D.D. Larsenâs second book of her Perfect series is a bite-your-bottom-lip, sizzling romance about two young lovers involved in a sinister conspiracy that threatens their forever.
Newlywed and pregnant, Seryna believes sheâs found it all in her charming, successful husband Kieran. Sheâs given up a lot to be with him, and so far, itâs been worth it. But during an idyllic honeymoon in the British Virgin Islands, Kieran is kidnapped, throwing her dreams of happiness into a tailspin.
Four months later, heartbroken, but determined to carry on, Seryna enrolls in college, where she meets Ryderâan attractive and stable guy who quickly becomes her best friend. As she slowly accepts her husbandâs probable death, Seryna begins to develop feelings for Ryder.
But just when she settles into her new life, dangerous truths unfold, and unlikely enemies emerge. Who wants to hurt her? Who can she trust? And who deserves to win her heart once and for all?
D.D. Larsenâs second book of her Perfect series is a bite-your-bottom-lip, sizzling romance about two young lovers involved in a sinister conspiracy that threatens their forever.
Newlywed and pregnant, Seryna believes sheâs found it all in her charming, successful husband Kieran. Sheâs given up a lot to be with him, and so far, itâs been worth it. But during an idyllic honeymoon in the British Virgin Islands, Kieran is kidnapped, throwing her dreams of happiness into a tailspin.
Four months later, heartbroken, but determined to carry on, Seryna enrolls in college, where she meets Ryderâan attractive and stable guy who quickly becomes her best friend. As she slowly accepts her husbandâs probable death, Seryna begins to develop feelings for Ryder.
But just when she settles into her new life, dangerous truths unfold, and unlikely enemies emerge. Who wants to hurt her? Who can she trust? And who deserves to win her heart once and for all?
CHAPTER 1
IÂ âm pregnant. Iâm pregnant. Iâm pregnant. The words keep circling around my head like a wrecking ball. I had the perfect plan. I knew what I wanted to do. Everything was planned out. I had worked for years for it,
and when it was finally timeânothing. Everything.
I had it all figured out. I worked my ass off in high school to reach every
one of my goals. Get out of the small town I grew up in. Stop feeling like I was caged into my life. My perfect little cage that came crashing down on top of me.
One small addition to the equation, and everything has changed.
Kieran.
Kieran with his piercing blue eyes, black hair, and perfectly toned body. Meeting him changed everything. He started it all. He brought the crazy. He
opened my eyes to the world I had been ignoring. The world is a lot easier to live in when you are ignorant to it.
He brought me happiness. He showed me a side of myself I didnât know existed. He has been my rock as everything else in my life has fallen apart.
It has been two months since everything happened, and I still canât wrap my head around it.
Iâm supposed to be in my first semester of college. My chance at freedom and another step in the plan I had created for myself. Instead, I just got the cast off my wrist and am now sitting in the doctorâs office waiting to get an ultrasound for the baby inside me.
A baby. My baby. Our baby. I still canât believe this is real and it is happening. Before last summer, I was a virgin, and now I am going to be a mom.
Two months ago while I was recovering in the hospital, my life as I knew it changed.
The doctors concluded that all the stress, plus breaking my wrist on top of being pregnant, was just too much for my body to handle. Since then, Kieran has treated me as if I am this breakable doll that canât handle anything, and it is driving me crazy!
Yes, I was in shock, and it caused me to be in a sleeping coma for a week and a half. But could you blame me?
Everythingâand I mean everythingâin my life had changed. My dad and brother are in jail. Two of my best friends almost died. I met the love of my life and then thought our entire relationship had all been fake.
After they arrested my dad and brother, the authorities started to compile evidence against them, mainly my brother. The Barn, which the FBI raided on the night of the party, housed evidence they needed to prove that the GAP was being produced and distributed from there. Duncan, my brother, was the main person behind the GAP, but they are finding it difficult to get anything to stick to him.
GAP, short for Grandmaâs Apple Pie, is a dangerous mixture of moonshine and amphetamines. Last February, it hit the market and led to many serious and fatal incidents. My best friend Alex, along with three more of my classmates, were in a car accident and sustained serious injuries.
With my local knowledge, I was able to help Kieran, an undercover FBI agent who became my fiancé, get intel leading to the raid of the Barn.
In the Barn, the FBI found records of shipments and production of the product in a filing cabinet in the office. My brother had been very careful, but he never imagined they would find his main production facility. He may not be talking, but the evidence is talking for him.
He is currently in jail without bail, waiting for the FBI to solidify their case against him. Kieran says with what they have on him, he will be in jail for a very long time. I know he is my brother, but he did some very bad stuff, and I am just happy that he canât hurt people any longer.
My Dad, on the other hand, seems to be getting off fairly easy. He knew about the moonshine but had no idea what my brother had been doing recently. The original GAP moonshine had been around since my brother was in high school and he started making it. He was tired of my parents not having enough money, so he took it upon himself to make a solution.
When it started to become successful, Duncan had my father buy the land where the Barn was located under a false name. My brother was paying my father rent to use the property, which was the money that was showing up in his account, the same one that originally brought the FBI to investigate my family.
My brother had been producing large quantities of GAP throughout his time in college with the help of a small group of friends. He was very careful and didnât bring in anyone he couldnât trust. While my father knew the basics, my brother didnât tell him when he expanded on his production and started adding amphetamines to the moonshine.
My dad has been let out on bail while they are figuring out what he will be charged with. He has been very cooperative with the cops. After they arrested my brother, the whole family saw a side of him we had never seen before.
When we were little, Duncan and I were close. Always getting into trouble around the house. Setting up contraptions and trying them out. Once, when we tied a skateboard to a ropeâI was the youngest, so I always got to go first to try it outâhe spun me in a circle in the open space of our living room. A new dent in the wall and a new scar on my knee later, we moved on to the next thing.
As we got older, I got more focused and determined to get out of this small town we had grown up in. We drifted apart and never rebuilt the void between us. I didnât realize his frustration at me and the small town we grew up in until last Christmas.
I donât remember what set him off, but he got very upset over how I was always the center of attention with our parents and they barely noticed him. Was this true and I didnât notice? Did I not notice how everyone in our high school were just redneck nobodies who enjoyed picking on anyone who was a little different?
High school wasnât easy for him. Is it for anyone, though? He felt like he was alone in his struggle. But unlike most people who let it go, he held a grudge. The night of the raid, he hinted that he was enjoying the pain that the new GAP was causing people. Making money was only part of the equation.
Or at least this is the best I can make of the whole situation. My brother is very careful not to say anything that could incriminate him. I have been able to piece this together from his sly comments, some from the night of the raid and others from when I went to visit him. I may be happy that he is behind bars, but he is my brother, and I wanted to hear his side of the story.
My impression was he was calm about the situation, but he showed anger when I mentioned Kieran. Duncan tried to convince me that Kieran was just using me, again. Dislike for Kieran makes sense because without him, he wouldnât be in jail, but why is he so calm? With a pile of evidence stacking up, this is not just going to be a temporary arrangement.
Then there is my mom. She is beside herself with everything that is going on. She was completely in the dark. My dad had told her the money was coming from a rental property, but he gave her none of the details associated with it. Apparently, my dad only told her about Duncan and the moonshine a few weeks before everything went down. After I started asking questions about my brother, she got suspicious.
They have temporarily moved back up to the house until they can get some things figured out. My mom doesnât know what to do. Like me, she was blindsided by the news, and it is taking some time to digest.
Then there is me.
An eighteen-year-old whose whole life has been turned upside down and is living with her fiancé and is pregnant. For all the good that has happened in my life, there is equal or more bad.
Bringing my thoughts back to the present, I look up at the wall in the waiting room. There is a flyer advertising family photos for before and after birth. A family is smiling as they hold one another with the baby in the motherâs arms. Both of the parents are looking at the baby with such love. Itâs perfect.
Why does my brain always come back to that word?Â
Perfect
. Nothing is perfect. It is impossible, yet I strive for it and always come up short. Why canât I just enjoy the moment?
I look away before I start to think about all the aspects of my life that are imperfect at the moment. Life has been crazy. But I have felt more alive in the last three months than I did during the rest of my eighteen years.
I hear the door opening and look up, hoping it is Kieran. He is supposed to be meeting me here for the ultrasound. He didnât want me to do this alone. He keeps saying he will be there for me no matter what I choose to do, but I know he wants the baby.
I want the baby too, just not right now. I was thinking early thirties would be a good time to have kids. By that point, Iâd have my career set, a husband, and a house to raise the kids in.
What kind of life will I be bringing this kid into if I end up having it? One of its grandparents is currently out on bail while the other is thought to be involved with criminal activity. Kieranâs father, Mr. Black, is a very rich and powerful man. Kieran doesnât see eye to eye with his father due to many of the ventures he has been involved with not being legal. This drove Kieran to choose a path trying to make up for all the negative his father has done.
The baby may never meet its uncle, not that I would want them to. He may never get out of jail. The brother I went to talk to was not the same one I grew up with. Something has changed in him. One of the babyâs aunts is in and out of rehab because one of Kieranâs sisters has been struggling with drug addiction most of her life. Who wants to bring a child into this world with all that going on?
Alex tells me to stop thinking that way. I have a rich fiancĂ© who thinks the world revolves around me, a soon-to-be husband as soon as we decide on a date. She says the only reason you wait is to make sure you have enough money to raise the child, which isnât a problem.
Even after living with Kieran for two months, I have not been able to get used to his money. He has a lot. LikeÂ
a lot. I donât think I will ever get used to it. Not that I have been spending much since Iâve just been stuck inside recovering, but itâs nice to not have to worry about the cost of ordering pizza.
Today is the day we have to make a final decision about the baby. I know Kieran will support whatever I want to do. He is older than I am at twenty-five, and itâs not as strange to think about having a child at his age. But I am eighteen. I just graduated high school. I am too young to be having a baby.
I look up again as the door opens, and my breath catches, and my heart beats a little faster.
Kieran.
Even after three months, I still react this way every time I see him. His piercing blue eyes find mine as he walks across the room to me. I stand up as he arrives, and he pulls me into a kiss. Letting our lips stay connected a little longer than is socially acceptable, I regretfully pull away. Still in his arms, I look up at him. At this moment, seeing the love he has for me in his eyes, I know there was never a choice of what we were going to do. How could I ever think of getting rid of something that we created through love?
I am going to have this baby.
As I am about to tell him that we are going to have a baby together, the nurse calls my name to come to the back.
We are motioned into a back room. The nurse takes all my vitals and then tells us that the doctor will be with us in a few moments. As the door closes, I look over at Kieran.
He can see I want to talk about something important, so he gets up and walks over to where I am sitting on the exam table and asks, âHey, babe, whatâs up?â
I blame pregnancy, but I burst into tears as I tell him, âWeâre going to have a baby.â
Not understanding my meaning, he tries to comfort me. âSeryna, itâs okay. I know that life has been crazy, and this is the last thing we expected to happen, but it will be okay. We will take care of it, and everything will go back to normal.â As he talks, he is rubbing my back.
I look up at him, wanting to lay it out clearer so he will understand my full meaning.
âKieran, I donât want to âtake care of it.â I want to have the baby. I want to have our baby. Iâm keeping it.â
Before I can finish, Kieranâs eyes start to mist as he looks at me. âAre you sure, Seryna? You know what that involves? I promise to help in whatever way I can, but itâs your body.â
I know he wants the baby but doesnât want to pressure my decision.
I look at him and reassure him. âIâm sure, Kieran. I love you, and I already love this baby we created. I would forever have a hole inside me if I didnât have it.â Kieran is so excited he grabs me off the exam table and kisses me hard. Loving the way his touch feels, I donât pull away and push forward, making the kiss deeper. With everything that has happened and me being hurt, Kieran will barely touch me. I have tried a few times, but he is too worried that he will hurt me. I was pretty banged up, but over the last few weeks, I have felt fine. He still wants to wait. He wonât believe me when I tell him that it wonât hurt the baby if we
are together, but he wanted to wait and ask the doctor. 6
Imperfect
As the heat really starts to build, we hear a soft knock on the door. As Dr. Molly walks in, we pull away quickly.
Looking a little flustered, the doctor asks, âDo you want me to come back?â
Before I can jump in, Kieran begins to talk. âWe were just celebrating. We have decided to keep the baby!â
Dr. Mollyâs eyes brighten, and she clasps her hands together. âThatâs great news! I know you guys were unsure, but this will be the right choice. Once you hold your own baby, itâs like nothing else in the world matters! Before we get started with the exam, do you guys have any questions?â
Iâm slightly embarrassed, but we all know how babies are made, so I ask the question. Turning to Dr. Molly, I ask, âWill being intimate hurt the baby?â
Without missing a beat, she replies, âAs long as youâre not having any discomfort and there is no bleeding, youâre free to continue intercourse up until you give birth.â
I donât listen to what else she says as all I can think about is being with Kieran again. Itâs been too long.
D.D. Larsen is a lifelong resident of Colorado and has been an avid reader her entire life. She has the gift of incorporating her own experiences into her characters and developing stunning scenery with her words. This is the second book in her Perfect series.
"Life is too short. I want to live every moment to the fullest."
Seryna and Kieran are attempting to come to terms with the fact that they are having a baby. After everything that happened at the bonfire and the raid that followed, Kieran being shot and beaten, they are both emotionally fragile. As they start making decisions, they decide to take a tripâjust the two of them, and Ryan their security detail. Kieran takes Seryna to some of his favorite places, and they share many intimate moments during their vacation. Until the unthinkable happens. Now the biggest question is- who is coming back from vacation alive?
Picking up fairly immediately from where book one, Perfect, left off, we are immediately met with Seryna's internal dialogue as she tries to come to terms with the fact that she is pregnant. As she tries to decide what her next move is, one this is certain. She is still madly in love with Kieran, and she wants to spend the rest of her life with him.
As they enjoy the ocean, the boat, and exploring islands, their list for each other continues to grow. As their dream vacation starts to wind down, the unthinkable happens as they are at the yacht club. Kieran is taken, and Seryna is drugged and left behind.
While these books could technically be standalone, I would recommend reading them both to understand the backstory fully. While book two does a pretty good job of summarizing the trauma and drama from book one, nothing beats getting the book's full details.
Seryna is this book was disappointing to me. As she is trying to adjust to life without Kieran, being in charge of their empire, and starting college and the upcoming birth of their child... she decides she needs a friend. And of course, it's a handsome guy from several of her classes. How she could even remotely be contemplating a potential romantic rendezvous with everything else happening is beyond me.
This book was well thought out, but I feel like specific details could have been developed even further for clarity's sake. The case against Seryna's father, while mentioned, has no closure. In this book, suddenly, Seryna realizes her mother is negative and unhappy. This comes out of nowhere and gets very little clarification. When a twist happens later in the book, Seryna decides she should be spending more time with her mom.
Some plot holes should have been worked out a bit more, in my opinion. I also feel like Seryna had minimal growth, despite everything that she's been through. Yes, she does make some progress, and she does mature in a lot of aspects. But she is still very much 19 and focused on parties and boyfriends and frivolous things that frankly aren't relevant to her current situation.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. It was a decent read and D.D. Larsen is a gifted writer. The story flowed at a decent pace, and the characters all had the set quirks that made them memorable. These books are targeted toward the young adult crowd; I would say 18-25-year-olds. So I am not the target market, but the story was good. The writing was substantial; the plot was well thought out. Larsen has a gift for describing the scenery in her writing. That is what is most memorable, the way she paints a picture for her reader with her words. You will see the gorgeous mountains of Colorado rising from the pages.
It was a quick read. While I did enjoy the first two books, I don't see myself rereading them. I will read D.D. Larsen again, however. I have a feeling her writing will continue to get better as she grows within her craft.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.