Thank you Netgalley, publisher and Sam Hepburn for an advanced copy if Her Perfect Life in exchange for my honest review.  This book, full of twists and turns was a difficult read for me. Two women, seemingly opposites in every way connect and form a relationship. Problem is the relationship is a deceptive one and slowly, very slowly, the clues add up to a surprise ending.  The book was tedious and slow for me and Juliet was a character very hard to care about. I never felt connected to any of the characters or story and found the plot to cross my line of believability. I wish I could be more positive, but this was only 2 stars for me.

This book was just OK for most of it, but the end was very interesting!  It centers on Gracie and Juliet, 2 women from different sides of the track who become friends through their young daughters.  The chapters alternate between both women, as well as diary entries from an unknown person. Juliet is insanely jealous of Gracie and believes she has a perfect life- the reader knows she has an end goal but aren't told exactly what it is.  Gracie's life isn't quite as perfect as it seems, and the book gives you 2 unreliable narrators as you navigate through the story.

The book was a little long and got somewhat repetitive- Juliet's inner monologue and constant investigation got a little old after a while and could have been crisped up.  You also have to suspend your disbelief that Gracie wouldn't have security cameras, or even a Ring doorbell, to know if Juliet entered her house unexpectedly.  

That being said, I figured out a couple of the twists early in the book, but still enjoyed validating my assessments as the story unfolded.  There were some details dropped throughout the book that tied back to the story later, and I always like to see that. There were some additional surprises at the end, and I feel like the end made the whole book for me. 

Overall decent read with a really good ending.  I read this as an ARC and wonder if it will be crisped up a bit before release.  Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this one and finished it in less than a day. There were quite a few loose ends that were never tied up and I was able to guess at least part of the twist relatively early on. Despite those things I couldn’t put this down and would recommend it to others.

This was an excellent domestic thriller showing that you never know what goes on behind closed doors, and that the most beautiful neighborhoods hide the strangest secrets...

Tense chilling a book that drew me right in and kept me reading late into the night.There are twists and turns one that will shock you.A really tense read A book thriller lovers will enjoy.#netgalley #bookoutture

Praise to Sam Hepburn!

As a television "homemaker", it seems as if Gracie has it all - in her perfect kitchen. She is ALWAYS perfect. So thinks Juliet who is a "normal" person living in a rented apartment... 

Yet, missing New York already, Gracie is wary of returning home. To England and her private house, to her husband, Tom, and to her daughter, Elsie. We also learn that in the not so far past Gracie had received threats via e-mail, phone calls and packages.

How do Juliet and Gracie compare? What is their connection?

A GREAT read!

Many Thanks to Bookouture and NetGally for the opportunity to read and enjoy this book.

While reading, I could just feel that something was off, that things were not as they seemed. And I have to say, I was right! There is QUITE the twist at the very end of this story that you may or may not see coming (I saw part of it coming, but definitely not all). A nice mystery that isn't too stressful or terrifying!

4.5 Stars!

This book was a compelling read that kept me turning the pages until the very end. A cautionary tale about the evils of jealousy, envy and lies. I can't say more without spoilers, but the story was well paced, well written, and interesting. Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an ARC to read and review.

The characters in this book just didnt do it for me Was a slow burn and hard to get i too. A few twists made it readable to the end but can't say that I totally enjoyed this one. Hopr others find it more of a thriller than I thought it was.

Thanks to the Author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

"Her Perfect Life", by Sam Hepburn, is the type of story I usually find very intriguing. Two women from different backgrounds (one rich, one struggling to get by) become the unlikeliest of friends. Along the way, drama ensues and their new friendship is put to the test. I had a hard time really liking either of these main characters. Also, there were so many peripheral characters, it was hard for me to keep them all separate. I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Her Perfect Life by Sam Hepburn was a slow burn and worth the read. The story was told in the alternating voices of Gracie and Juliet. There is a lot of twists and turns, along with many different things that happen to the main characters. Just which twist is the truth? It was definitely something I did not see coming. 

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

Page turner until the last page!  This one caught me by surprise - at first I didn't think I'd get into it, but it didn't take long until I was sucked in and read it over 2 days.   I kind of guessed a couple things, but not everything!  interesting characters, well done plot that sucks you right in and doesn't let you go - definitely recommended if you like good suspense!

This was an incredibly slow paced story of two women: One with the seemingly perfect life and one that wants to be her. Nothing ever really grabbed me. I attribute that to the thin characterization. The characters had so little depth, it made their relationships and dynamics with one another confusing at times. The writing was fine, but not great. It doesn't really work as a psychological thriller despite the stalker angle. It doesn't really work as a domestic thriller either despite it having some of the basic troupes of the genre. I think it would fall more into the category of chick lit. 
Overall, it wasn't something I particularly enjoyed and not an author I would want to read again. 

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 Coveting What You Don't Have Stars
* * * Spoiler Free-A Quick Review
One of the first books/movies I remember that used the wish to be someone else was Single White Female. One Scary Book and a really strong translation to film. In this book, we have another type of wishing...

When Juliet looks at Grace, she sees everything that is perfect in Grace's life. Grace has a "Happy Marriage, Cute Kid, Money Galore, and even a spare guy to play with that looks like he should be in the movies.

Contrast Juliet's life at this moment...
Failed PR gig, single mom, without any means of support...and crossing over that invisible line leading her to become desperate and losing hold of how to function and figure things out.

The only constant running in Juliet's mind is how perfect Grace's life is...and wouldn't by being close to Grace...that perfection would rub off on her...

That is the premise. Lots of drama, evil-doing, unattractive behavior by all.

Her Perfect Life by Sam Hepburn will leave readers guessing and staying up late to finish another chapter. We all have secrets and the two main characters in the book, Gracie and Juliet, own the market on explosive ones. Who will prevail in this cat and mouse game between two very different women?

Gracie's life is perfect - think a British Food Network star - but not everything is completely perfect, right? She is kind but she has also been betrayed by those closest to her. Gracie thrives on keeping up appearances and keeping her family safe.

While Gracie is on the do-gooder side, Juliet has had a rougher life. She drinks too much, smokes too many cigarettes and isn't polished like Gracie. She maneuvers her and her daughter into Gracie's perfect life. But she's out for revenge. Gracie made a mistake years ago by not choosing Juliet for a project that could have rocketed Juliet to Gracie-level money and fame. Juliet will make Gracie regret her long ago decision.

Told from both Gracie and Juliet's point of view, Her Perfect Life is a nail-biter of a book that readers won't want to put down. Who is the master manipulator in this story? Readers may just be surprised at how long one woman (or both) will sink to get what they want. Sam Hepburn is an author that I plan to watch and look forward to the next book.

Her Perfect Life sounded like a great book & I so badly wanted to like it, but it wasn’t for me. The book was slower than what I usually enjoy so at times I felt like giving up. I did finish it but felt the ending was just alright.

I'm still trying to figure out what I think about Her Perfect Life. On one hand, it kept me interested and I was curious about the secrets both main characters were hiding. 

On the other hand, the pacing kind of confused me. Even though a lot happened, the story moved along at a somewhat slow pace. It definitely wasn't a twisty thriller, though it did have a lot of suspense. And when the ending did tie up, I was somewhat disappointed. No, it wasn't what I expected, but it also crammed a lot of "WTF" at once. Maybe I would have liked it more with a few big reveals rather than one major one?

Either way, I did really like the writing and I look forward to what the author does next.

Thank you, Bookouture, for sending me a free copy of "Her Perfect Life" in exchange for an honest review. 

The title gives its ambitions away, but "Her Perfect Life" doesn't work as a "girl" book.  It's too long, both in page count and narrative.  There's a reason "girl" books take place over the course of a couple of months or even weeks: to provide a sense of time accelerating towards a heart-stopping climax.  In "Her Perfect Life," entire seasons pass in a paragraph, which not only dilutes the tension, it also distorts the timeline since the story centers around two children who seem to remain age five for well over a year.  I was also able to guess the twist 60% of the way through "Her Perfect Life" and probably could have figured it out several chapters before that if I hadn't been so willfully blind, not unlike one of the characters.  Ms. Hepburn also bungles the device of a character keeping a diary, rendering it unrealistic and a bit didactic.  So as a thriller, "Her Perfect Life" doesn't thrill.

But . . .

As a literary novel, it's not bad at all.  Ms. Hepburn avoids the stereotypes common to the genre by making one of her unreliable narrators a culinary guru and the other a failed PR flack, so there's more social satire in "Her Perfect Life" than in your average "All The Gone Girls On The Train"-style pulp.  And if she doesn't write with the efficiency necessary to the genre, she writes with the precision and detail necessary to psychological realism, so I don't quite know why she's messing around with genre except maybe for the obvious answer that genre sells.  So "Her Perfect Life" isn't what I expected, nor is it what it purports to be, but it's an interesting failure.

Nails sharpened, fists clenched, eyes shooting dagger beams, minds whirling! Let the cat fight between so called best friends begin! 

  This book is about two women’s friendship. 
One of them is everything you’d dreamed of as the other one has nothing to lose! 

Gracie is the lucky cow: she has everything other women truly envy: charming husband: check! 
Adorable child: check again! 
A stylish, meticulously decorated house: check!
A successful career: Check!
A gigolo has best cumulative assets three Chrises have ( Hemsworth, Pine and Evans) : Sorry! She failed but she still seems like she has it all! ( ha ha ha: cold bitch laugh effect) 

Anyways, we’re also introduced to Juliet who has anything to hold on: a struggling single parent with no money no man more cry and no future hopes! 

 How did these polar opposites draw into each other to form a true friendship? 

Of course they don’t form a real friendship when both of the parties have disturbing qualities! (Crazy bitch alert!)

 There are too many mind spinning and triggering subjects in their story ( in fact those subjects are enough for more than five books) including cheating, stalking, obsession, manipulation, murder mystery, more obsession, more violent tendencies! 

This is such a great popcorn book- you just consume fast, you don’t get enough nutrition and your mouth filled in grease at the end, but you don’t care: once you start you don’t want to stop because you’re still having fun! 

  There are so many batshit craziness you’ll witness during your reading journey and you keep repeating : “ Oh no! Even she cannot go that far! What? Did she do that! Holly hell! “ 

Overall: I didn’t adore this book! And I didn’t like both of the characters! I like mentally disturbed characters but these women were way too much out of control for my crazy tolerance level! 
 
But it was quick, entertaining read with foreseeable twists! It’s not one of my best , mouth agape, jaw dropping, heart throbbing thriller reads but it is still okay and I didn’t get bored. I found myself nervously giggling at several times. 

  I still want to read more works of the author. 
  Special thanks to NetGalley and Bookoture for sharing this arc copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

While I did enjoy this story, I certainly didn’t think it was a “twisty psychological thriller”. I found this book to be more of a slow burn drama that has a good “gotcha” ending. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.