Her Perfect Life is a novel written by USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan, also known as an on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV. The novel similarly enough (“write about what you know”) revolves around a successful investigative journalist and TV personality, Lilly Atwood , who’s carefully constructed on screen life begins crumbling away as old family secrets begin to resurface. An ominous private detective and Lilly’s covetous producer help drive the narrative, where on one hand, there’s the adultery Lilly committed seven years prior, and the subsequent birth of her daughter Rowen through wedlock with lawyer, Sam Prescott who after seven years demands to be a part of his daughters life again. While on the other there’s her 90’s runaway sister, Cassie Atwood, who was manipulated by a dirty small town cop, and through entrapment convinced to work as an informant against a college campus drug supplier, thus forcing her into witness protection and effectively ruining her life. Presumed dead, she resurfaces from witness protection to set the record straight and further complicate the perfect, yet delicate world her younger sister helped cultivate for herself.

Overall this is a great crime/thriller. Be sure to pick up a copy of Her Perfect Life when it releases September 14th , 2021.

Her Perfect Life by Hank Philippi Ryan is a very good mystery that will leave you guessing until the very end. What would happen if your sister disappeared and this mystery was never solved? How would this effect your life? This is the theme of this novel and is seen as we go back and forth between the life of the missing sister and the other sister who know seems to live the perfect life of a news anchor. What exactly does a perfect life look like and why isn’t everything as it appears to be. I finished reading this novel at 145 in the morning. I just had to know what was going to happen! You will enjoy it as well! Thank you to Hank Philippi Ryan, Forge Books, and netgalley for allowing the the privilege of reading and reviewing this novel.

What a fun story to read. The story does start slow; however, it makes up for it with an amazingly twisted ending. The characters of Lily, Cassie and Banning were whole and engaging. However, I find Greer's character to be lacking. Especially the ending of Greer. I still don't understand her character wholly. She is an integral part of the story to help move it along; however, her personality and part in the story seems lacking in a lot of ways. I don't understand how one character can fall short in this story when everyone else is so full.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with this book, mostly I think, because I could not connect with the main characters, nor did I like them at all. I found Lily whiney, obsessive, and self-centered. I never trusted her producer Greer, right from the start she seemed way too jealous of Lily and was just all-around sneaky.

The story is told in dual timelines, about 25 years between them. The past timeline centers around Cassie, Lily's older sister who leaves for college and while there disappears never to be heard from again. No one had ever figured out what had happened to her.

Present time deals with Cassie, a well-known and successful news personality, and her producer Greer. Cassie is always looking for Casie in every female that is the age she would have been, but she is also hiding secrets of her own, such as the father of her daughter.

There are some great twists in the story, some that I had figured out and some that I was totally off on. I can certainly see why Hank Phillipi Ryan has such a large and faithful fan base, her writing is masterful. It was just hard for me to enjoy the book when I disliked the characters so much. I am looking forward to trying other books that she has written.

HER PERFECT LIFE by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Review by Valerie J. Brooks

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s new novel HER PERFECT LIFE sets us up for the big fall as we all know that maintaining a perfect life is impossible. So rack up a perfect title for this thriller.

Lily Atwood, the beloved celebrity journalist of the novel, has kept her perfect life due in part to her right-hand person and producer Greer Whitfield who feels unappreciated.

Either everyone wants to be Lily or meet Lily, so she’s under constant pressure. She’s difficult to deal with because she’s perfection-driven and protective of her daughter Rowan. Lily is a loving mother yet a tough professional in a profession dominated by men. To keep her perfect life, she has to keep her personal life out of the news, but that keeps her on edge because Lily has a secret. Or two.

The pressure ramps up exponentially with the arrival of a Mr. Smith, a goldmine of story leads. But why is he doing this? The suspense builds when he starts getting too close to Lily’s secret. Lily is also haunted by an older sister, Cassie, who disappeared 25 years earlier when Lily was 18. Then throw in the appearance of Rowan’s father who has also been kept a secret.

Ryan masterfully weaves the plot lines together via the characters, their emotions, and the resulting actions. With everything coming at once—Mr. White, Cassie’s disappearance, Rowan’s unknown father, and Greer’s attempts to do it her way instead of Lily’s—the past collides with the present to give us a heartfelt, heart-wrenching, and danger-filled thriller with the twists and turns of the Kingda Ka rollercoaster at Six Flags.

Hank Phillippi Ryan is one of my favorite thriller writers for many reasons. She’s a first-rate writer, and the plot seems to come from her characters, not the characters from the plot. In many of her novels, Ryan’s life as a professional investigative journalist sets the stage and details. Ryan has won 37 Emmy Awards and 14 Edward R. Murrow Awards. Her novels take us into her world but up the stakes of her characters. Clearly, she knows her stuff. Clearly, she is at the top of her game and maybe has even bigger thrills in store for us. I’m sure she does.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Forge Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

#HerPerfectLIfe #NetGalley

Lily Atwood, from outside appearances has the perfect life and she will do anything to keep her secrets from the past, in the past. The curiosity of what these secrets might be, and who would be out to 'reveal these, was what kept be invested at first, however I felt the overall plot was weak and the attachment to the main characters lacking. The ending of the book was where I felt my investment paid off, it wasn't something that I came close to expecting however it was work to get through the 300 or so pages for that pay off. I just did not feel enough for the characters to care what their past or history held for them.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was my first book by this author and I am totally a fan! I wanted to continue staying up to read another page. Loved the characters and loved the plot. Excellent read!

So so so very good. I love this author and her amazing books. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book. I truly enjoyed it.

This just might be my favorite book by Hank Phillippi Ryan. I would recommend this one to my patrons!

This book started off really slow and I had a hard time engaging at first. By the half way mark it really picked up and I was hooked. Glad I stuck it out!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Absolutely fabulous!!! Her Perfect Life will have you flipping pages long after your bedtime... and you won't mind. You'll be tempted to go right to the end of the book to see how it is all ever-so-neatly tied up -- but don't do it. Her Perfect Life is another incredible read by the uber-talented Hank Phillippi Ryan. Told in alternating voices from the three main characters Lily, Greer, and Cassie (past and maybe present), the tale is wonderfully told and so emotionally compelling. It's a must read!

Her Perfect Life is about Lily Atwood a famous TV reporter who gets scoops through her sources which are anonymous people. Apparently she had everything perfect in her life.

Firsty, I disagreed with this point. I found this being overly blown for no reason; Lily was just a reporter who was famous and seemed to look perfect all the time. Is that not how every celebrity looks? Looking perfect all the time is part of their image, they don't disclose the personal or imperfect details about themselves so what else do you expect? Same was the case with Lily, she won 3 Emmy's which was repeatedly told to prove her perfection. She dressed nice, she appeared nice in front of people. She had a sweet daughter. Calling her Perfect again and again was annoying to read.

PLOT:
Moving on, Lily gets a mysterious call by an anonymous person who seems to know about her past and secrets which creeps her out. The mystery was intriguing in the beginning, what crazy secrets could the perfect Lily possibly have? I kind of lost interest in the plot since the story was told from multiple POVs, bits of the mystery were revealed and it wasn't hard to piece them together. And the main plot twist (which was predictable); it was a huge, slow build-up to nothing. And wrapped up hurriedly in a few chapters.

WIRITNG STYLE:
The writing style was dragged throughout the book. It was slow and filled with unnecessary details that I mostly skimmed. It seemed the plot was carried about thoughts, views and speculations of the characters.

CHARACTERS:
Lily Atwood had a paranoid personality and getting to know her thoughts was interesting. She worried about the smallest things related to her daughter's and her own safety because if the nature of her job.


Conclusively, the story had potential but I couldn't enjoy it.

This is the first book I've read by Hank Phillippi Ryan but I can't wait to read more!

I really can't give much away by means of a premise, but I could not put this down. It took a lot of effort to tear myself away from reading to attend to other things. Each chapter ends in a way that propels you forward saying, "Huh!? What happens NOW!?" Fast-paced, action packed, and a great novel!

I really enjoyed this fast-paced, suspenseful thriller about a news reporter with a secret life. The smart plot of this fast-paced mystery with intriguing characters alternates between present day as a protective mom, to the past when her sister disappeared 20-years ago. It kept me gasping and guessing.
Thank you to NetGalley, Forge Books, and Hank Phillippi Ryan for providing a digital ARC of Her Perfect Life in exchange for an honest review. #HerPerfectLife #NetGalley

A terrific read! The characters are unforgettable, the pace is fast, and the story is plausibly scary. But, watch out - if you start this late in the day, don't count on going to work or school the next morning or, if you do, you may feel sleep deprived. This is a hard to put down novel about a television reporter, Lily Atwood, who has it all - a beautiful daughter, a great job, awards, an assistant who does everything for her, and a nanny for her daughter. But one thing she doesn't have is her older sister who disappeared when Lily was just a few years old and never returned. And then there is the super mysterious Mr. Smith who brings Lily ground breaking stories no one else has but who is he and why Lily? This is Hank Phillippi Ryan at her best (but when isn't she?). Don't miss it!

I truly don’t know how Hank does it! When she’s not writing outstanding novels she is chasing justice with her investigative journalism. Once again, I fell in love with one of her novels.
Her Perfect Life centers around local media darling Lily, whose life really does appear to be perfect. Lily and her producer Greer begin receiving good story tips from an anonymous source. They accept his anonymity and are thankful for his help until his tips become increasingly personal.
Ryan pulls us back and forth between the present and 20 years earlier, when Lily’s older sister was in college and suddenly disappeared.
With the past closing in on her, Lily’s perfect image starts to feel jeopardized.
This was an excellent read and I adore Ryan’s writing style. Add this to your TBR now!

I received an ARC of #HerPerfectLife by #HankPhilippiRyan courtesy of #NetGalley and #MacMillanPublishing in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed trying to sift through the clues about what was fact, who was lying, and which angle a particular character was approaching. Hers the thing, I hate putting together jigsaw puzzles. But a reading puzzle? Yes, please all day Kong. I chalk it up to reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belsen in my youth. Her Perfect Life includes a star reporter, an envious producer, a gregarious little girl, an older sister who disappeared, long held secrets, and dirty deals. Told from different viewpoints, sometimes which can be tricky, but works well for this story, readers get a sampling of Lily, Cassie, and Greer. The narrative held my attention and the reading went smoothly.

This book was a little slow for me but it was still good. Although I was able to solve the mystery before it was solved it still kept my attention.

Review to come.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I always get excited when I see a new Hank Phillippi Ryan book. And when I start reading one, I plan for a sleepless night (or two). Her stories are always engrossing, full of twists, and hard to put down. In Her Perfect Life, Lily Atwood is a television reporter with a seemingly perfect life, and she works overtime to keep it that way. Her producer, Greer, is dedicated to preserving Lily’s image. In the chapters narrated by Greer you can see the resentment she feels about having to do that. Lily has secrets and she works hard to keep them hidden. She also had a sister who went missing many years before.

Lily is not a sympathetic character especially seen through Greer’s eyes. I felt that the first part of this book was a bit slow and hard to get into. The ending seemed to be a bit rushed and slightly unbelievable. Overall, though, this book delivers the author’s signature twists and turns. It’s not my favorite Hank Phillippi novel, but it is a well-written, engrossing mystery. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.