This is my first time having a guest reviewer here at Ana’s Attic. There has been so much buzz about Present Perfect by Alison G. Bailey. I have read from people who I trust implicitly that it is one of the angstiest, but best books of the year. The reviews are phenomenal. But I have also read enough to know that I would be a puffy faced, tear-streaked, red-eyed mess after reading this, and those who know me well say I better have a good case on my Kindle, because I’ll chuck it at a wall while reading this.
Even knowing I’ll love it in the end, I just don’t want all that angst. And with a gazillion books on my kindle I’m dying to read, I decided to sit this one out and let my good friend Joanne write the review. She has very similar tastes as mine, so I trust her. Will guest reviewing be a regular occurrence? Probably not too often. I don’t feel I can add books to all of my Favorite Lists if I haven’t read them myself. And if they get a great review, I’ll want to read them anyway, then what would be the point?
So without further ado, here is Joanne’s review of Present Perfect by Alison G. Bailey.
I will definitely be in the minority here with my review of this “must read” of the moment. I liked it, I did not love it. They said I would need tissues, but the only reason I wanted to cry was because I paid for it (which incidentally is the only reason I finished it)
Here’s part of the blurb:
“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. It has never been a question, never a doubt”
And so begins the LOOOOONNNGGGGG journey of Amanda and Noah – born just a minute apart, and have loved each other since that precise moment. Amanda always felt a connection, always felt close to Noah and they were the absolute best of friends….so for 350 pages (I have my font on blind so my copy was 402 pages including acknowledgements) we endure the following:
“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.”
And Noah would say shit like:
“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.”
And she would push him away, because he deserved someone perfect and she considered herself flawed, I am here to say that if a guy said that to me – I would throw him down and keep him forever. (Fuck you Amanda – you’re right he does deserve better than what you put him through).
I just wanted to punch her in the face.
So then we get around 75% in and the Author drops her “bombshell” but Tweet still pissed me off, because she STILL DID NOT pull her head out of her ass – it took another person to finally make her see!!!!! Yes I felt horrible for Amanda (aka “Tweet”) but, I didn’t feel torn up over it – and it’s not because my heart is a block of ice. Without spoilers – I will just say I didn’t feel connected with what she was going through, and this could be because I have seen this happen first hand and the author did not pull me into what she was going through, which is hard to explain without exposing said “Bombshell”. There could have been a lot less pages about the pushing away of Noah and more development spent on what she was going through as a woman during her battle – Not to say I wanted to read more misery – I just felt it was added at 75% as a “what the hell, why not?” – And BAM over…it was so fast. . It took forever to get to the “twist” and then we are brought straight to “The end”
I did laugh a lot at the beginning about how she got her nickname “Tweet” The parts about her childhood were hilarious, this was only for a few pages – then we begin our long stay at camp angst fest – where I spent my time wanting to throat chop a fictional character.
Goodreads is chock filled with 5 star reviews, and I am glad so many people loved it and connected with it – It just wasn’t for me.
Rating: 3 Stars, 1 heat
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. It has never been a question, never a doubt. The love had taken on many different forms over the years, but it had always been a constant.
Everyone has their definition of love. There have been countless songs sung about it. A gazillion books, articles, and poems written about it. There are experts on love who will tell you how to get it, keep it, and get over it.
We’re led to believe love is complicated. It’s not the love that’s complicated. It’s all the crap that we attach to it and put in front of it that makes it difficult. If you’re smart, you’ll realize this before it’s too late and simplify.
____________________________________________
Amanda Kelly spent her entire life trying to control every aspect of it, while striving for perfection. Her obsession with being perfect, along with her feelings of worthlessness, consumed her. The one thing she thought was perfect in her life was the bond she shared with her best friend, Noah.
Everything was going according to her life plan until she woke up one day and realized she had fallen in love with him. The one thing she couldn’t control was the affect he had on her. Noah had the power to give her one hundred lifetimes of happiness, which also gave him the power to completely devastate her. He was the one thing in her life that was perfect, but she couldn’t allow herself to have him.
Her life begins to unravel. Events take over and force her to let go of her dreams and desires. She needs to realize that a person cannot control the events in their life, only their reaction to them…but will it be too late for her to save her relationship with her best friend?
Present Perfect is a story of how past events have present consequences and how perfect your present could be if you stopped fighting and just allowed it to happen.
So there you go. My first guest review. Have you read Present Perfect? Would you like to add your thoughts? Chime in here! I have a small giveaway to a random commenter.
Purchase Present Perfect
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Amy Pollard Woolard says
Wow! Well I kinda still want to read it but my expectations are much lower than they were lol. I appreciate your honest review! I really like how you did not sugar coat it & said what you really thought! Thank you!! 😉
Mary Bilowus says
Thanks for the great review. So many people write these great reviews and then I go to read the book and sometimes am left disappointed. I still want to read this book and I appreciate your honest review.
Beth McCraw says
I have this book but haven’t read it yet. I appreciate your honest review! I’ve had books that everyone just raves over and I end up not seeing what everyone else did, so I see what you are saying. Thank you for being honest!
Darci says
Thank you for your review! I’ve been seeing this book a lot, and it pops up every time I go onto amazon. I’ve been torn, and if it went on sale, I might read it. It’s nice to see an honest review, and one that says the book isn’t the greatest thing ever written…not ALL books can be the greatest 🙂
Pam says
Great review! I bought this book because it kept popping up everywhere and people were loving it. I have a feeling I might feel the same way Joanne did about the book. I will still attempt it though since I bought it.
Ana's Attic says
I love all of your responses! It is making me re-think how nice I am sometimes when I’m really thinking, “Are you fucking kidding me?” I try to convey that but I always try to find what I liked too, maybe I will be a little more snarky 🙂
Joanne Christenson says
I like well used snark….I love your reviews because your honest….I love the likes & dislikes in each of them…
Sometimes though….one just has to say….what the fuck was this author thinking?
Michell Casper says
I love that people can be honest with what they think. I know people have different tastes. I have read some with poor reviews that I thought were very good and some that had high reviews and I thought are you kidding me. I guess I look at it this way don’t write what you think the author needs to hear write what you truly think so that we aren’t spending our hard earned money on something that isn’t worth it.
Tara says
Liked the book but did not like the fact that Tweet kept putting Noah through the wringer.. and also what did it say about Noah that he kept going with other women but only using them? How could Brooke put up with having him not respect her? Just what I felt!!
Joanne Christenson says
I felt the same way about Brooke. …..but Noah. …I don’t know what we could expect from him….he was in love with a girl that refused to be with him…..and the guy said “I have needs”
I would say the same about “Tweet” who slept around. …it all just pissed me off
Karen H says
Thanks for the review I will not be getting this book I have too many others on my kindle to read to waste my time getting one that I may not like 🙂
JoJo says
Thanks for this great review!! Seems like most blogs give glowing reviews to every book they review. I so appreciate a source like Ana’s for honest reviews because every book is not a 5 star read! And it takes away from those books that truly are a cut above the rest. Hope to see your reviews again Joanne!
Joanne Christenson says
Thank you!. I very often just rate a book I read on goodreads. …but when a book pisses me off. ..I need to write about it…..it’s cathartic….plus I am not rich so I hate buying books that do nothing but make me want to fling my ipad and find another hobby. …I now realize how unfair that is… I should be writing reviews on the books I love is well… Even if its just a couple lines….I think I just made a goal 🙂
Kellie says
I have to agree that it was a Looooong dragged out cycle of Amanda not getting her head out of her @ss. However, once that unexpected twist came up, I actually started feeling better about her. Personal experience my son experienced that same exact twist, felt like I was reading his life all over again. Made me laugh, lots of crying but I am glad I read it.
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