Teo liked Gertrude who was a corpse. The students weren’t at ease around Teo.The Anatomy lab was his domain. He often tried to think of Gertude- as that is the name ofthe female corpse they were working with- before she died. She had been in her sixties or seventies. Teo had actually wished he could kill one of the female students who he felt had disrespected Gertrude. But he wasn’t a murderer or monster, But even as a child he just lived as he didn’t like anyone or have feelings for anyone or miss anyone. He was also still the same way or so he thought. Then Teo realized it was the end of the semester and he would never see Gertrude againand he was alone … once again. Teo lived with his mother Patricia who was ina wheelchair and Marli was Patricia’s neighbor and best friend. She did help Patricia with some things like a shower. Then Patricia forced Teo to go to a birthday party with her and there he met Claire. His shoulder had tingled where she had touched it. Claire is the opposite of Teo. Claire is working on a screenplay called Perfect Days. Teo finally feels and falls in love which turns into obsession. Claire doesn’t love Teo like he feels she should so then he kidnaps her and goes on a roadtrip with Claire. I am not really sure how I felt about this book. It was a unique storythat is for sure and I have read alot of books. I’m on the borderline on how much I liked this story so that is why it’s a three. It did have good twists especially Teo not feeling for most of his like then he finds himself in love even if it turned into obsession. Anyway i didn’t hate this just on the fence about it. I received an ARC of this story for an honest review.

A twisted young medical student kidnaps the girl of his dreams and embarks on a dark and delirious road trip across Brazil in the English-language debut of Brazil’s most celebrated young crime writer.

Oh my days. Well for a start that was a one sitting read it may take me WEEKS to recover from, secondly my best advice would be not to read TOO  much about it until you read it. The small blurb in bold above is more than enough. Don’t let anything spoil it for you and I promise that there will be no spoilers in this. I’m going to talk about the reading of it much more than I am the plot of it…

A small plot soundbite – Teo falls in love and when his love is not returned in a way he deems appropriate he just simply takes matters into his own hands. She is the girl of his dreams and for Teo that is everything.

This book is super creepy in that very disturbing way that is spot on pitch perfect. It relies on the narrative of one character – Teo – and puts you firmly inside his very twisted and yet horrifically logical head. If ever there was a masterclass in how to construct a perfect psychological thriller you are looking at it right here. Not since Graeme Cameron’s “Normal” have I experienced such a mix of emotional highs and lows as I did whilst I was reading “Perfect Days”.

It is intensely addictive from first page to last and the tension never lets up and yet it also kind of gently rolls along in places. There are times you forget the terror and get caught out in the sunshine, and even have a laugh – then BANG back you are in that dark place again.

I was on the edge of yelling out and scaring the neighbourhood cats at several points in the storyline and there was one moment ONE MOMENT that I read with my mouth open screaming “NO NO NO” silently in my head. Somewhere deep down inside I’m going to be screaming NO at that moment for a very long time. It will haunt my dreams.

Perfect Days also manages a rare, unexpected and absolutely “perfect” ending – this is a journey that that will chew you up and spit you out the other side wondering what the heck just happened and have you looking around in a daze wondering where the world went. Seriously I’m considering never leaving the house again.

I’m a huge fan of this type of writing, where the boundaries are pushed a bit and some different paths are taken. This may be Raphael Montes first book that has been translated into English, I can only hope that our UK Publisher has signed up for everything he writes ever. Perfect Days was a reading experience.  And that cover – it is beautiful, and spot on – it draws you into the novel but once you have read it you’ll look at it in an ENTIRELY different way. Trust me on that one….

#PERFECTDAYS  AVAILABLE 2/16/16 4 STARS!!  @PenguinGroup  @MontesRaphael

Oh my, this Teo fellow was one crazy, and I mean crazy dude. He thinks that by kidnapping the girl of his dreams and holding her hostage and "treating her like a queen" she will learn to love him. About half way through the book, I was about to go crazy myself. I was pretty much over this psycho and then things started happening. Finally. They had changed hotels and the whole scenery and everything started changing. Not that the first part was boring, I was just tired of this loser guy and the things that he would do to this girl.

However, the last half of the book, it was worth getting my blood boiling. I'm not going to give out any spoilers here, you will just have to get the book and see for yourself. But it is definitely a game changer. I guess you could say, be careful what you wish for. Oh what an ending, I loved it!!!

Thanks to Penguin Group for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review. The ending just blew me away - it was definitely worth the read!