Juliette Lowell has worked hard to get her matchmaking service, A Perfect Match, off the ground and successful. So, when cynical sport reporter Mitch MacKinnon waltzes into her office for a society pages interview, Juliette inwardly groans. This man could make or break her business. He may be hot, but he’s skeptical of her methods and his exasperating opinions could be bad news for A Perfect Match.

Mitch is a sports reporter. He can’t believe he got hoodwinked into doing Community Happenings for a co-worker who’s on a brief leave of absence. But, perhaps this is just what he needs to show one of the larger newspapers he’s got just enough versatility and style to be a part of their staff.

After a rather infuriating article on her business by Mitch, Juliette decides to take things into her own hands. She challenges Mitch to sign up for her service himself to prove her services are worthy of respect. At first he balks, but after receiving pressure from his editor, he acquiesces with a condition of his own: Juliette has to sign up for her own service as well. She agrees and both complete the thorough questionnaires, but never in a million years did she expect her database to spit out her perfect match as… Mitch? They both agree to the first date, but neither of them expects the discoveries they make.

I absolutely loved reading A Perfect Match. The differences between Mitch and Juliette were just enough to keep the sparks and tension flying. I like the Juliette’s no-nonsense ways, how responsible she was in light of her childhood past. Mitch’s free spirit, assertiveness and love for travel are just the characteristics to keep Juliette on her toes.

The creativity these two tapped into to organize their dates made the pages fly. Having been to most of the places in California listed in the story, really set a personal tone with me. I was able to vividly visualize the scenes. Unwilling to give away too many details of the story but wanting to share a favorite scene, I’ll only mention that I’ll never look at roller blades quite the same way again.

Having read several stories by Shelley Bradley and by her alter ego Shayla Black, I never cease to be amazed how versatile this author is. Sometimes humorous, sometimes erotic, sometimes dark and emotional, always well written and mesmerizing, Ms. Bradley now adds light and romantic to her writing repertoire with A Perfect Match. Be sure to pick up this wonderful short novel for a perfect summer read.

Reviewed by: Bella