100% Perfect Girl: Vol. 1

by Wann

Synopsis(from the back of the book)
Jay Jin is a headstrong teenage rebel, determined to prove she's serious about making art. J. Max is the tall debonair foreigner, in Korea on business, with more -- much more -- to his background than he lets on. On the surface, it would seem as though Jay and J. have nothing in common... until a chance encounter in a hotel lobby sparks a mysterious attraction.

Will true love prove strong enough to overcome the language barrier, not to mention the thousands of miles separating two attractive people? Then there are the interventions of friends and family who think they know best... as well as a disastrous encounter with a spicy chicken kebab!

Review
It's a typical Cinderella-type story. Uber-rich, handsome, and single Prince Jarte disparages the concept of falling in love at first sight. He's never been interested enough in any woman to have a long-term relationship. Until he meets Jay. She's apparently the 100% perfect girl for him.

Except she doesn't seem to believe it. Oh, she likes him well enough, and they seem to have fun together, but she's all-too willing to let him go back to his country without her. It's not that she doesn't want to be with him, but she doesn't think she can have a hold over him or something. So he invites her to go with him, but she hesitates, even though he's willing to help her reach her lifelong goal of becoming a prominent artist.

Of course, it all turns bad when Jay starts thinking that he's paying attention to her, buying things for her, being nice to her, etc, for a "reason." I've always hated this "development," because it depends on the characters not talking to each other about their true motivations. Seriously, a five-minute conversation could clear everything up:

"Gee, are you buying me all this stuff to get in bed with me?"
"Hell, no! I'll prove it by not expecting sex from you."
"OK, great, thanks!"
Ta da!

But this isn't what happens, and after that the series takes a rather sudden turn, which I won't spoil here.

Jarte is a rather intense character; clearly he used to be devoted to his work, but after he meets Jay he's devoted to her, at the expense of everything else. I'm not really sure what he sees in Jay. She's cute and spunky, but that's about all I know about her.

The artwork is nice, and the author really likes lips. One thing I really can't stand, though, is her use of real pictures as backgrounds and settings. She tries to hide it, but I can tell, as it's quite jarring. I think it's OK to use real pictures as a reference, but please, don't just copy, paste, and touch-up.

Final Thought: I'll get the next book to see what happens.