I enjoyed the previous book I enjoyed by this author but I ended up not finishing this. I found it hard to emotionally engage with the protagonist and after a few chapters I ended up giving up. I tried again later but didn't make it much further because I couldn't care less what happened.

Vanessa enjoys pretending to be other people and going to look round houses she can't afforrd. Harmless fun until the police show up asking to speak to her about a murder.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the advance copy.

I have just finished this book and honestly can't rate it highly enough! It was the kind of book that kept me reading late into the night and found me promising myself 'just one more chapter'.

This book flicks back and forth between two points in time, which can be confusing, but once you get into the story it all becomes much clearer. Vanessa, the main character, was likeable and I was able to relate to her in many ways. The story was incredibly immersive and I loved the twists and turns that it took.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone and will now be looking at other books by this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

Enjoyable story line. Felt like maybe she was actually having a breakdown and she'd done it. Brilliant twist.

Vanessa gets hooked on looking around fancy houses she cannot afford (For Sale) as a form of escapism. With each new house she creates a new persona and identity to hide behind. Vanessa grieves the passing of her Mother, gets lured into a slyly abusive relationships and struggles in general.

Nuala Ellwood subtly highlights escapism, death, and gas lighting. An important novel for everyone. Reach out if you need help- don't hide.

4 stars

What a riveting, roller-coaster of a read this book was and I loved every second of it.

The Perfect Life tell the story of Vanessa, a rather naive young woman, who when struggling with life finds a form of escapism by visiting properties she would never be able to afford and pretending to be someone else.

Nuala Ellwood is an author whose works I’ve never read before, but after having read The Perfect Life, I’m itching to check out her backlist. I enjoyed this book so much I read it in one sitting as I simply could not put it down. From the first page I was hooked.

Name an emotion and I was made to feel it through the author’s skilful writing. Frustation, pity, relief, I was taken through all of them while watching Vanessa’s tragic story unfold. The pacing was perfect, the characters felt very real and towards the end I found myself rooting for the main characters despite not having liked her much at the beginning of the book.

However, before jumping into this book it’s definitely worth checking out the trigger warnings as this wasn’t an easy read at times. If you are a fan of fast-paced psychological thrillers with well developed characters and a well written plot of twists and turns then this could be a read for you.


*Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Trigger warnings – rape, abortion, abuse, death, gaslighting

Exceeded my expectations. I thought this would be a readable psychological thriller, but it was this and more. I loved the way it weaved in aspects of children’s literature. There were so many surprises in this book - it definitely keeps you on your toes. I read it in one day!

What a thrilling read .I was hooked on this book from the first page it was a fascinating story with lots of twists and unexpected outcomes. When Vanessa meets Conor she thinks she's found Mr right but little does she know what she is letting herself in for as his controlling behaviour sends her life spiralling out of control and almost breaks her. A great 5⭐read

Read this in a day!!! Was a gripping read!!
Set between then and now we go on a journey to discover what has led Vanessa to this point in her life, where the police think she has murdered her favourite childhood books author.

She meets a guy,conner, falls head over heels in love and is happy until she starts to see another side to him. But that can't be right because he loves her. Its not him, its her or is it?

Twisty and turns right up to the end I never saw the last twist coming. I was convinced the man in the balaclava was conner.

Loved this book, couldn't put it down.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Perfect Life by Nualla Ellwood
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Publication date: 05/08/2021
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Vanessa loves nothing more than dressing up and adopting a new persona whilst visiting houses she could only dream of owning. Sounds harmless? That is until the owner of one of the houses turns up dead and the suspicion is quickly placed onto Vanessa. Told across a ‘then’ and ‘now’ narrative, we unpick the life of Vanessa including her ‘perfect’ relationship with new boyfriend Connor. This book cleverly weaves the past with the current and provides a twist that I didn’t see coming.
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Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin this ARC

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


I honestly found this so addictive! It took me a little while to get used to the change of time (mainly due to the formatting for the Kindle app not making it very clear) but once I was invested... I was invested.

I completely could see how Connor was gaslighting Vanessa but then I even found myself (maybe until THAT night) thinking that maybe our protagonist wasn't the good guy - particularly with the present day police investigation.

I really enjoyed the range of emotions I went through following this story and I was genuinely surprised by the twist of the stalker (didn't see that coming all) but I was also a little disappointed because I genuinely believed that Connor was the son and that was going to be the link - until the balaclava came off.

I'm glad Vanessa fought for justice towards the end. The only thing that bugged me slightly was the explanation of the gaslighting at the end, Yes, I understand that it showed us that Vanessa had realised what happened to her - but I also found it was purely there to explain to any reader (that didn't understand) what had actually happened and I found myself kind of skim reading past that part.

Overall I would definitely recommend this as a read to anyone who loves a great thriller!!

What an emotional book. It really sneaks up on you and takes hold of your heart before you even realise what's going on.

I'm sure a lot of people have wanted to step out of ourselves for a short while, 'be someone else' for the day. Vanessa is a wonderful dreamer, escaping her childhood through books and building ideas of what her perfect life will be.

It's amazing how different relationships can actually be, compared to what happens behind closed doors, away from prying eyes. What happens to Vanessa is nothing short of gas-lighting, as someone who has experienced very similar, I think it was expertly written.

Bad things happen to good people, sometimes it's just something as unlucky as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Trigger warning before you read: Gas-lighting / slowly building abuse in a relationship is very heavily featured, if this is something you're sensitive to - be very aware! #SelfCare

The Perfect Life is about Vanessa, seemingly having it all...the job, the man, the best friend, the doting sister.... But Vanessa has a penchant for pretending to be somebody else and viewing houses that she does not plan to buy. Then one day, somebody is murdered and it just so happens, Vanessa was viewing that house, on that day, and now she linked to a murder.

The story is told in 3 timelines, all from Vanessa's point of view. I thought the addition of the 3rd timeline was going to open up some unknown mystery, but that wasn't the case.

I initially thought this was a slow burn, but it felt like a slow simmer...never really coming to the boil. There was a lot about toxic relationships and gaslighting, but I felt like the murder and mystery were really 2nd to that. The synopsis and the murder ultimately drew me in, so that's where the book fell short for me. I just expected some more mystery and thrill. This felt more like a domestic drama, with a murder on the side.

I found the writing style really good, easy to read and the book flowed well. I would really love to read more from this author in future, just based on her writing style.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin General UK for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was gripping, fast paced, easy to read and wonderfully written! Would definitely recommend!

A brilliant fast paced thriller, I didn’t see the twists and turns coming at all. Really enjoyed this and looking forward to trying more of the authors work.

A stunning book , compelling writing once again by Nuala Ellwood. A psychological twisted plot that takes mind games to a whole other level. Vanessa was an interesting character to follow and can’t wait for the next Nuala book.

Read all of Nuala Ellwoods books
And once again she has written another plot that you get wrapped up in
Totally amazing
Had no idea how this story was going to unfold
Sometimes you do not see the end coming
A must read for 2021

Thank you netgalley, Nuala Ellwood and Penguin for me to read and review this book

The Perfect Lie by Nuala Ellwood was a little up and down and back and forth for me unfortunately. Written in chapters of different years are just not my thing and I ended up getting a little mixed up I must admit. And being extremely picky here I did think it dragged a tad just before we got to the ending. Whether that's just me being poorly and being miserable and dull like you get or if it's true. I'll read it again once I get my hands on a paper back and when I'm not poorly and let you know then.

However, she does grip hard though. It has a soft flow with a slight chill that seems to want to become a friend, but you know full well by trusting it you'll become a victim of it yourself. I became a friend because NE has a way with words that give you that false sense of reassurance and that smoothness that serenity that doesn't come with a murder or any crime or psychological thriller. For me and I know many others that is a skilled writer. In fact that is an outstanding storyteller. One I am very grateful for.

One chillingly different kind of psychological thriller. A stalking, threatening, intense read that has you looking over your own shoulder and at your own life.
Are you a character living in a book or a world somebody has given you? Or a social media list with the perfect life? Or are you living the life you want and you deserve.

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4.5/5

I received an ARC of this book via netgalley in exchange for an Honest review. In this book Ellwood is back to her literary best after her last book which really failed to thrill.

Vanessa is a woman of many guises and this book opens with her being asked "to help police with their enquiries" into a murder case. the action then goes between a time just a couple of years earlier and the present. A picture starts to build of a chaotic life not all of her own making. The ending is far from what one was expecting but a really good twist.

The pace of the book is simply charged with action and moves rapidly through events. There is a bit of dissonance between what you are seeing then and now but overall this is a fabulous book

I could not put this down!! Brilliant psychological thriller showing a breakdown in friendships, mentally, physically and so much more. Creepily realistic, frightening and one of the few thrillers I haven’t guessed the end to!

This is the first book by Nuala Ellwood that I’ve read and it definitely will not be my last! A brilliant psychological thriller - full of twists and turns, fast paced and easy to read.

I liked that the plot changed between Then and Now, it enabled the story to unravel, placed doubts into my head about what truly happened and had me pointing fingers in all the wrong places. The Then sections show Vanessa Adams, a young woman who has a great job and whose life seems to be pretty great. On a night out, she meets Connor who seems charming and someone whom she can see herself building a life with. The Now sections show a stark contrast of Vanessa, one who is broken, living with her sister and being questioned about a murder. Leaving a lot of questions as to how Vanessa ended up as a shell of her former self.

Vanessa wants her and Connor to buy a house even though he insists that they aren’t ready yet. She downloads a property app and quickly becomes addicted to checking the app for new homes. She ends up viewing very expensive houses, way out of her price bracket. In order to view these houses, she uses different names and made up personas. One day, she can’t believe her luck - Holly Maze house is up for sale. Her favourite childhood author, Geoffrey Rivers, based his books series on this house. Vanessa promptly signs up for a viewing and soon after finds herself a person of interest in Geoffrey Rivers murder inquiry.

What follows is a series of twists and turns, some of them dark, but very well handled. And wow! The ending really took me by surprise and all my theories went out of the window. I was not disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for providing me with an advanced copy to review.