Almost Perfect (Fool's Gold, #2)

May 20, 2010 Manda Collins rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of secret babies, small towns, author heroines

Recommended to Manda by: NetGalley

Shelves: contemporary

ALMOST PERFECT is the story of Ethan Hendrix and Liz Sutton. Let me warn you now that if you are not a fan of secret baby stories, then this is not the book for you. Twelve years after she left Fool's Gold pregnant with Ethan's baby, Liz returns to the small town where she grew up, her 11yo son Tyler in tow, to come rescue her two nieces who were abandoned by their step-mother. No way, no how is she prepared to stay there. Through a series of mishaps and bad luck and bone-headed moves on Ethan's...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Almost Perfect was my favorite in Susan Mallery’s Perfect series. I loved Liz and Ethan, and Liz was free of angst. A successful author, confident woman, caring mother, she had moved past Ethan’s betrayal. I respected her a lot for making a home away from the eyes of Fool’s Gold. Even more so, when she returns to take care of the nieces she never knew she had, knowing she’d face Ethan. The love child element could have been an issue, but Liz’s attempts to make her son known to Ethan really took...more

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Sep 22, 2010 willaful rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bickerfest, other-side-of-tracks-or-misalliance, heroes-behaving-badly, ping-pong-conversations

“So they were back to that, she thought, both annoyed and sad. The same road, the same words, the same feelings. They were trapped and she didn’t know how to make things different.”

Tell me about it.

I was curious to read this book because its Secret Baby plot sounded quite similar to Mallery’s Sweet Trouble, a story that packed a huge emotional punch for me. I wondered if the formula would work again, or if it would feel too much like a rerun. Well, it was a bit too familiar at times--but a much...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Julie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

seriously, people need to get over the whole moving back to San Francisco. Liz lives there. Tyler's whole life is there. she can't just pick up and move. Ethan pisses me off about that, thinking he had the rights to demand Liz to stay in Fool's Gold. why doesn't he move to San Francisco instead? after all, he'd be the only one changing lifestyle compared to Liz and Tyler.(not including Melissa and Abby). Ethan and his mom needed to get over missing out on Tyler's life because seriously? it was p...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Suzie Quint rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

I tend to avoid secret baby stories like the plague. The heroine rarely has any justification for keeping the man from knowing that he has a child that's valid enough to counter my distaste for a crappy deception that strikes me as selfish and self-serving. I say rarely because this book is the exception. Liz actually made 2 attempts to let Ethan know about his child and that was enough to get past my innate dislike of this type of story. (Upon reflection, I think it's probably illogical at best...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Jess (Gone with the Words) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autographed, read-2011, multiple-narrators, adult, contemp

Read this review on my blog! --> Almost Perfect by Susan Mallery

Almost Perfect had me Almost Crying throughout the whole book! This was such an emotional roller coaster for me! It made laugh, get angry, get sad...it literally had me on the verge of tears the whole time...until the end, when I finally cried happy tears.

To keep this review from getting too personal, lets just say that I’m mom and that may have led to this book resonating with me on so many levels. I agree that Liz should’ve tr...more

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Jul 17, 2010 Tina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: doormat-spineless-heroines, reunion, regret-reading

I never believed the hero loved the heroine from start to finish. And God, there were WAY too many kids in this book. Everyone is either arguing about kids, for kids or with kids.

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Jan 02, 2013 Ladyshane rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Story is worth-reading. Story is fast paced not until the middle up to the last chapters. I got tired with Ethan and Liz's arguments which happens to be the same all the time-- who is to blame who, who is right, and/or whose fault it is. I must give credit to Liz for giving Ethan a chance. She's given way too many chances which Ethan had blown up most of the time. On the other side, I think Ethan's a douchebag. He's such a kid. Yeah, He has his sweet moments but I'm actually pissed off at how he...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Mary Catherine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 07, 2012 VaultOfBooks rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

By Susan Mallery. #2 in Fool’s Gold Series. Grade: F
I’d heard good things about this author, and thought I’d try one of her books out. I like books with kids – they add a twist – and picked Almost Perfect.
I am still recovering from the horror.
Back in high school, Liz Sutton was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Then she’d stolen the heart of the most popular boy in town, and their secret romance helped her through the worst of times. Until Ethan Hendrix betrayed her and everything they...more By Susan Mallery. #2 in Fool’s Gold Series. Grade: F
I’d heard good things about this author, and thought I’d try one of her books out. I like books with kids – they add a twist – and picked Almost Perfect.
I am still recovering from the horror.
Back in high school, Liz Sutton was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Then she’d stolen the heart of the most popular boy in town, and their secret romance helped her through the worst of times. Until Ethan Hendrix betrayed her and everything they’d ever meant to each other. Devastated and pregnant, Liz left Fool’s Gold, California forever, she thought,
Now Liz must return to town and face the man who doesn’t know of their son’s existence. And this time she won’t have the option of making a quick getaway. Ethan and Liz can’t deny their passionate attraction, even after all these years. But will their desire be enough to spark a second chance at love?

When Liz was eighteen years old, she was secretly dating Ethan who was back from college for the summer. That lasted till Ethan denied their relationship in company of his friends, saying that she wasn’t worth his time. Liz packed her bags and left… and then found out that she was pregnant. She came back to inform Ethan, but he was in bed with someone else.
Now, the first two paragraphs are enough to inform you what a crappy hero the male protagonist is going to be. This is one of the most common, obvious and boring plots romance authors can use. Bringing one of the main characters back to their hometown which they’d vowed never to do and there they meet their high school fling. The fling had gone bad, but of course, they’d carried a torch, and now, everything ends in happily ever after.
The last book I’d read along the same lines was Ms. Lorraine Heath’s Hard Loving Man. But compared to this, that was a treasure chest. And teenage hormones are always a bad excuse for being a jerk.
Liz’s comfortable existence is thrown into turmoil when she receives an email from the fourteen-year-old niece she never knew she had. Her estranged brother, Roy, is in prison, and his wife has walked out on his two daughters, leaving them to fend for themselves. Melissa and Abby have run out of money and are desperate to find some way of staying together. They don’t want to end up in the foster care system and run the risk of being separated. Acting on instinct, Liz packs her bags, collects Tyler from school, and heads to Fool’s Gold to look after the girls.
When Liz arrives, she’s appalled at the conditions the girls have been living in and furious at the people of the town who have once again failed to notice children in need. To add to her bad mood, she receives a disconcertingly cheery welcome from Ethan Hendrix, the man who supposedly wrote to her six years previously telling her he wanted nothing to do with her or their son. It transpires that the letter was forged by Ethan’s late wife, and he knew nothing of Ethan’s existence until Liz rolled back into town.
Ethan is livid to discover that Liz had his child and never bothered to inform him. He’s lost eleven years with Tyler, and he’s determined to make up for lost time. However, Liz never named him on Tyler’s birth certificate, so Ethan requires her cooperation if he’s to establish a relationship with his son. He wants Tyler to stay in Fool’s Gold, but it will take some persuasion for Liz to agree.
Juggling her nieces’ situation with the hostility of Ethan, his family, and most of Fool’s Gold’s residents, Liz is not having a good summer. She can’t wait to sell her brother’s house and move back to San Francisco. Unfortunately for her, life is not destined to be that simple. In desperation, Ethan has her served with a court order demanding shared custody of Tyler. When the judge orders her to remain in Fool’s Gold until she and Ethan can work out a plan for custody, Liz is obliged to prolong her stay in the town she hates and which she is convinced hates her. However, things are rarely as they seem. Over the course of the summer, Liz is forced to confront her past, and Ethan comes to realise he was far from blameless in his dealings with Liz all those years ago.
The hero was a jerk. It was predictable that Liz would move to Fool’s Gold. But Ethan didn’t deserve her. It seemed that Liz was doing all the compromising. All the parts of people stopping Liz on the street and berating her for how she supposedly treated Ethan were not only unbelievable but sounded really just stupid.
Ethan is also weak. He runs to his mom to whine about everything and he treats Liz horribly throughout most of the book, and he probably says “I’m sorry” throughout most of his dialogue, but yet the reader is supposed to be sympathetic to this guy. I wished Liz would’ve dumped Ethan for somebody else. Not only did he deny his love for Liz when he was in college to his buddies, he also told his own mother that he didn’t care about Liz when he was an adult. He does nothing to endear himself to her afterwards.
I didn’t feel the chemistry between Ethan and Liz. It was really hard to believe they still loved each other after so many years. Perhaps if they hadn’t fallen into bed again so quickly, if they had spent more time getting to know the new Liz and Ethan, it would have been more believable. I mean, the situation is complicated and they’re not really feeling lovey dovey towards each other, but they’ll still succumb to lust? Plain disgusting.
They are responsible adults…parents, and the sleazy affair…uh-oh. Jeez. I left the book mid-way.

Originally reviewed at www.vaultofbooks.com (less)

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Jul 17, 2012 Vanessa rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Should be far from perfect! Ethan claimed that he loved Liz and then he seemed to get what he wanted and dumped her pretty quickly. She gets to overhear him deny her to his friends, she reacts, storms off, discovers she has a gift from our wonderful H, returns to enlighten him only to find him in bed w/ OW three weeks after she had run away, she dashes again, and then she attempts it one last time just to be turned down by a letter later. Liz is shocked that Ethan can claim he knew nothing about...more Should be far from perfect! Ethan claimed that he loved Liz and then he seemed to get what he wanted and dumped her pretty quickly. She gets to overhear him deny her to his friends, she reacts, storms off, discovers she has a gift from our wonderful H, returns to enlighten him only to find him in bed w/ OW three weeks after she had run away, she dashes again, and then she attempts it one last time just to be turned down by a letter later. Liz is shocked that Ethan can claim he knew nothing about circumstances and Ethan isn’t happy that she kept the secret all these years. He originally approached her, when she returned to take care of nieces from a brother she hasn’t seen in YEARS, and he apologized for being a jerk all those years ago. His excuse – he was a kid! Okay, maybe that will float, but guess what he is a jerk later on and he is no longer a KID!

I had several problems w/ this book:

Tyler, their child, had a friend in San Francisco whose name was Jason and he MUST have a friend in Fool’s Gold w/ same name because there can NOT possibly be any other names under the sun – yeah picky huh (well in my defense it got confusing). What happened to the Disney land plans? Nothing further was mentioned on that. The second dinner after they had already eaten. How come everyone in this little town knew her secrets, but no one knew his? Not one of the nosey citizens lifted a finger for her or the two little girls later. Why did Ethan continue to defend his dead wife? What did she die of? The whole incident before Liz left the first time seemed to get rewritten a few times: One he called her a POA but he wouldn’t be interested in touching that; his friend called her a hoe (no not the tool), another he just wouldn’t be interested in her. Liz said that in Ethan not defending her it spoke of his character yet she still loved him?!!! Liz told Ethan’s mom she was gone 2 months when she returned to tell him her news, yet later she tells OW that she was gone 3 weeks. Liz thought OW had inability to remember the past w/ accuracy and I thought that could be said of Liz.

None of Ethan’s anger is directed at himself or dead wife all at Liz. He never looked for Liz or tried to contact her but he was reading her books so he could have contacted her and he never did. He knew why Liz had left and he wished that she had stayed and talked – seriously? Why couldn’t he have contacted Liz? He didn’t seem to ever want to accept own any of his own actions, but wants to blame Liz for all. She legitimately believed that he KNEW!! Why would she think his wife would keep the secret? Ethan is very immature in actions and behavior throughout the story, and denies her again behind her back. He doesn’t trust her since she didn’t state pregnant immediately either. He constantly shows her that he can’t be trusted, but she comes back for more … repeatedly.

What sacrifice has he ever made? She makes sacrifices for him/kids and she puts up w/ the antics of people in the town – sure he has a gesture at the end but it was an ACCIDENT!!!! Ethan seemed to want things handed to him w/ no real effort on his part. What did he ever give up? He was sorry for the past, but he continually punishes her for the past! Even while he claims she should not punish him for it. The surface he is a good guy, but at heart he is selfish and immature and even he knows it.
Ethan denied Liz to his friends, excuse he was young, yet he admits r/s w/ Liz to his wife? Why at that point? To what purpose did it serve? It wasn’t really explained in the book, but seemed to offer up ammunition for the deceased wife to keep secrets.

I honestly believed that Liz made the effort to inform Ethan of the boy, but she was prevented several times. She believed he knew and didn’t want anything to do w/ the child. Why wouldn’t she believe that – it seemed true to form w/ his previous example of his character? Ethan decides it would be a good idea to teach the boy to be judgmental and sexist and it wouldn’t hurt to badmouth his mother, Liz, to the boy either.

Ethan tells her that he always loved her and hadn’t seen it before – yet he told her years ago that he loved her. So now it sounded like that was a means to an end - i.e. get in her pants! Maybe he is doing it again so that he can get a hand on to the child, after all Liz has a problem w/ putting everyone else ahead of herself. Surely she will stay true to form as well.

Also who was the big mouth that spread all of her business around town but not once considered his part of the whole deal? I'm guessing mom, but then that doesn't make sense because she KNEW what everyone said about Liz when she was younger and she continually states she felt bad about that. Then, of course, mom comes to Liz to offer support to her because it seems that a lot of the town is against Liz. If she blabbed, then why is she now coming to offer support and why didn't she then rectify the situation by blabbing about golden boy's part of the deal?

I could buy his excuse of he was a kid when he initially hurt Liz. However, one would think that given his age and his so called maturity level, which I honestly didn’t see, he would have stepped up to the plate. Ethan just isn’t strong enough to w/stand the adversity that he will be faced w/ and he kicks Liz to the side and he continues to do so throughout this novel. The only time he really seems to step up … it was an accident not meant for her ears! And Liz, likes to be a throw rug, is just so totally in love w/ him that even though he makes her so mad she forgives him because she loves him unconditionally, and she feels awful for not trying harder to tell him about the child. She has grown more in her time away then he ever could and in maturity level she far surpasses him, but in the end she still wants him. She seemed to settle for him and he didn’t seem that great of a hero, but the key is almost perfect as in he falls short of perfection and will never totally achieve it! However, he will try to for her … and that is something right?
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Jun 20, 2012 Lynda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Almost Perfect continues the Fools Gold series with the story of Liz Sutton and Ethan Hendrix. Liz is a successful author who despite becoming an unwed mother just out of high school with no parental support and having to give up a college scholarship has made a good life for herself and her son Tyler. After receiving a desperate email from her two nieces, Liz reluctantly returns to Fools Gold. After discovering her brother is in prison leaving two daughters with no one to care for them, Liz pla...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Cathy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, reviewed

This book should be retitled Opposite of Perfect or Barely Likeable.

Let's see... where to begin with this one... Susan Mallery is so hit or miss with me. I was hoping this would be good because the premise had potential to be heartfelt and angsty. Oh, I felt something alright. Just not the warm and fuzzies I was hoping for.

The H and h are the typical social opposites; the H being the small town's golden boy and the h the pariah, mainly because of her mother's drunkeness, prostitution-ness, and...more This book should be retitled Opposite of Perfect or Barely Likeable.

Let's see... where to begin with this one... Susan Mallery is so hit or miss with me. I was hoping this would be good because the premise had potential to be heartfelt and angsty. Oh, I felt something alright. Just not the warm and fuzzies I was hoping for.

The H and h are the typical social opposites; the H being the small town's golden boy and the h the pariah, mainly because of her mother's drunkeness, prostitution-ness, and plain old skankiness. Of COURSE the H and h are drawn together. He takes her virginity, promises to run away to college together, and love her forever. Can you see where this is going? So what does the golden boy do? Calls her a slut in front of her and his friends saying he'd never be with someone like that. C'mon ladies, tell me you don't see his appeal!! She runs away, finds out she's pregnant, comes back to tell him about the baby, but finds him in bed with another gal, and yes, it's someone who made it her life's goal of tormenting the h. Ah yes. Again, what a charmer. She runs away... again, returns 6 years later to make another attempt to tell the H about his son, only to be told by his pregnant wife he wasn't home but she'll be sure to tell him she stopped by and about his son. SURE SHE WILL! So, are we surprised that the h receives a letter from our beloved H saying he knows and doesn't want her bothering him ever again? Of course. So, fast forward 5/6 years later, she comes back to the hell of her home town when she hears that her nieces are left unattended because her brother is in jail. She runs into the H, he's blindsided about the fact that he had a son after all these years, angered that he missed out on the first decade of his son's life, and shows her by... having sex with her??

Here's where the book went downhill for me. I get how the circumstances came about. He was a good looking small town kid whose father was a bit of a reputation whore. I get that. I also get that he wasn't man enough to fight for what he wanted because whatever he wanted was usually given to him. I forgive that because he was still, in essence, a kid. But that's where my forgiveness ends.Given 11 years to grow, this H is no H, at least not one that I'd be sniffing around again. Oh hell to the NO!. The h raised a child on her own, picked up the pieces of her life, and became a success as a published author. After all that, she was so spineless when it came to the H. I would have junk punched him in the man business so many times over, he wouldn't have had to worry about knocking up another woman (and yes, that's why he got married... because he just can't seemed to put a raincoat on it.) Each time I think he's going to finally be worthy, he pulls a stunt that I would have tore into him, yet the h "falls into him" and allows him to kiss her. UGH. Please. I never felt that this joker loved her, not then and definitely not at the end.

The only reasons I gave this 2 stars was because 1) I liked some of the secondary characters, and 2) a theory of mine was actually implemented in this storyline. It's one that I normally think of with stories of husbands leaving their families for another woman and the wife says, no no no... wait a sec. Take the kids too. You want to start over? Start over like I would have to. See how your honey deals with you coming with a package. Well, the h's son and the H kept blaming the h about their lost time, wanting her to move her entire life to be closer to the H, and the son hurting the h saying how he wanted to live with the H, even though his mother sacrificed everything for him. The h was convinced to allow the son to experience living with the H and the H could NOT handle it. So quickly was it that the boy found appreciation for his mother and the H said, "oh, it turns out that visitation WILL work for me afterall."

{{PUNCH FACE NOW}}
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May 06, 2012 Tia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The hero and heroine knew each other since children, they lived in the same hometown. When they were eighteen they began a secret relationship, the heroine was from the wrong side of the tracks and he was embarrassed to be seen with her. One day at the diner where the heroine worked, his friends mentioned seeing him with the heroine and asked if they were together. He denied it and the heroine dumped a milkshake on his head, packed up and left town, only to find out she was pregnant with his bab...more The hero and heroine knew each other since children, they lived in the same hometown. When they were eighteen they began a secret relationship, the heroine was from the wrong side of the tracks and he was embarrassed to be seen with her. One day at the diner where the heroine worked, his friends mentioned seeing him with the heroine and asked if they were together. He denied it and the heroine dumped a milkshake on his head, packed up and left town, only to find out she was pregnant with his baby.

When the heroine realized she was pregnant, she came back to town to tell him and found him in bed with another woman, so her pride being hurt and her loving him deeply, she left. Only for five more years to go by to show up to tell him about his son. This time she spoke to the heroes wife, who told her that the hero was out of town and she'd let him know.

When a letter came days later for her supposedly but the hero, he said to stay out of his life and never come back, so that's what she did. Until she got an email from her nieces whom she'd never met. The heroines brother was in jail and their stepmother had taken off, leaving two children under the age of fourteen all alone. So the heroine headed back to their hometown to take care of them with her son in tow.

When she arrived in the small town, she saw the hero again and was shocked to find out he knew nothing of their son. When she produced proof of the letter and the facts the hero was still angry at her. As he got to know his son he began to realize that he was in love with the heroine and had never stopped loving her. The heroine knew she had always loved the hero as well. Thus began the heroes regular begging and grovelling techniques and eventually a happy ending.

The book was pretty damn enjoyable to read, there was some hard emotional times and there was a lot of laughing as I was reading it. At times I did cry and at others I was completely dumbfounded by the heroes stupidity. All together it turned out really well.(less)

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Apr 30, 2012 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have mixed emotions about this story. I really liked the main character, Liz. Her actions seemed totally justified to me. I had a hard time caring about Ethan. I felt the author was trying to show his point of view as being an acceptable response. Here's the thing, it is easy to say 12 years later how you would have handled a situation but that probably would not have been your response. He says he would have married her and wanted to raise their child together. Sure he's 35 now but at 23? Peo...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Melissa McHugh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book had a lot of things going for it. I liked the heroine, her son was realistic, the kick-off for the plot regarding her nieces being left alone after their father was sentenced to prison was interesting.

And then there was the supposed hero of the piece. I suppose my main beef with Mallery's Ethan Hendrix was that there never enough from his point of view, and without his point of view I just didn't feel connected to his character. The physical attraction between Ethan and Liz was very ev...more

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May 08, 2011 Nath rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, read-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 4/5 (B)

Ms Mallery is a hit and miss author for me. I love her writing and settings, which is why I keep reading her, but sometimes, I really have issues with the characters. Chasing Perfect, the first book in the trilogy, was a bit of a disappointment for me as I felt Ms Mallery was setting patterns in her series... However, I'm glad to say that Almost Perfect was a hit and that I greatly enjoyed it :)

What really made this book enjoyable for me was Liz' character. Liz is a great mom, a great au...more 4/5 (B)

Ms Mallery is a hit and miss author for me. I love her writing and settings, which is why I keep reading her, but sometimes, I really have issues with the characters. Chasing Perfect, the first book in the trilogy, was a bit of a disappointment for me as I felt Ms Mallery was setting patterns in her series... However, I'm glad to say that Almost Perfect was a hit and that I greatly enjoyed it :)

What really made this book enjoyable for me was Liz' character. Liz is a great mom, a great aunt and a great woman. She raised Tyler alone and has a great relationship with him. You can see the love between mother and son, their connection. I loved the fact that she did not lie to him. Instead, whenever Tyler asked about Ethan, she would say that she did not want to discuss it. She tried to contact Ethan in order to provide Tyler a father and that took a lot of courage and guts. I also liked the fact that she did not hesitate packing her stuff and rushing to her nieces' aid when they contacted her. It's really a big step considering that Liz' family has never been close to each other. However, it was realistic because Liz didn't fly to their rescue, but instead, went to assess the situation. See what would be best for the girls - whether she should take them in or someone else could. In the end, she became a great mother figure for them :) There is one instance when she catches her oldest niece, Melissa, stealing money and while shocked, Liz does not get mad at Melissa and instead, asks her niece how much would make her feel safe. I really liked that scene because it showed how understanding Liz is. She hasn't gone through exactly the same thing, but she knows how it feels. I also really appreciate the way Liz dealt with the whole situation of Ethan's learning about his son and everyone passing judgment on her actions, from Ethan's mother to strangers. Liz was reasonable and rational and she always had Tyler's best interest in mind. She never tried to make it difficult for Ethan or deny the father and son relationship. She was honest with both of them and herself. I'm telling you, a truly amazing and good woman.

The kids were also a great element in this book. They were very realistic in their behaviors. For those who don't like children in their books, I still think you should give Almost Perfect a chance. None of the children are babies anymore. There is no baby talk, not precocious 5 years old. Instead, we're talking about two pre-teens and a teenage girl who act their age :) They really added to the story; in fact, they were central to Almost Perfect and were great characters.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Ethan. I understand that Ethan is angry at Liz and at the missing years. However, I felt he was too selfish. It was too much of "me, me, me." I wished he would consider the whole situation from Liz' point of view. Liz tried twice to tell him and she truly believed the second time around that he didn't want anything to do with them. She has suffered rejection from him once so it was not far-fetched to believe he was rejecting her a second time and as a result, I don't feel she was obligated to try again. I'm sure she wanted to spare her son the same feeling. Ethan kept saying how it was unfair that he had to forgive Liz for not telling him about Tyler, but that Liz would not forgive him for not acknowledging their relationship all those years ago... But life is unfair. The biggest issue is that he rejected Liz and really broke her heart. He did not try to go after her, to find her... he just let her go. That moment shaped their lives and Ethan has to take responsibilities. I was really happy that Ethan jumped in fatherhood, that he really wanted to know Tyler... but I felt at time, he was not level-headed enough and that led to some poor decisions ^_^;

The romance in Almost Perfect also wasn't the best. I didn't feel the chemistry between Ethan and Liz. It was really hard to believe they still love each other after so many years. Perhaps if they haven't fell into bed again so quickly, if they had spent more time getting to know the new Liz and Ethan, it would have been more believable. I mean, the situation is complicated and they're not really feeling lovey dovey towards each other, but they'll still succumb to lust? Hmm, I don't think so. In addition, I think the ending was too abrupt - I liked Ethan's grand gesture, but I don't like that the book ended on it. A few more pages or an epilogue would have helped the romance in my opinion.

Something that I really liked about Almost Perfect is how it could be a stand-alone. There's very little connection to Chasing Perfect. It allowed the story to focus on the current characters and plot, instead of catching up on previous characters :)

I really enjoyed Almost Perfect. As I said, Liz really was the star of this book and made it good. It's unfortunate that Ethan and the romance did not measure up :((less)

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May 01, 2011 Jessi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: appealing-characteristic-character, romance, part-of-a-series, contemporary, 2011

Liz Sutton, a famous mystery writer, is back in Fool's Gold, California, her hometown to rescue her nieces. But while she's in town, her son's father reappears. Evan Hendrix is furious. He had dated Liz but never known that she was pregnant and now he has a ten-year-old son he didn't get to watch grow up.
Liz tried to tell him, twice. Granted, that's not that many times but she was an eighteen-year-old girl who came from a bad family and she didn't know that he might help. Right before she disco...more

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Mar 21, 2011 Booklover rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: baby-children, divorce-separated-reunion-2nd-chanc, love, engagement-marriage-on-rocks, pregnancy-surrogacy, parents, revenge

It was good story and Liz was awesome so strong and brave,inspite of being a outcast from society cause of what her mother does.she keeps fighting through her teens,excels in studies, Liz is really great---kind, caring,almost too good, half way thru this book and wondered why Liz would even want this guy!

Ethan on the other hand is Selfish,mean,arrogant and in first book of this series"Chasing perfect"u will come to know he stopped speaking to his best friend Josh for 10 years because Josh became...more It was good story and Liz was awesome so strong and brave,inspite of being a outcast from society cause of what her mother does.she keeps fighting through her teens,excels in studies, Liz is really great---kind, caring,almost too good, half way thru this book and wondered why Liz would even want this guy!

Ethan on the other hand is Selfish,mean,arrogant and in first book of this series"Chasing perfect"u will come to know he stopped speaking to his best friend Josh for 10 years because Josh became the champion cyclist that Ethan wanted to be and couldn't because of an injury.then there is Liz god he does'nt deserve anyone first let me come to his treatment of Liz,Here is a guy, who tells all his buddies in front of the heroine(the secret girlfriend he supposedly loved) is a slut, and doesnt know her when teased about them. Heartbroken, she runs away only to returns 3 weeks later to tell him she's pregnant, but finds him in bed with one of her tormentor from high school. Of course, this makes her run away again, to return 5 years later to try telling him about the baby. This time she finds out he married another girl (which we later find out because he got her pregnant too, what a nice guy). And not once did he go after the heroine to apologize or to get her back. We're lead to believe its because he was young. Strictly speaking for myself, I just plainly felt he didn't love her at all.

And then there's Ethan again after few years after the incident when she comes to tell him abt the child when Liz returns he treats-greats her as if never anything happened,he even has a gall to get angry and abuse Liz call her Bitch when he comes to know of the child which he fathered,Liz even gives him proof of the letter which his now dead wife sent to Liz without telling anything abt it to Ethan it says"I know abt the boy and i don't want to do anything with it"still he gives benefit of doubt to his dead wife but not Liz

then Ethan's mother Denise(at the end she is smarter then Ethan)and whole town keeps taunting n treating Liz badly cause he did such a wrong thing against their Ethan,and Ethan even tries to poison his child's mind against Liz and tells him how bad his mother is cause she kept him from his father,even files for sole custody of his son inspite of Liz telling him again n again that she is ready to come to a compromise set a schedule so that Ethan spent time with his son n give him his father's rights

I kept expecting the time of redemption to come, but it never came. In my opinion, Heros can be forgiven for almost eanything, but not before they suffer a little to prove the reader he is genuinely sorry and in love, etc... This one is basically like this: 'Hero" is a jerk because he is immature, then he is a jerk because he is mad, then he is a jerk because he cannot turn back time, then he is a jerk because he HAS TO DO THE RIGHT THING, and finally, he is a jerk because he actually is forgiven by accident (his plan was only to inform the city part of the blame was his, but after all the crap he put Liz trough he was not capable of 1 great gesture!) I love flawed characters, but this one is not flawed, and he is very far away of being almost perfect, he is simply a jerk.

Etha never felt sorry for how he treated Liz during teens,not when she came back and things he did to hurt her and never for once apologise to her or Grovel

I gave 2 stars only for Liz cause way she fights through all odds

Read it but mostly if you can ignore it(less)

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Feb 06, 2011 Becca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, contemporary-romance, books-read-in-2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 3.5 stars

When Liz was a senior in highschool she was secretly dating Ethan a college Junior. Ethan was from a founding family in Fool's Gold and was completely devoted to upholding the family name. Liz was the daughter of a drunk and a whore who occasionally beat her. The kids in highschool were horrible to Liz they called her a whore, and made up stories about how everyone had slept with her. But Liz was smart and beautiful and she had Ethan. Ethan was her first everything, and she was complete...more 3.5 stars

When Liz was a senior in highschool she was secretly dating Ethan a college Junior. Ethan was from a founding family in Fool's Gold and was completely devoted to upholding the family name. Liz was the daughter of a drunk and a whore who occasionally beat her. The kids in highschool were horrible to Liz they called her a whore, and made up stories about how everyone had slept with her. But Liz was smart and beautiful and she had Ethan. Ethan was her first everything, and she was completely in love with him. But the day after she had given Ethan her virginity she overheard he telling his friends that No, he wasn't seeing her she was just a piece of ass and he didn't want someone like her.

Liz fled town and found out she was pregnant, she went back a few weeks later but Ethan was in bed with someone else. So for a few years she gave up trying to tell him, then she went back again and met Ethan's wife whom she told because Ethan was away. Turns out the wife never told Ethan he had a son, but Liz got a letter in the mail saying that he wanted nothing to do with her or her son and to never come back. This was all in the past and before the book started.

Present day of the book, Liz is a famous mystery writer and she receives an email from a niece she never knew she had saying that she and her sister are in Fool's Gold and they are all alone. There dad is in prison and there step-mom left and they need help. Liz rushes back with her son and discovers that the girls have been alone for months, but no one in town noticed. Ethan sees Liz again at a bike rally and he is astounded he never thought that she would come back. He goes to her house that night to apologize for what he did all those years ago but learns that he has a son.

At the beginning of the book almost the entire town was extremely rude to Liz, they all felt it was their duty to make comments about how she kept the child from Ethan. I was pissed for her and it made me angry because none of them knew the story but they were judging her anyway. Ethan slowly gets over his anger but it is never truly gone. I don't how Liz kept forgiving him because he honestly just made mistake after mistake. I liked the ending of the book, but thought it was a little abrupt I personally like to see Epilogues of months or years later to see how everything turned out but this book didn't have one. It was a good story, and enjoyable but it wasn't a can't put down type of book. (less)

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Nov 18, 2010 Sarah Eiseman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second book in the Fool’s Gold series and definitely one of the more serious stories by Mallery that I’ve read.

In this chapter of the Fool’s Gold series we meet Liz Sutton, a successful mystery author, who has literally pulled herself up by her own bootstraps. A single parent of an 11 year-old boy, Liz returns to her hometown of Fool’s Gold following a call from her recently abandoned nieces. Coming home, she makes the point of confronting her son’s father, Ethan Hendrix, and allowin...more This is the second book in the Fool’s Gold series and definitely one of the more serious stories by Mallery that I’ve read.

In this chapter of the Fool’s Gold series we meet Liz Sutton, a successful mystery author, who has literally pulled herself up by her own bootstraps. A single parent of an 11 year-old boy, Liz returns to her hometown of Fool’s Gold following a call from her recently abandoned nieces. Coming home, she makes the point of confronting her son’s father, Ethan Hendrix, and allowing father and son to have some bonding time. Ethan’s betrayals all through high school have only intensified her sensitivity to him following their reunion. So it doesn’t help that he’s telling everyone in town that she hid the information of her son from him and everyone else. Families get involved and much drama ensues.

There are so few books by Mallery that I don’t enjoy, and I have to say despite the ugly undertones in this book, I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. It had more meat to it than some of her previous books. I like her stories that revolve around second chances and reunions with unknown relatives. I can definitely see Mallery taking some of the minor characters and giving them stories when they grow up. Tyler, Liz’s son, for example would be a great story, as would her nieces, Melissa and Abby. The emotions that the characters felt in this book, I felt, were much more potent than some of the other books I’ve read by Mallery. Although I went through my normal love/hate with the hero, ultimately, I think he’s a good guy at heart. But he’s a guy, so he needs to be an idiot for a little while before he figures it out.

If you like Mallery, but want a little more drama or meat to your story, I’d suggest checking this book out. I found it tough to read at times, but tough because I could definitely see real people making these same choices. This story also introduced more single characters into the mix, so I’m curious to see what comes next. The next installment of this series, Finding Perfect, will be out in September. If you’ve read Mallery’s Bakery Sisters series, you’ll recognize Raoul from that story. Now that I’ve made the connection, I’m super-excited to read that book!
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Nov 02, 2010 Tracie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok. So I've started listening to this and I'm not sure I'll even finish it. It's not the reader, who seems adequate, it's the story. Before the end of the first CD I just wanted to gag.

Really. Would someone tell me how on earth anyone can like Ethan and consider him the romantic interest in this........romance. Why on earth would anyone want him. And his mother! All self-righteous. Why didn't she knock him upside the head and tell him off for his behavior. And what was with the main character (...more

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Aug 18, 2010 Natasha A. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a very good story, it was very well written, and I really liked Liz as a character. She was strong and persevered when life threw her lemons. She tried to do the right thing and then everything gets thrown into her face. She also had the appearance of being an amazing mother, who was very good at teach right and wrong. Ethan....he was not my favourite character. He was a bit of a douche. I didn't like how he handled the whole situation with Liz. He was a bit delusional in how people act...more

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Aug 01, 2010 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone looking for a light-hearted romance

Recommended to Heidi by: Susan mallery

My Ratings

Plot: 3/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Originality of Plot: 3/5
Characters Development: 4/5
Ending: 4/5
Cover Art: 4/5

Overall: 27/35 = 77%

First Line

Liz Sutton had always known the past would come back and bite her in the butt - she just hadn’t known it was going to happen today.

Synopsis

Could a secret romance really lead to a perfect love?

Back in high school, Liz Sutton was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Then she'd stolen the heart of the most popular boy in town, and their secret r...more

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Jun 18, 2010 Jane Litte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book much more than the first Fool's Gold book. First, it didn't focus on this hokey setup that all the women in Fool's Gold are desperate for women. (In fact, it's another out of towner coming in to take a native bachelor). It's a secret baby story. Small town girl whose mom is town bicycle gets targeted in high school as a s!ut. She falls for town golden boy while he is back from college. She gives up her virginity. They date secretly. One day she overhears him being asked if he...more

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Jun 08, 2010 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, netgalley, romance-contemporary

4 1/2 + stars
This is the second in the Fool's Gold series.

Ethan Hendrix was introduced in Chasing Perfect. He is the best friend of Josh Golden (hero from Chasing Perfect) and a descendant of the founding fathers of Fool's Gold. He is the oldest in his family and always "does the right thing." Appearance is everything to him.

Liz Sutton was the girl from "the other side of the tracks" in high school. Her mother was abusive and no one helped Liz survive, so she did it on her own. She fell for Eth...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Christina rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm new to Susan Mallery's work, but I found the first Fool's Gold book (Chasing Perfect) to be cute, and the novella's of the series super sweet, so I kept reading the series. I was amazingly disappointed with this story.

I'll start by saying this is my first surprise child story, and it will be my last if they are all like this. I liked Ethan in the first book and was looking forward to his story. After about 10 pages it became clear that this was going to be a book that punishes him, for some...more I'm new to Susan Mallery's work, but I found the first Fool's Gold book (Chasing Perfect) to be cute, and the novella's of the series super sweet, so I kept reading the series. I was amazingly disappointed with this story.

I'll start by saying this is my first surprise child story, and it will be my last if they are all like this. I liked Ethan in the first book and was looking forward to his story. After about 10 pages it became clear that this was going to be a book that punishes him, for something he didn't even know he had done.

My two biggest problems with the book were I could not like the heroine, whom I found to be hypocritical and self righteous, and that everyone turns against the hero for a mistake he wasn't even aware he had made. Liz made 1 'real' attempt to tell Ethan of their son. 6 years after she had him. And suddenly she is excused for the fact she never really attempted at all--her half-hearted attempt is suppose to wipe away the fact she (as Ethan says) "played God" with Ethan's and their son's lives. This I could have eventually accepted, except for Liz's hypocritical actions for the following 300 pages. She tells Ethan he has to let the past go, yet for the entire 300+ pages she punishes Ethan because LIZ CAN'T LET THE PAST GO. Despite the fact Ethan is doing everything he can to get to know his son and NOT upset Liz.

My second problem is that the author has everyone of importance jumping on Liz's side. Ethan's family and best friends are constantly telling him how 'stupid' he is and how wrong his actions are. Has everyone forgotten the fact he is dealing with the fact he found out he has an 11 year old son?! As a reader, how are we suppose to fall for a character when even his own, tight-knit family sides against him?

I think single-parents are amazing people, but having been raised by my father I am perhaps a bit more sensitive to paternal rights. I felt Ethan was completely within his rights to call for an injunction. Going back to the hypocrisy, Liz constantly tells Ethan she doesn't trust him. WHAT has Liz done to ever give Ethan a cause to trust her when their son is concerned? He, as a father, needed to ensure his rights were protected and Liz has CLEARLY demonstrated she has a history of keeping father and son apart.

I am willing to give another book of Ms Mallery's a try, but I think I will skip Pia's, which saddens me because I loved her in the first book. But (a third flaw) to ensure some sympathy for the current heroine, Liz, other women and future-novel heroine's were demeaned and 'thrown under the bus.' Was it really necessary to portray a future heroine as such a 'mean-girl' and, well, former bitch?(less)

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Sep 21, 2011 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The 2nd in the Fool's Gold series & I have enjoyed both books alot. Liz left town right after high school, didn't know she was pregnant but never told Ethan. She comes back to town & has to face her past & the people in it. Liz has raised Tyler for 11yrs on her own. There is a lot of anger between Liz and Ethan understandably, but yes there is also chemistry. I feel for Liz, sometimes you just want to cry for her & yell that someone needs to do something for her instead of her ma...more

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May 18, 2010 Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) by: goodchoicereadin@aol.com

I was so excited to begin reading Almost Perfect and could not believe that I was given the chance yet again to read it before it hits shelves on June 29th. Thank you NetGalley!

My Review:

Okay seriously...What do we need to do to get Susan's books on the big screen? Every time I read her books I picture a movie or at least a TV mini series. It needs to be done! LOL

Anyway, the book kicks off right where Chasing Perfect left off. It begins with Liz who receives an e-mail from her nieces (that she...more
I was so excited to begin reading Almost Perfect and could not believe that I was given the chance yet again to read it before it hits shelves on June 29th. Thank you NetGalley!

My Review:

Okay seriously...What do we need to do to get Susan's books on the big screen? Every time I read her books I picture a movie or at least a TV mini series. It needs to be done! LOL

Anyway, the book kicks off right where Chasing Perfect left off. It begins with Liz who receives an e-mail from her nieces (that she did not know even existed) who were reaching out to her because of an issue. That is how Liz ends up back in Fool's Gold. It then jumps into Ethan when he first spots Liz and continues from there.

I love Susan Mallery's writing because it is so easy to relate to her characters and fall in love with them. I love Ethan and Liz and right from the beginning when they first see each other again you can feel the chemistry. You can tell they still very much love each other, but neither one was going to admit it. Reading this book made me want to cry, made me smile, laugh, angry and happy. I started this book on Sunday night and tried my hardest not to finish it so fast, but every time I was not reading all I did was think about reading. I love when a book does that to me and Almost Perfect did just that.

I was a little angry at first at the ending of the book and was ready to say "wow, that ending sucked. I did not expect that at all." The ending felt unfinished and left so much unexplained to me, but then I realized it's because I do not have the ending to the book. I went on Borders.com and it says the book has 384 pages and I had 379. So imagine how happy I felt to know I had more to read hehe.

I definitely recommend this series and can not wait for the following book in Susan's Fools Gold series. So far the books that I have read by Susan I have loved! If you want a book that can make you smile, laugh, angry and emotional then definitely pick this book up. Of course after you have read Chasing Perfect. hehe (less)

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Aug 21, 2010 Lesley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I liked this book much better than Chasing Perfect, although I didn't like Ethan much more than I liked Josh (which wasn't much). What a arrogant, self-centered, thick-headed jerk, at least for most of the book. I am all for flawed characters, but I disliked him enough to start wishing that the heroine DIDN'T end up with him, even though she obviously would. He only redeemed himself at the end, when he finally managed to get a fricking clue through his thick skull, but for me, that didn't make u...more I liked this book much better than Chasing Perfect, although I didn't like Ethan much more than I liked Josh (which wasn't much). What a arrogant, self-centered, thick-headed jerk, at least for most of the book. I am all for flawed characters, but I disliked him enough to start wishing that the heroine DIDN'T end up with him, even though she obviously would. He only redeemed himself at the end, when he finally managed to get a fricking clue through his thick skull, but for me, that didn't make up for him being a complete self-absorbed dick for most of the rest of the book. Plus, he made it such a grand public gesture that it could be seen as being more about him than about what he was doing for Liz. Geez. I've kind of had it with heros who are all puffed up about themselves. I hope Finding Perfect has a hero with a shred of humility.

The other problem I had with this book was the high unliklihood of a judge actually serving an injunction when there was no proof of paternity- Ethan's name wasn't even on the birth certificate, for crying out loud. There's also no way a judge would threaten to jail both of them if they didn't come up with a workable plan. There could have at least been a paternity test before Liz was legally forced to stay in Fools Gold.

Now, what I did like about the book: I liked that the characters we met in the last book are becoming more three-dimensional as we get to know them better. I liked Liz a lot, as well as the kids. I think Mallery did a great job of portraying the girls, and liked that their problems didn't all just dissolve away just because Liz arrived. Also, it's nice to read a book about small-town life that isn't completely idyllic- small towns have their share of problems too, and when a book makes a small town sound like Mayberry, it just doesn't seem authentic. This is why I love Robyn Carr's Virgin River series- it also gives a much more realistic view of the problems that can be prevelant in small towns. It was interesting getting this view through Liz's eyes after seeing the more idyllic view through Charity's eyes in the last book.
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Almost Perfect (Fool's Gold #2)

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