What an excellent book. I don't usually eat read books with this postocular subject matter, but I was drawn to it from the little blurb I read about it. It is told from Dual perspectives of two sisters Clare and Eileen. They live in a small town out west with their police officer mother. Clare has a longtime boyfriend and they are desperately in love with one another. He has a scholarship out east and Clare will be staying at home. This puts a strain on the relationship. Each sister hasa compelling story. I liked the author's writing style, she gave them wonderful characterizations with excellent depth and you felt for each sister on a different level.

I had a difficult time putting this book down because it is really engrossing. It is sad from start to finish. It deals with difficult subject matter: infidelity, suicide and the accidental death of a well-loved pet. That being said, I loved the book and I definitely recommend it.

I would like to thank Rebecca Taylor, Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Her Perfect Life by Rebecca Taylor was a fantastic debut novel. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down. If you are looking for a page-turning thriller, look no further!

I want to preface my review by saying that there are a few themes that may be triggering to some readers. The theme of suicide is prevalent although it is handled elegantly and not detailed/ gory or romanticized in any way. Also the theme of infidelity is witnessed within multiple characters.

Does anyone truly have the perfect life? Her Perfect life at its core it is a story of love, loss, grief, and what it means to simply be human.

Clare is a writer who has been trying to tell the same story for years. When she is finally admits it to herself and writes the true story, its enough to break her. Eileen is a mother who is struggling with the loss of her older sister while also coping with the discovery of her husbands infidelity. They are such relatable and believable characters that your heart cant help but to ache for them.

Her perfect life is a truly engaging read that kept me on edge with each turn of the page. The story flows effortlessly and the characters are layered in a way that makes them obviously flawed and very much human.

Overall I fell unexpectedly in love with this book.


I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

When bestselling author Clare Collins is found dead on the beach with a self inflicted gun shot wound everyone is shocked! It’s the morning after her latest book was published. Claire’s sister Eileen is floored when she receives the phone call, when her sisters husband Simon informs her that her sister is dead and more shocking by suicide. Eileen who hasn’t seen her sister for a few years always assumed Clare had it all, a successful career, perfect marriage a huge home why would she kill herself? Eileen a mother of three and her husband Eric who doesn’t lift a finger to help, she tells Simon she will take the next plane to San Francisco to help him. On the way to the airport she finds an envelope with photos of her husband in bed with his coworker, now dealing with her sisters death and the fact her husband is cheating, Eileen is overwhelmed with emotions. Arriving in San Francisco she finds Simon emotional and confused how could he not see that his wife was planning this. Eileen begins to go through Clare’s seemingly perfect life with the help of Clare’s journals and soon she’s piecing together Clare’s life. Alternating chapters from past and present that include Clare’s journal entries we get the point of view from Clare, Simon and Eileen. Soon the puzzle begins to form and we see that the grass isn’t always greener and everyone has secrets and lies. I feel this was more of a domestic fiction and I truly enjoyed the authors writing style I was immediately pulled into the story line. Every character had layers and it added so much to them. This was definitely an engaging read! Four stars!

I really thought I was picking up a thriller book....I had not read any other reviews until after I started and was a little disappointed when people were saying it wasn’t much of a thriller. I usually don’t like other genres BUT I couldn’t put this book down and read it in 2 days. I fell in love with Clare and Adam and their story and wanted more! Can you please write that story next!! The full story!

This book was just beautifully written! Right from the start I was sucked in. And no it wasn’t much of a thriller..... but I connected with these characters and I felt every emotion! And although I enjoyed the past chapters more than the present it didn’t take away anything and I fell in love with Eileen as well.

Well done!!!

I really enjoyed HER PERFECT LIFE. I loved how the story was told from several points of view and how it came together. While it was listed as a mystery/thriller, I found it to be more of a general fiction book. Overall a good read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Her Perfect Life was an engaging and well-paced story with authentic characters. Told from the perspective of Eileen, Clare and Simon and switching between past and present, the story came together beautifully as if it were a puzzle being put together. This book is women's fiction despite it being labeled as a thriller. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

A fast twisty roller coaster of a read. Buckle in for the rude of your life as you feverishly flip pages absolutely having to know what happened. My favorite type of genre. Will have you guessing until the end. Happy reading!

This was a very layered book / story. It was so engrossing that I had to force myself to put it down. this is the story of Clare and Eileen two sisters who are leading very separate lives. Their story is told in flashbacks and in 2 POV.s until eventually we merge into present day. I think that it is very mush a story about perception and how our perception although a reality to us may not be truth and once the truth is known it can change everything in an instant.

Her Perfect Life is a great mystery that kept me guessing all the way through. Clare Collins is a successful, famous author and it seems she is living the perfect life. Eileen, Clare’s sister, is a frazzled, mom of three, with a seemingly perfect marriage. The book starts with Eileen getting a phone call from Clare’s husband, Simon, to the news that her sister has committed suicide. She heads to San Francisico to meet with Simon and try to piece together the details of why Clare would have killed herself. What ensues are chapters alternating from the present and past chapters from Clare, Simon and Eileen. In the end, we finally get the truth. It goes to show you that many people are hiding behind their perfect life with secrets and lies. It was a fascinating, engaging read that could lead to some great discussions. I would highly recommend this one.

TW: infidelity, suicide, death

* ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Rebecca Taylor's 'Her Perfect Life' jumps right into it; she sucked me in and kept me engaged until the very end. I enjoy stories that shine a light on the people and lives that seem perfect from the outside but are never quite what they seem when you get an inside look. The chapters alternate between sisters Clare and Eileen as the narrators and Clare's start in the preset, but quickly jump into the past and slowly bring you back to the present time while Eileens' are all told in the present. There are multiple events happening, this isn't a plot centered around a singular event which creates a dynamic storyline. I really enjoyed the story Taylor crafted and would recommend picking up this one!

**Readers will want to be aware there are some possible triggers.

Her Perfect Life draws you in from the first page. This book ask the question if you can ever can really know someone. On the outside, Clare looks like she has it all; great marriage, successful career, fame and notoriety. Her sudden suicide comes as a devastating shock to Clare’s husband and sister, Eileen. As they try to unravel the mystery behind her death, long-buried secrets are revealed and lives are changed forever. Heartbreaking and captivating, Rebecca Taylor’s novel clutches your heart and won’t let go. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC!

Clare Collins is a famous author, married to Simon who is also her agent. She lives in a beautiful house on the beach and it seems she has the perfect life.
When she is found dead on the beach from a self inflicted gunshot, everyone wonders, why?
Her sister Eileen is a married mother of three. She loves her husband, but he isn't as involved in the daily family responsibilities as she would like.
Somewhat estranged from her sister at the time of her death, Eileen has contended with jealousy over Clare's ideal existence.
Eileen flies from Colorado to San Francisco to help her grieving brother in law with the funeral arrangements.
There, she finds the journals that Clare has written from a young age. She immerses herself in the past, looking for answers.
This was a well written mystery with sympathetic characters. I quickly flew through this delightful and intriguing debut novel.
Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

Her Perfect Life is a thoroughly engaging tale that explains how one's high school years can be the driving force for their life's master plan. Claire, the older sister always feels as if she isn't good enough for her high school boyfriend. Years later, when she finds success as a writer she creates stories describing happy endings and successful relationships. Her sister Eileen has a seemingly happy family but all that changes when Clare dies.
In San Francisco, helping arrange her sister's funeral, Eileen discovers how secrets from the past can bring unhappy endings to unfulfilled dreams.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in one day. It wasn't just a fast read but a need to understand how the past can shape one's life.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I'm pleased to have had this opportunity. I look forward to reading more by Rebecca Taylor.

Pure delight!
Secrets, envy, and infidelity are the twisty backdrop in Rebecca Taylor’s page-turning debut.
Eileen envies her successful sister Clare’s life. Both live their own versions of the perfect life, or, at least Eileen tries to. With a husband and three children she can barely keep up with her household chores, or getting the kids to school on time.
Upon Clare’s death, shocking photos of infidelity and stacks of secret diaries spanning back to adolescence reveal their lives were anything but perfect.
Written in easy to keep track dual-storylines, this novel centers around life, family and the complexities of marriage. It’s fast-paced, smartly written narrative is perfect for women contemporary readers. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rebecca Taylor in her debut book has spun a story with women protagonists, with a bit of mystery, a lot of life and emotions

I requested a review copy of this book from Netgalley. I was very drawn in by the description and the title.

Eileen is a mother of three children have the regular life of a homemaker and frelance photographer living with her husband and making ends meet. It seems she is very impressed and very envious of her sister Claire Collins' Rags to richs journey where she becomes a best selling author with many books to her name. On one of hr usual days of chaos and chores she gets a call from hr brother in law that her sister has committed suicide. This coincides with the day of the relase of hr new book 'Her Perfect life; and requests hr help in the funeral arrangements.

Here starts Eileen's journey of rediscovering her sister through her latest book, trying to uncover the reason for her suicide and may be a bit more.

The story is written very well with the characterisation done so good that I could understand and feel the emotions going through them. I loved Eileen's character, initially she seemed like a complaining jealous sister but she made a place in my heart as the story progressed. The emotions, the descriptions, the lines the characters say to each other all, all were apt and not overdone. Even though at times I felt the story was going slow, yet the way the story progressed kept me hooked on to it.
The story though is written in third person POV but each chapter tells the story from a particular character's perspective. I would have loved to understand Simon a bit more.

If you like to read women centric, slice of life kind of stories with a bit of mystery, a lot of emotions human frailities, then you would love this book. A great debut book by the author and I definitely would keep my eyes open for her future works.

Disclaimer: I requested an eARC on Netgalley and I thank the author and publishers for providing me a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are entirely mine

What bound Eileen, Simon and Clare together is the realization that the loved their significant other far more than they were loved. Clare and the image she portrayed was merely a facade and her life was as sterile and devoid of color as her office. The secret that her mother carried ultimately led to her demise and death but she was an enigma all along. I was glad that Eileen stood strong and put herself first.

Right from the start I was drawn into this story of hot mess Eileen and her glamorous, successful, and famous sister Clare. When Clare kills herself no one can understand why she wasn’t happy with her seemingly perfect life. Eileen finds Clare’s stack of journals that she kept throughout her life and hopes to find clues to her state of mind within the journal entries. Piece by piece she uncovers Clare’s unknown story and the life events that helped her become a great writer but also led to her death. While Eileen is dealing with Clare’s funeral and attempting to help Clare’s husband in his absolute despair she is also experiencing her own marriage imploding. It’s no wonder she is always getting absolutely, fall over, blackout drunk! There’s some humour in Clare’s drinking but mostly I was just sad for her. As Clare’s story was uncovered I also felt very sad for her too. Despite appearances neither sister has a "perfect life."

There was a twist and a big secret that is revealed nearer the end but I think it was quite apparent pretty early on what had happened so when the “reveal” came I was not at all surprised. I don’t believe that anyone will miss the clear clues that pointed to this secret. It was a bit too easy to figure out and so it lost any impact it was meant to have. Despite this too obvious secret I enjoyed the rest of the story because I was engaged with the characters. I knew exactly where Clare’s story was going but it didn’t really matter because I still wanted to see how Eileen would process this revelation and how she was going to handle her marriage. In the end I was satisfied with the resolution and the ending given to Eileen’s story. While it was unfortunate that the mystery/suspense didn’t work for me the story still did, and I enjoyed the journey even though I guessed a major part of the destination.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

Eileen and her sister Clare had been estranged for years- not really estranged so much as not connected. Eileen is stunned, however, when her brother in law Simon calls to tell her that Clare has been found a sucide on the beach. Everything looked good in her world but readers know that's not the case, and not for Eileen either. This is really both sisters' story and it shifts back and forth between them, with Clare's told through her journals and her novel. Eileen's life is up in the air = her marriage is in the pits, her finances not good, and she's coping with being part of the sandwich generation. I felt for both sisters- the one who tried to hide her issues and the one who couldn't. Both characters are relatable and so real. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This will make you sigh and spots and, if you have a sister, give her a call.

Its nice to read a book sold as women’s fiction where everything doesn’t end happily ever after in a generic manner, but happily enough to leave the reader fulfilled and pleased with the outcome. Eileen’s sister Clare is the J.K. Rowling of the romance genre, ironic in that she is personally cold and standoffish, with a total of 60+ books to her name. She is wealthy beyond words, lives in a mansion in an idyllic setting, has the ability to care for her sick mother at an exclusive care home, has an adoring husband and the lifestyle that most people, including Eileen, would envy. Which is why when Clare’s husband Simon calls her to inform Eileen that Clare has committed suicide, his distress is obvious, and she swings into action to be the helpful sister-in-law but is derailed after opening a generic manila envelope that contains six photos of Eileen’s husband in various compromising situations with a woman that he works with leaves her shocked beyond her own comprehension. What follows is the story of Eileen and Simon both struggling to come to grips with their obviously dysfunctional relationships and the fallout that ensues from the choices their partners have made. On the opposite side of the story, the reader is taken back into Clare and Eileen’s past life, their upbringing and the one romantic relationship that Clare has ever valued, that with Adam Collins, the boy that was tragically killed in a car accident in which he and Clare were beyond the legal limit to drive. Clare has no recollection of the accident and is haunted by the fact Adam had asked her to marry him and that she had said no because of her fear of being married too young and is now forever separated from him, her only outlet in life being the writing of romance novels where she and he are the main characters.

Taylor has written about the grief of betrayal and the heartache of suicide for the survivors of such behaviour and choices in a way that poignantly expresses itself to the reader. The loss, the confusion, the questioning, uncertainty and disbelief all become real and visceral. The characters are beautifully written and completely believable. We feel the very real envy of Eileen towards her successful sister and the way being the sibling of a famous person makes everything you do feel small and insignificant. We understand without a shadow of a doubt the grief that Simon feels when he tries to come to grips with the reality that his wife has killed herself. We understand the camaraderie that develops between Eileen and Simon in the week they are together organising Clare’s funeral, and some unsavoury truths of their own conduct and choices come to light also, with the potential to derail the thin friendship that they have created out of this tragedy.

This debut novel is one that makes the reader eagerly wait for and feel compelled to read the next offering that Rebecca Taylor brings forth.