Perfectly Accidental

Accidentally Perfect #2

by Elizabeth Stevens

Sometimes, you’ve got to let go of all you’ve held on to.

I feel like I’ve been given a place in life – expectations of me – that it’s useless fighting. So I don’t bother. I’m the guy they all think I am; fighting, smoking, drinking. Because what else is Roman Lombardi but a troubled teen?

No one’s convinced I’ve got anything going for me. I take what – and who – I want when I want it, and never think about anything more than a couple of hours in the future.

One holidays, I find myself hanging out with the resident Miss Popular, and she surprises me. With Piper, I can be whatever me I am. I can be the surly, troubled teen and…it’s enough. I’m enough. Feeling shit together makes things just a little less shit. Until it becomes more.

But, I don’t do more. Do I?

What do you do when you find perfection by accident, in the least likely of places?
Maybe you can’t believe you’re finally worth it.

Perfectly Accidental is Roman’s story. A Mature YA novel about finding support in the least likely of places, never giving up, and learning that being the real you is always perfect. It is the companion novel to Accidentally Perfect, but can be read as a standalone. Please be aware that this story is set in Australia and therefore uses Australian English spelling and syntax. Not recommended for younger readers due to mature content. I mean it, this one’s dirtier than Piper’s side.

Genres: Young Adult

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 5, 2022

About the author

Writer. Reader. Perpetual student. Nerd.

I started out writing fantasy. But, I like to write anything, honestly. These days, I mainly stick to YA and there's always at least a sprinkling of romance, if not a 'whoops, I dropped the whole packet in'. Almost all my books are set in my home state of South Australia, either in real or fictional places - gotta write what you know - with Netherfield being the only current exception.

Like most writers, I love to read. Although, time for reading at the moment is hard to come by. When I'm not too busy writing, I'm usually reading a number of authors. Some of my favourites are Rick Riordan, Jane Austen, Kate Forsyth, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, Kasie West, John Flanagan, Terry Pratchett, Isobelle Carmody, Christina Benjamin, Emily Rodda, and many more.

I'm an avid fan of Marvel, DC, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Red Dwarf, IT Crowd, and pretty much anything similar. I've recently discovered Richard Ayoade's Travel Man and it's brilliant. I love watching soccer (go Gunners) and thoroughly look forward to seeing Eurovision every year. Celebrity crushes include Anna Kendrick and Chris Evans, because they are wonderful.

I live in Adelaide with my husband and a menagerie of animals – a cat reliving her (sixth) youth, a cowardly Beagle-Cavalier who thinks he’s smaller than he is, one meeping guinea pig who thinks any plastic bag has his greens in, two chickens who are terrified of free-ranging, and a turtle with a penchant for sticking her head up her filter pipe.

I have a Master of Arts (Writing) from Swinburne University of Technology. I also have a Master of Arts (Editing and Publishing) at University of Southern Queensland and, am now working towards my PhD. I also hope to one day undertake a PhD in Creative Writing - perpetual student, am I.

I also organise the Sleeping Dragon Emerging Fantasy Writers’ Collective writing group. The group self-published their anthology Tales from the Sleeping Dragon in 2012.

You can also find me on:
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NB: I'm usually happy to discuss review copies of my books. A track record of reviewing is preferable, but not completely necessary.

Reviews

[Anna Theurer (Anna's Bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly Accidental is a perfectly fun and entertaining read! This author consistently and expertly writes mature young-adult romances that are full of humor, wit, romance, and of course some moments of drama. As with her other works, she perfectly captures the essence of being a teenager and learning to find oneself and find love.

It was her novel, Accidentally Perfect, where I was first introduced to this author’s works. I adored Piper and so I was thrilled to get Roman’s point of view with Perfectly Accidental. Please note, I do believe this novel can be read as a standalone but I also think it is an excellent companion to Accidentally Perfect. An engaging coming of age story, I fell in love with Roman’s character. He is the resident bad boy and people seem to have written him off as a troubled teen . Yet, if you are like Piper, you look beyond the surface and see him for who he truly is. Just as he is able to “see” her. This is a bit of an opposites attract, friends to lovers romance and I love how these two characters are able to see, accept, and love each other for who they are.

Perfectly Accidentally is delightful read with a fun cast of characters. I enjoyed the snarky banter and antics amongst Roman and his friends. I also loved getting to know more about Roman and watching how his relationship with Piper evolves into something more. If you love coming of age romances, then this is the perfect book for you!

[SleepysaurusRex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh I am so excited for this! Seriously gonna become my favorite book whenever it comes out I just know it.

[Lexee Toste · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this one, we get Roman's point of view and it was great seeing the other side of things and getting some more depth and what was going on with Roman and how things affected him that were happening. This story was great and I loved watching these two come together and find a way through the struggles they were dealing with. I was pulled in from beginning to end and really enjoyed it. Still worth it even if you have read Accidentally Perfect. I would love to see more of these two as well.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

[anuelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to see Roman's side of the story

I'll admit he's kind of jerk. He's not a guy a parent wants their daughter to date. But he sure knows what he wants. There's so much underneath his hard shell. There are valid reasons why he is just like he is. I liked this character a lot. I prefer male pov and this book delivered. Suitable for mature readers.

[Gretchen Heinrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

needs better editing!

I’ll. Give it 3 * because I enjoyed the story. It’s been so long since I read Accidentally Perfect, I had forgotten the story. But I debated giving only 2* because the editing is so bad. Misspellings and grammatical errors made my dyslexic mind scream and take so much longer to read. It was exhausting.

[Elizabeth Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally

After reading Accidentally Perfect I was holding out hope Roman would get to give his side of this story and it finally happened. I have had this book preordered since I saw it, and imo, worth the wait. Definitely reccomend.

[SLL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this soooo much!

I loved every bit of this book. I love Piper and Roman together and I loved hearing their story from Roman's perspective. I dare say it was even better than Piper's side.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

👏👍

Wow! What a great follow up to Accidentally Perfect! I absolutely loved getting Roman’s pov. This is definitely a must read if you love rom-coms, especially old school John Cusack ones. ;)

[Christina Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roman's story

I didn't think it possible I could love the 'degenerate' but I did. No, he wasn't perfect, but the fact that Piper loved him for all his imperfections was the sweetest love story I've read in awhile.

[Cherylynn Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

I love Roman and piper there so wonderful together. I love how they get each other. I can’t wait for more. Thank you Elizabeth for your wonderful work.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think book one of this series still squeaks out as my favorite, but I love Roman so it's hard not to enjoy getting his perspective on everything.

[Shannon Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book

I couldn't put this book down, I could feel all the characters emotions good and bad. Would highly recommend this book

[Amanda Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

I loved getting to know Roman even more! I fell in love with resident underachiever all over again. What a perfect book! 10/10 recommend!

[Kelly Bugler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Loved reading this from the otherside. Really enjoyed this

[Zia Estefania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again perfectly perfect

Reading Romans side was amazing. I got to see his thought process and whay him HIM. Everyone needs to read both and just bask in the awesomeness

[cierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved his response to the first book, the way it explains everything was amazing!

[TimetoFangirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Let it not be said that I didn’t double down at the stupidest of times over the stupidest things."

Y'all...I was so excited to read this and our girl Stevens did not let me down!

I've mentioned before that I have a mixed relationship with the author's work, absolutely loving some of it and some of it not working for me at all. "Accidentally Perfect" fell solidly in the former camp, as I adored Piper and Roman when reading from Piper's POV. When I heard "Perfectly Accidental" was coming out I was both excited and nervous, hoping to love Roman's POV just as much. And - effing luckily - I did!

Roman's POV reads as totally realistic to me. I absolutely believed I was peering into the thoughts of a teenage boy - one who is admittedly troubled but still a good kid at heart. This book is A LOT spicier than Piper's POV, where we knew the sexy times were happening but it was largely alluded to rather than described, but that makes sense to me. Anyone who's ever hung out with a teenage boy knows that, in general, they're the horniest little cretins imaginable and it's not even their fault. Hormones are a bitch, my homies. So, while I do think the sexy times got maybe a bit repetitive, it made sense why they'd be much more prominent through Roman's eyes. I also appreciated learning what Roman was up to during the Black Moment portion that I remembered from Piper's POV and the answer is A LOT.

There were some grammar and spelling issues, and some repetition in the text (EG, back-to-back sentences that said basically the same thing just with slightly different phrasing), so I think this could've done with another round of editing. That said, Stevens did include a note letting her readers know everything that's been going on with her, and I thought it was valid and was happy to overlook the editing issues in that light.

Also, the family dynamics of the Lombardis straight-up slayed me. Roman, his mom, and that adorable tiny dictator they live with are the cutest ever and I want to give them all a hug.

Also, this is totally inconsequential to the quality of the book, but like, why do I hate the cover of this so much?

[LifesLikeRoses · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been super excited for this story ever since I found out Roman was getting his own story. When I was reading Accidentally Perfect I was constantly wondering what was going on in the complex mind of Roman Lombardi. On the outside he seems like a total delinquent on the path to nowhere who gets into a bunch of fights, drinks, an just causes trouble. When really that's the mask he hides behind to hide the pain he feels inside. He is so much more than all of that. While reading the first book I knew he had stuff he was dealing with but I never really knew how much stuff. Now after reading his story I finally truly understand Roman. You can't help but understand why he thinks he isn't good enough for Piper even though he was perfect for her. He was constantly fighting himself because he was worried he would hurt her or that would mess up everything between them. The journey leading up to the destination that is when they finally are together was perfect. I can't help but wish Accidentally Perfect and Perfectly Accidental gets made into a movie some day. That's how good these books are. Thank you for writing Roman's POV it was the best book I have read this year!

[Tina (A Novel Time With Tina) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accidentally Perfect is the novel in which I was first introduced to this author’s works. I adored Piper, thought she was a strong character, and I liked their relationship together, so I was thrilled to get Roman’s point of view with Perfectly Accidental. This book is A LOT spicier than Piper's POV, just being in the teenage boy's mind instead of Piper's. I also liked getting more of Roman's relationship with his mom and niece. We get snippets of them in Accidentally Perfect and I liked seeing more of their dynamic this go round. Usually with companion novels there isn't a lot of "new" story to tell, but in this one I think we get a lot more of what Roman was dealing with as his relationship with Piper became more than either one of them expected.

[Martina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Accidentally Perfect, but this didn't do it for me. I found it pretty repetitive (such as the phrases "we don't apologise", "we don't lie", all variations on how she deserved so much better and the extremely ubiquitous "nancy wanker"). I also didn't care for the audio-book narrator, which probably contributed a lot to my annoyance.

[Zonya Monk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I waited so long for this book ! But it was so worth it . I didn’t know how much I needed to hear Romans POV, reading what makes Roman who is he is and why he does things just made me love him that much more . I loved it definitely 5*****

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading from Roman's POV. Definitely have a new perspective on his character and behavior and made me love him more

[Kaity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible read

I loved getting to read Roman's POV! It added so much more to the story and made me fall even harder for Roman.