Practice Makes Mr. Perfect is a fairly typical series romance read: it’s cute, quick, and not overly deep. Sometimes that’s exactly what I am looking for. I started this after reading a book that was fairly intense, and romance-lite seemed to be just the ticket. Though some of the plot elements didn’t quite work for me, it wasn’t bad.

Josie Matthews was married and widowed at a young age. Her husband was the love of her life, and she’s never really bothered to go looking for another one. Her husband was from a wealthy family, and she looked to him for guidance in how to dress, act, and spend her time. It wasn’t something she resented, but after his death she wanted to stand on her own two feet, so she left a life of luxury behind and became a self-supporting freelance writer.

One of the things that keeps Josie going is her close friendship with Brett Callahan, a police detective who lives in her apartment building. Over the years they have become great friends, sharing meals, renting movies together, and just hanging out. So when Brett decides to win the heart of his ideal woman, he asks Josie to give him a few pointers on love. Simone, the object of his affection, is a woman who just oozes class and good taste, and she reminds Brett of a woman he idolized as a teenager. He doesn’t want to screw this up, so he’s prepared to make himself over into the perfect man.

Josie has to be convinced to help Brett; the idea of love lessons just feels wrong to her. But she ends up going along with it because he seems so desperate. It doesn’t take her long to realize that she wants Brett for herself. Brett is a little more on the clueless side, but eventually he realizes that his good “friend” Josie might be more than just a friend. Her baseball cap and worn jeans make quite a different statement from Simone’s designer wardrobe, but the attraction is there just the same. When it comes to acting on their feelings both Josie and Brett are a little trepidatious. Each is afraid to reveal his feelings to the other, and neither wants to ruin their good friendship.

This book combines a plot I usually enjoy (friends who fall in love) with one I find contrived and hard to believe (love lessons). Josie and Brett’s friendship is both believable and fun, and watching Brett finally understand that the perfect woman for him was already right under his nose was fun to watch. My own romance followed a similar course, so I get a nostalgic thrill when I watch a clueless hero fall like a ton of bricks.

Though characterization is limited by the length of the series format, I liked both Brett and Josie, who were appealing in a “regular people” sort of way. Brett’s a cop who enjoys his job, but Simone is pushing him to start a private investigating firm. Josie is tomboyish; she prefers baseballs caps and t-shirts to dresses, and she fixes Brett’s sink when it gets clogged. There is a nice scene toward the end, when Brett finally starts to “get it.” He buys Josie a pretty dress and takes her out to dinner as a thank-you for the love lessons, showing her – and himself – that she also has a girly side.

Which brings me to the love lessons, a difficult plotline in any story, but particularly problematic here. Brett is a reasonably attractive man who’s managed to date women – and presumably sleep with them – before. Josie is his good friend, so I could see them talking about love and sex, and I could see Brett asking for a few ideas. But these are more formal “lessons,” and therein lies the contrivance. Some of the lessons are pretty humorous (my favorite was “What women say, and what they really mean”), but I just wasn’t sold on this scenario.

The ending also fizzles somewhat, as one of the characters fall into the “I’m not good enough for you” mode that read more like an excuse to fulfill a word count than a natural plot development. Still, Practice Makes Mr. Perfect is generally diverting, and might be worth a look if you’re in the mood for a quick, light read.