Almost Perfect

by Charlie Mitchell

Sex and love are hard enough for anyone in Los Angeles, but when Oliver, a thirty-four year old doctor, has gone two years without either after recovering from a brain tumour, he has completely lost his confidence. When Oliver is introduced by a work colleague to Florence, a woman who specializes in sex therapy for people with disabilities, he hopes this is the answer he has been looking for to cure his fears.

Florence’s one goal is to care for her brother, who has been trapped in a coma for years after being a victim of a hit-and-run. She saves every dime from her two jobs for his treatment, skipping meals, living in a shit-hole apartment, and suffering more than most broke people in their early twenties. When Oliver reaches out to become a new client, she hopes her money troubles might be eased by the new income.

Although their attraction is instant, Florence is fearful of this new-found connection. To her shock, she discovers that her and Oliver’s lives have been entwined long before they met. When the secrets revealed get too much, their relationship may not survive. And everything - pride, careers, and even lives - are at stake.

Almost Perfect is a contemporary romance with plenty of angst and some erotic elements. It has the sexiness of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series with the relationship drama and fun of Ali Hazelwood's The Love Hypothesis and Grey’s Anatomy.

Genres: Contemporary

381 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2021

Reviews

[Meredith Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book wasn’t “almost perfect” it was perfect 🤩
Dr Oliver Blake and Florence had multiple healthy conversations from the beginning, even the few times when the argued it was healthy communication.
By far my favorite detail was when Oliver details his seizures. Flo was very kind and supportive as he mentioned his triggers, symptoms and what he needs. This is the first fictional book I have ever seen that’s ever seen have a conversation like this and made me very pleased

[Pearl]

Look. I live in Australia and Amazon AU won't let me download this UGGGGGHHHH.

BUT. Like the good Reylo 🐀 that I am I have read the OG fic and remember going on an emotional roller-coaster when reading this and would like to actually read it again when I finally have access to it here.

From memory; it's also quiet sexy. Trust me, I am very good at reading smut in public places with a straight face but even so, I was looking around my train like I was doing something illegal when I got to the...saucy bits.

The author is lovely as well and deserves some loving ❤

[Khara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story!
Drama, angst, smut, complications, love and all kinds of revelations before we get a HEA.
It's realistic to believe that Florence would secretly work a second job doing "sex therapy" aka being an escort to pay her brothers medical bills. Enter Oliver a doctor whose gone 2 years without sex, due to seizures from a tumor. I loved how their relationship wasn't portrayed as just sex, from the beginning it was kindness understanding and making someone feel comfortable again.
I was pulled in from the beginning and really enjoyed this novel. It deserves way more reads and attention than it's gotten.
It was hard to find on amazon, so set your filter to "kindle" and it pops up, as this is the only format available for this book. Definitely give it a read!

[Claire Aliki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plenty of good angst with an earned happy ending.

[Olivia Cowdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprisingly really good and sweet. the cover is UGLY though

[Blaire · Rating 1 out of 5]

We lied to ourselves,
about our failings and dreams—
and lived with regret.

[NAT · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is so good it's a crime that this book didn't get the editing it deserves.

Basic proofreading issues aside, this book desperately needed an editor to ask questions like:

Why is the heroine English?
Why do the Los Angelenos in the book speak in britishisms?
Why do we need pages of medical conversations that are both boring and incorrect?
The book's understanding of what poverty looks like is basically Oliver Twist but they live in cars?

-The FMC thinks she's from London (she's unsure but later has a deep understanding of all British accents and geography).

- She was abandoned in an American bus station when she was 8 and survived alone on the mean streets and has never been in the system. An 8 year old with no knowledge of the country.

-Somehow she's able to work on the books for a politically connected family charity without a SSN or citizenship?

-She's too proud to ask her mother figure THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA for help navigating her brother's medical care.

-Their BOSS, who knows they were homeless street kids, believes that her and her brother bought private health insurance that fully covers 2 years of round the clock hospital care? The governor of California and all the political oppo researchers also believe this? No follow-up questions?

-The author believes that a mechanic salary and occasional 200$/hr sex work sessions would cover this? In America?

not to mention the second half of the book is a full-on mess. The nonsensical Reylo pandering and the homeless sex-worker giving back 20,000$ to the rich John because sex work isn't work is only a fraction of the problem.

[Zara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read this as a reylo fanfic first. Loved it then, love it now, will love it forever. This is a beautiful, soft love story about two people finding each other through an unexpected way. Oliver, a thirty-four year old doctor, has gone two years without either after recovering from a brain tumour, he has completely lost his confidence. When Oliver is introduced by a work colleague to Florence, a woman who specializes in sex therapy for people with disabilities, he hopes this is the answer he has been looking for to cure his fears... the story is beautiful, as are the characters. I honestly cannot recommend this enough!!!! 😍🧡⭐

[Christina Ambrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and intimate story. The story between sex worker/mechanic Florence and surgeon/cancer survivor Dr. Oliver Blake was lovely, especially how she eased his fears and gave him the companionship that she didn't know she desired too. Emotion get in the way as they find themselves more connected than they previously believed. Super spicy scenes build their intimacy while there are some challenges in their budding relationship, especially when Oliver finds himself the surgeon hired to help Florence's brother. There's angst and frank conversations about surgeries and cancer, but the discussions are not graphic.

Overall a beautiful story <3 <3 <3

[Dakota Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

I loved this book so much. What a great alternate universe Star Wars book! The characters were written so well. I knew who each character corresponded with and their voices felt authentic. The smut was incredible in this. Holy cow. I was surprised by how well the story was paced considering there was so much tension and drama. If you like Reylo then this book is for you!

Oh and I love how the book ended and how the epilogue was used. More books should end this way.

[C.Line · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flapjacks were a big part of this story. Mentioned 19 times. However, as this story is based in the US and the person making the flapjacks is American, I was utterly confused and to why they were baking them with oats. In the US, flapjacks are pancakes.
This little detail pulled me out of the story, over and over again.
Not to mention the DRAMA. Flo is big on communication, however no one properly communicated in this implausible story.