OFFICIAL BOOK TOUR
Perfectly Imperfect by Harper Sloan
Meet Willow and Kane in the newest stand alone by Harper Sloan!
NOW AVAILABLE on the following retailers:
BLURB
Mirror, mirror ... who's the fairest of
them all?
I still cringe when I hear that line. A fairy tale that
had girls pretending they were the fairest, the most beautiful, and the most
entitled. A fairy tale most couldn't grow out of turned my haunted childhood
memories into a living nightmare. Girls who grew up believing that pile of garbage
became the meanest of all 'mean girls.'
And those mean girls were right - it was
a line meant for all the beautiful people in the world - and I knew the answer
would never be me.
The women with long legs, flat stomachs,
and perfect chests.
The type of women Kane Masters gravitated
toward.
Well, that's definitely not Willow Tate.
No. That will never be me.
Because I'm completely imperfect.
And ... I hate myself.
I have no idea what Kane could possibly
see in someone like me when he could have them.
“Are you nervous right now?” I nod.
“Tell me why.” His demand, steady and calm, gives me the
courage I need to tell him. To open a
vein and bleed my insecurities.
“I’m not perfect,” I whisper.
“And neither am I, Willow. I don’t want perfect. What so many see as perfect, to me, is
fake. Perfect isn’t achievable
naturally. No one, and I mean no one, is
perfect.”
I’m shaking my head before he’s even done
speaking, but one long finger comes up and presses against my lips before I can
speak.
“No, let me finish. There isn’t beauty in perfection. It’s as fake as the image the word
projects. Beauty is found in
imperfection, Willow, because to admit you’re not perfect means you’re
admitting you’re not whole and absolute.
When I think of myself, I see someone willing to admit he’s as far from
complete as it gets because, in order to get to that perfection, I need to find
the other part of me who will make my
life better. To take all the faults I have
and fill them, and only then will I be there.
You see, the way I see it, the only way to become perfect is to find
that perfectly imperfect person who brings it out of you.”
When he stops, I swear I might have
stopped breathing. How am I supposed to
respond to that?
“Do you trust me?” he asks, his voice
strong and sure.
“Yes, Kane. Nerves or not, I do.”
“Then let me show you what I see when I
look at you.”
He brings his hands up, framing my face
once again in a way I’m quickly becoming addicted to
the feeling of. His warm eyes implore, begging me without
words to let him continue. I do not
intend to stop him, regardless of the butterflies currently taking over my
system. I’m all in.
MY REVIEW
6 STARS - A TOP 2015 READ
Perfectly Imperfect ravages your emotions and turns the heat up to MAXIMUM! Never before has Harper Sloan tackled such important issues and she does it perfectly.
“You don’t see how beautiful you are because you’re too busy hiding to avoid more pain.”
Perfectly Imperfect is a brand new standalone from Harper Sloan. This story is not connected to any of her previous books and we’ve not met any of these characters before.
Let me first say that I knew this story was going to resonate with me on levels that would lead me back to places I never thought I would re-visit. Reading the Author’s Note and the Dedication at the very beginning of the book had me teary eyed and my heart already breaking. I knew I would be able to relate to Willow Tate in a way I’ve never related to another character in a book before, because some of her struggles and demons have been mine. To connect to a story on such a personal level is both beautiful and painful in many ways. Willow struggles with her body image in ways that I think many girls and women have, whether they want to admit it or not. For an author to take the brave leap and lay out their own emotional struggles and insecurities for the general masses to read and experience is so incredibly brave that even now I’m still left in awe. Even this seems like a massive understatement. I can only imagine what kinds of thoughts, worries, and memories Sloan had to channel while creating this story, then after all of that, make the decision to share it with the world… BRAVE. This review is going to be incredibly hard to write for me because I cannot seem to process my thoughts and feelings, but I am going to try because this book, these words, deserve it, and more.
“Safe. A word I had started to hate now taking on a whole new meaning. No longer the easy route, it’s beginning to feel more like my salvation.”
Growing up in a world surrounded by beautiful people and bombarded by images of models and “perfect” women, Willow feels like she is less, the ugly, fat duckling, if you will. In fact, her stepfather, and stepsister do everything within their power to ensure that she never forgets this. These two make the evil stepmother and stepsisters in Cinderella look like fluffy, friendly bunnies in comparison. Their cruel and vicious remarks and actions have engrained themselves on her very soul. Losing the one person who has always made her feel loved and special a long time ago, leaves Willow not only feeling isolated and alone, but she also now sees herself through the eyes of those who have spent years tearing her down. Struggling with body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders has left Willow avoiding mirrors, choosing clothes that hide her body and hiding in the shadows, content to never be the center of attention. Years of emotional abuse take their toll on the victim and Willow has been a victim for a long time.
“It’s time to be the change I wish for myself. It’s time to let go.”
This book is not only incredibly well written, but its message is undeniably important as well. Had it not been for the intense and wickedly sexy scenes *waggles eyebrows* throughout this book, I would say that this book needs to be on every school reading list as part of the curriculum. It should be discussed at length with its readers. The struggle of battling a negative body image is one that will always haunt both the female and male psyche. The unfiltered way that Sloan tackles this heartbreaking and powerful story should be enough to make everyone who experiences it, sit up and take notice. There is a message here and it’s not subtle, but a blaring neon sign that is SCREAMING…
“The influence of others only holds as much power as you let it.”
All of this aside, what lies within these pages and among this author’s words, which can be described as nothing short of courageous, is a soul shaking story of a love that is powerful and honest enough to change a person’s very perception of themselves, not just on a superficial level, but on the basest level possible. It is not until Willow meets her very own white knight that she finally finds the courage and strength to fully tackle and move on from the demons that have haunted her every move for years. She is able to finally pull back the curtain and take the steps to move on, move up and go forward. Every person in this world needs to find their very own version of Kane Masters. I’m not saying this because he is beautiful, rich, famous, sexy, and caring, I’m saying this because his character to me was not just these things, but most importantly he is the metaphor to the solution. He is that person who is not only capable of triggering changes that seem insurmountable, but the motivation to keep struggling forward.
“I welcome the light just as much as I welcome the body I used to hate, because not only does the man I love adore every inch, but through his eyes, I do too.”
Perfectly Imperfect is a love story down to its very core. It’s a story not only about two souls becoming unequivocally connected, but about learning to love yourself and believe that you are perfect in your own imperfections. No one, no matter how flawless and beautiful they appear, is perfect. They are indeed flawed, everyone is. Harper Sloan deserves the highest praise for what she has created and revealed in this book. She has not only laid herself bare to the world, but she has shown us that loving yourself and being comfortable in your own skin is something that can change the way you live your life. This book touched me in ways that no other has before, and for that I cannot ever thank her enough. Words will never be enough in comparison to what she has accomplished with this book. That being said, please for the love of yourself, your kids, for anyone that you have ever loved or cared about, read this book. Read this book and then tell everyone you know about this book. The message that lies within these pages needs to be shared with the world. I am Willow.
“I think a part of me needs to you to see I’m no longer afraid to actually live. I’m happy, and to be free of the fear and shame I had been trapped in, I have to be the one to fight it back.”
“I’m ready for this, to shut the book of my past life and move on. Move on and be worthy of not just his love, but also my own.”
MEET HARPER...
Harper started using writing as a way to unwind when the house went to sleep at night; and with a house full of crazy it was the perfect way to just relax. It didn't take long before a head full of very demanding alphas would stop at nothing to have their story told.
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