Your Perfect Year
Summary:
For hyper-particular publishing heir Jonathan Grief, the day starts like any other—with a strict morning fitness regimen that’ll keep his divorced, easily irritated, cynical, forty-two-year-old self in absolutely flawless physical condition. But all it takes to put a crimp in his routine is one small annoyance. Someone has left a leather-bound day planner with the handwritten title Your Perfect Year in his spot on his mountain bike at his fitness course!
Determined to discover its owner, Jonathan opens the calendar to find that someone known only as “H.” has filled it in with suggestions, tasks, and affirmative actions for each day. The more he devotes himself to locating the elusive H., the deeper Jonathan is drawn into someone else’s rich and generous narrative—and into an attitude adjustment he desperately needs.
He may have ended up with a perfect year by accident, but it seems fate has set Jonathan on a path toward healing, feeling, and maybe even loving again…if only he can meet the stranger who’s changing his life one day at a time. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This book was very cute and a great read as I was making some decisions about life-changes while reading it. I was expecting the book to be in the chick lit category, but I genuinely believe it’s one that would be appreciated by anyone. Jonathan Grief is someone I can definitely relate to in the sense that I can get too attached to structure and routine for routine’s sake rather than auditing what’s really important.
It would have been easy for the book to slip into stereotypes, but the author does a good job mixing things up and keeping it from getting predictable. I will say that there’s a bit of an insta-love aspect at a few points, but as it’s not the complete focus of the story I don’t mind it as much. The book is less of a romance and more about challenging the characters (and reader) to evaluate their lives and grow from their limitations.
Warning: May cause some trigger warnings for those with mental health issues.
Rating: 4 stars!
Who should read it? Folks who are contemplating a change in life or need a reminder of the important stuff.