Imperfectly Perfect

by Tracy Goodwin

A fun fake dating, enemies to lovers romantic comedy set in New York City from USA Today bestselling author Tracy Goodwin.

Jilted socialite teams up with bad boy Game on!

Wedding planner Cassandra Benedict sells happily-ever-afters for a living. But when Cassie gets stood up at her own wedding, the whole humiliating experience is witnessed by the crème-de-la crème of New York's elite. Cassie comes from a wealthy family, but she built her business through hard work, and now she feels like a fool. She's walking down the road in her ruined dress carrying her beagle decked out in his brides man tutu, when who should offer her a ride but her ex-college boyfriend, Andrew Steele. Just great.

Andrew's journey has been very different. Coming from nothing, Andrew grew up watching the "haves" duke it out in the Hamptons, so he learned and evolved. Now he's New York's hottest celebrity billionaire and darling of the paparazzi, which Cassie despises. But Andrew proposes a mutually beneficial fake relationship that could save her pride and her business. Their sizzling chemistry notwithstanding, bad boy Andrew Steele definitely has the game to pull it off—but is he savvy enough not to fall in love?

"An excellent read… As funny as it is heartwarming." —Library Journal for With Neighbors Like This

Genres: Audiobook, Romance, Second Chance, New York, Contemporary, Adult

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2024

About the author

Tracy Goodwin is the USA Today bestselling author of steamy hockey romances and captivating romantic comedies. In addition, she pens sweeping historical romances, uplifting MomComs, and vivid urban fantasies. Though the genres may be different, each story delivers her unique blend of passion, poignant emotion, humor, and unforgettable characters that steal readers’ hearts.

A New Yorker who now calls Houston home, Tracy is the mom of two, a wife, and the wrangler of two dogs, two cats, and lots of chaos. She also loves music and sings carpool karaoke (even when alone).

To receive the latest news and information about upcoming releases please go to her website www.tracygoodwin.com where you can sign up for her newsletter or follow her on Bookbub and/or social media by clicking the icons.

Reviews

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imperfectly Perfect by Tracy Goodwin
Contemporary romance.
Cassandra Benedict is a jilted bride. The worst advertisement for her wedding planner business. When the groom ditches Cassie at the alter for another woman, Cassie turns to her ex-college boyfriend Andrew Steele for help. Andrew has the right contacts, money and influence to help Cassie switch the narrative. Living with Andrew temporarily should be easy in his huge penthouse apartment, but the two find feelings aren’t as in the past as expected.

A nasty ex, lies, and a roller coaster action, made this romance less than perfect for me. It does have the requisite hea so not a write off. I do like the success Andrew made of himself and a dog is always a welcome diversion, even if he is wearing a tutu. The dog. Not Andrew.

[Courtney Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute fake dating after a wedding planner gets left at the altar and her former boyfriend, conveniently a millionaire, happens upon her and offers to pretend to be the reason the marriage broke up. It dragged in middle a bit and the interference of the ex fiancé and mother was irritating. The dog stole the show. Solid cute ending.

[Ace✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm never been happier to finish a book. If you're going to have the FMC say her 'wedding' was worse than the Red Wedding in GoT, then please actually have it be worse. I don't know how you can compare that , to being left at your wedding. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not care for this story. The characters lacked depth and the storyline felt kind of dry. I almost dnf.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this, it was different spin on someone being jilted. A modern version with social media playing a big role.

I loved Cassie, Andrew and Bailey, the beagle. I've had two beagle mixes and they are excellent judges of character!

I loved how Andrew wanted to help Cassie, even when she still held a grudge, with good reason.

I don't generally hate anyone but there were three characters that I greatly disliked! Well written villains.

Fun second chance romance, with a dog as a big character. The narrators were amazing too. New to me author, and I'm interested to see what else they've written.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imperfectly Perfect by Tracy Goodwin is a captivating romance novel that will resonate with readers who crave a slow-burning, emotional journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, and second chances, perfect for those who adore complex characters, witty banter, and a dash of glamour and glitz.

Tracy does a superb of creating relatable characters that have realistic dialog (internal and external), all while maintaining the pace of her writing as a page turner. This is a low stakes romance that is a JOY to read and share with others.

Regarding the romance aspect, I’d give 3 out 5 🌶️. There aren’t any sex scenes but the passion between Andrew and Cass is electric.

#AndCass #DontGoChanging

[Archd · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - reads very juvenile and unbelievable.
Tried to keep with it, but couldn’t stomach anymore.

[Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m putting in the same amount of effort into this review that the editor did with this book. I’m not encouraged to read anything else by this author.

So much telling, no showing
A lot of “and then, and then, and then”
It’s an adjective salad.
Stop and go dialogue.

The villain is just “evil” with a twirling moustache with no real motivation
The FMC is a cool girl who is so quirky (mentioned at least 3 times), independent and a damsel in distress, rich and needs money, etc
The MMC thinks and spends a nauseating amount of time thinking and telling the FMC how gorgeous/beautiful/pretty she is, her being angry is soooo attractive, NEEDS to protect the FMC because only he can and he has all the answers.

I finished the book because I hoped for a miracle and a sink cost fallacy. Smh

[Emma Pontzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of telling in the book. Not a lot of showing. Who doesn't love hot billionaires.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was so unbelievably dumb I can’t believe I finished it. But I did so you won’t have to. Not recommended.

[Nicole Nash (Costanza) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover was cute and this sounded like a cute story...but what was that trainwreck? 🙃

I was extremely disappointed by this story.

What I liked:
• Cassie standing up to her mom
• The small plot twist towards the end.

....that was it. Those two points were the only reason why it wasn't a 1 star read.

What I didn't like:
• The characters had no depth; I didn't care about Cassie or Andrew.
• I felt like the plot was all over the place - what was happening again?
• I usually love a dog sidekick but...Bailey wasn't it (don't judge me 😭)
• There were points where Cassie asked the same question but in different ways for almost an entire page or two: get to the point!!
• There was no resolution between Cassie and her mom. Did Cassie even want one? Who knows 🤷🏽‍♀️
• The....spicy scenes were... *shivers* not good.

This book was written so juvenile and I felt myself cringing throughout the story. I was so disappointed because I wanted to like this story but couldn't. I even considered DNF'ing it a few times...

[Lani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance novels are predictable, so while I can’t say this book had anything new or anything that caught me by surprise, it was sweet and emotional in the right way. Sure, it was obvious that when Cassie and Andrew got together in the first 150 pages that there’d inevitably be a breakup in another 60, but what made this book worth the read was the dynamic.. the way it showed how cassie had changed when she was with people who understood her.. at some point Andrew tells her not to let Jeremy take away from her her ability to see the good in people, and I think that above all is a message we all could use a reminder in. Overall a soft and sweet read, and i loved bailey !!

[Heidi]

Content: Described sexual content

I read a review that said there were no sex scenes, so I tried it. I guess I have a different definition of what constitutes sexual content. There were described body parts and content about halfway through. I tried to skip forward and see if it was just a few lines, and got even more content I can't erasw from my head so I DNF.... so no idea how much more of that kind of content there was, but I wanted to put this out there so anyone who doesn't want that kind of content can pass on this one.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in NYC, this was a cute forced proximity, second chance romance between two former flames who try to save a jilted wedding planner's reputation. I loved the beagle side character, how much the MMC pined for the female lead and thought it was good on audio. Perfect for fans of authors like Stefanie London and her Paws in the city series. Overall, a quick, funny and entertaining listen.

[Gale Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was thinking about giving this novel a “perfect “one star but after some “perfect” thought time decided on three star or 2.5 stars.
Perhaps if you are 17 years old and love “ happy ever after “ stories , the book would appeal to you. I admit I fast forward through some of the book. It was not a book for my taste. It was elementary in writing skill and substance.

[Gigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this romance! Andrew, Cassie and Bailey's antics made this a fun read. Andrew is the perfect ex. Bailey is a great best friend. Glad I found this writer. I want a beagle and a billionaire hottie.

[Braden Waller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was fine…conflicts and dialogue became pretty repetitious. And I was hoping for more NYC vibes, but the setting could’ve been anywhere.
Drama was meh, characters were kind of bland, and the “bad guy” just seemed bad because he could be.

[Carly Vollet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not finish this. The characters are unremarkable and unrelatable. The reading level is like 6th grade at best. The author defines words for you if she thinks her audience won’t understand, like “prismatic”.

Sex scenes are blah.

[Anne Krucinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book for what it was and it is an easy Hallmark style romance, that makes you laugh at the absurdity. Having been a Billy Joel fan since elementary school I enjoyed the references. Would recommend this for an easy reading slump fix.

[Tiffany Faw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story! Cassie and Andrew were great characters. Ending was perfect for the story.

[Brooke ✨]

DNF. I don’t like the writing style. It feels like I’m reading a textbook. I’m also finding both characters to not be very likable, and the plot is utterly ridiculous.

[C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even the dog was unlikable

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Krystle Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh!

[Stacey Levin-Esar]

so badly written

[Tiffani Grawe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh... 2.5 🌟

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. It had good ideas but it felt a bit rushed. There were lots of questions left unanswered involving the main female character and other side characters. Overall it was quick and cute but not wow worthy.

[Kristen Kosar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read because it was the end of the month and it was a hoopla bonus borrow. It’s pretty mid. 2nd chance love for a jilted bride. Meh.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mostly good. I liked the characters and the original plot of being left at the altar and then fake dating to save face, but the conflict near the end just didn’t make sense.

[Devyn Miller]

Thought it was lagging a bit, and after reading other reviews, I decided not to proceed.