My Perfect Mistake

4 stars — It was nice to finally come back and read the story that started this series. I enjoyed both Shay and Kolton, but at the same time they were full of a lot more p*ss and vinegar than usually come with my favourite characters. Their love story had a lot of push and pull and conflict and angst and stubbornness, and while I still enjoyed myself, I did grow frustrated at times. Shay had a lot of great things going for her — she was smart, passionate, creative… But she was damaged from her previous relationship. She basically did a 180 from the girl she was with her ex, to her detriment at times. It was hard to watch her struggle to hold on to the independence and agency she had lost, without realizing that there is a middle ground. And she was so insecure about herself at times…I mean, it was mixed with a “go girl” attitude too, but her confidence only persisted in certain circumstances. It was nice to see her regain some of that confidence, but hard when the insecurity would come knocking on the door again. Don’t get me wrong, it was realistic…just hard. Kolton had his own strange damage from his previous relationship, quite a bit we don’t find out about until nearer to the end. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but it is what it is. I appreciated his drive, his dedication to his business, his friends, his son. And when he knew what he wanted, he was tenacious about getting it. And the wooing! Oh wow, the wooing was great. The thing is, it was balanced by a temper (which unlike Shay, I wasn’t as big a fan of), and stubborn blindness. They were interesting together. I probably wasn’t as excited about their initial chemistry since so much of it came from their conflict…though it was hot. I loved the moments that came later in Toronto, when they’d stopped fighting their chemistry as much. Obviously great secondary characters, and part of me wants to go back and reread Lily and Raven’s stories now…but with what time? Stella was awesome as well, I loved her sassy little interjections. And then there’s Jackson. That kid was hilarious. Definitely neurodivergent, no matter how much he was only described as “quirky”. Definitely lots to love about the story, but as I expected, Lily and Sawyer are still my fave Over the Top couple. Well huh, maybe I’ll have to fit in a reread after all…

6:15pm.