Lyla’s boyfriend Nico talks her into going on a reality show. What could go wrong? It will give his acting career a boost.

Of course, things go very wrong when a tropical storm hits the island.

This book is a lot more straightforward in where it’s going than most of Ruth Ware’s other books. Even so, there were connections at the end that were surprising.

#Netgalley #OnePerfectCouple

First line: He is fighting.

Summary: Lyla and Nico are heading for a small island in the Indian Ocean. Having been picked for a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, they are competing against four other couples in challenges created to test their relationships. Nico is hoping to jumpstart his acting career and Lyla is along to support Nico but after the first test everyone is frustrated with the game and each other. But overnight a storm hits the island leaving the contestants stranded on a deserted island. Without their phones, electricity and supplies quickly dwindling the stranded partners see that this is now a game of life and death.

My Thoughts: With Ruth Ware I have a complicated reading history. Some of her books are excellent and others are a big letdown. But her newest thriller is filled with intrigue and tense moments that kept me on the edge of my seat. And as with other go-to authors, I did not read the synopsis of the book before starting this and just jumped right in blind. I find that I like this approach because I have few preconceived judgments.

When telling others about this book I likened it to Survivor/Love Island meets Lord of the Flies meets a very dark Gilligan’s Island. Sounds crazy, right?! It was. The characters are all hoping to get something from this reality show. They arrive on a beautiful tropical resort island. It appears perfect and the TV show could be a simple way to get noticed. Then things are turned upside down and everyone’s true colors quickly come out. There is immediate tension and it continues to build as alliances are formed but rather than being voted off the island, you could die instead.

Lyla was a strong and level-headed main character that is just trying to stay alive. It is easy to cheer for her. However, the other characters are a little more complicated. Where do their loyalties lie? Or what are their motives? It kept me guessing how it would end and who would survive.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a darker beach read on their summer TBR list.

I have read many Ruth Ware books and was very excited to read this one. Lyla was a wonderful protagonist - smart, emotionally intelligent, held down a career, but had not-so-great taste in boyfriends. I loved the Survivor element on the island and the tight relationships the women built in such a terrible time. Speaking of which, I felt that each women had distinct characteristics and none were stereotypical of what you would see on reality TV shows. Their relationships with each other were healthy and held one another with strong regard. BUT the ending of this book really fell flat for and dishonored a lot of sweat, blood, and tears that were put in by those who remained. I wished it did more for the characters especially with the themes that were brought up by the dynamic of those on the island.

An atmospheric thriller with nods to Agatha Christi, One Perfect Couple follows a group of reality show contestants as their scripts get cancelled and they’re forced to admit the reality of being stuck on an island. Lyla and Nico are in a rut both job wise and where their relationship is concerned. When Nico gets the change to be on a new reality show to boost his acting portfolio he leaps at the chance. The only catch is that Lyla needs to audition with him, as it’s a couples reality show. After their arrival to the remote island things quickly take a turn for the worse when a storm leaves the contestants stranded on the island. But it’s not just the elements they have to survive. They’ll also have to survive each other.

I used to be a huge Ruth Ware fan, but her last few books just haven’t done it for me. Maybe I read to many thrillers, but her newer books just don’t have the same all-consuming story lines that her earlier books had. This one was no different. What started out as a strong start, quickly lost steam. The entire story was fairly predictable and the only ‘twists’ that happened for me were a lack of twists and big reveals. All our characters felt one dimensional and Lyla, as our lead, tended to ruminate on the same things time and time again. I never felt I saw character growth, and plot wise our final ‘reveal’ and coincidences were a bit too far-fetched, even for a thriller.

The plot promised tons of reality drama, that is never delivered upon. It also felt different than Ware’s previous books, less thrillery and more contemporary fiction with a slight mystery (maybe). I’m not sure how to describe the difference but it was not a traditional Ware book. Overall, it was fine, but nothing that stood out. I was left with quite a few questions and an unsatisfying ending. If you don’t read tons of thrillers, you might enjoy this, it just didn’t rank high on my list.


One Perfect Couple is out now! Huge thank you to Gallery/Scout Press and Simon & Schuster for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting:
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Loved it! This is one of my favorite Ruth Ware novels to date--a solid 4.5. I was engaged from the beginning and read it in one day! I enjoyed the setup more than I thought I would. Interesting mystery and I was totally fooled by what the journal entries were doing and what I thought they were doing. I didn't even need the final twist, but enjoyed it just the same.Thank you to Scout/Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to share my review.

Ruth Ware delivers another thriller. This book will leave the reader guessing how this story will end. I highly recommend.

Despite her reservations, Lyla agrees to take part in a reality show called One Perfect Couple with her boyfriend, Nico, who sees it as an opportunity to advance his tepid acting career. The filming will take place on a remote island in the Indian Ocean and it’s truly a tropical paradise. But almost as soon as the five couples arrive things start to go sideways and it only get worse.

One Perfect Couple is a thriller/suspense novel that moves along at a good pace. It has a good premise, an interesting plot, and is well-written. The characters are also interesting, although somewhat alike and maybe, for that reason, I had trouble keeping them straight. That’s usually not a problem for me, but in this case, it took me a while to figure them all out.

The ending was a bit under-whelming and it definitely seemed to be a little implausible. But, it did manage to tie up the loose ends. All in all, I enjoyed Ruth Ware’s latest book but would have liked to enjoy it a bit more. It was 3.5 stars for me, but will bump it up to 4 stars. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

One perfect couple

This was an enjoyable read, but it wasn’t particularly shocking or eerie.

I enjoyed the reality style of the story and seeing how the contestants worked together. It might’ve been nice if they had a little more time on the show before the storm. The snippets in the beginning made it seem like there’d be more of a fight to survive between just two people. Conner seemed likable at the beginning until it quickly became evident that he was anything but. I kept expecting there was going to be some kind of twist coming but it never did.

Im still a big Ruth Ware fan and will always be excited for their new releases!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

Ruth Ware has created another thrilling summer read that is nearly impossible to put down. One Perfect Couple is about a reality tv show in hell. I loved the characters -- even the ones that I hated. Plus, the nod to Ware's other novels was great fun. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and was sad to see it end.

In One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware we meet Lila a virologist trying to make a new vaccine for the chicken baba virus and getting nowhere. In the middle of this frustrating task is when her boyfriend Nico asked her to go on a reality show he is an aspiring actor and believes it will help launch his career. Despite her misgivings about the producer in the whole show in general she goes anyway and hopefully she will live to regret it. The group is Lila her clueless boyfriend Nico, Dan and his best friend Santana, bear in his French girlfriend angel, Academic Joel and his Instagrammer girlfriend Romy and last but not least is The very young Zana and Much older You Tuber Connor. The first day on the Island the games begin and Lila is shocked when Nico is the first person asked to leave the island she is even more bewildered when she is told she has to stay in the water villa with Joel and because the producer runs the show like a bully they comply. That night a horrible tropical storm rolls through and they wake up to a devastating scene but the biggest problem is the yacht and the only way off the island is gone. As days go by one Buy one tragic events are eliminating contestants but instead of being kicked off the show they’re losing their life not to mention one of the contestants has taken it upon their self to be the dictator of the island and dares anyone to challenge them. Let me just say there were some technical things with the story like snakes on an isolated island and a villa smack them in the middle of the ocean but besides that this book was awesome I love books with game tropes especially horror and thriller and I believe Ruth where did a great job. As far as the couples ago some of them didn’t even seem like they really belong together but I digress opposites attrack and it made for an awesome read. This review is long enough so I will just say read the book I definitely recommend it it was so so good! Not to mention the great ending that ties the whole thing up I thought that was a brilliant twist and well done Miss Ware. I want to thank gallery books for my free arc copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Lyla’s at a crossroads with her career as a virologist. So when her boyfriend Nico suggests being on a reality TV show to jumpstart his career, she agrees. Five couples competing to see who is the perfect couple. That one decision will have deadly consequences.

This is a thriller with And Then There Wes None vibes, but it is also a deep dive into relationships, things that happen to us, and what we are willing to do about them.

I have long been a fan of Ruth Ware’s writing and I look forward to her newest release every time they are announced.

What’s not to like with an influencer/reality TV cast stranded on a very remote island? Through in our average person, Lyla, to give us the realest of opinions as the main character, and you’ve got a recipe that I’m here to watch unfold.

Things are definitely not as they seem on the deserted island that Lyla and her TV castmates find themselves on. Those castmates aren’t exactly who they seem to be either. Throw in a horrible natural disaster and this thriller adds in a level of survival tension that kept me coming back for more.

There are certainly some unlikeable characters in this book, but I think that’s what makes it so interesting to read. It’s pretty spot on to what makes me what to watch reality TV, so naturally it worked for me in book form.

I really enjoyed the popcorn thriller vibes of this one and think it will make a fabulous summer read!

{3.5 stars}

Thanks to Scout Press for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

Thanks to Gallery Books and Scout Press for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

Five couples head to a remote Indonesian island to compete for a cash prize in a show somewhere between Survivor and Too Hot to Handle. The couples all have their own motivations to be there and of course reasons to break up. The director is hoping to catch it all. But then a massive storm sweeps in leaving them alone and two people dead. They have to try to survive and figure out how to get saved.

I think I may have had it with reality show based thrillers. This one took a bit of a turn midway and that kept me going but I feel like the trope has been done to death now. I would also say this one dips into horror quite a bit as well, there were some graphic violent moments that were hard to read. I liked the inclusion of a diabetic character, we definitely don't get that enough and I loved how it played into the story. This one had a few good twists but I didn't love the way it wrapped up.

This one is excellent! Lyla, a scientist and Nico, an aspiring actor, are all set to join the cast of a new reality TV show, “One Perfect Couple.” Even though she has serious reservations about the experience, Lyla decides to try out with him. They compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana on a resort in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Things begin to unravel and soon they are fighting for their lives. Ruth Ware has such great style with these dark, gothic mysteries. This is a page turner as we become drawn into the world of the contestants. Tempers flare as rations get depleted and the body count rises.
Ruth Ware is the queen of suspense. You don’t want to miss this one!

Unfortunately I didn’t love this one. It was ok. I saw some rave reviews. I think her books just may not be for me!

Among the many things I admire about this author is her ability to create captivating books that are almost impossible to put down once you start reading them. This one is no exception. It's like a combination of the TV reality show "Survivor" and Agatha Christie's classic novel "And Then There Were None." The plot revolves around five couples participating in a series of challenges, but unlike the TV show, there are actual dead bodies found in this thrilling novel. I enjoyed the unexpected twists and turns, and as usual, Ruth Ware has delivered another exceptional read.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The book has the most delicious set up — our brainy scientist main character agrees to go on a reality tv dating show on a deserted island because her boyfriend thinks it’ll launch his career. They have it all planned out how they are going to game the system, but a storm hits during the first week of filming and the new game is survival.

The whole remote island, big storm, nature/villain picking off people one by one is not exactly an originally concept but I was pleasantly surprised with how this book did it. I wasn’t really sure where things were going but enjoyed the ride nonetheless!

There are A LOT of characters, so I struggled keeping track as I read the first half of this on my flights, but I adored the audio — Imogen Church narrates and I just love when she brings to life Ruth Ware’s books! If you do opt for audio, just pay close attention to characters!

https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/one-perfect-couple-by-ruth-warePopular author Ruth Ware turns paradise into a new form of hell in her latest novel, One Perfect Couple.

Depending on who you ask, Lyla and Nico have been together for two-and-a-half years or three years. Nico counts their relationship as starting from their first hookup. Lyla doesn’t think that drunken groping was really the beginning since it was at a friend’s party, and they just got together for convenience’s sake. But when they met up again six months later, deliberately? They haven’t been apart since.

The differing opinions on how long they’ve been together reflect how Nico and Lyla view the world. Nico, an actor, has an emotional response to everything. Lyla, a scientist, is practical. Which is why she is in the process of carefully contemplating her future. She and Nico are at a crossroads in their relationship and Lyla, the elder by several years, is thinking it may just be time for them to part ways. She is ready to level up - to start thinking about family and forever. Not just with her love life but with her job, too, since it is looking like she isn’t going to be promoted and may need to change careers.

Then Nico is offered the opportunity to join the cast of One Perfect Couple, a reality TV show featuring authentic partners who must prove on camera why they are perfect for each other. Lyla doesn’t want to participate, but she also has nothing holding her back. And Nico is making all kinds of promises as to why this will be great for them both. She agrees to do two weeks on the show, confident she will quickly be kicked off the tropical paradise where it is being filmed, because audiences don’t want a pedantic nerd. They want someone like Nico - volatile, gorgeous, and emotive. The audition process is sketchy, but neither Nico nor his agent blink an eye at that, and before she knows it and despite her trepidation, Lyla is boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island.

Once on board, they meet the four couples they will be competing against - Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana - to win a cash prize. While everyone else seems media savvy, Joel and Lyla find themselves bonding over their odd-man-out status. Joel is a lecturer at St. Clements and, like her, is the more boring/normative half of the couple. They have a good laugh over it. Lyla continues to make the rounds, talking to the other contestants and the staff of the show as they prepare for landing. This is how she overhears talk of a dangerous storm potentially encompassing the island. The production crew dismisses any concerns, but she disembarks uneasily.

She is right to be worried. The first challenge proves a disaster for Lyla and Nico. She gets a near-perfect score listing his dreams, favorite foods, and most embarrassing secret, but after living together for so long, he still gets her go-to takeout order wrong, doesn’t know what her dream date would be, nor really much of anything about her. A furious Nico is escorted off the island, while Lyla is left to bask in humiliation. But this will not be the worst thing to happen that evening. The production company departs, taking the boat back to the mainland to deposit Nico and pick up supplies. And then the storm hits, leaving massive destruction in its wake. The contestants quickly find themselves struggling for survival, cut off from any form of communication with the outside world, and running low on food and water. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that starvation isn’t the only thing they have to fear. One couple is still playing the game, albeit under a very different set of rules. And they are determined to be the last pair standing.

This is less a mystery and more an action/adventure/thriller. That a villain is on the island is clear from the outset. Who it is is obvious by the midpoint. The only real question to be answered is if both members of the couple are complicit or if it is just the conspicuous half of the pair, with the other being forced to cooperate. There is a surprising twist at the end regarding why it is all happening, but it doesn’t play into how the plot unfolds until the final chapters.

Readers who love strong female protagonists will adore this story. All of the ladies are resilient, brave, and fiercely intelligent. I appreciated that each and every one of them - even Santana who is by far the most fragile - is grimly determined to survive themselves and help the others to do so. They are very much about doing what needs to be done, even when that is less than palatable.

Lyla is surprising in her ability to adapt. A kind of everywoman with few practical survival skills and only minimal fitness, her struggle to acclimate to the new conditions is very relatable and the author makes her growth believable without ever sacrificing the essence of who Lyla is. It’s easy to believe that the kick-ass version we see emerge as the novel progresses was inside our heroine all along.

There are plot points I found questionable, but the author's easy-to-read writing style and brisk pacing kept me invested in what was happening. There are deaths here, but the gore and violence are kept to a minimum.

Ware’s obsession with failing machinery actually fits this particular scenario perfectly because it would be natural for an isolated location to have difficulties with technology after a massive, damaging storm. It also gives the characters - especially the women - the opportunity to show their unique skills since they have to be quite creative as they seek to find a way to communicate with the outside world.

One Perfect Couple isn’t a perfect book but it is pretty darn entertaining. I would recommend it to fans of the author, those who love the Reality TV scenario, and anyone in the mood for a heroine-centric adventure story.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think I said this about Zero Days too - I appreciate Ruth Ware’s willingness to play with form. Yes, she’s a mystery writer, and yes, she’s frequently compared to Agatha Christie, but she hasn’t boxed herself in. Zero Days didn’t really work for me, but I liked that she tried something different - a techno thriller, rather than yet another locked room deal.

And this new book…isn’t really a mystery? It’s more of a survival story. I suppose there’s an element of And Then There Were None, but it’s not really a mystery who’s picking people off. And there’s not really a reason for it either, beyond the killer just wanting all of the resources for themselves. I kept waiting for some kind of twist, but it’s all pretty straightforward.

Lyla is a doctoral student who has just completed a disappointing research cycle. Her latest set of experiments didn’t return any usable data, so it’s unlikely that she’ll be offered another contract for the next academic year. Her boyfriend Nico is an aspiring actor who’s always *just* about to get his big break (so he says). They’re kind of a weird match - I guess the appeal is that he’s so outgoing and busy that he doesn’t mind Lyla working long hours and not being around much? Basically seems like a relationship of convenience that has run its course, but they’re still together because it’s a pain to split up. Anyway, without asking first, Nico signs them up to compete on a reality show called One Perfect Couple. It’s basically Survivor meets…one of those Bachelor-verse spin offs. Love Island, maybe? Five couples will be put on a remote island in the Indian Ocean and they’ll compete in weekly challenges. Every week, ONE person gets kicked off, and the person with the highest score gets to decide who to share the fantasy suite with. So basically your other half could get the boot, and you could decide to re-couple with someone new. Maximum drama. Lyla agrees because she could use the break, and her plan is to just get kicked off early on so Nico can win the whole thing and get famous or whatever.

Of course this is a terrible plan, and things start going wrong pretty much immediately. It’s clear that the whole thing is being done on a shoestring budget (they’re allegedly staying at a resort, but it’s clearly not all the way finished yet). And some of the comments from the producers and the crew make it seem like the show maybe hasn’t even been picked up by a network yet. So all of this could be for nothing. After a rough first challenge reveals the game’s cruel twist (the whole partner-swapping aspect), there’s a huge storm that destroys much of the island and leaves the remaining contestants completely cut off. Because of course in typical reality show fashion, they’ve surrendered all of their devices. And the yacht carrying the entire crew is somewhere offshore, possibly damaged in the storm. There’s no power, few resources, and maybe a murderer.

Without giving away too much, it's not *really* a mystery in the traditional sense - not a whodunnit, and not really a whydunnit either. It's a thriller, a survival story...kind of a horror story depending on how you feel about camping!

This is an isolation thriller from one of the best there is. Five couples participating in a game shoe are trapped together on an island when a storm comes in. They are cut off from everyone without phones but that is the least of their worries.

Without power, their food and water supply dwindles quickly, the radio has a very limited battery supply, people are sick and injured, and one of them may be a murderer.

Why I Love This Book: This is a page-turning thriller with unexpected twists and turns I did not see coming. This is a perfect beach read- it will keep you on your toes.