Well, hello there, guys! I finished this book a few days ago and I loved it so much. I am going to split this post into some categories so that you can skip to which ever part you like. Also I am going to try and keep it spoiler free, but if there are going to be some you will see a spoiler warning before it.
1. Short summary of the book
I have realised that it’s better to just put the GoodReads synopsis, rather than trying to summarise it myself, because I might not make the book justice that way.
“In Perfect on Paper: a bisexual girl who gives anonymous love advice to her classmates is hired by the hot guy to help him get his ex back. Her advice, spot on. Her love life, way off. Darcy Phillips: • Can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes―for a fee. • Uses her power for good. Most of the time. • Really cannot stand Alexander Brougham. • Has maybe not the best judgement when it comes to her best friend, Brooke…who is in love with someone else. • Does not appreciate being blackmailed. However, when Brougham catches her in the act of collecting letters from locker 89―out of which she’s been running her questionably legal, anonymous relationship advice service―that’s exactly what happens. In exchange for keeping her secret, Darcy begrudgingly agrees to become his personal dating coach―at a generous hourly rate, at least. The goal? To help him win his ex-girlfriend back. Darcy has a good reason to keep her identity secret. If word gets out that she’s behind the locker, some things she's not proud of will come to light, and there’s a good chance Brooke will never speak to her again. Okay, so all she has to do is help an entitled, bratty, (annoyingly hot) guy win over a girl who’s already fallen for him once? What could go wrong? “
2. Characters
All characters in this book were amazing and they felt like real people, which I really liked. I will only talk more in depth about Darcy’s character, since her character was the only complex one.
Darcy Phillips:
Darcy is a very relatable teen, thing that I loved, since this is a contemporary novel. She is very mature and wise, but also a fun and caring person. Darcy loves the people around her with such a fierce passion, that I find it almost impossible to not like her. She loves giving people relationship advice, hence why she started her locker business. Her relationship with Brougham is so sweet and beautiful that I enjoyed every second of it. She felt like a real person, especially when she talks to the Q&Q club about her worries about dating a guy as a bisexual girl. In conclusion, I loved her!
3. Writing style
I really liked the writing style, because it was very easy and just perfect for a contemporary novel. This is the first book that I read by Sophie and I can’t wait to buy and read more of her work. The writing style also makes the longer chapters go by really quickly.
4. Things I loved about the book
Firstly, I loved the LGBTQ+ representation in this book (we have all types of queer characters: bisexual, pansexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, aromantic and asexual, non-binary). Secondly, I really liked how complex and human Darcy’s character was and the way her relationships with other people were written. It all felt so natural. Thirdly, I really liked the romance, it was very cute and heartwarming (her and Brougham had a pretty natural evolution in their relationship and I loved so much the banter between them). Lastly, I really liked how this book follows a bisexual girl and that she doesn’t end up with a girl, because it’s totally fine to be queer and still date a person of the other sex, your sexuality is valid (never forget that!); usually, on social media, people will try to make bi people feel like they are either gay(if they are dating a person of their sex) or straight(if they are dating a person of the other sex) and that is completely not fine, and very biphobic.
5. Things I didn’t enjoy
The only thing that I would say I didn’t really like is how fast, and almost out of nowhere, the romance between Darcy and Brougham came. I wished for more (slightly) romantic interactions between them, before the first kiss (not after, because that part was done really well in my opinion). And I didn’t really like that for almost half of the book Darcy was hungover Brooke (I didn’t really like her as a character from the get go), since I wanted the actual romance to start faster. However, I can see how she is crucial to the story, so this aspect didn’t bother me that much.
6. Favorite quotes
“I swallowed, and scanned the faces staring up at me. No one looked judgy or irritated, even though it felt like such a stupid, trivial thing to bring up. The fear of passing as straight, for god's safe. "I feel like if I'm with a guy, I won't belong here properly anymore. What if I got a boyfriend? I'd feel weird bringing him to pride events, or even telling queer people I have a boyfriend. I'd feel judged.”
“For the first time, the very very first time, I really believed them. That my relationship status did not change me. And that even if other people didn't agree, every single person in this room had my back without hesitation. I was with them and they were with me and we were with each other. A community within a community within a community. No questions asked. No proof needed. No valid form of identification required. We just belonged because we belonged.”
“I used to swim a lot when I was younger because it got me out of the house, but it’s more than that now. I like how predictable it is. You put in effort, and you get results. If you train you improve.” (This isn’t really a beautiful quote, but as someone who used to swim 15 hours a week, this was really accurate to me)
7. Overall opinion
As I have mentioned, I really liked this book for a multitude of reasons and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a lighthearted contemporary romance that has amazing bisexual representation and also queer one. It is very easy to get through, and made me laugh out loud a lot of times. Overall, I gave this book a 4.5 out of 5 rating and I can’t wait to read more of Sophie Gonzales’s books.
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