Thriller

Perfect Little Lives

Perfect Little Lives

  • Downloads：9660
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2023-12-16 07:21:44
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Amber Brown
  • ISBN：B0CG2YKHP9
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Rebecca ，

Thanks to the publisher， via Netgalley， for an advance e-galley for honest review。This one didn't quite have the same spark that I liked in the authors' debut last year and wasn't as cohesive a story as it maybe could have been， but I did think it had a solid premise in Simone pursuing justice for her wrongfully incarcerated father in the murder of her mother。 The romance element of the story is maybe what hindered it a bit， and didn't necessarily work for me， but the mystery part of the plot wa Thanks to the publisher， via Netgalley， for an advance e-galley for honest review。This one didn't quite have the same spark that I liked in the authors' debut last year and wasn't as cohesive a story as it maybe could have been， but I did think it had a solid premise in Simone pursuing justice for her wrongfully incarcerated father in the murder of her mother。 The romance element of the story is maybe what hindered it a bit， and didn't necessarily work for me， but the mystery part of the plot was interesting。 。。。more

Lana DeLayne Barney ，

Perfect Little Lives was a fun， but predictable romantic， dramatic mystery。 I feel like the authors didn’t know which way to go with this book。 Romance…。。ehh。 Thriller…。predictable。 Suspenseful…not so much。 With some revision， this could be great instead of mediocre。 I would still recommend this to young adults that enjoyed “Pretty Little Liars” and “Twisted”。I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion。

Booksandcoffeemx ，

Riveting and twisty！Secrets， lies， twists and turns， the perfect recipe for a wild and addictive ride。 It started a bit slow but a few chapters in and I was hooked， I couldn’t stop reading。Thank you Graydon House Books for this gifted copy。

That Book Betchhh ，

LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS BOOK！！！ The drama was next level， the mystery was fun， and the notes of romance （which confused me slightly at the beginning because when I’m in “thriller book mode” I usually don’t encounter really any sort of romance…BUT once I got more into the book I didn’t mind it at all）！ This book would be perfect for anyone who wants an entertaining genre bending drama filled read or anyone who wants to dip their toe into the world of thrillers！4。25⭐️⭐️OUT TODAY 12/5⭐️Special thanks LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS BOOK！！！ The drama was next level， the mystery was fun， and the notes of romance （which confused me slightly at the beginning because when I’m in “thriller book mode” I usually don’t encounter really any sort of romance…BUT once I got more into the book I didn’t mind it at all）！ This book would be perfect for anyone who wants an entertaining genre bending drama filled read or anyone who wants to dip their toe into the world of thrillers！4。25⭐️⭐️OUT TODAY 12/5⭐️Special thanks to NetGalley @graydonhousebooks and @htpbooks for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion！#perfectlittlelives #amberanddaniellebrown #graydonhousebooks #htpbooks 。。。more

Robyn_reads1 ，

Perfect Little Lives is filled with drama and tension。 I love that it was a mystery with romance mixed in。 People behaving badly over secrets isn’t anything new but the way this was written is！ The voice is incredibly strong and the dialogue felt real。 This was very enjoyable。

Paula M ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Just one of a million ways to tell a story 。 。 。 This one was entertaining， if not surprising。 I liked Simone in all of her 23 year old indignation， I think she was developmentally accurate。 There was a little more than necessary spice， but again， I think it was/may be what's going on in the life oa a twenty something。 I do struggle with inconsistencies in the story and at least one scientifically questionable explanation - toilet pregnancy test？？ In the end I was confused about pregnant or not Just one of a million ways to tell a story 。 。 。 This one was entertaining， if not surprising。 I liked Simone in all of her 23 year old indignation， I think she was developmentally accurate。 There was a little more than necessary spice， but again， I think it was/may be what's going on in the life oa a twenty something。 I do struggle with inconsistencies in the story and at least one scientifically questionable explanation - toilet pregnancy test？？ In the end I was confused about pregnant or not - there was an entire 'Past' chapter dedicated to not pregnant 。 。 。 I must have missed something 。 。 。 Overall， I enjoyed the story and the characters。 。。。more

Jennie Long ，

I wanted to like this， and parts of it were good but the constant stereotypes are off putting！ This book further perpectuates racism。 Making assumptions about food and hair and all sorts of ridiculous things。

Brittany ，

Audiobook Review: the narration of this book was done well。 The accents and tone were appropriate。 As other reviewers point out， the book was “all over the place”， however， this is how I would imagine if the story were to play out in real life。 Crime books who take a straight route from A to Z don’t hold my attention as well。 I enjoyed the subtle awareness brought into play on the injustice different races endure with law enforcement。 If you’re a crime junkie of course you’ll know very early on Audiobook Review: the narration of this book was done well。 The accents and tone were appropriate。 As other reviewers point out， the book was “all over the place”， however， this is how I would imagine if the story were to play out in real life。 Crime books who take a straight route from A to Z don’t hold my attention as well。 I enjoyed the subtle awareness brought into play on the injustice different races endure with law enforcement。 If you’re a crime junkie of course you’ll know very early on how the book ends but the authors make you second guess yourself by the main character， Simone second guessing herself。 The book didn’t drag on or feel too long just to make a story。 。。。more

Heather ，

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarelquinTradePublishing for the ARC #PerfectLittleLies by #AmberAndDanielleBrown。 This book was dark and interesting following a 13 year ago murder of a mom/wife。 Can Simone find the evidence to get her dad out of prison？ Who killed her mom？

Brianna Greco ，

I wanted to love this book， it sounded so interesting when I saw it listed on Netgalley。 I thought it would be the main character， Simone doing anything she can to try and prove that her father was wrongfully convicted for the murder of her mother。 But this went in two different directions all at the same time which to me was too confusing and conflicting。 I don't think it helped either that Simone was not a favorite main character for me by the way she acted and responded to situations。 Thank y I wanted to love this book， it sounded so interesting when I saw it listed on Netgalley。 I thought it would be the main character， Simone doing anything she can to try and prove that her father was wrongfully convicted for the murder of her mother。 But this went in two different directions all at the same time which to me was too confusing and conflicting。 I don't think it helped either that Simone was not a favorite main character for me by the way she acted and responded to situations。 Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my copy of Perfect Little Lives。 。。。more

Nicole Strickland ，

Literally nothing was very memorable about this story。 It seems like every other average domestic thriller unfortunately。 Maybe if you're new to the genre， you would find this special， but I defintely won't remember this one out of the books I read this year。 Literally nothing was very memorable about this story。 It seems like every other average domestic thriller unfortunately。 Maybe if you're new to the genre， you would find this special， but I defintely won't remember this one out of the books I read this year。 。。。more

Sarah ，

2/10

dianas_books_cars_coffee ，

2。5 rounded up to 3

Tamisha booklovertamisha ，

This was an interesting follow up to their debut Someone Had to Do It。 In this story Simone’s father has been convicted of killing her mother。 But Simone’s family has secrets and she thinks someone else was the killer。Simone wasn’t my favorite character。 She was a little too reckless and way too accommodating of Reggie。 I did like her relationship with Hunter。 I figured out the twist about 1/3 in and I wasn’t at all surprised by the ending。 This book was still a good suspense read。

Jewellia ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange， for an honest review！ I so desperately really wanted to love this book， but sadly， I only liked it。 I’m a huge fan of thriller/mystery novels so I had high hopes for this book。 I especially enjoyed the scene setting and getting to know the characters， but I feel like the authors took way too long setting the scene to where I got bored。 I also felt like it was super obvious that this book was written by two authors。 For some reason， I feel like the to Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange， for an honest review！ I so desperately really wanted to love this book， but sadly， I only liked it。 I’m a huge fan of thriller/mystery novels so I had high hopes for this book。 I especially enjoyed the scene setting and getting to know the characters， but I feel like the authors took way too long setting the scene to where I got bored。 I also felt like it was super obvious that this book was written by two authors。 For some reason， I feel like the tone of writing switched up a lot throughout this book which made it kind of hard to follow。 I also think the killer was made to be super obvious too early on because there wasn’t enough suspects。 Also， while I understand the need to discuss the criminal justice system and the vast difference of treatment amongst different races， Simone’s internal dialogue about it all was very annoying to me。 I know that she was upset that her dad was wrongfully convicted， and that the police didn’t care about her mom’s murder because she was a black woman， but as a book revealed more about Kate and her own personal affairs， it became super obvious that the police didn’t care because the cop himself was complicit。 I don’t think it’s the author’s fault completely that I didn’t enjoy these parts per se; I think I’m just tired of reading about Black trauma。 I love reading about my people， but sometimes reading about our struggles and what we have to deal with in reality sucks。 Sometimes I want to get away from the reality of our society and not have to read about it in a book。 Overall， I gave this book 3 stars and I feel like I would’ve given it a 3。5/4 if the twist was not as anti-climatic。 Lastly， I don’t understand how she could forgive Hunter for acting the way that he did towards her。 While I understand that he was her childhood friend， the ultimatum that he gave her regarding ruining Reggie’s career was too much for me to overlook。 There’s no way I would’ve gotten over something like that。 I don’t care how best of friends we are; the racism behind basically outing Reggie to his law firm was just too much for me。 I don’t see any romance in that at all。 。。。more

Tiffany ，

*2。5

Rachel ，

What a rollercoaster of a read！ It became pretty predictable towards the end but I still really enjoyed this thriller。

Sara Kleinschrodt ，

I was grateful to receive the ARC of this novel and I definitely enjoyed the read！ It was quick， but gripping！ Very interesting and full of plot lines and characters I don’t see in many books。 Was it a twist I didn’t see coming？ Not necessarily， but it still kept me interested and wanting to figure it out for sure。 There was just something missing that I couldn’t put my finger on that kept it from being a five star read for me。 Definitely suggest giving it a read and letting me know what you thi I was grateful to receive the ARC of this novel and I definitely enjoyed the read！ It was quick， but gripping！ Very interesting and full of plot lines and characters I don’t see in many books。 Was it a twist I didn’t see coming？ Not necessarily， but it still kept me interested and wanting to figure it out for sure。 There was just something missing that I couldn’t put my finger on that kept it from being a five star read for me。 Definitely suggest giving it a read and letting me know what you think！ 。。。more

Ashley Zeal Hurd ，

Perfect Little Lives was marketed as a thriller and I wanted so much to love it but there was just too much going on。 We meet Simone， a writer whose mother was murdered & her father was wrongfully convicted。 On page one she was already complaining about the patriarchy & her boyfriend。 I found her super unlikeable from the very beginning。 Then， there’s her boyfriend， Reggie。 He works at a huge law firm and barely has time for her anymore。 She gets very upset about this even though she has totally Perfect Little Lives was marketed as a thriller and I wanted so much to love it but there was just too much going on。 We meet Simone， a writer whose mother was murdered & her father was wrongfully convicted。 On page one she was already complaining about the patriarchy & her boyfriend。 I found her super unlikeable from the very beginning。 Then， there’s her boyfriend， Reggie。 He works at a huge law firm and barely has time for her anymore。 She gets very upset about this even though she has totally lied to him about her family’s past and her upbringing。 Enter her childhood best friend， Hunter， who we find out his dad was having an affair with her mom before she was murdered。 Oh， and let’s not forget Pia， who is trying to get in contact with her because she’s doing a true。 time documentary about her Mother’s case。 There was a love triangle， an old murder to solve and plenty of random sex scenes - which normally I love。 They just felt very out of place in a book about solving your mother’s murder。 I was ready for a good thriller， but this was not that。 Thanks so much to Netgalley for the ARC of this book。 。。。more

Lisa Gisèle ，

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley。 Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions。I honestly wasn't a fan of this book。 It focused on the lead s sex life for way longer than needed， and I got bored。。I honestly didn't know what the story was about until chapter until page 32。 。 I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley。 Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions。I honestly wasn't a fan of this book。 It focused on the lead s sex life for way longer than needed， and I got bored。。I honestly didn't know what the story was about until chapter until page 32。 。 。。。more

Shannon Conn ，

I'm giving this book 3。5 stars。 Initially I wasn't sure whether this book wanted to be a smutty romance or a murder mystery。 It's not so much of a thriller to me， and I guessed the twists/killer pretty early on in the book。 While this book had some fun elements， I did not like that the relationship between Simone and Hunter had such an age gap when they were younger。 It felt predatory to me and while I know as adults that age gap doesn't matter， but when they were kids it does。 Simone was also k I'm giving this book 3。5 stars。 Initially I wasn't sure whether this book wanted to be a smutty romance or a murder mystery。 It's not so much of a thriller to me， and I guessed the twists/killer pretty early on in the book。 While this book had some fun elements， I did not like that the relationship between Simone and Hunter had such an age gap when they were younger。 It felt predatory to me and while I know as adults that age gap doesn't matter， but when they were kids it does。 Simone was also kind of unlikable at times。 and I'm honestly surprised she didn't figure out the murderer faster。 I did however enjoy the commentary about the justice/legal system in regards to POC and how differently situations， investigations， etc。 are handled when it's some of color vs。 a whit individual。 Overall， it was a good experience。 just not an all time favorite。 I want to thank Netgalley， Harlequin Trade Publishing Company， and Smber and Danielle Brown for the ARC of this book。 。。。more

Farah ，

The writing style of this one took me a while to get into but once I got the hang of what was going on， I was fully invested in the story。 Simone is on a quest to find out who murdered her mother， even though her father is already in jail serving time for the crime。 There were twists aplenty， especially in the second half and I found myself binging the last 40% just to find out who the baddie really was。 A definite page turner！

Alex | | findingmontauk1 ，

PERFECT LITTLE LIVES by Amber and Danielle Brown is a pretty solid suspense thriller。 It follows a young woman whose mother was murdered years ago and her dad is sitting in prison for it。 But a true crime documentarian keeps trying to contact her about the story she's about to publish， and all of a sudden new information starts coming to light and almost falling right in our main character's lap。 There are themes of class warfare， racial biases / racism， womanhood， identity， sex， and so much mor PERFECT LITTLE LIVES by Amber and Danielle Brown is a pretty solid suspense thriller。 It follows a young woman whose mother was murdered years ago and her dad is sitting in prison for it。 But a true crime documentarian keeps trying to contact her about the story she's about to publish， and all of a sudden new information starts coming to light and almost falling right in our main character's lap。 There are themes of class warfare， racial biases / racism， womanhood， identity， sex， and so much more。 It's really got a lot going on！ I always feel like my own little Jessica Fletcher when I solve the whodunnit early on， but I talked to a friend who read this and they had absolutely no idea and went a completely other route。 So it's not predictable for all， and that's what I love about books like this。 Everyone can pick up and work with different elements and tropes。 And Amber and Danielle Brown definitely give us a lot to work with here！ I already want to go back and read their first book， Someone Had to Do It。 Give this one a try！ 。。。more

Jaimie Rogers ，

🥳 Happy Pub Day to the Authors ！ 🥳 Ok so I rounded this review up from a 2 1/2 to a 3 ⭐ because I did like #PerfectLittleLives more than I did not but it also bothered me 。 Having a hard time writing an honest review that makes sense & isn't completely scatter brained 。 Ok so i did like the character of Simone & her boyfriend Reggie 。 Their relationship seemed real ， anyone can relate to that 。 I loved both the characters of her parents。 I loved she's a bookworm 。 & Is a strong independent woman 🥳 Happy Pub Day to the Authors ！ 🥳 Ok so I rounded this review up from a 2 1/2 to a 3 ⭐ because I did like #PerfectLittleLives more than I did not but it also bothered me 。 Having a hard time writing an honest review that makes sense & isn't completely scatter brained 。 Ok so i did like the character of Simone & her boyfriend Reggie 。 Their relationship seemed real ， anyone can relate to that 。 I loved both the characters of her parents。 I loved she's a bookworm 。 & Is a strong independent woman dedicated to helping her dad 。 No consequences。The rekindling of an old friendship is always nice as well 。 Things I didn't like : The overtones of racism 。 White people are so annoying 。。。 White people do this 。。。 White people lie 。。。 White privilege 。 White devils blah blah 🙄Why in 2023 am I reading a book about black/white racism being shoved down my throat pretty much the whole book。 If we as a society want to be equal & all get along all that "their all the same" bs needs to stop 。 Authors pushing that narrative definitely is not going to help 。 I also didn't like the romantic thriller with a touch smut this book was giving 。 Pick a theme & let's roll with it。 I could tell this book was written by 2 people because it was all over the place。 Thank u #NetGalley for the Arc 。 。。。more

Sue Wallace ，

Perfect Little Lives by Amber and Danielle Brown。Simone life is changed when her mother is murdered and her father is charged for the crime。 Ten years later she is living a quiet life but then Hunter from her childhood next-door neighbour is back。 When he reveals that his father and her mother were having a affair she is determined that his dad is the murderer。 Can she prove it？ A good read。 Good story I just didn't like the characters。 Had a theory but was sort of right。 3*。Perfect Little Lives Perfect Little Lives by Amber and Danielle Brown。Simone life is changed when her mother is murdered and her father is charged for the crime。 Ten years later she is living a quiet life but then Hunter from her childhood next-door neighbour is back。 When he reveals that his father and her mother were having a affair she is determined that his dad is the murderer。 Can she prove it？ A good read。 Good story I just didn't like the characters。 Had a theory but was sort of right。 3*。Perfect Little Lives by Amber and Danielle Brown。Simone life is changed when her mother is murdered and her father is charged for the crime。 Ten years later she is living a quiet life but then Hunter from her childhood next-door neighbour is back。 When he reveals that his father and her mother were having a affair she is determined that his dad is the murderer。 Can she prove it？ A good read。 Good story I just didn't like the characters。 Had a theory but was sort of right。 3*。 。。。more

Chelsea （gofetchabook） ，

Thank you to Graydon House for my advanced copy of this book for review。TL;DR - Woman goes to unhinged， amateur sleuth lengths to exonerate her father for the murder of her mother。 This one was interesting to say the least。 The opening is a line in excruciatingly specific detail about plucking a giant hair from her left areola。 Naturally I kept reading。 I don't know if it has to do with having two authors， but I felt the book to be a little disjointed where some portions were in specific， gritty Thank you to Graydon House for my advanced copy of this book for review。TL;DR - Woman goes to unhinged， amateur sleuth lengths to exonerate her father for the murder of her mother。 This one was interesting to say the least。 The opening is a line in excruciatingly specific detail about plucking a giant hair from her left areola。 Naturally I kept reading。 I don't know if it has to do with having two authors， but I felt the book to be a little disjointed where some portions were in specific， gritty details， and other portions were fluffy popcorn thriller。 Simone's father is in prison for murdering her mother 13 years ago， and she practically destroys her life trying to prove his innocence。 She reconnects with her childhood best friend and becomes more and more convinced that his father is the culprit， not hers， and she will stop at nothing and refrain from hurting no one to prove it。It was a pretty typical thriller where the book leads you in all sorts of different directions with different red herrings。 The ending was a little bit predictable。 The thing that stood out the most to me were the random sex scenes。 I love a good spicy scene as much as the next person， but some of them just felt a little like space fillers。I settled on 3。5 stars because it was a little more unique than others， but ultimately will not stand out as a book that I remember this time next year。 。。。more

Sheri ，

The amazing cover and back cover copy grabbed my attention and made me want to read this book。 If you like spicy thrillers then this book is for you。 I like milder spice books so it was difficult for me to read especially when the beginning was almost all spice and only a little thriller。 This changed later in the book and became more thriller focused。 I loved the plot idea and the surprises but would have preferred less spice。

Reeca Elliott ，

Simone’s mother was murdered when she was just a teenager。 And Simone’s dad was convicted of the murder。 Now， ten years later and Simone discovers that her mother had an affair with a renowned judge and was pregnant at the time of her death。 Simone will move heaven and earth to find out who really killed her mother， even if it means losing everything。This book was a bit slow for me。 And I believe it is because this book could not make up its mind what it wanted to be。 It is all over the place。 I Simone’s mother was murdered when she was just a teenager。 And Simone’s dad was convicted of the murder。 Now， ten years later and Simone discovers that her mother had an affair with a renowned judge and was pregnant at the time of her death。 Simone will move heaven and earth to find out who really killed her mother， even if it means losing everything。This book was a bit slow for me。 And I believe it is because this book could not make up its mind what it wanted to be。 It is all over the place。 It just felt disjointed and very contrived。 I did like Simone， or rather she tugged at my sympathies。 Simone is the reason I did not dnf。 She is a strong young lady with a powerful motivation。Need a quest for the truth tale…THIS IS IT！ Grab your copy today。I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review。 。。。more

Lori L （She Treads Softly） ，

Perfect Little Lives by Amber and Danielle Brown is a so-so dark romance and light mystery novel。The description is of a daughter， Simone， working to exonerate her father who was wrongly convicted for her mother's murder。 Simone is 23 years old， just managing to get by， and an unlikable character。 Her relationship with her boyfriend Reggie is dysfunctional and an investigative journalist wants to write about her mother's murder。 Then she runs into an old neighbor， Hunter， and learns new informat Perfect Little Lives by Amber and Danielle Brown is a so-so dark romance and light mystery novel。The description is of a daughter， Simone， working to exonerate her father who was wrongly convicted for her mother's murder。 Simone is 23 years old， just managing to get by， and an unlikable character。 Her relationship with her boyfriend Reggie is dysfunctional and an investigative journalist wants to write about her mother's murder。 Then she runs into an old neighbor， Hunter， and learns new information that might end up exonerating her father。I pushed through Perfect Little Lives but was ready to toss it out after the first few pages。 This was not a good choice for me at all。 I would give it one star except it will appeal to some romance readers and I managed to finish it。 If you like suspense and mystery novels， seriously look elsewhere。 This is more a whining， toxic， crude， dysfunctional relationship problems kind of novel with some social commentary and a predictable mystery。 Additionally， it is geared to young， new adult audience。Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Graydon House via NetGalley。http://www。shetreadssoftly。com/2023/1。。。 。。。more

HTP Books ，

Mystery & Detective， Own Voices， Suspense