Tia Williams’ 2016 age-gap romance, The Perfect Find, has been re-released following the success of her latest, Seven Days in June — I’ve heard amazing things about that one, and can’t wait to read — and I was lucky enough to dive into a gifted eARC.

In The Perfect Find — which is being adapted into a Netflix rom-com starring (and produced by) Gabrielle Union — 40-year-old Jenna Jones, a former It-girl fashion editor at a glossy mag, realizes it’s time to start over following a complete emotional breakdown after the implosion of her relationship and career. She’s back in NYC, albeit in a much less glamorous Brooklyn apartment, and has been forced to kiss her editorial magazine career behind and work at a trendy style site run by her old arch nemesis, Darcy Vale. Between Jenna’s old-school cred in the industry and some help from up-and-coming 22-year-old director Eric Combs (who just so happens to be Darcy’s son), Darcy hopes that a fashion web series will breathe new life into the site. What she doesn’t expect, is for Jenna to put her new job, ticking biological clock, and bank account all on the line when she risks a secret romance with Eric that threatens to send her and her brand-new life packing, back to the obscurity of the ‘burbs.

So, let’s start with some positives! There’s a lot of humor and heat in this. There were multiple chapters where I felt like the chemistry between Eric and Jenna was practically leaping off the page and slapping me across the face (but in, like, a sexy way). That undeniable connection makes you want to root for them, despite how ill-suited they seem to be for each other on paper.

And, as someone who spent years at a website that sounds uncomfortably similar to the fictional “StyleZine.com” where Jenna and Eric work, a lot of the details Williams gives about the office, colleague politics, crap salaries, and abusive power dynamics are extremely realistic. (Which makes sense, given the authors’ IRL experience as an editor at high-fashion mags.)

Jenna is a complex, flawed, and ultimately endearing MC — in fact, she’s as endearing as Darcy is straight-up VILE, and seeing how these two Black women in positions of power interact with both each other and their cutthroat industry as a whole, makes for an interesting (and occasionally heartbreaking) relationship. Jenna and Eric are the heart of this book, but her fraught push-and-pull with Darcy kept me riveted. Occasionally we get glimpses of the friendship that might’ve been between them had Darcy not been an absolute sociopath, and part of me wishes that part of the story had been explored further. But then again: Darcy is an absolute sociopath, soooo . . . nah.

But man, I just have to say that a lot of this writing has not aged well. From frequently referring to characters as “butt-sluts” and “whores,” to tone-deaf jokes about sexual assault, and finally a character whose entire personality is basically being ~above~ social media (despite working in THE media lmao), it’s a straight-up relic of a novel.

Every other chapter seemed to be an info-dump of telling, not showing — ex: the entirety of a very important relationship for the main character is explained via bloated flashback — and more dated references. Given the fact this was originally published five years ago, I could get past the fact everyone’s drinking vodka Red Bulls and dialogue including lines like “keep it one hunnid” and calling things “[insert adjective here].com.” But the worst thing for me, is how many characterizations of women in this book are full of demeaning stereotypes.

Williams is clearly talented, and I’ve seen wonderful reviews of Seven Days in June (which is on my TBR pile!), but this book should’ve stayed in the time capsule.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Net Galley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was 'The Idea Of You' all over again but with a much easier ending for my heart lol. I loved every moment of it. The movie adaptation can't come soon enough.