Review Detail

Perfectly You by Robin Daniels is as perfect as the name suggests. I loved the characters, the sweet romance, the clean-ish YA vibe. I loved it all! Ivy is a character I can get behind. I understood her completely because….well she’s me. Andy is as sweet as he is swoon-worthy. And their friends?! I loved them! I loved how well the secondary characters were fleshed out. It was a quick read and one I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys YA contemporary romance.

Ivy is me. Seriously she is! Anyone who knew me in high school that reads this book will see what I mean. She’s an overachiever, a bit of a social butterfly (that’s not me, but the rest is), has no filter and is always honest. This last aspect is both admirable and annoying. While Ivy has a big heart, she tends to speak before she thinks about how it may sound to the other person. It gets her in a lot of trouble.

Andy is an incredibly sweet boy. Ivy sees him as a loner, but doesn’t understand why he is a loner. Really it is by choice. Andy is picky about his friends and while he isn’t rude to anyone, he also doesn’t do the fake/small talk that occurs in the high school scene. However he does like Ivy. It’s obvious from their first encounter, even if she doesn’t quite pick up on it.

Has anyone else seen the old Patrick Dempsey movie from the late eighties, Can't Buy Me Love? Well, similar premise and vibe. Ivy is the vice president of the student council. The senior class is hosting a date auction to raise money for their senior party. It’s Ivy’s responsibility to find people for the auction. She basically begs Andy to do it for her. When he expresses concern about brining in money for them and being on the runway, Ivy starts a makeover process. Honestly I wasn’t sure how I felt about this aspect of the novel. While Ivy’s heart is in the right place, she says all the wrong things. Andy is a sweet guy dealing with some insecurities and Ivy doesn’t realize just how hurtful she can sound. It’s painful to read at times as I wanted to reach through the pages and smack her.

Overall, I loved Perfectly You! It’s an honest picture about two people who are attracted to one another and how they move past the friend zone. I loved it. It was an addicting read (I read it in one sitting) and perfectly swoon-worthy. If you enjoy YA contemporary, I highly recommend it.