Review: The Perfect Score
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 26, 2014
In The Perfect Score by Beth Albright, Ginny is back in Cottonwood Cove, Alabama.  Her career as an investigative reporter is in tatters, and she's come home to regroup.  Really the last place she wants to be and certainly the last place she plans to stay.  But family comes first when and when her mother needs help to save The Chatterbox, Cottonwood Cove's 'gossip rag', Ginny steps up to the plate.  Even when it means she'll be in Cottonwood Cove longer than she initially planned to be.When Ginny decides to run a new column on the high school football players, she's very intrigued by the new coach, Jared.  Having met him first as a woman and second as a reporter, Ginny is just as attracted as she is intrigued by Jared.  She can sense he's hiding something, she can sense a good story.  Jared is just as attracted to Ginny, but his private life needs to stay private.  When he feels threatened by a reporters intrusion, his walls come up.  Personal and professional comes into conflict for Ginny when she can no longer resist the chemistry...just as she starts to uncover his mystery.As Ginny falls deeper for Jared, she has some big decisions to make.  Even if she keeps his secrets, she is going to have to decide between Cottonwood Cove, love, and Jared, or a career far away, alone.The Perfect Score was a sweet, small town romance.  Beth gives us an easy to read story with a real southern feel that will have you feeling like you are in Cottonwood Cove.  Beth blends humor, conflict, and love smoothly, engaging the reader quickly with the characters.  Ginny was at times an amusing heroine, at other times exasperating!  She always kept you guessing what she'd get up to next.  Jared is more mysterious, a guy you really want to get to know!  Beth describes him so perfectly he is very easy to visualize.  With all sorts of conflict between Jared and Ginny it is fun to watch their relationship evolve in The Perfect Score.I really enjoyed how Beth brings in family members as well as community members so you get a real feel for life in the small town and life with a meddling, scheming family like Ginny's.  In a fairy tale like way, Ginny and Jared are pretty quick to get together, but will they get their happy ending?  Beth does bring in some subplots along with the secondary characters that are all part of what is going on with Ginny and Jared, bringing all the people to life and giving them realism.I'd recommend The Perfect Match to romance readers who like small town romance with just the right amount of conflict to keep the story intriguing.