I could’ve made a whole human in the time it took me to admit defeat and dnf this book.

If you’re looking for your next roller coaster, “I can’t put this one down read,” Her Perfect Life is the book for you. This was my first book by Hank and it certainly won’t be my last.

Her Perfect Life definitely kept me on my toes. There were so many plausible theories I had while reading the book and it seemed like there was a new one after every chapter. Speaking of chapters, I thought they were the perfect length. Not too long, not too short and dang could Hank get you with a cliffhanger. There were so many times I had to stop reading for some reason or another and it always left me wanting to pick back up immediately. While one of my theories did end up being correct, I didn’t have enough confidence in it that I was still surprised when it was revealed I was correct.

As much as I loved the fast paced, twist and turns I did have a few things I didn’t care for. The most trivial being the use of the word, “mumma.” I don’t know why, but it felt like nails on a chalkboard inside my head every time it was used. It got to the point I was skipping over the word while reading. The other thing that bothered me is the characters just weren’t like-able aside from Rowen. I thought she was a precious little girl (apart from calling Lily mumma). Normally I don’t mind, and even enjoy unlikeable characters, but in this case I don’t think that was the authors intent. For various reasons I won’t go into in order to avoid spoilers, they weren’t the smartest cookies. The parts of Cassie’s story at 18 were especially frustrating. I may be a decade plus removed from being 18, but I don’t think I would of made the same conclusions as she did. Other than “Smith” the mysterious inside tipster to Greer and Lily, the characters seemed oblivious and naive.

Overall though, the writing is absolutely fantastic, and I enjoyed reading this one. I’m so very glad to have had the opportunity to read this one in advance, and will certainly be recommending it to other thriller/suspense lovers.

How do you live a PERFECT life, keep your family safe, maintain friendships and hold down a glamorous job? That's what Lily is trying to do without allowing her secret past bump into her daily VERY PUBLIC LIFE. Her TV producer does everything in her power to keep up Lily's perfect appearance. That is until she begins to see what Lily has kept hidden, which were it to become public knowledge, would destroy not only Lily's career but hers as well. This book kept me on my toes and the mysteries kept building! I did not see the ending coming! A fun and engaging read.

What a fun story to read. The story does start slow; however, it makes up for it with an amazingly twisted ending. The characters of Lily, Cassie and Banning were whole and engaging. However, I find Greer's character to be lacking. Especially the ending of Greer. I still don't understand her character wholly. She is an integral part of the story to help move it along; however, her personality and part in the story seems lacking in a lot of ways. I don't understand how one character can fall short in this story when everyone else is so full.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read a book by Hank Phillippi Ryan because she's such great mentor for writers. But this book fell a little short for me. I think I had trouble with the characters flip flopping back and forth.

First we have the perfect Lily, so savvy in her work life, but a little naïve when it comes to her personal life. I also felt like she took advantage of her child's Nanny, never considering the danger she might be putting her in. Then we have her producer Greer, who prides herself on keeping Lily's image pristine. But when it comes down to it, she's only out for herself. The part that troubled me revolved around the whole plot of Cassie's guilt. While I don't think most young adults are street wise at 19, but Cassie leaps to assumptions about the consequences of a bad choice she made, which sets a whole series of events into place.

There were also some technicalities for me. I don't think anyone was using the term "super cute" 25 years ago - that seems more like a modern phrase. And crocuses usually bloom before forsythia are dying off.

I did find the book suspenseful, especially when the elusive Mr. Smith is at his endgame. The twist was somewhat expected, but I was fully invested in how it played out. And I will probably try another book by this author, this one just may not have been for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forge Books for an advance reader's copy for review.

Quick paced, but felt like it was missing something? Suspense, perhaps? Characters felt unrealistic and the whole story just seemed.. off? The investigative reporter and her producer didn't seem to ask enough questions (which is what they do for a living) and as a result they missed getting answers until the end. Also they just didn't seem wary enough of the entire situation.

It was my first book from Hank Ryan and I LOVED IT! Very interesting that the author was a investigative reporter and her MC in "Her Perfect Life" was too. There is a lot of intrigue, but all the subplots are connected. I had tons of theories about what happened and I was fooled in the best way. Definitely going to check our her other books.