Book Review — Present Perfect by Alison G. Bailey

“I’ve been unsure about many things in my life except for one thing, that I have always loved him. Every single minute of every single day that I have been on this earth, my heart has belonged to him.”

• Buy PRESENT PERFECT (Kindle) 
• Buy PRESENT PERFECT (Paperback)

5+ stars!! One of my favorites of the year!!!

Intensely passionate and deeply heart felt, Present Perfect blew me away with the incredible depth of emotion it conveyed. This is a must-read!!

Guys, I really mean it when I say that this book was just phenomenal!! It made me feel with every part of my heart and I really truly mean feel. It was everything. Amazing. Breathtaking. Heartbreaking. Original. Intense. Once you start reading, I promise you will not be able to put it down!

It’s a standalone romance and I read it in one emotionally charged sitting. I knew from the start that this book was going to rip my heart out and boy did it ever! Something about it just grabbed at me. I was so fully connected to every single word.

You know, this is why I love new indie books. Out of nowhere, gems like this just appear. These gorgeous, heartfelt, intensely emotional gems that end up owning my heart. I love it!

The story is brilliantly put together and perfectly paced. It flowed effortlessly. The writing was captivating and utterly absorbing. It’s an emotional roller coaster from start to finish. It’ll make you laugh and cry and feel with your whole heart. It’ll shatter your heart and put it back together. But it’s worth every tear because this is the story of a love that survived everything. I highly recommend it!

If you don’t want to know any more, then you can just grab a copy here and start but if you want more details about the book, read on 🙂

Starting early in her childhood, Amanda spent her whole life striving for perfection. She grew up living under the shadow of her older sister – never quite measuring up in the eyes of her parents, teachers and friends and yet always wishing she could. But the one thing she had was Noah, her best friend, and he truly was her whole world.

“Noah had always been my best friend, my partner in crime, my protector, my soul mate, the love of my life. My everything. I may not have gotten the beauty, intelligence or talent, but I got Noah Stewart, the one “perfect” thing I could claim as mine and I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world.”

Even when they were children, their connection and bond was so strong.

“Thank you, Noah.” I whispered.
“For what?” He said into my hair.
“For taking care of me.”
Wiping his eyes, he sat back on the bed…
“I promise, I won’t let anything bad happen to you again.”

She’d always felt close to him but one day something changed and she realized that what she felt was love. Real love – not just ‘friend’ love. It was just one of those things in life that just felt “right”. But since she’d never felt like she could be good enough, she didn’t feel perfect enough to be his girl and so she held back and kept their friendship from developing further.

“He was my best friend and I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that. I had to keep telling myself that nothing could ever happen between us.”

I’m scared to say more though because I don’t want to give anything away. It started out when Noah and Amanda were kids and then built their story in layers of detail and emotion that showed you the foundation of their relationship.

My heart overflowed with love for Noah. Holy wow was this guy ever amazing! He is now one of my all-time favorite book boyfriends!

The depth to which he cared for Amanda and was protective of her was just heart wrenching and impossible not to feel. I loved how open he was with her and the way he never held back his feelings. He knew she wasn’t ready but he still opened his heart to her over and over again. Constantly offering it to her, always waiting to see if she was ready.

“You’re the first girl I’ve ever noticed and the last girl I’ll ever notice.”

His nose skimmed across my cheek up to my temple as he whispered, “Stop pushing me away.”

My heart broke for Amanda and for how little self worth the people in her life who were supposed to have supported her had instilled. Literally no person ever made her feel like anything more than average at best and since she saw Noah as this shining beacon of perfection, she just never felt like she could measure up. It was utterly heart breaking and the ripple effect throughout their lives was devastating. But at the same time, I understood why she couldn’t give in and let them be more than friends. She hadn’t yet learned to love herself, and because of that, she wasn’t yet able to allow someone else to love her despite the fact that she loved him with all her heart and soul. It was just tragic to see such a wonderful person brought down so low.

“I would never love anyone except Noah. He was the love of my life, my soul mate. No one would ever replace him.”

Scene after scene broke my heart as she kept pushing him away despite the fact that they were both so fucking in love with each other!!! It just killed me. I so was frustrated with Amanda but at the same time, I totally understood where she was coming from. It just hurt. A-fucking-lot.

“Noah, why did you ask me here tonight?” …
His eyes stayed focused on the ground as he whispered, “I miss you.”

“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.”

“There hasn’t been a day in my life that I haven’t loved you. I just wish you would let me love you.”

This book put me through the  ringer. My heart was in my throat nearly the entire time I read. I couldn’t breath properly. The intensity of what I was feeling consumed me. I’d be smiling one minute and crying the next. I went through every possible emotion. It made me feel everything. All at once.

There were moments that made me want to scream at the characters and then just want to hug them. I was infuriated, heart broken, in love, mad, happy, sad, shocked, angry, relieved… totally connected. I loved these characters SO much and my emotions were just in a constant state of overdrive as I kept hoping, wishing, praying with all my heart that they’d just be all right.

“What are we going to do, Tweet?”
“I need you in my life.”
“I need you in mine, too.”
“Be my friend,” I said.
“Always.”

The author deserves total bonus points for originality because this book has a HUGE twist in it. 72% and just BAM!!! It hit me. I went ice cold. Numb. Beyond emotion. I never saw it coming. Never. Not in a million years. And I can almost certainly guarantee that whatever it is you’re guessing it is, that’s probably not it.

I loved that it wasn’t a fairy tale. Life happened. Life was gritty, real and cruel at times. It was merciless and the one lasting thing throughout it all was love.

This is a story of an everlasting friendship, a love, and an unbreakable bond of emotional attachment that surpassed and survived everything life threw at it.

There is a happy ending, guys. It comes at the end of a long, hard journey but it is worth every bit of heart ache and every tear shed. I promise.

This book leaves you with the message to live in the moment. The present is perfect. Don’t waste a single second because every moment is precious. And don’t be afraid to love. Love is stronger than anything.

I felt a similar kind of intensity while reading as I did from books like Thoughtless, The Opportunist and Sweet Thing. It made me care so deeply and feel so completely. It owned my heart and honestly, still does.

For a long time after I finished it, I just kept running scenes from various parts of the book over and over in my head – rethinking, reliving… I think that’s the sign of a great story: when you’re done the book, but the story keeps on playing in your head.

I’m floored that this is a debut novel. It was everything I could want in a book.

Phenomenal. Breathtaking. Intense.!! 

Highly recommended! This one is going on my favorites shelf!

Rating: 5+ stars! Standalone romance. 

• Buy PRESENT PERFECT (Kindle)
• Buy PRESENT PERFECT (Paperback)

My casting:

• Noah
• Amanda