Review: Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

From Goodreads: As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury. Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows ... and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating. But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving ... and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death. 

My Rating: 2 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch was a book that ended up on my radar because of its interesting premise. Unfortunately, the execution was lacking, and more depth was needed from both the characters and the plot. 

It was really hard for me to care about what happened to the characters because they had such little personality. Ella, for example, doesn’t even think about how limiting her life is until she’s told so by an activist ... and then continues to make no attempt to change her way of living. Only when her romance is threatened does Ella decide that she wants out. 

I found the romance to be cheesy and totally insta-love. Spoiler alert: What seventeen-year-old would give up family, money, and security to be with someone who’s illiterate and knows nothing about the real world?! It also needed more clarity because it just seemed that out of nowhere, Penn went from not being able to stand Ella to being in love with her.

The worldbuilding could have been expanded upon as well because there was no context for how and why the United States would pass laws allowing people to own genetically engineered humans as pets. Nor did I think it was a very realistic idea because why would anybody spend so much money to take care of someone who contributes nothing to society! 

A story that ultimately fell short of my expectations, Perfected will be released by Entangled Teen on July 1, 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: I would prefer to have a girl inside the gilded cage instead of just a dress. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Entangled Publishing) for free via NetGalley.