Her advice, spot on. Her love life, way off.

Darcy Phillips:
• Can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes—for a fee.
• Uses her power for good. Most of the time.
• Really cannot stand Alexander Brougham.
• Has maybe not the best judgement when it comes to her best friend, Brooke…who is in love with someone else.
• Does not appreciate being blackmailed.

However, when Brougham catches her in the act of collecting letters from locker 89—out of which she’s been running her questionably legal, anonymous relationship advice service—that’s exactly what happens. In exchange for keeping her secret, Darcy begrudgingly agrees to become his personal dating coach—at a generous hourly rate, at least. The goal? To help him win his ex-girlfriend back.

Darcy has a good reason to keep her identity secret. If word gets out that she’s behind the locker, some things she’s not proud of will come to light, and there’s a good chance Brooke will never speak to her again.

Okay, so all she has to do is help an entitled, bratty, (annoyingly hot) guy win over a girl who’s already fallen for him once? What could go wrong?

Title: Perfect on Paper
Author: Sophie Gonzales
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Range: Young Adult
Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, Drugs (marijuana), Cheating, Vomiting, Biphobia (external and internalized), Absent parents, Toxic parents, Divorce
Rating: ★★★★★

Review

I desperately have been waiting for a book like this! The discussion around bisexuality and biphobia was so refreshing and validating to read. It is honestly so exhausting being bisexual. You never feel you belong in any community. Watching Darcy navigating this and unpacking her feelings about her sexuality was emotional for me and I finally felt seen. I know this might be a heavy way to start a review, but I just had to get that off my chest. Wednesday Books have been so amazing in the representation they are providing to young readers.

While this has a great message, Perfect on Paper is also an adorable read! I love how it balanced real problems while still being a great escape. I loved seeing Darcy work out the problems of her peers and her advice has actually made me think more on my love language. Sounds silly for a 28 year old to learn so much from a fictional high school student, but it’s true! The writer, Sophie Gonzales, has done such great research into all of this and I can only imagine how fun it was to dive into.

The “love interests” were both so lovable and I honestly enjoyed every character. I feel most young bi girls have a Brooke in their lives. It gave me such a flashback to when I had a crush on my best girl friend. This made the choices Darcy had to make very relatable.

Now I wish we all had a Brougham. He was so adorable and I couldn’t help but root for him. I loved the way he challenged and discussed sexism, genders, and sexuality while being respectful and open to learning. I loved every conversation he had with Darcy.

Also, would like to mention the fun Disney trip! So this doesn’t really need to be mentioned, but I grew up in Anaheim and totally related to the references and understood how everyone either worked there or had a Disney pass. It was fun to think back to that time.

I really urge all bisexual women to read this. It is quick, intelligent, adorable, and refreshing. Also, if you enjoyed Netflix’s The Half of It, then you will love this!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the arc! This title was released March 9, 2021.

_{we are all stardust and stories…}