Book Review:
Title: KALA
Author: Colin Walsh
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

After 20 years, a group of estranged friends are pulled back together to potentially solve the mystery of what happened to their friend, Kala Lanann.
The original group consisted of six teenagers from the town of Kinlough, a seaside town on the west coast of Ireland.

Two decades ago, Kala disappeared without a trace. But now, human remains have been found in the woods along with a Polarid showing the group of six. While trying to piece together the last steps of Kala, two more girls go missing.

I think it was hard to follow all the different characters in this book. There almost seemed to be too many. Each character had their own stories with quite a bit of detail, so it was overwhelming to keep track of. Once the mystery of what happened to Kala is finally revealed, that was pretty upsetting. It's definitely a bit of a twist!

Published: June 25th, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley and @doubledaybooks, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The plot and characters I really enjoyed. I gave this a four stars and I really commend reading it. It held my attention lion and had me really intrigued throughout the entire book.

While some parts of this book had me intrigued and kept me entertained some parts fell very short for me. I feel like the book had great potential but I found myself putting it down more often than picking it up. I did genuinely love the mystery part of the story. Thank you for allowing me to need the arc

3.5/5 stars - This had a slower pace but the characters drew me in immediately. Despite this being written by two authors, the writing was seamless and had an incredible flow. Sometimes I worry that it'll end up feeling disjointed or it'll be painfully obvious when the writer changes. Will read these two again!

"Perfect Little Lives" by Amber and Danielle Brown presents an intriguing premise that unfortunately falls short in its execution. While the story itself holds promise, the novel ultimately fails to deliver a fully engaging experience.

One of the main drawbacks of the book is the protagonist, Simone. Instead of being a relatable character that readers can empathize with, Simone comes across as irritating and unlikable at times. This lack of connection with the main character makes it difficult for readers to fully invest in her journey, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the story.

Additionally, Simone's relationship with Hudson feels forced and unnatural, particularly given their significant age gap and complicated history. This aspect of the story further strains believability and detracts from the overall authenticity of the narrative.

As the story progresses towards its conclusion, the plot seems to lose momentum, with events unfolding in a disjointed and haphazard manner. The resolution feels rushed and lacks the depth and nuance necessary to fully satisfy readers. Instead of a satisfying culmination of events, the conclusion feels arbitrary.

Overall, "Perfect Little Lives" is a novel that falls short of its potential. While the story may hold some interest for readers initially, the lack of relatable characters, questionable relationships, and sloppy execution ultimately detract from the overall enjoyment of the book. While it may appeal to some readers, it ultimately left me feeling underwhelmed and disappointed.

Her mother was murdered. Her father was convicted for it. And Simone has committed her life to prove his innocence.

"Family over everything."

Okay this is definitely one for my peeps who don't mind a little spice with their sleuthing. Not completely teetering far enough to be classified as a romance thriller but very very close. Which of course is why I loved it.

As Simone battles to keep the only family she has left, and with no one that believes her and the case running cold she takes her father's case into her own hands. Leaving no stone unturned, attic unsearched or diary unread, Simone sleuths her way through a list of possible suspects. And I had the absolute best time with it. I was invested. Something about it just pulled me in. And the way Simone firmly believed in something and had enough determination to never give up hope despite where the clues led her and what everyone around her was telling her to believe, really had me glued to the pages.

It is a very character heavy plot, and you defenitly build connections with them all, some good connections and some bad.

Amber and Danielle keep you on your toes the entire time. Never knowing exactly who and what to trust and believe.

Things get corrupt, chaotic and hot AF at times and in my opinion its totally worth the read.

Thank you to @amberanddanielle and @graydonhousebooks and @netgalley for the advanced look at what is actually going on down Asher Lane. I had the best time.

I did not read Perfect Littles Lives by Amber and Danielle Brown through an educator lens, but for personal enjoyment. However, this book was not enjoyable. The book was all over the place between suspense, drama and romance and felt like everything was very toxic. Not only did the book feel all over the place, but it was predictable.

Rating: ⭐️

Pick this up if you like: Complicated family secrets, unresolved childhood traumas, and suspenseful mysteries.

"Perfect Little Lives" promises a thrilling tale of murder, family secrets, and intrigue. Simone's quest for justice after her mother's murder sets the stage for a riveting mystery, but does the book deliver on its premise?

Unfortunately, my experience with this novel was far from thrilling. From the opening chapter, the narrative takes a jarring turn into a diatribe against societal norms, leading to a disjointed start that left me disengaged. The protagonist's voice, rather than drawing me into her story, felt abrasive and off-putting.

As a fan of the thriller genre, I was disappointed by the lack of suspense and tension in the plot. Instead of a gripping mystery, the story often veered into other territories, including crude humor and romantic drama, without fully committing to any one direction. The result was a narrative that felt scattered and unfocused, failing to deliver on the promised intensity.

While the premise held promise, the execution fell short for me. The inconsistent tone and lack of clear direction left me struggling to connect with the story and ultimately led to my decision to not finish the book. Perhaps others will find more enjoyment in its blend of genres, but for me, "Perfect Little Lives" missed the mark.

This was a new duo of Authors for me and I won't hesitate to read again. I loved how the story unfolded, it was twisted and while I thought I knew early on the direction the book was taking... I was wrong. Love books that weave together a clever story.

Simone’s mother was murdered when she was 12, and thanks to shoddy police work, her father was blamed and sentenced to life in prison. But Simone is keeping a secret: she knows her mother was having an affair with the next door neighbor, Scott Bishop, a wealthy judge with a lot of power and connections. Now it is Simone’s mission to get her father exonerated, so she goes back to her old neighborhood to confront the Bishop family and get to the bottom of what really happened that night.

I liked the murder plot and the pacing of the story, but overall there was too much going on. Sometimes this felt more like a romance story with Simone and Reggie, especially with the totally random and unnecessary sex scenes. The Reggie plot had very little to do with the story, and nothing would have changed if his character was removed. I think the authors should have focused more on fleshing out the murder mystery aspect because I was invested in finding out who the murderer was and what would happen to Simone’s father, but it’s mostly a lot of assuming and guessing more than any real investigation and deep dive into the past. Thanks to NetGalley, Graydon House, and Amber and Danielle Brown for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I actually found the mystery pretty interesting! But, while I am also a romance reader, I just felt like the romantic subplot really didn't fit here. When focused on the thriller it was suspenseful and hard to put down, but when the love triangle took the front seat, I found myself not enjoying it as much.

Simone is a book loving girl just trying to get through life writing book reviews and dating an attorney, Reggie. She longs for a quiet life where people don't know about her past. Her dad was wrongly convicted of murdering her mother and Simone goes out on her own to prove he's innocent. A blast from the past comes back into her life and shakes it up with information Simone wasn't expecting.

I found the characters were well developed and the book itself was very well written, however, for me it wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting more thriller/suspense but it was a lot of romance. I found the book started out pretty slow while setting the scenes and characters. I did find it hard to put down as the book went on but I really didn't find the book too suspenseful or mysterious, I feel like I knew pretty early how it was going to end so it was a little bit anticlimactic for me. I liked the information regarding the legal/justice system, I could tell the book was very well researched.

I've never read anything by Amber and Danielle Brown until this book but I've heard good things about their other book so I might give it a go regardless of how this one was.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The start of this book completely turned me off. I don't know that I ever started a book that talked about sex so much in so many different ways & I was cringing the entire time. For some context-- I am definitely not a prude. I was a Fifty Shades lover & I enjoy books with lots of spice but this was just completely different. I surely didn't want to think or hear about sex on a period-- especially with two characters I didn't even know & I wasn't close to being invested in. If this was thriller-- it sure fooled me. If I'm being honest-- I couldn't even stomach it to get very far.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the opportunity but this book was just for me.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

#PerfectLittleLives #NetGalley A great quick thriller/mystery that you can read in a weekend! Sneaky and creepy with little surprises sprinkled in!

Simone’s mother was brutally mother, and her father was accused and sent to prison. She knows her father is innocent and the real killer is still out there.

Personally I love thrillers so I was very excited to read this book ! Wondering if you’ll guess who the murderer was like I did and be wrong or right. It’s def a great read and I recommend it so much! I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

“ Simone’s mother was murdered when she was thirteen. When her father was convicted, everything changed. Overnight, Simone went from living in a wealthy white neighborhood to scraping by.
Ten years later, Simone has given up on her dreams and lives a quiet life, writing book reviews and getting serious with her boyfriend. But with a true crime documentarian hounding her for a scoop and a surprise encounter with her childhood next-door neighbor, Hunter, the past seems set on haunting her. And after Hunter reveals that his father and her mother had a years-long affair, Simone is determined to find out who really killed her mother.”

If you like murder and mayhem you need to read this book. Twists and turns!
A great book, fast paced. Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this ARC!

3 stars

I didn’t love this book. It was supposed to be a thriller, but it felt more dramatic than anything, and there were only a few moments of true suspense/tension scattered throughout the drama and dysfunctional relationships. The protagonist was also kind of all over the place…I know she was dealing with a lot of serious issues, but she fluctuated with dizzying speed about who she was accusing of murder throughout the book, and it was all just a lot. I think, in general, the writing style of this one just wasn’t for me.

I really was looking forward to this book, but it ultimately fell flat for me. There are a lot of gaps and inconsistencies in the story. For a debut novel, it was okay and had a lot of potential!

Enjoyable but a little bit predictable. The overall story and storytelling was really well done. The plot was fairly easy to figure out pretty early on. There was a lot of wavering back and forth that possibly could distract from the predictability. I ultimately enjoyed the book and would read again from these authors.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.