one another early on, which happened by the first third of Perfect. Under the circumstances of this story's particular plotline, it was believeable, but I was just a little disappointed. I like for the characters to truly know one another before anything really romantic happens. Now, that issue aside, I also agree with more than one reviewer who commented about a few missing characters near the end of this novel - Dominic Sandini for one, and Paul Richardson for another. I have to admit, I didn't really miss either one, because I was so caught up with the dramatics in the last 100 or so pages, but yes, now that they remind me, they both should have been mentioned again. A resolution to Paul's character was sorely lacking (it's like no one cared that he was the one who actually played the biggest part in bringing Julie and Zack together in the end). Dominic needed to be mentioned simply because he was so important to Zack in prison. I mean, the man was his best friend for five long years, and helped him escape for crying out loud! But the one character whom none of these reviews have mentioned (since 2/2002 at least) is Julie's original boyfriend, Greg. Or was is Glen, or Doug? Heck, I can't even remember his name and I finished reading the book 45 minutes ago! Now, don't you find something a little strange about a storyline that doesn't even mention the man Julie was thinking about MARRYING when she was kidnapped by Zack? Come on, not a mention of this man after she returned home to the great relief of her entire family - the entire TOWN, actually! Even though he lived in another state at the time - not a phone call, not a breath of word from this boyfriend Greg (I had to consult the book for his actual name). Don't you assume he at least wondered how she was after being held hostage by a deranged killer for a couple of weeks? Hmmmm.... I am so shocked that none of the editors caught that nor any of the reviews I read mentioned him. One other thing I found a little disturbing: Julie was so ready to drop her entire life (the wonderful, fulfilling life her adoptive family had selflessy given her when she was 11 and which she had vowed to never take for granted) and flee off to be with Zack in some far-away, unknown location, knowing there was a good chance she would never see any of her friends or family ever again, after only THREE weeks of separation from Zack? I would have really believed it more if the timeline had been stretched out A LOT more, like say, 6 months or a year. Three weeks is just too soon, and in my opinion, Julie would have had to think about it a great deal more before deciding to just disappear from the face of the earth for this man! If it weren't for the glaring character omissions mentioned before, and the fact that yes, I too agree that Julie was a LITTLE bit over-the-top of a goody-two-shoes, this book would have been a lot closer to being "perfect"!

Rating:
Summary: best of the best
Review: I've read thousands of books and this is by far one of the best if not the best. Judith Mcnaught is an amazing writer. If you haven't read Paradise read it first. Just when you think Paradise is one of the greatest reads, Perfect then blows you away. Definately a page turner which is very important to me. If a book doesn't grasp me in the first two chapters I don't even finish it. I really like how Mcnaught includes the problem of illiteracy in the book. I think it is wonderful how she makes us see what a problem it is and how it greatley effects peoples lives in ways that we "readers" couldn't imagine.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect is definitely Perfect
Review: I bought this book at a yard sale. It was the hardcover and looked brand new. However, I wasn't sure if I would like it. Boy, was I wrong. I couldn't put it down I soon as I started page 1. In the past 4 months that I have it I have read it 5 times straight, and many times I have read my most favorite parts. I have let some of my friends read it, and they absolutely love it.
Zack is my favorite male character ever written. Once I was asked who would I marry if I could marry any fiction character, and I picked Zack without a doubt. He is so sexy, and wonderful, every women's dream. And the good thing is, he makes mistakes too, (the whole 3 minutes thing) and that makes him sooooo believable. But he totally redeems himself with the apologies and THAT letter!!!
Julie is a great character too, however, I can't stand her whole Mexico City mistake. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?????? I can't stand that part, she was so stupid.
On top of everything, the book holds a valuable lesson. We should help people who can't read this book like we can, 'cause this book is PERFECT!
This book is the greatest I have ever read. I would recommend this for anyone.

Read Paradise if you read Perfect. It's the story of Matthew Farrell and his wife Meredith before Perfect. It's a good book, however, I like Perfect better.