Elle is an influencer escaping some troubling childhood experiences. She's marrying someone who had it all growing up, other than affectionate relationships, and although Elle seems to think he's perfect, he's just not. She also has who I will call her "handler," who veers on being jealous and with questionable intentions.

She gets to fix up a beautiful French chateau as part of a big social media deal. But the living situation is not as easy as it seems.

I thought the author's writing style was polished and I enjoyed the book. My one challenge related to some loose ends not being tied up and the characters not entirely being consistent in who and how they were. I also felt there was a non-ending that was clever but left me wanting a couple more sentences. I will read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for the chance to read the ARC.

#ThePerfectPlace #NetGalley

The Perfect Place 🏠📸🪚

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Author: Amanda Cassidy

“Come closer and I’ll whisper my truth to you; sometimes the person I’m most afraid of is myself.”

As a social media influencer, Elle Littlewood knows that renovating the Chateau Mirabelle will make the best content. However, she cannot take full ownership of the chateau until the current owner dies. Elle has no idea that her fiancé, Will, has gotten them into tremendous debt. This renovation of the chateau is their last hope of maintaining their social and financial status. Will Elle do anything to protect her influencer brand? Is Will willing to commit murder to gain financial stability?

It’s thriller season, and The Perfect Place was a great way to start! Honestly, most thrillers start off slow for me, and then pick up about midway through. Nevertheless, The Perfect Place had me intrigued from the Prologue, and I found it hard to put down.

The story was written through two different timelines. Each timeline was written in a different font which made it easy to distinguish between the past and present. There were four POVs throughout the book that were all from very well-developed characters. Each character was somewhat unlikeable and unreliable which kept me guessing who the culprit was until the very end.

If you like books with secrets, dark pasts, lies, murder, and a creepy old house, this book is for you! Amanda Cassidy built suspense with each chapter making it hard to put the book down. My only complaint is that the ending was a little abrupt and not as twisty as I expected.

“This house sees everything, but will tell nothing.”

Thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for the opportunity to read and review this book. I am excited to read more from Amanda Cassidy in the future.

This book was full of unlikeable characters, this being the case its why I found it hard to connect to the book. There is multiple points of view so make sure you keep on the ball. The ending was a bit disappointing as I feel it didnt wrap everything up.

This book explores what lies behind the beautifiul facade of social media. Overall The Perfect Place is an engaging, well-paced and entertaining murder mystery, a perfect holiday novel, although the ending felt a little rushed.

Such a great read! Highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley, Canelo, and Amanda Cassidy for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Perfect Place. It drew me in immediately and kept my interest throughout.
I loved the multiple points of view, especially Elle.

The Perfect Place was full of mystery, suspense, secrets, and drama.
The twists were great, I didn't see them coming.

This is the first book I've read by Amanda Cassidy, and it definitely won't be the last.

I highly recommend.

4 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not as enjoyable as the description sounded but still a good read, finding that an influencers life is not all it is cracked up to be Elle Littlewood soon realises that to get the likes she has to up her game...what follows is a rundown chateau in france, a murder and a missing women

Still a good read

I love books that explore the dark side of influencing and this one did not disappoint! I doubted everyone!! I need an epilogue to that epilogue because the last sentence was craaazy

Really enjoyed this story and the different angles it pulled you into as you saw everything play out from different scenarios. There is a lot of time spent trying to work out who is what they say and who isn't....

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

The Perfect Place by Amanda Cassidy combines everything I love in a page-turning book: secrets, lies, murder, France, and social media.

This is about Elle, a social media influencer who gets the opportunity to renovate an old chateau in France. What great content, that will be, won't it?

Of course, things don’t go as planned. And Elle isn’t exactly who people think she is. Everything is a facade but what happens when that begins to crumble?

With multiple POVs, this will have you guessing at every turn.

Elle Littlewood can barely believe her luck when her producer tells her about the chance to get her hands on a dilapidated chateau in Aix-En-Provence, France for a rock-bottom price. It seems too good to be true, but as a home interiors influencer, she knows this would make incredible content.

Lately, Elle has noticed the cracks start to show. Her life is the envy of thousands, and her social media posts show a beautiful, accomplished woman. Yet this wasn’t always the case. If they knew the truth about her past, they would never look at Elle the same way again.

Elle needs this house. She doesn’t care that it comes with huge strings attached. And when people get in her way, there’s nothing Elle won’t do to protect her brand. After all, she’s survived by doing things that people could never imagine — and knows she would do them again.

Lots of twists and turns in this one. You will definitely be guessing all the way to the end. Definitely recommend.

Another unputdownable read from Amanda Cassidy.
I really enjoyed this and raced through it, I love a book that grabs your attention immediately and pulls you into a life so different from you own.

Well paced and brilliantly plotted, I loved the examination of the influencer life and Ella was a believable and well drawn character. I also loved the French location, the secrets and deceptions and the twists, I thought I knew where this book was going, I was wrong.

A perfect summer thriller. Recommend.

Elle is a home interiors influencer. She has a huge following but is always looking to take the next step. When her producer tells Elle that an old chateau in Provence, France is up for grabs, at a dirt cheap price, Elle cannot believe her luck. The redesign of the Chateau is exactly what she needs to take her influencer status to the next level. Of course, this great deal doesn't come without conditions. But, Elle is capable of doing what she needs to do to keep her influencer status. After all, she's done the unthinkable in the past...

A quick and fun mystery! I really enjoyed this one and the beautiful French backdrop. There are so many secrets, twists, and turns. There a handful of different characters who were all quite well done. Each of these characters had something to hide, which made for a crazy ride.

I was kept on my toes throughout the entire novel, as the author does a great job at giving the reader little tidbits throughout. It made me question what was happening and the motives behind the actions. With all the different secrets and characters, I did not find the twists predictable at all, which I am always impressed by! I found it next to impossible to put this novel down, finishing it in one day. I had to know what was happening!

This was my first read by Amanda Cassidy. I am very impressed and will definitely be reading more of her works!

Thank you Canelo and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fabulous summer read and a fascinating insight into the world of social media and influencers. The twists and turns kept me guessing right to the very end, really enjoyable!

Tension Fuelled..
An incredible opportunity comes to Elle Littlewood, a chateau where she can produce amazing content, she knows that the possibilities will be endless. Despite this opportunity coming with strings attached, she takes it. After all, she never lets anyone or anything stand in her way. The past however has a way of catching up with you and Elle may just be in for a fall. With a tautly written plot populated by a credible and keenly observed cast of characters and a pacy narrative, this is a tension fuelled suspense with an intriguing premise.

One of the most compelling aspects of the book is its portrayal of Elle's life as an influencer. Amanda Cassidy does an amazing job of capturing the darker side of the influencer lifestyle, highlighting the pressures and complexities that come with social media stardom. As a reader, I found myself drawn into Elle's world, experiencing firsthand the highs and lows of her public persona.

Elle is an influence who rose to fame with her home makeover videos, "Elle's Dream Home Makeover." She had just stumbled upon the perfect place for a new video and place to call her home for her and her fiance, Will. The only catch? The owner still lives there. Sue, her realtor and friend explains that this new fad is that you pay a lump sum up front and then make a monthly payment to the owner until they are deceased and then you own the house. So, the longer they live, the more you pay.

They take the risk and make the purchase, but Will is not excited about it. He is introduced as an entitled son of a rich family who has wasted through his money on bad investments and gambling. He's keeping this from Elle, who is out house searching for them. She can tell that something is off with Will, but suspects cheating.

Plagued with declining views from her social media, Elle decides to move forward with purchasing the chateau, despite the odd circumstances. Elle hints at another life she has overcome, saying that if she loses Will and her followers she will be like "her" again.

Meanwhile, Sue suspects that Elle has a dark past and hires a private investigator to uncover her past and Elle starts getting messages on her social media threatening to share about her secret past.

More creepiness comes in - like how Elle looks just like the home owner's missing wife and wondering if anyone else from the family will come forward to try to claim the house she is hoping to launch her career off of.

This store is one of deception, and seeing what lengths people will go to to stay relevant. At times it was hard to follow - but a solid 3 stars and I did enjoy the twists and uncovering of the past of all the characters.

Despite a few initial struggles with Elle’s decisions, the plot’s engagement didn’t falter. Some loose ends could have been tied up, but overall, it was a a good read. Constantly trying to piece things together kept me on my toes, and the suspense never let up.

This was my first book by this author but it won’t be my last! I just knew I had it all figured out 1/3 of the way through but boy was I wrong!!