Emily Hawthorne lives in the well-heeled Noe Valley of San Francisco…but just barely. With less work than she would like at the yoga studio, a pile of debt, and a fraught past, she can no longer afford her tiny condo. When she meets the charming Penelope “Pip” Stone and her young daughter, also beset by financial woes, she agrees to take them in as roommates.

But Emily’s stroke of luck turns out to be another twist of the Pip is a professional squatter who has no intention of paying rent. And Pip doesn’t want to share the condo.

She wants the whole thing.

Their domestic standoff only intensifies when a downstairs neighbor is murdered. Both women become suspects, not to mention each other’s mistrustful alibis.

Emily feels the walls closing in. Is she trapped with a vulnerable grifter—who, like her, may have good reasons for making bad decisions—or is Pip just a cold-blooded killer?

Loved it. Will recommend to others

This book sucked me in right away but boy was it frustrating.
Don’t let that put you off though, it was frustrating because the author built this frightening scenario that I could see really happening.
Emily is drowning in debt and is newly single after dumping her fiancée for imo a very dumb reason but it adds to the story. She puts an ad up for a remote to help offset the mortgage so she doesn’t lose her beloved condo that her aunt raised her in.
Pip answers her ad and they video chat and Emily thinks she’s perfect, they may even become friends as well as roommates.
Pip shows up and right from the beginning drops one bomb after another on Emily.
Pip insinuates herself into the condo and very quickly takes over. Then someone is murdered in their building and they have to rely on each other for an alibi.
This was a very tense ride, I thought Emily was dumb for not confiding in anyone what was really going on with Pip until it was too late. Pip was a terrible person and so was her daughter.
I really enjoyed this quick read, thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the chance to read and review.

Love the premise! Love the cover! This is certainly a fun read. While the main character will not win any likability awards, she doesn't need to because Hanover has crafted such a suspenseful narrative. The twists and turns are doled out masterfully in this battle of wills. Highly recommended for fans of domestic suspense. A gripping page turner! I will look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

Intense tale with a battle of the wills and wits between two women in desperate circumstances. What a fun premise for a book, and great writing from the author as well.

Squatters are one of my nightmares so this book scared me more than pure horror books do. It's very good! Recommend. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book encapsulates the absolute terror of squatters slowly taking over your home. I thought this was a great psychological thriller that keeps you hooked on the story. Although the plot twist was a bit predictable, I found the book fun to read. I did think the beginning of the novel was aggravating. Pip and Sophie were the two worst roommates, and it’s unbelievable of all the things they were able to get away with. I was so heated and wished Emily would’ve grown a backbone and done something about it sooner, but I understood why she didn’t. Emily is a very flawed, yet realistic character, and even though it was incredibly frustrating to see her not take any action against Pip and Sophie in the beginning, it made sense character-wise. The book does become better later on as you learn more about Pip and Sophie’s mysterious past and you get to see Emily’s character development. I do feel like the ending could’ve been longer as it felt short-lived, but it was still satisfying.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

I did like this one, was a bit predictable for me but I enjoyed the pacing and the elements of the story. I found it to be an enjoyable read with decent payoff in the end. However I must say, I did find the main character so irritating and every time she made any decision I was like “WHY!!!” Aside from that it was a solid, quick read.

Wish I could give this many more stars it was soooooo good! Emily is in financial difficulty. So she decides to look for a roommate on Craigs list. Pip applies and sounds so great so Emily takes a chance on her. They did an interview on Facetime and it went well. But when Pip turns up she has a twelve year old daughter with her. Very soon Emily realizes she made a mistake, but how can she get rid of them? Tenants seem to have more rights than landlords. This was such an exciting read!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I came to this book THRILLED to have another Rebecca Hanover book in my hands. Unfortunately, I just really didn't care for it. While her last book felt well thought out and layered and oh so interesting, this felt like a quick write-up that was stereotypical of the genre. Emily, the main character, was just completely unlikable, which is a term I hate using for female characters, but in this case is absolutely true. She just didn't make any sense, constantly changing her mind and giving in to what was so obviously manipulative behavior. With no redeeming qualities, I just didn't care about her and didn't want to even finish the book past about the 10% point. I will certainly give this author another try, but this book didn't do it for me.

⭐⭐⭐✨
CW: Cancer, Death of a Parent, Fertility Issues

I Would Recommend this Book if You Like:
📖Literary psychological thrillers
😮Good plot twists
👩🏻‍👧🏻Discussions of Motherhood
🤣Moments of humour

What I Liked:
1) This book has me hooked I needed to know wtf was going on.

2) This book had a few moments of humour and self-awareness from the MC that I really appreciated.

3) I kept being surprised at the lengths the squatters were going to it was so entertaining seeing them try to outsmart each other.

4) This book is not at all pro-landlord and actually acknowledges tenant's rights are important but stuff needs to be put in place to protect people in situations like the MC in this book.

What I Disliked:
1) Some of the pop culture references were very heavy handed.

2) I think the pacing got very repetitive in the middle of this book which lowered my overall enjoyment.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

I didn't immediately predict the plot twist and the book had decent pacing. However, it was a frustrating read. I couldn't get past how naive and foolish Emily was although I understand why she was desperate. Pip and Sophie are villains and incredibly annoying with their entitled behavior. The potential cancer diagnosis seemed unfitting in the story as well as some of the minor characters. Although it was a tense, suspenseful thriller, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I want to say that I found the plot of this book to be very intruiging. I also really like the cover. This book is about a lady who tries to get a roommate for extra income. Unbeknownst to her, this roommate is a squatter. A really good premise (and resolution) for a thriller! Squatter situations freak me out and the events in this book unnerved me. The way Pip (the squatter) encroached on the MC's boundaries was very eerie, like when you know something bad is going to happen but you aren't quite sure what exactly that is.

With this said, I have to admit that the writing style in this book was not for me at all. I think this is just a matter of preference, though. There was a lot of details that seemed unnecessary and made me lose interest in what I was reading. It felt like reading a lot of filler that was derailing from the main story. I think perhaps with a bit of shuffling of the focus of this book, it would read better. Unnecessary filler can turn a really good short story into a mediocre book.

While I unfortunately did not have a good time reading this book overall, I see the potential in it. Even though the writing style is not for me, I think the author has a real talent for creative plots. All the best for the release!

Thank you for the opportunity to review the book. Thos was a good read and I flew through.this and couldn't put it down

I have mixed feelings about this book. I did not like the writing style, there was too many unnecessary details, like Emily’s knee, the BRCA storyline or that her and her aunt kind of seemed like hoarders. I found the plot twist to be fun and it was a page turner.

Seems Perfect is a gripping psychological thriller centred on Emily, who finds herself drowning in debt and urgently requires a roommate to help alleviate her financial burden. Enter Pip and her tween daughter, Sophie; their arrival turns Emily’s life completely upside down.

Pip and Sofie are incredibly annoying characters. Their invasive and entitled behaviour is infuriating, and I found it really difficult to tolerate them. It’s frustrating to see how they walked over Emily. While Emily may make some naïve choices, her desperation to kick Pip and Sofie out of her house and reclaim her peace is completely understandable.

This book really caught me off guard with how much I liked it! It had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I thought the ideas were awesome, and the characters were really well done. The plot was super engaging, and I totally didn’t see the twist coming. Plus, we got a peek into Pip’s backstory, which was great!

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I would definitely recommend it.

The story centers around Emily who lives in San Francisco and struggles to make ends meet since her aunt got ill and who the condo she lives in belongs to. Looking for a housemate, she finds Pip who sounds like the perfect person to share a flat with, and maybe a friendship. But when she turns up to move in with her daughter in tow, pretending that she thought she mentioned it, then that’s when things start to get daaaaaark!

This is quite a page turner, a good and innovative scenario and plot. I really enjoyed it although I would sometimes feel screaming at Emily to stop moaning and start acting. But isn’t it what we want in a story, a bit of frustration?

I really enjoyed this story, it would make anyone feel uncomfortable and infuriated by the audacity of one of the characters. Or two.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This sounded really interesting but I was so frustrated with the main character that I ended up skimming most of it. I also wasn’t a fan of the twist involving Pip’s daughter. It uses a common horror trope that can be effectively chilling if done well; here it just felt cheap and uninspired.

4.5 stars.

As an introvert, I LOATHE Pip and Sofie with every molecule of my being. I hate villains, I mean, I hate Voldemort. But these two? I hate these two bitches more than Voldemort. I’m not just uncomfortable, they made my skin crawl, my stomach turn, my blood boil. I had to put the book down every few pages just to breathe, just to recover from their absolute gall. For real. The level of audacity here? Uncharted territory. Emily, you foolish, foolish girl, honestly, I feel you. I’m right there with you! I’m the kind of person who avoids confrontation and conflict like it’s radioactive. I have boundaries so high and fortified that they’re practically made of stone. But Pip and Sofie? Oh. My. God. These two are like a walking horror show of shamelessness. I hate them, absolutely despise them, they are the definition of skin-crawling.

Pip is that nosy, invasive aunt who sidles up at family gatherings, with that disgustingly fake smile plastered on, leaning in to ask, “Why haven’t you had children yet? After all these years… something wrong?” Just vile. People like her? They drain my soul. The absolute worst. People with no concept of boundaries? They are my nightmare, and Pip and Sofie are walking, talking versions of that nightmare.

This book? An emotional endurance test. These situations are my Achilles’ heel, my personal hellscape. I can read dark, disturbing content and barely blink, but this? This level of interpersonal horror, this brazen disregard for personal space, made me so angry, so uncomfortable I wanted to scream.

But honestly? The book is good. So good. That plot twist? It spun hard and fast right at the end. This, right here, is what I call a thriller.

This was a quick and engaging read, perfect for getting out of a reading slump. The synopsis instantly lured me in and I was not disappointed. I don't know much about squatters right, but I think it's insane how they are protected. Emily and her decisions sometimes stressed me out, but I honestly believe she didn't know any better. I felt so bad because she was blindsided by a master manipulator, but I wish she stood up for herself more or had someone she could trust to confide in. I definitely didn't see the ending coming, and I thought it made the story even more interesting. I would love a bonus chapter, to see the aftermath of that final chapter. I would definitely recommend if you enjoy thrillers.

Ooooh, there were times in this book I could literally feel my blood pressure shooting up, let me tell you. I had such empathy for Emily- and so much disgust with Pip and Sophie. At times, I really felt like some of Emily's actions were not real-world-likely; however, when I stopped and actually considered those actions, I don't think they were terribly far off from what I also would have done, start to finish. It's easy to judge a character in a book, you know? I loved that this book actually got a physical reaction from me- that's not something that happens often, no matter how great a book is written. I definitely enjoyed this one, and couldn't wait to see if/how Emily got things straightened out. I will absolutely be recommending this one, come February!