Cover Image: Her Perfect Life

Her Perfect Life

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Member Reviews

For a majority of story, I had no idea where the plot of this book was going, and it was a pretty crazy ride to get to the end. Whenever there is a character who is perfect in all of the other character’s eyes, I am automatically suspicious about them. I thought that the first part of the book was a little slow, but that’s a minor complaint. The author did a really good job of alternating perspectives between Gracie and Juliet so that the story was always being fully told. There was one question in the book that I felt was never fully answered, but it may be that I just missed it. Stick with the craziness, because the payoff is worth it. For a detailed review, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a detailed review of the book.

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This was slow to start, but once it got going I couldn't put it down. The final twist was unexpected and original. Gracie and Juliet are both well developed characters that I grew to like at times, and utterly despise at other times. The plot takes on a twisted journey through the minds of two women that aren't as different as they seem. Both have dreams that may never come true. Desperation and decption are the driving forces that motivate these women to take risks that could be deadly.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy.

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The synopsis of this novel was appealing and having never read anything by Sam Hepburn before, I wasn't sure what to expect.
What I received was a riveting story that quickly drew me into the contrasting lives of the main characters, both equally unlikable for differing reasons.
The story was woven seamlessly despite having a somewhat complicated plot. The surprise ending I didn't see coming at all.
I look forward to more of Sam Hepburn's work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

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This book was a page turner from beginning to end. I literally couldn’t put this book down and finished in one reading. Amazing character development and integration. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thrillers are my go to genre, and lately they have all just been "repeating themselves" for lack of a better word. It takes A LOT lately to get my attention in a thriller and make me want to stick with the book. Her Perfect Life had a great synopsis, but was a VERY, VERY slow burn. I almost didn't finish it. It just wasn't for me, but it wouldn't stop me from reading more from this author.

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This book was such an intriguing read, following two very different women, one who seemingly has everything: the husband, the amazing career, and a beautiful daughter. The other who seemingly has nothing: an emotionally abusive ex, no job, and a daughter she has to share.

Gracie Dwyer is a woman many envy, she has it all. A handsome, devoted husband: Tom, an adorable daughter: Elsie, a beautiful home her husband built, and a career so successful, she's now popular in the US. she has an absolutely perfect life. Or so it seems.

But when Gracie gets home from NY back to her house in London from filming her new cooking show, Tom's acting weird. He then goes on and tells her his confession, and it destroys the very existence of their perfect life. He betrayed her trust in the worst way possible and she's not sure how she can ever get past this or forgive him. On top of that, her stalker has sent another message in the mail. She's not sure why she's receiving these sick letters in the first place, but the police think that it's someone who knows her personally. Truthfully, it's making her paranoid.

After some time passes and things still don't get better between the couple, Tom suggests that they sell the house. Gracie is in the middle of opening a second location for her newest cafe. Tom suggests that they look around the area and move closer in the area.

Gracie knows how big of a sacrifice it is for Tom. He built that house for his first wife, Louise, but she died before it was ever completed. When Tom ran out of money to finish it, Gracie was happy to help him with his dream. Now she's thrilled to be out of that house.

She enrolls Elsie into a local ballet class with the neighborhood kids in an effort for her daughter to meet some friends outside the snobby kids in her private school. Gracie meets some of the moms there and is cornered by Juliet.


Juliet's life is a mess. Her ex lives in Australia with his pregnant girlfriend, and her daughter is a shy little thing; Juliet's priorities are cigarettes and wine before milk for her daughter. Juliet blames Gracie for all of the failures in her life. They met each other 6 years ago, before Gracie became famous, at a PR workshop, and Gracie was interested in hiring her. Juliet called her for weeks afterwards and got nowhere, not understanding why. After the PR event, Gracie saw Juliet's husband pick her up in the parking lot and saw the fighting that started immediately afterwards. She decided that if her decision skills included choosing a man like him, she didn't want that in her life.

Now Juliet wants to be Gracie's saving grace when her trusted PR agency turns on her. So she can prove her loyalty to her once and for all. So after falling off a bike and becoming injured, she and her daughter, Freya, are guests at Gracie's house for a few days. Just enough time for her to snoop around and get some dirt on the too perfect facade of hers, and leak it through her trusted publicists' email server. Then Juliet, her loyal friend, will then come to her rescue.

But things don't turn out the way Juliet thinks they will. With one of the women skilled with years of manipulation and mind control, the other one never stood a chance. She just plsyed into her hand.

But just when Gracie thinks that her stalker is a thing of the past, she gets another letter. But this time she it occurs to her that the detective was right; it's someone who knows her personally; like as in extended family.

A must read!

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Does anyone ever truly have the perfect life? It would seem that Gracie Dwyer has her life put together. She is married, has a successful career, and a darling little girl. But what appears on the outside may not always look the same from inside. Whil;e Gracie seems to have it all, Juliet is the complete opposite. Her career never really took off, she drinks and smokes too much, and her husband seems to be off in another country with a new much younger woman leaving Juliet to care for their young daughter. Two women who couldn;t be any more different than night and die find their way to each other, but is it a friendship match made in heaven or something much more sinister?

Her Perfect Life is one well written plot meant to pull you right in with its slow burn approach as it builds you up. Even though it is a slow burn for about half the book, the mystery really keeps you flipping the pages wondering what route the story will take you on. There is a lot of intrigue and a character named Pauline thrown in the mix that really keeps you guessing as to her roll in the story. Throw in a crazy stalker and you have now added a new level of crazy to the plot.

Can I say I liked any of the characters? I am kind of on the fence about that. From the outside Gracie seems like the newest Martha Stewart, put together and putting on a show, but I never really quite warmed up to her. Juliet is definitely more sympathetic in her own way. I mean who wouldn’t feel bad for a sort of single mother barely able to make ends meet while trying to take care of her child? All I know is I do enjoy unreliable narrators and Sam Hepburn excelled on that front.

If you enjoy a slow burn psychological thriller that pulls you right in, has twists and a hint of craziness, then you will definitely want to pick up Sam Hepburn’s newest release, Her Perfect Life.

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I enjoy this author's books. The cover is beautiful and the characters were interesting. 5 stars!!!!!!! I'd recommend it.

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A bit hard to follow in the beginning but more of a slow burning psychological thriller. Lots of twists but nothing that really catches you off guard. A well written book and well written characters.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

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Her Perfect Life by Sam Hepburn is a good read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers. The book centers on an unlikely friendship between two women. Gracie is a “have” and Juliet is a “have-not.” Gracie has an amazing husband, job, child, and life while, Juliet struggles with all of these things. It is clear from the beginning of the story, that there Juliet wants Gracie’s life and is subtly intersecting herself into Gracie’s life. From their first encounter, Gracie is snared in Juliet’s web. While on the surface, Gracie’s life looks picture perfect, there are blemishes of which as the reader, you soon become aware of. Juliet’s misfortunes and poor choices are laid bare for the reader however, does she have redeeming qualities and has she simply been the victim of misfortune and events beyond her control? These are all questions for which you will gather answers as you power through this exciting psychological thriller. The story is told from alternating points of view which kept my interest. At times, it was difficult to follow the journal entries from Pauline, but as I kept on, I began to put the pieces into place. Her Perfect Life captures all of the elements of a psychological thriller, including, mystery, drama, action, and paranoia. I recommend this new author to fans of psychological thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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For many people these days the constant pursuit of perfection is an obsession. And for some, this is the only path to find the recognition and love they crave. This is the story of two women, one who has the perfect life and the other who will stop at nothing to take it from her.

Gracie Dwyer is a celebrity lifestyle and culinary influencer who gives everything to her growing career. Her star has risen so high in the U.K. that now they want her to host a show in the United States. But this grueling schedule and overwhelming demand on her time has put a strain on her ‘perfect’ home life. She doesn’t get the time she wants to spend with her little girl, Elsie, and she’s reshoring the relationship with her husband who’d had an affair.

Read More....https://booksuplift.com/her-perfect-life/

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Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an advance copy of this book in return for my honest feedback.

I love a good thriller. This was a well written story about two women with seemingly very different lives, and the intersection of when their paths cross. The story however was too slow paced for me. At 85% in I thought I hope something happens soon as there isn’t much time left. For those of you that like a slow burn, this is the book for you.

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I think that this was a well written book, but it was just a bit too slow for me to love! I would give it a solid 3.5 stars, as it did provide the must thrills, chills, shocks, and twisty turns, but the pacing was just not fast enough for me. I would still recommend, as I think it’s a fun, easy read, which will provide the necessities us thriller seekers are asking for!

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This book took me all over the place. I would have to take breaks from reading it initially. I like suspense novels, but felt like there were so many characters I was trying to place. I am glad I stuck with it as the ending was awesome! Be prepared to have to push through some parts of it, but really is worth it in the long run!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Any opinions are mine alone and voluntarily given.

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First, I want to thank Sam Hepburn, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Sam Hepburn is back to bring you another great novel Her Perfect Life!

One person I loved in this book was Gracie. I loved the fact that she was a Celebrity Chef on TV and writing her own cookbook. She had big dreams to open her own cook shop that serves a bistro menu in the evenings and run a cookery workshops upstairs.

Sam’s story focuses on Infidelity, stalkers, written threats, etc.

Tom, Gracie’s Husband, made a poor error In judgement when feeling weak one night. Sam wrote that very emotional filled intense scene extremely well.

Elsie, Gracie’s Daughter, was the cutest little girl in this book. She had such a bubbly and excitable personality interacting with her Mummy!

Throughout the book there was a diary entry reading Paulina Bryce Diary with the date. The mystery was who was this character? What did she have to do with this story?

I loved the names Sam picked out for her characters in Her Perfect Life. Some names I liked were Stefano (I was a huge Days of our Lives’s fan and Stefano played the Villan), Gracie, Daphne, Juliet, etc.They were different and unique.

The article in the magazine feature Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want -Your Six-Point Guide to a New Life was a very interesting read.

I was laughing at the fact that Elise was going to be a mushroom in Lynda’s show and that Gracie had to make a costume. The only time I ever saw someone dress up as one of my fave veggies was on Masked Singer.

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Gracie appears to have everything. She has a cooking show, young daughter, Elsie, and a successful husband, Tom. Periodically she has received threatening packages with the police have tried to figure out if she has a stalker. Juliet has a failed marriage, a drinking problem, needs a good job, a daughter, Freya, and an estranged husband Ian that is arrested for having some porn on his computer. Gracie befriends Juliet but is it a real friendship. Then there are mysterious diary entries by Paulette Bryce at the end of some chapters. This book has an interesting concept but drags on and on before something really happens. Just too slow for me. I think it would be better to really edit the book more and cut out some of the rather repetitive passages. My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

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Gracie Dwyer has the perfect life. Her career is at an all time high, her husband is a sweetheart and her daughter has it all. Her new friend Juliet doesn't quite fit her glossy life, she drinks too much, struggles to pay the bills as a single mom, and has a convicted ex. So what exactly is it that brings the both of them together?

This was an exciting psychological thriller. Gracie is annoyingly perfect and Juliet is perfectly ordinary. The two strike up an unlikely friendship and it seems so baffling until we find out more about why they're drawn to each other. We find out slowly about these reasons and it was really enticing every time something new was uncovered. I enjoyed the diary entries between chapters, even though they didn't really make full sense until the end.

There were some loose ends that I wish were better wrapped up. For example, why is Juliet so obsessed with Gracie? I feel like there wasn't a good explanation for that. Also it was a bit slow in the middle - I felt a bit restless waiting to know where the story was headed, but maybe that's not a bad thing.

I recommend this book to those who like psychological thrillers - there was a lot that happened that I totally did not expect!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the eGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to give this a 3 or 4 star rating. I really enjoyed the book and it had the twists and turns that I like in books. But sometimes a little slow and I got tired of Juliet and her behavior. I also thought Grace was to good to be true.
Gracie Dwyer has it all: the handsome husband, the adorable child, the beautiful home and the glittering career. The perfect life.
Grace is getting letters from someone that she has no idea who, maybe someone from her past.
Then we are getting to read diary entries and we don't know whose diary we are reading about. I thought it was Juliet and then I thought it was Grace.
Maybe Tom, Grace's husband, is the one we need to watch out for. Or Grace's best friend.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.

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An entertaining slow burn. Gracie appears to have the perfect life. A doting husband, an adorable daughter, a gorgeous home, an amazing job. Juliet’s Life is messy. Her husband is living in a different country with his pregnant girlfriend, her daughter is frightened of her own shadow, her flat is a dump, her career has never got off the ground. But as much as Juliet despises Gracie for her perfect life she still wants to very much be part of it. The story bounces back-and-forth between the perspectives of Gracie and that of Juliet. And there is a lot going on here: adultery, stalkers, infertility, abuse. Neither of these women were tremendously likable, but I sure did want to find out what was going on. My only tiny Kniggle with the story is some parts went on a little too long and I think that’s because there was so much going on. The book really was kind of like a maze. You’d be going along thinking you knew where it was headed and then you’d run into a dead end and have to redirect. A wild ride filled with plenty of twists and untrustworthy characters.

This book in emojis 👩🏻‍🍳 🍷 🩰 📱 🐶

*** Big thank you to for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

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Wow! Just when you thought you had it all figured out, you find out you don’t !! This book has a great twist. The characters are mostly likable, until they are not. This is a deliciously written psychological thriller that is well worth reading! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

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