Book Review: Your Perfect Life

Best friends since childhood, Casey and Rachel couldn’t lead more different lives. While workaholic Casey rubs elbows with celebrities daily as the host of Gossip TV and comes home nightly to an empty apartment, stay-at-home mom Rachel juggles an “oops” baby, two fiery teenagers, and a husband who barely seems the man she fell in love with two decades before. After an argument at their twentieth high school reunion, Casey and Rachel throw back shots to get the night back on track. Instead, they get a life-changing hangover.

Waking up in each other’s bodies the next morning, they must figure out how to navigate their altered realities. Rachel is forced to face the broadcasting dreams she gave up when she got pregnant in college, and Casey finally steps out of the spotlight to face the real reason why she’s alone. And they soon discover that they don’t know themselves—or their best friend—nearly as well as they thought they did. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Amy Bromberg:

I met Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke on Facebook through their blog Liz and Lisa (formerly Chick Lit is Not Dead). They are such colossal chick lit cheerleaders. I had the pleasure of meeting them at Book Expo America 2013 and they're just so nice. So of course when they announced that their manuscript was bought by Simon and Schuster, I was so excited for them and had to read it!

Have you ever wished you had something someone else did? Have you ever been jealous of someone else or of the things they had? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live that person's life for just a couple of days? I know I have. No, this is definitely not a productive way of thinking, but sometimes we just can't help ourselves. Your Perfect Life reinforces the old saying "The grass is always greener on the other side."

I enjoyed both Casey and Rachel's characters. I'd love to work and be around celebrities all the time like Casey does. And how about getting to go to parties and events and having a huge walk-in-closet like Carrie in Sex and the City? What girl wouldn't like one?!? In regards to Rachel, I can't imagine juggling three kids and all that entails.

The story made me miss my best friend Emily. A few years ago she moved to Maryland and since then I haven't went down to visit her. I have to make a point to see her very soon because after all you have to do whatever it takes to make sure your friendships last.

What I took away the most from this story is that we need to be happy and grateful with what we have. Someone else's life might look grand from the outside, but you don't know what happens behind closed doors. Also cherish your friends because life isn't the same without them. Your Perfect Life is a winner, and you must pack it in your beach bag!

Melissa Amster:

I also have connected with Liz and Lisa both online and in person. I read a previous book that they had self-published a few years ago called The D Word and enjoyed it a lot. So I was more than excited to hear that they had another chick lit novel coming out and that it was surreal in nature. (I love surreal books!) I even got my hands on an advanced copy at the beginning of the year and devoured it right away. It instantly set the bar for my 2014 chick lit reads.

I loved everything about Your Perfect Life and am still raving about it. The word "perfect" sums up the entire novel. It's like Firefly Lane meets Freaky Friday. Rachel and Casey remind me of myself and my best friend. I definitely am the Rachel in our relationship and could relate to her the most. We both have three kids and sometimes wonder if we took the "safe" route in life. I'm sure it would be fun to have Casey's lifestyle, but I'd also miss my kids a lot, even though there are times that I just want some peace and quiet. I was away from them for two days and all I could think about was them.

Throughout the story, I smiled and laughed often, and even cried, which I was not expecting to happen. It even inspired me to write a fun story for my personal blog. Your Perfect Life has cemented a spot on my list of 2014 favorite chick lit novels.

Of course, this novel was just begging for a movie cast! Liz and Lisa had their own ideas, but here are mine:

Casey: Charlize Theron (she's really the only one I pictured in this role, even though I like the idea of Elizabeth Banks too.)
Rachel: Maria Dizzia (She plays Piper's best friend Polly on Orange is the New Black and I immediately pictured her when Rachel was introduced into the story.)
Charlie: Peter Sarsgaard (He just seems very cute and lovable.)
John: Patrick Wilson (He has that suburban husband appeal.)
Destiny: Xosha Roquemore (One of the nurses on The Mindy Project. I think she could give some fun energy to this part.)
Audrey: Sarah Hyland (My go-to "teen" for book casting. She plays Haley on Modern Family.)
Sophie: Abigail Breslin

Thanks to Liz and Lisa for the book in exchange for an honest review.