Publish Date: July 25th
How I got this book: NetGalley
A Life Less…Hers
Grace Mills craves being perfect almost as much as she craves raspberry scones. In fact, her life would be perfect if only she could lose ten more pounds, if only the pastry café she co-owns with her sister would turn a profit, if only the hottest guy at the gym would look her way…And then “if only” comes true. Grace is suddenly straddling two lives: an alternate reality where she’s a size two, weathergirl celebrity and being chased by the hot guy. Only Mr. Gorgeous isn’t very nice.
In her other life, she’s starting to realize her sister is less than happy running the family café, and hunky Carlos, the gym’s janitor, seems to have a secret crush on her. Maybe there’s more to him than meets the eye…
Grace is living two lives and it’s beginning to cost her. Is there a way to pick one…that’s perfect?
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I loved Fichera’s first Carina Press historical, Captive Spirit, and when I found out she was writing a contemporary… I was psyched!
Grace Mills is frustrated with herself. Her body isn’t perfect, the man she is in love with hasn’t noticed her, and her wonderful sister is starting to pull away. When a fluke run on the new treadmill at the gym sends her into a new life, she wonders which life really is “perfect.” As Grace, she doesn’t have the perfect body or ideal boyfriend. But she does have a job she loves, a sister she can’t live without, and a guy who makes her heart beat faster than she ever imagined.
On the other hand as Callie she is sexy and has the man she thinks she wants, but nothing else. When she tries to stay as Callie, she realizes that she thinks is perfect isn’t even close, but will it be too late for her to get back to the life she wants?
Now, I am notoriously weary with books that constantly flips POVs, and when I saw that this book does just that, I worried that I was going to hate it. And I really didn’t want to hate it, because I thought it had a great premise. But, I have to say I didn’t hate this one. Although it started slow for me, it picked up as it kept going and did pull me in despite the changes in POV.
I liked Grace despite her materialistic and somewhat shallow beginning. She was kind, had a huge heart, and despite the curve balls that life threw at her, she was willing to give up so much to make the others in her life happy. I really liked that about her. When she chose to live as Callie, thinking she was helping a loved one, it spoke to me of strong family bonds, and I love when a book can do that.
Grace’s relationship with Carlos was actually a small portion of the plot, but I liked how it was innocent, understated, and yet still felt real and believable. While I think they might have declared their love just a little too prematurely, there was still something sweet and innocent about it. While Grace was stuck as Callie and in her relationship with Max, there were times I felt that part of the story was dragging on. It was painfully obvious that Max was a jerk, and their scenes together didn’t feel like it was necessarily moving the story forward.
All in all, I found myself really enjoying the second half of the book, especially once things picked up and started moving forward. I enjoyed Grace and even her shenanigans as Callie. While the romance wasn’t as strong as an element as I would have hoped, I still enjoyed Grace and Carlos together.
I give Craving Perfect a C+
