by Jennifer Echols
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: January 13th 2015
Perfect Couple is #2 in the Superlatives series about seniors at a Florida high school who are selected for their class's superlative categories in the yearbook, and how the labels change the way they view themselves and alter the course of their lives.
Can your heart be put to a popular vote?
As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for capturing those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents' bitter divorce has left her wondering what a loving relationship would look like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody the “Perfect Couple That Never Was,” her friends have been on her case to ask Brody out.
Brody doesn’t lack in female admirers, but Harper can't see herself with him. He seems confused about why they were matched together, too. They’re total opposites—the last people in the world who would ever be compatible, let alone the “perfect couple.” Yet ever since the class paired the two of them, they've found themselves drawn together--first by curiosity, then by an undeniable bond.
The trouble is, though they're very attracted to each other and both of them admit this, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating clearly. If they’re the perfect couple, this shouldn’t be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear their class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But after they walk away, both of them feel so changed from making the effort that they can’t forget each other. What if that means this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?
Harper is definitely intriguing. I thought it was interesting how she dressed a little on the quirky side, even making her own clothes in order to imitate a more retro look. Her reasoning is a little different too because she thinks she needs to dress this way to stand out because otherwise she would just blend into a crowd. She isn’t dressing quirky because she is confident it’s actually because she is not. Kind of a different twist on that idea.
Harper also annoyed me at times in the beginning because she was so obsessed with the Perfect Couple matchup/Brody and the way she would let Kennedy walk all over her. She does start to change as the plot develops. Not only does she start to change her looks, she finally starts standing up for herself a little more. Although she has moments of relapse that drive me crazy but honestly nobody changes overnight. I’m glad at one point someone points out to her that she has an obsession problem. It makes it feel like the author has a point for it in the story. You can tell that some of her Kennedy issues of confrontation probably stem from her dad and mom’s relationship.
I liked Brody. He was a little more on the laid back side and not necessarily perfect but he didn’t hide who he was. He didn’t act like he was something he’s not. He felt genuine to me.
Even with Harper’s quirks I really enjoyed the plot. I also really like how the plot of the next book starts getting weaved into the story but if you read the books separately you won’t be lost. I actually didn’t read Biggest Flirts yet and I did not feel lost at all but now I want to just to see how Harper and Brody show up in that one.
I thought the romance was cute. It was much more of an emotional one instead of physical even though you could tell they are attracted to each other.
I’m not a heavy contemporary reader but I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was cute and fun read.
HARPER
Lyndsy Fonseca
BRODY
KAYE
Paige Hurd
TIA
Zoey Deutch
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Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. She has written nine romantic novels for young adults, including the comedy MAJOR CRUSH, which won the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the drama GOING TOO FAR, which was a finalist in the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best, and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Simon & Schuster will debut her adult romance novels in 2013, with many more teen novels scheduled for the next few years. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son.
