Thursday, October 24, 2013

ARC Review: The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins

The Perfect Match
Author: Kristan Higgins
Publication: Harlequin HQN (October 29, 2013)

Description: What if the perfect match is a perfect surprise? 

Honor Holland has just been unceremoniously rejected by her lifelong crush. And now—a mere three weeks later—Mr. Perfect is engaged to her best friend. But resilient, reliable Honor is going to pick herself up, dust herself off and get back out there…or she would if dating in Manningsport, New York, population 715, wasn't easier said than done.

Charming, handsome British professor Tom Barlow just wants to do right by his unofficial stepson, Charlie, but his visa is about to expire. Now Tom must either get a green card or leave the States—and leave Charlie behind.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Honor agrees to help Tom with a marriage of convenience—and make her ex jealous in the process. But juggling a fiancé, hiding out from her former best friend and managing her job at the family vineyard isn't easy. And as sparks start to fly between Honor and Tom, they might discover that their pretend relationship is far too perfect to be anything but true love….


My Thoughts: Honor Holland has always been the steady, sensible one. She isn't like her battling grandparents or her older sister whose relationship with her husband is graphically embarassing to Honor. She has had a long-term relationship with Brogan that he sees as friends with benefits. When she proposes to him, he shoots her down. Even worse, her best friend - now former best friend - is there to pick up the pieces and she and Brogan quickly become engaged.

Meanwhile, Tom Brogan is trying to keep up a relationship with his almost stepson Charlie. His fiance died before they could be married and Charlie has blamed Tom. Charlie is living with his grandparents who are very reluctant guardians. But Tom is British and his work visa is going to expire. A marriage to an American citizen would let him stay. 

Honor needs a relationship to salvage her pride and Tom needs a marriage to stay near the boy he loves. The only problem is that neither one is able to deal with that kind of relationship. Honor falls in love with him but Tom doesn't want to fall in love. His mother abandoned him when he was a child, his fiance was having an affair on the side with her ex-husband, and Charlie seems to hate him. Tom is afraid that opening himself up to loving Honor will only give him one more chance to fail at relationships. 

I really liked this story because of the strong relationships between all the Hollands. And I liked the open-heartedness that welcomed Tom and Charlie into their family. The characters are nicely quirky and engaging. The romance between Tom and Honor was a very realistic one about two people who start out with different goals and manage to form a strong relationship anyway.

This was a very nice romance. I recommend it. 

Favorite Quote:
She wanted to be special to someone. She wanted a man's face to light up when he saw her. She wanted a man to kiss her like his heart would stop if she didn't.
I got this eARC from a publicist who sent me the NetGalley link. You can buy your copy here.

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