Review: Chasing Perfect by Susan Mallery

Chasing Perfect by Susan Mallery

Series: Fool’s Gold #1

HQN

April 2010

Format: Paperback, 376 pages

Source: Library

Welcome to Fool’s Gold,
California, a charming community in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
There’s lots to do and plenty of people to meet, especially women.
Because there’s just one tiny problem in Fool’s Gold: the men don’t seem
to stick around. Maybe it’s the lure of big-city life, or maybe it’s
plain old bad luck, but regardless of the reason, the problem has to be
fixed, fast. And Charity Jones may be just the city planner to do it.

Charity’s
nomadic childhood has left her itching to settle down, and she
immediately falls in love with all the storybook town has to
offer–everything, that is, except its sexiest and most famous resident,
former world-class cyclist Josh Golden. With her long list of romantic
disasters, she’s not about to take a chance on another bad boy, even if
everyone else thinks he’s perfect just the way he is. But maybe that’s
just what he needs–someone who knows the value of his flaws. Someone
who knows that he’s just chasing perfect.

My thoughts:  I’ve read quite a few books by Susan Mallery and I enjoy her stories. For some reason, I never started reading the Fool’s Gold series when it first came out…and now, I can’t even remember why, but I do know that I’m kicking myself for waiting so long. I did read book 8 last year, Summer Nights, as part of a blog tour, and even though I don’t like reading books out of order when they are part of a series, I still read it, being told it was written as a stand-alone. I really enjoyed it and have been looking forward to going back to the beginning and reading the series in order.

This first book introduces us to Fool’s Gold and we come to find that the town is having a hard time getting men to stay…there are way more women in this town than there are men and the town council is trying to change that. They start by hiring a new city planner and hope that they can start to attract new businesses to their small town.

Besides setting up the series, this is also Charity and Josh’s story. Charity is the new city planner, and ends up getting way more than she bargained for when she accepted the job. Josh, a former world-class athlete, has the resources and wherewithal to help bring people to the town. Both have secrets in their past and both are trying to overcome issues – but will they be able to get past all that to find their happily-ever-after?

We are also introduced to other residents of the town and I am hoping some of them will be getting their own stories. I do have a feeling, though, that Marsha, the town mayor, is more than just head of the town…I’m thinking she might also be the town matchmaker!

I’m looking forward to reading this series. I love long series – you get so invested in the characters and the town. If you like reading series, do you like them to go on forever, or do you like them short and sweet?

Books in this series:

      1. Chasing Perfect                      8. Summer Nights

      2. Almost Perfect                       9. All Summer Long

      2.5 Sister of the Bride            10. A Fool’s Gold Christmas

      3. Finding Perfect                     11. Just One Kiss

      4. Only Mine                               12. Two of a Kind

      5. Only Yours                             13. Three Little Words

      6. Only His                                

      6.1 Only Us

      6.2 Almost Summer

      7. Summer Days