Perfect on Paper by Maria Murnane

"Perfect on Paper: The (Mis)adventures of Waverly Bryson" by Maria Murnane

Published by Wink's Ink


About the book:

Anything can look perfect…on paper

When her fiancé calls off their wedding at the last minute, Waverly Bryson wonders if her life will ever turn out the way she thought it would…or should. Her high-powered job in sports PR? Not so perfect. Her relationship with her dad? Far from it. Her perfect marriage? Enough said.

Perfect on Paper is a humorous tale of Waverly’s efforts to cobble the pieces of a broken yesterday into a brand new tomorrow. What does the future have in store for her? Will she finally find what she’s looking for?

Her dates? Cringe-inducing at times, definitely entertaining

Her friends? Often amused, definitely supportive

Her new crush? Possibly intrigued, definitely a catch

The results? Hardly perfect, definitely just right

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First of all, let me start of by saying how surprised I am that this book is self-published. It just goes to show how much talent and creativity publishing houses can miss out on sometimes! Maria Murnane's humor and wit are apparent in this adorable story that kept a smile on my face until the very end. Waverly is such a likeable character, not in spite of her flaws but because of them. She isn't exactly the most suave or sophisticated, but she's got a great sense of humor and learns to laugh at herself and make the best of things. Some of my favorite parts of the book are the Honey notes at the beginning of each chapter. I love how they are incorporated into the storyline and wind up teaching Waverly a lot about herself and her capabilities.

This is chick-lit at its best. There are the friendships, the dating, the hilarious 'misadventures' and the predictable, yet always satisfying, happily ever after. Though some parts of the plot are really unrealistic, they end up making the book more fun and enjoyable.

I think it's pretty clear just how much I enjoyed reading Perfect on Paper and I wasn't the only member of my family. In fact, both my mom and my aunt snatched the book up even before I could start reading it and told me that I was in for a treat. Because of that (along with all the other huge Perfect on Paper fans), I had really high expectations for the book and I'm happy to say I was not disappointed. Anyone who hasn't picked up a copy of this book yet is certainly missing out!!

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Bio:

Maria is currently an independent business writer and works mostly with technology and financial services companies, but like the main character in her book, she did spend a few years in sports PR. One day she quit her job and ended up in Argentina for a year, where she played semi-pro soccer and also wrote the first draft of what would eventually become Perfect on Paper. She has dedicated the book to any woman who has ever been on a really bad date or realized halfway through the workday that her skirt is on backwards.

Maria graduated with high honors in English and Spanish from UC Berkeley and received a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She lives in San Francisco and can be reached at maria@mariamurnane.com. To learn more about her business writing services, click here.

BIG THANKS to Maria for sending me her book to review and Tracee for organizing this great Pump Up Your Book Promotion tour!