Photo credits: Frans Van Heerden
Edited by Vaishali
Title: Mr. Imperfect (Lost Boys #1)
Author: Karina Bliss Genre/Themes: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, grief, Second chance romance Publisher: Self published Year of Publication: 2018 Version: E-book kindle app ISBN: 9780994145369 Review
“Hi, honey,” he said grimly. “I’m home.”
“So,” he said, “the gloves are off at last."
‘Mr. Imperfect’ by Karina Bliss is Christian Kelly’s and Kezia Rose’s story of forsaken teenage love, a resentful separation and dealing with all that lay unsaid when their paths divided during a shaping moment in both of their lives. Once teenage lovers, now intolerable challengers vying for the upper hand after an unfortunate loss brings these aged apart sweethearts together on very uncertain terms. Set in New Zealand, brought back to his hometown after 14 successful years of building his career, millionaire Christian Kelly is back to pay his respects to a woman whose love rivaled only that of the same he had for Kezia Rose. Christian has no intention of crossing any wires with his bitter past - one of the reasons he bid good-riddance all those years ago, but it’s his affection for Kezia’s grandmother that brings his feet back to the older pastures of his home town.
‘Beholden to one woman, then. Muriel Medina Rose. A surrogate mother to a motherless boy-when he’d let her. Which hadn’t been as often as she would have liked.’
‘There were shadows under those intensely blue eyes, she noticed, and shadows in them.'
Kezia Rose never thought she’d face the handsome, arbitrary young love of her life who took off one night with thoughtless intent. But here he is, Christian Kelly, with his fancy Ferrari, stylish suits and cool, arrogant eyes. And Kezia feels …nothing of the love she had for him. Only a relentless desire to see him out of town and out of her life before he can cause any more disruption. Both are resentfully civil to each other, their interchanges laden with undercurrents of bitterness and friction with the intentions of keeping a healthy distance. The quicker Kezia sees the back of Christian, the quicker she can move on with her life. And the quicker Christian speeds away in his fancy car, the faster he can leave all that he hates in his past where it should stay. Because although time and space are decent managers that present an illusion of all’s well that can’t be seen, there are just some things that can’t be forgiven.
“Yes…Come home, Christian. Swap the penthouse for a farmhouse, the Bentley for a tractor and your tourism empire for a pitchfork. I believe there are at least three single women for you to date.”
“Do you count yourself, Kez? If so, we’ll have to drop that number back to two. I never date the same woman twice.” “And I never repeat the same mistake twice.”
Regrettably for this hardened loner, Christian is stuck in this small town, bound by an old IOU and expected to help Kezia regain her inheritance. And just like that, brash Christian is stuck with the only woman who ever broke his heart, leaving him emotionally stunted for all who came after. And Kezia Rose is left to deal with the thoughtless, opinionated man who abandoned their love on an impulsive whim. As obstinately uneager as they both are and restless to get this arrangement over with, keeping a respectable distance for business’s sake isn’t as easy as it sounds when ghosts of the past sit in a long line between them.
“You still let duty drive you.” There was a critical note in his voice that stung.
“Better than still evading responsibility.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m here, aren’t I?” ‘He’d amputated sentiment from his life when he’d left Waterview, yet all day he’d been plagued by phantom pains.'
Kezia is the responsibility to Christian’s unmindfulness, and Christian is the wild bad boy to Kezia’s good-girl sensibility, and the carelessness to her compassionate nature. Opposites these two are, but they are both embroiled in shared history that became a darkening turning point for them, leaving them both longing and fractured in some way, reflected in the way they both live their lives. And also shared in their inability to openly trust and open their hearts. Kezia and Christian have different drives but shared the passion of first love. An impasse was reached 14 years ago, and it seems the same one may be waiting for them now. Christian wanted to leave. Kezia wanted to stay. They both wanted each other, but unspoken choices split them down the middle.
‘Christian seemed to exist to give her impossible choices.’
‘Kezia had a sense of resting in the eye of a storm.’ ‘In a world that had been reduced to black and white he had given her a test of loyalty. And she had failed.'
I’ve desperately been wanting to give out some five stars this year, and just when I least expected that I would, here comes ‘Mr. Imperfect’ to show me what I was missing! I haven’t read any work from Karina Bliss, but if all her books are written in such an all-around engaging, well-structured, poignant way, I’ll be more than happy to read more. What a great cast of characters from the hardened, emotionally unreachable Christian, to the guarded, well-meaning Kez, to the small town, well-rounded folk who create a real sense of honest, crony atmosphere. What I also really appreciated was Joe’s coinciding story of recovering alcoholic and how it nicely pieced itself into this story, presenting another face of an alcoholics will, highlighting the possibility that sobriety can be won.
“I don’t go to dark places, Kez. Not even for you.”
“Even if I could help you light them?"
‘Mr. Imperfect’ is a story about two strong-willed people who gave up on love when their first experience of it was blemished with shades of pain and mistrust. From what I’ve seen so far Bliss writes strong character profiles for all of her characters, strong chemistry - both negative and positive - between Kezia and Christian that felt believable and genuine in every scene, and every act. With angsty conflict, point scoring, power plays and attempts to gain the upper hand, Christian’s and Kezia’s story is one that expresses hurt through hostile civility, but soon to come hopeful understanding.
‘Her accuracy didn’t bother him; the hope implied by her words did. “I’m not a miracle worker, Kez.”
Her mouth softened into a wry smile. “There’s your first miracle.” He raised a brow in inquiry. “I just admitted I want your advice. “No, the miracle would be if you took it."
Christian is a natural suppressor, one who doesn’t have the best outlook on life in general. A thick-skinned man of his own mind who walks his own path. Kezia is equally guarded, self-sacrificing and takes care of her own. They are the kind of couple almost made not to work. She’s a nurturer who leans on virtue to keep her stable. He’s too autonomous to admit any kind of weakness. It’s like a continual battle of wills, but ironically they are both fleeing and fighting the same things: honesty belief, and trust, with each other and themselves. Ironic how they’re compatibly fractured on the inside but clash so deliberately.
“Life might have branded you a loner, Christian, but it’s your choice to stay that way.”
His eyes narrowed. “Says someone who only feels safe when she’s in credit on some emotional balance sheet…"
It’s not often that I’ll come across original prose in the contemporary romance genre, but Mr. Imperfect shatters that construct. The prose is creative, engaging, measured, and touchingly recites a story that gives strong prevalence to it’s characters, their struggles and the story. I was engaged from the opening scene to the last word, from Christian’s peculiar funeral sentimentality to what secrets really drove them away from each other, to an adorable little boy called John Jason. With sorrowful content that grabbed at my tears, with funny bits of dialogue that made me smile there was a lot to love about Mr. Imperfect. So thank you Karina Bliss for leaving me with bleary eyes and shadowed bags under them.
“You know, you forgive other people anything-yourself nothing.” Marion sounded annoyed. “Have you ever thought how condescending it is that my forgiveness counts for less than yours?"
With themes of sacrifice, grief, heartbreak, trust and incontestable passion this wholesome story is a must read, if not for the technically sound writing and brilliantly executed characterisation, then for a battle of mulish will that may break hearts or propel trust. It really is a question of whether the heavy baggage between Kezia and Christian is light enough to carry on both of their shoulders.
After scrolling through some reviews I realised that the feedback is a fairly mixed bag, and I was surprised that this story didn’t delight people as much as it did me, but for those of you who haven’t read this and do enjoy the contemporary romance genre of second chance romance, I’d definitely give this one a try. Apart from the layering of muddled emotions and reasons in this story which were hard to follow because there were so many flying around, and an ending that felt a bit too abrupt, I couldn’t find any fault with story. Well done, Miss. Bliss!
“You moved out?”
Kez stabbed at her bacon. “No, time stopped the day you left.” His blue eyes glinted across the table. “That sound patronizing?” “Very."
A fortifying, wholesome tale between two people who have a chance to offer each other more than bestowal of bitterness if they can open their hearts farther than doubtful belief. Is love still idly sitting there subduedly under layers of unforgivable past and personal pains? Are Kezia and Christian rationalising decisions so they don’t have to face an unwelcome reality? Has rationalising decisions only made them believe their own lies? Will they strain for the upper hand at considerable costs? Or can an amicable understanding be reached when the past has a hurtful hold over them. Is the past just meant to stay in the past along with lost love?
“Our history is heartbreaking.”
“Our future doesn’t have to be.” “I’m country. You’re city.” “We’ll have the best of both worlds.” “I want a man with no shadows. You live in them.” “I’ll buy sunblock."
Colour me silly, colour me overwhelmed, but colour me heart-warmed because I loved this story of mishandled opportunity and second chance romance. Due to secrets untold, Kezia and Christian were left to mourn a miscommunicated loss, both coloured skeptical in some way, but theirs is also a story that requires self-reflection and a good, long look in the mirror to see what stares back. Good intentions are baseless to Christian, he’s too autonomous to care, and apart from his career success Kezia doesn’t see him more than a man of little matter. A while collared do-gooder she is, but do Kezia’s personal roadblocks have more to do with her than Christian? It’s a battle of wills to see who can peel the layers faster while patching up holes in others. When secrets come out though, will love be enough, or will they reach the same stalemate that severed them years ago? And are their drives too different to negate bad consequences? Perhaps all they need is some vulnerability…easier said than done.
“Sorry, I don’t usually shoot at the cavalry.”
“More like the Lone Ranger."
Satirical, eye-watering, enthralling, a wash of agitated love overridden by painful history. It’s not very often that I’ll read a nuanced story of romance with sub-plots as well structured, well-played, and poignant as ‘Mr. Imperfect’. Some things are too far gone to come back from, but it will take a line of unnatural communication for Kezia and Christian to offset this mess. Let’s see if they put those strong wills to some good use. With absorbing protagonists, it’s hard not to get swept up in this story.
“I guess it’s a measure of how much you love him that he has to meet your standards.”
“And a measure of how much he loves you,” Joe added, “that he tries." I gave this book 5 stars -
Trigger Warning: A lot of adult themes are in this book. Some swearing, mild-moderate bedroom scenes, alcoholism, mentions of previous child abuse and miscarriage.
My Rating System: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read THIS SECTION MANY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Some concerns: 1) I think an epilogue was needed because I felt that so much still lies unfixed between Kezia and Christian. I feel like there’s still character conflict to overcome. I don’t think all can just be fixed because of mutual acceptance and realisation. Because of this the wedding felt too soon as well. In hindsight, they don’t know each other as well as they should, considering all the lost years between them, but equally perhaps they are making up for lost time because they are now certain of what they want, and are in position to understand what really went wrong. I do think that a nice epilogue at the end would have given us a better understanding of managing the issues they still have. After all they are in a place where they are relearning each other as well as unlearning some things. 2) This was undoubtedly a good story, but sometimes I think the portrayal of emotion was slightly over-complicated, hence making the character conflict a bit difficult to follow: too many reasons why a person was feeling a certain way. The layering of feeling alongside the sub-plots felt a bit too much towards the end. Some Favourite Quotes: ‘Across the room he smiled at her and her heart remembered why she’d loved him, while her mind thanked God she’d got over him.’ “First loves are so embarrassing years later. All that overwrought intensity, the passion and the promises. You haven’t learned it’s safer to hold something back.” “Church bell-ringing,” she gasped. “Very difficult to do.” He evinced skepticism with one eyebrow. “Pulling a rope?” “Knowing when to let it go takes more skill,” she answered, regaining her composure. Campanologists were used to teasing. “Sounds like it ranks with bungy-jumping for excitement.” “And danged,” she added serenely. “Rope burn?” Kezia bit herlip, determined not to smile. “People have-” “Gone deaf?” “You think of rural life as entombment.” “And you never have.” His tone was neutral but she sensed an accusation.’ “If all Christian Kelly does is make you realise you have friends to turn to, Miss Independence, then some good has come of it,” “Honey, I think Christian’s independence was so ingrained he couldn’t tell all his secrets if he wanted to.” “I want to be a good person. You make me selfish.” “I want to be selfish,” he said slowly. “You make me a better person.”
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