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Less Than Perfect
From an early age Caitlin O'Reilly was taught by her father to strive for nothing short of perfection. Growing up in a small town in the North of Ireland, she tries to live up to his expectations, and when she goes to university and falls in love for the first time, she thinks everything really is perfect. Until one day when the town, her love and her family, are completely destroyed.
Ten years later, Caitlin has created a new life for herself in Melbourne, leaving her past and her family firmly behind. But when she meets Matthew and finds herself falling in love again, what happened in Ireland is suddenly closer and more relevant than ever, unearthing all the hurts and betrayals and secrets she has tried so hard to bury. As Caitlin's life reaches another crisis point, it seems there is nothing she can do to keep her past and her present from colliding.
This is an emotionally gripping story about love, forgiveness and less than perfect families.
Ten years later, Caitlin has created a new life for herself in Melbourne, leaving her past and her family firmly behind. But when she meets Matthew and finds herself falling in love again, what happened in Ireland is suddenly closer and more relevant than ever, unearthing all the hurts and betrayals and secrets she has tried so hard to bury. As Caitlin's life reaches another crisis point, it seems there is nothing she can do to keep her past and her present from colliding.
This is an emotionally gripping story about love, forgiveness and less than perfect families.
- GenresFiction
370 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
6 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Ber Carroll
9 books66 followersBer Carroll (also known as B.M. Carroll.) was born in Blarney, a small but rather famous village in Ireland. The third child of six, she often retreated from the chaos of family life by immersing herself in books.
Ber moved to Sydney in 1995 and began to climb the corporate ladder. Her dynamic work environment captured her imagination and inspired her first novel. Ber is now the author of twelve novels, which never fails to surprise her. In recent years, her writing has become darker and more twisted (reflecting her state of mind!). Her most recent novels are: The Missing Pieces of Sophie McCarthy (2018), Who We Were (2020), You Had It Coming (2021), The Other Side of Her (2023) and One of Us Is Missing (2024).
Ber gave up her finance career when she realised that she couldn’t hold down a demanding job, be mum to two small children and write books to contractual deadline. She lives in Sydney's Northern Beaches with her husband, children (who are adults now) and PJ, the family dog.
You can find out more about Ber by visiting her website or by checking out her Facebook page (@bercarrollbmcarroll) or Instagram (@bmcarrollauthor).
Ber moved to Sydney in 1995 and began to climb the corporate ladder. Her dynamic work environment captured her imagination and inspired her first novel. Ber is now the author of twelve novels, which never fails to surprise her. In recent years, her writing has become darker and more twisted (reflecting her state of mind!). Her most recent novels are: The Missing Pieces of Sophie McCarthy (2018), Who We Were (2020), You Had It Coming (2021), The Other Side of Her (2023) and One of Us Is Missing (2024).
Ber gave up her finance career when she realised that she couldn’t hold down a demanding job, be mum to two small children and write books to contractual deadline. She lives in Sydney's Northern Beaches with her husband, children (who are adults now) and PJ, the family dog.
You can find out more about Ber by visiting her website or by checking out her Facebook page (@bercarrollbmcarroll) or Instagram (@bmcarrollauthor).
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 31, 2018
Four and a half stars
Caitlin O’Reilly learnt from her professor father to strive for perfection. She tried to live up to his expectations. But never always managed it. This book is told in three parts. The first part starts in 1997 when Caitlin is eighteen. In her home town in Northern she meets and falls in love with Josh, a friend of her brother unemployed brother Liam. Caitlin and Josh plan a future together but events intervene. The result is Caitlin’s life and her relationship with her family, particularly her father, is shattered. Part 2 starts in 2009 in Melbourne. Though Caitlin has left Ireland and her family behind, events of the past still haunt her. When she meets Matthew, a police officer, Caitlin tries to keep the past separate from the present. She also has a health issue that she hasn’t revealed. Part three brings the secrets she has been trying to keep to light with unexpected results.
This was an enjoyable read. What starts out as a simple love story in turbulent times, ends up being so much more. Caitlin is a complex character and the reader gets to see both the positive and negative aspects of her character. The scenes in Melbourne evoked memories of my own excursions into this city. The story maintained my interest throughout and I liked Caitlin, even though at times she makes strange and unwise choices. An interesting read that gives insights into the tensions of Northern Ireland and events of the late 1990s. I very much enjoyed it.
Caitlin O’Reilly learnt from her professor father to strive for perfection. She tried to live up to his expectations. But never always managed it. This book is told in three parts. The first part starts in 1997 when Caitlin is eighteen. In her home town in Northern she meets and falls in love with Josh, a friend of her brother unemployed brother Liam. Caitlin and Josh plan a future together but events intervene. The result is Caitlin’s life and her relationship with her family, particularly her father, is shattered. Part 2 starts in 2009 in Melbourne. Though Caitlin has left Ireland and her family behind, events of the past still haunt her. When she meets Matthew, a police officer, Caitlin tries to keep the past separate from the present. She also has a health issue that she hasn’t revealed. Part three brings the secrets she has been trying to keep to light with unexpected results.
This was an enjoyable read. What starts out as a simple love story in turbulent times, ends up being so much more. Caitlin is a complex character and the reader gets to see both the positive and negative aspects of her character. The scenes in Melbourne evoked memories of my own excursions into this city. The story maintained my interest throughout and I liked Caitlin, even though at times she makes strange and unwise choices. An interesting read that gives insights into the tensions of Northern Ireland and events of the late 1990s. I very much enjoyed it.
July 31, 2012
Less than Perfect is a book that has so much going for it. The writing is superb - as I have come to expect from Ber Carroll - and flawless. Although the contents are deep/dark and at times traumatic, the flow and feeling of the writing is effortless, meaning that before I even realised, I was more than halfway through the book. I was just that absorbed in both the characters and the plot that time seemed to fade away, however cliche as it might sound.
Less than Perfect is told in three parts effectively, all of which revolve around three major turning points in the main protagonists life. The book opens with newly eighteen year old Caitlin O'Reilly describing the first time she meets her future love - Josh, her older brother's friend - and their relationship; it's highs and lows and its unexpected and equally traumatic end when an explosion kills Josh. Desperately alone (family is failling apart around her), and struggling to come to terms with the events, Caitlin flees her hometown in Ireland and moves as far as way as she can imagine - to Australia wherein Caitlin is desperate to not only outrun her past and its grief, but also her family and her own failures/short-comings in life. Part two of the narrative focuses around Caitlin's life in Melbourne some ten-eleven years post bombing where Caitlin has a great job, a few close friends and has recently started up a relationship with a local cop named Matthew. The final part of the story comes about when Caitlin's perfectly crafted and preotected life (she is very strict on her views of what is and can happen and only allows certain aspects of her life to mingle - i.e. Matthew has never met her housemate, nor her friends. Nor do anyone involved in her life throughout part two know much, if anything about her past) falls apart. Having faced a fatal blow Caitlin is forced to reevaluate her life, her goals, and her priorities.
Overall the story is well worth a read, as its not only well-placed but the charactes are so real and honest (even if they may not be with themselves) that they will suck you in to their world in no time at all.
Given the Irish background of the author, and the events and content explored pyschological and their emotional impacts on the people there, family ties and relationships in general, I couldn't help but think and draw parallels to Maureen McCarthy's When I Wake and Find You Gone (one of, if not, my All Time Favourite book) and was delighted to find it did not disappoint in comparison. Thus I highly recommend this book to anyone who has read that in the past and found themselves, like me, totally enthralled by the culture, the people (even if they are fictional) and the circumstances surrounding some of ireland's more famous past.
Less than Perfect is told in three parts effectively, all of which revolve around three major turning points in the main protagonists life. The book opens with newly eighteen year old Caitlin O'Reilly describing the first time she meets her future love - Josh, her older brother's friend - and their relationship; it's highs and lows and its unexpected and equally traumatic end when an explosion kills Josh. Desperately alone (family is failling apart around her), and struggling to come to terms with the events, Caitlin flees her hometown in Ireland and moves as far as way as she can imagine - to Australia wherein Caitlin is desperate to not only outrun her past and its grief, but also her family and her own failures/short-comings in life. Part two of the narrative focuses around Caitlin's life in Melbourne some ten-eleven years post bombing where Caitlin has a great job, a few close friends and has recently started up a relationship with a local cop named Matthew. The final part of the story comes about when Caitlin's perfectly crafted and preotected life (she is very strict on her views of what is and can happen and only allows certain aspects of her life to mingle - i.e. Matthew has never met her housemate, nor her friends. Nor do anyone involved in her life throughout part two know much, if anything about her past) falls apart. Having faced a fatal blow Caitlin is forced to reevaluate her life, her goals, and her priorities.
Overall the story is well worth a read, as its not only well-placed but the charactes are so real and honest (even if they may not be with themselves) that they will suck you in to their world in no time at all.
Given the Irish background of the author, and the events and content explored pyschological and their emotional impacts on the people there, family ties and relationships in general, I couldn't help but think and draw parallels to Maureen McCarthy's When I Wake and Find You Gone (one of, if not, my All Time Favourite book) and was delighted to find it did not disappoint in comparison. Thus I highly recommend this book to anyone who has read that in the past and found themselves, like me, totally enthralled by the culture, the people (even if they are fictional) and the circumstances surrounding some of ireland's more famous past.
June 9, 2019
Let me just say how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful and free country! The first couple of chapters really brought this home! What is perfection anyway?
We are all imperfect and that's what makes us the individuals we are - we should be embracing our imperfections! Caitlin left her imperfect life behind in Ireland, however no matter how hard she tries to leave it in the past, it always manages to raise itself subconsciously in her daily life. When she meets Matthew she is forced to face her imperfect past and in doing so she realises that there were many happy memories buried as well. The good and the bad begin to balance out and in doing so start to bring her some peace.
We are all imperfect and that's what makes us the individuals we are - we should be embracing our imperfections! Caitlin left her imperfect life behind in Ireland, however no matter how hard she tries to leave it in the past, it always manages to raise itself subconsciously in her daily life. When she meets Matthew she is forced to face her imperfect past and in doing so she realises that there were many happy memories buried as well. The good and the bad begin to balance out and in doing so start to bring her some peace.
August 12, 2021
Emotionally wrung out...loved this novel and will definitely looking for more novels by this author. Caitlin grows up in a small town, her dad is a professor at Uni, everything is going smoothly until a bomb attack and her family is torn apart. It takes a move to another country, and a medical emergency to bring some semblance of normality back to her life. To realise that you can love again even after tragedy, that family is family and that not everyone has a perfect upbringing or a perfect life.
June 1, 2023
Une irlandais qui quitte son pays, ses amis, sa famille après un evenement tragique. 11 ans plus tard elle réussira à leur pardonner. J'ai beaucoup aimé son histoire même si je n'ai pas accroché dès le début.
Lu en anglais.
" 'Everyone can juggle', he assured me, his tone distinctively condescending. 'And once you learn this skill, you'll also gain the confidence to gain the confidence to try others things you thought beyond you."
Lu en anglais.
" 'Everyone can juggle', he assured me, his tone distinctively condescending. 'And once you learn this skill, you'll also gain the confidence to gain the confidence to try others things you thought beyond you."
June 21, 2020
Five stars!
I loved this story. What a page turner. I have lived with PTSD since early childhood and the characters experiences were helpful for me to understand just how pervasive trauma is to an individual. And to give me hope for healing.
I loved this story. What a page turner. I have lived with PTSD since early childhood and the characters experiences were helpful for me to understand just how pervasive trauma is to an individual. And to give me hope for healing.
April 20, 2023
This was a re-reading for me, and the themes and scenarios still hold true today. I've been a big fan of Ber Carroll since these early books of hers, and adore her new literary persona of B.M.Carrroll.
July 23, 2012
Less Than Perfect is the fifth book by Irish/Australian novelist, Ber Carroll and is written in three parts, each centring on a significant day for the main character, Caitlin O’Reilly. In the first part, Caitlin’s life at eighteen in Belfast is described: her relationships with her unemployed older brother, Liam; her interactions with her loving mother, Paula, her perfectionist father, ethicist Professor Jonathan O‘Reilly, her younger sister, Maeve; and her first encounter with her boyfriend, Josh. This part climaxes with the horrific events that leave 53 dead, many injured and shattered Caitlin’s family and her life. Part two is set in Melbourne ten years later, where Caitlin has settled into a life far away from the events of the past, a place where she can avoid her father and deny the pain. But the past has a way of catching up: Caitlin meets Matthew, a police sergeant with the same high standards and values as her father. She’s very attracted, but will he expect perfection from her too? And his job has the potential to take him from her: can she risk her heart again? And in part three, Caitlin’s life reaches another crisis point. Carroll gives the reader a cast of characters with depth, credible dialogue and an original plot. She drip- feeds the reader hints on just what happened in Belfast that so changed Catilin’s life, that made her hate so strongly, keeping the interest high. She touches on deafness, drinking, diabetes and denial. This book has the power to cause laughter, tears and some deep thought. A very enjoyable read.
April 16, 2015
This is the first book that I read by this Author. It was an enjoyable read.
Irish Catholic Caitlin O'Reilly was raised in a family where rules and knowing right from wrong meant everything. Her Father raised her to believe that if she followed the rules, the world would be a safe place. So if the rules were followed she was made to believe that also perfection could be achieved.
A tragic event shatters her image of the perfect life,she thought she had.It also ruins her faith in her Father.She flees Ireland to start a new life in Australia.But unfortunately her past haunts her in every aspect of her life.Will she be able to believe that being ," Less Perfect" is okay in Life ? There is so much going on in the book. The Author touches on issues like Deafness,Drinking,Diabetes and Denial.
Irish Catholic Caitlin O'Reilly was raised in a family where rules and knowing right from wrong meant everything. Her Father raised her to believe that if she followed the rules, the world would be a safe place. So if the rules were followed she was made to believe that also perfection could be achieved.
A tragic event shatters her image of the perfect life,she thought she had.It also ruins her faith in her Father.She flees Ireland to start a new life in Australia.But unfortunately her past haunts her in every aspect of her life.Will she be able to believe that being ," Less Perfect" is okay in Life ? There is so much going on in the book. The Author touches on issues like Deafness,Drinking,Diabetes and Denial.
July 31, 2012
Loved parts of this - historical scenes at beginning portraying horror of Belfast bombings, the main character of Caitlin O'Reilly was very believable and intense, although at times really annoying. I thought the middle section was a bit slow but liked the end. Good romance, good reconciliation and resolution of family and grief issues.
March 8, 2013
So-so. Slightly deeper than chic-lit lite, but I found the main character frustrating.
May 1, 2013
Although annoying at times it was at the very least thought provoking and realistic.
September 11, 2013
I really enjoyed this book and loved that most of the story was set in Melbourne. I empathised with the main character, Caitlyn, and thought the ending tied things up very well.
August 2, 2016
This book was amazing i was already crying by the end of chapter 2 and then all the way to the end of the book!! LOVED IT !!!!
October 12, 2014
really good book. not the normal type of book i would read but i really enjoyed this one. considering i picked it up for $1 it was really good.
January 16, 2015
Really enjoyed this book. Was easy to read, brilliant issues and well written.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews