Survivor meets Temptation Island in Ruth Ware’s new summer beach read, One Perfect Couple! Fans of reality TV will be completely absorbed in this gripping psychological suspense novel in which several couples meet up on an exotic Indonesian island to film a controversial TV series, only to find themselves stranded without a crew or supplies when a storm hits. As in any good reality TV show, alliances are formed and villains emerge as the group bands together, desperate to survive. The only trouble is the drama and high stakes aren’t scripted to make for good TV … they are very much real, and not everyone will make it out alive.

Despite hearing readers rave about Ruth Ware for years, this is my first novel by her, and as a fan of the suspense genre, it won’t be my last. As a reformed reality TV junkie, I loved the television element that Ware injected into this novel. It made for some exciting, behind-the-scenes reading … I only wish that it had gone on for a few more chapters! Almost instantly after arriving on the island, the cast is swept up by this freak storm, completely changing the tone and direction of the novel. I would have appreciated getting to know the large cast of characters a bit better through their reality TV antics and developing stronger feelings about them so that I could be more invested in their survival. However, the brief glimpse that we get of the production of the TV series was quite eye-opening and entertaining.

Speaking of survival, I love novels that throw characters into the elements and ask them to find a way to stay alive despite the odds. The stakes are always high, making for some intense reading, and One Perfect Couple is no exception. When stranded on a deserted island with a limited amount of supplies, you have to be crafty and clever about your survival. However, staying alive becomes increasingly more difficult when stranded with a group of virtual strangers, some of which are determined to thwart all plans rooted in logic and basic human decency. As in any good TV series, there are heroes and villains here … the only question here is who can you really trust?

Readers looking for a fast-paced read that you can get lost in will enjoy Ruth Ware’s One Perfect Couple! I listened to this novel while traveling to a tropical vacation spot - so apropos - and it made the hours fly by. Naturally, recommended to fans of reality TV and tense survival situations, especially those who have loved TV series such as Lost.

Thank you for a ARC of this book on @netgalley

Lyla is just a scientist she doesn't belong on a TV game show she doesn't have the look or it factor but her boyfriend Nico wants so desperately to make it big and this game show is for couples.

It wasn't long until I felt the pull of the plot dragging me onto the island and all of the events that took place between the beginning and the last page.

This books plot was top notch. I didn't call of the twists and turns. I felt like I was losing my mind at a few points. The entire mystery and drama of the book was top notch.

The bone I have to pick with this book is I didn't care much about the characters. Maybe because their are too many of them? Or maybe because more focus were on certain characters but I felt the attatchment I had to the characters were super thin. This could have been on purpose but I just felt like no one truly mattered in this story. I didn't feel the emotional peice of the story. I felt like it was all very dry as far as character personality.

I would say overall this book was readable. I enjoyed most of the book. I wish I could have felt more emotions for the characters.

So 3/5 moons

🌙🌙🌙/🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

This was such a fast, exciting mystery and Ruth Ware is one of my favorites for this genre. The reality show setting and stranded victims theme usually hit home for me so the premise of this book had me hooked. I really liked the characters even though they felt a bit unrealistic at times (reality show contestants often are though so maybe that is more spot on). There were more deaths in this one than a typical Ruth Ware so please know that going in but overall I was really invested and read this very fast. It was great! Thanks to Ruth Ware, Gallery Books | Gallery/Scout Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

I am a big fan of Ruth Ware, and this latest book, One Perfect Couple didn't disappoint! It follows a couple Lyla & Nico as they go to an island to film a reality show. with 4 other couples Dan & Angel, Joel & Romi, Bayer & Santana, & Conor & Zana. But nothing is exactly what it seems. The show they are filming for has a few formatting secrets up their sleeves and many relationships won't survive the show,

And once the boat leaves for the night carrying the whole crew a terrible storm hits the island, leading to 2 deaths, and several injuries. Unable to reach anyone by radio, Lyla and the others struggle for survival. Then when one of them turns up dead, the others realize there is a murderer amongst them. It's a race against the clock to be rescued before the food/water runs out or before the murderer gets them all.

This book was very good and sucked me into the drama. The killer turned out to be the obvious choice, but I really enjoyed the girl power resolution. There was a lot of "And Then There Were None" and "Lord of the Flies" vibes going on in this book. Makes you realize how fast things truly unravel in a survival situation. Hunger and thirst can bring out the worst in anyone!

Definitely check this book out if you're a fan of Mysteries & Thrillers, Ruth Ware, and/or survival reality shows. I will be recommending this one to my book clubs!

One Perfect Couple was hard to put down. The storyline of a reality show felt of this time, and I had no trouble picturing exactly what this scenario would look like. I think the thing that surprised me the most (spoiler alert) was the amount of death and violence in the book. I think the premise of a reality show made the beginning feel light and fun that by the time the violence occurred I was taken aback a little. I loved the main character, and I was rooting for her the entire time. I think the character I was most confused by was Nico. I could never tell if I was supposed to think he was the good guy or if he was some superficial wannabe celebrity that would have dumped Lyla as soon as he hit it big?! I wish the ending would have went into a little more detail because I felt like I needed to know a little more. Overall a good book that I didn’t want to put down.

This book had an interesting format of a reality TV show. It kept my attention throughout. There were not any huge wow factors or twists but was a good story.

Title: The Perfect Couple
By: Ruth Ware

Genre:
Fiction, Psychological Thriller

Red Flags:
Strong Language, Infidelity, Murder, Graphic death

Summary/Review:
Five couples are whisked away on a deserted island near the Indian Ocean for the opportunity to be on a reality television show. The show is called “The Perfect Couple” and once on the Ever After Island, everything for everyone starts to go terribly wrong. This was a much tougher read for me. I would suggest knowing from the get go, the intention of the book is to be read as a reality TV series. With that premise in mind, you know the storyline is completely unrealistic and over the top dramatic. For this reason, I was slightly disappointed. I had to change my thought process in order to finish the novel. The main characters were unrelatable, difficult to connect with, and I felt they needed additional depth. A very large portion of the book was the F*** Bomb, so personally for me this added a layer of negativity for my personal taste.

Thank you to Ruth Ware, Gallery/ Scout Press, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#OnePerfectCouple
#RuthWare
#Scoutpress
#netgalley
#audiobook
#advancedreadereditions

I couldn’t put this book down!! I needed to know what was gonna happen and how they got stranded on the island. And so many people were dying! The intrigue!!

The ending was a bit meh and left lots of questions, but the ride was fun!

Ruth Ware is amazing, I always enjoy reading her. This one fell a bit flat for me and the ending felt a little lack-luster, so it isn't the usual five stars from me. Still this is a very enjoyable summer read.

DNF!!! First, Ruth Ware, you are a better writer than this! I tried to so hard to get into this one because of the author, but alas…locked room type mystery is not my jam. I know, those of you who have read my reviews before are screaming at me “you know you don’t like locked room mysteries! Why are you punishing yourself and those of us who read your reviews?” To be fair, I gave this a fair shot at 200 pages read. At that point it felt like I was reading the transcription of a meteorologist’s storm report. I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters, and…summer is too short to keep reading something I don’t love. Hopefully other readers will enjoy this more than I did, but it was not for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest (maybe too honest) review.

Lyla, along with a variety of other contestants are taken to a deserted island to participate in a reality TV show, One Perfect Couple. A storm the first night puts everyone in danger and knocks out their communication with the mainland. As supplies dwindle and tempers flair, the contestants just want to make it off of the island alive.

I am a long-time fan of Ruth Ware and her writing, but although I enjoyed this book it wasn't my favorite of hers. As with her other books, this is sold as Ruth Ware's take on a classic. In this case, the classic is "And Then They Were None," but it reads more like Ruth Ware's take on the Lord of the Flies meets Survivor meets isolation thriller. I can't get too much into why without spoilers, but I think I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn't considered that comparison while I read. The characters, like most of Ruth Ware's books, are interesting and engaging (although it did take me a while to get them straight because they all got introduced at the same time) and the plot in the end was interesting especially when you are trying to figure out what is going on. (I also appreciated the reference to The Woman in Cabin 10.)

If readers have already read Ruth Ware, I recommend this, if they haven't I would recommend another one.

Ruth Ware is a favorite author for me, and I was so excited to get this arc copy to read.

The story is described as a modern day And Then There Were None, taking place on an island. The premise is several couples competing on a reality show for a final grand prize and being awarded the "one perfect couple." The main character, Lyla Santiago, is convinced by her longtime boyfriend Nico to join the show as he is an aspiring actor and believes this will jumpstart his career. Lyla is a scientist/virologist and did not want to do the show, but desperate to make things work and disappointed with the trajectory of her own career, she compromises to help the partner she loves love.
When they get to the set of Ever After Island, they meet four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana. Each of the couples has their own unique stories, and each of them have their own reasons for being on the show. However, after the first challenge on the show causes chaos, many are left wondering if this show is worth the drama. It gets even more chaotic when an overnight storm leaves the cast stranded. The show has now become a life-or-death situation. This story was interesting, a lot of the book was the reality TV show and havoc the storm wrecked on the island and the people stranded. The twists were a little different from Ware's other books and really reminiscent of the novel it has been compared to, And then There Were None. I think a lot of people will love this book. Its pacing is a bit slower than I wanted it to be, but besides the pacing, it was a good read and one I think my students would enjoy.

It pains me to write a less than stellar review for a Ruth Ware book, but I’m going to have to for this one. It was just meh. And that just doesn’t live up to her standards and what I’ve come to expect of her stories. It was equal parts Survivor and The Real Housewives and yet somehow the characters were one dimensional and the conflict is superfluous. The premise was interesting but this was written more for the YA genre it felt like it me.
A group of up and coming actors are chosen to film a reality show on an island on the Indian Ocean when a storm comes through and maroons them there and kills some of the production crew. The “twist” was predictable-which was disappointing when you’ve come to expect much edgier stuff from the author.
It’s hard to say much more without spoilers so I’ll leave it at that. Not to say that I won’t read what she writes next, because I surely will with the hopes that this was just a one time miss for me. It wasn’t terrible it just wasn’t what I’ve come to expect and love from Ruth Ware.
Thanks to Scout Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Thank you Ruth Ware for the first engaging thriller of my 2024 summer. This book has nods to Agatha Christie, Lord of the Flies and has a reality tv theme show tossed in. Sounds like an interesting concept? It was!

Lyla the scientist is dating Nico, the wannabe actor who is in need of a career boost. Nico is approached to join a couple’s reality tv show set on a remote, uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean. His reluctant girlfriend, Lyla agrees and they join four other couples on the island. However, shortly after arriving at the island a hurricane unexpectedly hits and it quickly becomes survival first.

Lyla is the narrator of the story and she’s very likable and relatable. Reading about her actions to survive kept my interest. There are 10 characters total in the island and it is easy to keep track of who is who from the beginning. Some characters survive and some do not. There were a few twists and I had several theories in my head as to how it would all end. There was one plot point I felt that wasn’t properly addressed but overall I found this to be a book I did not want to put down.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is not the first time that Ruth Ware has written a book borrowing from Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, and she has done better previously (e.g., ONE BY ONE). This time around the setting is a remote Asian island, and there is a reality show theme. Reference to "real" reality shows like The Bachelor and Love Island are scattered throughout the book, just in case we didn't get the connection. The characters come in sets of two, the couples that are vying to be the last standing, and therefore, the perfect couple. There will be tasks, and a social environment is set up where the contestants must both work together and compete against each other.

Nearly all of the characters are social media stars and/or actors looking to raise their visibility through participation in the show. The one anomaly is the character through whom much of the book is told, Lyla, a research virologist who is included as the plus-one for Nico, a down on his luck actor. All of the characters meet on a yacht that will take them to the remote island, and they begin their jockeying for position immediately. Shortly after they are left on the island, a massive storm rolls in that separates them from the boat where the crew is being housed. When the storm wears itself out, not all cast members are alive and it seems that the LORD OF THE FLIES action on the island ensures that even those remaining may not make it to the end.

The characters are well portrayed, and their personalities play various roles in developing the action. As Lyla tries to reason her way through the situation, helping the remaining characters avoid further harm, she is stymied by knowing very little about each one of the other competitors nor even about the premise of the competition they have entered. Neither she, nor anyone else, has any basic survival skills, making it unrealistic that they survive at all with a murderer amongst them.

There are plenty of wholly-engaging fast-paced action scenes, and these keep the pages turning in spite of the very hefty dose of suspension of disbelief that is necessary to read this book. As the book draws to a close and Ware provides the characters and the reader with an explanation for the entire setup of the book, there will be many readers who just aren't willing to suspend disbelief quite that much. I am one of those readers. The book is a fast read, and one that holds the reader's attention in many places, but it ultimately falls flat without a reasonable premise.

This book won't keep me from reading upcoming Ruth Ware books, but I can only recommend this one for those who don't require much depth or complexity in their reads but prefer fast-paced action-driven books. It is not Ware's strongest offering.

Thrillers have been hard for me recently, but I love reality TV in my books, so I picked this up. WOW. Ruth Ware has done it yet again. This was fun, fresh, and kept me guessing. Perfect for your summer beach bag!

If there's one thing about me, it's that I love a Ruth Ware book! This book started off a little slow for me and took me a bit to get into, but once I was in it, I was so into it. I love shows like Love Island and Bachelor in Paradise, so this was a fun book to dive into. Mystery, suspense and tense situations made for one entertaining book! Thanks so much for the ARC, NetGalley and Gallery Books.

A deserted island, a storm, a large cash prize, and a reality tv show- add all of that together with nods to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and you get One Perfect Couple. A dazzling summer thriller with a fast pace that's sure to be a huge summer smash hit.

This is, as all of Ware's books are, a must read. The vibes from this book are absolutely amazing and perfectly geared towards a summer read, or are strong enough to whisk people to the tropics from wherever they may be.

Ruth Ware is one of my must read authors, and there's a reason her novels wind up on the majority of my recommendation lists. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

I am a huge fan of Ruth Ware books. "The Woman In Cabin 10" is what got me back into reading years ago. Unfortunately this did not do it for me. There were so many characters I had a hard time remembering who was who. I did love the concept and the setup. I was truly afraid for the characters on the desert island. I felt like it was missing a big twist.