The Perfect Match

The Blue Heron Series, Book 2

By: Kristan Higgins

Narrated by: Amy Rubinate

Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

What if the perfect match is a perfect surprise?

Honor Holland has just been unceremoniously rejected by her lifelong crush. And now - a mere three weeks later - Mr. Perfect is engaged to her best friend. But resilient, reliable Honor is going to pick herself up, dust herself off, and get back out there… or she would if dating in Manningsport, New York, population 715, wasn't easier said than done.

Charming, handsome British professor Tom Barlow just wants to do right by his unofficial stepson, Charlie, but his visa is about to expire. Now Tom must either get a green card or leave the States - and leave Charlie behind.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Honor agrees to help Tom with a marriage of convenience - and make her ex jealous in the process. But juggling a fiancé, hiding out from her former best friend, and managing her job at the family vineyard isn't easy. And as sparks start to fly between Honor and Tom, they might discover that their pretend relationship is far too perfect to be anything but true love.

©2013 Kristan Higgins (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

took me a while to get into the story

I just was not overly pulled into the story the first half, there were so many obstacles, and the heroine let everyone walk on her.(SPOILER) the relationship, 17 YEARS? Really, a little overdone and shows her to be a doormat. She kind of over thought everything and that got a little annoying. If she had been coasting for maybe 5 years, but 17? No. Having said that the author is very thorough in description, plot, story and the build up of relationships, but just my reader opinion it took an overly long time to get to the end result, last third of the book felt more in tune and more interesting.

Another perfect story from Kristan Higgins

This book was so good I listened to it two times in a row and still loved it! Kristan Higgins writes the best scenes where the heroine is mortified and then digs her out of them. In the Perfect Match, Honor Holland embarrasses herself by showing up at her on-again-off-again lover's house in just her Burberry coat in an attempt to convince him that getting married is a good idea. Of course it doesn't go well and she finds herself single and alone at the age of 35 with no marital prospects in site. A couple weeks later she finds out her best friend is now engaged to that same ex-lover and the two girls get into a cat fight at the local bar. When the opportunity to meet her grandmother's pen pal's nephew arises, she sets up a meeting with him where they don't exactly hit it off. The story gets better and better from there and pretty soon you're totally engrossed in finding out if poor Honor will ever find happiness. I loved the hero of this story - he saves Honor numerous times from danger or humiliation. The part of the story where they found a snake in her grandparents' basement made me laugh hysterically just visualizing the whole scene. If you like romance stories that touch your heart, do yourself a favor and get this book, you'll love it!

Good but not great

The narrator’s British accent is crappy. And I could’ve used a bit more swoon. I think Higgins waits too long to tie everything together. It’s always literally the last 2 pages or ten minutes. But it feels like mediocre pacing.

Enjoyable, except for narration

Overall enjoyed very much, despite a few predictable moments and cringes, but narrator had a difficult time with the accent of the love interest. Definitely took me out of the story a few times.

Good story but get the book instead

I enjoyed this story but the narrator sounds computer generated. I wish they could re-narrate this series without the robot voice!

Great overall story.

The story itself was very good. The reader had the worst English accent I've ever heard. It was distracting to listen to and took away from the story telling.

Great listen

I really enjoyed this book. It had a slightly different romance storyline along with both feminine and masculine heros. Throw in some desperation of missing your window of opportunity and your long time lover to fuel the heartbreak. Definitely worth a first and second read or listen in this case.

OK story, but not the narration

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Maybe the book, not the audio version.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator detracted from the story. Her accents were terrible. The hero, Tom, sounded like a Aussie rather than a Brit from Manchester, England. And the sisters, especially the oldest, Pru, sounded like Valley Girls from the 1980s. And the term "mate" was definitely overused.

Was The Perfect Match worth the listening time?

Although by the half-way point I was thoroughly disappointed in the narration, I listened all the way through to see how the author would play out the story.

Any additional comments?

I listened to the first book in the series, The Best Man, and, while it had flaws, it was rather cute and the narration seemed to work. But this book just didn't have the same feeling. I very quickly became tired of the heroine's, Honor, lovesickness over her "friend-with-benefits." I just felt as if the moping went on too long. If I had read the book first, I might have felt different, but by the middle of the story I wanted to say "grow up and move on already." And the hero often came across as a self-serving pain in the butt. I won't waste my time or money on the rest of the series. A shame, too, since I generally like Kristan Higgins.

Can't Go Wrong With Kristan Higgins

Any additional comments?

This was a great listen. She is a wonderful storyteller. If you like contemporary romance, you will LOVE this book.

Bad Accents -- Hello? We Are Listening

I have no idea whether this is a decent book which makes me wonder why the reviews are so high. I don't believe them. The 3 accented English characters ruined it. Note to the producer: This is an auditory product. Jamaican English is truly beautiful with a lilthing rhythm. Rubinate's version was unrecognizable and ugly. The northern British accent in general is interesting. This one in no way resembled a British accent of any kind. Again, the rhythm was not British. And, the constant use of the word "Darling" was both phoney and grating. Oh, and embarrassing. Are we a bunch of clods? Geez! That darling thing is on Higgins and her editor. Was that an Eastern European accent? Blaahhh--unrecognizable.

There is no shame in speaking standard English and letting the characters' word choice clue the reader into their origins. "Child" from the older Jamaican lady and "bloke or mate" from the British lead would have improved this performance 100%. Delivering a horrible verbal performance of an important character in an auditory book? Now that's a shame.

The reader was a good choice for the main character Honor.