Customer Reviews

Nobody's Perfect

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Well first off I must say a big thanks to Pat Ballard for giving us a heroine who is plus sized and loves herself. Its not often we see one so it was very refreshing to find one in this book.

This is the first book I've read by this author and it won't be the last. Its a quick book. You can finish it in an afternoon. The story is easy to follow and filled with excitement and love.

Nella, the heroine, has just agreed to marry the pig headed, arrogant, anti-fat, Samuel. Now its a marriage of convience. His small son needs a mother or he may loose him to his grandparents in a nasty custody battle, and she wants to keep her home. Not great grounds for a marriage but Nella has a strike against her. She has already fallen in love with Sam's son. She willing puts up with Sam's attitude for the sake of the child but soon decides that Sam had better start treating her like a human being. She demands he respect her and soon finds that Sam isn't all that bad. He just needed a strong woman to make him wake up to reality.

They soon find themselves very attracted to each other and passions flare. But before they can live happily ever after they must fight his ex-in-laws for the boy.

I really enjoyed this story. The author makes it quite clear that being a plus sized person doesn't mean that you are unhealthy, stupid or unlovable, it just makes you human.

Nella is so kind, beautiful, strong and loving, the reader falls in love with her immediately. The fact that she is "plus-size" is dealt with in such a manner that her being big is, indeed, a plus. Sam, the single father of three-year-old Jake, is handsome, wealthy and likes his women thin. But he, too, can't help but fall in love with Nella. In Nobody's Perfect, Ballard has created a heroine who has learned to love herself despite living in a society that inundates us with the message that thin is better. Ballard addresses stereotyping without preaching. Very quickly, size is no longer a character in this fun, fast-paced romance that the reader will love.

A few years ago, the editor-in-chief of a well-known publishing house gave a speech at our chamber of commerce's annual dinner for women in business. She "confessed" that reading romance novels is her favorite form of stress relief. Her talk was so convincing, I vowed to give them a second look. Okay, maybe a third, fourth or fifth look. Let's face it. Romance novels do not have a good reputation among "serious" readers and writers. They're not "literary," whatever that means. And the covers feature shirtless Fabio look-alikes embracing beautiful women in various stages of undress. Our public library shelves them in a separate section and places hot pink stickers on their spines, lest a hapless browser pick one up by mistake. The stickers also identify them to their legions of female fans, who must know something.
I enjoyed that editor's speech, but I still didn't read romance novels, until I heard about Pat Ballard's books. She calls them "motivational romances" with Big, Beautiful Heroines. Curious, I picked up a copy of Nobody's Perfect and spent several hours intrigued and enthralled.
In the novel, the love interests are Nella Covington and Samuel L. duCannon. Are those perfect names for a romance or what? Nella is a young woman in her mid-twenties who has long since given up trying to be thin. She takes good care of herself, eats healthy foods and exercises. The women in her family were heavy and she is no exception. But Nella goes beyond just accepting herself. In this novel, she uses her size to her advantage.
We see her save a child from drowning by using her strong arms and skillful swimming. She helps a young wife frustrated by constant dieting make herself over with makeup, a new hairdo and clothes, without losing a single pound. When the woman worries she might go back to feeling discouraged about gaining weight, Nella gives her a gentle pep talk. "You see what you can be if you want to, and it's your decision whether you spend your days looking your best, or looking your worst. That's a decision we all have to make each day. You're no different than anyone else."
Of course, romance novels have a predictable formula. That's why so many women love them; it's reassuring to know the good characters will win. After a few adventures and problems, the heroine always gets the good guy, and this book delivers that, too. But first, we have evil in-laws, a family home in jeopardy and a little boy who needs a mother. Nowhere does Nella play the helpless female. She is strong yet vulnerable, powerful yet seductive.
And Pat Ballard sure knows how to write a good sex scene. Be forewarned: this story is definitely rated R, and the heroine's large size adds to her attractiveness. What a switch from the message aimed at women in magazines and television!
Although the ending was pre-ordained (remember, it's a romance novel), I didn't guess how the author would wrap it up. I lost myself in the story and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. In other words, I had fun. If you read Nobody's Perfect, I predict you will, too. I also predict you will be left with some very thought-provoking ideas about what our society's ideal body image does to every woman's self-esteem.

(Previously published at www.storycircle.org)

It`s a love story of two people looking for love but don`t plan on letting it happen. But with the love they both have for a child and all the excitement they find themselves into, they grow to fall in love. The love and sex they both find is too much for them. The story keeps you wanting more! It`s very exciting!! And it is written with very good taste. The more Pat writes the better her books get. She has a very gifted talent! It is good reading for all. I loved it and I love her, she is a dear best friend of mine, and I am very proud of her.

I loved the story and how Sam the snobby business man lures Nella into falling in love with his child and ends up falling in love with her. Especially love the part where they end up in Kentucky for the winter. Great book read it in one sitting and than reread it the next day.

Once again another book by Pat that I just cant put down.
If you plan on getting this book and reading a few chapters,forget about it..If you start the book before bedtime plan on being up late.She takes you through all different emotions and wishing you were there..I love the characters because that is how each one of us feels at times.Wishing and wanting!!!!Read and found out who Jake is (MY HERO)

Nobody's Perfect is an engaging novel about a marriage of convenience - or is it? A "plus-sized" woman needs to keep her childhood home, and a fairly egotistical man has had it for relationships, and just wants a mother for his son... a mother that, he hopes, he will not be physically attracted to and with whom he will not be tempted to share a relationship. Or so he keeps telling himself, but life and human hearts have unpredictable surprises in store, in this charming, witty, and tender love story with a twist.

You know when you've read a great book because it ends before you want it to. Pat does magic with her words so that you actually believe you are there watching from the sidelines. I look forward to her next book.

..."You'll get to keep your home, Jake gets a mother, and I won't have to ever worry about being attracted to you." Those words, spoken by Jake's dad, Sam du Cannon, could not have been less true. Nella may not be a size 6, but she is proportioned and in great physical condition. "Nobody's Perfect" starts with Nella finding Jake on the beach by himself and ends with his father falling in love with her.

In the mean time, Nella saves Jake's life and teaches his dad a lot about love and about what being with a strong, confident, caring woman can be like. When you read Nella's conversation with a new friend, Amy, you will want to share it with everyone you know...even those women in your life who are a size 6. I won't spoil the ending, but it is one of the most beautifully written endings I've read in a long time. As with Pat Ballard's other books, there are unexpected twists and turns, introducing interesting people along the way and you won't want to miss any of them.

"Nobody's Perfect" is the best Pat Ballard book I have read so far. You will fall in love with Nella and be rooting for her to win from the first page.

I can't believe this author has published so many books. I thought for sure this book was the first book written by her. This is stuff I'd expect from a high school creative writing class, not an established author. The scenes are so short, jump from one to the next with no transition, and the sentences are too simple. I won't even get into how annoying Jake's speech was written. There are better married for convenience stories out there and better books about plus-sized women. Skip this one unless you can get it for 1/4 of the price.