A very big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a chaotic mess from start to finish lol! I’ll start by saying this, the book synopsis that was advertised is NOT what was delivered unfortunately. I signed up for a mystery thriller and ended up reading a romance with a mystery SUBPLOT. I thought the point was for Simone to figure out who really murdered her mother and got her father sitting in prison for a crime he didn’t commit NOT trying to figure out what to do with her love life?? The ONLY thing she did right was break up with Reggie because that mofo needed to go long before that break they took!

Idek where to start honestly lol. The “investigation” didn’t even start until she bumped into Hunter and learned she could possibly gain access to his mothers’ journal because prior to that she had NADA outside of simply WANTING it to not be true that her father was a murderer. Like wth? And then she proceeds to do absolutely nothing except falsely accuse people based on these hunches she’s having but doesn’t support it with any facts? Like she literally accuses everyone EXCEPT the person who so obviously did it!!!

MY BIGGEST ISSUE IS THE AGE GAP BETWEEN SIMONE AND HUNTER WHEN THEY WERE CHILDREN!!! The authors had MANY of choices and I can’t believe this was the one that they decided to make. In what world is it not weird for a 8/9 yr old girl to have this super close relationship with their neighbors 13/14 yr old son? Especially when you hint at them possibly having a crush on each other? Like if we’re going to be anything, lets be forreal. That was a huge ICK. I also don’t understand the spice scenes… Like in a world where we are trying to figure out who brutally murdered your mother I DO NOT want you to turn around and initiate sex with the man whose mother you JUST FOUND OUT KILLED YOUR MOTHER by asking him if he’s ever been with a black girl before???

YOU MADE US SIT THROUGH AN ENTIRE BOOK TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE REAL MURDERER IS JUST FOR US TO NOT FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CULPRIT ???? LIKE ARE WE JUST TO ASSUME JUSTICE WAS SERVED???

There was so much wrong with this story AND YET I devoured it in one day lmaooo It was partially due to my access to the ARC was expiring in less than 40 hours BUT mainly because what I was reading was so chaotic I couldn’t look away lol. Someone on bookstagram said there are good 3 star reads and bad 3 star reads… Take a gander on which one I classify this as 😊

This was a DNF for me, the plot sounded intriguing but I could not get into it. It read more like a romance with a lot of sex that had a side plot of a murder mystery. I unfortunately was too slow trying to get through it and the ARC that NetGalley provided me was archived and I was unable to finish it.

This book ended up being a cross between a thriller and a twisted romance. It was like it couldn’t make up its mind what it wanted to be, it had unnecessary spice and the end felt a bit predictable and anti-climactic. This one just didn’t hit for me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this book. I enjoyed parts of it, and I thought the writing was unique and relatively strong for a book like this. But I found the hardcore anger of it at times a little much, and I'm someone who loves an angry, feminist screed. Maybe I was craving more depth to the hardness of the main character, so it rang a little hollow at times, or forced. I enjoyed the thriller aspects of this book and would consider reading another by these authors.

Great thriller with some romance thrown in! What more could you want? I enjoyed this book a lot and was guessing all the way until the end. Kept going back and forth on who did it! 4 stars!

Yet another in the genre of a documentary attempting to solve a women's mother's murder, with her father in jail for the crime. Character was one you are rooting for! Lots of secrets uncovered!

I'm not really sure how to feel about this, it definitely wasn't the thriller I thought it would be despite the twists and turns. I can't pinpoint exactly what, but there was something I didn't like about the main character. I think she was too naïve for my liking. It was interesting though to see a mix of romance and thriller like this it's not something that's usually done. It was a solid story and could be someone else's cup of tea, just not mine. It was nice to step out of my comfort zone though so thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!!

The romance aspect felt odd. Wasn’t a huge fan. The spicy scenes felt a bit jarring and discombobulating. If you like spicy thriller/mystery books you’d probably like this.

I wanted to love this one, but it was kind of all over the place. There was a lot of switching between the romance/love triangle, murder mystery, and flashback storylines that I had a hard time keeping track of what was happening. I ended up skimming over a lot of the book, but would jump back in when it came to the murder mystery plot. I was kind of surprised at the twist ending, but wish it had been a little less scattered so that it would have made more of an impact.

I liked the humor in this book, but was really annoyed by the in your face references to misogony and feminism.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

The book was a slow burn for me, but very suspenseful. It seemed to almost switch genres in the drop of the hat. Very dramatic views of events from her mom also confused me as reader, timeline wise. It was a good story it just didn’t flow very well

There is a lot going on in here, but stick with it. A solid storyline, with lots of mystery and drama. Maybe could have focused in a little bit more, but overall a solid read.

Overall this was an interesting read. I found some things predictable but was also surprised by this dark, spicy thriller.

This was an interesting read. It has a lot more romance than I'm used to in thrillers which I wasn't expecting but it isn't necessary bad, it was just unexpected. I like the writing style though and would read other works by Amber and Danielle Brown. Overall, this was a good read that I would recommend if you like romance filled thrillers. Special Thank You to Amber and Danielle Brown, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m happy to be a stop of the blog tour for Amber and Danielle’s new novel: Perfect Little Lives. I will admit that it took me a bit to get into this novel, in part because I was expecting a different type of read in the beginning (I thought it started in the past with the murder) and I was also not prepared for the level of “spiciness”, but once I got into it, I enjoyed it. For me, it felt like a “new age” genre read, which can sometimes be a challenge for an over 55 gal like myself! Thank you for my review copy.

⚖️📚⚖️
📖Review
3🌟🌟🌟
📖Book 97/100
📚Same Perfect Little Lives
💫Genre: Thriller???
✍️Authors: Amber & Danielle Brown

📝Synopsis 📝
Simone was an odd duck (to refrain from going into detail) living in Asher Lane. Her mom has a not so secret affair and ends up murdered. Her innocent dad sadly gets the blame for it, and she makes it her mission to get him out.

My thoughts 💭
This book opened up very oddly with Simone plucking out her (.)(.) hair, and her inner dialogue about her sexlife. This had me thinking 🤔💭 okay is this is a dark romance book, but I was wrong. It was a murder mystery/thriller but all over the place and very predictable. I did enjoy the legality of it all, and I also loved how she was so headstrong about getting her dad out of prison. I just think it would have been an easier read if they (authors) stuck to one theme.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Company for this eARC in exchange for an honest review..
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This book gripped me from the very beginning. So many twists and turns that I had a hard time putting it down. The end I would have never saw coming.

I really wanted to like this one and it wasn’t terrible but it took me a little longer to finish than I’d like. The book started off strong for me but then I found myself unsure and distracted.

I’d categorize it as a mystery/thriller with romance which I usually enjoy. I think the biggest issue for me was that the story felt a bit all over the place. I can see what the authors were trying to do but the execution just wasn’t there. This is the first book I’ve read by the authors but not my last, because again it wasn’t terrible.

Is there anything more intriguing to a single-ish women in her twenties than having someone handsome and mysterious show up from your past? This is where we start with Simone in Perfect Little Lives.

As a child, she formed a bond with her neighbor, Hunter. And even after her mother was murdered, her father went to jail, and she was sent to live with her poor Aunt, she kept a flame burning for the older boy who showed her so much kindness.

Fast forward 15 years and Simone is getting her footing as a writer and is in a happy, committed, and extremely passionate relationship with Reggie. And although things are going well in her personal and professional life, she's never gotten over losing her mom. And she knows that her father didn't kill her mother. He's innocent but has been rotting away in a jail cell for years.

So when Hunter shows up, it turns out that it's not quite as idyllic of a situation as it would be without all their history, but it brings back a lot of memories. And Simone knows that getting close to Hunter, and his parents will help lead to the truth. Even if it means blowing up her life.

Perfect Little Lives was a great read. One thing that made it slightly unique in the thriller/mystery genre was the amount of passion that Simone shared with Reggie throughout the book. So a perfect read for someone looking for a little spice with their mystery. I'm not complaining, but it's worth mentioning!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Graydon House for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now.