AN ALL-NEW STANDALONE FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR JULIA KENTOne hundred years ago when I was young and impulsive (okay, it was five, alright? Five years ago…) I let my boyfriend take, let’s just say…compromising pictures of me.(Shut up. It made sense at the time).Surprise! The sleazy back-stabbing jerk posted them on a website and, well, you can guess what happened. That’s right.I’m … happened. That’s right.
I’m a meme. A really gross one.
You’re seen the pictures. And if you haven’t – don’t ask. And don’t look!
As face recognition software online improves, I get tagged on social media whenever anyone shares my pictures. You try getting a thousand notifications a day, all of them pictures of your tatas.
So. I’m done.
It’s time for revenge. Let him see how it feels! But how do you get embarrassingly intimate pictures of your jerkface ex who double-crossed you five years ago?
Especially when he’s a member of the U.S.House of Representatives now?
Getting sweet between the sheets with a congressman is pretty much every political roadie’s dream, right? I’m one in a crowd.
Except to this day, he swears he didn’t do it. Pursued me for months after I dumped him five years ago. Begged me to take him back.
And I almost did it. Almost. I was weak and stupid and in love a hundred years ago.
Okay. Fine. Five.
But I still have the upper hand. Second chance romance has all the emotional feels, doesn’t it?
I can’t wait to punch him in the feels.
All I need to do is sleep with him once, take some hot-and-sweaty pics of him in… delicate positions, and bring him down. That’s it. Nothing more.
Pictures first. Revenge after. And then I win.
At least, that’s how it was supposed to happen. But then I did something worse than sexting.
I fell in love with him. Again.
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Perky (Do-Over #2) was a great read by Julia Kent. Five years ago, Perky allowed her then boyfriend take compromising pictures of her. When they broke up those pictures where posted on a website and she became an instant meme. Unfortunately for her, she sees him again at the rehearsal dinner for her best friend. It’s been five years but they still have chemistry. Perky is now wanting to get pictures of him in a delicate position. I enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read more by Julia Kent.
Don’t waste your time. Review i read sounded great, actually book not so much.
The written equivalent of slapstick comedy. Perky continues the story of a group of best friends living their lives and finding love along the way. Julia Kent creates lovable characters that could be your best friend or frenemy. If you want a glimpse into the millennial mindset without leaving your couch read this book.
Persephone (Perky) and Parker were in love and everything was going smooth until a photo of Perky’s boobs shows up online. Perky immediately believes that Parker uploaded the photo to humiliate her. The two break up and move on until five years later. They meet again at a wedding and the old feelings are there for both. Parker swears he didn’t post the photo online but Perky has a hard time believing him as he is the only person that has the photo. Parker is in a public position that makes Perky come up with a crazy idea for revenge. Problem is she may find herself falling in love with Parker all over again and loosing her heart. A hilariously good read with a crazy second chance.
I love Julia Kent’s work – usually. I got so sick of hearing about what happened to Perky 5 years ago – yeah, it sucked, but get over it. I couldn’t even finish the book. Not sure if I want to buy the next in series.
The second book in the Do-Over series follows Persephone (aka Perky) and her enemies to lovers, second chance romance. Perky’s ex, Parker took a compromising photo of her that ending up being turned into a meme and went viral. Perky feels that she needs to enact revenge on Parker so that he can know what she went through. After all the lies and secrets are cleared, they get to experience their HEA. Again this story is from the sole perspective of the heroine and has a nice comical factor to it. The issue that I am starting to run into with this series is that it is too focused on the females and the backstory rather than the present, their relationship and the hero are pushed into the background. Erin Mallon did a good job with the narration of Perky.
*ARC was generously provided in exchange for my honest review*
*Audiobook was borrowed from Audible Escape*
I would have definitely opted for a different nickname but it definitely fits Persephone in the oddest, opposites kind of way. Sure… it’s all about the coffee. (Exaggerated wink)
I love Julia Kent books. She has this incredible knack for creating the most insane situation and making it real before your eyes. Insane, usually meaning can only happen in the dark recesses of a disturbed individual who spends a lot of time daydreaming or any one with a wicked sense of random, dirty mind, and the ability to craft ludicrous situations into a movie that plays before your eyes with just the use of words.
Perky is without a doubt highly entertaining. Laughing out loud is a release for all the absurd that builds while reading. The astonishment and shock will turn into gut clenching, ab workout laughing. Be prepared to skip crunches! I would recommend not partaking in beverages during your read. Spit takes can be hell on an ereader/pages of a book.
Whether you heed my advice or not, you are in for a world of crazy, fun, and love. Buckle up buttercup, it’s about to get Perky…
You can never go wrong with Julia Kent!
3.5 Stars
As much as I was looking forward to this, it wasn’t as funny as Fluffy. It made me laugh, sure, but this was actually a lot more serious in tone than Fluffy. And as much as this COULD be read as a standalone, you get a lot of the back story between Persephone and Parker in Fluffy.
The history is a major spoiler for both books, but needless to say this second chance hate to love romance is really funny and sweet, even though it deals with a pretty heavy topic.
Perky, Feisty and Mallory are a friend group I’d love to be a part of because they have each others back and I love it.
An advance copy was provided to me for review and I volunteered to leave an unbiased review.
I listened to the audio version of this book. I really do love this series. Are the books kind of silly? Probably, but I really needed a good laugh and any book that actually gets me to laugh out loud is a good one as far as I’m concerned.
This was a second chance trope with a twist. The twist was that the heroine (Perky) believed that her old boyfriend had put a nude picture of her chest out on the internet five years ago. It turned her life upside down and she is hopping mad.
Parker really is a good guy…and he just can’t convince Perky that he didn’t put that picture out there for the whole world to see. He also can’t get enough of Perky. There’s a lot of anger to work through, but can they work their way back together in the end (aside from in storage closets)?
Another great narration by Erin Mallon. I love listening to her.
I was given a complimentary copy of this audio book. All thoughts are my own.
I will say I judged this book by its cover when I decided to read it. The female model looks curvy, so I thought that would be a thing in the novel (I am all about body positivity, and love when authors champion that), but it wasn’t. However, that’s my hangup, not the author. I should have read the blurb more closely.
So why the 2 stars?
For me, this novel felt like a stream-of-consciousness piece, which doesn’t work for a fluffy, contemporary romance. The scenes felt like they were missing elements (One scene: one minute Parker wasn’t in the room, then he was; a lot of the scene description and setting is missing), the plot felt strung together like a Saturday Night Live episode (scenes that I’m not sure what they have to do with the book overall, i. e. the dowser scene). Halfway through, I just wanted to figure out who sent the photo/meme and why?
So when the story didn’t really work for me, the writing issues became more evident. The writing style fluctuates back and forth between poetic, flowery, overdone prose to blunt, dry sarcasm–two styles that don’t mix well here. And what I think was supposed to be sarcastic humor just comes across as crass down-talking to each other. I love dry, sarcastic humor so I’m probably pickier than most when I don’t think it’s done right. For others, this may not be a thing.
In that same vein, the heroine seemed unlikable to me. She was the most sarcastic/dry of her group of friends, which hurt her. Aside from that, she didn’t seem to have a believable arc. One minute she hates Parker and wants revenge, the next she’s trusting and in love. It’s set up for it to happen all along (HEA), but it’s described very weirdly and really spoken 99% sexually (I hate him, but my body wants him). Basically, the light-switch change in her mentally doesn’t seem plausible because nothing changes to change her mental POV. (If only there were a better connection between the dowser scene and her change. But no, there’s still a whole lot of stubborn revenge in between those scenes….) And the timing of how all this happens is weird. (Will not go into it here because it may spoil things.)
Fiona seems like the next roundest character (probably because her book is the next one), but everyone else seems flat.
Overall, I feel like there’s a story here, but it’s too hard to find.
As good as Fluffy, don’t miss it !
This book was really easy to read, funny, and light. The hate/love relationship between Perky and Parker was the best, all that sexual tension between them is one of the many things that makes the book enjoyable.
I was laughing non stop throughout the book.
Erin Mallon as always was perfect with the narration, she’s the best and I enjoyed listening to her.
Audiobook Obsession
Perky by Julia Kent is a romantic comedy that I listened to on audio narrated by Erin Mallon. This is the second book in The Do-Over Series but each book can be read as a standalone. However, I would recommend reading in order since it does reference characters from the previous book.
Julia does an amazing job making the characters very relatable. You just can’t help but fall in love with Parker and Persephone (Perky).
Erin did an amazing job on the narration. I love that she uses different voices/tones for each character it really brings the story to life.
I would highly recommend this series to anyone who loves romantic comedies or second chance romances.
I wanted something cute and light and this book for sure did the trick. I thought Parker was pretty much the best ever. This man. He never gave up on trying to make Persephone believe he wasn’t responsible for the photos and he never gave up on loving her. FIVE YEARS. Yes, I know maybe it isn’t believable in real life, but you know what? I don’t care. I loved it. This is what I want out of a book. I want these book boyfriends that make me all warm inside. They don’t give up on the women they love. I’m all in.
5 Stars is not enough for this series. OMG, I laughed so hard. One stupid mistake can haunt you for life, and Perky is living that truth. When she sees her opportunity to take revenge, will she follow through, or fall for her old flame? This is a total second chance romance, with so much fun, I could not stop listening. I loved every word and devoured this book in a day! Julia Kent delivers a rom com like no other. Mix a scorned woman with a man who is political and let the laughs begin.
Erin Mallon nailed this narration. She has such a great voice. Ms. Mallon easily keeps the characters distinct and so much fun to listen to. She gives each one personality and brings them to life. Ms. Mallon’s narration enhanced the experience of this story.
Perky
By: Julia Kent
Narrated by: Erin Mallon
Series: The Do-Over Series, Book 2
Whenever I want a feel good, happy, funny listen, I go to Julia Kent. This woman can write a story just like it was an ordinary day and find all the humor in every situation. Meet Persephone, better know as Perky. Several years ago, some compromising pictures of her were posted on the web. Even though they have been taken down, most people recognize her for the famous meme! Now the culprit, her ex-boyfriend, Parker is back and he wants her back! And our fun begins. These two are explosive, both in hilarity and chemistry. Every situation made me smile and their story is full of love and hope. I love getting to see Mal, Fiona and Will too, giving us cameos of friends we know and hope to get to know better soon! It’s the perfect listen to “perk” you up and make you happy.
Erin Mallon narrates this series and a better choice could not have been made. Her talent for comedy is unsurpassed and she just zones in on the personality of each character. I love her and always know I am in for a treat when she performs.
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Another great story in this series with a new couple to follow. I loved listening to this book (and it’s a good thing I was home and not out since I kept laughing out of no where) and am excited to see what comes next. Great writing and great narration.
This was a truly fun book to read. There were many laugh out loud moments, and the witty remarks were off the charts. I loved these characters and enjoyed getting to follow their crazy journey; Parker’s persistence was inspiring to witness.
2.5 Stars
I wanted to like this book, but the main character, Persephone aka “Perky”, was just really annoying and unlikable. Five years ago, her boyfriend Parker took a picture of her where she was topless and his mother’s dogs were getting frisky behind her on her bed. It somehow got on the internet and became a meme. She blamed Parker, since he was the only other one to have the photo. He has denied that he put the picture out there. It is now five years later, Parker is a Congressman from Texas and showed up to her best friend’s wedding rehearsal rehearsal dinner (yes, a rehearsal for the rehearsal dinner). This was the first incident where you see what a self-centered narcissist Perky is. She proceeds to make a scene and have a meltdown, where the bride-to-be has to focus all of her attention on Perky. She is a pretty awful friend. The dialogue between the friends is supposed to witty, but it was more snarky than witty. What kept this from being totally awful was Parker. He was a great guy, and deserved someone better than Persephone.