Cover Image: Everything's Perfect

Everything's Perfect

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Was this review helpful?

I loved the sound of this from the moment I set eyes upon the cover (yes, I do pick up books by cover first) and by reading the back blurb it sounded really interesting and to be honest very relatable to the online world we have found ourselves living in. I was interested in how the story of living one life online and another in real life would come across.

I did enjoy it, I didn't think it lived up to the hype of how much I wanted to enjoy it, as once we get past the two lives of one person and friends becoming online enemies sort of thing I felt as though it had all been done before, but the difference here is that this book is incredibly well written and it has proper laugh out loud moments - which I do love in a book, it's full of wit and good-hearted humour which will keep you reading and the pacing is perfect for the story it's incredibly easy to read.

This is very relevant to the online times we are now living in and well worth a read.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book. It is very relatable and feel good. When you read this you’ll have a smile on your face and there are funny moments. I loved it!

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this, finding several moments throughout the book funny with other times feeling so much sympathy for Cassie and Beth.

The pressure Cassie places on herself (especially in this current social media climate) felt relatable. It was also eye-opening and did make me question my own time spent online. However, as much as I did enjoy the characters and the central plot, and Nicole's writing flowed well, I just found the book lost it's steam at several points. I wanted to love it, and at parts I really did, but my enjoyment lessened around the mid-mark until the three-quarter mark when things began picking up again.

It just felt long, and with several chapters trimmed I think it wouldn't have lost as much steam as it did.

As a person currently without children, I don't think my enjoyment depended on being a mum, but I think I'd have enjoyed it a lot more if I were. I don't think I'll be reading again, but loved the message and really enjoyed the story as a whole.

Was this review helpful?

It was fine. I left it sat too long on my shelf and felt obligated to read it which was not the best mindset to begin with. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me early access.

Was this review helpful?

This book was fun but I think it was simply not for me. I think I am simply not the target audience for this book as I do not have children and so I cannot relate to the struggles that the characters face throughout this book. There were elements that were sweet, like the friendships between the characters. However, I just think that this book just wasn't for me and that's okay because I am sure other people will enjoy and relate to the characters more than I did.

I do really love the cover of this book though. It is super cute.

Was this review helpful?

A generally lighthearted book with moments of depth and pinpoint precision about what it's like to be an online influencer. This debut novel is perfect for new mothers caught in the loop of picture-perfect Instagram. Funny, relatable and honest. It was a fun read.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately really struggled with this book, and it ended up being a did-not-finish. I think if I was more into mummy/family bloggers I may have got on with it better, and I feel like some people could really enjoy it, but for me it was too much of a struggle to read.

Was this review helpful?

Everything's Perfect was a tricky one to review. There were parts I liked, and the basic premise was current and an enjoyable story. But I felt there was some clumsy editing that meant the writing felt a little disjointed at times.

The story is a cautionary tale about the double edged sword of living life through the lens of social media. A place where nothing is as perfect as it seems.

As Beth and Cassie's lives become increasingly out of control it does highlight the very real damage social media can wreak.

It was also a very candid look at parenthood, and how having a baby affects relationships, families and above all, mothers. Losing one's identity, dignity and sleep all contribute to at best, exhaustion, at worst PND. Add to that, instamums who appear to have it all together, and it's a recipe for wrecked self esteem and welcomes in self criticism.

However, I did find this book slightly laboured towards the end, and found myself disengaging. I think it was just slightly too bogged down with detail that didn't add to the story.

However, still overall an enjoyable read with an important message.

Was this review helpful?

This was such an engaging and funny read, it was well written and draws you away from life and the social media is so true!

Was this review helpful?

This was a fun read about mum influencer culture and the hardships of becoming a new mum. The book follows Cassie Holliday, the #1 mum influencer who has her gender-neutral twins and seemingly swanky life. We also follow Beth a first-time mum who loathes social media and is struggling with a few things alongside motherhood. Those things mainly being the death of her mother many years ago, anxiety, the state of her relationship and her kind of pushy sister who has some battles of her own. The two mums end up meeting one day and form a friendship, one that mainly takes place through phone calls and text messages. We spend time with each of the women as they go about their day-to-day lives, so with Cassie, we get the world of influencers and all the gossip about what really goes on behind the scenes. With Beth we get her dealing with her anxiety, having dinners with her partners' parents and hanging out with her sister. So much more happens but telling would ruin the story.

This book is funny and such a good insight into the world of influencing when it comes to parents. There are so many other influencer mums in the book and even an influencer dad! It very much focuses on how these people’s lives on Instagram do not reflect their actual lives. Every cute picture is heavily curated and involves faking friendships, lies and children being bribed. There’s even a summer party and it 100% reminded me of the parties Gleam Futures would hold for their influencers (although these were just young women and my only reference point), and the author shows you how heavily curated each picture or video you see is. The book doesn’t take itself too seriously, it calls out the fakeness in the influencer world but it also does focus on giving the two main characters depth, as well as the other characters. The writing allows for you instantly be engaged with the story and the story itself flows really well. I read this in less than 24 hours (I was ill) but I think it’s a testament to the writing being easy to get on board with. The pacing was excellent in my opinion, there is a great build-up to certain moments and there are several “big” moments which I always think makes for an enjoyable book and we get to see the repercussions of this rather than just having the book end.

Ultimately though I did think the book was a bit too long, not that I mind long books, I don’t. But I found some chapters could have been cut, nicely summarised in another chapter and it wouldn’t have disrupted the overall experience of the book. I wouldn’t say there was a lot of filler in the book though, it just seemed to me that perhaps some bits could have been slimmed down a bit. Also, the abbreviation of Social Media to SoMe, was annoying, maybe I’m just too old? Like I get it but after a while it became tedious. Overall, I think it depicted the troubles of being a first-time mum with grace, as well as dealing with how toxic influencer culture can be when you’re in it. It deals with several topics with grace, but as I stated earlier to reveal them would be to ruin the story. Would love to read more from the author if she decides to give us more insight into the influencer world.

Was this review helpful?

It took me a while to get in to the story, but the more I read, the more I wanted to read. The more I learnt about Beth and Cassie, the more I understood them. The book cleverly illustrates the ups and downs of social media; from the positive family/supportive community, to the constant comparison and self scrutiny. Whilst being a really fun read, full of laugh out loud moments, it was also filled with touching moments, and death with loss and grief really well. I also feel there was a reiteration that it's ok to feel how you feel, it's ok to ask for help and it's really ok if you don't have a master plan.

Was this review helpful?

A great quick read, I found this hilarious at times and at others it saddened me- our quest to portray the perfect life on social media being all consuming for some. Very interesting read

Was this review helpful?

Cassie and Beth become friends, even though their lives are poles apart. A story with an unusual theme, how Instagram can affect and rule your life. An Interesting and disturbing read.

Was this review helpful?

This book was a great insight to Instagram v reality, and also the reality of motherhood.

There are quite a lot of characters in here, and I often struggled to think how each was connected to the story. However, I never had any trouble decoding whose voice was the narrative in this dual narrative story.

It's a good story but I did sometimes lose interest unfortunately.

Was this review helpful?

Everything’s Perfect shows the highs and lows of social media focussing on Cassie, an instamum, and Beth, who is struggling as a new mother. The pair develop an unlikely bond from an incident at the park. Cassie makes the mistake of not telling her that she’s one of the most popular influencers on the internet for motherhood. As the year unfolds, Cassie starts to struggle with the pressure of social media and keeping up her image especially with the introduction of a new influencer on the block “Mardy Mum”. Perhaps someone close to her is out to tear Cassie down?

This was an okay read for me. I really felt for Beth and Cassie especially the struggles they were having in their marriage. The problem for me was the social media angle. The whole fake life and influencer events just wasn’t for me. Plus the book felt quite long. I actually got to the 60% mark and thought “surely the end must be close??” The influencer awards night was really unneeded, same with the Christmas Eve/Day scenes.

I enjoyed it but perhaps slightly too long and probably wouldn’t read it again. I’d view this book as a lighthearted and easy read. Maybe the author could have looked deeper into the post-natal depression, grief and miscarriage themes that felt too skimmed over for my liking.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book. Everything's Perfect provided a fascinating insight into the world of Instagram influencers. I loved how the book captured the pressurised, competitive and often bonkers world of social media. Cassie in particular was a great character, and her struggles to maintain her place at the very top and her increasingly desperate actions to stay visible were a real strength of the book.

The friendship between Cassie and reluctant influencer Beth provided the needed warmth in the story, and the impact of a true friendship on each of their lives that made them reassess what was important was done really well. Despite the laughs and the utter chaos of influencer life, this book is about finding your own strength and choosing who you want to be, and I found it a refreshing, lovely read.

Was this review helpful?

This wasn’t the book I expected in that it was quite difficult to read and I struggled to engage with the characters. Very much appreciate the message and what it was trying to get across.

Was this review helpful?

A book on friendship.
Cassie and Beth meet in the park, Cassie is a blogger with thousands of followers trying to portray the perfect family life while her family is falling apart.
Beth is a struggling new mam who has no idea what a blogger is, both are trying to help each other on the way.
I am definitely not a blogger and find it horrible how people will follow false people and take advice from them, I think I`m too old for that generation thank god.
But the storyline of friends supporting each other was good.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Posted to Goodreads

Was this review helpful?

I am going to start by saying that this wasn’t the book for me, and I didn’t enjoy it mainly for two reasons…I couldn’t relate to the characters and also, it seemed extremely long and in points the story seemed to drag.

So let me address these points…perhaps at 50 I am not the target audience for this book – my own son is now 18 and so the sleepless nights and the struggles that new parents face seems like such a long time ago. Also I don’t really get the whole “influencer” thing as a profession, however it did change my mind a little, and showed that a lot of hard work goes into getting the perfect shot in order to gain more likes.

Although the book was long, the story did flow but there were times when I thought it could be wrapped up a lot more quickly than it was.

New mums and massive fans of Instagram would love this contemporary read.

Was this review helpful?