Influencer trip gone rogue. It was fast paced and kept me entertained with the twists & turns. Thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

An influencer trip to Iceland gets derailed when low-status influencer Alabama Wood goes missing late into the night. As the questions pile up, the story delves deeper into the psyches of three influencers: Alabama, Celeste, and Hollie.

Everytime you think you figured out what's going on (I admit, I assumed I had it figured out before 10% complete, and then many times after that) you find out you're super wrong.

I have to confess that I have minimal admiration for any of the three women who star in this story. You have infidelity, the willingness to kill, and extreme instability of the mind.

Driven by the inner workings of the mind, this story takes you into the deeper and darker decisions of three very different personalities.

First off, thank you so much to #Netgalley, the publisher and especially the author for this ARC!

I really love the newer premise of social media influencer thrillers that are coming out more and more… that being said, this has been my favorite book of that trope! This book was fast paced, I read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down! I highly recommend going in kind of blind, I’m finding I enjoy books more now when I have little idea of what happens ☺️

So a group of influencers get invited on a trip to Iceland and the trip turns horrifying when one of those influencers, Alabama, goes missing. The books starts out strong and grabs your attention with the details and insights of the three main influencers (Alabama, Hollie and Celeste). It was interesting to see how the characters behaved "online" and off. The book also keeps it interesting on the shifting of the timeline. I kept reading and trying to find out who each person really was and what secrets they were keeping. The books also adds some twists in the storyline that throws you off a little which keeps the book moving.

Ultimately I liked this book, but I feel like it fell a little flat in the Thriller department. The thriller/mystery part of the book took a back seat to the mental/sociological theme towards the middle to end of the book. The ending was a little uneventful really as the characters continue to move forward with their lives and occasionally see the others from the trip.

The only thing that really got to me with this book as it appeared to show how influencers are either deeply insecure about themselves or selfish. I was trying to move past that thought throughout the entire book so I could get into the book and really enjoy it. But that thought sat with me as I finished the entire book.
Over all it was a good quick read and it does keep you wanting to go to the next chapter to see what happened. I want to thank NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for an honest feedback.

A meditation on our current society’s obsession with curated online lives versus real life. This book follows Hollie, Celeste and Alabama , all internet influencers as they attend an conference in Iceland where one of them ends up dead. Told in chapters, before the event, and immediately after and then months.

Spoilers, so quit reading folks…I saw the ending coming, so the last chapter was not at all a surprise. I felt it was kinda tacked on to make it a thriller.

An influencer trip to Alaska goes horribly awry when one of the group, Alabama Wood, goes missing. Who was she behind the perfect pose and expertly crafted online feeds? Did anyone really know her at all? And who of the group knew enough to save or condemn her from her fate?

I was initially entertained by this novel, with the insights to the influencer lifestyle that it provided access to. I find this a topic endlessly intriguing and longed to learn more about who these fictional influencers were, both online and off. This was achieved through the perspectives of three attending the vacation and through a shifting chronological layout. I found this took me a little while to adjust to but I found my footing and was invested in uncovering the truth, both about who they were and the mystery they were involved in.

This continued to remain of interesting but ultimately proved less thrilling than anticipated. It, instead, became a more sociologically-focused read, with its point of convergence remaining on mental health and emotional stability when validation was achieved through online engagement. This was of interest but the mystery that ran parallel to it became overtaken by this more reflective focus and the ending became one a little lack-lustre in its reveals because of this.

Not everything is rosy in the world of influencers. When the female influencers gather for a promotional trip in Iceland, they already have a well-formed opinion about their colleagues. Some have known each other personally for years.

Resentment, competitiveness, and envy are carefully hidden until one of them disappears. Was Alabama murdered?

A fast-paced novel, full of intrigues, family worries, friendship issues, and dark thoughts. Characters are vivid and relatable.

We live in a narcissistic world full of envy and power games, and it is only a matter of time before we ask ourselves if we are just puppets of algorithms, or if we still have some control over our lives.

Good read.

Okay, so up until 89% of the way through this book I was gripped by what was happening. I had my fingers crossed for an ending which wrapped up so nicely all these different lives and strings and had a poignant message about the perils of social media and frank talks about mental health. And it just didn’t happen…
I felt really invested in Celeste, Hollie and even Mallory’s storylines, but I felt Alabama’s was pushed on the back burner (much as she felt left out throughout the story) and was a tangled web of inconclusive narratives. There were important talks about lives not being what they seem online, autism diagnoses, relationship breakdowns, yet some of the biggest parts (mental illness, attention seeking online, therapy) lacked any depth.

The Icelandic-influencer-potential-murder theme had me very interested but sadly it left me feeling more confused and unsatisfactorily open-ended than I hoped to feel at the end.

I felt a little underwhelmed by this book...the author was strangely rude about Iceland, it is a beautiful country!! Why did she keep describing it as grey and ugly...?

I will admit most of my gripes with this book were little and petty like the way one of the characters described making a French press coffee as a challenging task, the fact that they call sports pinnies "pennies", and more importantly the narration was told from too many perspectives which I found convoluted.

The book was fun enough to read but not my favourite.

Thank you to the publishers and net galley for the e-arc.

It may be just my misunderstanding of social media influencers and all of their "woes," but the idea made me cringe. Overall, the story was good, the plot was ok and the character development was great. I had a hard time getting into the story, however, as perhaps I just don't understand the issue with the pressure of being an influencer and how that would drive someone to do what the antagonist of this story did. The ending did surprise with a nice twist that you would not see coming and left the reader with some thoughts. I did enjoy the parallel for one of the FMC's, whose daughter ended up being on the Autism spectrum and was struggling to come to terms with that. The overall theme just wasn't for me, but would most likely be great for someone else so I still encourage this read.

I'm obsessed with the influencer murder mysteries that seem to be a popular plot for thrillers atm and this was no different!it really did bring the influencer culture to life and did a good job of exploring that lifestyle whoch makes is so relevant for this day and age. It had plenty twists and was so captivating that I flew through it In a day! An amazing read

I have quickly learned that I am a social media influencer thriller sucker. If there’s a book about an influencer meeting their untimely death, I seem to be drawn to it and this book was just that.

A group of influencers are invited on an influencer trip to Iceland. The Instagram celebs are familiar with some of the people, but some are meeting for the first time. Alabama has a girl crush on Hollie and Hollie finds her annoying. However, Hollie is a fitness influencer, and what Alabama finds in real life is not what shes seen online. Hollie has had some struggles and is trying to figure out her life. Celeste and Alabama go way back and are close friends, but they have recently grown apart mainly because Celeste is worried about her daughter acting out and exhibiting some other symptoms that point to an autism diagnoses. Everyone is so deep into their own confusing and troubling lives they all learn what they post online is fake and doesn’t reflect who they truly are. In the middle of the trip Alabama drives her car off a cliff and is presumed dead. Everyone flies home to deal with the aftermath and ultimately they learned they forged deep friendships on the trip and learned things aren’t always as they seem.

So influencer trips are they real? How many followers do I need to be invited? Is there a book retreat where we lay poolside and read all day with endless drinks? Because that is what I need in my life! HA! This book was entertaining, and certainly shed some light into what it means to be an influencer. Mainly that it is mostly smoke and mirrors, oh and good lighting! While this was fun, it really didn’t have the elements I was looking for in a thriller like goodreads said, it was more contemporary fiction as promised on netgalley. Overall it just kinda fell flat for me, but not horribly so. For that I am giving it a 3.5 rounded down to a 3 for star purposes. I want to extend my deepest thanks to @netgalley and the publisher, @crookedlandbooks, for my advanced copy in exchange for this honest review. If this sounds interesting to you, put this one on your radar for May 2nd, 2023!

This story perfectly depicts everything that I imagine goes on in an IG influencer’s head. The comparison game is unreal with the explosion of social media.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, but if you find yourself on IG frequently, randomly scrolling all the photos of people who’s worlds appear so much better than your own, then definitely read this book.

This was a great read! Thank you NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books & Nicole Hackett for the chance to read this gem early!!

(5 Stars for the cover of this book as well! Absolutely love the pink/teal combo!)

The beautiful cover of "The Perfect Ones" made me feel like I had to read this book immediately. I probably would have requested the book based on that alone, but when I saw the reference to Lucy Foley in the description, I was even more intrigued. Fortunately, Crooked Lane Books was nice enough to approve my request--I don't think I could have waited 7 more months to read it!

"The Perfect Ones" is told primarily from the alternating points of view of Holly and Celeste, two Instagram influencers who are invited on a trip to Iceland by the clothing company Pink Purse. Celeste's best friend since college, Alabama, another influencer, is invited as well, even though she is nowhere near as famous as Holly or Celeste, despite her best efforts. Unfortunately, shortly after the trip begins, Alabama goes missing, and everyone assumes the worst.

I really enjoyed reading this--even though I never use Instagram, it's always interesting to read stories about influencers and the lengths they will go to in order to amass followers. I thought Holly and Celeste were relatively relatable--especially Celeste--and I liked that Celeste's daughter, Bella, was an important part of the story. I also did not see the ending coming! There weren't really any major negatives to this story, other than the fact that some parts felt a bit slow to me, and I found myself skimming just a little bit. Overall, I would give it 4.5 stars, rounded up, and highly recommend it to fans of thrillers that involve friendship, social media, marriage and domestic drama.

Thanks so much to Crooked Lane Books, Nicole Hackett, and NetGalley for this eARC!!

This was kindly gifted to me by Netgalley and the publisher. I was eager to read this because the synopsis compares itself to Lucy Foley and Andrea Bartz, both of which I have enjoyed as authors.

This story follows friendship and social media closely, showing the hardships to female friends and also the effects that the media and online presents can have to us.

Alabama is going on an Influencer trip….to ICELAND! She is excited to be getting this amazing opportunity, only she goes missing after two days. The police have a who dunn-it on their hands and they focus their attention on the other so called “influencers” that are closest to their victim.

Secrets, lies, family dynamics, friendship, this book really dives into a lot of these issues and I really did enjoy my time with it. It was not my favorite domestic thriller, but I did like it!

The Perfect Ones by Nicole Hackett
First off, the cover is gorgeous. I will read a book for the cover alone not even knowing what the book is about. I loved the setting Iceland, it’s definitely on my list to visit. I loved the premise of the book. Influencers and how perfect their lives appear versus reality. That’s certainly very relevant in today’s day and age. However, I literally did not like any of the characters, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t like the book. That means the author did a fantastic job. This was a very well written book, very engaging.
Many thanks to Nicole Hackett, NetGalley, and Crooked Lane Book for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this story from the opening descriptions of a place I love - Vik, Iceland. A group of women visit there, who are heavily into Instagram and all things social media. It is a statement commentary on mental health that is much needed at this time in the world. The descriptions of the locale, as well as character development, made this book a winner for me.

👛BOOK REVIEW!!👛
The Perfect Ones by Nicole Hackett
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5)

The Perfect Ones follows a group of influencers that leave on a trip to Iceland to get the perfect photos and material for their Instagram campaigns, but when Alabama Woods goes missing, lies are revealed and friendships are questioned. When the influencers return home, more questions are left burning in their minds, and everyone is wondering… what actually happened in Iceland?

This one was really fun, and super impressive to me!! It was firstly a very well written thriller. I found it a very easy and quick read with great descriptions. To add to that, the atmosphere in this is INCREDIBLE. You can really tell the author did her research on the locations. The characters were relatable and mostly likable (except for the ones that weren’t supposed to be), and there was some really realistic situations that are written in a past/present POV that were also really well done and well thought out.

My favorite thing about this one, was the authors ability to write a story that was able to show the other side of life behind social media, and how we are all living with secret demons that the rest of the world does not know. In this day and age it’s important to remember there’s more to life than what you see on the internet, and it’s about time someone put it in to a great thriller!!

Also, Props to @nicolehackettbooks and her creativity!!
You can actually follow @itsalabamawood on Instagram, who is one of the characters in The Perfect Ones, and follow her journey until the date of publication. I will certainly be watching this one, and since I highly recommend this book, go give her page a follow to gear up to release day!

What a book…the characters, the writing style…everything was so good. I always get a kick of wanting to read a thriller mystery and this book really filled up what I was looking for

This one started out intriguing and interesting a chance to see “behind the curtain” as it were, of the influencers of the internet.

But while I enjoyed the multiple pov and the changing timeline and had no issue with the writing itself I found this story to hold no interest for me. The storyline around Hollie and Celeste was so boring and mundane. And maybe that was the point these women have average lives but… this is a thriller/mystery novel and it could not hold
My attention so unfortunately for me this is a DNF at 51%.

I would have liked to stay the course but it just wasn’t working for me. I will review on fairness and give an average score based on writing and the possibilities given I could not finish to evaluate the ending.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy for my honest opinion.