Lauren and Jay’s whirlwind romance began at a music festival, leading Lauren to leave her old life behind and move with Jay to a secluded cottage. However, as they settled into their new life, Lauren began to see a different side of Jay—one that was secretive and controlling. As she tries to uncover what Jay is hiding, the tension mounts.

The story is engaging with some unexpected twists, but I found it hard to connect with the characters, which impacted my overall enjoyment. Despite its high ratings, it didn't fully resonate with me. If thrillers are your genre, you might find it worth exploring.

#ThePerfectGirlfriend #NetGalley.
Wow!!!
Jay and I have only known each other a short while, but whenever I gaze into his gorgeous green eyes I know he’s the one. His little house by the deep forest’s edge is perfect for the two of us – there’s no internet, no phone signal, and no neighbours. I’m about as far from my past as I could be. No one knows where I am, and I need to keep it that way. Warm in Jay’s arms, I can persuade myself it’s ok that he disappears for hours when he thinks I’m asleep at night, returning the next morning, glittery eyed and tense. And I don’t mind that he likes to be in charge of our money, our time, of me. He’s just looking after me, keeping me safe from the outside world, because he loves me. I won’t question him, I can’t challenge him. I need our relationship to work. Because I have secrets too. Jay thinks he knows me, but he doesn’t have a clue. All I have to do is play my part, and pray he never discovers just how far from perfect I really am…
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

1⭐️

It sounded so good, but it dragged so much. I kept putting it down to read other books because it simply could not hold my attention.

I didn’t connect with the characters. The storyline was meh. I was bored. The potential was there, but sadly, it did not meet expectations.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cracking twists in this one and I couldn't stop reading. It moved along at a great pace and kept me guessing. I'm new to the author but I'll definitely look out for more based on this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of The Perfect Girlfriend by Hayley Smith in exchange for my honest review and opinions. This is one of those psychological thrillers that you "think" you have figured out and then whammo a complete twist that will leave you stunned. I loved all the different twists and turns throughout this story and I look forward to reading many more books by this author.

Thank you SO much to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I absolutely loved this!! Such great characters and a great storyline.

My full review is to follow in a few days.....

a very intriguing thriller. i really enjoyed the characters, the book was able to keep my attention all throughout, there were times when I found myself day dreaming, but i was able to snap right back into it.

Wow. Kudos to the author for putting up this interesting book.

I quite enjoyed this. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

What a debut novel! Lauren’s life is a mess. She had been in a relationship with a married man and her family had disowned her. On top of that she was still reeling from the death of Nell, her best friend. Everything changes when she meets Jay at a music festival. Sparks immediately fly and they spend the night together and when the festival is ending Jay asks Lauren to move in with him. He lives in a rented isolated cottage with no neighbours, phone signal or Wi-Fi. Lauren jumps at the chance and soon becomes ‘the perfect girlfriend’. But Jay is hiding secrets and she finds it hard to compete with Ruth, his deceased wife. Lauren soon realises that he is very controlling and on discovering his secrets her own big secret will be revealed. This is a book full of suspense, with so many red herrings that I was totally hooked. I look forward to Hayley’s next book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was fast paced. I liked the plot but I found that I just couldnt connect to the characters. That is a huge part of my criteria for ratings.

The Perfect Girlfriend is a domestic thriller with some despicable characters and with some unexpected twists and turns. Though most of the characters were unlikable they worked for this plot. Overall an interesting read and will look forward to more from Hayley Smith.

I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review

I had a hard time getting into this story, A lot of it just seemed too far out for me. The characters were not relatable and I had a hard time getting into it.

Lauren and Jay meet at a music festival and feel an immediate connection, spending more of the weekend in his camper van than watching the acts that they came to see. When it's over, he suggests that instead of returning to her own life she joins him at his off the grid cottage. At first sight, the place is nothing like she'd imagined. Wallpaper is falling from the walls. Everything is stained and shabby. Then she sees the garden. It's paradise and Lauren ignores every chilling red flag that pops up along the way. She goes along with things that make no practical sense, but there's a reason she's so happy to embrace this new lifestyle. This is a fantastic domestic thriller that kept me turning pages and guessing until the very end. I loved it!

This book just wowed me. I thought that the book was going to go in one direction, but it went in a different direction all together – only, you don’t realize the direction it’s taking until later in the book, which gave it a huge WTH moment! Beyond that, there were reveals that I didn’t see coming. This book also felt refreshing. We all know that there are only so many tropes, but it’s how an author goes about handling those tropes that makes the difference. (I can’t say more than that without giving anything away). I really enjoyed Lauren and I was rooting for her the while time. Smith did a great job of making me hate Jay and be suspicious of his friends. If you’re looking for a fast paced, refreshing thriller, then you need to check this book out.

I do love a new @bookouture author and this one definitely hasn’t disappointed. I already can’t wait for more.

This is definitely a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Smith has filled the pages with mystery, suspense and plot twists to make this impossible to predict.

This is definitely an intriguing read which has kept me hooked, been impossible to work out and I’ve devoured in just one sitting.

I loved Lauren as a character. She has so much about her. Jay is not the only one with secrets. This is a couple that will genuinely have you questioning both partners.

Hayley Smith is definitely an author to watch out for. This is a brilliant debut and I’m very excited to see what is coming next from Smith.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is very well written and I enjoyed it very much. I would recommend it to my friends that love this type of content

Overall, this wasn't a bad read from a debut author.

Characters Jay and Lauren have met at a music festival and hit it off right away. He asked her to move in immediately, which in the real world is a red flag LOL.

Another red flag is her taking him up on his offer!! So of course, things aren't as rosy as they seemed in the beginning. It was a great read waiting to see what she would find out and when.

This was the first Hayley Smith book I've ever read. I wasn't sure what to expect but the blurb caught my attention. I enjoyed the story a lot. I'll read more from her in the future.

You may think that you know what is happening in The Perfect Girlfriend, a new psych thriller by Hayley Smith, but…really you don’t.
Even as you think that Lauren is impetuous and everything is moving super-fast and it’s hard to keep up with her relationship, it still won’t make sense to you. Until the author is ready for you to know what’s really going on.
I both liked that and found it challenging.
I liked that the author strung me along. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I like to try to outguess an author when it comes to plot twists.
However, the danger in this was that I found myself not liking Lauren that much. She was almost too much of a “free spirit” for me. As I read, I understood that she was written in a specific way for specific reasons. But taken on face value, I couldn’t get behind her.
That made a lot of the early parts of the book difficult for me to get through. I couldn’t connect, I didn’t like her or Jay, and their lifestyle annoyed me – especially as they were supposed to be bohemian, but Lauren kept buying stuff for the house.
I mean, I get it, but there was just a disconnect in some parts.
Roughly halfway through, we start to get the backstory that shines light on some of Lauren’s actions. But there are still more aspects that just didn’t work for me – mainly having to do with Lauren’s dreams (or memories, or whatever they are).
You’ll find out what they actually are when you read the book.
Add in a creepy girl with weird family dynamics, mystery people and relationships and lots of secrets and it makes for a whole lot of weird that I wasn’t always on board for.
That being said, the author still had me turning pages to find out what was really going on. While some of the resolutions seemed “too easy” I did ultimately enjoy The Perfect Girlfriend, and I’ll look for the next psych thriller from Hayley Smith.

Lauren is a mess. Her life is upside down. So it makes perfect sense when she meets a guy at a music festival, hits it off and he asks her to come away with him, that she goes. This new life isn’t quite what she thought but neither is Jay.
   What starts as a step into sustainable living …and she does love the peace and quiet, the farming, the whole thought of a future in an independent life, she discovers that Jay also has a history with some heavy baggage. We learn that Lauren, as much as she tries, is NOT the perfect girlfriend…that was Ruth.
   Several interesting characters that were seamy, a non verbal child, drug use and abusive histories added to the allure of the storyline.
   It’s full of twists that slowly unfold and explain events for the reader because we have been shaking our heads at some of Lauren’s decisions in her desire for a perfect world but they all make sense in the finale.