Seems Perfect was slow to start, to the point I almost DNFed it part way through. Thankfully, I stuck with it and eventually it picked up the pace. It’s a little on the depressing side, as a single woman who’s recently called off her engagement “for a good reason” has to take in a roommate in order to keep the home that she inherited from her beloved aunt. Only the roommate who seems perfect on paper turns out to be a nightmare with a teenage daughter in tow. And now they won’t pay the rent and are terrorizing her, and due to renter protection laws, she can’t get rid of them. When a neighbor turns up dead and the police start looking more closely at them, it’s a battle of trusting one another but also making sure you don’t become the fall guy for whoever murdered the guy. You probably won’t see the twist coming.

Like a 3.75. I liked this! I liked our main character, Emily. I feel like so often these plots fall into “wtf nobody would actually do that” territory, but every time something went wrong, Emily made a decision that DID seem believable - to me at least! I get feeling non confrontational and wanting to just be happy with what you’ve got and sacrificing to focus on the end goal. The twist was alright, nothing mind blowing, but it did help end the book because… what else was gonna happen, truly? Enjoyable read!

I loved Rebecca Hanover’s debut The Last Applicant, so I was really excited to dive into Seems Perfect—and WOW. This one totally hooked me. The story follows Emily, a yoga instructor struggling to make ends meet in San Francisco, who takes in a new roommate, Pip, and her young daughter. What starts as a hopeful arrangement quickly spirals into a tense, psychological standoff. Hanover does such a great job of creating this creeping anxiety that keeps you flipping pages. The twists and turns were really well done, and I never knew quite who to trust. A super intriguing, fast-paced read that kept me guessing the whole way through.

Seems Perfect by Rebecca Hanover is a terrific read. Fast paced and tightly woven story line, excellent writing and character development and an ending you won't see coming. Five big stars!

This is my first read from this author, and wow it’s a fantastic book. The story plot is original, and have not come across one like this before. I must admit I was hooked, as the book went on, the suspense became stronger.
Emily is a great character however in my eyes, she is a total pushover, very gullible but in her shoes you would do anything just for the extra income.
Pip & her daughter are very spiteful, great characters though.
I really enjoyed this, & I was not expecting the story to go the way it did.

The book was so good that was this woman who needs a roommate and things turn out not to be everything they seem

I really enjoyed this book. It was quite slow to start, and I felt it dragged in places, but the last 100 or so pages were so fast paced and it all really came together. I loved the ending and felt the snippets of Pip & Sofie’s pov were really interesting. I was glad Tabitha got answers in the end.

Oh Lord!! This was crazy!! Emily needs a roommate. She is nearly broke as she is recovering from surgery and unable to work. She doesn't want to lose her San Francisco condo. It is tiny, but hey a decent place in a good area doesn't grow on trees. After no one suitable has applied, enter Pip. They hit it off right away and Pip moves in. With her teenage daughter. What?? This wasn't in the agreement, but hey, desperate times are desperate times. Then there's the murder. Things just go downhill from there. Emily wants her place and her life back but finds out there is very little they can do. Seems farfetched, but squatters' rights are actually a thing. I Googled it. The two women end up being each other's alibis. Who is playing who? This was a wild ride!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Rebecca Hanover and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Although the beginning of the book was the epitome of "deal with the consequences of your own actions" and was quite frustrating, it definitely started to improve around the 40% mark. It was written very well, I liked the authors writing style and the way she worded things. Some of the plot was slightly predictable but the end actually wasn't. I wouldn't call it like a crazy twist ending but more of like a "oh, didn't see that coming." I do feel like the ending was a little rushed and maybe not every loose end was tied up but it wasn't a bad book at all. Would recommend for thriller enjoyers.

A well written suspense filled with twists that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
A quick and fun read that I finished in a few hours.
The characterization was superb, the writing pacey and flowing, and the tension delivered in a series of shocks and twists along the way.
This is a tightly written story, with well developed characters and enough suspense to keep you reading.

The characters in this book are a true example of the phrase "desperate times call for desperate measures". 'Seems Perfect' serves up a healthy dosing of psychological thriller with antagonists that are wonderfully irksome and a protaginist who is desperate enough to get her life back that she'll make intriguingly questionable decisions.

I cringed so often reading this, but Emily's situation was such a trainwreck that I HAD to keep reading to see how she resolved the situation. It has something to say about high cost of living areas and the housing crisis, which ends a more relatable element to the mystery the increasingly high stakes.

Emily desperately needs a roommate in her small apartment. She is recovering from surgery and unable to work and basically broke. She finds Pip via Craigslist and the woman moves in….with her surprise teen daughter. Manipulations, subtle and overt, begin almost immediately. Shortly after gaining her new nightmare roommates, Emily’s neighbor is found dead. The police begin taking a close look at Emily due to Pip’s lies.

Parts of this book gave me anxiety!!! Pip lies about paying rent and Emily is too dumb to figure out what is going on until it is too late. The situation ramps up. Hanover does a good job of making Pip and her daughter Sofieinto unbearable roommates.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this book.

This book made me uncomfortable in the best possible way. I was right there with Emily as she navigated her terrible roommate situation. I'm still kinda creeped out thinking about it.

God, I hate this book so much. It's so unrealistic and the supposedly thrilling parts were not so thrilling. One star for wasting my time

If you’re looking for a relaxing read, Seems Perfect definitely isn’t it. It’s the kind of novel that will trigger all kinds of anxiety in readers. But it’s a tense dark thriller that’s sure to hold readers in suspense as it builds to its conclusion.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

Seems Perfect written by Rebecca Hanover was a WILDDDDD RIDEEEE!!!!!!! Ladies and gentlemen, get your popcorn popped because this book is filled with twists and turns that you will NOT see coming. I just absolutely love that cover, it's so beautifully detailed, mixed with the purple and blue, but anyways, when I first saw that cover, I knew I had to get my hands on this book and I'm so happy that I did because Seems Perfect was such a thrilling thriller. I love when authors write about things that happen every single day around the world, such as in this situation, SQUATTERS. I won't lie, this book did give me the heebie jeebies because just think about some random person living in your house/apartment without paying you a single dime. I know this book is a work of fiction, but I love that Rebecca portrayed the message that there are still amazing people in this world who will do anything to help out strangers despite being taken advantage of. Seems Perfect did hit a little to close to home because I know what it's like to help out people with the kindness of my heart only for it to backfire and make me realize that when people don't need you anymore they will just throw you to the curb. I can't recommend this book enough, please do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this novel immediately, I feel like so many can resonate with this story in so many different ways. Mark your calendars for February 25th, 2025 for the release of Seems Perfect written by Rebecca Hanover.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND LAKE UNION PUBLISHING FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!

"Get you detective hat on, Nancy Drew, cause we are going for a riiideee".

"You are adulting. Suck it up. Everything happens for a reason, doesn't it?"

"Being considered normal was a valiant goal".

"It's one thing to rely on friends for support. It's quite another to burden them".

Emily Hawthorne is a thirty-two year old San Francisco native, she has a plant based lifestyle and she's a yoga teacher. Emily decides to put up an ad on Craigslist looking for a roommate because she's in debt way over her head and she wants to save the condo she inherited from her aunt Vivian that she's been living in for the past sixteen years. Despite being a yoga teacher, Emily doesn't have the funds to pay for rent because she's out of work due to her meniscus being repaired. Emily broke up and canceled her engagement to Seth because she thought he deserved better than what Emily could have given him. Emily's parents both died when she was just sixteen years old, so her aunt Vivian took Emily under her wings, but now Vivian is living in a senior citizen special care facility. Emily's whole identity revolves around radical self acceptance, she also suffers from severe anxiety. Penelope "Pip" Stone is a diamond in the rough among a sea of frogs. Pip has two jobs, she's a children's tutor and she runs a consulting business. Pip is sophisticated and absolutely gorgeous, but she's not racking in enough money despite working two jobs. Pip also has a twelve year old daughter, Sofie that she forgot to mention to Emily before signing the lease to live in Emily's condo.

Pip is dishonest, a gaslighter, and a master manipulator. Pip has had money issues since she was pregnant with Sofie, but would never tell anyone. Pip is a bonafide con artist that uses her daughter to play victim with good hearted people. Pip and Sofie are full of dark secrets. Sofie was cute and sweet, but it was all just a game to take advantage of Emily. Emily and Pip wanted to be more than just roommates, both of them wanted to actually form a friendship, but boy do these shocking twists just keep coming. Pip and Sofie are basically taking over Emily's condo and living there for free despite making all of these promises to pay Emily the rent money. Pip and Sofie go through Emily's pantry, throwing everything with coconut away because of Sofie's "allergies" while Emily was sleeping. Pip and Emily soon become each other's alibi after a murder scene took place in their apartment complex. Despite their hatred and emotions running high towards one another, Emily and Pip must put that aside to work together and vouch for each other the day the murder took place. I see why Pip wanted to protect her daughter, because that's every mother's instincts is to protect their precious babies, but the excuses Pip made up were just complete bullshit. I definitely wouldn't want anyone like Pip and Sofie living in my house, that's for damn sure. It breaks my heart that kind hearted people get taken advantage of despite doing good things for strangers around them.

In a society set up with no safety net, where do you turn when your life has no other options? Maybe Craigslist for a possible roommate… seems perfect… huh, get the title? But Pip, as she likes to be called, shows up with some unexpected baggage.

If you liked stories like Single White Female, this is a little bit that vibe. Except our main character is pretty much a moron. The reader finds out within the first 30 pages of this story every reason why Pip and the unexpected baggage shouldn’t stay but she kept her around. And I mentally rolled my eyes if I could put up with an almost 300 page story of this level of intelligence. When the main character finally starts using her common sense, the flow of the story starts to pick up a little and a mystery intertwines them even deeper. But it takes about 30% to get there.

With the lack of character build up and likability, it left the mystery feeling mid at best, due to not really caring about all those involved. Unfortunately there were some claims made by the author that could have been corrected with research, or left out entirely, that I couldn’t get passed. Trigger warning for bad mental health representation- saying you have anxiety without displaying any of it up to this point, should not be included; then throwing in a panic attack and abandoning the description completely. This book would have benefitted from more character development and some research from the writer.

Nope not perfect at all. Emily thought that renting part of her condo to Pip and her daughter Sofie would ease her financial problems but it doesn't work out that way in this thriller that leans in on the anxiety Emily quite rightfully feels. Pip is a grifter and a squatter but is she also a murderer? No spoilers from me! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A page turner.

3.5 stars. This tense thriller was almost too tense at times. I was so genuinely stressed out for Emily and by everything life (and her new roommate) threw at her that it was hard to enjoy at times. The author did a great job of creating an anxiety-filled atmosphere and I (mostly) enjoyed the ride.