Wow! I don't know if I have ever read of a character like Juliette, the main one, in The Perfect Girlfriend. She is completely out of her mind but in a way that you are tearing through the book to find out what on earth is going to happen to this psychotic woman! I keep thinking throughout...who does this!? Who is so obsessed with a man that they go through all she does just to be with him- even when he makes it clear it is not mutual. But I guess that's what makes it so great- you have no idea where this story is going and you can't put it down. This was an incredible debut novel for Karen Hamilton and I will be looking for more from her in the future. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

"If you love someone, set them free.
If they come back, they're yours. If they don't, make them."

This line perfectly sums up the narrator Juliette. Juliette is obsessed with her ex-boyfriend Nate and is willing to do anything to get him back. She stays at his apartment when he's gone, stalks him on social media, and gets hired as a stewardess for the airline he works for; all within the first couple of chapters.

The beginning of the book was a bit slow and the ending left me wanting more; but, it was a very well written and ultimately engaging read.

4.5 stars

If you love someone, set them free.
If they come back, they're yours. If they don't, make them.



Juliette knows that she and Nate were meant to be together. They have a long history and even though he broke up with her, she knows it was meant to be. She just needs to make sure that he gets with the program. Stupid man.
So Juliette gets herself hired at his airline. (He is a pilot) and she keeps an "eye" on him.


BTW: Juliette's investigative skills are off the chain.

It did take me a minute to get Juliette's fascination with Nate..because he is a bland douche in my opinion but us girls gotta stick together..... So I jumped on board.
Juliette took me on some wild adventures in this book. She might be a tad bit different but I still loved her crazy ass.


People just judged her wrongly. So what if it felt like people should go running from a room when she entered?
No one had such a hard life as poor Juliette.


I really did enjoy this book. Even if it took me fifty eleven million days to read it. I'm in a book slump and working non-human hours at work and I still loved the heck out of Juliette's world. So if you fall into the nutter loving world when you are reading this is the book for you. Then when people ask why you loved it so much...…


PS> I would have given it the full five except the ending gave me blue balls.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

3.5 stars

Full disclosure: As a flight attendant for a US airline, this was a tale of two halves for me.

For the first 50% of the book, I was enjoying the true portrayal of a flight attendant’s life...the training, the co-workers who overshare on the jumpseat (we call it jumpseat psychology), the expectations of the passengers and that flight attendants HATE working LAS VEGAS flights!! (Although I don’t fly International so I deal with all of that WITHOUT the rewards of 3 days of sightseeing, or trips to salons- my overnights at airport hotels are WAY too short for any of that!!)

I loved how Elizabeth (Lily) who was now going by her middle name Juliette , had carefully formed a POA (plan of action) to get her man back, including getting a job as a flight attendant at the airline he worked for, as a pilot.

She had given Nate his “space” for seven months and was now going to reinsert herself into his life as a more “sane”, confident version of her previous self. Had she continued to play this role, her plan may have worked, and I would’ve liked to see the story continue to play out in this direction, with a more plausible, (but not necessarily happy) ending-after all, this is a psychological thriller, not a romance.....😉

But Juliette is far from sane.

Two traumatic events from her school age years, have forever scarred her, and made her into the unhinged, delusional woman that she is today.

I was totally engaged in the first 50% of the book....her shenanigans were fun to read about as she strategized on how to win Nate back.

Another CRAZY flight attendant..(second one I have read about this year...) I can deal with, for the sake of a good story, but the second 50% of the book was way “over the top” and the ending a hard sell for ME!! 😕

I promise you-most of us are just normal people like you, despite the jet lag!

REALLY!! 🤣

I would like to thank Netgalley, Karen Hamilton and Harlequin-Graydon House books for the ARC I was provided in exchange for my candid review!

Available March 26, 2019 in the US !!

This story was something else!!!!!!!!! It's very difficult to write a review without giving away some of the important details.
Lily/Juliette was some kind of piece of work! I've never read about a character so devious in any story I've had the pleasure to read, ever! The thing about this story was that you could actually see these things occurring. Frightening!!!. Certainly ended too soon for me, surprisingly.Definitely, worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Juliette has met the love of her life in Nate, a handsome and charming pilot. Even though Nate broke it off with her six months ago, Juliette knows that Nate is in love with her too. She has made it her life mission to show him that he loves her, and to rekindle their relationship. After getting a job as a flight attendant, so she can be around him more, she slowly starts to put her plan in action to remind Nick how she was his ‘perfect girlfriend’, and how she will stop at nothing to win him back.
“The Perfect Girlfriend” is the first novel for author Karen Hamilton. A former flight attendant, Hamilton’s experience sets some truth and fact in a novel of psychological, obsessive fiction.
This novel really has only four characters; Juliette, Nate, Bella and Miles, and each one has a unique and slightly dysfunctional personality that adds character to the novel. Juliette (although right from the beginning you can tell that her psychological functioning is not what one would consider “normal”) is hilarious, passionate, and determined as Hell. Her POA (plans of action) lists were something that the Type A Personality in me relished and envied (granted, mine wouldn’t involve stalking……probably). Although Nate is the victim and Juliette is, for all intents and purposes, the “villain” of the novel, Hamilton has written it in such a way where a reader will actually root and cheer for Juliette, and wait for Nick to get his come-uppance.
A novel that is set all over the world (sometimes only from the interior of a plane), “Girlfriend” will take you on a thrill ride. A deranged yet lovable main character, exotic and charming backdrops and a creative storyline will leave you unable to put the book down until the very end. The ending itself is both surprising yet not unexpected, and left me wanting more.
Hamilton definitely has some writing chops, and her writing education has paid off with her debut novel. A unique, suspenseful novel, “Girlfriend” has given me high hopes for whatever Hamilton writes next.

The Perfect Girlfriend was a bone-chilling, wild ride! A story of obsession told from the point of view of the stalker; Juliette is a master manipulator who’s always got a plan. Juliette was terrifying, yet I somehow still found myself rooting for her at times. And every time I thought she would give up on her quest to make Nate love her again, she would do something even crazier, until you finally realize that Juliette will never give up. “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they’re yours. If they don’t, make them.”

Thank you to the author and Harlequin for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest feedback!

Y'all, let me tell you....The Perfect Girlfriend is GOOD!

OMG this book had me on the edge of my seat! Juliette was the most creepy, wonderfully deliciously crazy characters ever, and I couldn't put this book down! I stayed up until 2am to figure out how everything would end and the book hangover was definitely worth it. For anyone who's seen Fatal Attraction and liked it, this book is definitely in that lane and you do not want to miss it. This is the first book I've read from Karen Hamilton, and I am absolutely looking forward to her future novels...she is a suspense genius.

5 out of 5 stars for The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton, which comes out March 26th.

No matter what Juliette says, she is a stalker. She is delusional when it comes to her former lover, Nate. Juliette believes that they will get married. Nate is an airline pilot, so Juliette becomes a flight attendant (of course) for the same airline that Nate works for.

When Juliette was ten years old, her brother died while swimming. Since he was under her care at the time, Juliette has continual guilty feelings. Although she is now in her upper twenties, Juliette is still obsessed with this incident - it was an accident. On the other hand, Juliette was treated very badly by schoolmates 20 years ago. She plots revenge on Bella (who happens to be Nate's sister) who treated her the worst.

Juliette becomes friends with Amy, a girl she meets while in flight attendant training. She needs to find out how to use Amy for one of her plans. First, she steals a spare set of Amy's keys. Still in possession of a key to Nate's place, Juliette goes there often when Nate is not present.

After many schemes and quite a bit of underhanded doings, Juliette finds a way to get on a Flight to Las Vegas.
(Nate just happens to be co-piloting on this one).

The plot continues to become even more treacherous and certainly increasingly interesting to the reader when Juliette and Nate are in Las Vegas. Some of the outrageous things Juliette does include; (but absolutely are not limited to!) an affair with Bella's fiancé, locking Nate in the bathroom, spyware placing and MUCH, much more -I hate to give away too much!

There are many twists that are absolutely weird and wild! Juliette REALLY manages to go to an insane degree of manipulation and deceit!!! An absolute MUST read!

Many thanks to Harlequin-Graydon House Books and NetGalley for and absolutely jaw-dropping roller coaster ride!

Have you ever been infatuated with someone? Maybe wondered if you were crazy? This book will make you feel a lot better about that. The writing really draws you in, and sweeps you up in the main characters intense obsession with Nate. I was quite surprised by the twist, and I did see the ending coming but still enjoyed it. I liked how the story was not tied up neatly in the end, it really helped highlight how hopelessly trapped the characters were in the situation. I really enjoyed reading this!

Ooooh, loved the slow unwinding creepiness of this thriller! Well done!

Thank you Netgalley for the e-review edition of this book in exchange for an honest review! Will read more by this author!

I love books where the main character is an unreliable stalker! I have read quite a few of these types of books and the author will either slay it or wreck it. This one? Karen Hamilton SLAYED it. Not since I read YOU by Caroline Kepnes has a book like this become an addiction of mine.

3.5 Stars.

This is a crazy story! It’s hard to believe that there are actual people in the world like Juliette. It is hard to write a lot without giving anything away, it’s best to go into this one blind, and let it unravel in front of you.

Thank you to The publisher, the author, and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thanks for the early review copy!

I recommend this novel to fans of thrillers. It was well-written and interesting novel.

The blurb of the book promised exactly what it gave, but without the style and substance. Maybe the editor who wrote the blurb should have been given a chance to write the book, because Hamilton didn't deliver.

Readers have to be able to empathize or invest emotionally in at least one of the book's characters. In this instance, I thought they could all go rot.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin-Graydon House Books for a preview copy of this book in return for an honest review. The book had potential. When I read the synopsis I was intrigued by the story of an ex-girlfriend who was determined to win back the love of a man she felt she deserved. I was disappointed and wanted to give up reading it but struggled to its ending.

The story is told in the first person by Juliette, the psycho ex-girlfriend whose stalking and plotting became boring to me. It lacked suspense. I felt it needed other narrators with their points of view which would give the reader a break from the rambling narrative as Juliette becomes more deranged and desperate. The last part of the book becomes over dramatic and implausible.

I felt the flashbacks did not contribute to the plot and failed to evoke any feeling of sympathy in me for her dreadful behaviour towards acquaintances and especially towards Nate who ended their relationship six months earlier.Juliette seemed completely without conscience. Unfortunate events in her past might have led to depression or other emotional problems, but not to the psychopathic personality she seemed to possess.

Her extreme stalking behaviour included not only following people. She made copies of their keys and would sneak into apartments, planting an app to monitor computer activity, reading their Facebook postings,etc. She even got a job on the same airline where Nate was a pilot.

Because she remained so in love with Nate she was determined to have a life with him through any means necessary. This obsessive love was not reciprocated and she was increasingly making his life miserable. His feelings had no impact on her. Her intrusion into his family events in the later part of the book were farfetched and chaotic.

Does Juliette win the life with Nate that she felt she deserved? Does the abrupt open ended/non-ending give the reader the fate they think she deserved?

Joe Goldberg (see "You" written by Caroline Kepnes) has just about met his match--. Juliette aka Elizabeth aka Lily can be sweet, she is a good cook, but she was raised by an alcoholic and lost her little brother at a young age so she is also damaged, spiteful, and most importantly she CANNOT and WILL NOT get over her break up with her ex-boyfriend and soul mate Nate. EEK!!!! this is a train wreck that I could not stop reading about.. I highly recommend to people who like the unlikeable crazy characters that authors somehow make up in their imagination. Karen Hamilton has hit a home run out of the ball park with her first time up at bat. Excellent writing and character development-being in Juliette's head made me nauseous a lot of the time:)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review and give an honest opinion on this book. (less)

Most thrillers cast the man as the villain and the woman as the victim. In this story, however, the woman, Juliette refuses to believe that her relationship with her boyfriend is over, and she’ll do anything to get him back. A fast paced thriller with a wicked twist