Johanna Lindsey is a very popular romance novelist. She’s had countless rewards, and warm recommendations from readers in the US, UK , and Australia too. Unfortunately, The Perfect Someone failed to live up to the reputation. This is probably the first negative review on this blog, oh dear!
That Perfect Someone follows the life of Julie, an heiress with a weak and unable father, who suffers from an arranged marriage. Set in a generic, vaguely historical context (there are pirates?), Julie intends to have the marriage voided, as her fiancé to be has been missing for over nine years. As it happens, said fiancé turns just before she can get it done, Richard returns under the guise of Jean Paul, a French buccaneer oozing danger and charm.
The plot was incoherent and poorly structured. The mystery of mistaken identity barely lasts for the first half, destroying a plot point with great potential. The climax of the novel occurs halfway through, making the last segment of the novel seem like a boring and overly descriptive coda. Tension also, was not well handled, lagging for the majority and quickly skipped over in favour of descriptive interior dialogue.
I can’t help but feel that romance fiction deserves more than this. Where was the fun? There was too much time spent on ‘feelings’ (and not the romantic ones a reader would be interested in! Just whinging!) and not enough time spent on action, intrigue, mystery, and of course, two characters finally falling in love.
Romance lovers would be better off with a Georgette Heyer or Nora Roberts number. One star.
What did you think of That Perfect Someone?
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