Author: Jennifer Echols
Published: January 13th, 2015
Paperback, 336 pages
4 Gold Stars
(summary from Goodreads)
Can your heart be put to a popular vote?
As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for capturing those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents' bitter divorce has left her wonderful what a loving relationship would look like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody the "Perfect Couple That Never Was," her friends have been on her case to ask Brody out.
Brody doesn't lack in female admirers, but Harper can't see herself with him. He seems confused about why they were matched together, too. They're total opposites - the last people in the world who would ever be compatible, let alone the "perfect couple." Yet ever since the class paired the two of them, they've found themselves drawn together - first by curiosity, then by an undeniable bond.
The trouble is, though they're very attracted to each other and both of them admits this, they have a hard time getting along or even communicating clearly. If they're the perfect couple, this shouldn't be so difficult! Soon it becomes clear that the class was wrong, and they throw in the towel. But after they walk away, both of them feel so changed from making the effort that they can't forget each other. What if that means this match made in hell is the perfect couple after all?
Two books into the new Superlatives series by Jennifer Echols and I'm sold. In this one, we got to focus on Harper, one of Tia's friends from Biggest Flirts. Harper is the yearbook photographer and she thinks she has it all down packed. She has a successful boyfriend, Kennedy, the cherished yearbook position, and a bright future set up for her. But when she gets voted Perfect Couple That Never Was with Brody, the star quarterback, she starts to rethink some parts of her life. Thinking she's missing out and finding Brody very attractive, she starts to see him more often and flirts heavily. Things progress between the two of them even though they are both in relationships and soon they find that they are great together, something they never thought could happen. But are they only attracted to each other because the class voted it so or do they actually have a chance at being happy together.
Harper is a sweet girl, timid and shy, who loves photography more than anything. She constantly has her camera around her neck and takes pride in the photos she takes for the yearbook. She cares about the way she looks, having always had a certain persona attached to her looks and suddenly changing who she is to get attention from Brody. Thankfully, he says he loves her glasses and 50s style more than what she starts wearing to please him. Her point-of-view was lovely and I'm glad we got to know her in her own voice. Brody starts off as the typical high school football player but quickly becomes someone who I could actually fall for. He has a bad home life, but Harper helps him in the same way he helps her, which made them perfect for each other even though it took them awhile to see it. Wouldn't make for a good story otherwise though would it?
I loved seeing the rest of the cast make appearances throughout. I love companion books like this where you catch glimpses of the other characters after they've already got their happy endings. Tia and Will quickly become the perfect couple that Harper compares herself too and it's important for her to see that what she and Kennedy have is not real love. There were hints of the next book as well, with small glimpses of Kaye and Sawyer's soon-to-be love mayhem. Side characters play such big roles in books like this and Echols made sure they each had their moments. The high school is full of drama and it's the best kind. The characters are realistic and jumped off the pages. It was an easy read to get into, and I loved getting to know these wonderful teenagers. Harper and Brody's story caught me from the beginning and never let me go. This is the kind of contemporary romance I crave and I can't wait for the last instalment in the series.
"The world is beautiful exactly like it is. You just have to frame it and bring it into focus."
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