Pretty cute, pretty fun, not an A+ but a worth it read that you should take a look at if into fun little romcoms

I planned a trip to Edinburgh and when I saw this title - written by Alexander McCall Smith no less - I had to read it.
It was such a pleasant read , I enjoyed all of the characters and the setting of the book. I am a fan of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Club series and hope there are more titles to come with these characters too!

3+ perfectly predictable stars
“Life after all, is an unfinished narrative, the plot of which is constantly subject to revision.”

Alexander McCall Smith is an experienced and prolific author. I’ve read at least a dozen of his books. If you are looking for something fun and fluffy, The Perfect Passion Company is sure to satisfy, even though its stories are saccharine. The characters are not nuanced. They are all good and kind, or completely rude and mean. Katie’s friend, Laura, is the perfect friend: wise, kind, empathetic and always available. The male love interest is all those things as well as handsome and (you guessed it), rich.

I did enjoy the Perfect(ly Predictable) Passion Company. Sometimes you just need chocolate without all life’s dramas.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the matchmaking premise of this book! It added a different twist to matching two odd personalities together. I also loved the humor sprinkled throughout the story. Who would have guessed that someone who talked a lot would be the perfect match for someone with a hearing aid?🤣 I enjoyed watching Katie and William work together to bring others joy and happiness while finding their own HEA. The characters felt like good friends by the end of the story and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series to find out what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Alexander McCall Smith is a well loved author best known for her No 1 Ladies Detective series. Her writing skills insure her fans come back book after book as she tells us an awesome story that is sure to stir our emotions and test our brains. THE PERFECT PASSION COMPANY is a matchmaking company that specializes in the pairing of those people that other matchmakers find "difficult". The book is broken into three short stories of the matches of those difficult people. The characters are wonderful. They are so well developed, I'm sure AMS has been living with them in her head for quite some time. She has finally let them out and shared them with her grateful legion of fans. Let's hope that we will see more of the Perfect Passion Company and it's erstwhile manager.

Alexander McCall Smith books & stories are either hit or miss. This particular one is a miss for me. I DNFd it very early on, because sometimes, you can just tell that something isn’t going to be worth your time.

The first two-thirds of this book comprises two previously released novellas. The final third is new material.
If you like Alexander McCall Smith, you will like this new series very much. It's loosely plotted, with plenty of his trademark emphasis on internal monologue and gentle digressions.
The framework is a young woman, Katie, returning home to Edinburgh to temporarily take charge of a dating bureau as a favor to the relative who owns it. Her neighbor, the attractive but tragically unavailable William, helps her navigate her early days in the matchmaking business. It's sweet, it's pithy, and it's relaxing. I found it a wonderful, gentle read.

💟Gentle, whimsical and delightful😊

Alexander McCall Smith excells again at giving the rather ordinary and overlooked his and her day in the spotlight, in this case in the hands of a matchmaking service that caters to a more traditional Edinburgh clientele.

First, the writing style:
I love the author's dry wit and it's in full evidence here. Yes, he does get a bit pedantic in some of the philosophizing. For me, that's one of the things bringing the book down to a four-star read. His characters often face moral dilemmas (think Isabel Dalhousie) and Katie, the matchmaker, is tied up in a major one here involving William, the knit designer who works and lives next door to the Perfect Passion Company. The writing (apart from the philosophizing bits) is sparse, clear, and keeps things moving at a good pace.

The plot(s):
All of the book's content was new to me. I found the start a tad slow but then it picked up pretty early on and, way before the end of Part one (the pilot's match) I was totally engaged and loving the turn of events.

Ness' s foray into the the wilds of Ontario had its ups and downs. Maybe because I had no idea where that part of the story was going. I liked her character and her adventurous spirit.

Katie and William, putting their heads together to find the perfect match for some challenging Edinburgh clients, were the heart of the story. The cases were interesting, involving some twists, and the pair's evolving relationship was the main draw and cincher for me. I look forward to finding out where their friendship leads. And this is an author who offers romance that doesn't hinge on steamy scenes: for me, all to the better.

The setting:
For me, a Scottish setting never goes wrong and, in fact, my favorite books by this author are set, like this one, on the streets of Edinburgh.

The conclusion (or lack thereof):
I hope this really is the start of an evolving series, like his Scotland Street and Isabel Dalhousie series, because Smith has got me intrigued by the pairings yet to be drawn from the Perfect Passion Company's files and its matchmakers.

Thanks to publishers Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

This review will be shared on Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, kobo, and Barnes & Noble.

Katie Donald's life down in glamourous London isn't going so well. She works in a gallery with little chance of advancement and she's just broken up with her boyfriend. When her cousin Ness contacts her from Edinburgh and asks if she'd like to take over her business for a year, Katie jumps at the chance for a fresh start. When Katie arrives, Ness only has time to show her the basics of her business, the matchmaking agency The Perfect Passion Company, before she has to leave to catch a flight to Canada. Oh, and also to introduce her to the man who runs a business across the hall in the building, William. William is from Australia and is making a name for himself in the knitwear business. So Katie, thrown in at the deep end, begins to work out the mechanics of running a dating agency. The clients come in for a chat so they can discuss the type of partner they're looking for, and also so that Katie can get a feel for their personalities and make better matches. From the start, William wanders over and sits in on client meetings. Katie can't help but notice that William is very good looking, as well as being kind and friendly. Unfortunately, William has a fiancé back in Melbourne, Alice, who is studying to be a doctor. Katie takes on clients and makes matches as William continues to knit. In Canada, Ness has chosen a very small out-of-the-way village for her "adult gap year." Of course, even in the middle of nowhere there can be possible romantic entanglements.

As a huge fan of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, I had high hopes for this novel from the same author. I found that I just couldn't get absorbed in this story. It was a real struggle to finish. Nothing much happens (and it happens very slowly!). Katie interviews clients and makes matches, and we get long and involved backstories for all the characters, including the minor ones who only make brief appearances. Ness's adventures in Canada feel shoehorned in and don't really seem to fit with the rest of the story. I see that this is the first in a planned trilogy, but I don't think I will be following up on Katie's adventures. I'm sure she will continue to drink lots of coffee and moon over William while setting up Edinburgh's oddball couples. I'll stick with the tried and true series that I do enjoy instead!

THE PERFECT PASSION COMPANY by Alexander McCall Smith will get plenty of attention - just like other series from this author of the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Unfortunately, it reminded me of what I disliked about his writing so many years ago: the story just drags. Nothing really happens with Katie who has taken over the title agency and helps others to find their "perfect fit." Two or three pairs do get matched over the course of the book and there's constant tension with her neighbor, William, who is a creative knitter and informal advisor to the business. But, overall the action is so very slow and predictable. I made myself finish this book hoping that something would happen, but no. I personally would give THE PERFECT PASSION COMPANY a pass – it is as inoffensive and bland as the simple cover.

A new offering from Alexander McCall Smith — possibly the beginning of a new series. Katie has taken on management of the Perfect Passion Company — a matchmaking service with the personal touch. She is aided by the knitwear-designing, gorgeous but unavailable, William next door. Together they face a number of difficult-to-place candidates and manage to find matches for all in a typical McCall Smith simplistic, but effective and empathetic, approach to every day human problems (very reminiscent of Mma Ramtoswe’s style in the Number One Ladies Detective series).

I completely enjoyed reading this book with its emphasis on kindness and making a positive difference in people’s lives, though I admit to being slightly more annoyed than usual by some of the principles that inform his characters. Some are kind and empathic but also (IMO) weak, allowing themselves to be taken advantage of and turning the other cheek (they happen to be rich which I guess helps). There is also some not-too-subtle demonizing of the Right with, for example, some (very negative) descriptions of “libertarians” that don’t map to any of the libertarians I’ve ever met. However, as always I loved his ability to see people from different viewpoints and (except for the libertarian) accept people for who they are and acknowledge that they can still find happiness and love despite some very annoying (and pretty humorous) characteristics.