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rmarcin's review against another edition
3.0
A perfect neighborhood where everything is lovely, crime is non-existent, all the streets are named after flowers. But no neighborhood is perfect! The book centers around for families, primarily the women, their relationships, and the secrets they are hiding.
Kellie is attracted to a married man at work, feels her marriage has stagnated. Gigi is trying to manage a sullen teenager as her husband runs for political office, hoping her past doesn’t come up during the campaign. Susan can’t let go of her love for her ex-husband, and Tessa is hiding the reason she and her husband moved into town.
Interesting look at the dynamics of families, the struggles women face to manage children and caters, and the need to be honest with yourself.
Kellie is attracted to a married man at work, feels her marriage has stagnated. Gigi is trying to manage a sullen teenager as her husband runs for political office, hoping her past doesn’t come up during the campaign. Susan can’t let go of her love for her ex-husband, and Tessa is hiding the reason she and her husband moved into town.
Interesting look at the dynamics of families, the struggles women face to manage children and caters, and the need to be honest with yourself.
judithdcollins's review against another edition
5.0
An avid fan of the "queen of chick-lit with grit" Sarah Pekkanen, returns following (2015) Things You Won’t Say with another edge-of-your seat domestic suspense THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS with a mix of contemporary, suburban chick-noir, (dark side) mystery, lots of wit, wine, whine, scandal and intrigue. A Sure-Fire Hit!
A modern twist of Wisteria Lane’s Desperate Housewives and Peyton Place, sprinkled with hilarious updates from Newport Cove Listserv Digest social media commentary! Everyone is trying to be the picture-perfect family. Halloween is a theme. Masking the real person. Telling yourself stories about people. Superficial details. Underneath - struggles and flaws.
How far will you go to protect those you love? Do you really know your neighbors, and those who interact with your children?
Welcome to Newport Cove, Parenting Magazine touts as one of the “20 Safest Communities” in the US. A peaceful, serene, and bucolic suburban neighborhood, where anyone would love to raise their family. From new McMansions, to original Tudors, Colonials, and Craftsmans, with street names of flowers.
Meet the families:
Tessa and Harry Campbell: They are the newest addition to the neighborhood. The most intriguing and mysterious, especially Tessa. Everyone wants to know their story. Moving to escape a past, bad memories. Very private. Protective of children. Husband a software developer and travels often. They have a secret. An ongoing mystery. None of the neighbors know. Children: Daughter, Bree, nine. Son, Addison seven.
Susan Barrett: Most impressive, outward appearances. Superwoman. Divorced. A perfectionist. A business woman. Owner of “Your Other Daughter”. Speaker, radio show host. Business franchised into four states. Type A personality. Helps the elderly. Bakes. Loves to cook. Perfectionist. Ideal mother. She has regrets about her marriage. Ex-Husband, Randall is remarrying. She stalks the couple. His girlfriend (her former friend-Daphne). Obsession. Inside she is broken. She is drawn to her clients which have broken lives. She fixes others. Attempting to try and date again. Son: Cole. She has secrets.
Kellie and Jason: She married her high school sweetheart and has never been with another man. Her husband works with his family’s local Scott & Son Hardware Store. Close with the in-laws. She was a stay-at-home mom, and has now joined the work force. A real estate agent, now wearing heels, showing homes, and taking notice of her married broker, Miller Thompson. A dangerous attraction. She is getting attention. She is not looking at her husband like she does hotty Miller. Secret texts and flirts. Dangerous territory. From new clothes to secret lust. She has secrets. Children: Mia and Noah
Gigi and Joe Kennedy: Joe is running for Congress plus working for an environmental company. High stress. Gigi likes to smoke pot. Zumba, Pilates, and a former activist. Likes alcohol. A bit of a Bohemian style. A wild past. Rebellious. Things she does not want uncovered. Struggling with media, lack of privacy, the campaign, scrutinized, and currently having issues with their 15 yr. old teen daughter, Melanie. Their 12 yr. old daughter, Julia was usually cooperative. Also dealing with Joe’s campaign manager, Zach who moves in downstairs. She has secrets.
The women are close friends and love to get together for Whine and Wine night. The newest addition is Tessa, and they think she is a little standoffish. They are dying to get her drunk, so she will spill. The community manager Sharon sometimes joins them.
Readers get tidbits of Tessa “before Newport Cove” mixed in with the sections from each woman. Pekkanen keeps readers in the dark, handing out clues as we move along with a series of events surrounding Tessa and her mysterious past. Tessa is the most intriguing, and my favorite character!
From the mystery dog pooper, mechanics, warnings, dry cleaning, mail, used cars, parties, headless Barbie, politics, complaints, (loved the Turbo Tax comment and unsubscribe). Bet the author had a blast writing this book. You will laugh out loud—witty, and humorous, and oh, so realistic!
Loads of humor and razor-sharp insights will keep you turning pages into the night. Pekkanan fans will devour! Each of the women- desperately working through their domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes and mysteries hidden behind their doors. On the surface a perfect suburban idyllic neighborhood.
Pekkanen once again delivers a winner! Not sure I have ever had to this happen-when looking back over the ten previous books I have read by Sarah- each one is a 5 Star! How many authors can write ten books (seven plus three e-book short stories), and each be top rated? I knew she was a rock star, the first book I read back in 2010.
The Opposite of Me (2010), All Is Bright (Short Story E-book 2010),Skipping a Beat (2011), Love, Accidentally (Short story e-book 2011), These Girls (2012), Beginning Again (Short Story e-book 2012), The Best of Us (2013), Catching Air (2014), Things You Won't Say (2015), The Perfect Neighbors (2016).
From fears and anxieties of women, motherhood, marriage, and crossing over to the dark side with a bit of mystery, suspense, and impending danger. A suburban chick-noir! The idea that you can never really know your husband, partner, parent or neighbor- intriguing!
I love the way my top three chick lit authors, Sarah Pekkanen, Emily Giffin, and Jennifer Weiner have taken readers from women in their 20s, 30s, and now 40s. From single, dating, marriage, divorce, motherhood, and family.
Fans of Paula Treick DeBoard’s The Drowning Girls (2016) will love the idyllic prestigious community and the scandalous secrets of the neighbors as well as Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies (2014).
This would be a great movie! Or a DH remix comeback. While reading, I continued to imagine which Desperate Housewives’ (2004-2012) character related to each of the women in THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS. I had to double up, since DH sometimes had five women and we have four. Here is my take:
• Kellie (Teri Hatcher-Susan Mayer). A romantic, married to plumber similar to hardware husband. Mix of a real estate agent (Edie Britt/Nicollette Sheridan). A little like Gabrielle Solis—Beautiful, heels, desiring attention-Wanting her cake and eat it too.
• Tessa (Felicity Kendall Huffman- Lynette Scavo). Frazzled mom, control freak, walks on the edge, impulsive, husband takes orders. Devious.
• Susan (Marcia Cross-Bree Van de Kamp) Totally Bree! Can do anything. Queen of the neighborhood. The perfectionist, cooking, business, and stalker. Whose perfection masks major dysfunction and can cross to the darker side.
• Gigi (Eva Longoria-Gabrielle Solis) Shady past, rebel, successful husband. Younger guy creating problems. In some ways she is also like Lynette Scavo with her pot. She also reminds me a little of (Edie Britt/Nicollette Sheridan).
(Brenda Lee Strong-Mary Alice Young) DH narrator, would have a field day with Tessa’s character and her haunting past.
Anyone want to weigh in with their vote? Would love to hear more.
Note for publisher: PS. When it is time for the reprint, please put a dog on the cover somewhere. The dog poop commentary is priceless (a trademark)! I almost want to see an upscale gated community entrance with immaculate landscaping, and a dog pooping in the corner.
You MUST read this one to find out Tessa's secret! Loved it. I hope we hear more from these colorful characters.
I see a new series here. Take a new neighborhood for each book, three or four families, and keep the Listserv Digest coming!
A special thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
JDCMustReadBooks
A modern twist of Wisteria Lane’s Desperate Housewives and Peyton Place, sprinkled with hilarious updates from Newport Cove Listserv Digest social media commentary! Everyone is trying to be the picture-perfect family. Halloween is a theme. Masking the real person. Telling yourself stories about people. Superficial details. Underneath - struggles and flaws.
How far will you go to protect those you love? Do you really know your neighbors, and those who interact with your children?
Welcome to Newport Cove, Parenting Magazine touts as one of the “20 Safest Communities” in the US. A peaceful, serene, and bucolic suburban neighborhood, where anyone would love to raise their family. From new McMansions, to original Tudors, Colonials, and Craftsmans, with street names of flowers.
Meet the families:
Tessa and Harry Campbell: They are the newest addition to the neighborhood. The most intriguing and mysterious, especially Tessa. Everyone wants to know their story. Moving to escape a past, bad memories. Very private. Protective of children. Husband a software developer and travels often. They have a secret. An ongoing mystery. None of the neighbors know. Children: Daughter, Bree, nine. Son, Addison seven.
Susan Barrett: Most impressive, outward appearances. Superwoman. Divorced. A perfectionist. A business woman. Owner of “Your Other Daughter”. Speaker, radio show host. Business franchised into four states. Type A personality. Helps the elderly. Bakes. Loves to cook. Perfectionist. Ideal mother. She has regrets about her marriage. Ex-Husband, Randall is remarrying. She stalks the couple. His girlfriend (her former friend-Daphne). Obsession. Inside she is broken. She is drawn to her clients which have broken lives. She fixes others. Attempting to try and date again. Son: Cole. She has secrets.
Kellie and Jason: She married her high school sweetheart and has never been with another man. Her husband works with his family’s local Scott & Son Hardware Store. Close with the in-laws. She was a stay-at-home mom, and has now joined the work force. A real estate agent, now wearing heels, showing homes, and taking notice of her married broker, Miller Thompson. A dangerous attraction. She is getting attention. She is not looking at her husband like she does hotty Miller. Secret texts and flirts. Dangerous territory. From new clothes to secret lust. She has secrets. Children: Mia and Noah
Gigi and Joe Kennedy: Joe is running for Congress plus working for an environmental company. High stress. Gigi likes to smoke pot. Zumba, Pilates, and a former activist. Likes alcohol. A bit of a Bohemian style. A wild past. Rebellious. Things she does not want uncovered. Struggling with media, lack of privacy, the campaign, scrutinized, and currently having issues with their 15 yr. old teen daughter, Melanie. Their 12 yr. old daughter, Julia was usually cooperative. Also dealing with Joe’s campaign manager, Zach who moves in downstairs. She has secrets.
The women are close friends and love to get together for Whine and Wine night. The newest addition is Tessa, and they think she is a little standoffish. They are dying to get her drunk, so she will spill. The community manager Sharon sometimes joins them.
Readers get tidbits of Tessa “before Newport Cove” mixed in with the sections from each woman. Pekkanen keeps readers in the dark, handing out clues as we move along with a series of events surrounding Tessa and her mysterious past. Tessa is the most intriguing, and my favorite character!
“You couldn’t outrun your past. It was like sprinting on a treadmill—as soon as your legs faltered, you’d discover you were in the precise place you’d, been trying so hard to escape.”
“Moving to Newport Cove was nothing more than putting on a Halloween costume. Tessa had been swept up in the imagining, in the pretending to be someone else. But once the disguise was off, you no longer fooled anyone, least of all yourself.”
From the mystery dog pooper, mechanics, warnings, dry cleaning, mail, used cars, parties, headless Barbie, politics, complaints, (loved the Turbo Tax comment and unsubscribe). Bet the author had a blast writing this book. You will laugh out loud—witty, and humorous, and oh, so realistic!
Loads of humor and razor-sharp insights will keep you turning pages into the night. Pekkanan fans will devour! Each of the women- desperately working through their domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes and mysteries hidden behind their doors. On the surface a perfect suburban idyllic neighborhood.
Pekkanen once again delivers a winner! Not sure I have ever had to this happen-when looking back over the ten previous books I have read by Sarah- each one is a 5 Star! How many authors can write ten books (seven plus three e-book short stories), and each be top rated? I knew she was a rock star, the first book I read back in 2010.
The Opposite of Me (2010), All Is Bright (Short Story E-book 2010),Skipping a Beat (2011), Love, Accidentally (Short story e-book 2011), These Girls (2012), Beginning Again (Short Story e-book 2012), The Best of Us (2013), Catching Air (2014), Things You Won't Say (2015), The Perfect Neighbors (2016).
From fears and anxieties of women, motherhood, marriage, and crossing over to the dark side with a bit of mystery, suspense, and impending danger. A suburban chick-noir! The idea that you can never really know your husband, partner, parent or neighbor- intriguing!
I love the way my top three chick lit authors, Sarah Pekkanen, Emily Giffin, and Jennifer Weiner have taken readers from women in their 20s, 30s, and now 40s. From single, dating, marriage, divorce, motherhood, and family.
Fans of Paula Treick DeBoard’s The Drowning Girls (2016) will love the idyllic prestigious community and the scandalous secrets of the neighbors as well as Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies (2014).
This would be a great movie! Or a DH remix comeback. While reading, I continued to imagine which Desperate Housewives’ (2004-2012) character related to each of the women in THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS. I had to double up, since DH sometimes had five women and we have four. Here is my take:
• Kellie (Teri Hatcher-Susan Mayer). A romantic, married to plumber similar to hardware husband. Mix of a real estate agent (Edie Britt/Nicollette Sheridan). A little like Gabrielle Solis—Beautiful, heels, desiring attention-Wanting her cake and eat it too.
• Tessa (Felicity Kendall Huffman- Lynette Scavo). Frazzled mom, control freak, walks on the edge, impulsive, husband takes orders. Devious.
• Susan (Marcia Cross-Bree Van de Kamp) Totally Bree! Can do anything. Queen of the neighborhood. The perfectionist, cooking, business, and stalker. Whose perfection masks major dysfunction and can cross to the darker side.
• Gigi (Eva Longoria-Gabrielle Solis) Shady past, rebel, successful husband. Younger guy creating problems. In some ways she is also like Lynette Scavo with her pot. She also reminds me a little of (Edie Britt/Nicollette Sheridan).
(Brenda Lee Strong-Mary Alice Young) DH narrator, would have a field day with Tessa’s character and her haunting past.
Anyone want to weigh in with their vote? Would love to hear more.
Note for publisher: PS. When it is time for the reprint, please put a dog on the cover somewhere. The dog poop commentary is priceless (a trademark)! I almost want to see an upscale gated community entrance with immaculate landscaping, and a dog pooping in the corner.
You MUST read this one to find out Tessa's secret! Loved it. I hope we hear more from these colorful characters.
I see a new series here. Take a new neighborhood for each book, three or four families, and keep the Listserv Digest coming!
A special thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
JDCMustReadBooks
almond's review against another edition
3.5
I expected a thriller, but this felt more like family drama. It was fine. Had to check it out a second time, so it didn't pull me along.
_tamara8464's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good read. It was boring more often than not but I did like the story itself. The author just took a very long time to get to the point. There wasn’t any twists or surprises and anything to really make you interested in the story.
zachem's review against another edition
3.0
Very predictable but I did find that some moments in the book were easily related to potential real-life experiences which made it enjoyable to read.
bookslifeandeverythingnice's review against another edition
4.0
The Perfect Neighbors takes place in a safe suburban neighborhood in the U.S.. Neighbors are there for one another and also to gossip about each other. The novel revolves around Kellie, Susan, and Tessa, women who live in the neighborhood and have children around the same age. There are some surprises, enough to hold my attention with the suspense. The main focus of this novel was the women's relationships with each other, their families, and themselves. Sarah Pekkanen produces another great novel with The Perfect Neighbors. Her quality interesting work is the reason that I've read most of her novels.
emvaughters's review against another edition
2.0
This was fine overall but not something I would recommend to a friend. In fact, I'm not totally sure if I would have finished it if it weren't for book club. It just felt very repetitive. There were 4 main characters and I swear, I was 70% of the way through the book before I could even begin to tell them apart. They all had different story lines but the way they thought and spoke was exactly the same. It made it very difficult to tell who was talking at a given time. Also they all had a 'secret' but to be honest, it just felt dull. I think the main 'murder' secret took way too long to come to a head. So we had a lot of just hearing the same worries over and over. Meh.
karenleagermain's review against another edition
3.0
hank You to Atria Books for providing me with an advanced copy of Sarah Pekkanen's novel, The Perfect Neighbors, in exchange for an honest review.
PLOT- The suburb of Newport Cove is the perfect place to raise a family. It's a beautiful town with friendly neighbors, that has been named one of the safest communities in America. However, the people of Newport Cove may not be as perfect as they appear.
LIKE- Pekkanen has a knack for character development and through this, she creates a vibrant community that populates her fictional town. I cared about her characters and was compelled to keep turning the page. This is a quick, light read. I liked humor of the town internet message board, that is woven throughout the story. The Perfect Neighbors was much more light-hearted than I anticipated, great for my vacation reading.
DISLIKE- The original description of the story was misleading, making me think that it would be more of a mystery or suspense novel. In the end, I felt like this was a light version of Desperate Housewives. The twist was more mildly sad, than a surprise. If my expectations had been different, I probably wouldn't have felt a disappointment towards the ending.
RECOMMEND- Maybe. This is a good summer type of read. I'm not a fan of stereotyping books, but The Perfect Neighbors is pure chick-lit. I wouldn't recommend it to any of my male friends. I enjoyed the story and Pekkanen's writing, but I'm not sure that her book will be one that sticks in my memory.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
PLOT- The suburb of Newport Cove is the perfect place to raise a family. It's a beautiful town with friendly neighbors, that has been named one of the safest communities in America. However, the people of Newport Cove may not be as perfect as they appear.
LIKE- Pekkanen has a knack for character development and through this, she creates a vibrant community that populates her fictional town. I cared about her characters and was compelled to keep turning the page. This is a quick, light read. I liked humor of the town internet message board, that is woven throughout the story. The Perfect Neighbors was much more light-hearted than I anticipated, great for my vacation reading.
DISLIKE- The original description of the story was misleading, making me think that it would be more of a mystery or suspense novel. In the end, I felt like this was a light version of Desperate Housewives. The twist was more mildly sad, than a surprise. If my expectations had been different, I probably wouldn't have felt a disappointment towards the ending.
RECOMMEND- Maybe. This is a good summer type of read. I'm not a fan of stereotyping books, but The Perfect Neighbors is pure chick-lit. I wouldn't recommend it to any of my male friends. I enjoyed the story and Pekkanen's writing, but I'm not sure that her book will be one that sticks in my memory.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
jencook29's review against another edition
4.0
This was a delightful book and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. It had everything I like in Women's Fiction, strong female friendship, women going through big changes in their lives and reflecting on their choices, clear resolutions to the story lines (mostly happy!) and a bit of romance. It had humor as well, the neighborhoods email list was so funny and their was humor with the characters as well.
This women's fiction book has a fun twist, it also contains a mystery! Each of the women in the book have a secret, but we know most of the secrets as they unfold. However the new neighbor Tess has a secret that even the readers don't know about, and it's a dark secret. So there is intriguing in this story as well as the women't fictions themes. This made the book so interesting and different than anything I have read in awhile! It was fresh and fun! Highly recommended.
This women's fiction book has a fun twist, it also contains a mystery! Each of the women in the book have a secret, but we know most of the secrets as they unfold. However the new neighbor Tess has a secret that even the readers don't know about, and it's a dark secret. So there is intriguing in this story as well as the women't fictions themes. This made the book so interesting and different than anything I have read in awhile! It was fresh and fun! Highly recommended.
k_cavacini's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I really love the author and she definitely writes in a way that keeps me interested and wanting to know more. My only complaint was the "mystery secret" that surrounds Tessa, the newest resident of Newport Cove, was somewhat anti-climactic. I felt like the build up was more than the payoff, not to mention that it was pretty easy to guess what the secret was early on. But other than that one complaint, I enjoyed the novel and the characters.