The premise of Perfectly Undone by Jamie Raintree was great. Dr. Dylan Michels is in a long-term relationship with her doctor boyfriend Cooper. When she is turned down for a grant request and he's made partner of his pediatric practice, from the reader's point of view, things start to unravel.
While not the primary focus of the plot as Raintree presents it, I see a major part of the story to be finding the balance between work and personal life, between professional ambitions and personal goals. I see my own adult children dealing with finding the balance between work and "life".
Throw in dealing with the loss of a sibling or a child. I can only imagine how that would impact one’s life. Different family members react differently. Dylan attempts to keep much of her internal conflicts about the loss of her sister from Cooper. And that's where the Dylan's issues spiral out of control.
Keeping internal conflicts from a partner who seems to have a much better relationship with his family reminded me of Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain. Chamberlain's book had much richer characters in a much more developed plot.
Perfectly Undone was engaging enough that I finished it over two rainy days of what was kind of sort of a vacation. The quick finish made me feel like it deserved 4 stars. However, the characters are all so one-dimensional. Even as Dylan’s character developed, she still comes across as very flat. This is not the kind of book I’d recommend to my reader friends. Then again, perhaps this book might appeal to a reader younger than myself. At nearly 60 years old, I don't think I'm the target demographic for this title.
