In If We Were Perfect, the fourth and final installment of the If Love series, Sammy and Olivia’s complicated past finally takes center stage. After years apart following a breakup during a semester abroad, this book delves into their reunion as they confront unresolved issues and rediscover the connection that once brought them together.

Their love story is both fiery and filled with challenges—family interference, career ambitions, and stubborn pride all stand in their way. Yet, despite these obstacles, their chemistry is undeniable, and their bond crackles with intensity.
The series also excels in its portrayal of friendship. Olivia and Sammy’s close-knit group of friends provides unwavering support, creating a refuge from the pressures of their personal lives. Though a minor character, Sammy’s mother is a standout with her lively, demanding, and often hilarious personality, adding a delightful touch of humor to the story.

Huang skillfully weaves in themes like workplace harassment, family drama, and infidelity, adding depth to the narrative while highlighting messages of female empowerment.

If We Were Perfect is a satisfying conclusion to a series that delivers relatable characters, a compelling plot, and a sizzling romance. I received this ARC through NetGalley, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to provide an honest review of this must-read series.

Be still my heart! I devoured this in one sitting! God Ana Huang has never disappointed me! I'm obsessed with everything she writes and this was no different

Disclaimer: I did not read the other 3 books in this series nor have I read any other Ana Huang books. That being said, I feel as though this story is able to stand alone, some storylines from the previous books my be spoiled but it did not effect my understanding of the core storyline.
I am not typically a second chance fan, but I Loved the use of a second chance romance in conjunction with a forced proximity trope.
Both of our MCs are very driven in their lives.
They each recognize they had fault in the relationship’s previous failure, and they begin to work through those issues as we see them come back together.
Was a quick read, I was able to finish on my downtime in an afternoon.
I will definitely be checking out the rest of this series and more of Ana Huang’s works.
Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the advanced readers edition in exchange for an honest review!

When I saw this book on NetGalley, I just had to give it a shot. I've read both her other series (Twisted and King of Sins), and I've absolutely loved them. While this is the fourth book in the series, it can read as a standalone. It really stood on its own and I didn't feel like I was missing anything from not having read the rest of the series. And this despite beeing a second chance romance between those two exes.
Now, I like Ana Huang's characters. Sammy and Olivia were really driven characters with their driving thing outside of their potential romance, which I always appreciate. You have Sammy with his popular bakery, and Olivia working toward her career and potential promotion. It was interesting to see them both have to make their own amends to get together. They both had fault in the ending of their relationship the first time, and they both acknowledged them as they get back together. And we then get to see them have to face similar challenged once again and have to learn to make different decisions.
Now, considering I have read her other two series, it is hard not to compare them. I do have to say, this was not my favorite book of Ana Huang (I absolutely love her King of Sins series), but it was enough for me to want to go and read the rest of this series. In then end, I really enjoyed it, and it was the kind of romance that I could easily devour in an afternoon. If you are a fan of Ana Huang, I definitely recommend you give this book a chance.

Loved the use of second chance romance with some forced proximity tropes. Lots of mutual pining. I liked seeing Sammy and Olivia work through their hangups from their first failed relationship. I liked seeing Olivia’s dealing with her relationship with her mother. Lots of cupule and family drama in this story.

I read the whole series and the only thing I wasn't a fan of was the third person point of view, otherwise I am a fan of this series. I think I would have loved it so much more from the first person point of view.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. These two get a second chance to figure out how to move on from the past, and they're hoping the timing is better this time. Olivia and Sammy have a passionate, steaming, loving, and challenging relationship. Their chemistry is amazing. I really appreciate how the author has explored friendship in this series. Sammy and Olivia have a wonderful group of friends that are more like family.

Thank you so much to Ana, Bloom Books, and NetGalley, for the ARC copy.

I loved this book so much, I immediately went out and bought the book for my trophy shelf. But then again Ana Huang is one of my top favorite authors!! She can do no wrong it seems when it comes to romance! And this book was just the perfect book to end this series off on! Thank you so much for the ARC. I can not wait to see what Ana Huang comes out with next!!

I loved a lot of this book. The near miss will they, won't they moments steeped in scorching tension, the steamy banter & a perfectionist, and headstrong FMC that was wonderfully relatable. I also really enjoyed all the laugh-out-loud moments throughout the story and the side characters that were just as lovable and memorable as the FMC. I didn't love the MMC in this story and I found it pulled me out of the story quite a bit. His thoughts and actions often didn't sit well. There were parts that I also found quite repetitive and could have done without. 
Overall it was an okay read for me that did have its moments but not something that I would likely read again.

Thank you so much to Ana, Bloom Books, and NetGalley, for the ARC copy of If We Were Perfect. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I did not read the first 3 titles in the series.

I enjoyed Sammy & Olivia's story.
I'm not huge on second chance romances, so I may not have picked this one up on that alone.

The spice was pretty low.

I felt a little disconnected by not reading the first three books
But understand the story overall.

This was a book I read. I wish the couple stayed ex’s. I didn’t care for their vibe. I’m also not a big fan of 3rd person books.

The end of an era! If We Were Perfect brings us back to the world of the If Love series, this time focusing on Olivia—A Woman With A Life Plan—and Sammy, the almost-NASA-astronaut-turned baker. While that may sound a bit out there (no pun intended), this is a return to classic, sweeter Ana Huang, with a focus on people trying to figure out their lives and fight the forces of love and romance that keep infiltrating it. Olivia and Sammy bring a bit of the spice, but far less explicitly than her Twisted Series, and there's satisfying resolution of other pairings' plot lines as this book concludes. Will definitely be handselling this to folks who are fans of the If Love series, and also could see selling it as a standalone, especially to young professionals who want the career—but also the partner.

Once again, Ana Huang does not disappoint! For all the second chance at love girlies, this is for you. I read this as a standalone and didn’t feel lost. I definitely plan to go back and read the rest of the series after reading this one!

Thank you Bloom Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

The conclusion kind of. To the If Love series, this is a unique book. I think seeing as how this was the beginning of the Ana Huang Universe. Not this book but this series. It's a sweet ending to see how she later ties in this book to the others. I love it. Ana Huang you are a genius.

Plot: Olivia is an ambitious woman who always has a plan. By 32, she will have her MBA, a job on Wall Street, a husband, and two kids. When a flooded apartment puts a wrench in her plans, she finds herself moving into ex, Sammy's, place. It is clear that feelings between these two still exist, but can events from the past be forgiven? Is now the right time?

Thoughts: Although book 4 of a series, I read If We Were Perfect as a standalone and did not feel as though I was at a significant disadvantage. I assume that the previous books were slightly spoiled (e.g., certain couples' backstories were briefly shared that I assume are the plotlines of books 1-3). That said, this book was a pleasant surprise! It included two of my favorite tropes: second chance romance and forced proximity. Additionally, there was emotional substance and strong female characters.

Ana Huang never disappoints. It feels bittersweet knowing this series has come to an end. Thank you so much NetGalley, Ana Huang and Bloom for this eARC!

Thank you to Ana Huang, Bloom, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of If We Were Perfect in exchange for my honest review.

This is the perfect book for all those who love second-chance romances. Olivia and Sammy originally met during a year abroad and fell in love. They were happy and their friends thought they would be end game. Until something happened and they broke up. No one, not even their friends, knows just what was said because they refuse to discuss it with anyone. Years later, Olivia is working in the San Fransisco branch of her company for the summer. Determined to make the best of the summer, Olivia starts dating and just so happens to run into no other than Sammy during a particularly disastrous date. What’s worse? She gets home to find her apartment flooded and the next thing she knows she is forced to live with Sammy as she has nowhere else to go. With two ex’s living together what could go wrong? There’s no way their ever-present attraction could complicate things, could it?

Taking out all of the favorite romance tropes that are present (forced proximity, taking care of each other while sick, etc) this book is the pinnacle of character development. Yes, there’s an amazing romance and the perfect length slow(ish) burn present. But what I appreciated was the development in both Sammy and Olivia. It is neither super overt nor sudden, but throughout the book, readers can see how different experiences and interactions impact the two of them and how they develop as a person because of it. Because that’s what life is isn’t it? We all grow (hopefully for the better) based off of our interactions and experiences. Nothing happens automatically, and you can see that with these two. I honestly wish every book could have character development like this one.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit I struggled with the other books in this series. The first two because I had wished they were one book (that’s a me thing I don’t like duology romance I want to end the story with the HEA) and the second book had me wishing there was a bit more. Don’t get me wrong, all three were four stars in my mind, but this book, five stars hands down. Not only did it give me everything I had wished for in the other books, but I was invested in the characters in a way that I rarely find myself to be. Maybe I see myself in Sammy and Olivia in various ways. But more than that, it felt real, and that’s rare in romance. I cannot recommend this book enough.

This was such a bittersweet read for me. I absolutely loved Olivia and Sammy and their story. I loved this book so much but I am also sad that this series is over now.

I generally enjoy Ana Huang’s books so I wasn’t surprised that I loved this too. I was brought to tears multiple times while reading this. Their banter was excellent too.

If you have read and enjoyed other books by Ana, you might like this too! This series is very different from her other works but still so good with extremely loveable characters. It is an interconnected standalone so it can be read on its own, however, I personally recommend reading the whole series in order because that way it’s more exciting when you see characters from the previous books.

The epilogue in this felt like an epilogue for all the couples in this series and it was so so so adorable. Would highly recommend this!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy of If We Were Perfect by Ana Huang.

From the moment I discovered that this book comes with a playlist, I knew I was in for a treat. There's something about music intertwined with storytelling that amplifies the reading experience, and Ana Huang's latest novel does just that.

If We Were Perfect centers around Olivia, a high-strung perfectionist who somehow becomes the exception to all of her ex-boyfriend Sammy's rules. This second-chance romance is rich with the familiar yet beloved tropes of forced proximity, offering readers a delightful blend of tension and rekindled feelings. As the story unfolds, we're treated to moments that are both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, perfectly encapsulated by quotes like, "Olivia had put up with an unwilling near-lap-dance; he could put up with ice cream," and "In the grand scheme of things, the small movement was nothing. Or it would've been nothing had her gaze not collided with a pair of familiar onyx eyes that sucked her in like a black hole."

Sammy's journey is one of reluctant heroism, captured beautifully in the line, "Yet, here he was, playing the knight in not-so-shining armor to the woman who'd smashed his heart into smithereens a lifetime ago. Masochists had nothing on him." This perfectly encapsulates the emotional complexity of his character, as he navigates the pain of the past while being irresistibly drawn back to Olivia.

And let's not forget one of the most charming aspects of this novel: baking men are hot. Sammy's culinary skills add a delicious twist to the narrative, making the romantic tension even more delectable.

Ana Huang also knows how to weave humor into the most unexpected places. Olivia humorously compares one of her friends, whose "skin pale enough to qualify her as Edward Cullen's long lost sister," adding a lighthearted touch to the story.

If We Were Perfect is a captivating read, blending romance, humor, and just the right amount of angst. Ana Huang has crafted a story that's as sweet as it is spicy, making it a must-read for fans of second-chance love stories.

YES YES YES ANA HUANG HAS DONE IT AGAIN! the dynamics between Olivia and Sammy had me daydreaming. Second chance?! Dual POV?! Third person?! Shared living?! Count me in!