There are two sides to every story and I wouldn’t trade our sides for anything.
Present Perfect was one of those emotional reads that captivated me from the start yet gutted me. Intense, frustrating, heartbreaking and beautiful. So when I heard that we were getting a book from Noah’s POV, I jumped at the chance of being in his head. Even though I knew it would gut me again, I couldn’t pass it up.
Noah has one person in his life who he’s closer to than anyone else. His best friend since birth, his Tweet, his Amanda. Over time, his feelings for her start to change. He went from loving her as a friend to loving her as something more.
Amanda doesn’t seem like the type of girl who is easy to love. But to Noah, loving her comes as natural as breathing. Amanda is the type of girl who wants everything perfect. But Amanda believes she is anything but. She has a lot of self esteem issues. It’s Noah’s mission to make her feel deserving. I love young Noah. Noah loves Amanda whole heartedly. He wants her to feel special, to see herself like he sees her. Reading their first date/kiss from his perspective was one of my favorite scenes of the book. The effort Noah put in was fantastic.
She had gotten her Sixteen Candles moment and I was her Jake.
All the readers of Present Perfect know the gist here... after that first kiss, things sort of got crazy for these best friends. Dating other people, jealousy, wanting to be together but not being able to... It’s stressful. It’s frustrating. It’s hard to read. What surprised me was how upset I got with Noah at times. It was easy to understand where he was coming from, but at the same time, there were a lot of scenes that were hard for me to stomach. Noah always wants Tweet, but if she won’t let them be together...
I needed to feel warm lips pressed against mine. I needed to feel wanted by someone, even if it was the wrong one. With the dim light of the front porch and her dark hair, the girl in front of me could pass for my girl.
So much of this story you will want to scream at these characters. Scream at Amanda that she can be with Noah. That she is perfect for him. Noah and those damn ‘B’s. I couldn’t take it. I get that you can only be pushed away so much before you break, but still. It’s so hard to read about. Noah doing his thing, Amanda never believing she is good enough for him. It’s not easy. He loves her so much, but no matter what he says or does he can't seem to get it through her head. She may not be perfect, but she's perfect for him.
Tweet and Noah are one of those couples that as much as they stressed me out, I’ve always rooted for. Best friends to lovers stories are my favorite, and even though these two have more than their fair share of bumps in the road, they deserve the love they get in the end. They go through enough, put each other through enough, all you want is for them to be happy together. After reading both sides of the story and seeing how much love and devotion they each have for each other, it’s really a beautiful thing.
No amount of pushing away or denial would ever change the fact that we were put on this earth to be together.
Presently Perfect is an exceptional, yet insanely difficult to read love story. Neither character is perfect, in fact they are both very flawed. But their story is perfection. It’s memorable. It’s a story I couldn’t forget even if I wanted to. Something that unforgettable and something that evokes such strong emotions in me deserves 5 stars. The writing is fantastic and I loved all the new material. There is a lot that is the same story from Noah’s perspective, but there is still a good amount of new stuff that you didn’t see in book one.
If you are a fan of the first book, I highly recommend picking this one up. The book ended in a great way. I love Tweet and Noah’s emotional, heart-shattering and beautiful journey. These two characters will always hold a special place in my heart.
SYNOPSIS:
Perfection is an
illusion fueled by the perception of others.
****
Tweet was my heart, my soul, and my
purpose.
She was my
everything.
Neither of us were
perfect. We both made mistakes. Looking back, that was okay, because every
choice brought us to where we needed to be at the time we needed to be there.
The one constant, our love and friendship.
There are two sides
to every story and I wouldn’t trade our sides for anything in the world.
Here's
the GR link for Presently Perfect
EXCERPT:
I was standing one step
below Tweet when she broke free from Brad, twisting her body in my direction. I
let go of her other wrist and caught her as she fell toward me. Her arms
wrapped around my neck as I grabbed hold of her hips, trying to keep her
steady.
Tweet’s head tilted back
as she clung to me. “Look, Brad! It’s Noah! My Noah!” Her voice was
ear-splittingly high. “He’s so sweet and sexy. He’s swexy. He licked my thigh
under my parents’ dinner table.” She straightened her head, bringing her forehead
to rest on mine. The look in her eyes had turned smoldering, her voice husky
when she asked, “You remember licking me, Noah?”
We
had a huge fight just a little over an hour ago and now she was completely
wasted; her clothes were rumpled, she had pieces of sand stuck to her face, her
hair was a tangled windblown mess, and she reeked of tequila and the ocean. But
she was still the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on. My
expression teetered from snarling at the Smurffucker to wanting to smile at
Tweet.
God, even drunk she’s adorable.
I
was either the biggest idiot known to mankind or so beyond in love with this
girl that all my common sense and self-preservation got obliterated when I was
around her. My heart was pounding against my chest while the temperature in the
room soared. The tension in my muscles was beginning to disappear and I was
getting lost in teal eyes. I needed some distance.
My
hands moved to Tweet’s shoulders and I helped her stand upright. “I’m taking
you home.”
“But
Brad was going to do some things to me on purpose. I don’t know what, but I’m
having fun. Hey! You want to come with us?” she asked, hooking her arm around
mine.
My
gaze zeroed in on Brad glaring down at me, his jaw clenched tight. My priority
was to get Tweet home safe. I’d deal with this asshole later.
I
snaked my arm around Tweet’s waist and led her down the steps. She was abruptly
yanked away from me. I whipped around and saw Brad clutching Tweet’s arm.
“Haven’t
you done enough to her tonight? She’s having a great time with me, so get your
fucking hands off of her,” he growled.
Tweet
smiled up at him, then turned to me, and said, “I really am having fun. He’s
not a Smurffucker at all.”
Glaring
at Brad, I grabbed Tweet’s hand, and led her toward the front door. We had
taken two steps when I felt her being tugged away from me again. I let go of
her hand, walked over to Brad, and punched him in the stomach. His hand fell
from Tweet as he doubled over and dropped to the floor. I picked up Tweet,
tossed her over my shoulder, and finally headed out uninterrupted.
Just
before reaching the front door Tweet grabbed the waistband of my pants, lifting
herself up slightly, and yelled, “Bye-bye, Brad! Thanks! Maybe you can lick my
thigh next time! Bye-bye!”
Once
we were at my truck, I lowered Tweet off my shoulder until her feet touched the
ground. Her eyes struggled to stay opened, losing the battle, right before she
passed out. I wrapped my arm around her waist, holding her body against mine
while I unlocked my truck. I placed her in the seat and leaned over to fasten
her in. The click of the seatbelt caused her to stir. Reaching my hand up to
her face, my thumb brushed away the dusting of sand that clung to her cheek.
Her
eyes stayed closed as a lazy grin slowly appeared across her pink lips.
“Mmmm…,” she moaned. “Noah.” She sounded breathy.
“Yeah,
Tweet?”
“You’re
my knight in plastic armor.”
A
slight chuckle escaped me as I remembered our Halloween costumes from when we
were six years old.
“You
always take care of me and make sure I have candy,” she said, her voice
trailing off.
I
stared at her for several seconds, simply enjoying the view. As I inched away
from her, she shifted in the seat.
Another
slight moan flowed over her lips, and she whispered, “I love you Noah.”
I
knew she wouldn’t remember saying those words to me tomorrow, but that didn’t
matter. The only thing that counted was that for the first time she let go of
her heart, her head, and allowed herself to love me. There was nothing better
than when the girl of your dreams made all of yours come true.
AUTHOR
BIO:
was born and raised in Charleston, SC.
She attended Winthrop University and graduated with a major in
Theater. While at school she began
writing one-act plays, which she later produced. Her debut novel, Present
Perfect, landed on Amazon's Best Seller List and appeared on many "Best
Reads of 2013" Book Blogs. The novel won Best Book at the 2014 Indie
Romance Convention Awards. The second book from The Perfect series, Past
Imperfect, was published in February of 2014 and hit many Top 100 category
lists on Amazon
AUTHOR LINKS:
Website - http://alisongbailey.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AlisonGBaileyAuthor
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlisonGBailey1
Instagram - http://instagram.com/alisongbailey
PURCHASE LINKS:
Present Perfect (Book #1)
Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/km2b3bn
Smashwords - http://tinyurl.com/lttkba4
Past Imperfect (Book #2)
Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/pumtvb8
BLOG TOUR HOSTED BY:
Thank you for being a part of my tour. The post looks great.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!
Alison