Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆ (7/10)

The Perfect Run by Maxime J. Durand wastes no time with hand-holding. There’s zero world-building at the start—just a hard dive straight into the action. If you’re someone who likes a little setting and context to ease into a new world, you might feel a bit disoriented at first. But if you’re into being tossed into the deep end and figuring things out on the fly, you’ll feel right at home.

The story kicks off with a bang—literally—and throws us into the life (and multiple deaths) of Ryan Romano, a smartass protagonist with a power set that lets him reset time. Think Deadpool meets Groundhog Day, sprinkled with nerd references and corporate satire. Honestly, it’s hard not to picture Ryan Reynolds playing this guy. Not just because the main character is named Ryan, but because the humor—dry, meta, and often ridiculous—feels tailor-made for Reynolds’ signature delivery. But ultimately, Romano is just looking for the one perfect loop where he does everything right to save the most people, and maybe find himself through the process.

One standout moment early on: Romano laments a corporate rebranding that affected his own name and muses that “Clock Blocker” would’ve been a better choice. Juvenile? Sure. But also weirdly perfect for the tone of the book.

That irreverence makes sense when you consider the premise—if you couldn’t die, would you take anything seriously? Romano doesn’t, and honestly, I related more than I probably should.

To its credit, the book does start to add layers. Flashbacks are used to start building the world a bit, hinting at deeper political and societal threads that are likely to be explored more in future entries. This is the first book in a series, after all, and while it doesn’t give you everything upfront, it promises more to come.

The plot, centered around time loops and do-overs, could easily get confusing, but Durand does a solid job keeping most of it coherent. There’s a rotating cast of allies and enemies that shift depending on the timeline, and while I occasionally had to recalibrate who was on whose side, it was never enough to pull me out of the story. In fact, some of the former villains get fleshed out with surprising nuance, reinforcing the idea that villainy is often just a matter of perspective.

All in all, The Perfect Run is a fast-paced, smart-mouthed sci-fi ride with heart. It’s not perfect (no pun intended), but it’s fun. If you like time loop stories, sarcastic narrators, and light superhero-style worldbuilding with a splash of morality, it’s worth your time. I gave it 7 out of 10 stars and plan to keep reading the series.