This is the second book I have read by Nuala Ellwood and I enjoyed this as much as the first. A clever story that encompasses many important issues in society, amongst them being social media addiction and the effects it has on depression and mental health issues. It also covered gas lighting., the psychological manipulation which many people are not aware of but is as damaging as abuse.

Instead of resorting to dangerous behaviours like drink or drugs. when Vanessa is feeling down, she uses pretence to make herself feel better. She invents convincing personas and backstories and uses them when she visits lavish properties that she has no real hope of attaining. This seems harmless enough and helps her through tough personal crises, but when the body of a man is discovered in a property she has viewed and been seen running from, this world of make-believe does not look so innocent.

The mystery of what happened in the house is slowly revealed alongside Vanessa's personal struggles from losing her mother at a young age to the downward spiral she takes after moving in with Connor, a man that seemed to be the perfect partner.

Both strands are wonderfully scripted and the story and twists were unexpected. The darker aspects were dealt with well and the ending satisfying.

A recommended read.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin for my copy of this book to review.

This is the first book by Nuala Ellwood that I have read. I loved the description of this book...someone pretending to be someone different and better, along with expensive house viewings that end in a murder. However, it didn’t quite live up to what I was hoping for. I found it very slow until the last few chapters, I didn’t like most of the characters, and I felt like there were 2 separate storylines with a very fine link between them. I skimmed through quite a few pages to get to the ending I’m afraid.

On a positive note, I really enjoyed the ‘now’ and ‘then’ chapters. And I did enjoy the story of the Vanessa & Connor’s relationship, but not the house viewing side so much...which is what drew me to the book in the first place. I feel maybe there was too much happening and the author might've been better sticking to one storyline.

I didn’t completely hate the book, and there are a lot of positive reviews so maybe it was just not for me.

The Perfect Life is told in a Now and Then narrative and the author keeps up the suspense as the difference in Vanessa Adams’s life is shockingly big between both narratives. Her life in the current state is rather depressing with her staying at her sister’s house, no sign of Connor anywhere near or of doing anything useful throughout the day, and it gets even worse when she’s brought in for questioning for murder after she was found out visiting a house for sale under a different name. The house in question was that of a renowned children books author and she always adored his books so from that very first moment it seemed rather odd to kill your favorite author ;-). Then there are flashback moments where we see Vanessa at her happiest when she falls madly in love with Connor and is thriving in her job. The contrast couldn’t have been bigger so this left a lot of questions to be answered.

The perfect life… who’s life are they talking about in this novel? This is an excellent question for bookclubs. Is it Nessa and Connor’s, her sister Georgie, the life Nessa envions to have if she were living in the houses she visits, someone else? Does anyone really have a perfect life? Nessa and Connor’s life certainly looks perfect at first but looks can be deceiving and relationships can change. As a result of things not going perfect she’s a bit weird and visits all sorts of dreamhouses she can’t afford, adopting new personas every time, with a completely new background story for each new name. Maybe it’s just me but I find my escape in reading a good book but apparently Nessa had other ideas ;-). I had a feeling how one plotline was going to go but I still couldn’t see the murder fitting in. Is Nessa really losing her marbles, her actions are not really ‘normal’ after all? Is Connor the one who tried to set her up? Nuala Ellwood is a great writer whose forte lies both in her writing of psychological aspects in a story and in creating super-surprising twists and she does that again in The Perfect Life. I felt first mad, then furious and at one point so ultimately enraged when bad things happened to Nessa and they culminated in one moment of utter betrayal and ugly deception. While she isn’t a character I felt closely connected to, I wouldn’t wish this for anyone and I was happy knowing that she would rise above it and it would all be fine in the end.

It is up for debate if the supernova of a twist in the end is really believable this time as it really came out of nowhere. I don’t really know how to judge the ending. I agree that it was indeed a bit farfetched but also an original angle and it just goes to show that nobody’s life is perfect and everyone can pretend to be someone they are not.

I have read all four books of this author now and I enjoyed all of them, this one certainly isn’t bad at all but I have to admit I liked the plotlines in the other novels a little better and before you ask (because I know you will) The House on the Lake, her previous novel, is personally my favorite one.

I have never read a book by Nuala Ellwood before. The description of the book caught my attention from the start. The story was quite compelling and captivated my interest. It was a book I struggled to put down trying to figure out where the story was going. It covered an important element of life in regards to her relationship with her boyfriend. There was no way to anticipate how this was going to finish or the outcome of the story. Will definitely read this author again. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book.

Vanessa wants the “Perfect Life” she enjoys dressing up, pretending to be someone else and goes to view luxury houses that she could not possibly afford. Where is the harm in that I hear you say?

When one of the owners of a house Vanessa has viewed is found dead, she becomes the number one suspect!!

I was so hooked by this book that I ended up reading late into the night, as I could not put it down!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

I found this rather slow to get going, but I 'hung on in there' to find out what was going to happen. In the end, there wasn't that much happening which I found convincing. The main character being obsessed with viewing houses wasn't convincing to me and I started to feel rather irritated by her, rather than sympathetic. Overall, I wouldn't really recommend this to friends.

I really enjoyed this.
The storyline manages to cover so many interesting and challenging topics, that somehow all fit together to explain the way that the characters are, and we gradually learn of the events that lead up to a man being found dead in the house that Vanessa has viewed under a fake identify.
What starts as some escapism to dream of a different life becomes something much deeper and darker.

Highly recommended, thank you to Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Penguin, for a copy of The Perfect Life by Nuala Ellwood. I have never read a book by the author before so, I was excited to read a book from a new author.
After the loss of her mother at an early age, Vanessa thrives for a perfect life. When she thinks she has one, with her dream job, living with best friend Lottie and Connor her perfect boyfriend, things start to go wrong. Not only is she accused of lying to estate agents when she goes and visits houses that she can never afford and pretends to be someone she isn’t. She is accused of murdering one of the residents of them and they happen to be her favourite childhood author.
I am finding it hard to review this book. For me, this book didn’t add up. Because of the different timelines I thought I was reading two separate stories, and neither was excitable and quite unbelievable. I didn’t like the main character either, I just thought she needed to get a grip of herself and the ending was very disappointing.

I found the character of Vanessa very unsettling and her behaviour strange. However,I persevered and quite enjoyed this book. I will admit to skipping a few pages towards the end but their was an unforeseen twist at the end which was surprising.

Modern society appears to have a bit of an obsession with perfection, the perfect body, the perfect looks the perfect baby, the perfect shot of your food posted on Instagram. The problem is that, even when people achieve their goal, they are often still not happy with the results and still see imperfections. Of course the flip side of this quest for perfection is that sometimes things go terribly wrong and the person comes to realise that they were happier just the way they were. This complex thriller is the story of our main character Vanessa's search for the perfect life, a search that results in her developing a obsession with adapting false identities and visiting luxurious properties that she has no chance of affording. A obsession that results in her becoming the suspect in a murder investigation. The chapters flipped back and forth in time and the intricate plot covered issues ranging from control manipulation to obsession, fractured relationships and mental health issues. It's a enthralling tale of how our upbringing can influence our behaviour and actions as adults. As the story unfolded I had mixed feelings about Vanessa, she had her flaws but I felt it was unfair to judge her character too harshly because of the situations that she found herself in and the effects they were having in her mental health. I really liked motormouth, fun filled Lottie and Vanessa's long suffering but loyal sister Georgie.

This is a well written, captivating, gripping thriller that had me hooked in from the first page, kept me guessing and glued to my kindle. It is intricately plotted, had some unexpected twists and turns and the characters were a diverse and realistic cast of individuals. I thought this was a very enjoyable read by a very talented author and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

The main character in this book is so canny. Sly as a fox. It’s all a bit of a game for her, at first. I really enjoyed the way this book developed. Nice and pacy, it keeps you wanting more.

A faced paced read full of drama and suspense.

The book addresses some challenging subjects which the author handles with care and sensitivity.

Wow, a really wild ride.

Vanessa finds herself drawn in to finding the perfect house. She doesn’t have the money but that doesn’t stop her making appointments to see them, yet how on earth does this end up with her being a suspect in a murder enquiry?

This is a well written book but the final chapters stepped a little bit too out of believability for me. Regardless of that it’s a gripping novel and I did race through it.

Standout character in Vanessa’s sister a character so very well written that you are guaranteed to know someone very similar, which really helped draw me into the book.

Initially I found the varied timeline confusing but then as the book progressed it settled into a rhythm and provided backup to the main storyline.
It was an interesting read, how Vanessa's life slowly began to fall apart and the ending was partly what I had anticipated and partly out of the blue. Elements of this book were very well written and it was a satisfying read provided you ignored some of the questions that it left you with.

The Perfect Life is a real page turner,a psychological thriller that had me hooked from the very beginning. Vanessa is a very vulnerable young woman who lost her Mum at an early age and is just seeking a perfect life ! She makes up new identities and looks at houses she cannot afford so she can dream of a better life .After visiting one of these houses the owner is found dead and she is accused of murder. Told in the present and 2 years before the reader learns how the present came about because of the what has happened in the past.A very enjoyable read .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

I took a long time to read this book as it just didn't hook me. The characters are strange and I felt little interest in them. Everyone behaves illogically and I found myself asking 'Why didn't they just ask/check/leave...' with lots of the scenarios. There are timelines and plots that just don't add up or fit together properly. I've read lots of positive reviews for this book, so maybe it's just me, but I won't be recommending this I'm afraid.

With a complex, multidimensional plot structure that touches on issues of abuse, death, and the gaslighting of a vulnerable young woman, Ellwood’s latest domestic thriller is not an easy read. The protagonist, Vanessa, has lost her mother as a young girl and is not only vulnerable but also in search of the perfect home life, hence her delight in house viewings. When she meets her partner, it looks as if she might be able to create a harmonious life for herself, but her life spirals out of control when she is implicated in the death of the owner of one of the houses she has visited.
This book showcases Ellwood’s talent at her best. Despite its mixture of so many deep topics, it is a compelling novel with many different plot strands expertly woven into a book that keeps you turning the pages.
I was delighted to be provided a free e-book from Netgalley and the publishers of "The Perfect Life" in exchange for this honest, unbiased review.

When I started reading it I found it a bit confusing stories jumping between now and then. As I read further it became clearer and more interesting. It's a psychological thriller, which I love reading. The end wasn't at all predictable.

Loved it! I read this book in 2 sittings although I would have read it from cover to cover in 1 sitting had my eyes allowed me too! The story of Vanessa had me gripped all the way through to the end and what a twist, would never have guessed it! Just didn’t want it to end. Highly recommended reading.