In a Not So Perfect World

A Novel

By: Neely Tubati Alexander

Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie

“Tubati Alexander is a writer to watch!” —Emily Giffin

One of Good Morning America's 15 books to read heading into spring and a SheReads and Zibby Mag Most Anticipated Book of the Year

The author of Love Buzz follows her acclaimed first novel with a delightful Caribbean-set romp about an ambitious designer of apocalyptic video games with a strategy for (almost) everything who discovers what happens when her best-laid plans go off course . . .

Sloane Cooper is up for her dream job as a designer for a top video game company. During the interview, though, she somehow promises the all-male panel that she’ll remain single and fully dedicated to the work. It’s actually fine—after her last boyfriend cheated on her, she vowed to focus on her career anyway.

Enter Charlie, aka Hot Neighbor Guy, a near-stranger who shocks her with the offer of an all-inclusive trip to a Turks and Caicos resort. The catch? Charlie originally planned the trip with his ex, and asks Sloane to pose as his new girlfriend to make his old flame come running back. Against her better judgment, Sloane says yes; she can use the time away to develop a game design that will dazzle the Catapult team and get her a job offer.

Despite sparks flying in paradise, the trip can’t lead to more. As their connection deepens, Sloane is reminded that she can’t fall for Charlie and get knocked off her professional path. Besides, he’s trying to win back his true love.

Can Sloane figure out a way to move past heartbreak, land the job of her dreams, and avoid catching feelings? The zombie apocalypse would be easier to solve—at least she’s prepared for that.

©2024 Neely Tubati Alexander (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Took a chance and glad I did!

I was looking for a light hearted rom com and this was a great, fresh read! Really enjoyed the story of Sloane and Charlie!

The Perfect RomCom!!

Literally the perfect rom com and an amazing representation of MODERN romance! There is real life issues and conflicts and representation of women in STEM, Indian culture, a bit of spicyness and an overall warm and welcoming feeling. She does not miss!!!

Meh

It has a cute plot and some entertaining parts, but it just kind of falls flat. The main character started to drive me crazy with some insanely bad reads of situations. She way overreacted at so much and I found myself rolling my eyes and wishing she’d just shut up. There were some really predictable and cliché situations that just didn’t feel fresh.

The narrator speaks excruciatingly slowly, so I needed to speed up the narration speed to make it sound more natural. There’s a brief character with an Australian accent that the narrator uses a British accent for. A few words mispronounced too which irks me - “throuple” is an example towards the end and she pronounces it “throople.”

More realistic!

I really enjoyed this novel. I felt the romance was more real than some other similar novels I read. As a female with an advanced degree I appreciated the depiction of sexism and how hard it can be to be taken seriously as a woman.