3.5 stars for this one.
The book isn’t fast paced, isn’t a domestic thriller, isn’t a murder mystery yet it is hard to put down. The ‘reveal’ wasn’t surprising either, pretty much guessed it but still the book was hard to put down. I attribute it to the writing. The author has written very well and developed the plot nicely. The flashbacks are easy to keep track of, and add to the plot. The book is a tad longer than needed but all in all a good read.

I absolutely LOVED this book! I could not put it down. The author used the dual timeline perfectly, and really created a page turner that you don’t want to end. The characters were well developed and so real. I will definitely be recommending this. Sisterhood, love, betrayal, it’s all in here.

Her Perfect Life was definitely a page-turning read for me.

Clare Collins seems to have it all - a successful writing career, a huge home and a loving husband. So, when she ends her own life, those who knew her are taken by surprise. Meanwhile, her sister, Eileen and her husband, Simon are left to pick up the pieces and figure out what would have led Clare to take the actions she did. Perhaps the answers lie within her latest novel, A Perfect Life. Through reading the book and through Clare’s journals, they learn more about her inner thoughts and life experiences, digging out some secrets along the way.

The novel is primarily told through Eileen’s perspective, but includes points of view from Simon and Clare as well.

Throughout the novel, Taylor does a great job foreshadowing the events to come, so the ending wasn’t a surprise, but more like a finished puzzle when the pieces finally all fit together.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend to readers who like mystery and psychological thrillers.

Strong 3.5 stars. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, so here it goes. This book is about a famous author named Clare Collins and her sister Eileen. The two women have lost touch as adults, largely because they lead such different lives. Clare is a multi millionaire living in San Fransisco with her agent and husband, Simon, and Eileen is somewhere across the country living with her husband and 3 kids in a rather typical suburban life. There are a lot of sibling rivalry issues below the surface (especially coming from Eileen) but Eileen is shocked when she gets a call from Clare's hysterical husband saying he found her dead from a self inflicted gun shot wound. Eileen goes to San Fransisco to try to help Simon clean up the pieces (not literally) and figure out why Clare committed suicide. We get perspectives from Eileen and Simon in present day, then we also get Clare's perspective dating as far back as 20 years before her death. We get to see in to some of her journals, but we never get anything from her latest book "A Perfect Life". This book is said to be much different and darker than all of her other stories and perhaps this book holds some clues as to why she killed herself. We get to see the dedication of the book and we hear about the content, but we do not get to read any of the actual book as we do her short stories/journal entries. I think we get enough that we can piece together what the book is about though, so I don't agree with other reviewers that say reading the actual book would've been helpful. This book is marketed as a thriller, but I definitely think it is more of a women's fiction with a mystery in the background. We're really studying Clare and how her mind worked and what could lead someone with such a "perfect" life to commit such a terrible act. Eileen also has her own things that she's working through and I liked getting to know both sisters. I think the author is a psychologist, so despite this being her debut, she wrote in a way that felt very authentic and harrowing. She also describes the pain of a migraine, and as a migraine sufferer, I could feel every little feeling the character was feeling. I thought that was so well written!
My complaints about the book are as follows. Clare has a relationship with another writer named Donna. They lived together in college and now Donna has reviewed her latest book. Their relationship was VERY underdeveloped and confusing, yet it played a pivotal role in the story. At times they were friends and at other times they were enemies and I mostly understand why, but it was not very clear. This relationship definitely could've benefitted from more development. I also wish her relationship with Kaylee would've been developed more so we could see how it went from one extreme to the other. My other complaint is that there is a death of a pet in the end that I didn't really think was necessary. I see why the author put it in there, but I don't think it was needed. Furthermore, I think the ending was fairly predictable, but satisfying enough.
Overall, I think this book is worth a read as long as you go in expecting more of a women's fiction than a thriller. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for granting me an electronic ARC!

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Clare met the love of her life as a child. Adam was the golden boy and had multiple talents. He was bound for college after their senior year, but Clare was going to stay in their small town and work. He proposed and she said yes, but then later said she wasn't ready and that changed everything in their relationship. He started getting cold and unkind to her and it all blew up at a party when he was found cheating. They had both been drinking a lot and we think that Adam was driving and got in a terrible wreck that ended up killing him and badly injuring Clare. However, we find out in the end that Clare was actually the one driving. Her mom found the scene and put Adam in the driver's seat so her daughter wouldn't be blamed. Clare had never stopped loving Adam, even all these years later, and the guilt overwhelmed her and took her to a place she couldn't handle, thus ending in suicide. Her beloved dog also dies shortly before she kills herself.
Kaylee is Adam's twin sister and she and Clare were BFF's through high school. The tragedy tore them apart and now Kaylee seems to strongly dislike Clare and I never really knew why. Donna was Clare's friend and college roommate and her strongest critic. She's the one who got Clare into writing and knew her most personal stories. In Clare's latest book, she tells her and Adam's story but its as if he didn't die. Instead, they go on to live and have a bad marriage where then she ends up killing him and herself. Donna blurbed the book because she said it is the most real thing that Clare had ever written, yet she wrote a bad review (doesn't make sense). She said all her other books had happy endings and were cheesily inauthentic.
As for Eileen, she received pictures from someone telling her her husband was cheating. So when she goes home, she tells him to move out and they split relatively amicably.
Simon doesn't handle the death well, but Eileen does everything she can to protect him, despite them not being super close while Clare was alive.
Finally, the girls mom has Alzheimers and she's the one who finally lets the truth out in a very non lucid moment. I thought her progression was hard to watch.

I totally enjoyed this book by Rebecca Taylor. I like the plot and her writing style. Will definitely be checking out other books written by her in the future.

Just finished this ARC courtesy of @netgalley and @sourcebooks! I went into it blind and was pleasantly surprised with @rebeccataylorauthor debut novel! Definitely not my normal book pick but it was a great break from the heavy books I usually read! Comes out June 2nd! Make sure to add this to your TBR list! 4 ⭐️!

HER PERFECT LIFE is a truly gripping novel told (mostly) in the POVs of two sisters. As the story unfolds, and the plot peels back layer by layer, we discover the secrets, lies, and tragedies that thread everything together. Beautifully written, slightly haunting and complex, Taylor digs into relationships, infidelity, family, sisterhood, and how past events can shape our lives.

It’s true that I love it when writers write about writers. I’m just so sure I’m going to get the inside scoop.

Of course, this book is more than just the process and the pain, and the ‘sometimes if you’re lucky you hit the really big’ big time. You might think that’s where all the problems start-with the writer-but you would be wrong.

Her Perfect Life is filled with husbands who love too much and husbands who don’t love enough and the occasional good guy who shows up at all the wrong times and, of course two sisters who never really understand each other.

This is a winner of a debut! Thank you to both NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. Bravo, Ms. Taylor.

Looking forward to your next book!

This one was a pleasant surprise, a buddy read that I went into blind. It turns out that I really liked the writing in this one and the author is from my home state of Colorado, winner!

We have two sisters in this one – uber-successful writer Clare Collins and her sister Eileen, a wife and mother of three. The two sisters have grown apart and Eileen is stunned to get a call that her sister is dead. She flies to San Francisco to find out more and work out details with her brother-in-law Simon.

As Eileen digs more into Clare’s life and especially the last book that she wrote, the past starts to be more relevant. Eileen has some issues and secrets of her own to deal with. The book was written with alternating storylines from the two women, but I didn’t have any trouble keeping them apart. I found that I connected and related more to Eileen, but both characters were interesting and developed.

This debut novel is one that I would recommend. I should note that there are a few triggers in this one: death of a family pet, infidelity, and suicide.

I quite enjoyed reading this book. It had me gripped right from the start and kept me very engaged. Nothing particularly crazy happens after the first initial incidents but the story progressed really well. I did figure out the one big plot twist pretty early on but I don't think that took away from my enjoyment of the story at all. Loved the back and forth timeline with everything slowly coming together.

The World is stunned when best-selling author Clare Collins is found dead on the beach, from an apparent self inflicted gun shot wound, the morning after her latest book hits the shelves.

Could her latest novel, one that is very different from previous releases, provide her sister Eileen with the answer of WHY, Clare would end what appeared to be “A Perfect Life”?

After reading this synopsis, I was expecting, perhaps, the “book within a book” concept that I always enjoy..present day, alternating with chapters from Clare’s novel but that is not how the story is presented.

Eileen does find Clare’s journals, amongst her belongings, and they provide some answers but the structure is actually :

The years before Clare’s death alternating with
Eileen, present day, who is dealing with some revelations in her own life.

Both women’s narratives held my interest throughout, but it should be noted that this well written novel reads like a Contempory Women’s Fiction book despite the element of mystery surrounding Clare’s death.

Despite this being the author’s debut Adult Fiction novel, Rebecca Taylor is a psychologist, and the characters and their emotions ring true because of her knowledge in this field.

I definitely will be keeping my eye out for future work from this talented author!

TRIGGERS: Suicide, Infidelity and the death of a beloved pet dog! (HATED THAT!)

Thank You to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and the author for the digital ARC I received in exchange for a candid review!

And, to Susan and DeAnn for a great discussion and buddy read.

NG reviewers this is a READ NOW selection
Available to all on June 2, 2020!

I hadn’t planned on reading Her Perfect Life due to subject matter.

Suicide isn’t a trigger for me but I do steer away from it. Psychopathic murderers yes, killing yourself, no.

A buddy read with Jayme and DeeAnn enticed me to expand my boundaries.

Clair’s life and suicide shared the spotlight with her sister Eileen’s equally compelling story. I was immediately absorbed into both with the author’s writing style being easy to comprehend.

Although the book didn’t seem to move fast, I couldn’t put it down and was finished quickly.

I have mixed feelings because overall, it was an excellent book. BUT, a pet dog was killed near the end. If it had happened earlier on, I would’ve stopped reading and not finished.

I REALLY hate when authors do this. Especially with all the other sad elements of the story, it was completely unnecessary. A bitter pill for an otherwise great book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Rebecca Taylor, and Sourcebooks Landmark for my electronic copy

I love while reading a book you are able to relate/connect with the characters for me it's much more enjoyable to read. It took me a few chapters to get into the book but once I did I could not put it down. Read this book it will not disappoint.

I was hooked within the first few chapters on this one. Who is Clare, exactly, and why would a best-selling author, who seems to have everything going for her, take their own life?

Clare’s story is fascinating, and the insights into the writer process and psyche of a best -seller are fun and interesting, whether you live in that world or not. But it was the character of Eileen, the sister who survives Clare who kept me turning the pages. She’s relatable – a mom who’s juggling (sometimes badly), feels like she wasn’t there enough for her sister, and is desperate to know why her sister would choose to leave her? And did she ever know Claire at all?

The characters are well formed, believable, and at its core, this is a book about holding secrets and the prior life experiences we carry forward with us, no matter how much we try to leave them behind.

A skillfully-written page turner where you’ll relate to the characters, and be left asking questions about what happens if our past is hidden, instead of faced head on? Great, fast, enjoyable read.

I loved this one! This was one of those books that sucked me in from the beginning and didn’t let go until I finished! I thought it was well written, with absolutely flawlessly done characters, and absolutely unputdownable. It had so many fun twists & turns, lies, cheats, suspense, chills, and many thrills! I highly recommend to those who like books centered around an amazingly done main character who seems to have everything implode all at once and decides to discover some truths! Preorder today, as it’s not one you’ll want to miss!
Will make sure to buzz it up on all the different platforms!

Doesn’t everyone want a perfect life? Now does that perfect life mean reality or what one wants to show the world....makes the reader think! I enjoyed all of the characters, and felt that they were really well developed, that by the end of the book, you felt a connection to them! Surprising end, and that’s what makes a great book - where you’re actually surprised at what happens!

This was sooooo much different than what I was expecting. I was honestly expecting a mysterious death. Being investigated and found to be murdered.

What I got was somehow more intense. And heartbreaking.

And both sisters’ stories were well done.

My one complaint—and the thing I found odd and lacking—was that Eileen’s husband and children never showed for the funeral. I guess that would’ve made some of the things harder to tell the way they were told. But still. A family member dies and they’re being left out seemed strange. Or a small plot hole.

However, I really enjoyed it regardless!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I chose this book based on the title because, hey, who doesn't want a perfect life? After reading the synopsis, I decided to go forth and request it and almost immediately I was into the story. Mostly, the story is about two sisters, Eileen and Clare. They both grew up and got married but while one THINKS she is happily married, the other one is in a happy marriage but she never actually loved her husband. She married him because she will never have a love like her first love(who happens to be dead now), she really thinks he is a great guy, and he believes in her. And also happens to be her publisher.

The book flip-flops between past and present and between sisters so if you don't read the top of the page that tells you when and who, you might get confused. It starts out with Eileen finding out her famous sister is dead by her own hand. As she heads to the airport to go help her brother-in-law get things settled, she finds out that her life is not what she thinks it is. Essentially, there are so many small twists in this book that I never lost interest at any given time. I loved the characters, I loved the storyline, and I loved the author's descriptions and writing style. I would definitely read more books by this author. :)

Eileen is trying to fit everything into her life with her kids, husband, job etc when she gets a call from her estranged sister's husband that her sister has ended her own life. Eileen rushes out to help her brother-in-law and finds some questionable pictures in an envelop on her car's dashboard.
The character of Eileen is well developed and you find yourself rooting for her to discover herself. There is some suspense involved as Eileen and her brother -in-law Simon try to discover why Claire ended her own life. They find out some answers as they read all of Claire's previous diaries and journals. I enjoyed reading this book.

I was given this to read for an honest review. In the beginning I wasn’t so sure I would like it. I did start getting into it & liking the characters with all their different personalities. It seemed more like a novel for a younger audience since I am 68. I do like this author. (less)