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Today I'm featuring an early review of Perfect Days. The US release date is February 16, 2016. Before you jump into my review, you don't want to miss the book trailer. It absolutely sets the tone of the story. After watching the trailer, to read on to find out what I thought of the dark psychological thriller Perfect Days.
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Publisher: Viking
Release Date: February 16, 2016
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thriller
Review Date: January 25, 2016
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Synopsis: Teo Avelar is a loner. He lives with his paraplegic mother and her dog in Rio de Janeiro, he doesn't have many friends, and the only time he feels honest human emotion is in the presence of his medical school cadaver--that is, until he meets Clarice. She's almost his exact opposite: exotic, spontaneous, unafraid to speak her mind. She's working on a screenplay called Perfect Days about three friends who go on a road trip across Brazil in search of romance. Teo begins to stalk her, first following to her university, then to her home, and when she ultimately rejects him, Teo kidnaps her, and they embark upon their very own twisted odyssey across Brazil, tracing the same route outlined in her screenplay. Through it all, Teo is certain that time is all he needs to prove to Clarice that they are made for each other, that time is all he needs to make her fall in love with him. But as the journey progresses, he keeps digging himself deeper, stopping at nothing to ensure that no one gets in the way of their life together.
DISCLAIMER: This tile was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: February 16, 2016
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thriller
Review Date: January 25, 2016
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Synopsis: Teo Avelar is a loner. He lives with his paraplegic mother and her dog in Rio de Janeiro, he doesn't have many friends, and the only time he feels honest human emotion is in the presence of his medical school cadaver--that is, until he meets Clarice. She's almost his exact opposite: exotic, spontaneous, unafraid to speak her mind. She's working on a screenplay called Perfect Days about three friends who go on a road trip across Brazil in search of romance. Teo begins to stalk her, first following to her university, then to her home, and when she ultimately rejects him, Teo kidnaps her, and they embark upon their very own twisted odyssey across Brazil, tracing the same route outlined in her screenplay. Through it all, Teo is certain that time is all he needs to prove to Clarice that they are made for each other, that time is all he needs to make her fall in love with him. But as the journey progresses, he keeps digging himself deeper, stopping at nothing to ensure that no one gets in the way of their life together.
DISCLAIMER: This tile was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is my first time reading a Brazilian author, which was enjoyable, but I was slightly disappointing in one regard. While the story is set in Brazil, I felt that it could have taken place in anywhere in the world. There was nothing distinctive that would lead me to believe that the locale was Brazil. The lack luster amount of details regarding local area of the places these characters visited was less than I was expecting. Bottom line is, I wanted to feel like I was transported to Brazil, and I didn't get that.
Ralph Montes writes with the darkness that is familiar to Gillian Flynn's style. The plot also feels almost feels like a mix between You by Caroline Kepnes and Misery by Stephen King. Even with these nuances, Montes has a flair all his own.
Teo lives with his paraplegic mother and her dog. He's in medical school and it's obvious that he's very smart and introverted. It's also clear that he is strange and is a little bit off from the very first page. I wish there was more depth to his character - something to tell us what motivates him, what got him into this type of behavior, and in general some history. In the end, it was hard to feel anything about Teo other than that he's delusional and crazy.
Ralph Montes writes with the darkness that is familiar to Gillian Flynn's style. The plot also feels almost feels like a mix between You by Caroline Kepnes and Misery by Stephen King. Even with these nuances, Montes has a flair all his own.
Teo lives with his paraplegic mother and her dog. He's in medical school and it's obvious that he's very smart and introverted. It's also clear that he is strange and is a little bit off from the very first page. I wish there was more depth to his character - something to tell us what motivates him, what got him into this type of behavior, and in general some history. In the end, it was hard to feel anything about Teo other than that he's delusional and crazy.
Claire is the exact opposite personality wise of Teo, but she's also a little naive and pretentious and she's never afraid to say what she wants no matter what. That in itself put her into the situation that she's in. Something about the way she deals with Teo early on makes him want her even more. Which is all the more unsettling. Claire is definitely a difficult character to figure out. She's bisexual, maybe? She's independent, sort of? She's definitely withdrawn and has no problem lying. There's a lot going on with her.
The pitch made to me to review this title included a line about seeing what was on page 198. Around page 168 or so came what thought that was a shocker. When I reached page 198, I felt like it was stressful to digest. What happens on page 198 was just beyond crazy. And not in a shocking twist, "OMG" moment, but more in a horrible and dreadful moment. Waiting with baited breath for page 198 was a no go. For me, the actual "OMG" moment was actually 20-30 pages before that.
In my opinion, Perfect Days is more like a character study about how crazy, obsessive and sick people can be. It's almost feels like reading a true crime novel from the point of view of the criminal, or the demented in Teo's case.
As for the ending, I wanted one thing to happen so badly, that when almost the polar opposite was the conclusion, I was at the point where I felt it ended in an ironic yet understated manner. My last thoughts when I closed the book were "Wow, so that's how that ends?"... I think I was waiting on a surprise twist and the very end where the victim gets the upper hand. No such luck.
Overall, this is a fast read and it's no doubt entertaining. There are highs and lows. There are points where you think that it can't get any worse for Claire's character, and it does. If you enjoy really dark and twisted thrillers, this will be right up your ally.
Happy Reading,
~Tamara
The pitch made to me to review this title included a line about seeing what was on page 198. Around page 168 or so came what thought that was a shocker. When I reached page 198, I felt like it was stressful to digest. What happens on page 198 was just beyond crazy. And not in a shocking twist, "OMG" moment, but more in a horrible and dreadful moment. Waiting with baited breath for page 198 was a no go. For me, the actual "OMG" moment was actually 20-30 pages before that.
In my opinion, Perfect Days is more like a character study about how crazy, obsessive and sick people can be. It's almost feels like reading a true crime novel from the point of view of the criminal, or the demented in Teo's case.
As for the ending, I wanted one thing to happen so badly, that when almost the polar opposite was the conclusion, I was at the point where I felt it ended in an ironic yet understated manner. My last thoughts when I closed the book were "Wow, so that's how that ends?"... I think I was waiting on a surprise twist and the very end where the victim gets the upper hand. No such luck.
Overall, this is a fast read and it's no doubt entertaining. There are highs and lows. There are points where you think that it can't get any worse for Claire's character, and it does. If you enjoy really dark and twisted thrillers, this will be right up your ally.
Happy Reading,
~Tamara
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