No Such Thing As Perfect

I enjoyed this even though it wasn’t what I expected. I listened to this quite quickly but it didn’t give me the hope I expected. A good listen though.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Cornerstone and Penguin Random House UK for approving me for an ARC of this book.

I found this audio book really easy to listen to. Samantha Banks is a great narrator, it seemed effortless and her Scottish accent was brilliant!

This story follows Laura and her quest to find the perfect man and therefore the perfect life. To save herself from redundancy she decides to be a guinea pig for a new start up match making company, Cupid. They promise to find Laura her perfect match in exchange for a positive article detailing how thankful she is to Cupid for fixing her love life.

I have never been in the world of online dating but I know a few people who have. The likes of Tinder and Hinge are completely alien to me and so I loved that this book brought dating into the 21st Century and open naïve eyes like mine to that world. I’ve always been dubious about these dating apps and wondered how it all works so it was great to get some insider knowledge, even if Cupid weren’t as legit as they seemed.

I quite liked Laura and Adam as a couple at the start. I thought Adam was very sweet and had obviously been badly hurt in the past. You could see the cracks appearing quite early on though and that had me questioning if he was right for her? Her relationship journey took a rather predictable path in the story but I think that was the point and I quite liked Laura’s relationship status by the end.

This story had plenty of moments were I found myself having a little chuckle but there were some serious issues too. Laura and her sister Jamie had a really interesting relationship. Whilst Jamie seemed very cold and prickly I think a lot of that was down to her need to control her life especially given what her mum had done when they were both at school. How Laura’s relationships changed with her family was the golden nugget of the story. The frank conversations she had with not just Jamie but both her parents showed how far she’d come in the story. I have to give a special mention to Whit who, whilst being a little clueless, was such a sweet character who often made me smile.

Filled with funny, witty characters this will make the perfect summer read. I devoured it in almost one listen and hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Grab your refreshments, get yourself comfy and get ready to smile!

3.5. Stars
They say it never rains but it pours and that’s certainly true for our protagonist Laura. She’s air-bed surfing at her sister’s house after her housemates coupled up, her job as a junior journalist is under threat and her parents’ marriage has just imploded. She’s also beginning to wonder if the one she let get away was actually THE ONE.

Then she’s contacted by Nush from a new concept app, Cupid. Is this the answer to Laura’s dreams or the start of another nightmare?

There are some fun moments in this and some of the banter is actually both funny and quite realistic. The biggest problem for me was that Laura was often extremely annoying. Instead of laughing at her thoughtlessness and rudeness, eg turning up drunk/late, two-timing, etc, I just wanted to tell her to grow up.

At the outset, Jaime seems uptight and condescending but by the end you understand why. She and her husband have to deal with the pain of infertility and watching them deal with adult problems in an adult way throws Laura’s recklessness into further.

It’s fairly light and I was lucky enough to get an ARC audio version which was well-narrated and a great accompaniment on my walks. Would just have been nice to see some personal growth in our protagonist through the course of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Audio for an ARC audiobook in return for an honest review.

**Listened to the audio book as well as reading along via electronic copy**

I really enjoyed this reading/listening experience.
I've got the admit, the plot was a little slow to get started and I was a bit lost as to where the book was going plot-wise. It felt a little all over the place and I wasn't sure where it was going.
However, the more the book went on, the more I grew to love Laura and her topsy turvy life.
The book certainly wasn't original and had so many of the usual womens fiction plot tropes - but it was an easy read and enjoyable nevertheless.
I loved Samantha Barks as the narrator, (big fan of her within the theatre - but never heard her narrate a audiobook before) and think she did a great job with the different accents and characters. She definitely added to the reading/listening experience. I think I enjoyed listening to the audiobook far more than just reading and think if I was just reading along I may not have finished it.

Overall it was a really sweet book - nothing new or original, but a 'safe' choice in womens fiction.

Laugh out loud funny, I really enjoyed listening to No Such Thing as Perfect, the best kind of summer listen and nice and easy and flows really well with lots of humour

This is such a great book. I loved Laura as a character, you find yourself championing her right from the start. This is a book that will have you laughing out loud for sure.

Review of No Such Thing As Perfect by Emma Hughes - Audiobook

Cupid is an online dating service with a difference, it finds your perfect match by using your online digital footprint. Then we have Laura who is a magazine journalist who's life, well lets say, could be doing better. She agrees to sign up to write an article about the dating match.

The book was well written although felt a little long in places. Different from the standard type of romance stories, more about finding yourself.

The audio was well spoken and clear and easy to understand.

I enjoyed this book, it was easy listening and the main character is very likeable. I cringed and laughed along with her journey of love.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This was an easy to listen audio book. The narrator was perfect and I really felt like it was Laura speaking. Laura has had a terrible time with men so when she is emailed about a new way to find love, she decides to go for it. A company that match by looking at data... what could go wrong? A perfect summer read.

This books biggest failing is its categorisation. If I had gone into reading this book with the frame of my mind that it was a women's fiction novel, I think I would have enjoyed it so much more than I actually did.

This is simply not a romance book, and to market it like that, I think, is a real failure not only to the book but also to the audience that will miss out on reading this because it hadn't been targeted to them.

All that aside, Laura is a bit of a mess! Aha enjoyably and funnily for most of the book (although it does pretty quickly veer to awfully annoying). She's very much going through transitions in life, and everything is changing essentially. It's at this point that she encounters Cupid, a dating app that's different from all the others, comes in and offers her a chance to turn it all around...

It was an entertaining concept but around chapters 12-20 it felt like a bit of a chore to get through the book. A major saving grace would be Samantha Banks' narration on the audiobook (the lady can really NAIL an accent goodness gracious), perhaps my favourite part of the experience.

This was a good book, easy to listen and light hearted.
I really wanted to see how the story would end up, it was fun and entertaining.
The narration was upbeat and easy to follow.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for gifting me this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Listened to via audiobook. Enjoyable story. I was slightly distracted by the narrators Scottish accent which grated by the end of the book. I have a feeling my attention may have waned 80% in as I was starting to find Laure quite annoying. However the premise was interesting and the wealth of additional characters added depth and some colour. I’m glad the ending was not as predictable as it could have been. Worth a read or a listen.

Thank you Netgalley

The narration was good and well suited to the genre.
I nearly gave up on this book a few times. I was expecting something a bit darker but it is fluffy chick lit. If you like that type of book it's actually a good read. I persevered though and have to say I didn't hate it. In fact, had I been in holiday mode I would probably have really enjoyed it. The story is a man (nice Scottish accent) and lady (journalist) pushed together via a new app (here I thought I may have been getting a bit of a Black Mirrors vibe, but I was wrong). She is due to write the tale of their successful romance. They should be perfect for each other but she's just not really feeling it. She meets another guy. They click. He's not what he seemed. The app is also not what it seemed. Scottish guy goes back to fiancé. Journalist writes a completely different story than planned. She meets a nice vet. That's about it. Nice story.

No Such Thing As Perfect by Emma Hughes is about a 29 year old singleton called Laura Morrison who is forced to participate in a three month experiment with a new start-up called Cupid. Her online imprint is used in order to find her perfect match. Is there such a thing as a perfect match? And can you really trust a computer to find your perfect match out of the billions of potential candidates?

This book is an easy read, or in my case an easy listen as I downloaded the audiobook version So that I could listen to it while walking. The book explores the idea that an algorithm can use all our online data in order to sift through the billions of potential partners and find the one that is best suited to us. But all is not what it seems.

The characters were likeable, including the main character who like us all is flawed but despite her flaws and her willingness to self sabotage you still feel like you are rooting for her to succeed.

This is a lovely book for holidays, a nice companion on the beach and I would recommend it.

Abso telly loved this! Such a fun storyline and slightly emotional story (and such a great thing to listen to!). The narrator really makes this book that tiny bit better, with the flicking between accents to portray different characters being a personal favourite part of mine!