Vanessa misses her mother who she lost tragically when still quite young. She is close to her sister who is thirteen years older and has always looked after her. Vanessa craves nothing more than a family life of her own so when she meets Connor she can’t believe her luck he is seemingly perfect. 
Things start to go wrong and things between her and Connor become very tense. To escape Nessa creates new personas and visits luxury houses that are on the market that she can’t possibly afford  as a potential client. However on one of these visits a crime occurs that leaves her as a suspect. 
Lots of tension twists in this, really enjoyed it and didn’t want to put it down - definitely worth reading!

My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of The Perfect Life. I thought this was a slow burner and rather disjointed with it's Then and Now narrative. The idea that someone could find enjoyment in taking on a pseudonym and view houses they are clearly unable to afford is reasonably believable but the idea of scrolling through property listings and find peace totally baffled me. I also found the conclusion rather weird and forced.

Having said all that I still enjoyed the book in that the characters were depicted in a believable manner and the storyline running through the book is sadly only too believable. The further you get into the story the more chilling it becomes so, overall it was a good enough read but no no more.

This is a story of Vanessa, a woman who is seemingly living her best life. She has her perfect job, a best friend who knows her inside out and a sister who she is incredibly close too. Then she meets Connor and a year later she is accused of murder, the murder of an author whose books she loved as a child. 

The book flicks backwards and forwards through the last year as you read Vanessa’s spiralling behaviour and the actions what eventually lead to the death of the old man. 

This is a story about manipulation, abuse and mental health. 

The book was a fairly easy read and I flew through it. I didn’t predict the ending, tbh I didn’t even see it coming. In someways it didn’t fit the narrative of the book but for surprise value it was up there!

Vanessa Adams (Nessa) is in search of the perfect life but when she meets Connor everything changes. Her older sister, Georgie is the stability she so desperately needs and having lost her mother at the age of ten, she no longer has a sense routine. The things she looked forward to as a child have been cruelly snatched from her and you can easily identify with her feelings of loss. The underlying story of Holly Maze House, Angus, Iris and blackbird and the ghost children is so clever, I found myself wanting more. 

One of Nessa’s hobbies is looking around beautiful homes well out of her price range. In order to be taken seriously, she invents roles to play, even going as far as providing the estate agent with profiles of fake children and a career. What I liked about this is how accurate and familiar it is. You can easily resonate with Nessa’s point of view and understand how desperately she wants to reinvent herself. But it becomes more of an obsession than simply a happy place and as events unfold, looking around beautiful homes may be more dangerous than she realised.

It’s Connor’s behaviour that kept be reading late into the night. His manipulative and unpredictable actions terrified me. His controlling attitude left nothing to be desired and I wondered why Nessa felt the need to stay with him for as long as she did. I didn’t know how this story would unfold and although I found the alternating time line distracting, I had to ask myself how else could this book be written? Weaving the past with the present is a familiar device used in this genre and it takes a little getting used to. The past tells us what happened to Nessa, how she met Connor and how things unfolded with her sister and best friend. 

I could feel Nessa’s panic and fear rising as the danger intensified. Her inner turmoil, the pregnancy, Connor’s mother, it all seemed as if she was being gaslighted or unable to wake from one horrific dream. I loved her job, it seemed her only safe place, but as she declined I wanted to put the brakes on and tell her to wake up! I never thought she was unstable, even though her drinking and partying was getting out of hand. I always had faith she would see the light. 

To say I was hooked would be an understatement. I was thoroughly invested in the characters for the entire journey. It’s a chilling read and I can’t commend the author enough for writing this book. Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin and Nuala Ellwood for the privilege of reading an advance copy.

A most unusual strangely weird intriguing storyline, strangely no gruesome murders, not my normal read having got into the story I couldn’t put it down.

I enjoyed this book, and found the story gripping.  However it was so unbelievable in places that I found it irritating at times, hence the four star review.  It deals with important issues very well, and the twist at the end is clever, but I found it a bit disappointing.

It's seems I'm in the minority here. I didn't particularly like this. It's tricky to pull off a coercive control book. Firstly you have to find believable reasons for isolating the victim from their family and friends. The isolation was way too far fetched in this one. The best friend acted in such an extreme, unreasonable way that it made me hyper-aware that this was simply a plot device. Secondly, you have to make the victim relatable and normal, yet fragile enough to fall for a seemingly charming person, otherwise you risk making the character irritatingly stupid. Unfortunately I found the main character incredibly frustrating and didn't quite believe in her actions. But the main reason I didn't like this book is that the blurb gives no indication that this will be about coercive control. Then the twist at the end? As a few others have said, it doesn't work.

I had never read anything from this author so I was really excited after reading the reviews of her other books.  To be fair it did not disappoint. It was very slow going at the start and I got very confused about the story on how the strands fitted together.  I was a bit confused about the Lottie character. So  I nearly gave up. 

But quarter way through was engrossed and really started to enjoy the book and needed to find out what happened.  
I am not going to go into the plot at all as that will spoil everything and please read this for yourself you wont regret it. 

I was given this book by netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review which I have done.

Vanessa has always found it easy to pretend to be somebody different, somebody better. When things get tough in her real life, all she has to do is throw on some nicer clothes, adopt a new accent and she can escape. That's how it started: looking round houses she couldn't possibly afford. Harmless fun really. Until it wasn't. 

I enjoyed this read, I just did not love it. I did love Vanessa and her quirky characterisation, her obsession with houses is both interesting and serves a purpose. Plus it was a bonus reading about stunning, luxury houses from time to time. Anyway, back to the plot. Ellwood writes this in the past and present. I much preferred the chapters set in the past. As the book progresses, the present becomes more important and of course, the past and present intertwine, however I found the past more intriguing and suspenseful. It was the past I was constantly racing to get back to. 

For a lot of the book, the chapters set during the present come across dull and a bit infantile, events do not make sense but not necessarily in a good way. The latter half of this read almost feels like a different book. Seemingly from out of nowhere, the atmosphere becomes chilling and full of danger. I was hooked by the second half of this read and I only wish the whole book had been the same. 

I have touched on Vanessa's character briefly and I now return to her. She is a very interesting character, I did not always find her likeable and I did not particularly connect with her but there was something about her that kept my interest and ensured I kept reading. As the book continues, the reasons behind her behaviour become clear and I must commend Ellwood for the twists and reveals as they are set up perfectly and suddenly everything makes sense. 

'The Perfect Life' is a good read that slowly transforms into an intense, chilling read. I only wish this had been the case the whole way through. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for an advance copy.

This is the first book from this author for me. And I really enjoyed this book. I was capture from the first chapter. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. This was like a fix to me, I just needed to find were would chapters take me. 
This was beautifully witten.

Four stars for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.

Date reviewed: October 30, 2020	
	
When life for the entire universe and planet turns on its end and like everyone else you "have nothing to do" while your place of work is once again closed and you are continuing to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave is upon us,  superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour, so yes, I have read the book … and many more today.	
	
I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.  	
	
From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.	

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO BE SOMEONE ELSE?

Vanessa has always found it easy to pretend to be somebody who is different, somebody who is better. When things get tough in her real life, all she has to do is throw on some nicer clothes, adopt a new accent and she can escape.

That's how it started: looking round houses she couldn't possibly afford. Harmless fun really. Until it wasn't.

Because a man who lived in one of those houses is dead.

And everyone thinks Vanessa killed him...

It is always hard to have to read an amazing book and to have to wait nine months to share it with our clients --- I am literally pregnant with this book.  This is a rocket ride of a read - just when you thought that you figured it out, it veers off onto another great tangent/idea/place you never expected it to go to.  And yes it goes there....lol. A fabulous read, all in all. 

I have never read Nuala Ellwood before, but this makes me want to pick up her other books and devour them. 

This is a great book club pick as we all love to talk about how we reimagine ourselves or want to reimagine ourselves and that is always delicious to talk about - who would you want to be if you could ... get away with it???
	
As always, I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis (outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube  Millionaires/snowflakes etc. " on Instagram and Twitter... Get a real job, people!) so let's give it	🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀

Riveting. I loved this twisty tale with its roots in a child's ghost story. Creepy and intriguing right to the end.

Wow! I have just finished this book, having started it last night. Literally couldn’t put it down.

This twisty psychological drama is based on the life of Vanessa, who lost her mother at the age of 10, which has had a profound effect on her life. 

She meets Connor through a work colleague, and falls head over heels in love. However all is not what it seems with her new love and the plot line turns ever darker as Vanessa slowly starts to think she is losing her mind. 

Vanessa starts to visit houses for sale, using different personas for her visits, but the last visit ends in murder. Can she remember what she has done? 

I loved this book, it was written in such a way that it drew me in from the start. If I could give it 6 stars I would! 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ever since her mother died when she was a little girl, fragile Vanessa Adams has been in search of happiness. Her wonderful older sister Georgie does her absolute best to help her and when Nessa meets Connor she thinks she’s found what she has been seeking. The story is partly about their relationship and also Nessa adopting different personas to view dream homes in search of that elusive something....

Initially the alternating Then and Now storyline seems a bit confusing but it all slots into place and makes sense. I like the the weaving of a sometimes ghostly fantasy world into the day to day reality which is a very stark contrast. I really like the children’s book theme which Nessa draws so much from especially after her beloved mother’s death and highlights how important fiction can be for children, it certainly was for me. I love the bond between the two sisters which is really heartwarming, demonstrating real love which Nessa’s relationship with Connor is so far from. That story is chilling and full of manipulative tension until the scales tumble from her eyes. The tempo builds well as the story progresses with a number of very unsettling, menacing and dangerous events occurring as Nessa’s world falls apart. Her feelings are very well described and you vividly sense her fear and panic. The ending is twisty and unexpected with people ultimately getting what they deserve. 

Overall, this is another entertaining read from the talented Nuala Ellwood.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the arc in return for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by this author but I hope won’t be the last. The way she describes the emotions of the main character pulls at your heartstrings and you feel like you are actually there with her. 
I don’t want to give too much away but what I will say is that there are twists that you won’t see coming! 
Some aspects of this book are difficult to read and you just want to reach into the book and hug the main character. For me that’s a compliment to the author for such emotive writing about a genuinely likeable character.

A good and interesting read!

I would recommend this to everyone who loves a good story with captivating characters! Definitely a good read!

Thanks for the ARC
Always keen to read publications by this author.
Both my wife and myself have enjoyed previous ones by Ms Ellwood and this was no exception.
Ok, could see parts of it coming, but plenty I didn't.
Thanks again.

I very much enjoyed this book - there were lots of twists and turns.  Parts of it you could sense coming, but not all.  I'm always keen to read books by this author and will look forward to her future work.

The Perfect Life by Nuala Ellwood 

I Loved this book. 

From the very first chapter I knew I was going to enjoy the story and boy was I right. 

I could not put the book down as the story kept me on the edge of my seat.  The story is fast paced, exciting and you never know where the next chapter will take you.

The drama and suspense are excellent. I have read all Nuala Ellwood’s other books and I think they are all fantastic.

I loved all the characters and could easily relate to them. I loved the main character, Vanessa, and couldn’t wait to find out what happens to her in the end.

I would like to thank Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

We all want a perfect life don’t we?
This was such a slow burner read but I loved how this was written with the back and forth of the past and present.

This story follows Vanessa who was a carefree fun loving woman, prime of her career but then she starts to change, follow her story how she goes from having the perfect life to being investigated for murder.

This book touches on subjects that are quite raw for some readers such as mental health, domestic abuse and rape.

I was so shocked by the end of the book with the wrap up in the end and everything coming to light, my heart strings were tugged in every direction for Vanessa!