Thank you to NetGalley, Hank Phillippi Ryan and Forge Books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I love novels by Ryan and I find each and every one unique from the last one. I loved the idea behind this one and how twisty it becomes. It's always an adventure reading these novels and I enjoyed most of the characters in this one. There were many twists that I actually didn't see coming and I love that in a novel. It was such a wild ride in the last 50 pages and I was very excited about it! Definitely recommend!

I was excited to read a book by Hank Phillippi Ryan because she's such great mentor for writers. But this book fell a little short for me. I think I had trouble with the characters flip flopping back and forth.

First we have the perfect Lily, so savvy in her work life, but a little naïve when it comes to her personal life. I also felt like she took advantage of her child's Nanny, never considering the danger she might be putting her in. Then we have her producer Greer, who prides herself on keeping Lily's image pristine. But when it comes down to it, she's only out for herself. The part that troubled me revolved around the whole plot of Cassie's guilt. While I don't think most young adults are street wise at 19, but Cassie leaps to assumptions about the consequences of a bad choice she made, which sets a whole series of events into place.

There were also some technicalities for me. I don't think anyone was using the term "super cute" 25 years ago - that seems more like a modern phrase. And crocuses usually bloom before forsythia are dying off.

I did find the book suspenseful, especially when the elusive Mr. Smith is at his endgame. The twist was somewhat expected, but I was fully invested in how it played out. And I will probably try another book by this author, this one just may not have been for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forge Books for an advance reader's copy for review.

This author has knocked it out of the park again. Her Perfect Life is the latest release by Hank Phillippi Ryan, a thriller mystery with dual time lines set about twenty-five years apart.

Cassie and Lily are sisters being raised by a single parent, their mother. Their father is nowhere in the picture and Cassie, like many 18 year olds, is finding her way. While she is at college she disappears, never to be heard from again. Something is really wrong here.

Her sister Lily grows up and becomes a famous journalist. Everything that surrounded Cassie's disappearance seems to come together at the same time.

The way the author weaves the two storylines is really well done, and the characters and plot are well thought out. I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to @netgalley and @forgebooks for my e-arc of HER PERFECT LIFE in exchange for an honest review! This one published on September 14 so you can go and grab a copy now!

My rating: 📚📚.5

I don’t really know my full feelings on this book. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. It really dragged for me, except for the last 10% of the books. That’s when the big twist happened and things got “good.” But I wish the whole book was like that. There was just enough “tidbits” to keep me reading, but honestly, I questioned a few times if I should even finish it.

I didn’t find any of the characters very likeable except for Rowen, and she was seven. Lily has the “perfect life” but I just knew her life was far from what it depicted, and it was all fake anyways. She kept half her life hidden away, hurting some of them in the process. I know she had her reasons, but I just felt frustrated with her choices.

This book felt more like a slow burn, so if that’s something you like, then pick this one up! Unfortunately this one was more of a miss for me.

This book was weird for me. Im not sure if it was the writing style or what. I was not the biggest fan of this like I wanted to be.

Wow!

The twists, the turns, the secrets. So many unexpected happenings. I’ve never read a better thriller.

Lily is a famous and beloved reporter who has somehow managed to keep her personal life private and has never had anyone digging into her past before, until now. Who is her source and why is he all of a sudden feeding her story tips that are leading her to a story on her life and what does he know about her missing sister? This is a twisty story about secrets, lies, revenge, and jealousy.

I really wanted to like this book. I tried reading it for a week and got half-way but I just had no desire to pick it up.

I don't really have any interest in finding out what happens with these characters. So that's why I finally decided it just wasn't for me. And it could just be me because I have seen a bunch of great reviews for it. Also, I cannot pinpoint any specific reason why I didn't like it other than I am just uninterested in the characters.

I definitely want to read more by this author and I think I will try to pick this one up again and see if it was just me at this point in time.

But for now I am 50% in and almost nothing has happened and I am bored.

This was a good read! Fast paced, page turner for sure~~ Hard as I tried every time I’d read it I found it very hard to put down!

Her Perfect Life is a thrilling ride. Lily has the perfect life, a wonderful career as a top notch reporter.
She has an anonymous source that provides her all types of juicy leads.
Until her anonymous source starts revealing secrets about Lily.
This was a wonderful well crafted thrilling suspense novel.
I was guessing until the very end. Well done Hank!

𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.

I love Hank Phillippi Ryan's books. I was a broadcast journalism major in college and wanted to become a news anchor or reporter so reading thrillers about women in those jobs written by an award-winning investigative reporter herself? Yes, please.

𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 is Ryan's latest novel and it's another twisty ride. Lily Atwood is a famous news reporter whose anonymous source starts feeding her information about Lily's own life, threatening to reveal a secret which could blow her world apart.

Told from the perspectives of three women, Lily, Greer (Lily's producer whose one-liners are epic) and Cassie (a woman from Lily's past), in two time-lines, the story moves quickly. The chapters are short but filled with drama and although the plot is a bit over-the-top, it's entertaining and keeps you guessing. There's also commentary on the dark side of fame that I found really compelling.

Ryan crafts a riveting tale full of secrets and lies, and wraps it up with an emotional and completely satisfying twist that surprised me. If you're looking for your next smart suspense novel, look no further.

Thanks to Forge Books and NetGalley for a copy to review.

EXCERPT: She felt tears begin, felt their dampness on her face, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand, furious, and terrified. She wanted her mother, she wanted her father, she wanted someone, anyone, to come help her and fix this, and take care of her and tell her what to do. She pressed her palms to her face, trying to hold it all in and make it go away and when she opened her eyes, Jem would be laughing at her. And she'd be so mad. Then she'd storm out of here and never see this idiot again.

She stared at him, ignoring her own tears now, willing him to be joking with her, some stupid insane boy joke, and she'd laugh, she promised she would. But Jem's face, serene and still, and blood on his cheek, seemed to taunt her.

There could be no more wishful thinking. She had to do something.

She took a deep shuddering breath.

Okay. She knew what to do. First, stop being hysterical. Then call 911. She reached for the receiver of the black phone on the end table, the one that Jem had probably used to call his friend. She stopped, hand in midair, halfway to the phone.

Jem had called his friend. Who was on his way here. She felt her heart racing, constricting, making it difficult to breathe. Whoever showed up here - Jem's friend or the ambulance people, or whoever - would find her here in this apartment.

What if he even died?

ABOUT 'HER PERFECT LIFE': Everyone knows Lily Atwood—and that may be her biggest problem. The beloved television reporter has it all—fame, fortune, Emmys, an adorable seven-year-old daughter, and the hashtag her loving fans created: #PerfectLily. To keep it, all she has to do is protect one life-changing secret.

Her own.

Lily has an anonymous source who feeds her story tips—but suddenly, the source begins telling Lily inside information about her own life. How does he—or she—know the truth?

Lily understands that no one reveals a secret unless they have a reason. Now she’s terrified someone is determined to destroy her world—and with it, everyone and everything she holds dear.

How much will she risk to keep her perfect life?

MY THOUGHTS: There is no such thing as a perfect life, no matter what we see on social media. But, to all her followers and fans, that is what TV star Lily Atwood has, a myth perpetuated by her sycophantic producer, Greer. As long as Lily is adored and successful, Greer has job security. But there are things about Lily that not even Greer knows. In fact, there's a lot about Lily that Greer doesn't know. Only Greer doesn't know that she doesn't know. At least not until the mysterious 'Mr Smith', source of some of their most successful stories, puts her in the picture. But 'Mr Smith' has his own agenda. He is a master manipulator.

Lily
has skeletons in her closet. Things she is torn about. Does she want her sister back in her life if she can find her, or would finding Cassie put everything she holds dear in danger?

Lily spends her life exposing other people's secrets and misdemeanors. She is focused; on her career, her daughter. In order to protect her secrets, she never lets anyone get close to her. So how is she going to feel, and what is she going to do when her past, her secrets, are in danger of being exposed?

I was very ambivalent about Lily's character. She comes across as hard boiled, but daughter Lily is her Achilles heel.

One thing struck me as very odd - she doesn't actually do any work whatsoever at any point in this novel! And come to think of it, Greer doesn't do that much either.

Despite several stupid decisions on both their parts, Her Perfect Life is a twisty mystery. What happened to Cassie? Is she alive somewhere? If she is, why hasn't she contacted her baby sister? After all, Lily's not exactly hard to find. Or is she dead, her body hidden by her killers? And does Lily really want to know? After all, once you know something, it's difficult to unknow.

The chapters are short and sharp, and are told from the points of view of Lily, Greer, and Cassie (retrospective). There are a lot of surprises, one of which is absolutely jaw-dropping. I felt sucker-punched!

This is a mostly tense, and definitely twisty thriller. The characters decisions aren't always rational, but whose are when under pressure, and there are perceived threats to a loved one?

As I said, mostly tense. There were a few places I found repetitive. But only a few. I liked Her Perfect Life, a lot. But I didn't love it like The First to Lie.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.1

#HerPerfectLife #NetGalley

I: @hankpryan @macmillanusa

T: @MacmillanUSA

#contemporaryfiction #crime #familydrama #mystery #suspense #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Hank Phillippi Ryan is an American investigative reporter for Channel 7 News on WHDH-TV, a local television station in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also an author of mystery novels.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillipi Ryan for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Hank Phillippi Ryan is back again, using her own vast experience as a television reporter and her wickedly good talent, giving us a glimpse into the personal and professional life of a television reporter and showing us that what we see or what we think we know isn’t always the way it is. Perfect isn’t always as fantastic as you think it’s going to be. And once you’ve been declared perfect, living a perfect life, that’s a hard state to maintain, a high pedestal to remain on.

Who wouldn’t want to be Boston TV reporter Lily Atwood? She has fame, fortune, lots of Emmys, and to boot she’s gorgeous with the cutest seven-year-old daughter and an adoring public. What’s not to love – and envy? Well, maybe the fact that Lily has an anonymous news source she thought was brilliant, always providing clues and direction to the best stories. But now Mr. Smith is digging into Lily’s past, and that terrifies her. What does her longtime producer Greer know? She seems to have a few secrets of her own. Is everything as rosy as it seems, or are there things Lily and maybe Greer will go to any lengths to protect?

Her Perfect Life is full of twists, turns, thrills, suspense, quite the roller-coaster ride. There are unexpected, surprising connections between characters. Characters with their own motives and agendas. And not even Perfect Lily is without faults and flaws and hidden motives. At some point everyone’s motives come into question and you don’t know what to expect. But what we have come to expect is excellence from author Hank Phillippi Ryan, and we definitely get it in abundance with Her Perfect Life. Thanks to author Ryan and Forge Books for providing an advance copy of Her Perfect Life for my reading pleasure (and nail-biting page turning!) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved it and you will too! All opinions are my own.

I really struggled with this book. Although I enjoyed the short chapters and fast paced nature of the book, it felt very repetitive. It also felt unbelievable especially in 2021. The characters were not likable and at times I felt myself skimming through the pages hoping the storyline would progress.

A fast paced thriller told from multiple perspectives. It grabbed me from page one and I read it straight through in one sitting. Highly recommended

Lilly lives a perfect life as a beloved newscaster and mom to a precocious seven year old. Underneath it all though she’s carrying a dark secret, the disappearance of her older sister.

With many twists and turns and alternating POV’s this book had me guessing so many different scenarios.

Thank you to #forebooks and #Netgalley and an arc in exchange for an honest review

• happy pub day to her perfect life by hank phillippi ryan.🎉

• thanks to @hankpryan and @netgalley allowing me to read this advanced copy for my honest review.

• synopsis: Everyone knows Lily Atwood—and that may be her biggest problem. The beloved television reporter has it all—fame, fortune, Emmys, an adorable seven-year-old daughter, and the hashtag her loving fans created: #PerfectLily. To keep it, all she has to do is protect one life-changing secret.

Her own.

Lily has an anonymous source who feeds her story tips—but suddenly, the source begins telling Lily inside information about her own life. How does he—or she—know the truth?

Lily understands that no one reveals a secret unless they have a reason. Now she’s terrified someone is determined to destroy her world—and with it, everyone and everything she holds dear.

How much will she risk to keep her perfect life?

• review: i read this as a buddy ready with my overbooked book family. this was my first hank ryan book and it won’t be my last. this book was more mystery than thriller in my opinion. but it was one that kept me guessing though most of the book. i thought i had it figured out when i didn’t but towards the end i was able to guess it. it was very enjoyable and one i would recommend who likes twisty, edgy and suspenseful mystery books.

• rating: ✩ ✩ ✩

Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan is a thrilling novel following Lily, a woman who has the TV reporter career, a sweet daughter, and the love from her fans. However, Lily did not gain her career on her own. She has an anonymous source who has fed her tips that have made her career skyrocket. Now this source has taken a dark turn as they start revealing information about Lily's life that were previously secret. Now Lily will be faced with the cost for keeping those secrets quiet.

Lily was an interesting character that has the perfectionist tendencies that I am sure many women feel pressured with, particularly in their career. Seeing how her need to be and look perfect and always striving to be better will make the reader care for Lily and draw you in. However at times Lily had a naïveté that could be frustrating at times, especially when you know she is an intelligent woman. However I think this helped add some nuance to her character.

The plot of this story was compelling, particularly when you learn that Lily has a missing sister. This keeps you guessing on whether this may relate to her secret and if so, what is Lily hiding. The writing also did a great job of building the tension without slowing down the pacing. This made it a breeze to fly through. Ultimately, the ending wrapped up well with some twists to keep you guessing but were consistent with the rest of the book.

Overall I enjoyed this novel and definitely recommend this for those looking for some thrilling brain candy!

Many thanks to the publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Lily has it all, the perfect life. She is an investigative reporter, has a beautiful 7 year old daughter, a lovely home, yet has some pretty big secrets in her past that could ruin it all. Lily’s sister goes missing when she, herself, is 7 years old, and she spends her entire life looking for her. When a detective decides to help her find her sister out of the blue, are things too good to be true?

I enjoyed this book and at about three quarters of they way through I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. It kept me intrigued throughout and just when it was all coming together there is a big twist that I can say did not see coming (and I am usually pretty good at predicting these things!). Very good, quick, thrilling read!

Thank you NetGalley, Tor-Forge, and Hank Phillippi Ryan for the ARC.

“Her Perfect Life” is a story of guilt, fame, revenge, sisters, and a trail. Every single thing characters do, every single decision they make opens one door but closes others.

Lily lives the perfect life. She has a daughter Rowen, now in the first grade. She had a sister, Cassie, who was “lost, and Lily has never stopped looking for her. She is an investigative journalist; she gets the “big” news stories, and the big news is always bad. She lives the volatile life of a “public figure” and has “first world” problems: too much attention, too little anonymity, an expensive and obvious car, and a constant fear that she will be some other reporter’s big scoop.


The story is told in alternating narratives by Lily and her assistant, Greer; each chapter is clearly labeled. The team has a new “source,” one who has given them a couple of amazing leads, but now he wants something in return for the next big story, something special, and something very important. A high-stakes emotional chess game ensues. Events from the past wait to spring into the present for revenge and retribution. Ignoring them will not make the danger go away, and a decision must be made; that decision will change everything.