Thank you for the TBR Challenge, Diana Wallace Peach. The Omicron surge is scary. I’m staying home as much as possible and doing decluttering of the Kindle. I’ve read three books in the last 10 days.

Perfectly Imperfect is a lovely novella I enjoyed a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon reading by the fireplace. If you like steamy but not erotic romance, Jacquie Biggar’s Perfectly Imperfect is the right book for you. It has plenty of it from the beginning to the end.

Georgina Michaels borrowed money from the family to start the Bloomin’ Right food product company. The company’s finance is threatening her to file bankruptcy. She seeks business partners to keep it going because it is the way her Granny wanted. It’s her baby.

Ryns Turner is the son of a big business owner Mr. Turner, Sr. who makes investments in buying and selling small companies. Ryns went to Bloomin’ Right on his father’s request to do an inspection intending to have bigger shares and the right to sell it.

On a rainy morning in Seattle, Georgina and Ryns got stuck in the malfunctioned elevator and started a conversation, only to find out later that Georgina is the CEO of the Bloomin’ Right and Ryns is the prospective partner. They both have their own ideas about what to do with the company’s future and none of them wants to back down.

The book presents the two characters’ POV in alternate chapters revealing their thoughts and feelings. Georgina and Ryns seem to admire each other. The attraction intensifies throughout the several days of business interaction while they are critical and judgmental of each other.

The story is well-crafted with enough push-and-pull emotions and actions. Highly recommended.

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Staci Troilo’s No Such Luck is a charming romance that took place right before Christmas, I felt the warmth coming out of the pages.

The beginning of the story was not pleasant when Piper Seidel was fired as a journalist for the third time. She was over-confident, arrogant, and thought she was invincible because she thought she was the best. She was wrong. Her boss fired her, had someone pack up her desk, and had the security escort her to the parking lot. Such a humiliation reminds me of a political situation that happened to the boss of my boss, except she was escorted to her office first thing in the morning, being watched while she packed up a few things. Piper was in shock. She checked the box of stuff. The office packed all her belonging except her good luck charm of the carnation Tommy Burnett gave it to her from their high school dance. Too late, she had lost it.

Piper drove her 20 years old car, hitting the road to head home earlier than scheduled. She was pretty downhearted by losing the job, losing the apartment, with no foreseeable bright future. Her parents were not prepared and had nothing for her to eat. She found herself at the grocery store two hours later, bumping into Tommy on whom she had a crush eleven years prior. She also ran into her best friend, Jack Rhodes, and felt guilty that she didn’t return his many messages.

A night out with her prince charming brought her from fantasy to reality. An honest talk with Jack gave her the right perspective of what she wanted in life. I enjoyed this cozy romance. Highly recommended.

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Teri Polen’s Sarah is a YA horror with a well-developed story. Sarah is a teenage ghost murdered and lingered in the attic of the 17-year-old Cain Shannon’s home. Cain’s dad died. Mom is a real estate agent. She purchased the home at a good price because of the ghost story. Cain tries to become the man of the house by helping his mom. He juggles classes, soccer, and takes care of a 7-year-old sister.

His best friend Finn’s parents are divorced. Finn is often with Cain to play games, munch on junk food, and crash on the couch when there are problems at home.

Many eerie things happen in his room. The attic door cracks open, furniture falls sideways, and things in the room are out of place. Sarah shows up to him. He is not afraid of Sarah and asks her about the murder. Eventually, Sarah tells him the names of the three boys who murdered her.

Cain is the soccer captain and Erin doesn’t leave him alone. He likes Lindsey but doesn’t know how to break up with Erin. During a soccer game, he hits the ground and suffers a concussion. After being discharged from the hospital, he has memory lapses and does strange things he normally doesn’t do. He breaks up with Erin in the school hallway. He finishes chemistry homework in the class with perfect answers.

Sarah takes advantage of Cain when he is weak during his memory lapses and uses his body to take revenge. Then she sucks enough energy from Cain to do the killing without Cain’s body. With each killing, she becomes more powerful. Her power gets out of control to threaten the safety of Can’s family.

I read the book almost in one sitting, kept turning the pages until the last few paragraphs. The characters, relationships, and teenage life are realistic. Polen did a wonderful job to build the story gradually to the climax. The horror details are as vivid as any scenes on a movie screen. I could see the semi-transparent ghost swiftly flowing and suspending several feet above the ground. The friendship of Cain, Finn and Lindsey is beautiful. Cain couldn’t have done what he did without the help of Finn and Lindsey. I recommend this book to young people and adults.

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