Calling all Caroline Kepnes fans! All the Caroline Kepnes fans to the building, please. Because if you enjoyed You and Hidden Bodies, chances are you will enjoy The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton.

I struggle a little bit with rating this book. It falls somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me. I very much enjoyed the first half of the book. Hamilton presented this idea of a flight attendant using her position in the airline industry to perform these manipulative tricks to her stalkerish-advantage. And it was fascinating to gain some perspective into the life a flight attendant in general. I was on board with the mystery and suspense. Juliette was definitely mentally unhinged and her character was written in a way that portrayed that perfectly.

But right around halfway through, it started to unravel a bit for me. I found the story overall very far fetched and unbelievable. I mean, it's a thriller. And most thrillers require you as a reader to suspend reality to some extent. But this was a bit beyond what I would typically think of as a reasonable level of plausability. Do we think this stalker girl can get away with breaking into houses without being caught? Do we think she can continue to plan these "coincidences" and chance meetings with her stalkerish prey? All I'm saying is you need to go into this book with the understanding that you're reading for pure entertainment because the translation to real life is a bit tough.

I also struggled a bit with the subplot about the main character's brother drowning (not a spoiler... this is the prologue). I wasn't entirely sure how it related to the overall story, particularly because it was the prologue. I was waiting for it to somehow play into a twist somewhere by the end, and it just never happened. While it was mentioned again at various parts in the story, it could have probably been left completely out of the book and wouldn't have changed the outcome of the story.

I mean, all of that being said, it was entertaining and did keep me reading to find out what would happen next. There wasn't a point where I wanted to put the book down and be done with it. I was a tad disappointed with the ending. It felt very rush and unresolved in my opinion, but perhaps the author was trying to leave us with a little bit of mystery to ponder on our own.

Overall, it was just an okay read for me. It did not blow me away, but if you're looking for something similar to the You series by Caroline Kepnes, this would be a book to check out.

-I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Karen Hamilton, and Graydon House Books for the opportunity to review.-

The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton is the perfect psychological suspense thriller. Juliette wants nothing more than to resume her broken off relationship with Nate. She goes to great lengths to cross paths with him and convince him that he is destined to be with her. This book is full of jaw-dropping moments that will leave you saying to yourself that you can't believe what Juliette is up to now. Read and enjoy!

"You can't change a mistake. Ever. Instead, it weaves its way inside you, becomes an embedded part, a bad, rotten suffocating part."

Lily/Juliette loves Nathan Goldsmith. And he's going to love her too, no matter what he thinks about it or how hard he tries to fight it. She'll make sure of that.

This is just a fun book about the craziest wanna be girlfriend that I have ever read. The lengths that she goes through to try to ensnare this man are beyond the pale -- she's taken stalking to a whole new level. Nothing will set her off her course and when she runs into difficulties, she adapts. She has a POA (plan of action) that she revises as need be and Nate can run, he can hide, he can get a lawyer, but Lily/Juliette is one determine woman who insists on having what she's been denied. Life with the man of her dreams. It's fate, isn't it? And he owes her. NO SPOILERS.

Just stop reading this review and get this book in your hands pronto. You will definitely enjoy the couple of hours it will take for you to speed through this madcap lesson in how (not) to get your man! Loved the writing and I have to hand it to the author -- never did such a kooky psycho character ever prove so nearly likeable despite all her antics. You just have to admire Lily/Juliette's effort! LOL

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House Books for this e-book ARC to read and review. It was pure entertainment from cover to cover! It screams movie adaptation.

I love obsessive girlfriend stories because there's just no telling what will happen next. This reminded me a bit of the movie "Swimfan" which I also loved. The unpredictability of Juliette's next actions was the perfect amount of crazy to really make this book an excellent read! Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for the opportunity to read this digital ARC. I will absolutely be purchasing this for my library.

I really didn't like this book. I don't know if it was the writing or the pacing, but there was nothing about it that felt new or compelling enough to interest me. I think thrillers are a pretty over saturated market and there are so many writers doing it so well these days that you really have to do something interesting to compete and for me, The Perfect Girlfriend didn't have anything that set it apart. It was incredibly mediocre.

I so wanted to love this book. I did and I thought it would be a perfect read for me. Unfortunately it wasn't.

That said, I think the author did a good job, especially with the characters and descriptions and I will certainly check out her future work. She did a great job of making Juliette the full on crazy stalker girl that is everyone's nightmare (and if not, it should be!) But...there were too many things that made me roll my eyes like the access to internal documents in the airline's computers after such a short time as a flight attendant as well as the insta-promotion after the difficult landing. I just couldn't see it.

I did love the look at the life of a flight attendant and figured most of it was based in reality since this author was previously cabin crew. I enjoyed the quick glimpses of life in the foreign countries Juliette visited also.

This is a good psychological thriller, but sadly the market is very saturated with them just now and this was just not a book that stuck out to me as one that was better than the rest. The ending made me wonder where the rest of the book was also.....or if my copy was missing a few pages. So all in all, an okay read that is worth checking out and I will definitely be watching for this author's next book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me an ARC at my request. My thoughts in this review are my own.

Fatal attraction taken to the airlines!

He loves me..... He loves me not! 

A bit of a gender cross-over in this obsessed stalker novel. Juliette is so motivated to keep tabs on pilot and boyfriend, Nate, that she becomes a flight attendant. Oh my gosh, I would have loved to see the expression on Nate's face when she "revealed" her new role to him (and while on the job)!

Juliette sees herself as a "perfect girlfriend" and believes wholeheartedly in the mantra "<em>If you love someone, set them free.  If they come back, they're yours</em>."  <strong>BUT</strong> she manipulates the ending to "<em>If they don't, make them."</em>

There is more depth to the novel as Hamilton brings in the other characters and their response/reactions to "something about" Juliette.  She is such a flawed character and I was full on board as she planned out her mission. She did not disappoint as she kept upping the ante!

I had a fun time reading this debut novel and was never bored. Juliette was the snarkiest narrator as she tried to manipulate her world. She kept me thoroughly entertained and giggling at the over the top shenanigans she piled on poor Nate! And oooh....... that end. Poor Nate!!



Brilliantly addictive just like I like my psychological thrillers.

Thanks to Harlequin/ Graydon House for my review copy.

I give this book more of a 3.5 star rating. I love the premise, and I think the intricate ways Juliette's obsession was threaded through experiences in her past and present were done masterfully. Little reveals are woven into the text so subtly that it took my breath away to realize the way certain characters are connected. I also love how meticulous Juliette is in her plan. I was constantly shocked by just how precisely everything was done and how far she is willing to go.

That said, in the end I was a little disappointed in this book. I had just finished reading YOU, and that probably made me expect more of a similar vibe from THE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND. And it definitely did not have it. The voice in this book is not fresh or riveting. Many times it felt like reading someone's laundry list. I'm sure it is done this way to show Juliette's disconnect from reality and personal relationships, but it just turned out dry. Very few scenes had the type of tension that made me hold my breath and anxiously flip to the next page. There are some attempts to make Juliette seem three-dimensional, but it just never took me all the way to where I really enjoyed reading about her.

Before I was even halfway through the book, I was bored, and that is never a good sign for me. I think this book had a lot of potential, but it just fell short for me personally. I'm sure it'll be riveting for others who don't have the same nitpicks about thrillers as I do. It has everything there: unreliable narrator, intricate plots and threads, interesting flashbacks. Somehow it just did not work in quite the right way for me.

This book has everything that I love. A protagonist who is crazy yet you want her to come away as a winner. A story that you think can’t get crazier but then it does. Such a fun ride. Loved this book!

Shocking, twisted and addicting! This book sucked me in from the very beginning and demanded my interest the entire way through to the shocking ending. I loved how fast paced this book was and I found myself so immersed in the story and with how crazy Juliette was, I wanted to read more to see what crazy thing she would do next.

Juliette was clearly obsessed with her ex Nate. She goes through great lengths to keep tabs on his daily life and to try to keep him in her life. She would do anything for him, and cannot understand what guy wouldn’t love that and want to be with a girl who puts them first, before everything. Determined to show Nate just how much she loves and adores him, Juliette is on a mission to win him back.

Juliette is a flawed character with so much going on. She is delusional, secretive, vindictive, and sneaky, which makes for a fabulous addictive read that will have you flipping through the pages until the very end. Will Nate realize just how much Juliette loves him and take her back?

A must read if you love thrillers. This book will not disappoint!

This is a great book. The writing is excellent and very descriptive. It gives a new meaning to the word Obsession! I liked the twist in the story also because I did not see it coming; I like when I am surprised. I look forward to reading more by Hamilton.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ooh my god, what?! That's it?? But what happens? Is there a sequel???

Apparently not! So be warned that the ending may leave you scratching your head a bit.

The details of being a flight attendant felt very accurate, from beginning to end. And the characters definitely jumped off the page.

This felt a hit slow in the first half, but picked up around Vegas. The last 3rd is pretty fantastic, and I felt like the pacing really reflected Juliette's emotional state as things came to a head.

I don't want to give anything away, but this is a wonderful suspense, with some twists and turns (some predictable, but still entertaining).

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of The Perfect Girlfriend in exchange for an honest review.

Debut novel.

Lily is heartbroken when Nate decides to end their relationship, so she devotes her time into reinventing herself as Juliette, flight attendant and consummate "perfect girlfriend". Her obsession with Nate and winning him back dominates all her hours, and the book reads a great deal like a Lifetime original movie.

Liked: The book is very fast-paced and an easy read and I really enjoyed the glimpses into life as an airline employee.

Disliked: I feel like the obsessive ex-girlfriend story has been done so many times that it really needs something to make it feel fresh, and unfortunately this thriller does not offer that. Like other reviewers, I found the ending to abrupt and it turned me off. There were many situations and character interactions that just did not seem plausible.

As a thriller, it's fine. I admit, I have become much more critical with this genre, but this one gets two stars.

The Perfect Girlfriend comes out on 2/27/19.

Talk about a tad bit obsessed. Lily, or rather Juliette, has had a bit of a rough go in her early years. Which really played a key role in the person that she is today. From death, being bullied, and to feeling thrown away, she now has a very specific plan in mind. One that revolves solely around a man that is no longer interested in her -- Nate.

As a main character, you cannot help but be fascinated by Juliette. There were so many times that I could not put the book down even though I was feeling a bit uncomfortable. Juliette has a plan of action (POA) that she will stop at nothing to achieve. Admittedly, I was eager to see how the story would play out. Not to mention, I loved the flashbacks. It gave you a bit of understanding to why she is the way she is. Although that is not saying her action and behavior was all that okay.

The supporting characters were interesting, but did not hold a candle to Juliette. I found Nate to be a bit bland. Sure he may have been handsome, but I could not see why she she wanted to be with him so badly. But then again, obsession doesn't have to make sense.

All in all, I did find this book to be rather interesting! I was pretty hooked, especially after the 40% mark. Things really started moving and I couldn't help but read late into the night.

Wow! Juliette REALLY loves Nate and she is willing to do anything for them to be together. I’m in awe of her devious, calculating mind and the lengths she was willing to go to. I couldn’t wait to read the next chapter to see what she would do next. It was definitely suspenseful. What a great read!

What a page turner! This is a fast paced, cleverly plotted mystery by an author to watch! Recommended to fans of mystery!

Thank you to Graydon House and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this thriller. Juliette, Elizabeth, Lily – the woman with many names – is hung up on Nate who broke up with her months before. She gets a job at the airline where he works, she sneaks into his flat when he’s away and she plots and plans on how she’ll get him back. I enjoyed the insider’s view of how flight attendants see their passengers. Turns out that’s accurate because the author worked as a flight attendant.

However, I found the incessant plotting tedious. Juliette never quite has a full plan of action or any follow through. And wowzer, I really felt cheated by the ending. I totally didn’t care for Juliette. I looked hard but couldn’t find any redeeming qualities.

I would recommend this book as a good insider’s view into flight attendants and passengers on flights, but as a thriller, not so much.

Uhhhhhhhhhh . . . . .

Once again I am the dissenter in the ranks amongst my friends and their high ratings. However, at 3.68 this book doesn’t have a high rating from the masses in general so maybe I didn’t read it completely wrong??? I also chose to pick it up during a time when my attitude was pretty much in the toilet, so maybe that can shoulder part of the blame. Thanks work for being so extra last week, you turd!

I really wanted/expected this to turn my frown upside down. I mean, you know your homegirl likes the stalkers. And all the comparisons to a certain someone being dropped had me expecting You 3.0 - only with 100% more vagina.

The Perfect Girlfriend had potential. Hell, it started out with our main gal breaking into her ex-boyfriend’s apartment while he was out of town. Her lack of self-awareness even made me chuckle at times . . . .

“I have seven missed calls from Nate and one from James. It feels like harassment.”

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut, it was really slow going for me – the ridiculous(™Ron2.0) was off the charts – which would be A-okay if things didn’t go from farfetched over-the-top storylines to ones that kinda made me sad.

Also? I would have MOTHER.EFFING.LUUUUUUUUUUURVED it if the whole Nate was simply a red herring for a fun twist I didn’t see coming. Buuuuuuuuuut, it didn’t happen and what did happen just left me feeling meh.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

I had such high hopes for this one. It was predictable and though there were some great moments, it wasn't at all what I imagined.

Juliette is in love with Nate. Does it matter that they had broken up 6 months earlier and Nate wants nothing to do with her? No. Because Juliette has a plan to win over Nate. And she will do anything to stick to the plan and get Nate. Anything.

When I started reading The Perfect Girlfriend, I wasn’t expecting the main character to be crazy. I mean it, she was cray-cray. I loved it!! This is the first book I have read that is told from the protagonist’s side. Again, loved it!! Juliette was the perfect antihero.

I will admit, I did feel bad for her. Juliette didn’t have the best life growing up. She was responsible for her 4-year-old brother at 10 years old. When he fell into the pond and drowned, she was blamed. She became an outcast at school, with kids teasing her or ignoring her. Boarding school was no better. She was bullied by Bella and her friends. Then, she was used by a mystery boy at the one party she went too. All those incidents helped shape her into a stalker. I thought to myself, at different points in the book, what if she got help when she was younger. What if she didn’t go to boarding school. Would she have turned out differently?

Nate bothered me. I couldn’t see what Juliette saw in him. He had zero personality. He was dull. He was “meh“. I didn’t see the appeal. He didn’t even treat her nice when they were dating. At the risk of repeating myself, what on earth did she see in him? Of course, it was revealed at the end of the book exactly what the appeal was.

Same goes with Bella. I didn’t understand why Juliette was stalking both Nate and Bella. Then it was mentioned that they were brother and sister. I then had a “Gotcha moment“. I still didn’t get the whole obsession with Bella until the end of the book. Then I was like “OOOOOO, makes sense now.“

I loved watching Juliette’s stalking escalate. She started small, breaking into Nate’s apartment/logging into his Facebook/getting a job where he worked. She went bigger, putting a spyware app on his phone and computer/showing up at events where Bella would be/bringing friends over to Nate’s apartment. When she went huge, she went huge. I’m not going to say what but I was amazed that she was able to pull off what she did.

Which brings me to the end of the book. I was not thrilled with it. The book was excellent up to the last few chapters. Then it seemed like everything was being rushed. I wasn’t expecting it to end the way it did. Saying that I was underwhelmed was an understatement. It was the ending that lowered my review from 4 stars to 3 stars.