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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Synopsis in Two Sentences:
Lily Atwood is a television reporter who has been getting tips from an anonymous source. When her source reveals that her sister Cassie, who disappeared when she was a child, is alive and in trouble, Lily will do anything she can to find answers.
My Thoughts:
Her Perfect Life is your typical mystery told in multiple perspectives as well as dual timelines that allows little clues to be scattered throughout to give you an idea of what is going on by the end. I really like that the story explored what it's like to live in the spotlight (keeping a perfect image) while also wanting to keep the lives of your children and family private. I didn't find any of the characters super likable, except Lily's daughter and a few questionable plot lines. That being said, overall the story did keep me entertained. I had a theory with how the story ended and I wanted to see if I was right. I recommend this for people who like a good mystery.
Thank you Forge Books for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest review. Her Perfect Life publishes September 14th.
Lily Atwood is a television reporter who has been getting tips from an anonymous source. When her source reveals that her sister Cassie, who disappeared when she was a child, is alive and in trouble, Lily will do anything she can to find answers.
My Thoughts:
Her Perfect Life is your typical mystery told in multiple perspectives as well as dual timelines that allows little clues to be scattered throughout to give you an idea of what is going on by the end. I really like that the story explored what it's like to live in the spotlight (keeping a perfect image) while also wanting to keep the lives of your children and family private. I didn't find any of the characters super likable, except Lily's daughter and a few questionable plot lines. That being said, overall the story did keep me entertained. I had a theory with how the story ended and I wanted to see if I was right. I recommend this for people who like a good mystery.
Thank you Forge Books for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest review. Her Perfect Life publishes September 14th.
Full disclosure: I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway.
This was my first book by this author so I cannot say if it is indicative of her larger canon. This was overall a bust for me. The plot was convoluted at the best of times. It was told through three POVs, but oddly with two of them in third person and one in first person. The character of Greer, the one in first person, was really hard to follow - she was extremely unlikable and her motivations didn't really seem to make any sense. My biggest issue with this book is that in any given situation, every single character made the most ridiculously bad decisions (see spoiler section).
Spoilers:
I do like thrillers, but this one just was not for me. But, everyone is different, so take this review with a grain of salt. One other thing: I don't think the blurb on the back of this book accurately describes the plot at all. The blurb sounded intriguing...
This was my first book by this author so I cannot say if it is indicative of her larger canon. This was overall a bust for me. The plot was convoluted at the best of times. It was told through three POVs, but oddly with two of them in third person and one in first person. The character of Greer, the one in first person, was really hard to follow - she was extremely unlikable and her motivations didn't really seem to make any sense. My biggest issue with this book is that in any given situation, every single character made the most ridiculously bad decisions (see spoiler section).
Spoilers:
Spoiler
The whole Banning character and Lily's and Greer's decisions to just go along with him when he continually lied to them about who he was and what he was doing was extremely frustrating. For pete's sake, these two women are supposed to be renowned investigative journalists and they don't do even the most cursory research on this guy or even, oh, I don't know, ask to see his badge when he's impersonating a police officer. And c'mon...he was investigating Greer's "disappearance" when she didn't come home one night. That's not how it works. Lily, whose sister actually disappeared, should know that and yet she just hops in a car with this random man and drives all over town with him. The whole thing with Sam was just weird and felt thrown in randomly. Also, Banning wasn't even smooth about asking about Cassie...he was creepily insistent about bringing her up and that didn't raise any red flags...to anyone? Yikes.I do like thrillers, but this one just was not for me. But, everyone is different, so take this review with a grain of salt. One other thing: I don't think the blurb on the back of this book accurately describes the plot at all. The blurb sounded intriguing...
Overall I would give 3.5 stars rounding up to 4.
This book had me guessing who dun-it, all the way to the last 1/3.
The characters were unlikable and far too naive for the time period they were written into. Most problems could have been solved with a Google search or simple check of Facebook. If this book were written as an 80s crime thriller I would have been more forgiving and understanding. I found this to be more of a mystery than any type of thriller. Going into it expecting a thriller and not really getting that vibe threw me off and is another reason for the amount of stars I give it.
Hank Phillipi Ryan is a wonderful writer but this book in some parts seemed rushed. Like there was a deadline to meet and she didn’t have anything solid so, she just said here have this first draft. The editors and publisher also dropped the ball throughout with the repetitive phrases and situations. I would put full blame on that process of editing for that. All people are repetitive it is up to an editor to remind an author when it is too much. Again this added to my rating reasoning.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a good mystery book to read and put in your gumshoes.
This book had me guessing who dun-it, all the way to the last 1/3.
The characters were unlikable and far too naive for the time period they were written into. Most problems could have been solved with a Google search or simple check of Facebook. If this book were written as an 80s crime thriller I would have been more forgiving and understanding. I found this to be more of a mystery than any type of thriller. Going into it expecting a thriller and not really getting that vibe threw me off and is another reason for the amount of stars I give it.
Hank Phillipi Ryan is a wonderful writer but this book in some parts seemed rushed. Like there was a deadline to meet and she didn’t have anything solid so, she just said here have this first draft. The editors and publisher also dropped the ball throughout with the repetitive phrases and situations. I would put full blame on that process of editing for that. All people are repetitive it is up to an editor to remind an author when it is too much. Again this added to my rating reasoning.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a good mystery book to read and put in your gumshoes.
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.
Lily is an award winning journalist. She has a great daughter. But she's missing her sister Cassie, her only relative. Cassie disappeared while going to college when Lily was only 7.
Lily has a source that gives her all her stories. (So that's one thing I didn't like... She didn't even seem that great of a journalist if she can't find her own stories or rely on her producer ,Greer, to help her get them).
Suddenly, this source starts giving Lily details on her life... And on Cassie. Cassie who may be alive..
It was good writing but it just didn't pull me in like a good suspense should. I didn't get that feeling of... Can't wait to find out what is going on....I just felt, ok. I'll find out when I find out, not in any big hurry.
All opinions are my own but thanks to GetRedPR for my copy.
Lily has a source that gives her all her stories. (So that's one thing I didn't like... She didn't even seem that great of a journalist if she can't find her own stories or rely on her producer ,Greer, to help her get them).
Suddenly, this source starts giving Lily details on her life... And on Cassie. Cassie who may be alive..
It was good writing but it just didn't pull me in like a good suspense should. I didn't get that feeling of... Can't wait to find out what is going on....I just felt, ok. I'll find out when I find out, not in any big hurry.
All opinions are my own but thanks to GetRedPR for my copy.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of Her Perfect Life. A story about Lily and her perfect life as a local celebrity/journalist with secrets of her own. I love all the twists and turns in this book and not knowing who to trust. I liked it was told in past and present timeline giving you a glimpse of what happened.
Lily appears to have the perfect life….an award winning tv journalist with a 7 year old daughter who attends a private school and has Petra to watch Rowen when she is busy with work.
Is everything perfect though. The reader will be taken on many twists and turns as the author unravels the story of Lily’s missing sister, Cassie and Rowens father. Be prepared to read in one sitting as you are so engrossed in the book that you do not want to stop reading!!!
I received an early digital copy.
Is everything perfect though. The reader will be taken on many twists and turns as the author unravels the story of Lily’s missing sister, Cassie and Rowens father. Be prepared to read in one sitting as you are so engrossed in the book that you do not want to stop reading!!!
I received an early digital copy.
Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan 325/336 pages
11 hours 7 minutes narrated by Angela Dawe
Genre: Thriller - Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Psychological; Contemporary
Featuring: Boston, Massachusetts, Social Media, Stupidity x3, Gullibility x4, Reporters, Celebrity, Parenting, Child, Schools, Dual Timelines, Multiple POVs, Unrealistic Events
Rating as a movie: PG-13 for adult themes and content
My rating: ⭐½
My thoughts: 11% - Boston again. This isn't fast-paced in my opinion. It is interesting.
21% - This book is toying with me.
32% - It's not looking good. I hope it gets better.
44% - If another character turns out to be stupid, I'm quitting.
57% - Ugh!
79% - Ridiculous, unrealistic, and too late to quit.
This book was recommended to me by my library app. I ordered the book and the eaudiobook. The eaudiobook became available yesterday so I canceled the book, since there were 5 people in front of me. One person was waiting for this book otherwise I probably would have taken more breaks. The narrator was okay, she did different voices for each character although she did slip up on a male character.
None of the characters were likeable. They were selfish, self-centered, idiotic, and gullible. Unfortunately the story wouldn't have worked if they had their thinking caps on. Just one bad decision after another. The title was also bad. Her life didn't even appear to be perfect. The mystery was mediocre, there was no twist in my opinion. I don't believe books that claim to be twisty anyway. I don't know why they thought this could be a psychological thriller, the only mind games the author used was changing the character and timeline every time the plot was about to move forward, and irritating the reader with characters that have poor thinking skills and make terrible choices when better options are available. The book is about 2 investigative reporters that do minuscule investigations and trust anyone who is a source. Then there's the sister that went missing 25 years ago, her chapters were painful, Charlie Jordan Jr. This book is somewhere between Survive the Night and Lock Every Door. I heard Hank Phillippi Ryan is a great mystery writer but I can honestly say this is not her best work, it can't be. I'm not sure if I'll give her another shot, it was really bad. The story was slow and choppy, the only real action was the near the end and it wasn't exciting either.
Recommend to others?: Never! I wouldn't recommend this book to my enemy although I'm sure there are readers out there that will find something enjoyable about it. I hate when authors use the stupidity of characters to move the plot along, and in this case the entire plot is based on stupidity.
11 hours 7 minutes narrated by Angela Dawe
Genre: Thriller - Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Psychological; Contemporary
Featuring: Boston, Massachusetts, Social Media, Stupidity x3, Gullibility x4, Reporters, Celebrity, Parenting, Child, Schools, Dual Timelines, Multiple POVs, Unrealistic Events
Rating as a movie: PG-13 for adult themes and content
My rating: ⭐½
My thoughts: 11% - Boston again. This isn't fast-paced in my opinion. It is interesting.
21% - This book is toying with me.
32% - It's not looking good. I hope it gets better.
44% - If another character turns out to be stupid, I'm quitting.
57% - Ugh!
79% - Ridiculous, unrealistic, and too late to quit.
This book was recommended to me by my library app. I ordered the book and the eaudiobook. The eaudiobook became available yesterday so I canceled the book, since there were 5 people in front of me. One person was waiting for this book otherwise I probably would have taken more breaks. The narrator was okay, she did different voices for each character although she did slip up on a male character.
None of the characters were likeable. They were selfish, self-centered, idiotic, and gullible. Unfortunately the story wouldn't have worked if they had their thinking caps on. Just one bad decision after another. The title was also bad. Her life didn't even appear to be perfect. The mystery was mediocre, there was no twist in my opinion. I don't believe books that claim to be twisty anyway. I don't know why they thought this could be a psychological thriller, the only mind games the author used was changing the character and timeline every time the plot was about to move forward, and irritating the reader with characters that have poor thinking skills and make terrible choices when better options are available. The book is about 2 investigative reporters that do minuscule investigations and trust anyone who is a source. Then there's the sister that went missing 25 years ago, her chapters were painful, Charlie Jordan Jr. This book is somewhere between Survive the Night and Lock Every Door. I heard Hank Phillippi Ryan is a great mystery writer but I can honestly say this is not her best work, it can't be. I'm not sure if I'll give her another shot, it was really bad. The story was slow and choppy, the only real action was the near the end and it wasn't exciting either.
Recommend to others?: Never! I wouldn't recommend this book to my enemy although I'm sure there are readers out there that will find something enjoyable about it. I hate when authors use the stupidity of characters to move the plot along, and in this case the entire plot is based on stupidity.
Summary:
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 who feeds her story tips—but suddenly, the source begins telling Lily inside information about her own life. How does he—or she—know the truth?
How much will she risk to keep her perfect life?
Thoughts:
This was the first book I read by Hank and it will not be my last! I need to go back and read all her other books now. I don't read as many thrillers as I would like to so I am glad I got the opportunity to read this one! Reading the book with our book club and chatting with the author made it even better!
I loved the investigative journalist theme which is a reflection of Hank's full-time career. I enjoyed how it surfaced the perspective that life as a celebrity isn't "perfect" as it may seem to everyone around. Often a lot of sacrifices go into having a certain kind of life and career. I also kept guessing till the end, there were lots of twists and turns! The characters weren't likable but I guess in a thriller that's the point. This book releases today September 14th!
.
Thank you to Hank Phillipi Ryan and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
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 who feeds her story tips—but suddenly, the source begins telling Lily inside information about her own life. How does he—or she—know the truth?
How much will she risk to keep her perfect life?
Thoughts:
This was the first book I read by Hank and it will not be my last! I need to go back and read all her other books now. I don't read as many thrillers as I would like to so I am glad I got the opportunity to read this one! Reading the book with our book club and chatting with the author made it even better!
I loved the investigative journalist theme which is a reflection of Hank's full-time career. I enjoyed how it surfaced the perspective that life as a celebrity isn't "perfect" as it may seem to everyone around. Often a lot of sacrifices go into having a certain kind of life and career. I also kept guessing till the end, there were lots of twists and turns! The characters weren't likable but I guess in a thriller that's the point. This book releases today September 14th!
.
Thank you to Hank Phillipi Ryan and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.