I liked Our Kind of Cruelty that's why I requested this book.
Unfortunately I did not like this book.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book for my honest review. Yayy I was so excited that I was chosen to read this as I'm a big fan of Araminta Hall's other books. As previously said in other reviews the characters were not very likable which for me is hard to relate to so that being said I gave it 3 stars.

I have a hard time reading books with unlikable characters so this one was a struggle for me. While the concept is interesting the characters took away from the story. This is a personal opinion and many readers are sure to disagree and love this one but it wasn't a favorite of mine.

I want to say that I hated pretty much all of the characters in this book, but I think that was the point. They were all flawed and imperfect most of all in their understanding so each other which led them to treat each other badly and behave selfishly. When Nancy is brutally murdered the other people in her life are forced to reevaluate who they are and find themselves wanting in morals, empathy and understanding. Told by our three female characters we see the events from their differing points of view and realize that we never truly know how others think or feel and that our understanding of them, flawed as they are, can create monsters. An in-depth look at friendships and the roles women are forced to play in society and in marriage, this book is a slow burn and thought provoking.

Imperfect Women is about female friendship, and the many ways women will betray it. Nancy, Eleanor and Mary allow themselves to be eroded by thoughtless men. There is no sisterhood here. I liked how the book was told from the viewpoints of all three women, who are all shamelessly selfish.
At the start of the book, Nancy is found murdered, and it gradually becomes clear how complicated her life had become, and how she suffered from being seen as perfect. The men in this story are utterly awful, and it is hard to understand how they were ever appealing to the women. Eleanor takes Nancy's death as an opportunity to behave really badly, which has terrible consequences.
For a small cast of characters, there is a juicy amount of secrets and lies which makes for a fun read although none of them are likable at all.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux and author Araminta Hall for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

The three characters in this book, Nancy, Ellie, and Mary were a great cast throughout. They were unlikable, yes, but I think this is something that the author truly thrives in. I find that flawed characters end up making things a lot more interesting, and they’re more relatable. As humans, we all have our flaws. I felt completely immersed in this novel, and related to the impossible expectations and secrets that these women experienced.

Thank you to those named above for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

I loved Araminta Hall's book, Our Kind of Cruelty, so I was very excited for this one. I could not get into it. The characters were not well developed, but also very unlikeable. At the same time, the husband/wife roles were very stereotypical and hard to believe. I could have still enjoyed the book, but it went at a very slow pace where nothing seemed to happen until the twist in the middle. Overall, disappointed.

I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

It was such a relief to close this book and be away from these horrible people. Yes, the characters and thrillers are really perfect and we wouldn’t want them to be, but this was just beyond. It just felt like an exercise in misery. I loved her last book, but I can only give two

Her previous novel was so good I was worried that this wouldn’t live up to it. It does. However it starts off slowly for me. But then it changes narrator and I am so glad I persevered. Definitely give this a go!
4/5 on goodreads.

Unlike other readers, I thought the tone of this was outstanding. Though, the plot was somewhat uninspired.

"A gripping, immersive novel about impossible expectations and secrets that fester and become lethal," The theme of this book is buried secrets. All of us have them, and they affect everyone differently. But it's not just that we have them, it's that nobody understands that everyone has them and that nobody is perfect, no matter how one's life appears on the outside. The story "explores guilt and retribution, love and betrayal, and the compromises we make that alter our lives irrevocably."

I do not understand the terrible reviews. First, have they read Our Kind of Cruelty? Hall does not specialize in "like-able characters", although the women in this book are definitely more like-able than the Cruelty characters. Second, the three women in this book, Nancy, Ellie, and Mary are human, which means they are imperfect. Do they all make choices we would agree with? No - but that's part of the point of the book - women especially get bogged down by life and love, desperately trying not to appear "crazy" to others and they forget themselves a little bit. The life compromises that affect our entire futures.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This one was meh for me. I loved the authors first book but this one seemed to throw random plot points and storylines and characters in that just turned out to be a red herring. At least until the final third of the book when it became obvious what would happen. Not my fave but I would try this author again!

Absolutely did not like this book at all and it had so much potential to be better than it was. A huge level of predictability with been-there/done-that idea just with different unlikeable characters. Nancy and her two friends meet at university and remain in contact for twenty years. Nancy is found dead and her husband Robert is told by her friends. Some other secrets are revealed and perfect Nancy isn't so perfect after al. Neither are her friends Eleanor and Mary. And the mentioned husbands Robert (Nancy) and Mary (Howard) aren't perfect either.

I understand this is an ARC and some typos and grammar aren't prefect, but geez , gimme a break! Some of the same metaphors and wording are used over and over again. And like another review said "Over ambitious words—this is not literary fiction. This is a mystery. Use words that the average mystery reader will understand. Get over yourself.-Quirkychic" I totally agree!

It was not easy to finish this book but I did, and I knew when the few big twists were coming. SMH. Glad when this was over so I could read something else. This book was just a big fat no. Don't let the pretty cover and interesting cover sway you, it was a boring tedious read.

Thanks to NEtgalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own unless quoted.

Available: 8/4/20

Unlikable characters all around! But good story, and I could sympathize with some of the experiences of the three women. Not the most surprising mystery but still a good story!

Because I loved the twisted novel, Our Kind of Cruelty, I was excited to read Imperfect Women by Araminta Hall.

You should know right away that this novel doesn’t have the same dark undertones as Our Kind of Cruelty, it’s not sick and twisted like that book was. This is a suspenseful story that involves characters I found to be insecure and somewhat unlikeable which isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes flawed characters like this are the most intriguing. My favorite relationship in this whole book was Eleanor’s relationship with her neighbor, Irena.

When Nancy Hennessy is murdered, she leaves behind two best friends, a loving husband and daughter, and a secret lover whose identity she took to the grave. Nancy was gorgeous and wealthy, with adoring friends and family—from the outside, her life was perfect. But as the investigation into her death flounders and her friends Eleanor and Mary wrestle with their grief, dark details surface that reveal how little they knew their friend, each other, maybe even themselves.

A gripping, immersive novel about impossible expectations and secrets that fester and become lethal, Imperfect Women unfolds through the perspectives of three fascinating women. Their enduring, complex friendship is the knot the reader must untangle to answer the question: who killed Nancy?

I like Araminta’s writing and the pace of the book, it moved along nicely. There were some plot bombs here that surprised me and kept me turning the pages. Imperfect Women incorporates themes of friendship, jealously, abuse, secrets, sad women and terrible husbands.

This comes out on June 16, you can pre-order this now by going here.

Loved this book. Liked the different characters speaking. Great storyline.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

So well written so involving.I was drawn in from the first pages a story that kept me guessing with very well written characters.This is an author who I will continue to follow.#netgalley #fs&g

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Imperfect Women.

Imperfect Women wasn't bad, but I was hoping for something more suspenseful.

Two BFFs, Eleanor and Mary, are shocked when their BFF, Nancy, is found dead. Eleanor decides to probe her friend's death on her own, when the police investigation stalls, but finds herself confronting painful truths of her own.

The novel is split into the perspectives of the three women, and what each has learned from their imperfect, flawed marriages and about themselves.

Yes, the women are imperfect, but that can be said for all of us. But, unfortunately, neither of them were likable. I felt no connection to any of them and there was no rapport or warmth in their friendships or interactions. I couldn't believe they had been friends since college.

The men were predictably cliche, an adultering bastard and a man who took his wife for granted, as were the themes; bad husbands, mistreated wives who realize too little too late the mistakes they made in marrying these particular men.

The mystery behind Nancy's death is anti-climatic and one I figured out early on.

There's no much drama or suspense, but a lot of introspection and personal reflection. The writing was good, but I was hoping for a story with more of a mystery behind it.

3-4 stars, while I didn’t love this book, I did not hate it. I had many of the things figured out, so I wasn’t shocked by any of it, but I did finish, which if I didn’t enjoy I would not be able to happen. I think it really emphasized some good points on women’s imperfections and likely should not really be considered a mystery/thriller, but more of a women’s fiction. Overall, I thought it was really well written and while the characters were miserable, I still thought they were well developed and realistic. I didn’t have to suspend belief, as this is definitely something that I could see happening. Overall, I think if you are okay with characters beat down by life and spouses, making stupid decisions for reasons people do, then I think you will enjoy this book. If you are only seeking thrills, chills, and shocks, it might not be the one, unless you’re not like me and able to figure out the majority before the ending. If you are unlike me, you’ll get some shocks!
Will make sure to buzz it up on all the different platforms!

This was an excellent novel that kept me literally entranced. The character depiction was on point and the story was fascinating and well developed.