Craving Perfect

by Liz Fichera

[Leah]

Craving Perfect is Liz Fichera’s debut novel. It only came to my attention when I spotted in on NetGalley a little while ago. The cover caught my eye, so I took a look at the information about the novel and thought it sounded right up my street. I love novels with a bit of magic to them, something that sets the book apart. Craving Perfect reminded me a touch of Freaky Friday – the movie starring Lindsay Lohan before she became a hot mess – but with a bit of a twist as the book isn’t necessarily about body-swapping. I downloaded it to my Kindle and set about giving it a go. Although it wasn’t perfect, I thoroughly enjoyed it nevertheless.

If you’re going to read Craving Perfect, you are going to have to go into it with an open mind. Like I said, it’s kind of like Freaky Friday so it’s not your normal Chick Lit novel. It’s very much a novel that begs the question of is the grass really greener on the other side, as Grace Mills finds herself becoming Callie Collins when she runs super-fast on the treadmill at her gym. Most usually the answer to the question is no, it’s not. Just because the grass looks greener, doesn’t mean it is and it could just be the way the sun sparkles off it… Yeah, I made that up. Aren’t I clever? Anyway, I found myself really loving the plot of the book. I expected it to be incredibly predictable but it surprised me in parts. Sure it is predictable, but not to the degree I expected.

Obviously for the novel to work really well there has to be some sort of contrast between Grace’s real life and the life she could have as Callie Collins, so Grace, as you might expect, is a bit overweight, is seemingly in love with the beautiful Max Kramer and her business with her sister Kathryn is only scraping by by the skin of its teeth. However, there is one shining light in Grace’s world, a potential romance with the gorgeous-sounding Carlos. But Grace’s life is nothing compared to the life Grace has as Callie (I really hope I’m not confusing you). Callie is stick-thin, has a wonderful job, a handsome fiance (called Max Kramer!) and size-six feet. I mean, it’s a no-brainer right? But as it turns out, Callie’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems and it turns out it doesn’t matter how skinny or how rich you are, nobody is indeed perfect. That’s what this book told me. That no matter who you are, what your life is like, at the end of the day, it’s still pretty damn good. Although I would swap places with Angelina Jolie (or someone else like her) in a heartbeat. Woops. So much for me being perfect as I am…

I thought Grace was a lovely character. Flawed enough to be relateable too without being too OTT. I admit, I didn’t think her life was too bad, although honestly if you offered me the chance of swapping bodies with someone who’s a size two, I would indeed consider it as well… I liked Grace’s warmth. I liked that Grace wasn’t necessarily bothered about eating another raspberry scone. In so many Chick Lit novels you hear how fat the main character feels, how ugly, when really they’re not any of those things and they’re usually drop dead gorgeous, but for me Grace differs a bit. We hear how she struggles to control her weight by running at the gym, but how she can’t resist the scones she bakes. I was also totally taken in with Carlos. A trainee-lawyer who helps out his sister keeping the gym clean and sparkly. Swoon-worthy, indeed. He and Grace really sparked off each other and it was sweet for once to see a relationship go from tiny beginnings right to the end without some ridiculous man-shaped obstacle in the middle. I also liked the supporting characters: Grace’s sister Kathryn and Carlos’s sister Elena, although I wasn’t a fan of any of the people in the alternate Callie Collins world. They were a bit up-themselves for my tastes.

Craving Perfect wasn’t perfect. There was a psuedo-explanation for the fact Grace was able to become Callie, but no clear cut explanation and I like my magic explained, thank you very much! But it was a quick, fun, light read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the dilemma Grace picked because after all – don’t we all wish our lives could be different in some way? Well, unless you’re Angelina Jolie… It was just so warm and so welcoming and I just loved getting caught up in these characters’ lives. I would definitely recommend the book. You do have to suspend your beliefs, take it with a pinch of salt, but it’s fiction, sometimes you can push the boundaries a little. I very much look forward to a second novel from Liz, as this one was a real pick me up. I’m so pleased I read it, so pleased to have met Grace and Carlos and the rest of the clan. I could imagine the bakery where Grace and Kathryn worked, could imagine the mexican restaurant Grace and Carlos visit filled with Carlos’s family. It was a really, really cute novel.