The premise of this book is so fun: what if your favorite fandom character comes alive in your universe and is completely devoted to you? That's what happens to Ivy when her parents are out of town and she wakes up one day to have everything she thought she wanted. Weston is the character from the latest hot new teen superhero show and he's in love with Ivy. This is a paranormal YA story where a lot of the 'why' is hand waved away and what we get is a very charming be careful what you wish for story.

It's wild to me in some ways to have fanfiction be so normalized in fiction as someone who used to sit in their room at night and hide it from the world so I do love the way it is now being seen in fiction stories I would have loved as a kid growing up. Ivy is managing typical teen stuff including an unrequited crush on her ex-best friend Mack who gets lured back into her world as Weston wreaks havoc on Ivy's life and the rest of the world.

This was extremely charming and cute and if you like paranormal tinged teen hijinks this is for you.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

The main characters were so mean to each other I couldn't finish the book. Like if someone talked to me the way Ivy talks to Mack I wouldn't be friends with her either and if someone treated me as shamefully as Mack treated Ivy I would drop their ass too. I'm not sure how you recover a relationship from that and I don't really care to learn.

Sophies books are always so cute and entertaining to read! This book is truly for anyone who ever went through (or currently going through) a fanfic era. I enjoyed the previous friend to current enemies to lovers trope and thought the way they slowly started to reconnect even if a bit reluctant at first was well done and didn't feel rushed or forced. There was definitely a bit of miscommunication that caused the initial friendship breakup but I thought it was handled well and didn't mind it too much. Overall just an adorable quick read that was quite enjoyable!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press & Wednesday books for the digital arc

Ya'll I will always read all of Sophie Gonzales' books but this is the first one that missed the mark for me. I think it was very funny and quirky, but I didn't love the magical element with Ivy's fan fiction coming to life and being acted through. Honestly, that lost me. I read the whole book and there's nothing wrong with the writing, the characters, or the romance (outside of a severe case of miscommunication trope) - I just found myself hating the main concept which is, in fact, a big part of the book.

Now keep in mind if you're reading this review and thinking - that plot sounds great to me - then read the dang book! Just because I didn't love the main concept of the book doesn't mean it was a bad book or something I wouldn't recommend. It just wasn't written for me as the target audience and girl, that's okay.

This was so fun! I totally forgot the premise of this book when is rated reading it, so I was pleasantly surprised when the MC of her fave tv show came to life. I thought it was going to bring such a fun little twist to a YA contemporary. And it did. I also didn't expect the back and forth between the present and the past povs, and I'm a sucker for those!!!
It's not my favourite Sophie Gonzales, nothing beats Perfect on Paper and If This Gets Out, cuz they are perfection, but it was definitely a great read!

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist is a fun YA with LGBTQ+ characters and an unusual twist. Teen, Ivy Winslow, has the house to herself for a week while her parents are away, and even though she was only mostly kidding when she asked about what to do if natural disasters strike while she's home alone, she never could have prepared for the result of this freak thunderstorm: she wakes up to fictional heart-throb character Weston from her favourite tv show in her bed. Not the actor, but the character, and he doesn't seem to know how he got there either...

This fun YA is sure to be a favourite with other @sgonzalesauthor fans! The dual timelines help speed up character development, which is sure to make readers love Ivy right away. There's also a fanfiction aspect that I think will also appeal to some teens who are interested. Even though I'm not a huge magic-realism/fantasy etc reader, I could still follow this one and appreciated the writing style and storyline.

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher @stmartinspress and @wednesdaybooks for giving me the chance to read and review this fun book! Also, it's out now!

I’m a big fan of Sophie Gonzales as an author because she really has original ideas. Personally, I just didn’t connect with this book or these characters. However, it was still a very well written book and the intended age is probably late middle school to early high school. The past and present mix in each chapter was well executed and the friendships are really the main focus of the book. Some of the ending was cheesy and predictable, but that’s also what makes it good for a younger reader. For an original idea in a book, this is a really great one. 3.75⭐️, 0🌶

I really liked the story. The plot was very sweet and cute. Enjoyed the fanfic come to life. I definitely recommend if you want a fun fast pass romcom.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!!

I've really enjoyed all of Sophie Gonzales' other books, which made me excited to pick this up. Overall it just felt too juvenile for me, which I'm bummed about because it seems like everyone else has really enjoyed it! Maybe it just was the right book at the wrong time. I still recommend for fans of Gonzales and queer YA stories!

Will not be giving a full review in support of the SMP Boycott/until SMP meets the demands of Readers for Accountability.

“Sometimes, you really just need to say scary truths out loud to someone you trust.”

Sixteen-year-old Ivy is nervous but excited about staying home alone for the first time while her parents attend a five-day business trip. She figures that some breathing room from her hovering parents will be refreshing. Plus, she always has school, watching her favorite fantasy TV show, Hot, Magical, and Deady (H-MAD), with her best friend Henry, and her stand-off with ex-BFF Mack to keep her busy. However, a terrible storm hits on her first night alone. She seeks comfort in writing romance H-MAD fanfiction about her favorite character, Weston Razorbrook, only to have him come to life the next morning. Weston is blindly in love with Ivy and completely ignorant of the ways of the world. Ivy is forced to recruit Henry and Mack’s help to figure out what to do with Weston before her parents get home, but along the way, old emotions and unrequited love are stirred up.

Middle school me would have died to read The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist and to have my favorite book character come to life. I enjoyed Gonzales’ use of an alternating past and present timeline to show readers why Ivy and Mack went from being inseparable to enemies. Similarly, seeing the pair forced to rekindle their relationship after Weston comes to life was entertaining. Nevertheless, I felt Ivy and Mack’s love story focused on the enemy aspect of their relationship at the expense of exploring their love. Ivy’s thoughts perfectly capture how unrequited love gone wrong can feel: aching sadness and deep regret. My favorite aspect of the novel was Ivy’s dysfunctional relationship with her parents. She is scared to do anything alone because her parents are overly involved in every aspect of Ivy’s life. They inappropriately intervene in her relationships and problems, failing to encourage Ivy to believe in herself and feel capable of fighting her own battles. I think this is an important subject to discuss and be represented in books, especially those for teens, because independence and confidence are essential traits to instill in the next generation, and the hovering-parent type is becoming all too common. Exploring deep themes and unrequited love, The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist captures not only the feeling of growing apart but also the possibility of coming back together.

I've read all of Sophie Gonzales' books so far - she's my queer YA queen. I will say that I think this one skews the youngest out of them. To be clear, that's not a value judgement. YA as a genre has such a huge span - anywhere from 13ish to twenty-something. (Is the twenty-something just me trying to be hopeful, hip, and with it? Who's to say.) And one of my pet peeves is when the adults reading YA criticize the characters for acting immature when.... they are 15 or 16 and their prefrontal cortex is so far from being finished cooking, it's not even funny. Sometimes you just have to take a step back and realize you're not the intended audience. All this to say is that current Hannah is probably technically too old for this, but she sure did laugh out loud, and younger Hannah would have been so delighted to have this.

When Ivy wishes (during a massive thunderstorm, naturally) that her favorite TV show character was real, she certainly didn't expect him to... well, become real the next day. And in her house. And acting like one of her fanfic characters. Except it turns out enemies-to-lovers isn't quite so cute in real life. Now it's up to Ivy, her best friend Henry, and her ex-best-friend-that-she's-definitely-not-into Mack to figure out what to do.

This book was hysterically tongue-in-cheek as it references so many popular fanfic (and romcom) tropes. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and Gonzales delivers her signature humor. Gonzales also writes fantastically diverse queer characters - this has bi, lesbian, and aroace rep. It truly makes me so happy - and I wish that there were more books like this back when I was also 15 or 16.

this was like reading an ao3 fiction come to life. such a creative way to explore so many popular tropes in fiction!!

This was my first Sophie Gonzales book, and I'd have to say that I enjoyed reading it! It was a fun, adorable read, which I am sure will attract LGBT+ community readers and make them feel like they are part of a wholesome story, with the characters feeling that they are being represented in a book!

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for a copy of this e-ARC for an honest review!

Thank you so much to Wednesday/St Martin's Press for the advance copy!

If Sophie Gonzales writes it, I will read it. With that being said this was such a cute YA rom com and thought this was quite different compared to other books by her that I have read. It was so unserious and silly but still had a lot of heart! I like that each chapter were broken up between the past and the present and thought it moved pretty quickly.

Everything always starts with a thunderstorm so when the storm occurred and suddenly the next morning Ivy's favorite character from her favorite tv show comes to life. And not only that but he is in LOVE with her! West Weston was such a fun character and I love how devoted to Ivy he was on that first day. I thought Gonzales was having a good time with his character and you could tell.

"Sometimes, you really just need to say scary truths out loud to someone you trust."

If you are looking for this to be romance centric, this is not it. This definitely is more about the fall of a friendship and trying to rebuild it back together again. What I felt Sophie did a good job with is getting the feeling across at how complicated friendships are especially when you are in high school. They had to work through their issues with one another and had a couple conversations until they came to a resolution. And then Ivy & Mack recognizing that they had feelings for one another in the last bit of the book.

Chapter 13 really hit me in the feels as I know I was the perpetrator in a friendship break up & the guilt that followed from it. Sadly unlike Ivy & Mack, there has been no resolution.

Henry was probably my favorite character in the book. I thought he was so funny and several times I found myself chuckling at the things he was saying.

While some of Sophie's book gear towards the older YA/New Adult age range, I would say this one is more towards middle school & high school.

I am already looking forward to the next!

If you want a cute, YA book on friendship and a smidge of romance and fan fic focus with lots of representation - check this out!!

*4.5

This book is amazing. I love Sophie Gonzales works and I love this one. The premises were so good and the novel is also that good. It wasn’t disappointed at all!
Ivy and Mack are so cute together. I love the dynamic: this friends to rivals to friends again to lovers. It’s one of my favorite thing in the whole world. Thank you for this. I also loved the chapters in flashback. This book is really something.
However, I also love the fanfic and fandoms elements. So good and I felt so represented. I was that kind of teens, who read and write fanfic about her favorite show. And I was queer. This book is for me and for all the fandom queer girls. Thank you.

And thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin Press for the arc.

A billion stars for Sophie's writing. Sophie is one of my autobuy/autorequest authors. I've enjoyed every single book she's written or cowritten. The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist was no exception.

I really wanted to like this one, but I didn't. It was ok in parts, but overall, just a miss for me. I may try another book in the future from this author because I do believe in second chances.

Ivy is an anxiety ridden, bisexual, fanfic writing teenager who is left home alone for 5 days while her parents are on a business trip/vacation. She plans to use the time to hang out with her best friend, Henry and avoid her ex-bff (and unfortunate neighbor) Mack. While feeling lonely during a storm, she wishes for Weston from her favorite TV show, H-MAD. When she wakes up, Weston is there. Not the actor, the character Weston. He fully thinks he’s from the show and that it’s real and that him and Ivy are soul mates. Somehow, her stories brought him to life and at first, Ivy is excited. He’s exactly how she’s written him, down to each story line. However, what is romantic on paper isn’t in real life and when he starts causing problems for her, she doesn’t know what to do with him or how to put him back where he came from.

When Mack finds out and wants to help, could this be what brings them back together? Will the crush Ivy had on Mack bubble up to the surface again?

In a weird way, this reminded me of that old DCOM, Pixel Perfect. If you don’t know it, look it up, it’s fantastic.

This is a story about friendships, making mistakes and understanding how to communicate. A simple miscommunication can cause a lot of damage as our main characters seen first hand. I loved Ivy, Henry and Mack and I loved seeing them work through their problems.

This was fast paced, fun and entertaining and I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a cute story!

I really liked Perfect on Paper so was eager to read this one. Sadly I just could not get into this one. Not for me.