Practice Makes Perfect (Lili’s Review)

Title: Practice Makes Perfect (Housemates #3)
Author: Jay Northcote
Publisher: Jaybird Press
Release Date: June 22nd 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance/New Adult
Page Count: 2602 kindle locations
Reviewed by: Lili
Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

Dev, a geeky first year physics student, has zero sexual experience and he’s determined to change that ASAP. After a bad time in halls of residence, he’s starting the summer term with different housemates and a new plan of action.

Ewan lives in the house next door to Dev. He’s young, free and single, and isn’t looking to change that anytime soon. When awkward circumstances throw them together, Ewan offers to help Dev out in the bedroom in return for maths tutoring, and Dev jumps at the chance.

They work their way through Dev’s sex-to-do list, but what starts as a perfect no-strings arrangement gets more complicated as their feelings for each other begin to grow. If they’re going to turn their lessons in lovemaking into something more permanent, they need to work out how they feel about each other—before they get to the end of Dev’s list.

Length: 54,000 words approx.
This book is a complete story and can be read as a stand-alone

After thoroughly enjoying the past few books by Mr. Northcote I was sad that this one missed the mark for me. The story had many components that I love:

But I was missing dialogue. Lots of telling not enough showing. Did they talk while they were doing the dirty tango in the bedroom? Oh, yeah. Outside the bedroom? Not really. Just a few things here and there. One of my favorite parts when reading a good romance novel is banter, great dialogue. It lacked here and for that reason I couldn’t connect with
Dev and Ewan as a couple emotionally.

Also, the inner monologues. They got repetitive. I found myself saying: Yes, I know you’re falling for him but scared to say it. They both repeated this sentiment multiple times. I wished some of these inner monologues had been scrapped, and more conversation added while they were studying or cooking together. I wanted them to connect out of bed, not just in it.

I think part of the problem was the length of the book. It is a novella, and I know it’s difficult to get everything in a limited number of pages. If it had been longer, the delivery of the story would’ve been stronger. It kind of felt like a skeleton of a story- incomplete.

All in all, it was cute. If you’re in the mood for a quick, smexy filler book Practice Makes Perfect will surely hit the spot. I feel sorry that I felt underwhelmed after reading it, and I’ll probably be the minority. And even though it wasn’t a complete hit for me I still recommend it as I’m sure many will enjoy it.

In conclusion, it’s 3.5 Stars from me. Three stars and a half isn’t bad- but not what I’ve gotten accustomed rating this author.