Robyn Harding is one of my favourite authors. She is an incredibly talented storyteller that always comes up with something fresh and different. Told from the perspective of all of the family members, The Perfect Family is flawlessly paced and totally binge-worthy.

Under the guise of a perfect family, this addictive novel is the right amount of soapy and thrilling to keep the pages turning. Harding deftly explores familial relationships—each character is harbouring a secret that has consequences, all of which could be the reason for the attacks.

Creating the perfect family that turns into the perfect facade, Harding has another hit on her hands.

Boy did this family have secrets. Highly entertaining page turner kept me on my toes throughout the entire story. Just when I thought I had worked it out boom a plot twist. Really enjoyed the family dynamic and how even after all the trauma and suspicions everyone was still so supportive. You never really know what goes on in a family home. The Perfect Family showcased that a perfect family rarely exists.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc

Just love this Author. She can write no wrong.. Simply BRILLIANT. I highly recommend this unputdownable book. Run, do not walk, to get your hands on this!!!

1.5

I'm really disappointed that I didn't like this since I was really excited about this arc! First of all, I had a few problems with the plot reveals since out of the three grand reveals, I only thought one of them was satisfactory. I also had a problem with some of the behaviors and mentality of the characters which some include 'boys will be boys'. I had initially thought that this novel had planned on critiquing 'the boys will be boys' aspects with the character of Tarryn which she does but the behavior of every other character seem to absolutely ignore it. A lot of the commentary on multiple subjects similar to 'Boys will be Boys', like sex work is also brought up and the answer was frustrating.

The best part of this book is the character and the multiple perspectives. At all times while I was reading, I knew which character I was following. But as I mentioned because of the commentary that some of the characters give, it end's up being an angry read. Another good part of the multiples perspectives, it's that you could easily see all the misunderstandings which were entertaining but slightly repetitive at times.

Overall, I did not enjoy this read.

Thank you Netgalley, Simon and Schuster, and Robyn Harding for this arc.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to see another book from Robyn Harding as I have been a big fan of her previous ones. However, this one was a bit of a letdown. It’s definitely a fast paced book, I couldn’t put it down. I read the book in 4 hours. I empathized with the characters. Their struggles were realistic.

But the ending. That was frustrating. I don’t want to say anything because I don’t want to spoil it, but the ending definitely took a couple stars off.

Absolutely in love with this book! I read it in just a few hours in one sitting. This domestic thriller plot is both unique and refreshing for its genre and Robyn Harding NEVER disappoints!

I could not put this book down! I’ve read all of Robyn Harding’s books and I’ve found this with each of them. They are compelling to the point of obsession!

The Perfect Family is about the Adler family and they each have a secret that could destroy their whole family. To the world they appear to be a model family and that is the appearance they want to keep but someone knows their secrets and is attempting to destroy their perfect facade. At first the pranks are harmless but annoying. However, things escalate and the family has to worry about their safety.

As the book progresses the secrets become harder and harder for the family to keep and their flawless veneer begins to crack. Each of the Adler’s feels alone and helpless as they struggle with what the right thing to do is to keep their family safe.

This book will keep you guessing right down the very last line!

Another golfer by Robyn Harding. You are always guaranteed a twisted suspense with her. The book is told from four different perspectives, all family. All are harbouring secrets that could comeback to haunt them. Everything from social media, bullying, relationships and beyond is addressed. You will be guessing until the last Lionel. Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

A quick, easy family drama/thriller read about a seemingly perfect family and the secrets they keep. Told in short chapters, the story moves along at a good pace. I thought it was a good read although I did find the ending was unclear. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

So many things I loved about this book! First of all, I love Robyn Hardings books -- her writing style, character development, and pacing is always spot-on. And this book did not disappoint. I was hooked from the prologue! I'm sure you've read the synopsis so I won't repeat it here. But to summarize, a fancy family of 4 in the suburbs is being targeted by an unknown group of people hell-bent on harassing the crap out of them and the events continue to escalate. Each chapter rotates through each family member so you get to see everyone's perspective on the events as they unfold. I've seen this done in other books and it can be tricky to pull off if the author doesn't give each character a distinct voice -- but Ms Harding does this beautifully. Add to this each character's dark secrets and it creates a perfect storm of whodunnit. I honestly didn't see the ending coming, but admittedly wasn't trying hard to figure it out. I was just enjoying the story. It's a fun, absorbing and quick read. Each chapter is short so if you like to read on work breaks or commutes, you won't be stuck in the middle of a long, never-ending chapter. The pace is steady from the beginning, I don't think it dragged anywhere. I think my only negative feeling is that last little "few months later" part at the end (especially the last page). I thought it was unnecessary and added nothing to the story. The characters themselves were a bit cliched but not outrageously so and they do represent a huge chunk of middle-upper-class Western society. Overall an awesome read!

Robyn has quickly become one of my favourite authors. Her books always keep me guessing until the very end and I enjoy her writing style immensly!

i enjoy many books by Simon and Schuster and when I read the summary of Robyn Harding's book. I had to request it and Im so glad I did.

Im still actually trying to gather my thoughts after reading this twisted story.. Robyn knows how to mess with me by leading me down another path when i thought I was in the right one. This tells me she is a brilliant writer. A definite rollercoaster filled with twists and turns and this is definitely one great psychological thriller.

My Thoughts and opinions are my own and I want to Thank Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for this advanced readers copy

The Adler family was the perfect family; a family to be envied. Both Thomas and Vic have successful careers. They live in a beautiful house in the right neighbourhood with the perfect lawn. They have the expensive cars and the millionaire’s family with a daughter and son. Everything was perfect until it wasn’t; until the night that the first egg hit their house.

“It’s only pranks”, the police said. But one by one, the pranks escalated until events that were terrifying and dangerous. How do they stop if the police won’t help them? Who is out to target this perfect family?

Maybe this family isn’t so perfect. They all have secrets. Big secrets. But are they big enough that someone who go to this extent to scare them or to exact revenge? Is there some kind of message they are sending? Each person in the family thinks that all of it is because of them and what they have done.

When this book came up for review, I jumped at the chance. Since reading “the Party”, I have been in love with Robyn Harding’s books. They have the right amount of drama combined with intrigue, thrills and suspense. This story could be about our family or a family we know. People make mistakes and we all make them and this book, I found myself loving the characters that may be a little flawed but really? They are pretty normal. Sometimes when I read a book, I dislike the characters, while trying not to judge their actions. But I didn’t feel that way about this family. No, they aren’t perfect. But then neither are any of us and we have all had secrets. I think I liked them more for not being the perfect, entitled, wealthy family that seemed so perfect on the outside. I had such a hard time putting this book down. I found myself wanting to cheat and rush to the back to find out who was doing this and why. But I didn’t want to spoil the journey and I refrained from flipping through. I whipped through this book to find out for myself and there were a few surprising things revealed on the way and it was worth the wait.

This newest book of Ms Harding’s is another five star book. I always eagerly wait for another of her releases. I expect a well written, thoroughly engrossing and fascinating read and she has never disappointed me. Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for this opportunity to read and review this book.

The Adler family is known as the perfect family in their neighbourhood. They have a nice home, kind children, good jobs, and are attractive. One day, they wake up to find their house and car covered in eggs, leaving them wondering if they have an enemy. Little does anyone know, each of the members of the perfect family have their own secrets, and through the alternating narration, the reader will be brought into each's secret and their possible enemies and their motives. As the days go on, the attacks to their home begin to escalate, making the Adler's unravel and have to face their fears and share their secrets with each other to keep their family intact.

I absolutely loved this title, which isn't surprising since I've read all of Robyn Hardings books and have thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. This held my interest throughout, in fact, I couldn't put it down. I read it in one day. The characters were well-developed and realistic, and the secrets and possible enemies and motives were unique and plausible. I look forward to reading move of Harding's titles. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this title in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reading copy for review!

The Adler Family lives in a nice home with a nice lawn in Portland, Oregon. They appear to be the perfect family on the outside, but on the inside it is anything but. Vivian Adler has her own interior design company, her husband Thomas works in real estate, their son Eli has dropped out of University to work as a busboy and their daughter Tarryn, a senior in high school, has become moody and irritable.. but stays up late into the night on her computer doing something in secret.

The Adele’s then install cameras throughout the property after having their home vandalized and being dismissed by the police, but with no avail. The family dynamic shifts as more tension build. Each member of the family begins to believe they alone are the target of the harassment. In addition to all of the damage being done to their home, and their relationships, their is a lawsuit against them. Could what started out as attacks and vandalism by rowdy teenagers turned into something bigger? Something more dangerous?

I was hooked right away! I loved the way the chapters were organized with the different perspectives of the family members, it made it very exciting to read. Things with the Adler family go from bad to worse very quickly. The suspense is maintained throughout the entire book and you are finding yourself saying “Oh, just one more chapter!”

The Perfect Family is an unsettling, dark, domestic thriller that I could just not put down. I was completely shocked and excited by the conclusion, it had me guessing until the very last page! I highly recommend this book.

The Perfect Family - Robyn Harding

Robyn Harding is one of my very top Canadian authors because of her absolutely intoxicating writing style, and The Perfect Family was no exception to that! I don’t know how she does it, but her writing is always so unputdownable, even when I’m not super excited about the plot.

Overall, The Perfect Family is a very mild thriller, I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was marketed as a family drama. We have lots of secrets within the family, but I found all of their secrets to be rather boring and honestly not worth keeping. The characters are all pretty unlikeable (which is something I actually like in a thriller). While this was not my favourite book by Harding, I definitely recommend people who enjoy suspense novels but don’t like anything too intense or graphic, to read this one!

The Perfect Family- Robyn Harding
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
.
.
.
I really enjoyed The Perfect Family, until literally the last sentence of the book. I literally whispered to myself, pardon the language, wtf... 😳. It had great drama and the story kept adding new elements that made you wonder who was trying to destroy this family. Each member of the Adler family has a secret to hide and somebody is targeting them. But who is it? Or is it all of them? Are they the perfect family? I have enjoyed Robyn Harding’s previous book The Swap. I felt the ending of this book just fell very very flat and the cliffhanger just didn’t make sense. It was a quick read for me and I really enjoyed it until the last page.

I left some clues in my picture, what does one earring, a lipstick and nail polish have to do with the story? You better get this book when it comes out to find out.
.
.
.
Thanks to @netgalley and @simonschusterca for the arc!

#NetGalley #simonandschustercanada #bookarc #bookstagram #booklover #readersofinstagram #read #february2021reads #robynharding #mysteryandthrillers

Release Date: August 10, 2021

Earrings: @youfancyhuhjewellery

Addictive, full of deception, betrayals, secrets, and lies..lies..lies! This book has it all and I LOVED it!! I am a huge fan of Robyn Harding and once I heard about her latest novel THE PERFECT FAMILY I knew I had to get my hands on a copy ASAP so was thrilled when I received this via NetGalley.

The Adler family is trying to keep up with appearances, just like everyone else. When everything on the outside looking in seems perfect and just so, not all is always as it appears to be. The perfect looking family might not be quite so perfect after all. I love how this novel starts off with someone lurking in the shadows at night, approaching the house with bad intentions for sure. The following chapters then alter to 6 weeks prior to that night and is told from alternating POV's. Some parts are told from Vivian's (Viv's) POV, the mother of the family. Some parts are told from Thomas' POV, the father. Some parts are told from their daughter Tarryn's POV and other's told from their son's Eli's POV. I love a good book told from various POV's as we get to hear the story from each side and from each character and see the world through their eyes. It adds to the character development, enriches the storyline and makes for a great book and I loved that about this novel. Each character in this story has their own share of secrets and lies they are with-holding from everyone around them. They all have something to hide, something to lose, and I loved reading about all of their secrets and half-truths. No one in the family is perfect, far from it, but they try and keep up the illusion that they are.

Vivian feels her husband growing distant from her, even though they have two children together, a beautiful home, and have been married for 22 years. She feels it in her gut that he is cheating on her. She has no proof, just this gut wrenching feeling inside. Her husband Thomas has a secret of his own - something happened on a guys trip he attended some time back and even his wife doesn't know about it. Then there is their daughter Tarryn - she has a secret life that comes out at night, when other family members are sleeping. Finally we had their son Eli - he has a secret of his own that makes him sick to his stomach when he thinks about it... a secret that is so awful that he dropped out of College for and returned to live at home much to his parents' disapproval and dislike.. 

When it is clear that someone or some people are targeting their home, and their home is attacked and vandalized, who is responsible and what are they trying to prove? When all family members are keeping their own secrets, are one of them the target and the reason why they are under attack? Are they all partly to blame? Why would they be targeted, especially when they are the "perfect" family?

I loved the family dynamics of the Adler family and reading about their individual deception and lies. Such a great recipe for a great book and I devoured this book. 

Well done Robyn! I loved this book and definitely recommend you add this one to your TBR right now! You'll love it! I'm looking forward to your next book Robyn!

💫 Book Review 💫
The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding

This book may not come out for 6 months but something about the description pulled me in to read it now. It’s a quick read, with short chapters that keep the pages turning about a family who appear to be “perfect” but are hiding secrets from each other.

Each character (Thomas, Viv, Eli and Tarryn) get a chance to share a little piece of their secrets in each chapter. The different POV was strategically smart in the writing because it allowed for the reader to question everyone and everything they were reading.

Quick synopsis: Thomas and Viv are the parents of this family. They have a son Eli who drops out of college with no explanation and a daughter who has the angry teen angst down pat. At least, that’s what it looks like at the start of the novel. You quickly realize they’re all holding secrets that could be the reason why they’re being attacked at home. It starts with eggs and leads to much more terrifying things that the family feels like their under siege.

But instead of pulling together, they all keep their secrets festered till they break.

The idea of perfection. Pressure on kids to be the best. The mixed up world we live in where it matters more what random people think of us instead of the people we love. Those things drive the book.

I wouldn’t say it’s a thriller. But I couldn’t really place it in any genre. It’s just a quick read that kept me guessing.

Thank you to @gallerybooks and @simonandschuster for the gifted copy in return for an honest review. This book comes out August 10,2021.

Run, don’t walk, to grab a copy of this perfect gem of a book! I picked up ,“The Perfect Family”one bleak and snowy afternoon and literally did not put it down until it was finished. Cocooned on the couch with my furry blanket, I consumed cup after cup of hot tea and gobbled up this book, losing myself completely to the intricate ever-widening pools of character and plot - swirling eddies that seemed to come out of nowhere, impossible to escape.

The story involves a suburban family - mother, father, teenage daughter and collegial son - each of whom, we learn, is desperately working to hide deeply personal ugly and shameful secrets. The story unfolds alternately from each of the family members POV, with each character detailed and defined within their own beautifully drawn, self-contained world.

As the story unfolds, we learn that someone has a grudge, a vendetta against the family, revealing itself as incidents that could be initially classified as vandalism escalate with ominous inevitability, drawing us before we know it into a world of creepy-crawly terror.

4.5 “read this on the edge of your seat” stars.

Watch facades tumble, carefully constructed high-gloss lives tarnish and curl as the author, almost gleefully, repeatedly topples the illusion of perfection and has us questioning everything we read. Right up until the terrific ending, which, no spoilers here, had me chuckling out loud.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries, character-driven suspense, and twisty-turny (somewhat mischievous) plots.

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, and the author for an advance review copy of this book. All thoughts presented here are my own.