Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW, this was a good one. Robyn Harding hit this book out of the park with a quick summer thriller that was shocking and unexpected.

The Perfect Family is based around a family of four; parents Thomas and Viv, and teenaged/twenty-ish children Eli and Tarryn. They worked hard to look perfect from the outside. The quick chapters rotate perspective between all four of them, as they try to sort out who is pranking their house. Each of them has their own secrets that are slowly revealed, and tension builds as the 'pranks' become bigger and more intense.

Each of them have a big enough secret to be the reason for the vandalism, so its impossible to know who is really at fault. I can honestly say I didn't see any of the twists coming. The four story lines unveiled themselves at the same pace, keeping me page flipping until the very end.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PUBLICATION DAY: August 10, 2021

SUMMARY:
This is the fast paced story of a picture perfect family, the Adlers. They have suddenly, and quite unhappily, become the subject of vandalism. Eggs are thrown somewhat harmlessly, but the violence only escalates from there. Who is targeting this “perfect” family?? And why? Once you get a glimpse beneath the surface of all that perfection, you will see that they are not quite so perfect after all, and that they each have something to hide.

PROS and CONS:
Are books about assaults on the home, about hidden secrets, about the overwhelming pressure to be perfect - are they supposed to be so fun?? Well this one sure was...and I loved it! Four great characters each tell the story from their own perspective...detailing what they were hiding and possible motives for the vandalism. The only problem is that when each family member is hiding something huge, finding out who has actually been targeted won’t be easy!

READ IT?
Yes - it’s one that’s very, very difficult to put down. My only (slight) issue is with the ending...some might love it but it left me feeling a bit confused! Other than that, I loved it!!

4 Stars

Thomas and Viv have it all. They have wonderful jobs, an amazing house, one child who is off to college and another who is heading there soon. Everything in their life is exactly as it should be, until it isn't. Viv suspects Thomas is cheating on her and she now has one child who wants to leave school, and another one with an attitude problem. Just when Viv thinks things can't get worse, her house gets egged. They believe this is done by "hooligans" and nothing they should take too seriously. Until things start to escalate.. Tires are being slatched, smoke bombs are tossed on their lawn, and their house continues to be the target.
.
So who's to blame? Everyone in this once perfect family, starts to turn on one another and accuse them of being the cause of these attacks. The more attacks that occur, the more we discover just what secrets this family is really hiding. This family was definitely being targeted in some harsh ways but I didn't really like them, so I didn't feel all that bad(am I a bad person?). I wouldn't really call this a Thriller but more of a Domestic Suspense. Which is fine because it definitely kept me guessing right up until the last page. However, I  think my favorite part about this entire book was the very last sentence. It actually made me burst out laughing. Like seriously, they can't catch a break!

Book Review -The Perfect Family
By Robyn Harding

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonandschusterca for my #gifted ARC in return for an honest review


Mini Review
Dysfunctional family drama
Everyone has a Secret
Everything is not as it seems
So many threads, so many knots to untangle
Compulsion and complicity
Bowing to social and peer pressures
Behind closed doors of suburbia
Perceptions versus real life
Engaging
Page turner
Read.

Triggers: peer pressure, bullying, sexual promiscuity, mental health issues, trauma

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with a galley of this for review!

This book follows a lovely and respected nuclear family: parents Thomas and Viv, children Eli (20) and Tarryn (17), and they have a lovely house and everything is basically perfect.
Until their house gets egged one night. And then a long tirade of strange events and abuses begin and doesn't seem to have an end in sight, and despite setting up one security measure after another, they seem no closer to finding the culprits of the abuse on their house. Things take some dangerous turns and the truth is that every person in the family had at least one secret burning a hole in their pocket...

This book was so fun! I couldn't put it down and found myself wanting to know more and more as the story went on. The structure of the revolving narration and short chapters made it easy to remain engaged in the story and left you scrambling to put the puzzle together before you learned the next clue. I also think that the various twists were well-paced and placed in the story.

However, I did find myself really relying on the chapter titles to identify the narrator, because, without that, the narration style is so consistent throughout, that all four family members sound the same. In a chapter with few context clues, it was integral that you remember who the chapter belonged to—I found myself having to check more than once because it was not always apparent who was speaking.
Also, I found there to be quite a lot of clichés riddled throughout the writing, which is tolerable in this kind of classic thriller story, as it is more about the events than the use of language, but it left some chapters feeling flat to me.
Really my biggest qualm is that I could really feel the presence of the author because there were many moments when the characters felt like stereotypes. The parents felt like caricatures of a white suburban "mom" and "dad", where the mother is emotionally unstable and the dad becomes increasingly more desperate and violent. The portrayal of either child would also often fall into the stereotypes of "cute sensitive young guy" and "emo angry teen girl" with limited depth to them otherwise.
I think a lot more could have been done to differentiate and deepen the characters in this story, but this book is a really fun mystery/thriller, and I am glad I read it!

And now I have to wait until the next book comes out again…

I adore Robyn Harding’s books so much and her most recent The Perfect Family was no exception!

Is it just a bunch of neighbourhood kids up to no good or is there something more sinister going on when the Adler family’s home is pelted with eggs and tomatoes?

Ever increasing vandalization to their home has left the family of Viv and Thomas and their two kids Eli (20) and Tarryn (17) on edge. The Adlers are the picture perfect family living in a well kept home in Oregon. Dad is a realtor and mom is an interior decorator. Eli is a soccer star going to a prestigious college and Tarryn is an angsty teenager.

Each family member wonders if their own actions are behind the targeted attacks. Each is holding secrets close to their hearts.

I could not put this book down. The short chapters ending in cliffhangers had me staying up to read this one. I thought that the author wrote teen angst and keeping up with Joneses really well. The tension was taught throughout and fairly tidy at the end. There was no particularly explosive ending but I was OK with that after clenching my jaw for hours.

This might be my new favourite book by @rhardingwriter but then I say that with every book she puts out.

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonschusterca for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. The Perfect Family publishes August 10, 2021.

The a perfect Family examines the inner thoughts and actions from a seemingly great family. Thomas and Vic seem to have a picture perfect life until everything around them seems to fall apart.
The story is told from the perspectives of Vic and Thomas and their children Tarryn and EI. When someone begins terrorizing the family, each of them explore what role they could have played in their downfall.
Good read and good character development. Recommended!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for my honest review

Robyn Harding is a must-read author for me and she once again had me riveted from the start with her latest thriller.

THE PERFECT FAMILY tells the story of the Adler family, who look perfect from the outside but behind closed doors, all of them are keeping secrets. When their house becomes the target of several acts of vandalism, each of them must face their hard truths, and come together as a family, before the attacks become deadly.

You barely have time to take a breath between shocking revelations as the book moves at breakneck speed along a twisty path to an ending I didn’t see coming. No topic is off the table as Harding takes readers behind the closed doors of suburbia and into the heart of modern family dynamics. This is character-driven domestic suspense at it’s very best.

My thanks to the publisher for the advance reading copy.

I was hooked from the start. I was unable to put this page turner down because I needed to know what was going to happen next and who was behind everything. I loved that the story was told from each member of the family's point of view, it was really interesting to get each individuals prespective of their own life and what was happening to the family as a whole.

The Adlers put on the appearance of a picture perfect family. However every family has secrets and as we follow each member we discover that each has their own secrets they are keeping from the family. The question is which secrets are causing the harm to their house and family. Who is behind the shannigans and will it ultimately ruin the family's reputation?

A must read clever, suspenseful, mind blowing ride right up to the end.

I’m a total sucker for a bit of a juicy read with plenty of secrets and family drama and Robyn Harding is definitely my go to. Her writing is addictive and her books are so bingeable and entertaining.

From the outside looking in, The Adler’s certainly seems like The Perfect Family. But what happens when they become the targets of harassment? Who is the intended target? Told from multiple POV’s, we are given insight into this “perfect” family which begins to unravel under the pressures of their new predicament.

I loved the family dynamics in this one and how each character was relatable on some level. While more of a family drama, you certainly had enough mystery sprinkled throughout the book to keep you second guessing everything and everyone. Once again, you can’t go wrong with this author!

I thought the Perfect Family was such a great example of a thriller - interesting characters that could all be a suspect. I loved reading about this dysfunctional family and learning their secrets. Robyn Harding does such a great job with making her thrillers both clever and extremely fun to read.

I started off liking the characters in this story, but near the middle I grew to dislike all of them. What a mess of a family! Viv has a problem with taking things that don’t belong to her, Thomas is dealing with backlash from a mess he made at a bachelor party (which, by the way, I thought was overblown and mismanaged; the whole thing was innocent enough), Tarryn has a “secret” online life, and Eli was party to a serious incident at school. Each of the family members has someone with reason to come after them. You have to keep turning the pages; which of them is the target of all these late-night attacks?

I also began to question their family dynamic. Why are they are hiding everything from each other? Why are they all so quick to turn on each other? Why doesn’t Tarryn support or believe her dad when he confesses what happened?

This is a fast-paced page-turner with so many questions you can’t wait to get the answers to. I found the end to be a little anti-climactic, but it ends on a cliff hanger. Possible sequel?

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Adlers are a family of four who seem to live the “perfect life” in a beautiful home. Their house starts to be vandalized, from eggs being thrown to tires getting slashed. Each family member has a secret and could be the reason why someone is out to get this family.

Each chapter is told from a different perspective from each person in the family, which I loved. The story moved at a fast pace and I never was bored or uninterested when reading! They way each chapter ended made you want to continue reading to find out what was going on with this crazy, drama filled family!

The story also hinted at the dark side to the overwhelming pressure to try and be “perfect” which I really liked. Especially for the kids in the story who felt like they had to live up to their parents exceptions and not really living the life that they want, rather the one their parents want for them and how this can have such a negative impact!

This was such a great read that kept me on the edge of my seat until the end! With so many possible suspects and secrets, I had no clue how it was going to end! Not to mention Robyn is a Canada author!

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, and Robyn Harding for the EARC for my honest review.

Pub Day: August 10/21

Thank you for this advanced copy of The Perfect Family!

I have read two books by Robyn Harding in the past and have become a fan of her writing. This book did not disappoint.

I was able to finish it really quickly because the suspense had me turning page after page. I was dying to put all the pieces together. Just when I thought I did the plot twisted again and I had to start over.
I am able to figure out books pretty easily but not this one. I was shocked by the entire thing! Each family member had their own secret and I didn’t figure it out until the end when the book wrapped up.

I really really liked this one and would highly recommend it!

I was hooked on this book from the start! I found myself eager to find out who was behind everything and tormenting the Adlers. I read it so quick I didn’t even update my goodreads progress! The ending was a little disappointing as it didn’t feel like it wrapped up too nicely, but overall such a page Turner! 3.5/5 rounded up to 4

The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding

No spoilers, I promise. I am in awe of authors like Robyn. Each novel is a unique journey. The Perfect Family is no exception. Every time you think you know who done it, you are wrong.
This is a creepily fresh read right to the very last sentence. check out her other books too.

Out July 27th.

The Adler family lived in Craftsman style home. These homes were all over Portland. The house was filled with all the things that make it appear elegant, and refined. "But the people who lived there only looked perfect."

Thomas, the father, was an estate agent, who recently went on a boy's retreat and landed himself in a bit of trouble after getting so drunk he blacked out. Viv, his wife, suspects something strange is going on with her husband but has her own issues. She has started to pocket other people's belongings. She is also responsible for keeping the family united. Eli, their college aged son, has returned home from his first year away, and has informed his parents he is dropping out (Worbey College), despite his soccer scholarship. He refuses to explain to his parents why he wants to quit.And finally, Tarryn, the daughter, who used to be so friendly and outgoing, has turned moody and closed in. Viv has no understanding what happened to cause this dramatic change in her daughter's personality. Hopefully it is just a phase....

One night, the family wakes up to discover that their beautiful windows have been egged. It's a bother, but they decide it's probably kids just getting into mischief, so they try to forget about it. But, the attacks on their home continue, and soon they even become dangerous. Each member of the family is scared they are the reason for the attacks .... and yet, Thomas, Viv, Eli and Tarryn, keep their secrets .... WHO is behind these attacks?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading #theperfectfamily by @rhardingwriter. It"s a clean (not too scary) thriller that will have you fliping the pages right to the end.

Thank you #netgalley and @simonandschustercanada for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.
#5stars.

This was a wild ride! I always love books with multiple POV’s and find it much easier to read, added with short chapters and mini cliffhangers at end of each of them.

Every family has secrets and it was intriguing to watch it all unfold. But to be honest, I found the ending a little anti-climactic. Nothing really shocked me to the point of being surprised or thrown off.

Regardless, it was a quick read for me and definitely one I’ll recommend when it’s available!

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an ARC All opinions are exclusively my own.

As soon as I saw this book pop up on Netgalley it was an immediate request for me and I was so happy when I was granted access to the eARC from Simon & Schuster Canada! My go-to genre has always been thrillers and this one did not disappoint! I love multiperspective books and this one alternates each chapter and gives you insight into what each person in the family is hiding from the others and why each one of them thinks they’re the reason their family’s home is being targeted each night. This one had me guessing and changing my mind and I did not see the ending coming like it did. Highly recommend if you love fast paced thrillers that keep you guessing until the end!

Rating: 3.2 / 5

Received ARC from Netgalley for honest review

Okay y'all, so there are two key things that you should know and suspend disbelief for if you want to enjoy this book:

1. How lax and unresponsive the police are to what's happening, and
2. How stupid and unlikable the characters are in how they deal (or not deal) with everything.

Those are the negatives and, as you can tell by my lukewarm rating, they take away a lot from the enjoyment of the otherwise positives, i.e.:

1. The setup, and
2. The unexpected twists of what's really going on.

So, here's the non-spoiler version of the story in a nutshell:

The Adlers are a "look perfect" nuclear family, living in a good neighbourhood and fancy house that they can't really afford, and being snobby about everything like they're entitled and privileged. In truth though, they're each keeping a secret, and it seems that as vandalisms on their house increasingly make them a target, one of those secrets may be more than they can handle.

Of the family, I only really liked Eli, because his was the only secret that wasn't really his fault and was somewhat sympathetic. Otherwise both, Tarryn and Thomas are both complete idiots that I couldn't stand, and Viv, while tolerable, is ultimately just the "cry at everything and not be able to handle anything" damsel in distress. "Dysfunctional" is just one of many words that can describe this family, but overall I'd say that they're more stupid in how dishonest and uncoordinated they are at handling everything. This entire book felt like it could be much shorter if one of them just opened up and trusted their own family with their secret earlier on, and you just know it's not a good sign when a reader starts thinking that. "If only this happening, then this book could SHOULD be shorter."

Otherwise though, what turned me off this story (apart from the Adlers, whose fates I didn't much care about one way or the other and so I only read through this in one day in order to see what was actually going on because that was fairly interesting and did have a good payoff at the end), was just how lax and irrelevant the police were in this story. Okay, I get that in mystery-thrillers and domestic thrillers, the police sort of have to be noncaring assholes who "can't do anything" and therefore aren't doing their jobs at all, in order to put the protagonists in compromising and dire situations where they're on their own, but come on! Make it realistic, at least! Because even if for minor things like eggings, the police might not get involved, for something as serious as arson, they would not just chuck it down to being a teenage prank in real life. I mean, that's where the author seriously lost me and sent me on a scan-fest for the second half of the book. What's enough is enough.

Anyway, to sum up, if all you're after in reading one of these is an unexpected twist, then you're fine. The twists are there, yup yup.

There's just a tone of stuff to get through until then, that's all. Remember, you have been warned.