MinnChica from The Book Pushers

Publisher: HQN
Publish Date: 8/31/10
How I got this book: NetGalley

I am absolutely in love with the Fool's Gold Series, and this one is by far my favorite so far!! I feel in love with Raoul when he made his first appearance in Sweet Spot where he was still in HS, living with Nicole for the last part of his senior year so that he did not have to continue living on the streets. He was an incredible character with so much heart and history and character. When I found out he was coming back to be the hero for Pia, I did a little happy dance!

Pia is the town party planner, and when we start her story, she is feeling down and out as her best friend Crystal has recently passed from cancer. She finds out that Crystal has left Pia her frozen embryos. So now Pia is stuck dealing with not only the grief of loosing her best friend, but also struggles with trying to decide what to do about the embryos.

When Raoul comes to her about business and finds her deciding to have the babies, he decides to help he out by becoming her pregnancy buddy. He agrees to go and buy her craving ice cream, help her breathe, and just be a general friend when she needs it. As the two spend more and more time together, they grow closer and closer as friends. When Raoul proposes to a marriage of convenience to Pia, she agrees. Too bad she soon realizes that convenience won't be good enough for her.

Again, I absolutely loved this story. I've loved Pia ever since we first met her. I thought she was a great character. She was the rich snobby girl in high school, and had to deal with loosing everything. After all of that she still changes into this sweet, loving, kind, and incredible woman. I love that she is willing to take on her best friends legacy and have her embryos. Call my crazy, but I could never do that, it speaks volumes about Pia.

While I am usually not a huge fan of books that involve a pregnancy that bring two people together, Mallery blew me away with this one. It was so different, with Pia choosing to have a child on her own, knowing that she won't have someone to lean on. When Raoul walks in and offers himself up as a pillar, Pia is both hesitant and excited to have someone to partner with. It wasn't one of those “oops I knocked you up, now I'm gonna stick around and we'll fall magically in love” kind of book. Of course the two do end up falling in love, but it was inspired by all the time the two spent together, and the strength of each of their characters.

I also enjoyed watching Pia grow to come and think of the embryos as her own. She started with just wondering if she should even have them, then thought of them still as Crystal's kids. By the end of the story, she really grew to think of them as her own, and again just had me falling in love with her all over again.

I can't wait for the remainder of the Fool's Gold books! I am in love with this series and can't wait to read more!! Keep a look out here on the blog, because early next week we are going to have a super special interview with Ms. Mallery herself!

All in all, I give Finding Perfect 4.5 out of 5 embryos!