Virtual Book Tour: Perfect Match by AG Meiers (Guest Post + Giveaway)

About Perfect Match

Secrets can derail even the most powerful attraction.

Logger Sven Larson has never found a man worth publicly coming out of the closet for. But his family has other plans. As a thirtieth birthday gift, his mother hires the online dating service Perfect Match to find Sven the love of his life. To say Sven isn't thrilled is an understatement, but it's too late to cancel, and Jayden Calver arrives.

Perfect Match's success rate is unsurpassed, but they don't come by it honestly: if a client can't be matched, the agency uses a stand-in to fulfil their guarantee and protect their profit.

Tough luck has left Jayden in debt, and playing Perfect Match's deceptive game is his only option. So he travels — sparkling toenails and all — to a remote camp deep in the mountains to meet Sven Larson and pretend to be his perfect match for a few days.

Sparks fly on first contact. But as the two men get closer, Sven grows more and more suspicious of Jayden, and Jayden struggles with guilt over his deceit. They both want a future together, but first they must find the courage to be honest with themselves and each other.

Now available from Riptide Publishing!

“Write about what you know” – is that valid for your book?

Yes. Yes, of course, there are bits and pieces of me in Perfect Match.

When I first came to the US, I was insanely lonely. It was supposed to be my grand adventure, but in reality, I spent a lot of evenings curled up on my lumpy, second-hand sofa in front of the TV. Back then, I told myself it was just because my work day was busy and stressful, but in truth work was easy. Or at least, easier than finding new friends and putting myself “out there” over and over again.

So, I poured some of these experiences into Sven, one of the main characters in Perfect Match. Sven hesitates to take a job in a new city. He has many good reasons to just stay with his family in an isolated mountain camp, but deep down it’s his fear of being lonely that holds him back. Starting all over again somewhere new isn’t an easy decision. Then, Jayden Calver crashes into his life and brings new perspective to Sven’s struggle to make choices for his future.

But Jayden’s presence in Sven’s life brings a whole new set of challenges. Jayden is tangled up in the lies and secrets of a romance scam. Even as Sven gets more and more attracted to the strange city kid that showed up at his door step claiming to be his Perfect Match, he can’t ignore all the inconsistencies of Jayden’s behavior.

Loneliness will continue as one of the main themes for the Perfect Match series. Another thing I personally learned from my first months in the US. Loneliness can lead you to do a whole lot of really stupid things! Like for example: Go on blind dates that have disaster written all over them. Or one of my personal favorites: When you actually meet a nice guy, get so nervous that you come across as a complete basket case. I’m using some of these experiences in the second book of the series, Perfect Cover (loneliness + alcohol = stupid decisions).

If after reading this you have a “been-there-done-that” moment, then you’ll probably enjoy the Perfect Match series.

4* Sweet, believable tale with a couple of really likable leads.

This is a sweet book with a premise that could have come across as faux and unbelievable, but the author gave the tale a bit of a unique twist, and at the end, I was pleased that the dating website/agency owners got what they deserved.

Jayden and Sven were totally unmatched in size, background, education, finances, and lives, etc., but somehow they worked. I'm not quite sure how or why, because there's not one thing that stood out, not one thing that gave me a Eureka! moment, but it all came together. Both were really decent characters with a love of family and both had a really strong moral stance about doing the right thing, and that's what caused the conflict between them.

I liked how Sven was a gentle giant who didn't jump to conclusions or throw his weight around or make demands, and Jayden showed his innate decency by his interactions with members of Sven's family. This was more a tale about people, love, having your loved ones' backs, doing the right thing and about talking things out rather than bottling up. I liked how the author didn't use Jayden's reveal to create faux angst and a break-up between the guys; too many would have, but here, she let their personalities that we'd already come to see over the course of the tale make things organic.

The tale ends in a good place, with the leads about to embark on what I think was their HEA. Neither seemed the type to want something fleeting, so I had hopes for them.

The epilogue was rather revealing, and despite not liking the guys from the dating agency, I couldn't help but be intrigued by the possibility of them getting their individual comeuppances. A couple of characters haven't been painted as black as the others and perhaps there's hope for them. I'd certainly read more of this series.

* Copy provided to the reviewer by Riptide Publishing via NetGalley for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

About AG Meiers

Eighteen years ago, AG Meiers came to the US for adventure and stayed for love. Currently, she lives in New England with her husband and two awesome kids—balancing work, friends and family, and writing.

When she has some free time, her favorite thing to do is travel and visit new places. Her past trips have already brought her to a variety of countries on four continents. She never passes up an opportunity to experience different cultures, diverse people and amazing locations.

Even though she has been dreaming up stories all her life, she has only recently started to write them down and share them with the world. As a writer she loves to put her characters through a lot of challenges, conflict and heartbreak, before she allows them to find their happy-ever-after.

Connect with AG Meiers:

• https://www.agmeiers.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/ag.meiers.1

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Perfect Match one lucky person will win a $20 Riptide Publishing gift card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 18, 2019. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!