Happy Friday, Everyone! I hope you all have had a great week and looking forward to a nice weekend. Today, I am reviewing Cassandra Giovanni’s newest book Flawed Perfection. I honestly was left speechless with this book. I was drawn in and taken for a ride only to be left fabulously heartbroken in the end. It was a fabulous book that I can’t wait to read the next in her series. For my full review be sure to keep reading after the book blurb. Oh, and don’t forget only a couple more days left in my big blogiversary giveaway!
Book Blurb:
Bobby Beckerson was the American All-Star hockey player–he was the spitting image of perfection to his family. Goofy, sweet and undeniably gorgeous, he had everything but the one girl he wanted: River Ahlers.
River Ahlers is successful in everything but love. She’s been in love with Adam Beckerson since they were kids. Worst of all she’s stuck right in the middle of the brothers dueling over everything and anything, and she doesn’t even know she’s the ultimate prize.
Adam Beckerson was a boy with a guitar, a smile that sunk girls’ hearts and a stone wall around his own. He was anything but perfect, and no matter how hard he tried he was nothing compared to Bobby. Sweet, damaged, with boyish good-looks, nobody thought Adam loved anyone but himself.
Bobby loved River, River loved Adam and Adam only loved himself–or so everyone thought. Then one night everything changes, and as it threatens to destroy everyone involved a tragedy strikes that will break them all…
Review:
River has loved Adam for as long as she can remember and for just as long Bobby has loved River. The problem is that River is best friends with both Adam and Bobby, who happen to be brothers. Now that they are all grown up and live across from each other things are becoming more difficult. Bobby tries his best to slyly seduce River, which never works and River pines over Adam. Adam is an enigma even as an adult and ties River up in knots not knowing what feelings are real or just friends. After Adam helps River with a work emergency their feelings for one another are finally known. They decide to keep their relationship a secret until Bobby finds out in an unceremonious way and is enraged. It seems that the relationship of all three will never mend until everything is put aside. When they decide to finally fix things tragedy strikes and crushes the fragile relationships. Can any relationship bounce back from tragedy or will it all crumble?
This book left me wrecked after I read it. I was emotionally drained and loved every minute of it. The love triangle of River, Adam and Bobby was fantastic. From the beginning you know who River will choose. But, love is complex and this story does a phenomenal job of showing how even those who are supposed to love you no matter what can hurt you beyond repair. This story is so strong and poignant because of not just the love triangle but of the side relationships the characters have. You feel just as heartbroken and sad as they do when their parents hurt them or when Bobby hurts Tara. You also feel the love that River’s Dad shows her and the love that both of the Beckerson boys show her. I think the underlying damage that is in a past the reader isn’t privy to is shown through the characters and it takes a very talented writer to be able to illustrate that kind of pain that is not witnessed. Overall, this is a book I will be feeling for a while. I can’t wait for the next one and will be waiting anxiously. Cassandra Giovanni definitely has a new fan in me. If you are like me and love books that will tear your heart out and leave you feeling an emotional wreck only to want to pick the book back up and read it again than Flawed Perfection is right up your alley.