KIM'S REVIEW~PRESENT PERFECT by Alison G. Bailey

I have been so undecided about reading this book for a while now. It has been in my library for some time. Not sure if it was the conflicting reviews or just that I wasn't sure this was the book I was looking for.  I was on the prowl looking for THAT book...You know the one you can't stop reading.  The one where you only get a couple hours of sleep a night before you have to get up and start your day.  Well, this was THAT book for me.  

Amanda Kelly has spent her entire life striving for perfection.  She is so consumed with feeling like she is not "perfect" enough or "worthy" enough that she has grown up obsessing over it.  She never felt like she could compete with her sister in her parents eyes...she always felt like she was a disappointment...never good enough. The only thing that she felt was "perfect" in her life was her best friend, Noah Stewart.  The bond they shared was undeniable and unbreakable.

Amanda and Noah remain the best of friends growing up. I loved how they cared for and loved one another.  They were truly best friends.  The way Noah took care of Amanda was so dang sweet.  Oh how I wish I had a Noah growing up.  He was just so tentative of her feelings and he cared deeply for her...it was so obvious  her feelings for him were just as strong.

But, when those teenage hormones come into play and feelings toward one another become more than "friendship" feelings, what to do about it has them questioning those feelings. WHAT DO THEY DO??? They hem hauled around each other...ugh...and that drove me CRAZY.  

  I wanted to kick Amanda...I wanted to pull her hair out...I wanted her to see what she was doing and what was right in front of her...a godsend was standing right in front of her...but does she...NO...she doesn't.  Noah, the beautiful person that he is can only take so much.  He loves her and it's so obvious to the reader and to the people around them...Amanda is the only one who doesn't see it because she can't get past the fact that she doesn't deserve Noah.  ughhh

"The unpredictability of life sucks. One minute you’re riding high with the wind whipping through your hair and the next minute you’re flat on your ass with a face full of gravel." 

I liked Amanda, I really did. She just really frustrated me most of the time. But, on the other hand, I could also relate to her.  I could almost see why she felt the way she did.  I cringed at a lot the choices she made and those choices made me want to jump right in there and say NO NO NO..DON'T DO IT!!! 

The experiences that Amanda endures during this book are heart wrenching...I mean cry like a baby heart wrenching.  I wanted to console her when I wasn't wanting to slap her. I know...sounds contradicting...but once you read Present Perfect you will understand what I'm saying. 

It takes a dear friend by the name of Dalton Connor to help Amanda see what she should have seen earlier on. But, this friend of hers is very special and I'm glad it played out the way it did.  Well, once I finally made it that far.

"The present’s perfect, young grasshopper, because we’re breathing, moving, laughing, crying, and are surprised when we finally meet someone we connect with. Stop living in the past and wasting your present. You need to tell Noah how you feel." ~Dalton

This is a story about friendship and everlasting love with an undeniable bond that will NEVER be broken. I'm so thrilled I came across this book in my library and that I took a chance on it. It was definitely a rockin' roller coaster ride...but one ride I'm so thankful I took.  

"I can’t lose you. You’re my everything. Not having you in my life wrecked me before, but not having you in my world would completely destroy me. My purpose is to take care of you and protect you, but there’s nothing I can do to take this away from you. I don’t know how to help you."

This book will change you...it will. This is the 2nd book that I've read that has affected me this way.  Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover was the other. Two emotional books almost back to back...Dang I'm an emotional train wreck.  

“You’ve always been my girl and always will be. No one will ever take me away from you, Tweet. You’re my heart and soul and that’s never going to change, no matter what you say.”

I have to say this...I love Noah Stewart.  He is sweet sweet PERFECTION.  Just like my RIDGE in Maybe Someday.  Wow!! I'm lucky to have read two emotional heart warming books...meaning heart warming at the end...it was gut wrenching until the end but so worth the ugly tears...so so worth it.  Read this book.  It will change you...It will.  If it doesn't, something is wrong with you.  That's only my opinion.

I give Present Perfect 5 Crazie Stars ~KIM