23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely PERFECT!, August 12, 2000
I've just finished this book, and I can't wait to share with all of you how GREAT this book is. If you haven't read Paradise yet, I think you better do before you start on this Perfect, so that you can know about the loving relationship between Zachary Benedict's best friend, Matt and his wife, Meredith. They were in the story too.
This story is perfectly easily to get into. Julie Mathison was an adopted child with a very unhappy childhood but after she was adopted into the Mathison's family, she blossomed under their love and care. Zach was borned with a silver spoon, or you can say a diamond spoon, in his mouth. But when he was 18 years old, he got thrown out of his house. Determined, he made himself a name in the show business. But when he was wrongly accused of murdering his wife, his success crumpled around him. He was locked away. Five years later, Zach planned an escape from the prison with some help from an inmate's connections. Zach's nicely plotted plan went all wrong until he met Julie. He thought up a scheme to make her offer him a ride. The ever-kind Julie believed in him. That was the start of what would be the one of the most overwhelming romance stories...
You will certainly be touched by Julie's undying devotion to Zach and Zach's love for Julie later. It's really touching, and funny too, in some parts.
I really love this book and I feel that this story is easier to get into than Paradise. But both books are really excellent beyond words can describe. A must-read for all romance readers!
I also feel that the parts on the "Literary. Pass It On." program in America is very meaningful. It has made me, and I'm sure other readers too, see the importance of literacy and how illiteracy has been a major problem in the lives of many illiterate people all over the world, not only illiterate women in America. I really admire how Judith McNaught make her readers aware of this. You really make a difference, Ms McNaught!
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34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Perfect" Entertainment, April 12, 1999
"Perfect" has to be one of the best books I've ever read, and I know this because I've read it so many times. It's the kind of book that you never tire of reading and re-reading. The characters are like old friends. It's a love story that survives out of the most stressful and dangerous of situations, but Julie and Zack still manage to capture our hearts.From childhoods that could'nt be more different - except for their shared unhappiness, Julie Matthews and Zachary Benedict have worked to create the 'perfect' lives for themselves, and we get lucky enought to tag along for the ride. And as an added bonus we get to catch up with Meredith and Matt from "Paradise". It's a testament to Ms. Mc Naught's ability to resume the lives of these two great characters and not manage to beat the story to death. They are still as fresh and interesting as they were in the first novel. Future readers beware! Be sure to read "Paradise" and then continue on with "Perfect". I promise you will not be sorry you did.They are both great summer-time "beach books" but don't wait to spread your towel on the sand . Grab them now and enjoy them. And then enjoy them again on your vacation!
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Romatic Pageturner with a Heroine who is a bit *too* Perfect, February 13, 2005
I have read and enjoyed *all* of Judith McNaught's historical romances (my true passion), so I decided to try one of her contemporary romances for a change. "Perfect" is a great story--a real page-turner with a complex, dark and sexy hero.
Zachary Benedict, a gorgeous self-made man with a mysterious past, is a phenomenally successful Hollywood movie star and director until his adulterous actress wife is murdered on the set of the film he is directing and he is convicted of her murder and sent to prison for 43 years. He escapes from prison 5 years later (with the help of some *amazingly* lax prison security) and in his flight takes Julie Matheson, an innocent schoolteacher, as his hostage to a mountain hideaway in Colorado. Although Zach initially plots cynically to seduce Julie to bind her to him, he finds himself genuinely drawn to her warmth and spirit. Julie is appalled to find herself attracted to her captor and desperately tries to escape (well, at least initially...)
Zach is a great hero--strong but damaged by his past, sexy and gorgeous but remote, cynical but with the heart of a romantic. He is the engine that keeps the story running, in my opinion.
Julie is a pretty good heroine, but (in my opinion) the "goody-two-shoes" stuff is a bit overdone. Abandoned by her mother at birth, she is a rebellious and unwanted foster child prior to being adopted by the Mathesons when she was 11 years old. Overwhelmed by their love and trust, she vows to be worthy of it by being "perfect". And, boy oh boy!, is she ever *perfect*! A minister's daughter and teacher who works with handicapped kids, an adult literacy volunteer and activist, a 26 year old virgin who has actively avoided dating sexy men, Julie is *beloved* in her small Texas town. Unfortunately, all this perfection is a little bit cloying. I liked more the fact that she was genuinely a *kind* person--she gives Zach a ride initially because she feels sorry for him. As his captive, Julie intially tries to escape, then to gull Zach into complacency. There is a little too much adorable woman-child behavior by Julie for my taste, but Zach eats it right up. He is a *little* bit suspicious when she wants to build a snowman in subzero weather, but (gosh, darn it!) isn't she cute! Of course, three days with Zach and Julie's 26 years of virginity are down the drain (talk about the Stockholm syndrome!)
The plot is interesting and moves along well, although there is the "trademark" Judith McNaught *major hiccup* in trust between the main characters that is later brushed off and forgiven. Although this plot event introduces all sorts of tension and turmoil into the story--I have to say that I thought that it was out of character, had potentially disasterous results and was almost *unforgivable*. My other major complaint with the story was with all the Hollywood name-dropping. I found it annoying and out of character for Julie and especially Zach to be so star-struck.
This is a longish book (over 600 pages) but I finished it in one day. The story is entertaining and Zach is the kind of dark, driven, sexy and complex hero that I adore. I love to see the strong, cynical type brought to his knees by his love for a good woman!
Recommended!
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