Actual Rating 1.5

I requested this book because I was interested in the premise - the idea of squatters and squatter's rights has been fascinating to me for awhile, so I was excited to see it be a theme of this book. But this one didn't work for me at all.

There were two main things that detracted from the book for me. The first is how it's written. It's mostly from Emily's POV, and the vast majority of the work isn't things happening, it's us stuck in Emily's head. We're stuck in her head while she analyzes, overanalyzes, ponders her history, runs in circles, then analyzes again for good measure. It's exhausting and not interesting. A book like this needs a decent amount of things happening and intrigue to build tension, and it just wasn't there. A small reveal would happen in a conversation, then there'd be paragraphs of Emily thinking through something that was kind of relevant and then we'd get back to the conversation. This really didn't work for me.

The other thing that I disliked was that there really wasn't any buildup before awful things started happening. I would have found things easier to believe and it would've allowed for some buildup of tension and getting to know the characters. Instead, it goes from 0 to 100 on day one and just gets more and more absurd without any meaningful foundation.

If you like most modern thrillers you'll probably enjoy this one, but it wasn't for me. My thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book was so thrilling! This reminded me of the show
"worst roommate ever" on Netflix. I loved the story idea and I was hooked the whole time. The narration was great too. Def recommend this one.

Reading Seems Perfect is like watching a car crash. Are the characters likeable? No. Am I rooting for anyone? No. But damn I cannot look away and NEED to know what happened.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Emily is a recently injured yoga teacher living in her aunt’s townhouse in a well to do area of San Francisco, barely making ends meet. To help out with her finances and allow her to make rent, she puts a post on Craigslist looking for a roommate. She is dejected when the post garners little interest, until she hears from Pip. Pip seems like a dream roommate but things slowly start to devolve. Firstly, Pip never mentioned she had a teenage daughter, then things slowly go from bad to worse as Pip unfurls lie after lie, leaving Emily feeling trapped and fearful.

Seems perfected started as a perfectly acceptable thriller, as it laid out the crimes perpetrated by Pip, but I slowly felt myself losing interest and becoming bored by Emily’s constant complaining. I also found Rebecca’s narration to come off cloying and slightly melodramatic. All in all, an average thriller. 3 stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

This was a fast paced thriller that takes an everyday situation and twists it… making it even more unsettling. Emily, who is in a dire financial situation, takes in a new roommate which seems harmless enough. Pip is anything but usual, and quickly turns it into something far more sinister.

The author really delivers on this one! The narration was perfect! I loved the other POVs! The book kept me on the edge of my seat! It is an already tense situation that was turned into nightmare that I thought I understood until the twist got me. It came out of nowhere and slapped me upside the head! My advice is to go into this one blind because it is so unexpected and shocking at each turn. I highly recommend this book to the mystery and thriller readers.

Seems Perfect by Rebecca Hanover, I was gifted an ARC audio narrated by Jennifer, Jill Araya and Emily Lawrence in the book. We meet Emily who lives in Noey valley. she’s looking for a roommate since breaking up with fiancé Seth. this is how she meets Pip a.k.a. Penelope, who on paper seems perfect. Emily is so happy to have found someone and can’t wait for her to move in. Unfortunately, when Pip shows up, she has her 12 year-old daughter Sophie in tow, something Emily was not prepared for. due to her desperation, she let it go, and despite living in a one bedroom condominium tries to put a brave face on it. When she wakes the next morning, she learns pip, and Sophie has thrown out lots of her pantry items because they claim Sophie is allergic, but this is just the first of many changes they’re going to bring to Emily‘s life. It doesn’t take long for Emily to know something is up with these people and starts doing her own investigation, but when her neighbor is found dead and it seems Pip is making her out to be the main suspect Emily knows she has to step up her game or she may find herself locked behind bars, but sadly, no matter what Emily does from changing the locks to being questioned by the police. It seems pip is one step ahead of her. Will Emily lose the one thing she has left from her aunt and the only thing that has her childhood memories attached or will she find herself in jail with Pip and Sophie being the residence of her aunt‘s condo. I found the plot of the story to be so very interesting and although there are times I was yelling at my phone. Why don’t you do ABC? It’s easy to say when you’re sitting at home but not in the moment. I also do want to say I did get tired of hearing about her attachment to the house with her aunt. I got tired of her talking about why she left Seth. The loss of her parents and I know these are big deals in someone’s life, but it seem she just kept mentioning one of the three things if someone asked her a question she would go off into a dream tangent about one of her go to topics and I was just getting tired of it. Ultimately, however, this was a great book and one. I definitely recommend if you love a good thriller the you will definitely love this domestic cat and mouse game between pit, Emily and Sophie. I also want to say I thought the narration of this book was top notch. I mean, superb narration from evoking emotions to setting a great overall tone for this dysfunctional playground. #NetGalley, #BrillianceAudio, #TheBlindReviewer, #RebeccaHanover, #SeemsPerfect,

A perfect read if you're into exploring:

- unconditional love and all the darkness that can come with it
- cancel culture
- SF living (and in general HCOL area struggles)
- landlord/roommate-from-hell struggles
- thirty-something crises of confidence

Premise: Emily is struggling to make ends meet after breaking up with her fiancé, Seth, and soft-losing her aunt to dementia. Out of work thanks to an injury (she's a yoga instructor) and with mortgage nonpayment notices stacking up, she has no choice but to look for a roommate. When Pip answers her Craigslist ad, she seems perfect (see what she did there?). But the cracks soon start to show...

Pip shows up on Emily's front step with a tween daughter, Sophie, in tow - one she never mentioned. Emily is unsettled, but the girl seems sweet and, with no other real choice, Emily lets Pip and Sophie move in. Things only get weirder from there as the duo take over Emily's home. And maybe her life?

This was a wild ride, sooooo fun and yet also thought-provoking on some of the issues of the time! I really enjoyed reading a book from the landlord's perspective after landlords have been caricatured as the greedy causes/beneficiaries of the housing crisis. I'm not a landlord, but it always felt unfair to lump the whole group in as one when there are certainly Emilys in the mix!

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya and Emily Lawrence. They did such a great job! Between Hanover's writing and Araya's/Lawrence's reads, I was completely sucked in. I felt a little sad when it ended and I had to say farewell to Emily - like losing a friend! I highly recommend this read.

Thanks, NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. It's one of my favorites of 2025 so far!

i really enjoyed this book even though there was no gotcha twist. i had anxiety and second hand embarrassment the entire time lol. i will read more from this author. i enjoy their style.

Seems Perfect is an unputdownable, addictive popcorn thriller that absolutely grabbed me right from the start. When it started, I needed to know wtf was going on. I couldn't stop. Although I did have some things figured out I still enjoyed reading it. It's a quick, easy and light thriller that was highly entertaining.

Emily was sometimes a little annoying and too naive for my liking, but it still ended up working in the whole scheme of things. I hated Pip & Sophie, such despicable humans. The storyline was fun to follow and the psychological aspect was strong. If you're able to not take it too seriously, it's a very enjoyable one!

Overall, this was a very fun popcorn thriller that was highly entertaining. It did what it was intended to do and I ended up really enjoying it!

🎧 The narration by Jennifer Jill Araya & Emily Lawrence was good. They felt youthful, they both had good voices and were great at portraying the emotions and fears in their voices. I enjoyed it!

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @brillianceaudio & @rebeccahanover for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Take a deep “Emily” style yoga breath and don’t take this one too seriously. This is a fun, easy popcorn thriller that flies by. I read and listened to it, and the audiobook was a standout—light, youthful narration that fit the characters perfectly. But I also love the book cover, so my recommendation? Get both!

When Pip moves in, I understood why Emily reacted the way she did, but as someone who doesn’t shy away from conflict, it was hard to relate. She procrastinates, avoids confrontation, and second-guesses herself constantly. It got a bit repetitive, but I also empathized with her and cheered when she finally started standing up for herself.

The pacing felt a little slow at times, but the buildup was necessary—and the twist got me! By the end, I wanted more of Pip’s story. Loving a good villain as I do, I would’ve happily stuck around to see what happened next. Maybe we’ll get a “20 years later” sequel? I’d read it!

Thanks to Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for access to this audiobook ARC and Lake Union Publishing for access to this eBook in exchange for my honest review

I am having a tough time with this one. The main character is too much of a people pleaser and it is beyond frustrating to listen to. Not being able to have a backbone about your own home? I understand feeling bad about someone's situation, but at the end of the day, they are strangers who are clearly taken advantage of you!

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one at 24%. I did not enjoy the narration, the characters, or really the story in general. I do think there is an audience for this book, but it was not me.

Either way, I appreciate the opportunity to listen to this book.

This book wasn't for me, Idk what was up with the main character it was like she couldn't speak for herself and it kinda ruined the whole book how she was judt going back and forth. I DNF about 30% because I couldn't take or the narration anymore

Well, I didn't see that twist coming! I was intrigued and unsettled from the start. I have now developed a fear of squatters and I will now never have a roommate. Very fast paced and I devoured this. Highly recommend.

There’s something unsettling about a story that takes an everyday situation and warps it into something sinister, and that’s exactly what happens here. Taking in a new roommate seems harmless enough, but for Emily, letting Pip move in quickly turns into something far more disturbing. The thought of someone invading my space and never leaving is already unnerving, so I felt for Emily—even if her choices were frustrating and often baffling. I didn’t agree with a single decision she made, yet that didn’t make what she went through any less terrifying. The less you know going in, the better, because this story unfolds in unexpected and shocking ways. If you enjoy fast-paced, unsettling reads with characters who keep you on edge, this one delivers.

Wow! This book took me by surprise and I ended up binging it very quickly.

I am thankful to have gotten the ALC for free from Brilliance Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

I’ll admit, the subject matter of squatters makes me uncomfortable . Why? I have no idea. Maybe because I know that it happens so easily in real life? Despite that, something about the description pulled me in as it alluded to the squatter having some justification for her behavior.

I’ll say that this is a “light” thriller for most of the book but the psychology presented of the different things that happen as well as the decisions the characters make kept me pushing on well past my bedtime!

There were certainly parts that seemed out of place with details that were not pertinent to the story but it didn’t bother me. Now listening to the audiobook I think that impacted my perception that this was a “lighter” thriller so reading the physical book may have a different feel.

The narrators Jennifer Jill Araya; Emily Lawrence did a great job with the prose. I’ll mention that i honestly couldn’t tell the difference between the 2 narrators. Most of the book is from the perspective of the protagonist Emily with some chapters from the perspective of Pip, the squatter antagonist. Had I not gone back to listen again to hear the difference, I would not have realized there were two narrators of not for the information on the book listing.

They narrated at a decent pace insofar as a more typical pace but I did speed it up to 2x speed and it was still easily followable. The only negative (other than the two voice actors sounding naturally similar) is when other characters spoke the changes to their voice were not significant. So the result took away from some of the suspense build up. The outlier was when the round daughter’s voice was done. That was clear that a young child was speaking which was needed.

In the end, while I figured out the plot twist easily (but not intentionally) I really enjoyed the ride along the way. This book would be great for individuals who want a lighter thriller or if they are trying to ease into the genre.

This title comes out on February 25, 2025.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again