Vanessa was a fun loving outgoing person and was so happy when she met Connor and they moved in together after just a few months. This is when things started to change and to help release the stress, Vanessa starting pretending to be somebody else in search of the perfect property.

Her relationship with Connor breaks down and she ends up moving to stay with her sister but things go from bad to worse when her favourite author is found dead at his home soon after she has viewed the property. All evidence seems to point to her guilt - but is she?

This is a great storyline with plenty of twists and turns that you make doubt on who is guilty of murder, although it does include some flashbacks to Vanessa's childhood which can confuse things slightly.

This is a solid 'Good Read' from me. It starts off to be a gripping tale of the lead character, Vanessa, who dreams of living in a 'perfect house' and so visits homes for sale under various aliases. Then, the owner of a home she has viewed is found murdered.

The middle part of the book seemed to meander somewhat. However, stick with it, because it all becomes clear and its a good, solid plot line with a neat conclusion.

It's marketed as a thriller, but, is more about abusive relationships although there are some twists and it did keep me wanting to find out more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to preview this Good Read.

I looked forward to reading The Perfect Life from the synopsis. However I struggled at times to keep my interest peaked. It’s not the worst book I’ve read by a long way, but just generally a little uninteresting. I didn’t care too much for the main character, and there were no big twists, just one really odd one near the end. Even the hated characters failed to fall into the ‘love to hate’ category. I did finish it, but raced through the last 20% to do so, in order to get onto my next book! It’s a shame, as the write up promised so much more than I got.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a well thought out, cleverly twisty novel. Even if you think you have it worked out - you don’t.
I became so invested in this book I couldn’t bear to put it down. Vanessa is a brilliant, multi layered character and it was a pleasure to follow her shenanigans.

Great book, I love this author’s books and this one did not disappoint. Highly recommended, a great storyline with plenty of twists and turns.

Many thanks to netgalley and Nuala Ellwood for the advances copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

I was grateful to receive a copy of the perfect life and could not wait to get started as the description had me enticed.
I was not disappointed from beginning the story. I found the characters to be interesting and I found the past and present aspect of the story to be easily followed.
The story is very complex and you need a clear head to get your mind around the story, you will also find your feelings for characters such as Vanessa changing regularly and not really knowing how to feel about her.
All in all in found the book very enticing with lots of twists and turns. I would highly recommend.

This is the story of Vanessa and the decline of her relationship with Connor her boyfriend,and the impact on friendships and her career.. It's a page-turner as you want to see how long it takes Vanessa to realise the problems with Connor.. As the story develops you find out her insecurities tie back to her childhood.

This is a good story and I would recommend it as a thriller, but also about relationships and friendships.

This was such a good book, I couldn't put it down and ended up staying up in the early hours to read it!
I can't say too much without giving the story away, but there are some great twists to keep you guessing about what will happen next. Some twists lead you down one path, then you realise that was the wrong prediction altogether.
The main characters aren't hugely likeable which makes the story even better!
Deserves to be a big seller when it is released in the summer

It took me a while to get into this book. I struggled with the characters and their development, and the storyline itself felt a little jumbled.

But once you hit a certain point, everything seems to fall into place. I really enjoyed the couple of twists at the end, and how Vanessa’s character was able to overcome her weaknesses and find strength in her sister and Lottie.

I felt like the introduction of some characters were a little random, but they suited the storyline and fit in with the plot for what they were. I just felt like the twist wasn’t very well orchestrated, and wished that a *certain character’s* previous appearances had been made more relevant near the front of the story.

Furthermore, I wanted more explanation and depth as to Vanessa’s desire to look into all of these houses under false names. I just felt like the storyline was fab, but could’ve been executed a little more smoothly to help the reader sift through the past/present.

Overall, an enjoyable read. Just a few minor issues that made the book a little less enjoyable for me!

After getting used to the jumping between the past and present, I enjoyed the read. Not quite the ending I expected, a great twist

Oh my, what a jumbled novel this is. Vanessa is unpleasant, Gabriel is pure fiction, Connor paper thin. The story is disjointed and the ending is a real letdown. There are too many characters and unbelievable bits, I had to keep taking a break to get away from it. Probably the most annoying book I've read in quite a while.

Sorry I can't be kinder than that!

This book was very written. It starts off a little slow-paced but picks up pace halfway through. I enjoyed the back and forth of then and now, and while some things were predictable, the main twist still took me by surprise. There did seem to be a lot going on with the main character and at times she was quite annoying/selfish but that lended itself to the overall tense, thriller atmosphere.

Vanessa Adams has retreated into a fantasy world whenever she has faced stressful situations. As a child, she relived the storylines of her favourite children’s novelist Geoffrey Rivers to cope with the untimely death of her mother. As an adult, she creates imaginary personas to visit exclusive houses she can’t afford to help her deal with her toxic relationship with Connor, her boyfriend. There is plenty in the book to hook the reader - Vanessa’s vulnerability and eagerness to please, the controlling nature of not only Conner, but also her best friend and flat mate Lottie and her sister Georgie, suggesting that nobody is quite what they seem. The mystery of what happened in Holly Maze House, the home of Geoffrey Rivers and the setting for his books and Vanessa’s is the unresolved story that keeps the reader turning the page and sadly, the book’s biggest disappointment. The introduction of a new character later in the book and the premise that Vanessa had forgotten her visit to her favourite author’s home as a child did not ring true to me. Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Books for the advance e-book copy to review.

A great read. Twisty and fast paced - I couldn't put this down and read in one big, juice gulp
Highly recommended.

This was a clever and intricately plotted thriller, cleverly matching up past and present, none of the characters in this book are who they seem.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for providing this copy for a honest review. Honest review! And that’s what you will get.

This book is written by a confused woman who, in the end, has successfully tricked me into thinking that Connor is Gabriel and then I thought: if Gabriel’s mother has died, why did Connor still have mother? LOL

The story has a good start but the more i read, the more i think: oh, this is just a drama about a mentally ill man. In the end I am surprised: oh....wait the minute! Two mentally ill men. These are things I don’t get:

- If Gabriel wanted Vanessa so bad, why didn’t he stalk Connor or kill Connor instead?
- how old was Vanessa when her mom died actually? 10? Or 14?
- how could police not know that Geoffrey has a son, although Geoffrey had never mentioned about his son? Did Nualla Ellwood really think that police and detectives are stupid?? Gosh!
- how would Lottie know that Vanessa was brought to Geoffrey’s house when kidnapped?
- how would Gabriel even know Lottie’s new number??

At first I had sympathy for the main character, but my feeling has become more of a dislike. I understand the author to want to make the main character be a discreet person because if Vanessa opened up when she was at police station, the story would be boring.


Definitely not something I would recommend my friends to read. I’m sorry.

What a cracking read, really enjoyed this, lots of twists and turns all brought to a satisfactory conclusion

She can tell a tale that Nuala Ellwood! I always find her books tightly written and gripping and The Perfect Life is no exception. As the story unfolds all your thoughts and suppositions about Vanessa are washed away and you start to feel very frightened for her. Then you start to distrust everyone in her life and you have to race your way through the book to find out exactly what happens. Another excellent example of Ms Ellwood's eloquence.

Title: The Perfect Life
Author: Nuala Ellwood
Publisher: Penguin Fiction
Pages: 400
Rating: 3/5

A huge thank you to Penguin Fiction and Netgalley for allowing me to review this book!

Synopsis:

Vanessa Adams has been fragile ever since her mum passed away suddenly when she was little. Supported by her older sister Georgie, Vanessa continues to search for happiness and a place she can call home. When Vanessa meets Connor, she thinks she has finally found what she is looking for. However, she also finds happiness elsewhere too, by pretending to be someone else. She begins to take on different personas and viewing houses she knows she will never be able to afford. This was all harmless fun until a man who lived in one of the houses is found dead, and every believes Vanessa to be the killer.

Review:
It was the description of this book that initially caught my eye, it left me hanging and I felt I needed to know what would happen! I was very intrigued about Vanessa too, I wanted to get to know her as I was very unsure if she would be a main character I actually liked. The reviews looked promising, but I didn’t read any as I wanted to discover this read for myself.

The story is told through present day and through past events, I found this clear to follow and I really enjoyed how the story was told like this because I felt like I was getting too stories in one.
Straight away I was left wondering who actually could be trusted in the story and I feel like the author did a fantastic job at keeping you on your toes with this. I was very unsure about Vanessa at the first and as for Connor, despite a few flaws he seemed genuine, but then I questioned if the author was doing this on purpose, leading me into a sense of security.

Throughout the story the author does a fantastic at changing your mind about the characters, she does a very good job at twisting things to make your judgements wrong which I find is very true to real life, we judge others before we know the full story.

I adored Georgie however she was such a sweet natured likeable character and I loved the bond she had with her sister Vanessa. I didn’t give Vanessa a break at first, I was very quick to make my mind up about her. However, as the story went on, I began to understand her and her actions, her need to escape from reality. I felt awful for judging her even though she is just a fictional character.

I was very fascinated to see how this story would unfold as the storyline is quite complex, there is lots going on and lots to get your head round. There was never a dull moment to say the least. The author did a fantastic job at touching on sensitive subjects too such as emotional abuse and mental health.

This was not the storyline I expected, but it had some very important messages in there. I loved how tense the atmosphere got in places and the twists and turns were definitely unexpected. I definitely didn’t expect what was coming! My one negative about this story was that it didn’t overly excited me, I was hooked in but it would have been easy to put the story down too, I love a read that I find difficult to put down because it puts a fire in my belly. This didn’t spoil it for me though, I was still engrossed with the storyline!

If like me you find the beginning of this book confusing and disjointed, stick with it. I promise it’s worth it.
This is the story of Vanessa who meets the love of her life Connor but something isn’t right, is she losing her mind as he tells her.
Compelling tale with a twist I didn’t see coming.
Not one to miss.