Not gonna lie, one of my guilty pleasures is reality television. Not all of the shows, but I did just finish binge-watching "Married at First Sight". Spoiler alert: None of the couples stayed together. So when I read the synopsis of this new book by Ruth Ware, I was all in. It sounded like it would be right up my alley - "Love Island" Meets "Survivor".

Lyla, a nerdy scientist, is asked by her aspiring actor boyfriend, Nico, to participate in a new reality show. The premise is that five couples will stay on a paradise island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, complete a variety of challenges, and one-by-one, the losers will be eliminated. The remaining couple will win the cash prize (amount undisclosed). The specific details were pretty sketchy, which bothered Lyla, but not Nico, who was convinced this could be his big break into the world of entertainment. Lyla reluctantly agrees, and the games begin.

Upon arrival at the island, the contestants are requiried to give up their devices - phones, smartwatches, laptops, etc. They spend the first day getting acclimated and discover that there is no staff other than the production crew on the island. The couples play a game, and the loser is put on the only boat on the island and must return home immediately. Later that night, after the boat had left for Jakarta, a massive storm wreaks havoc on the island. Now the real survival games begin!

I won't give any more plot details, but will say that this book had so many opportunities to be a fun page-turner. Instead, the villian was known from the very beginning, and much of the story felt rushed and half-developed. It wasn't a horrible read, but just like reality television, I wanted it to be better than it actually was.

Ruth Ware did not disappoint! Sometimes when I pick up a new book from one of my favorite authors, I have such great expectations I end up disappointed. Not the case here!

I devoured this book in a weekend, neglecting my adult duties and family, because I could not put it down. If you are a plot driven reader, you will love it. There was also enough character development to make me want to root for the characters as well. Some of them, that is.

To me, this was a modern day Lord of the Flies, and I’m one of the few who loved that book, and I loved this one as well. Highly recommend!

A reality show gone way wrong. Couples compete on a secluded island to be the perfect couple. What could possibly go wrong in a Ruth Ware novel. A nice twist at the end and some likable women make this a good read with the pages turning in suspense. Some unlikely parts but Ware is a pro at pulling the reader in.

Copy provided by the publisher and Netgalley

One Perfect Couple is Ruth Ware’s newest mystery. This one takes place on an isolated island in Indonesia where 5 couples are participating in a reality show. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned starting with a storm that destroys much of the island and supplies. And takes their boat with it….

I’m a big Ruth Ware fan and her books are an auto read for me. I found the premise of this one interesting, but it didn’t end up being my favorite of hers. There wasn’t as much mystery or twists as I would have liked. Definitely worth a read, however, especially for reality TV or Survivor fans!

A different type of mystery than Ruth Ware’s other books. I really enjoyed the concept – Love Island meets Lord of the Flies. There’s been a lot of good television similar to this concept (The Wilds and Yellowjackets being a few) so it was fun to read it in novel form. Unfortunately it did drag for me a bit. I had a hard time connecting with Lila to be really pulled into the story.

One Perfect Couple is a scorching thriller set against an island backdrop. 

Lyla reluctantly joins a reality competition called One Perfect Couple with her boyfriend, Nico. Before the ink is dried on the dotted lines, Lyla and Nico find themselves in a tropical oasis with four other couples. An unexpected storm puts Lyla and her cast mates in danger, leaving them without any way to contact the mainland. The competition turns ugly as the stranded contestants form factions, trying to survive against the elements and each other. 

The premise of murder within a reality show context was an intriguing starting point to push the novel off. Ware plays with the audience's expectations and delivers a unique story.  

The plot had some thematic Agatha Christie pacing and twists. It was compelling, yet easy to follow along. Ware does an excellent job pacing the novel. Her mysteries have a gripping quality to them and One Perfect Couple is no different. Ware builds suspense at a believable pace that's not too slow or too dizzying. 

Lyla is the main narrator in the story, with a few diary entries from other characters between chapters. Lyla's narration was a solid foundation to drive the plot. Ware builds believable suspense since the reader only sees events from Lyla's perspective. It also makes it easier to track clues as the novel progresses. 

Ware writes vivid characters whose personalities stand out against the backdrop of the novel. Their motivations felt organic and served the progression of the plot.  

The ending wasn't shocking, but it tied up all loose ends for a satisfying conclusion. The ending feels earned. One Perfect Couple makes a perfect beach read. It's engrossing and easy to get lost in. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.

I typically love Ruth Ware books but this one was definitely not for me. I was so bored the whole time expecting a twist or some action.. nothing. I didn’t like the characters, didn’t like the story line and the end was just boring. It seemed like it would be so good from the description but man am I disappointed.

I've loved every Ruth Ware book I have read. This one is no exception. Lyla is a struggling virologist. Her boyfriend Nico is a struggling actor. So when Nico's agent tells him about an opportunity to be on a couple's reality TV show, he jumps at his change to possibly become a household name. But things feel a bit off and then contestants start dying. Who will be next? Who can they trust? I really enjoyed this book!

Wow! Still going through my thoughts on this one! I wish the ending might have gone a different way but honestly very pleased with the happier ending! I feel like the connections with the characters started from the beginning - and chapter after chapter it just got deeper. I love the whole "reality" show and island setting - made for a super intense scenery. The suspense and wondering throughout is what truly kept me going and interested! I do feel like it was a rather long read - but worth it in my opinion. I definitely recommend reading!

Ruth Ware is one of my favorite thriller authors for a reason: because each new story she crafts is fresh and inventive and keeps me guessing until the very last moment.

This one, as usual, started off innocuous enough. Five couples sent to a desert island to compete in a reality game show of sorts. For our narrator Lyla, it’s supposed to be a free two week vacation until she sees herself out and heads back to London.

But nothing goes the way they plan, and things turn deadly in a heartbeat.

I’ll admit, it was fairly obvious to me from pretty early on who was responsible for all the bad things happening to these people, but that didn’t stop me from being kept on my toes for the entirety of the book. From the snippets of failed radio calls to diary entries from one of the people on the island, interspersed with Lyla’s full-length chapters, I was frequently scratching my head, wondering what the hell was going to happen next.

The island setting, while lush, also proved to be brutal the longer they remained on it, and it served to further the narrative that not everything is as it seems.

All that to say, I LOVED this one, and I already can’t wait for what’s next from Ware.

One Perfect Couple is beach-read-thriller perfection! Especially if you already love reality tv game shows.

Lyla's boyfriend Nico is an aspiring actor who convinces her to participate in a reality game show that he believes will get him more opportunities as an actor. Lyla, a scientific researcher, knows almost nothing about reality tv, but she's also pretty sure she's about to lose funding for her contract, so she decides to go on One Perfect Couple with him. After journeying to Indonesia, they meet 8 other contestants on their boat ride to the island.

Shortly after the show begins filming, there's a destructive storm overnight, and the contestants are left stranded on the island. Survival with limited food and water becomes their newest objective, and with the cameras gone, the contestants' true colors start to show.

I burned through this book so quickly! It's a fresh new take from Ware that incorporates a fun amount of reality trivia while steadily raising the stakes for Lyla and the other contestants. At first, I was concerned about keeping track of so many characters, but it was actually was easier than I expected. Since Lyla is an outsider to reality tv, she functions great as a narrator who explains a lot of what's happening and identifies each contest really easily.

If you're looking for a great summery read, this is it!

“𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 . . . 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵. The question was . . . how bad could it get? And the answer, I was beginning to fear, might be pretty bad.”

4.5 stars! One Perfect Couple is the definition of a page turner! I couldn’t put it down. Although the storyline has been done- a group of people stranded on a desert island- this one has the fresh perspective of a reality TV show as the premise. Full disclosure, though.. I HATE reality TV. So I wasn’t sure how I would feel about that storyline going in.

But I throughly enjoyed it. I found myself so immersed that I could feel the hot beating sun on my face like I was on that island with them. Ironically the book itself would make a PERFECT tv show or movie as I feel like I just watched one. What a wild and crazy ride!

Thank you to Netgalley, Gallery Books, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Lyla is a scientist, dating Nico who is an aspiring actor. Lyla is struggling in her career as much as Nico, so when the opportunity for a reality show comes up Nico convinces her that this is the perfect opportunity for both of them. Set on a picturesque island couples will compete and one part of the couple could be sent home, while the other part could potentially find love elsewhere. The whole trip starts out questionable and things just continue to go downhill. Just 2 days in there is a horrible storm and the cast members are left fighting for their lives. A cash prize and stardom is no longer the goal. Surviving is.

Ware is back! This was a hit for me! I have read 3 books recently about reality game shows and this has been the best by far. I became super invested in the characters, particularly Lyla. This was a great book, great storyline and even better twists!

I have to say, the amount of stress this book caused me…I can’t even deal. I felt overwhelmed with anxiety from the moment the storm hit and then what followed was all just too much, lol. It was interesting to me that initially I was rooting for the one character I shouldn’t have been but that was quickly replaced with a loathing so intense I was happy to see what went down. I loved the idea of women banding together to bring down a common enemy and the support they gave each other was critical. The twist was also pretty cool and made me understand those random journal entries peppered throughout. Super clever. Needless to say, Ware once again didn’t disappoint!

I had such a great time reading this! I was drawn in right from the beginning as we learned about Lyla’s background and relationship. I love that the main character was a microbiologist, as I work in a related field! The earliest chapters are capped off with transcripts of radio calls, which really built up the anticipation.

I loved the isolated island setting, the relationships between the characters, the reality TV set-up…really I loved all of this! It reminded me of a couple different classic reads - but saying which ones would feel like a spoiler. Instead, I’ll just say that I absolutely recommend this as a thoroughly entertaining dark summer-y thriller!

DNF at 18%

Ruth Ware has been fairly hit or miss for me, but few blurbs have drawn me in as much as the promise of Survivor meets And Then There Were None. Given my record of being let down by blurbs, I should have actually steered clear of this. Instead, I made the request only to be vastly disappointed by the contents of the book.

While the prologue certainly hooked me, things quickly went downhill once the lead couple was introduced. I didn't care for either of their characters individually or as a pair; in fact, suffering through their selection process for the reality show tanked any goodwill that I could have built for them. I'm far more interested in a couple that is really into each other slowly discovering the dark secrets versus a couple that is ambivalent. Alas, this ended up being more of a miss for moi!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

3.5 Island Terror Stars

Can you call a thriller set on a remote island in the Indian Ocean a closed-room thriller? I read this one on a long flight, so I was sharing the character’s feelings of being trapped!

Lyla and Nico are the last contestants invited to join the latest reality TV production, One Perfect Couple. They are flown to Jakarta from London, and then a boat takes them to an island not quite open for full tourism. Nico is a wanna-be actor who thinks this experience will launch him fully into his career. Lyla is a virologist who is struggling to get funding for her scientific research. She somewhat reluctantly agrees to accompany him.

The island is as beautiful as the pictures promised, and the production team is ready to launch the first challenges. After the contest, the first contestant is out, and the production team leaves with him via boat. It doesn’t take long until things go horribly wrong though. Overnight, a huge storm rages, doing serious damage to the island. The couples are stranded with limited food and water. They had to turn in all their technology, so they can’t even reach out for help.

As one of the survivors takes out all the stops to be the winner, lives are at stake in this fast-paced thriller. While I’m not a huge fan of reality TV, I did enjoy the thrills and turns in this one. While not my favorite Ruth Ware, it definitely entertained me on the flight.

Holy crap this was my very first Ruth Ware book, and I was totally captivated from the very first chapter. The twists were impossible to see coming & that’s pivotal in a good thriller. I can’t wait to read more from her!

I didn't find this book suspenseful or even to be a page-turner. I wanted to find out what happened, but didn't particularly care about the characters. I appreciated that the female characters came together to take down the villain, however, there were a bunch of loose plot holes that bothered me. For example, power went out on the island during the storm, but then the fridge and cameras were still on? This didn't totally make sense to me. I love Ruth Ware, but unfortunately, this was not one of my favorites. Appreciate the opportunity to read and review though!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books Scout Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by a favorite, Ruth Ware. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Lyla's post-doctoral virology research is not going well and she's worried about her future. Her boyfriend, Nico, is an aspiring actor with no steady work. When an opportunity arises for Nico to take part in a new reality tv show, The Perfect Couple, he convinces Lyla to join the cast. Before they have time to catch their breath, they are on the boat to a private resort island in the Indian Ocean. They will be competing with four other couples. But things go wrong right away and a bad storm takes things to a crisis point. They are no longer worried about winning, just surviving.

This was a tense, atmospheric thriller, with the locked-room genre that I always enjoy. Told from Lyla's point of view, we still hear from all the characters without any confusion - helpful with so many characters. There are also intermittent journal entries included that will have you thinking. Lyla is a very relatable character and Ware highlighted the tension between all the characters to perfection. I felt like I was actually watching a reality TV show, yet the stakes were so much higher so the tension was ratcheted up to high. I couldn't put it down - a great read!