I was home the other day sick so while in bed and cursing the fates I went and bought and downloaded some samples from books that looked interesting. I really loved the sample of this book and went ahead and just bought the book.

This book focuses on two childhood best friends, Casey and Rachel. Casey is an entertainment reporter feeling like if something doesn't change soon then she may lose her job. Rachel is feeling overwhelmed by her three children and her husband that seems to be taking her for granted more and more each day.

Going to their 20 year high school reunion both women are feeling frustrated with their lives and each other. Both women think the the other one has the perfect life and after taking two shots toasting the other one's perfect life they wake up the next day to realize that they swapped bodies.

Apparently something was in those shots. Mental note stop doing so many shots so I don't accidentally swap bodies with other people.

This book was seriously entertaining and reminded me a lot of Freaky Friday.

Of course we don't have the mom and daughter swapping with each other we instead have two best friends swapping. What I thought was wonderful was that through swapping with each other Casey and Rachel actually get to see what was truly going on in each other's lives. The first time that Rachel in Casey's body realizes that Casey has to deal with people trying to get her fired at her job or thinking she is too old or fat (at a size 2) to do her job she finally feels sympathy for her. And Casey realizing that Rachel's family expects her to do everything and how does she even get washed up in the morning was a definite highlight.

I think the person that I felt the most close to in this story though was Casey. Finding out about her past and what led her to have misgivings about relationships and children was heartbreaking. Both authors wrote these characters in such a believable way and I really loved seeing how Rachel realized that she had not been there for Casey as much as she should have been and vice versa.

Of course everything wrapped up in a little bit too tidy bow but for the story I can see why it ended that way. ( )

Fun read

Appreciating what you have when you think others have it better or easier than you.

Read for 52 Weeks, 52 Books. This was 2014.22. Kindle read with whisper-sync .

A reimagining of the tale Prince and The Pauper and changing places. Similar to Freaky Friday but in this case it is two childhood friends who have grown into two very different lives and they switch after a small fight at their class reunion. ( )

I have so much love for this book! It definitely speaks to how much you know about your best friends, and the importance of friendship.

I love everything about Casey and Rachel. Casey is the host of a popular celebrity gossip tv show, and Rachel is a stay at home mom of 3 kids. Everyone thinks Casey has the perfect life. She gets to meet celebrities, wealthy, and beautiful. What they don’t realize is she has doubts about herself as she gets older. In Hollywood it’s hard to stay on top when there are younger girls that can push their way in. Rachel is a great mom, although I think she was entirely too strict. She loves her family, but feels like there is something missing.

I loved how this was pretty much a grown up version of Freaky Friday. The emotions and journeys are something I could definitely relate to. Both Rachel and Casey also learn so much more about the others. Everything isn’t as easy as the other makes it seem, and there are repercussions to every decision they make.

The journey through Your Perfect Life will have you tearing up, laughing, and being grateful for the best friend in your life. ( )

An engaging, witty, humorous, and insightful read about the meaning of best friends, and the “grass is not always greener” – If you enjoy the idea of switching lives, you will love this delicious read of two women-friends from early childhood, living two different lives, and yet sometimes envious of the other --until they find by walking in their shoes, may not be their cup of tea, after all.

In particular is you like Freaky Friday, Sliding Doors, Trading Places, or others such as The Change-Up, you will be fascinated to explore and tap into lessons learned from this journey.

In the case of Your Perfect Life, you may need to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to really understand yourself. This enjoyable read dives into how certain dynamics and roles each woman plays, which changes from the beginning of the book to the end.

The authors did an exceptional job of putting the day to day activities together of each woman into the body of their best friend, to compare family dynamics of single life versus married. The way the story was introduced was a brilliant set up—a class reunion always brings out the best and worst of anyone, so a perfect starting point. A lesson and inspiration to each of us, as sometimes the answer is right in front of us; however, we may have to learn from life’s lessons, to enable us to circle back and appreciate our own lives.

In a way, each of us could learn from an experience such as this fictional one; the hard truths about ourselves such as Casey and Rachel, as they were not able to see clearly until they switched places. These two best friends forever have a real life changing experience, while in the switch mode—learning hard truths about themselves.

Casey, the glamorous, single and successful one would seem on the surface very appealing more so than Rachel. Rachel, the woman who married her high school sweetheart with a family and sacrificed her career for her family’s needs – does she really have it all --what any woman would want? However, as the switch takes place you see the pros and cons which may not have been recognized initially.

"Pretending” and faking it became a necessity for these two leading ladies--leading them to more positive things and becomes empowering for both women. A question to reflect and ponder--were they pretending to be someone else at times even before the switch?

“Your Perfect Life” is an ideal book for book clubs and discussions, as there is so much to discuss about “having it all”. What does it mean, and did each woman have the Perfect Life already? The book includes a wonderful Readers Club Guide at the ending, which should jump start a lively discussion of what ifs, as you go deep into the relationships and meanings for each of the protagonists.

I look forward to reading more from these two real life BFFs!

http://judithdcollins.booklikes.com/post/826534/-theperfectlife

A special thank you to Atria Books, Washington Square Press, and NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. ( )

Who isn’t a fan of the book or movie Freaky Friday? I know I am. It is a very clever and funny story about a mom and daughter who switch lives and learn important lessons about each other. The book Your Perfect Life by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke draws inspiration from that story and they make it unique, even though the storyline has been somewhat overdone.

Goodreads provides this description of the book:

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 confront the reason she gave up her broadcasting dreams when she got pregnant in college, and Casey finally steps out of the spotlight to face the truth about 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.
When I read the description of the book, my first thought was honestly “great, Freaky Friday Part 2, cue the cheese”. Although it resembles that story, Your Perfect Life has believable storylines and characters with depth (not implyingFreaky Friday doesn’t, but because the stories are so similar, I was surprised at the depth of the story and character development). Once Casey and Rachel trade lives, they really have the chance to see what the other person goes through on a daily basis and they learn the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, which is a hard lesson for most of us to learn without trading bodies with people.

I gave this book 3 stars because although it was a well written book, the storyline wasn’t as original as other books in the same genre.

Guest Reviewer: Kara Kelly ( )