While the book had its moments, it didn't fully captivate me. The story had its suspenseful twists, but the protagonist's obsession sometimes felt a bit over the top. If you're into psychological thrillers with intense character dynamics, it might still be worth a read.

The perfect girlfriend had me gripped from the opening pages ! There were some great twists throughout- some of which I didn’t predict! I didn’t love the characters but for me that’s not essential in a thriller and it didn’t ruin the plot itself.

It was well written and faced paced - overall it was a great read. I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a twisty domestic thriller. It may not be what you’re expecting once you start reading, it wasn’t for me, but give it a chance! I look forward to reading more by this author.

Not my favourite - a good start but not really what I expected, and I felt it was a bit underwhelming

Average fun thriller.

Lauren meets Jay at a music festival and they fall for each other instantly. She agrees to move in with him and secrets immediately start to come out concerning Jay. He handles all the money. There are locked rooms that Lauren is not allowed to go into.

This all leads to a fairly predictable ending.

Nice summer beach read.

Advance reader copy given free for a honest review.

This book had such a sinister edge that I really liked. A great debut and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

The twists at the end of the book managed to catch me off guard which is really unusual! So I loved that.

A creepy thrill ride with a lot of unexpected twists and turns.
Lauren moves in with Jay a week after meeting him. Neither are quite what they seem.

Jay lives in the middle of nowhere, cut off from phone and internet access. Definitely where you want to be with someone you barely know.

What could possibly go wrong?

A dark and twisty read that kept me on my toes

The Perfect Girlfriend by Hayley Smith and Narrated by Katie Villa was an absolutely gripping and breathtaking psychological thriller that will have you gripped from the beginning till the very end and a great audiobook. The narrator Kate Villa was excellent and made this latest book come alive.

I highly recommend this book and a great holiday read.

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.

I read this in conjuction with The Housemaid and it was a perfect match! I don't read thrillera often but psychological thrillers are my thing when I do read one. This book definitely satisfied months of not being able to read one.

Much like The Housemaid, there were some twists that I can see miles before it was revealed but the shock factor was still there. The author's ability to drum up excitement really did the trick! Wonderful story!

3.5

This was quite a debut novel! I absolutely loved the way this wrapped up in the end, and which characters made it there. I was highly suspicious of the majority of them throughout the book, but did not predict the way this would turn out.

There were a few pieces that seemed a little unnecessary, but I think overall they were likely needed to make the story flow better. I would have enjoyed a bit more suspense - we started strong, got very slow and then ramped up for the end again.

Ultimately this was an enjoyable read for sure!

Major thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for this ARC copy! Out now!

Lauren meets Jay at a music festival. He has gorgeous green eyes; she has beautiful dark hair, and they know each other is the one. That is until the proverbial you-know-what hits the fan. it is super easy to follow along and doesn't drag at all. It is paced fast but just perfectly for a book like this. This book is filled with creepy moments, dark twists and turns, gripping plot twists and an un-put-down-able quality.

Lauren trifft Jay auf einem Festival und zieht kurzerhand zu ihm in ein kleines Haus in der Einöde - keine Nachbarn weit und breit, kein Internet, kein Handyempfang. Ohne Einkommen und als nahezu Selbstversorger genießt sie die Zeit mit ihrem neuen Freund, meist benebelt. Sie tut, was er will, sie ist die perfekte Freundin. Zumindest tut sie so...

Es handelt sich um einen Psychothriller, der recht harmlos beginnt. Man hat eigentlich das Gefühl, dass Lauren eine junge Frau ist, die sich von Männern schnell beeinflussen lässt und sich selbst dabei verliert. Aber es soll viel mehr dahinter stecken. Es ist ein langer Weg bis der Leser herausfindet, worum es hier wirklich geht. Immer wieder haben sich meine Ideen geändert, aber im Endeffekt hatte ich doch mit meinem grundlegenenden Bauchgefühl recht.

Mir hat das Buch gut gefallen. Es ist eine spannende Geschichte, die mich gefesselt hat. Stellenweise fand ich sie dann aber doch auch etwas langatmig. Es dauert bis sich tatsächlich etwas tut. Das macht zwar auch viel aus, weil Spannung aufgebaut wird und es Raum lässt, sich viele Gedanken zu machen und Theorien aufzustellen. Dennoch wäre ein bisschen weniger davon auch ok gewesen.

Lauren als Protagonistin lässt oberflächlich viele Einblicke in ihre Gedankenwelt, aber mit der Zeit bekommt man mit, dass vieles verdeckt bleibt und erst nach und nach zur Sprache kommt. Das macht eben viel der Spannung aus, es macht es aber auch schwierig sich wirklich in sie hineinzuversetzen. Im Nachhinein könnte ich nicht behaupten, dass ich sie verstehe oder mit ihr mitfühlen kann. Es ist schon alles andere als normal, was sie da tut und für mein Gefühl blieb auch das Warum etwas zu offen. Ich hätte gerne mehr über ihre Beweggründe erfahren.

Jay ist zwar immer präsent, aber wir erleben alles nur aus der Sicht von Lauren. Jay war mir an keiner Stelle sympathisch. Auch seine Freunde nicht. Also eigentlich gab es tatsächlich keinen einzigen mir sympathischen Charakter in diesem Buch - aber das braucht es ja auch nicht unbedingt. Die Geschichte selbst war trotzdem gut.

Alles in allem würde ich sagen, dass es sich um einen guten Psychothriller handelt, der packend und fesselnd ist, aber manchmal ein bisschen mehr Tempo (ich wollte Speed schreiben, aber das kommt in diesem Zusammenhang etwas falsch) vertragen hätte.

A good book with lots of suspense and tension builds with each page and chapter. However I didn't really warm to the characters and didn't feel much empathy towards them.

Rating: 3,75 stars ⭐️

This was a twisted domestic thriller with a lot of suspense that will really make you invested in the story!

I will not spoil the plot but know that not everything is as perfect as it seems..

The author is an up and coming writer and this debut novel was really interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hayley Smith and Bookouture for providing me with this copy. All opinions are my own.

Suspense builds with every page. You can just feel it coming, but when the final surprises hit, you still aren't expecting it. I listened to the audio, and the narration was perfect.

This was just an OK read for me , I struggled to get into it and felt not much empathy with the characters
It did improve as it went on and as more layers were exposed i enjoyed the final third more than the rest

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Publishers for the Arc! I quite enjoyed reading "The Perfect Girlfriend" by Hayley Smith, and was surprised to see it was her debut novel. This book was enjoyable, and had a lot of twists and turns to appeal to the mass market thriller reader. While predictable and slow at times, it did keep my attention. I do hope that trigger warnings are posted in the published edition, as this book could be very traumatizing for those effected by some of the events that take place in this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, "The Perfect Girlfriend" was far from a perfect mystery/thriller novel for me. It was actually quite difficult to get through. Don't get me wrong the plot was interesting and it had all the potential to blow me away but it failed to do just that. I found that the first half of the book dragged on so much, there were so many unnecessary details included. The writing was fine especially considering this is a debut novel, however it drove me crazy that there was not a single likeable character. I did not feel compelled to keep reading at any point, instead I was forcing myself to get through the chapters.

I do see potential for this author and I will check out her next novel.

This is certainly a unique take on a domestic thriller! I did struggle at first - but certainly got into it pretty quickly and then it was a rollercoaster! There were some very uncomfortable parts - with some shocking behaviours - but I was so hooked I just could not put it down!
Excellent debut and I will certainly be on the look out for more.

A great thriller based upon a girl who is quite a loner who decides to up and move in with her new boyfriend in a remote area with little access to the outside world. Between different things she finds in the house, strange encounters with his friends and a perceived lack of freedom paranoia sets in. Great book which is difficult to put down

An enjoyable read! Lots of unexpected twists and turns, had trouble putting it down! Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.