Books like these are always intriguing because of their plot - I mean, who doesn't want to know all the secrets people try to bury? It's always entertaining, but so much more when the writing is done well, and in this case, it was.

That plot twist made me SCREAM! It was one of those perfect twists that, when it happens, you can’t help but think “how did I not see that coming?!” The book was good! Was it a perfect 5 star read? Not particularly. Maybe a 3.5, but still a good read that keeps you on the edge. The jumping back and forth between third person and first person point of view between Greer and Lily didn’t really make much sense. I wish there had just been one point of view for both of them, or had a connection to the plot of why we had Greer in 1st and Lily in 3rd. Maybe I just missed it’s purpose. The plot dwindled a little in the middle after a strong start, but pulled me back in with more revelations. Overall, a good read.

Lily Atwood has a perfect life. She is a popular journalist on her local television station, she’s beautiful, and she has a darling daughter who loves penguins. She has the perfect house, the perfect nanny, the perfect Instagram. Everyone loves Lily. And she makes perfection look so effortless.

Her producer, Greer, should know that Lily’s life looks perfect. She’s the one who has helped create that perfect façade. But what’s behind it? Greer doesn’t really know, because Lily won’t let even her get too close to the perfection. They work so closely together on their stories, but they don’t go for drinks together, they don’t hang out on weekends, they don’t share secrets. So Greer doesn’t know that Lily is actually sitting on two big secrets that could destroy that perfect life she’s worked so hard on. But she’s about to find out more than she bargained for.

When Lily was just a kid herself, her older sister Cassie went missing after her first semester of college. The police swore that they were working hard on the case, but as time went by and the clues dried up, the case went cold. Now it’s been over twenty years, and Lily still can’t help but wonder if her sister is still alive.

And then she gets a phone call, a source, a man calling himself Smith and offering Lily stories. And as she and Greer follow-up on the stories that Smith leaks to them, they find legitimate stories. They don’t know how Smith comes across these leads, but they are gold. But then he calls Greer and wants to meet with her. Alone. And he gives her one more lead to check out—Lily’s missing sister Cassie.

Greer goes to meet with Smith, and she finds out that he is a private detective and his client is the father to Lily’s daughter. He wants to meet her daughter, but Lily keeps him away from her. Smith asks Greer to set up a meeting between father and daughter, and then maybe Smith will help facilitate a meeting between Lily and her long-lost sister, something heartwarming that that the viewers will love. Greer finds herself pulled into his story, and she decides to go along with it.

But the more Lily learns about Smith and his theories about what happened to Cassie all those years ago, she finds herself trying to make sense of what he’s saying and if it fits in with her memories of when she had gone missing. Smith says that she’s alive, and that she’s in danger now, and only Lily can help draw her out to keep her safe. But Lily wonders if she can really trust Smith after all? Is it possible tat Cassis has been alive all this time? Why had she not contacted Lily?

And what would happen to her perfect life if all these secrets came to light?

Hank Phillippi Ryan is back with Her Perfect Life, another taut thriller about the secrets we keep to protect ourselves and the lies we are willing to tell to protect those secrets. Her Perfect Life is a smart novel about the lengths we go to to protect our family and how the truth finds its way to the surface. Ryan is known for her tightly written thrillers about professional women and their secrets and sacrifices, and this one definitely fits in that genre.

I really liked Her Perfect Life. I love these characters, and I thought Lily especially was a fantastic character that I would love to read more about. If you’re looking for a deep dive into family secrets and a slow unraveling of the truth, then this is the perfect book to curl up with.

Egalleys for Her Perfect Life were provided by Macmillan/Forge Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Ahh I’m only mad I waited so long to read this one - absolutely loved it! I never knew where the next chapter was going to take me and I love HRPs books for that!

Lily Atwood lives the perfect life. She is a single parent, award winning tv journalist and loved by many. But everyone has a past, and in today's world of cancel culture, you need to protect that perfect image. It seem someone knows of Lily's past but who would want to disrupt Lily and her daughter Rowan's life.

Cassie Atwood is Lily's older sister, who went missing at the age of 18, when Lily was 8 years old. Lily never talks about Cassie, never to her daughter, and her colleagues no nothing of Lily's personal life, not even Lily's producer, Greer. Greer loves Rowan but can that love overcome her envy of Lily's perfect life. When an anonymous source threatens to reveal Lily's past, how much is Greer involved in unraveling Lily's life?

Told in 3 narratives, Lily, Greer, present time and Cassie in the past, it wasn't hard to follow along. Lily comes across a bit cold, but I understand her motives, she is thinking of her daughter and doing what she feels necessary to protect her. Greer unravels as the story plays out and I didn't feel sorry for her at all. Cassie was the real victim and she definitely had the hardest road to travel. To sum it up, this was a story of lies, murder, betrayal and love. I enjoyed it very much.

I'd like to thank Netgalley for an e-copy to review.

⭐⭐

I am having trouble putting my finger on why this one was just okay for me. I just found it difficult to get into. The characters seemed flat. The dialogue awkward. Everyone seemed so gullible and annoying. Not much else to say, really. Sometimes a book just doesn't work, and that is okay. On to the next read...

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Unfortunately this one just didn't work for me. Lily's character was just super unlikable and the timeline jumping was just very inconsistent. The ending also left me pretty underwhelmed.

This is the first book I read from this author and although I’ve enjoyed it, I took some time to immerse myself into the book. It was not a page turner, but the plot was well crafted and the characters believable, although I didn’t like some of them. Overall it was a good book.

This is the first book I have read by Hank Phillippi Ryan and I was really intrigued by the blurb. This book was enjoyable, however I did feel as if it dragged on a little bit with the storyline moving slowly. I felt I did not connect well with any of the characters in the story but I liked how it went between the past and present in certain chapters. The chapters from Cassie’s POV were my favourite ones to read. I did enjoy the twist at the end but I just felt that apart from that twist not much excitement happened and then the ending felt a little bit like a non-event. I did enjoy the writing style and will still attempt to read other books by Hank Phillippi Ryan as some of the books do have great reviews, I just felt like this one was a little slow for me.

I wasn't 100% sure about this one, but once I really got into it I liked it a lot!
It was very twisty plot wise, kept me guessing and had solid character development.
I have not read anything by this author prior, but I will check out other ones after reading Her Perfect Life.
Thankful for the ARC!

Fans of Hank Phillippi Ryan will love this twisty and dark stand-alone story where it's not really clear whether there is only one villain, or maybe all the characters are villains in their own way.

Lily Atwood has worked hard to maintain the perfect image. A perfection that comes close to breaking in this taut story of two sisters separated by circumstances beyond their control. Lily always felt that Cassie was alive , here was a stranger offering her a chance at that reunion. What is the price of realizing this dream? Lily’s daughter Rowan becomes a pawn with repercussions none of the players realizes. Two sisters so different and yet bound in a common cause to find the truth that set them apart.

I have several of Hank Ryan's books on my "To Read" shelf. I was excited to have the opportunity to read one of them.

Her Perfect Life was an exciting page-turner. Lots of engaging characters. Some of the actions of the main character, Lilly were not well supported. However, it was easy to overlook and enjoy the book.

I received the Gally from Net Galley.

I really enjoyed this. I thought it was twisty & you never really knew what was going to happen next. I also liked the fact that you couldn’t really trust any of the characters. I always end up trusting the wrong ones and liking the bad guys 🤦🏻‍♀️
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I love a good book with some friend betrayal it always gets the blood pumping 😂

Unfortunately the main character was unlikeable and I really dislike that in a story! With that being said, I would still consider this book an intriguing mystery and I was reading it any chance I got. I found the middle of this story to be a tad drug out but overall I was entertained.

I really enjoyed this title. I liked the twists and turns and the writing style is nice and smooth. The story flows well and kept my attention. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. I will be recommending this one to friends.

Lily is a famous, beloved TV reporter that has a "perfect" life - but she's hiding a secret and, now that someone knows and has threatened to bring it out in the open, she'll do whatever it takes to protect that life.
This book was just OK for me. The thriller aspect was good and I didn't guess the ending or the twists and turns - but I didn't like Lily at all. She seemed pretty incompetent for an Emmy winning reporter and didn't seem to do much work throughout the book. Everyone seemed to either want to be Lily or be friends with Lily and I just didn't see the draw AT ALL. Greer was also unlikable.
While the book moved quickly enough, overall it was just OK.
Thanks to HPR, Forge Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan

INTRODUCTORY EXCERPT:

Everyone knows Lily Atwood, and that may be her biggest problem. 
The beloved television reporter has it all- fame, fortune, emmys, an adorable seven year old daughter, and the hashtag her loving fans created: #PerfectLily. To keep it, all she has to do is protect one life-changing secret: her own. 

Lily has an anonymous source that feeds her story tips, but suddenly, the source starts telling Lily inside information about her own life. How does he- or she, know the truth? 

Lily understands that no one reveals a secret unless they have a reason. Now she's terrified someone is determined to destroy her world, and with it, everyone and everything she holds dear. 
How much will she risk to keep her perfect life? 

THE REVIEW:

This thriller was very easy to understand, in plain beautiful english. I was engrossed at the very beginning, the middle though, was a little dragged. I felt like I needed more ' meat to the bone'. However, I was back in the webb at the middlee and conclusions of the story. 

Lily was my favourite character, compared to career-hugging Greer and her suspicious source. In my opinion, the conclusion suggests that Greer, the obviously jealous producer/assistant, who feels unappreciated by Lily, may have a separate story of her own to tell.

I can relate to Lily though, when it comes to protecting her daughter. As a single mother myself, I totally agree with her choices in that area. It may have made her out to be icy cold to others though. I loved the fact that she got some closure in the end. 

This being my first time reviewing the works of this author, all in all it was a good story. Readers like myself who are always so sure about how the story was going to end, will be in for a rude awakening. I for sure was so wrong about the antagonist, but appreciated that surprisingly twisted ending. 

I'm looking forward to reading more from this author. 🌟🌟🌟

Thank you to Macmillan - Tor / Forge and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. 

All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Happy Reading!

This novel seems to be one thing--and then becomes another in a series of twists and turns that were both organic, suspense filled, and made sense with the plot. Nothing in the plot was written by chance. I flew through this one, enjoyed the premise and the characters, as well as the dual POV's. The foils of Lilly and Gwen were perfect, as well as the build up of tension between Lilly's secret life as it begins to unravel through her anonymous informant.

While probably not a book I would read again, probably one I would recommend to a friend for a suspenseful, rich people drama book.

I was already a fan of Hank Phillippi Ryan’s novels, and this one met every edge-of-your-seat expectation.

A great tale of lost innocence and how it rolls through the rest of our lives. Lily Atwood is a TV journalist in a career where image of perfection is paramount and portraying perfection matters. But she misses her sister Cassie, who disappeared when Lily was only a kid.

As the story unrolls and secrets drop, this book kept me engaged through each of its twists until we find out what happened, and why the result may put Lily and her child’s life at risk now.

A super enjoyable fun read that helped me escape during difficult times.