Her Perfect Life: A Novel of Sisters and Secrets by Rebecca Taylor

Envy, regret, and all the other "what ifs" come together in this gripping novel of women's fiction, great for your next beach read. Do we ever really know the ones we love? Or do the secrets between us get in the way? Reclusive Clare Collins crafts her novels like she crafts her life: perfectly. So the world is stunned when the famous author is found dead on a beach from a self-inflicted gunshot—the morning after her latest book hits the shelves. Her sister, Eileen, is at a loss. Clare led a charmed life: success, mansions, money... Why would she throw it all away? But while reading through her sister's latest—and greatest—novel, Eileen discovers a clue that unravels the fiction of their perfect family and reveals the painful truth. Suddenly, Clare's enviable life doesn't seem so sparkling, and Eileen must confront the shadows of the past that have hung over them both. Her Perfect Life is a page-turning debut that reminds us that no matter the success, everyone has secrets. And some are more devastating than others.

If I would have picked up a hard copy of this book I would have undoubtedly dropped it. There was only one thing I wanted to find out and normally I would have skipped pages to get to that part, read it then just drop the book. But while listening to the book, that seemed harder to do so I just didn't bother. Instead, I increased the speech speed and got on with it. And I might have dropped it anyway, but the narrator, Stina Nielsen, did such a great job, I really enjoyed listening to her.

First thing that was off with this book: Her Perfect Life is a mystery and thriller book, but it is such a weak mystery and no thriller. It's very easy to figure out exactly what's happening and nothing comes as a surprise. There were also things I would have wanted more detail about, like Eileen and Clare's relationship, I feel like some parts were left unexplored.

I don't find myself caring for any of the characters or relating to them. Relating to the characters isn't a must when I'm reading something, but caring for them is a big thing to be missing. I didn't feel any of their pain or emotion, it wasn't there for me.

Another bit I didn't like, and this is small-ish thing, but it really annoyed me how often I heard 'bitch' at some point in the book.

So yeah, definitely not the best book I listened too, but it served as good background noise while doing stuff.