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 brother's 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 girl's 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...

GENRE: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Amazon

Flawed Perfection is the first book I have read by up and coming author Cassandra Giovanni and seeing as I love hockey and can never say no to a rock star/musician, I figured this book was written just for me. What I found was that while I enjoyed the book and felt that the story had stellar potential with a great premise and a surprising twist, there were a few things that just weren’t there for me.

The characters seemed pretty underdeveloped. There was so much to their story of growing up together, there was so much that could have been explored within the 10 years that River has been in love with Adam, and there was so much that could have been said about the dynamic of the friendship between all three, but there wasn’t much back story and not a lot to latch on to with each character so that you really cared about them and cheered them on.

The plot seemed a bit thin. Up until the very end there wasn’t a whole lot that was going on other than the tension between the three friends and in all actuality it wasn’t even a true love triangle since there was really no competition, no contemplation, and no indecision.

I wasn’t able to really connect with the emotions in the story. The whole story, again until the last 5%, seemed to be very one note, there was nothing that was too exciting, nothing that was too upsetting, nothing too dramatic, or unpredictable, nothing very suspenseful. The scenes just weren’t that powerful so I wasn’t able to feel a whole lot of anything while reading it.

That said, I think if some things had been further explored like the past relationship between the three and their families, and each characters real feelings about the situation, especially Bobby’s, there would have been more of an opportunity to like, empathize with, and invest in each character making each obstacle and conflict much more potent and meaningful. I also really liked Adam’s character, I really enjoyed the foundation and direction of the story and I loved the astonishing ending.

3.5 FMR Stars

Review by Michelle

I nodded my head and watched as Adam’s hand lingered on the neck of the Ibanez™ before he picked it back up and slipped the strap over his shoulder.

I sat on the edge of the bed as he began to play without an amplifier.

The noise was tinny without the electric part hooked up but that didn’t matter. Adam’s fingers moved effortlessly from fret to fret as he strummed the guitar. His head nodded ever so slightly to the beat and his bare foot tapped the floor as he closed his eyes and a smile formed on his lips.

I stood and placed my hands around his neck, yet he continued to play, nod his head and tap his foot with eyes closed. The only change was on his lips as they crept into the seductive grin.

I leaned into him, letting my hands comb through the hair on the back of his head as my breath washed over his lips.

Still nothing. The guitar continued to hum with his talent.

I let my lips hover over his, then let them wander over the soft skin of his neck and up the stubble of his chin. The beat remained smooth, undisturbed as the strings squealed and he deepened the riff.

I paused as my lips reached his again, lingering at the corner of his mouth where the cold metal of his lip ring teased me just as much as his fingers on the guitar.

I let my mouth run over the metal until it caught in my teeth and I sucked it in.

Finally, his body reacted tensing as he groaned—but his playing didn’t cease, didn’t change. He still resisted, hand strumming a tease over the strings next to the skin of my belly.

His mouth responded to mine as I let the ring and his lip slowly slip away from me. That was it— the guitar spun to his back and he yanked my hips to his own.

“I need you to play me like that guitar,” I gasped as his hand tilted my head and his tongue ran over my trembling neck.

His other hand drifted down my torso.

“Good, because I wasn’t done with my song,” he growled into my ear.

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Cassandra doesn't remember a time when she wasn't writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. In 2012 she became a published Young Adult author, releasing In Between Seasons (The Fall, #1) and the Amazon bestselling thriller, Walking in the Shadows. In 2013 she branched out by using her artistic illustrating talents to publish her first Children's novel, The Adventures of Skippy Von Flippy: Tales of Friendship (Skippy Tales, #1). Cassandra released her first New Adult novel, Love Exactly, which became an Amazon Bestseller overnight in June of 2013. She's currently working on her new New Adult Contemporary Romance, Beautifully Flawed. The first novel in the series, Flawed Perfection is scheduled to be published on March 7, 2014.

Besides being a writer, Cassandra is a professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is the owner of Gio Design Studios Photography and Gio Design Studios Publication Marketing . She is currently studying to receive a degree in Marketing. Cassandra is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with the other loves of her life their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.

Cassandra can be found on:

Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ @cgiovanniauthor