I really struggled with this one. While overall it was an engaging read, it wasn't what I expected. It's billed as a mystery/thriller, but after the first 25%, there really wasn't any suspense. I kept waiting for a huge reveal, only to learn that the ending was far less dramatic than I expected. As a result, I feel really underwhelmed by it. That said, if you're okay not chasing plot twists, you might enjoy this one more than me.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Rebecca Taylor for the opportunity to read and review her debut adult novel. 4 stars for a compelling story that was hard to put down!

Clare has seemingly the perfect life. She lives in a gorgeous mansion on San Francisco's coast with her husband, Simon, who adores her, and their little dog, Charlie. She's also a best-selling author who churns out many books a year. When Clare kills herself the day after her book and movie premiere, everyone is shocked. Her sister, Eileen, is especially devastated. While the two sisters haven't been extremely close, she couldn't understand what would make Clare kill herself when everything was so perfect for her. In contrast, Eileen's life is messy, especially now. She's busy trying to handle 3 kids and run her household with not much help from her husband, Eric. When she gets the news about Clare, Eileen hops on a plane to be with her brother-in-law and to figure out what happened.

Told in the present time in Eileen's voice, we are privy to Clare's story through journals she left behind that she has meticulously kept since her teens.

While I may have seen the twist coming at the end, it in no way lessened the enjoyment of this book. It was interesting to see the dynamics of the sisters and go behind the scenes into their marriages and relationships as well. Great debut - can't wait to read more from this author!

This book is different from other books that I’ve read because everyone in this book means well for the most part. Basically, this book is a famous writer named Clare Collins who dies leaving her husband, Simon and her sister Eileen behind to figure out the mystery behind her death. I love the cover of the book and I like the way the author shows the complexities of human relationships and the flaws of human nature.

This book was great! It was so easy to lose yourself in the story, and kept you turning pages to see what happened next! Will definitely be recommending!

I love Rebecca Taylor!!! This was a great book, there is not a character in this book some can’t relate to. Very well written, attention grabber, and very thought provoking.

Having just lost my sister, this book was so hard for me to read. I thought it was sad, but with an interesting twist. It was about one sister basically trying to figure out why her sister had committed suicide. The one who dies is an author and has just written another novel, but it's unlike her other novels in the past. The sister and brother-in-law, delve into the diaries of the one deceased to try and uncover what may have triggered the death. It goes back into time and we find out the history of the deceased sister's relationship that played a role in her suicide. It was definitely a heart breaker for me. I recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really went into this book thinking it was a mystery/thriller, and although there’s a little bit of ( predictable) mystery in it, this really is a book about relationships, and loss.

As we watch Eileen and Simon muddle their way through the first few days after Claire’ suicide, we also discover Claire’s truth, her pain and search for happiness - and the perfect life through her novels.

This is a beautifully written book and I would definitely read other books by this author .

First off I want to thank @netgalley, @sourcebooks & Rebecca Taylor for my free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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I honestly went in thinking this was a thriller but it wasn't at all, it's women's fiction/contemporary. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book I was hooked but then during the middle I completely lost interest. It was a very well written book and easy to get hooked too but once nothing was happening for me unfortunately I completely blanked out. I finished it and enjoyed the story as a whole but it wasn't the book for me.
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If you enjoy women's fiction/contemporary with a good story this might be for you.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, & Rebecca Taylor for a free, electronic copy of Her Perfect Life in exchange for an honest review (Publication date: June 2, 2020).

The day after her latest book is released, Clare Collins is found dead on the beach from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Clare had a seemingly "perfect" life - why would choose to end it? This hard-to-put-down debut novel focuses on Clare's sister, Eileen, as she tries to make sense of Clare's sudden death, trying to find out the "why" with Clare's widowed husband, Simon. While seeing the story from Eileen & Simon's points of view in the present, we also get glimpses into Clare's past in her own point of view & each characters stories intertwine to make, for me, a fast-paced read.

I read this book in one day; at the end of each chapter I just had to keep reading to see where the story was going to go. While the story's main focus is set on determining the "why" behind Clare's death, I also found that Eileen's personal life complications in the present did a good job of giving her character more depth & relatability. Overall, I enjoyed both the character and plot development. I was able to predict the twist towards the end, but that honestly did not take away from how much I enjoyed reading this book. I also would consider this more in the genre of women's fiction over thriller/suspense - for those who may be considering reading it. Nevertheless, I recommend this book to others!

I went into it thinking it was a thriller for some reason and it’s not. I would say this is more of a women’s/contemporary fiction about a woman struggling with her new reality. Eileen was always jealous of her sister, Clare, because she found success as a best-selling author. They had been estranged for three years when Eileen receives the call from Clare’s husband, informing her that Clare has committed suicide. Eileen jumps on a plane to help with the funeral and to inform her mother, not realizing that her life will never be the same once she comes back home to her own husband and three kids.

I was not expecting to like this novel as much as I did. The characters were real and raw while dealing with their grief. It was a bit slow in spots but the narrative is interesting as the novel includes three viewpoints along with excerpts of Clare’s published works. The writing style is short and sweet and the ending solves all of the conflicts. This was an enjoyable read for me and I had a hard time putting it down.

Nothing really to say except this is not a "thriller" in my sense of the word or genre. We do have a mystery (that did not shock me when we get to the reveal) about why one character killed herself. Other than that, the book I thought did a solid job showing how women see themselves and others and how so many people can think that their life or marriage is perfect when it's not. I liked the two sisters/characters (Clare and Eileen). I also felt very sad for Clare. It definitely leaves you wondering about what things would have looked like had she chosen differently and or just accepted things when she was in high school.

"Her Perfect Life" follows harried mother, Eileen. Eileen is happily married, but feels a bit overwhelmed with her life and her three children. Her husband barely seems around to help her, but she counts herself lucky compared to her sister, Clare. Eileen is jealous of Clare and it seems as if the two sisters are slightly estranged. When Eileen gets a phone call from her sister Clare's husband Simon, he informs her that Clare has killed herself. Eileen and Simon struggle with what was so bad in Clare's life that would have her kill herself. The book jumps back and forth between Eileen, Simon, and Clare and we get chapters showing Clare 2 years before her death all the way to 20 years before her death. Eileen and Simon for the most part are in the present day with I think just 1 or 2 chapters showing Simon before.

I really liked all of the characters. You feel sad for everyone by the time you are done with the book. Clare for not trusting those around her. Eileen for realizing that what she thought was true about a lot of things, was not. Simon for realizing he never knew his life.

The writing was very good. The characters all have distinct voices. Clare as a teen's voice is different than her voice set 2 years before her death which makes sense. She is the only one we get to see change over the course of years which I think made sense.

The setting of the book moves between California and Colorado. The setting of Clare and Simon's house felt fragile and it makes sense considering what you find via the book about Simon and Clare.

The ending leaves things on a hopeful note though which I liked.

Let me start by saying, I didn't hate this one. But I didn't love it either.
I felt like it was pretty slow paced, and found there were still a few unanswered questions at the end. I predicted the ending quite early on and was disappointed by the lack of shock factor/twists.

This was an intersting one, I didn't love it or hate it...it was very middling. I enjoyed most of it but parts just let it down

A great debut read by Rebecca Taylor! The author created a very sympathetic central character in Eileen. She lived under the shadow of her “perfect” sister, a world famous author as she struggled to raise her 3 children. A fascinating story that hooked me in the first few chapters.

Such an unexpectedly great novel.

The writing was quick and effective, the characters were very well fleshed out and felt entirely authentic, and the story was intriguing. I breezed through this book, staying up half the night to finish.

There is a small twist at the end, but an easy one to see coming. Thankfully, figuring things out didn't dampen my enthusiasm for the story in the least. The characters brought this story to life in a way that made twists unnecessary.

What did dampen my enthusiasm was the death of a pet dog near the end of the novel. Although it was an accident and there were no nefarious intentions, it still broke my heart...while also ticking me off. It was so unnecessary. When are authors going to learn that dying pets are never good for their ratings?

Overall, though, this is a gorgeous story covering themes of suicide, infidelity, dementia, and a mother's desire to protect her children...despite their not-so-great choices.

Triggers: Suicide, infidelity, the death of a pet

Please pick up your own copy on June 2, 2020.

**Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

This was a really sweet but sad story. I felt sad for Clare. I like how the story was based around her and her life. I also liked how the author went back and forth in time, I like when the events of the past lead up to present times. It gives a nice background on how things ended up the way they are in the present. If a reader is looking for a sweet but somber read, I recommend this.

3 1/2 ⭐️‘s

Eileen is having the worst day of her life. Her sister, Clare, is a prodigious writer, but two years ago something changed and after writing a book that was a bit out of character, Clare takes her own life, but why? Her husband, Simon and sister, Eileen are determined to find out and through her journals and short stories much is brought to light. In the meantime, Eileen has some of her own issues that need to be dealt with. A story of loving too much and how it shapes the lives of two very different sisters. This book, while a good read, was quite predictable and fits much better in the Women’s Fiction category than Suspense/Thriller.

This book follows Eileen and Simon after the death of Claire, with Clairs story being told as well.
The book leads takes you on a journey to begin with, its really interesting trying to find out why Clair killed herself. However once you find out the reason its predictable and I actually was completely let down. I struggled to love this book, as I said the first half is more gripping than the second half.
Eileen's character is very relatable but also quite boring if I'm honest and Simon didn't really need his own chapters.
I am giving it 3 stars though as I did enjoy the begining when I first started reading I thought it would be a easy 5 star book but it let's itself down.
It's a mundane story. Chic lit.
If you are looking for a quick and easy book to read on holiday this is a good book for you.
Thank you source books and netgalley for providing a PRC of her perfect life in exchange for a free and honest review.

Wow. I was seriously hooked from the first chapter with this book and that feeling of needing to know what was going to happen next never let up. This was a definite page-turner.

HER PERFECT LIFE is a fast-paced, beautifully written novel about the complex relationships in our lives and the lasting impact of our decisions and choices. The story is told from multiple points of view and Taylor’s vivid writing style takes you right into the hearts and minds of each character. There is so much to unpack in this book and with each new discovery, a piece of the puzzle is unwrapped.

Even though the book spans more than 20 years I never felt lost. Taylor deftly manages to segway into each new chapter or moment in a way that never slowed down the pace or momentum of the journey. I am truly impressed that this was a debut novel and can’t wait to read what Rebecca Taylor writes next.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the advance reading copy.

I loved this book. There were so many twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. See my complete review on Goodreads.