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The Perfect 10
A controversial, throughout-provoking and witty novel about the pursuit of perfection - the perfect appearance, relationship and life, from a young, hot talent. Sunny Weston is bright, breezy and fun. She is also fat. Well, less fat that she was. In her pursuit of the perfect figure - and the life to match - Sunny has lost seven stone, with two to go. Yet as her thighs shrink her problems grow. When gorgeous Adrian at work decides that the new streamlined Sunny is the girl for him, she should be thrilled. But then she realises that Adrian loves her looks, not who she is. The only perfect thing about Cagney James are his put-downs. Cynical funny and old-school cool, he runs an agency that specialises in catching cheating lovers - something he has plenty of experience of. When Sunny and Cagney meet it's loathe at first sight. Their hearts are too hard to see that they might have met their match, so they declare war instead. But sparks of anger have a habit of becoming flames of passion!
340 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 1, 2020
honestly, i did not like it at all. i liked this book a bit at first but then it just got more and more boring and i didnt even properly read the last 100 pages because i just felt so done with it so i just skimmed through it and read a few things but i didnt properly read the end. i dont know what it is about this book but it just really bored me.
and im that kind of person that does not want to have to dnf a book, i hate dnf:ing books with every single cell in my body which is why i just skimmed through the end instead.
and im that kind of person that does not want to have to dnf a book, i hate dnf:ing books with every single cell in my body which is why i just skimmed through the end instead.
August 1, 2023
Described the brilliant creative process continues despite abject poverty. Ellmann covers in much detail the frustrating struggle to find any publisher brave enough to get his incredible works into print.
Oops. Didn’t actually read this book. Meant to review the James Joyce biography by Ellmann
Oops. Didn’t actually read this book. Meant to review the James Joyce biography by Ellmann
January 19, 2019
Althoulgh it isn't what I expected, I enjoyed it...
January 1, 2015
Actual rating: 2.5 stars
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book, it was a bit incomplete and had left me very confused. Also thought the hero was a bit of a tosser tbh.
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book, it was a bit incomplete and had left me very confused. Also thought the hero was a bit of a tosser tbh.
June 17, 2021
She’s a perfect 10, but she wears a 12
December 8, 2023
The Perfect 10 has a great message running through it which is significant certainly in current times. It also presents love in an alternative way to what is duplicated in films which is important for people to engage with.
October 15, 2019
This love vest ignited me to want to read more romance books. Go read this book if you want sparks to fly through your mind blowing up at the amount of fun this book can give.
February 28, 2020
Ill give this 2 stars at a push.
It’s a light hearted story but it didn’t exactly keep me gripped. I’m pleased I saw it through to the end but overall I found this pretty boring and predictable.
It’s a light hearted story but it didn’t exactly keep me gripped. I’m pleased I saw it through to the end but overall I found this pretty boring and predictable.
October 23, 2022
Fantastically written, but not the romance portrayed in the blurb…which is a side story to Sunny dealing with her weight loss. I skimmed quite a bit of the inner-monologuing.
June 22, 2025
I barely got through this. Stupid and annoying and didn’t make sense in parts. So glad to have finished it and find something good to read.
June 3, 2022
"Relatable" porn in form of words...
February 23, 2008
The main problem with this book is the way it's described on the back cover. You will be let down if you buy this book expecting the fluffy romance that’s implied in the blurb. It does have a sort-of love story woven through, but the main emphasis is on something entirely different, and that is the lead character's weight loss and the subsequent changes in her life. In many ways, this book succeeds where Jane Green's 'Jemima J' failed - in tackling dramatic weight loss without being condescending - but if you have no experience of dieting, weight loss or obesity, you might find this one a struggle...
When we meet Sunny Weston, she's almost at her target weight after
To read the rest of this review (and more!), please visit Trashionista
When we meet Sunny Weston, she's almost at her target weight after
To read the rest of this review (and more!), please visit Trashionista
March 24, 2017
This book revolves around a number of topics that are close to me: weight loss, exercise and perceptions as a result of the both. It is like an insight to the issues that arise after losing weight. Many times, I have had exactly the same thoughts and voices in my head as described in the book by Sunny. The author was really sensitive in dealing with such an issue inspite of making it sound funny to the readers at the same time. The main problem with the book is the way it is described on the back cover making it sound like another romantic novel which is not entirely true. It does have a sort-of-live story but the main emphasis is on the lead character's weight loss and the changes it brings in her life.
June 15, 2011
I really liked it. I loved the fact that the hero and heroine appeared to hate each other. Of course, we knew different. The dialogue was hilarious at times and three guys in the detective agency plus Christian - made me laugh out loud. The issue of being fat and losing weight was dealt with in a much more thought provoking way than many books I've read. I don't know if the author was overweight and writing from experience, but either wasy - it sounded authentic to me. It isn't a light fluffy read - it makes you think and for that it's worth 4 stars.
September 29, 2012
I was honesty surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I found it at a opp shop and paid $2.99- and now I can now say that it was the type of novel that I wouldn't mind paying full price for. 'The Perfect 10' taps into what it means to be truly 'happy' with yourself, and for that reason I found this book to be quite insightful on my perspective of love and life. I liked the characters because I could relate to them to some extent and was satisfied with the ending because- well you will just have to read and see what I mean! A really good book!
June 30, 2014
I got this book as a Kindle Daily Deal thinking it was just going to be another chicklit, however it's much more than that - in fact, the romance between the two characters takes a backseat in this book. It's about the belief people have that when they loose weight, they're going to be happy. And about how, when you do reach 'the perfect 10' it couldn't be further from the truth. It really explores the emotions of the characters and I loved that. Highly recommend it!
February 2, 2014
Funny, insightful and cracking characters, but went on a bit at times. Christian could have been a much more fleshed out character but seemed to exist mainly to be a guardian angel, albeit one good at lecturing Cagney and Sunny about love and relationships. Could be improved but great for 99p or less from the Amazon Kindle store!
July 6, 2015
This book centered around a number of topics that were close to me: weight loss, exercise and perceptions as the result of this. I agree with other comments, the blurb does not reflect the book, it was a lot more introspective and dark than the chick lit market it appears to be targeted at. I enjoyed this book a lot and because the themes are so topical for me, gave it a five star rating.
July 12, 2010
I didn't think I'd like this book as my sister siad she coupldn't get into it at all. I thought it was alright. I found it hard to like both the main charcters tho. But it didn't bore me and is worth a read.
Read
May 3, 2011It was fun to read and helpful in a psychological level!
September 4, 2016
Not for me.
March 8, 2010
Read this on holiday - and its an ideal beach read
April 2, 2017
I enjoyed Louise Kean's writing style enormously. The book started so well. Sunny's voice is quirky, well observed and funny. I was hooked by her observations and take on life.She's a woman on a mission: to lose the final two stone which will transform her from morbidly obesity to a perfect size 10.
The opening scenario - where she rescues a boy from the paedophile who snatches him - is shocking and gripping. After the drama, she meets Cagney James, the man who chases down and punches the kidnapper after she has grabbed the child. Taciturn and abrasive, Cagney has three failed marriages behind him and needs a relationship like a hole in the head.
The story alternates between Sunny's first person point of view, and the third person narration of Cagney's perspective. This distances Cagney and made it difficult for me to identify with him. Instantly attracted to each other, their encounters are characterised by arguments and misunderstandings. While this is a common trope, the difficulty for me was that I didn't feel any spark of chemistry between the two. The central relationship of the story, which should have propelled the narrative forward, was irritatingly snipey. They didn't appear to have anything in common and as the story progressed the possibility of them having a happy ever after became ever more unlikely. The second half of the book is a series of disasters and fiascoes, some more humorous than others. So while I loved Sunny's voice, and Louise Kean's writing style, the plotting and ultimate resolution of the character conflict didn't convince.
The opening scenario - where she rescues a boy from the paedophile who snatches him - is shocking and gripping. After the drama, she meets Cagney James, the man who chases down and punches the kidnapper after she has grabbed the child. Taciturn and abrasive, Cagney has three failed marriages behind him and needs a relationship like a hole in the head.
The story alternates between Sunny's first person point of view, and the third person narration of Cagney's perspective. This distances Cagney and made it difficult for me to identify with him. Instantly attracted to each other, their encounters are characterised by arguments and misunderstandings. While this is a common trope, the difficulty for me was that I didn't feel any spark of chemistry between the two. The central relationship of the story, which should have propelled the narrative forward, was irritatingly snipey. They didn't appear to have anything in common and as the story progressed the possibility of them having a happy ever after became ever more unlikely. The second half of the book is a series of disasters and fiascoes, some more humorous than others. So while I loved Sunny's voice, and Louise Kean's writing style, the plotting and ultimate resolution of the character conflict didn't convince.
June 25, 2018
I just couldn't get into this book at all!! I didn't finish sad as I feel like there are too many books in the world to save any time on something I don't love
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews