Ms Perfectly Fine

Firstly, any book that starts with a playlist is an immediate plus for me.

Ms Perfectly Fine has all the great makings of a Contemporary Romance and I loved it. This had close proximity, reverse grumpy sunshine, chronic pain representation, suspense, spicy scenes, an adorable dog, reluctant roommates to friends to lovers trope (This is a trope I need MORE of) and so much more.

The chemistry between Autumn and Elijah was probably the highlight for me. I loved their banter and how they formed a friendship before any romance even began. Elijah is a whole swoon fest and I couldn't help but laugh at multiple of their interactions with one another.

I think this had the potential to have a higher rating for me but the suspense part of the book felt kind of rushed to me and I would've loved it to be dragged out a bit more.

Overall, I had great fun with this and I would love to check out more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Unfortunately, Ms. Perfectly Fine left me in a reading funk, and finishing it felt like a prolonged journey. The plot revolves around Autumn, a concert pianist making a comeback after a traumatic incident, disrupted by unexpected distractions in her living space. Despite being marketed as enemies-to-lovers, the slow pacing and the absence of genuine animosity from Elijah didn't deliver the anticipated tension.

While I appreciated the portrayal of Autumn's struggles with chronic pain, the addition of a stalker/mystery subplot felt unnecessary and detracted from the main narrative. It left me wishing for a more focused exploration of the core themes.

In the end, Ms. Perfectly Fine didn't meet my expectations, and I would caution others to consider skipping it. The unfulfilled promise of the enemies-to-lovers theme, combined with a slow plot and an unnecessary subplot, made this a challenging and less enjoyable read for me.

I believe this is my first time reading a romantic suspense novel and to be honest it through me off. The cutesy romantic moments juxtaposed with the mystery/suspense was odd. To me it felt like while the story was complete, I was craving a more rounded out romance or a more true suspense/mystery. The resolution of the novel felt cliche. I do not mean this is a bad way, more so that it was a bit underwhelming because of the clichés. Overall, I just felt like I kept wanting more from the mystery, from the characters. I will say the chronic pain representation was incredibly thought out and detailed. You can very clearly tell it is something that is very close to the author's heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

So this was a super fast-paced and quick and easy read. I ate this up in a day. This book was in the third person, which is not my favourite but it was pretty okay to read; I didn't mind it that much. However, the use of exclamation points was a tad bit excessive. I'm not sure if it was the third-person writing or not, but sometimes the thoughts in the characters' heads just annoyed me. I can't pinpoint a particular reason it was probably the writing, I wish it was first person , but I did skim through some of their thoughts a lot.

I really like how Autumn's story was told. I liked that we got to see how she deals with her trauma from the past and kind of learns to live with it. please please check trigger warnings before you read.

I also LOVED Elijah. He was adorable. I liked the cutesy little things he would do for her.
“Oh, she's beautiful, but hostile as hell.”

i did actually love the banter and the pranks. I caught myself smiling at the dynamic of the two; it was pretty darn cute.

“Hating him was a lot less complicated.”

This is marketed as enemies to lovers, but it's more of just a bad first impression, forced proximity, girl is grumpy, girl is used to being alone, guy is adorable, guy has dog, etc, etc.

“The only tension between us is frustration.”

Overall, definitely enjoyed it; it was a fun read. The whole stalker-y aspect of it was interesting as well. I was making guesses and definitely suspicious of everyone (lol) so I was definitely interested throughout the book.