The Perfectionists By Sara Shepard

The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard
Published by HarperCollins on October 7 2014
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 336

Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker are all driven to be perfect—no matter the cost.

At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they discover that they all hate the same person: handsome womanizer Nolan Hotchkiss, who's done things to hurt each of them. 

They come up with the perfect plan to murder Nolan—jokingly, of course. They'd never actually go through with it. But when Nolan turns up dead in the exact way they'd discussed, the girls suddenly become prime suspects in his murder. 

Only, they didn't do it. 

So who did? Unless they find the real killer, and soon, any one of them may be the next to die….

"You don't have to be good to be perfect."

At first glance, this novel seemed familiar. Very, very familiar. From the pastel cover with beautiful script writing and a group of affluent girls all hiding dirty secrets that run the risk of being discovered after they become involved in a mysterious death. However, I found I enjoyed this work much, much more.

Draw the Line by Kim Carmichael

Draw the Line by Kim Carmichael

Published by Kindle Press on December 27 2016

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Comedy, Contemporary

Pages 226

The performance artist and con artist come together for the ultimate marriage of convenience.

Performance Artist, Argyle Brink, lives his life as one big art exhibit. No matter if he is hatching from a gilded egg to show his emergence as a new persona, or donning a suit of mirrors to reflect reality back to his audience, he never misses an opportunity to take a chance and stand by his convictions. Only one thing has eluded him…fame.

In order to save her family’s estate, Malone Summersfield must never return to England. After conning an art critic into taking her across the pond as his fiancée, she thinks her life will be smooth sailing. However, when the man’s wife enters the picture, she realizes the con is all on her, and she needs to get married now. When the strange, yet handsome, performance artist offers to marry her for the price of co-starring in his reality show, she figures she’ll give it a go and become a living art piece.

The show takes on a life of its own, gaining ratings from the sparks between the two stars. Airing everything from their dirty laundry, to public sex in an abandoned zoo, and even living off the grid in a micro house, nothing is off limits. However, when the INS decides to investigate their marriage further, and Argyle uses their predicament to broaden his art, Malone wonders if she will ever come first in his life.

With their marriage, their show, and her citizenship at stake, the two must decide if the ultimate truth lies in the art or in their love.

This book held a lot of quirky promise for me, but I found it fell short of my expectations.