Too Perfect

I read Almost Perfect and Just Perfect first, and was delighted to find that Too Perfect blows books 1 and 2 out of the water. I enjoyed 1 & 2, but this one--this one has such incredible emotional depth. I usually can't stand books in which the heroine goes around bellyaching about her weight, but in this one, it was perfect--it's so who Amy is, and Ortolon so perfectly develops Amy's emotional story of how she got to be overweight and full of fear. And Byron is just so complex, heartbreaking, emotional. A perfect hero. Wow. This is a really human story, and also a really unusual one. As the other reviewers are saying, it's a brand-new take on the old standard, Beauty and the Beast. I really, really loved it.

Another "Perfect"! It must be great to be Julie Ortolon, because she's created three "perfect" books, all bearing the Perfect title for the Perfect trilogy. And yes, this third book in the trilogy is just as deserving of the moniker as the first two. I love this story and I love the characters. It's a perfect "Beauty-and-the-beast" with a twist. The question is, who is the beauty and who is the beast? It's a story of two dramatically different people, who search for common ground and find themselves able to accept one another as they are. The heart-wrenching part of the book comes however, when Byron and Amy have to learn to accept not the other person, but themselves--who they were and who they have become. It's an amazing story of personal growth, change and how love can conquer all. I highly recommend TOO PERFECT. It will be one of those books you'll keep on your shelf and reread time and time again. Thanks Ms. Ortolon! What's next? I'd like to see more from you!!

The final of the three 'Perfect' contemporary romances. The three novels tell the story of Maddy, Christine and Amy who find themselves as examples of want not to do in their university roommate `how to book.' They decide to show old roommate that they can face their fears. Maddy is first with `Almost Perfect' and must get her art into a gallery and move past her husband's death. Christine is second with `Just Perfect' must face her fear of chair lifts and her problems with always wanting to please her family. Amy in `Almost Perfect' is the final novel and Amy must travel outside of Austin TX and face her fear of always getting lost and leaving her protective home. All three novels have strong men who encourage and support the changes and choice the female character must conquer. Buy them all and take a weekend for yourself and Enjoy!

Maddy, Amy, Christine, and Jane were roommates in college ten years ago. Jane became a TV anchor, but has now just published her first self-help book "How To Have The Perfect Life". Maddy, Amy, and Christine are thrilled for Jane, until they realize that Jane has used their lives as bad examples! The three decide to prove Jane wrong. They each have one year to face their biggest fear. Amy Baker is the nurturer. Her mother is deceased and she cares for her grandmother, Meme, who is a consummate worrier. When not caring for Meme, she runs her business Traveling Nannies. Amy has so much love to give, but is way too shy about herself to risk getting to know anyone. She has battled her body weight most of her life and is extremely self conscious about her extra body fat. Ever since she decided to never date, much less marry, she has been able to stick to her diet. The weight is coming off. Not easily, because Amy LOVES to cook, but it IS melting away. Yet she still feels F-A-T and U-G-L-Y. Meme's worrying tendencies have rubbed off on Amy over the years. Amy has an awful sense of direction and is the only person who gets lost every single time she goes somewhere new. Maddy and Christine decide that Amy's challenge is to face her fear of strange places and go on a trip for about three weeks. So when a nanny is needed for a Caribbean cruise, Amy goes herself instead of sending an employee. Amy is fired from her nanny position early on. She runs off to have a good cry, and ends up being left behind by the ship. Amy is stranded on St. Barts, one of the most expensive islands in the Caribbean, and all she has is the clothes on her back. Determined not to run home, she decides to make this a working vacation. She takes a position as a live-in housekeeper at a secluded fort for a rich recluse named Guy Gaspar. The housekeepers before Amy never stayed, due to the "hauntings". Guy stays hidden away in his tower, never to be seen. Lance Beaufort, Guy's personal assistant is coordinating the renovation of the old fort into a mansion. So Amy sees Lance during the day while he they work. At night she sits in a study and chats with Guy on a monitor. Byron Parks has always been hot news in the tabloids and magazines. He is touted as a bored billionaire with the touch of King Midas in all he does. Sick of the parties, the fake people, and to escape all the paparazzi, Byron decides to disappear for awhile and be alone. He ends up on St. Barts and falls in love with the fort. To keep kids away, and keep the press from finding him, Byron lets the locals believe the place haunted. During the day Byron disguises himself as "Lance". At night he stays in his plush tower and lets all believe him to be the disfigured rich owner. Byron finds himself intrigued by his new housekeeper and they spend many nights talking via camera and monitor. But as their attraction grows for each other Byron realizes that he can never tell Amy that he has deceived her. Should she ever find

Artist Maddy Mills, Dr. Christine Ashton, and Amy Baker are elated for former college roommate Jane Redding, who has written a self-help book "How to have the Perfect Life". However, they become angry when they realize Jane used the trio as classic examples of how fear can destroy your life. Angry and feeling ridiculed the threesome vow to prove little Ms. Perfect wrong by regaining the passion they lost when they allowed phobias to paralyze them. Maddy has overcome her fears (see ALMOST PERFECT) and Christine succeeded too (see JUST PERFECT). Amy knows it is her turn to face her fear of getting lost while seeing the world. She takes work as a traveling nanny on a Caribbean cruise, but loses her job. In St. Barts, Amy gets lost. The success of her buddies leads Amy to tough it out by finding temporary work as a housekeeper to a recluse. Movie mogul Byron Parks is tired of the phoniness of Hollywood so has fled to a tropical getaway pretending to be hermit Guy Gaspar and flamboyant sexy Frenchman Lance Beaufort. The latter's flirtations leave Amy uncomfortable while the former's contact through a video intercom makes her feel good. As she falls in love with Guy, Byron reciprocates but fears how his housekeeper will react to the truth. TOO PERFECT closes out a fun trilogy with a terrific perfect final tale starring two fine likeable individuals with mucho emotional damage. Though Amy has lost a ton of weight, she psychologically believes she is fat and unappealing to males. Byron has become so down on relationships he split himself into two "new" personalities just to deal with the new housekeeper. Readers will appreciate this wonderful contemporary romance that perfectly asks what happened to Jane? Harriet Klausner