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cintyaposse's review against another edition
3.0
I was hesitating about the rating I was going to choose for this book. I went with 3 stars after a few hours of finishing it, but once I hit the 100% on my Kindle, I was so angry I was about to choose a 1 or a 2.
The book is extremely predictable and you have to wait for about 75% of it for something interesting to happen. The last two or three chapters have a few twists that are interesting but I don't think all the wait is worth it.
Molly is so boring and naive is really hard to feel something for her other than pity. Her husband is hideous and all her relationships are superficial.
The plot at the end was a huge ? I couldn't even remember one of the characters since they were named on one of the first chapters and no more. I actually had to go back to those episodes to know who tf was them.
Overall, it's an ok book, but I don't think I'm going to recommend it to anyone.
The book is extremely predictable and you have to wait for about 75% of it for something interesting to happen. The last two or three chapters have a few twists that are interesting but I don't think all the wait is worth it.
Molly is so boring and naive is really hard to feel something for her other than pity. Her husband is hideous and all her relationships are superficial.
The plot at the end was a huge ? I couldn't even remember one of the characters since they were named on one of the first chapters and no more. I actually had to go back to those episodes to know who tf was them.
Overall, it's an ok book, but I don't think I'm going to recommend it to anyone.
klpage's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Short thriller book about a couple who seem to have the perfect life on the outside but it isn’t as perfect behind the scenes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder
bethanya06's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
frannie_rose's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Good crime/ thriller but found it slightly slow in places. Picks up a lot towards the end and does take a few guesses to figure out the ending!
thelibraryofimagination's review
2.0
The perfect life does not exist for the deluded Molly Chatwell.
This book was interesting in some ways and annoying in others. I found it a challenge to read because the plot had inconsistencies; the continuity discrepancies drastically affected the pace. Character development was mediocre as the main character Molly was naive (annoyingly so) throughout the book and only had one moment of redeeming clarity (a minuscule one at that). The husband’s story was disjointed and an antagonist basically appeared out of nowhere and confused me at a very crucial point in the story. Molly’s friend was just a horrible person. It’s just a book of selfish and nasty people treating Molly poorly and the poor thing is too naive to notice.
I’m not one for criticizing a book this way but I honestly did not find anything I liked about it. I’m giving it 2 stars because it has a lot of promise but I think it needs to be revamped to make it a truly great story.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and @thepigeonhole for the ARC copy of this book.
This book was interesting in some ways and annoying in others. I found it a challenge to read because the plot had inconsistencies; the continuity discrepancies drastically affected the pace. Character development was mediocre as the main character Molly was naive (annoyingly so) throughout the book and only had one moment of redeeming clarity (a minuscule one at that). The husband’s story was disjointed and an antagonist basically appeared out of nowhere and confused me at a very crucial point in the story. Molly’s friend was just a horrible person. It’s just a book of selfish and nasty people treating Molly poorly and the poor thing is too naive to notice.
I’m not one for criticizing a book this way but I honestly did not find anything I liked about it. I’m giving it 2 stars because it has a lot of promise but I think it needs to be revamped to make it a truly great story.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and @thepigeonhole for the ARC copy of this book.
kellyreadsinnit's review
dark
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
lakinloveslit's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this but I found the ending a bit lacklustre...a good solid read though
melaniesreads's review
2.0
This review is going to be complicated as there were things I liked about it and a lot I didn’t. Judging by the comments on pigeonhole, while reading, a lot had the same issues I did.
Let me start with the characters. Molly is naive, delusional and vacuous. As somebody of a similar age I was shocked by her continued stupidity. Her husband is awful and I personally would have served him divorce papers after the first chapter. Then there are her friends, if you can call them that. More acquaintances than friends and just as shallow and insincere as Jack’s hideous work colleagues. As you can probably gather I didn’t like any of them and not really liking Molly didn’t really make me root for her. In fact if anything I just found myself shouting at her.
I can’t really go into the plot too much without getting into spoiler territory but part of the ending really came out of nowhere and left me annoyed. What would have worked well would have been a role reversal, I can’t be the only one fed up with women being written as silly victims. Even if they do have to be a victim at least give them some gumption.
My suspicions were pretty much spot on except for the ridiculous throw in that hadn’t been mentioned since the start of the book. So I could barely remember it and it felt like it had been plucked from thin air.
One major positive though was the pace, I flew through the staves really quickly, and if I had read this as a book I probably could have read it in 2 hours. It also kept my attention as I did want to know what was coming next.
Let me start with the characters. Molly is naive, delusional and vacuous. As somebody of a similar age I was shocked by her continued stupidity. Her husband is awful and I personally would have served him divorce papers after the first chapter. Then there are her friends, if you can call them that. More acquaintances than friends and just as shallow and insincere as Jack’s hideous work colleagues. As you can probably gather I didn’t like any of them and not really liking Molly didn’t really make me root for her. In fact if anything I just found myself shouting at her.
I can’t really go into the plot too much without getting into spoiler territory but part of the ending really came out of nowhere and left me annoyed. What would have worked well would have been a role reversal, I can’t be the only one fed up with women being written as silly victims. Even if they do have to be a victim at least give them some gumption.
My suspicions were pretty much spot on except for the ridiculous throw in that hadn’t been mentioned since the start of the book. So I could barely remember it and it felt like it had been plucked from thin air.
One major positive though was the pace, I flew through the staves really quickly, and if I had read this as a book I probably could have read it in 2 hours. It also kept my attention as I did want to know what was coming next.
ljwrites85's review
3.0
I really enjoy Valerie Keogh’s psychological thrillers so I was looking forward to this one.
The Perfect Life is a domestic noir story focussing on Molly Chatwell whose life seems perfect. She has a nice house and job. A great husband and two kids off at university. It’s only when she starts to really look at her life that she begins to see the cracks. A chance meeting with a stranger leaves her perfect life under threat.
I always love the way that Valerie Keogh creates such realistic and flawed characters. I really felt for Molly, suffering from empty nest syndrome and her husband is less than sympathetic about it.
There’s plenty of peril for poor Molly along the way but I have to be honest I wasn’t entirely shocked by the ending.
The Perfect Life is a fast paced story with plenty of tension and intrigue, perfect for domestic noir fans.
The Perfect Life is a domestic noir story focussing on Molly Chatwell whose life seems perfect. She has a nice house and job. A great husband and two kids off at university. It’s only when she starts to really look at her life that she begins to see the cracks. A chance meeting with a stranger leaves her perfect life under threat.
I always love the way that Valerie Keogh creates such realistic and flawed characters. I really felt for Molly, suffering from empty nest syndrome and her husband is less than sympathetic about it.
There’s plenty of peril for poor Molly along the way but I have to be honest I wasn’t entirely shocked by the ending.
The Perfect Life is a fast paced story with plenty of tension and intrigue, perfect for domestic noir fans.