A rootless foster child, Julie Mathison had blossomed under the love showered upon her by her adoptive family. Now a lovely and vivacious young woman, she was a respected teacher in her small Texas town, and she passionately lived her ideals. Julie was determined to give back all the kindness she'd received; nothing and no one would ever shatter the perfect life she had fashioned.
Zachary Benedict was an actor/director whose Academy Award-winning career had been shattered when he was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. After the tall, ruggedly handsome Zack escaped from a Texas prison, he abducted Julie and forced her to drive him to his Colorado mountain hideout. She was outraged, cautious, and unable to ignore the instincts that whispered of his innocence. He was cynical, wary, and increasingly attracted to her. Passion was about to capture them both in its fierce embrace...but the journey to trust, true commitment, and proving Zack's innocence was just beginning....
*****
Jelai's Review:
I could have finished this novel in one sitting if only my schedule permitted it. Swear to God I could have. It took me a lot of sheer power and determination to force myself to sleep because I had a 9pm shift that time. But when I closed my eyes voices of Zack and Julie were hunting me, telling me to give them another hour.
I am not exaggerating here. Hope you'll give this novel a try so you will know what I mean. Of course that would depend if you prefer books like this one. But then, I don't think it has something to do with preferences, the story itself was not just your ordinary story.
There were parts that better off not included just to make it longer. But after you've finished reading the entire novel, you’ll realize that those tiny, little unimportant (you might think) pieces has their own significance that made the story so d*mn “perfect”.
I don't want to go into the details but one thing's for sure the novel left some marks in my heart.
It wasn't just about romance, nice tumble in bed and thorough love making, though those parts put some extra sweet icing on the cake. The novel tells about fears to bravery, hatred to forgiveness, wounded hearts that been healed, betrayal to trust, second chances, and imperfection to perfection.
The title of the novel is a contradictory to what it was all about. The characters were not even perfect. They have their own faults, too. They have wounded each other’s heart. But then you'll see as well that no matter how wounded a person's heart is it could still beat and love perfectly.
I wept with Julie. Struggled with Zach. Conspired with Matt and Meredith. I moved along with each character in this novel. I was so amazed how Judith McNaught made her readers as if they are part of the story as well.
There were scenes that made me drop the book for five minutes because I need some moment to cry. Again, I am not exaggerating. There was no exaggeration in this novel. This is the kind of a story that every time you remember the heart-wrenching scenes it will bring back the same tears in your eyes that you shed when you read it.
And I was so wrong to compare Paradise to Perfect. Both novels have their own individual ardor.
(favorite lines/scenes:)
Julie forced herself to keep walking.
“Don't go,” Zack called hoarsely.“Please.”
Her heart twisted at the harsh desperation in his voice. She reached for the knob. “Julie--please don't!”
She wept with shame and with fear for A LOVE THAT SHE COULDN'T CONTROL.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered fiercely. “Please forgive me. Please.”
“How could you do that to me last night!” she sobbed.
“I did it because I'm a heartless bastard exactly as you said.”
“You're right! & the horrible part of it is that I love you anyway!”
Julie: What's your favorite sport, Zack?
Zack: My favorite sport is making love to you.
Julie: What's your favorite food?
Zack: You are.
Without realizing what he was doing, he tightened his arms around her, buried his face in her hair, and squeezed his eyes closed.
Julie: You're planning to send me home tomorrow aren’t you?
Zack: Yes.
Julie: I don’t want to go!
Zack: Don't make it harder that it already is.
There were a lot of scenes that I would love to put it here but I want to leave it hanging for you, guys. Hehe. I love Zack's letter to Julie. Guess Ate Eu already posted that.
I am not exaggerating here. Hope you'll give this novel a try so you will know what I mean. Of course that would depend if you prefer books like this one. But then, I don't think it has something to do with preferences, the story itself was not just your ordinary story.
There were parts that better off not included just to make it longer. But after you've finished reading the entire novel, you’ll realize that those tiny, little unimportant (you might think) pieces has their own significance that made the story so d*mn “perfect”.
I don't want to go into the details but one thing's for sure the novel left some marks in my heart.
It wasn't just about romance, nice tumble in bed and thorough love making, though those parts put some extra sweet icing on the cake. The novel tells about fears to bravery, hatred to forgiveness, wounded hearts that been healed, betrayal to trust, second chances, and imperfection to perfection.
The title of the novel is a contradictory to what it was all about. The characters were not even perfect. They have their own faults, too. They have wounded each other’s heart. But then you'll see as well that no matter how wounded a person's heart is it could still beat and love perfectly.
I wept with Julie. Struggled with Zach. Conspired with Matt and Meredith. I moved along with each character in this novel. I was so amazed how Judith McNaught made her readers as if they are part of the story as well.
There were scenes that made me drop the book for five minutes because I need some moment to cry. Again, I am not exaggerating. There was no exaggeration in this novel. This is the kind of a story that every time you remember the heart-wrenching scenes it will bring back the same tears in your eyes that you shed when you read it.
And I was so wrong to compare Paradise to Perfect. Both novels have their own individual ardor.
(favorite lines/scenes:)
Julie forced herself to keep walking.
“Don't go,” Zack called hoarsely.“Please.”
Her heart twisted at the harsh desperation in his voice. She reached for the knob. “Julie--please don't!”
She wept with shame and with fear for A LOVE THAT SHE COULDN'T CONTROL.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered fiercely. “Please forgive me. Please.”
“How could you do that to me last night!” she sobbed.
“I did it because I'm a heartless bastard exactly as you said.”
“You're right! & the horrible part of it is that I love you anyway!”
Julie: What's your favorite sport, Zack?
Zack: My favorite sport is making love to you.
Julie: What's your favorite food?
Zack: You are.
Without realizing what he was doing, he tightened his arms around her, buried his face in her hair, and squeezed his eyes closed.
Julie: You're planning to send me home tomorrow aren’t you?
Zack: Yes.
Julie: I don’t want to go!
Zack: Don't make it harder that it already is.
There were a lot of scenes that I would love to put it here but I want to leave it hanging for you, guys. Hehe. I love Zack's letter to Julie. Guess Ate Eu already posted that.
I've got a lot of things to say about this novel but I think It would take me like 674 pages to make it up.
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