I was introduced to Katie Fforde’s books by chance.  My local library happens to have quite a large selection and they caught my eye one day and I began reading through them one after the other.  I’ve really enjoyed them all, well written books with realistic characters in the romance/women’s fiction genre with satisfyingly happy endings. Somehow in my binge, I missed this one, it must have been checked out at the time.  Practically Perfect does not disappoint.  I particularly connected to this book because I had two points of commonality with the protagonist, Anna, extensive DIY home renovation and dog rescue.  In her case, it was Greyhound and in mine, Siberian Husky.

Anna has purchased a small cottage as an investment property.  It was gutted by a previous owner and not put back together and she is renovating it herself.  Anna has an ulterior motive for purchasing a cottage in this particular area involving an unresolved love interest from her past.

Anna is a great character, funny, independent, and a great friend to Chloe, her next door neighbor.  She is someone I could see myself being friends with easily.  Through the course of the story, Anna meets an irritating, or maybe not so irritating, building official, Chloe and her family, a lovely greyhound, and her long lost crush.  The story lines and characters weave together in a seamless fashion making it easy to get lost in the Anna’s world.  I love it when a book can pull me into the character’s life and out of the real world.

Although, I usually see Katie Fforde’s books classified as romance, I don’t feel that classification does them justice.  In Practically Perfect, just as much attention is paid to the other threads of the plot, such as friendship, family, and work as to the romance story line.  This makes reading the book a richer experience than just a romance novel.

Highly recommended read!