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marceelf's review against another edition
5.0
http://www.anurseandabook.com/2016/08/perfect-neighbors-by-sarah-pekkanen.html
Sarah Pekkanen has always been one of my favorites, but honestly, I think this was her best book yet.
I belong to a neighborhood Facebook group and some of the entries on it are strikingly similar to Newport Coves, except some of the ones on ours are even worse. The simplest things can cause huge controversies and sometimes you get to see a side of people you really didn't want to. Pictures of bad parking jobs are posted, if someone thinks you are driving too fast, your kids are too loud when they are playing, or your dog barks at the wrong time, watch out. You will have a day long debate amongst people who don't even know you or what your side of the story is. I think the post that had the most comments was one where people were debating whether people in the neighboring community had the right to use the community park, since they don't pay HOA fees. The highlight reel was that someone suggested installing a fence where you needed ID checked to make sure you were a resident, the people from the neighboring community were called trespassers and it culminated in one older real estate agent asking the people who disagreed with him to meet him at the park to fight. It was truly magical people watching, and it opened your eyes to the people who live next to you.
Newport Cove sounds a lot like my community. When Tessa's family moves in, the neighborhood ladies are intrigued when she seems to be uninterested in becoming part of their neighborhood clique, but Tessa has bigger fish to fry. She is just trying to keep her family afloat and protecting their secret.
Tessa's husband is a walking zombie after the unspoken thing happened in their old neighborhood. So she's distracted and making herself look more suspicious by avoiding her friendly new neighbors.
Susan is still in the throes of a traumatic divorce. She has created a great business, helping the elderly people who are living far from their children, visiting, driving to doctor's appointments, and bringing them goodies. But as her business bloomed, her marriage faded. Her ex-husband is happily ensconced in a house with her former friend, and Susan makes a habit out of torturing herself by parking and staring at their home.
Who amongst us hasn't had an ex where you did the drive-by? Why? I have no idea, because it just makes you more miserable. But you get over it and you move on. But Susan is having a hard time with that, made worse by the fact that her ex and his new girlfriend live in the same neighborhood and have the same friends.
Kellie's got a great husband and a loving family, but as she goes back to work, she's dallying with the idea of an affair with her hot co-worker. Why? Because she's bored.
Gigi's husband wants to be a Congressman, even though she's a semi-regular pot smoker, complete with a sullen teenaged daughter. Gigi mostly seems bemused by the whole political scene, except she worries how her kids will be impacted by the whole thing. And when her husband's campaign manager moves into her basement, her daughter starts changing before her eyes - but for the better. But Gigi's still worried.
So basically I could see many women I already know in these characters. Sometimes it seems like everyone is basically living the same life, with only slightly different experiences.
This is probably one of my favorite books that I've read this summer.
Sarah Pekkanen has always been one of my favorites, but honestly, I think this was her best book yet.
I belong to a neighborhood Facebook group and some of the entries on it are strikingly similar to Newport Coves, except some of the ones on ours are even worse. The simplest things can cause huge controversies and sometimes you get to see a side of people you really didn't want to. Pictures of bad parking jobs are posted, if someone thinks you are driving too fast, your kids are too loud when they are playing, or your dog barks at the wrong time, watch out. You will have a day long debate amongst people who don't even know you or what your side of the story is. I think the post that had the most comments was one where people were debating whether people in the neighboring community had the right to use the community park, since they don't pay HOA fees. The highlight reel was that someone suggested installing a fence where you needed ID checked to make sure you were a resident, the people from the neighboring community were called trespassers and it culminated in one older real estate agent asking the people who disagreed with him to meet him at the park to fight. It was truly magical people watching, and it opened your eyes to the people who live next to you.
Newport Cove sounds a lot like my community. When Tessa's family moves in, the neighborhood ladies are intrigued when she seems to be uninterested in becoming part of their neighborhood clique, but Tessa has bigger fish to fry. She is just trying to keep her family afloat and protecting their secret.
Tessa's husband is a walking zombie after the unspoken thing happened in their old neighborhood. So she's distracted and making herself look more suspicious by avoiding her friendly new neighbors.
Susan is still in the throes of a traumatic divorce. She has created a great business, helping the elderly people who are living far from their children, visiting, driving to doctor's appointments, and bringing them goodies. But as her business bloomed, her marriage faded. Her ex-husband is happily ensconced in a house with her former friend, and Susan makes a habit out of torturing herself by parking and staring at their home.
Who amongst us hasn't had an ex where you did the drive-by? Why? I have no idea, because it just makes you more miserable. But you get over it and you move on. But Susan is having a hard time with that, made worse by the fact that her ex and his new girlfriend live in the same neighborhood and have the same friends.
Kellie's got a great husband and a loving family, but as she goes back to work, she's dallying with the idea of an affair with her hot co-worker. Why? Because she's bored.
Gigi's husband wants to be a Congressman, even though she's a semi-regular pot smoker, complete with a sullen teenaged daughter. Gigi mostly seems bemused by the whole political scene, except she worries how her kids will be impacted by the whole thing. And when her husband's campaign manager moves into her basement, her daughter starts changing before her eyes - but for the better. But Gigi's still worried.
So basically I could see many women I already know in these characters. Sometimes it seems like everyone is basically living the same life, with only slightly different experiences.
This is probably one of my favorite books that I've read this summer.
ncrabb's review against another edition
4.0
This is a remarkable book that you'll red because you want to know the seamy underside of the four women who are predominantly featured. It brings back memories of a BBC radio play in which someone buys a rather special radio that enables him to listen into the private conversations of his neighbors. It's like being back in the early '90s when wireless phones were analogue and transmitted in the 800-MHz band. That meant anyone with an old-fashioned radio scanner could listen to your phone calls in those years. Was it legal? Of course not; was it common? of course. Analogue baby monitors extant in the '90s were much the same way. Did you get a little nooky in the baby's room back in those days without first turning off that infamous baby monitor? Again, because of the analogue nature and frequency at which those transmitted, your amorous moments while Junior slept soundly were broadcast to houses within an eighth of a mile or so radius around yours. Reading this book is like being back in the '90s with that analogue radio scanner, only it's better--way better--because of the writing style and talent of the author.
It's the perfect neighborhood--certainly one of the safest in the nation. That's why Tessa and her family moved there; they wanted safety, and they wanted to blend in, not stand out. As you read this, you'll understand why, and it will completely blow away whatever you think motivates Tessa and her family to lie low.
Gigi's husband, Joe, wants to be in Congress. They look like the perfect family--Joe, Gigi, and two daughters. Heck, they even have the charmed or cursed (depending on how you look at it) last name of Kennedy. What could be wrong with such perfection? But Gigi's world is far, far from perfect, as you learn by reading the book.
Susan is a new single mom who started her own elder care business, and she is so together that her company thrived and grew impressively. But her husband has left her for her best friend, and Susan, too, has secrets.
Kellie Scott is back to work for the first time in years,now that her kids have grown old enough she doesn't need to be in the house all the time. She has put on a few pounds--but not many, and the new real estate job works well for her. It's the attention of a male colleague that thrills her as much as dropping those few extra pounds. She's married to hardware-store-owner Jason, (her high-school sweetheart), and it looks to all intents and purposes to be the perfect marriage. But crank up that Sarah Pekkenan analogue scanner, my friend, and prepare for some juicy stuff.
This is the often unsettling story of four women, all of whom develop a common bond, and all of whom have vastly different secrets from one another. Blissful Newport Cove is anything but, and you'll learn that as you dig into this book.
Most chapters begin with excerpts from a neighborhood email list moderated by the effervescent always-on-top-of-things neighborhood manager, Shannon. These messages are so realistic to neighborhood email lists that you will relate if you've ever been on such a list. Again, these excerpts are illustrations of Pekkanen's talent.
Madeline Maby does another of her excellent narrations here. She moves expertly through the book; it is as though she were typing frequencies into your old analogue '90s scanner--offering up those frequencies with the most radio traffic and the juiciest secrets. Best of all, you'll recognize that no neighborhood, no matter how quiet, is as perfect as it may seem--not even yours!
It's the perfect neighborhood--certainly one of the safest in the nation. That's why Tessa and her family moved there; they wanted safety, and they wanted to blend in, not stand out. As you read this, you'll understand why, and it will completely blow away whatever you think motivates Tessa and her family to lie low.
Gigi's husband, Joe, wants to be in Congress. They look like the perfect family--Joe, Gigi, and two daughters. Heck, they even have the charmed or cursed (depending on how you look at it) last name of Kennedy. What could be wrong with such perfection? But Gigi's world is far, far from perfect, as you learn by reading the book.
Susan is a new single mom who started her own elder care business, and she is so together that her company thrived and grew impressively. But her husband has left her for her best friend, and Susan, too, has secrets.
Kellie Scott is back to work for the first time in years,now that her kids have grown old enough she doesn't need to be in the house all the time. She has put on a few pounds--but not many, and the new real estate job works well for her. It's the attention of a male colleague that thrills her as much as dropping those few extra pounds. She's married to hardware-store-owner Jason, (her high-school sweetheart), and it looks to all intents and purposes to be the perfect marriage. But crank up that Sarah Pekkenan analogue scanner, my friend, and prepare for some juicy stuff.
This is the often unsettling story of four women, all of whom develop a common bond, and all of whom have vastly different secrets from one another. Blissful Newport Cove is anything but, and you'll learn that as you dig into this book.
Most chapters begin with excerpts from a neighborhood email list moderated by the effervescent always-on-top-of-things neighborhood manager, Shannon. These messages are so realistic to neighborhood email lists that you will relate if you've ever been on such a list. Again, these excerpts are illustrations of Pekkanen's talent.
Madeline Maby does another of her excellent narrations here. She moves expertly through the book; it is as though she were typing frequencies into your old analogue '90s scanner--offering up those frequencies with the most radio traffic and the juiciest secrets. Best of all, you'll recognize that no neighborhood, no matter how quiet, is as perfect as it may seem--not even yours!
sam_ennis1230's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
quirkylitlover's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
juliaspence422's review against another edition
3.0
Four women in the "perfect" neighborhood, but nothing is truly perfect. This suburban drama was full of secrets and lies. I was intrigued to find out the secrets of all the women, but one of them was revealed very late in the story and I felt like the reveal was rushed and not given the gravitas it deserved.
_bookally_'s review against another edition
3.0
This book follows a neighborhood of people and the their secrets and dramas. The book has two time lines for one of the characters Tess and it shows what happened leading up to her moving to that neighborhood and then the present time line.
I did really enjoy this book and I can totally see the comparison to desperate housewives and I could totally see this as a programme or a movie. It had great drama and was really entertaining
The downfall for me with this one is that to me none of the characters really stood out. I found myself getting confused with who was who at times as there were a lot of characters to follow.
Other than that it was a good read and I am keen to pick up more from this author
I did really enjoy this book and I can totally see the comparison to desperate housewives and I could totally see this as a programme or a movie. It had great drama and was really entertaining
The downfall for me with this one is that to me none of the characters really stood out. I found myself getting confused with who was who at times as there were a lot of characters to follow.
Other than that it was a good read and I am keen to pick up more from this author
fuzzywuzzy's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this book! This author doesn't tend to disappoint. It was well written, she followed through very well on the plot, and the characters and situations were all relatable.
javafenn's review against another edition
4.0
I was expecting some crazy nonsense that goes along with thrillers (which this author excellent at!) but I was pleasantly surprised to find normal issues. The neighbors were perfect but everyone has issues. Some of those issues are heartbreaking and some they may not come back from. This was a nice break from the twists and turns of thrillers and a good look into what your neighbors might really be like. I was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t something more fucked up going on but it really was a nice turn of events!
kristinareadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I found the characters one dimensional, and the plot line moved too slow to be "suspenseful" to me. Overall, it was just eh to me sadly.
tangledinwordsandyarn's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book to be touching, which is not something I ever say about books. The Perfect Neighbors is about 4 different women that live in an idyllic neighborhood who all look like they have the perfect lives, but each has a secret. I found ways to relate to each of the characters and found it truly an enjoyable read.