User blog:Mt Mass/Perfect Match Review

So as of making this blog post, the first chapter of Perfect Match 2 will be out in just a few hours! Being that it's one of my favorite series from PB, I thought I could do a review of its predecessor as a homage of some sort. Unlike my last review for HSS, I'm going to be doing things a little differently. I'm dividing the review up into three sections: Plot, Conflict, Characters, and Thoughts/Conclusion of what I thought about the book overall. Also, not to forget that because PM only has one book out at the moment, I can be a little more in depth with this review. I'm also going to be following this format starting now for future reviews.

(MAJOR SPOILERS)

Plot
So in fifteen words or less, the plot is basically "matchmaking service turns out to be a ploy to replace humans with androids". I thought the matchmaking service was a great cover up for a Sci-Fi (if you can call it that)/Fantasy Adventure genre. You wouldn't really expect much from it other than your MC getting matched with a stranger named Hayden (now Hayden I'll give into a little later in Characters t when MC gets matched with them). I can't say it was a great enough cover up to hide the obvious, since there were some dead giveaways when you're selecting your Perfect Match. Heck, even Perfect Match sounded shady enough. Needless to say, I personally found the idea of a matchmaking service as a coverup pretty interesting, but I can't say I'm surprised when I found out who Hayden really is.

Skipping over to when MC and the gang get imprisoned in Eros, I thought things got pretty interesting, asides from Alana ratting us out; The guards were also androids, the CEO himself sort of made himself an android to perserve his youth iirc (though with such an intention I wasn't so surrpised), and basically going out of our way to finally take down Eros's headquarters. I don't really have much to say, other than the fact that I personally enjoyed the ride and I thought the pacing was really good. It wasn't too fast nor was it too slow for my liking.

I would give the plot a 7/10 if it weren't obvious of who Hayden really is, but other than that, it was a good plot! If it was more subtle, I'd give it an 8.5/10.

Conflict
And so here we are with the conflict that drives and controls how the story works. There's a lot to cover, but I'll be going over some of them, and the main course will be Eros. You know, the big bad wolf and all of that jazz lol. So Rowan, iirc, viewed androids as the superior race compared to humans due to their everlasting beauty and having more beneficial traits that can strive in the workforce compared to humans; infinite stamina, perfect performance, basically androids are the next human kind because of this. Although it wasn't the entire conflict of the book, it still played a pretty big role as to why things are the way they are. There are, of course, other conflicts that not only contribute to this one, but I see this as the bigger picture.

I know it's not really related or anything, but remember how I said it was kind of obvious of who Hayden really is? Well surprise surprise near the end of the book, we saw the other Haydens that were in the match selection in the lab! I mean when I figured out Hayden's identity, I was expecting other Hayden clones to be in the lab as well.

So the idea of evolving humankind with androids is definitely a twist and the book did a great job pacing itself and leading up to this moment. Now do I think it could've been done better? Sure. I mean don't get me wrong, revealing your plans at a "dinner party" was a good setting (it actually even complements Rowan's character) but I think I was expecting a little too much out of how this could've been handled. Y'know, a little more menacing, but then it'd be too typical.

Now the next thing I want to talk about is Alana selling us out. I mean... who DIDN'T saw this coming? She's an agent on a secret mission, blah, blah, blah, not to mention her attitude towards us (while understandable given we've trespassed in her home). Being that she ws some secret agent, I kind of knew that she was going to eventually give us away and keep Damien to herself, which was also not surprising. It's because of her we actually got to know Eros's full intentions so... I guess I can give her credit for that.

Overall I'll give the conflict, like the plot, a 7/10 if it weren't so predictable. Still enjoyable though!

Characters
Now for characters I won't get TOO in depth with, but I will be giving my thoughts on each and every one of them (besides my MC).

Sloane Washington: Can I just say that Sloanne is adorbs? She's literally one of my top 3 characters in Perfect Match, next to Hayden and Nadia. She has a very good heart and had more to offer than just being an introverted character. Intelligent, kind, sympathetic, all to which attracted me to her. Even so, her past was what also made me intrigued of her. Needless to say the only thing that surprised me about her was the fact that she created Hayden. I knew she worked for Eros and everything, but for her to actually create Hayden was something I didn't expect. I wasn't so surprised to find out she had a crush on my MC, and as much as I wanted to take her in as my LI, I had to stick to my Hayden. If I weren't in a relationship with Hayden, I would've been with Sloane instead.

Nadia Park: IMMINENT DANGER!!!! Seriously, Nadia became one of my favorite characters the moment she kept repeating those two words. She's a pretty good cousin who's very determined and loyal and I wished she was actually my cousin. I felt for her when Nadia was heartbroken with Steve leaving her and enjoyed taking self-defense classes with her. I don't really have much to say about her, but honestly? She's a likeable character in my book.

Hayden Young: I actually enjoyed the scenes between Hayden and my MC together. Everything about her was just so perfect for the MC. I'll admit, the part where Hayden didn't even know she was an android made my heart sink. Could you imagine living as if you were just any other regular human being and then find out you're just a machine? I honestly wouldn't know what to do with myself. For the fact that she sacrificed herself to save MC from getting tased was a very heroic move, even if that meant being "offline" forever (let's just assume that we never got what we needed to bring her back to life), knowing that she wanted MC to be safe. I chose to stay in a relationship with her. The relationship might've been a lie, but what they've done together was very too true to let go.

Damien Nazario: Damien is another character I don't really have much to say, but is still a likeable character! We actually got to see a more softer side to his tough demeanor, to which I can say it was very satisfying. Another thing is despite the fact that he always looks out for the worse in people rather than the best, he's more than willing to take some chances as long as the MC is okay with it (not something I'd consider to be a change, but it's a step so I'll give him that).

Alana Kusuma: Sooo... Damien's ex. Can't say I was surprised when she ratted us out and OF COURSE wanted Damien to stay with her. I was expecting her to eventually get back in Eros and try and take Damien all for herself, so which that I'd say "go screw yourself!" at first. Then again, I had to replay the ENTIRE book just to see how things would be different if Alana stayed with us. I don't know if this was before or after we escaped Eros's HQ, but I thought she was still kinda cool at that train scene. Can't say I liked her in some shape or form, but she wa alright. Now where she agreed to come with us to help take fown Eros? Eh, still okay I guess. I wouldn't really care if she didn't come with us, let alone meet us again in the next book. For some reason, however, I wouldn't really mind her ending up with Damien OR Sloane (But I do think they could do SO much better to find someone else if that were to be the case). If she does pull up as a LI,I MIGHT consider it to see the chemistry between MC and her, but I'm still team Hayden.

Cecile Contreras: I'm going to be honest, I wasn't going to include Cecile, Rowan, and Steve because I figured it'd be better to leave the review at the five previous characters, but I just have a few things to say about them starting with Cecile. In no way was I expecting Cecile to get involved. I thought she was nothing more than just an employee, but the head? Now THAT I didn't see coming. It was a little interesting to discover that she had a crush on the MC (I mean, who wouldn't am I right?), and if she somehow pops up as a LI, I might consider it to, like Alana, see the chemistry between them.

Rowan West: Not much to say about him, other than the fact that he was a pretty okay villain.

Steven Tennyson: Not much to say about him either, other than the fact that he's a sweetheart and is obviously never going to let Nadia go. Makes my cold heart flutter!

Thoughts/Conclusions
Overall, I'd give this book a 7.5/10. I really liked the concept that romance wasn't the main idea the book revolved around. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind books that revolve mostly around romance. Still, it's a breather as you're introduced to the elements asides from it that pulls you in so deep, you forgot romance is even a thing. Would I recommend this book to anyone who hasn't read it? You bet! The only thing that turned me off was the fact that it was obvious Hayden was an android alongside the intentions of Eros, but it didn't turn me off from liking the book. I do hope to see Cecile and Alana and I can't wait for PM 2 to come out! <3