This is my first Ruth Ware book in quite a while and I forgot just how well she can craft a story! She goes beyond "just a thriller" and always has complex characters, important connecting themes, and takes a unique approach with whatever plot she decides.

I thought the reality competitive dating show subplot was fun (especially as a fan of shows like that! What a way to just disconnect!) And it allowed her to incorporate a wide variety of characters this way.

And then bring in the storm off the island and you get Temptation Island meets Lord of The Flies. I was absolutely hooked the entire time!

"Harkening to Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them - from Ruth Ware, the New York Times bestselling author who "is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime" (The Washington Post).

Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she's pretty sure they won't extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren't going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples - Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana - in order to win a cash prize.

But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real - and the stakes are life or death.

A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel so true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense."

Yes, it's time for beach read season, and well, I think this is the winner out of the gate.

A television show that is part Survivor and part Love Island is the premise of this new book by one of my favorite authors Ruth Ware. Lyla is a scientist studying viruses and her boyfriend of several years Nico, is a struggling actor. Nico finds out they have been invited to film a new show that is being shopped around to streaming services and the show is set on a beautiful island near Jakarta. Lyla isn't sure about this opportunity since she isn't the typical reality TV type but she agrees to take a couple of weeks off for Nico's sake. Once they arrive, the beach is as beautiful as they thought but the whole production seems a little low budget based on what they were told. Then the very first day Nico is ejected from the island after failing a challenge and Lyla is asked to move into the cabana with a stranger. The whole premise of this sounds really strange in that people who are in committed relationships are expected to sleep in the same bed with strangers. Real life shows like "Married at First Sight" and "Love Island "feature single people not people married or in a partnership with someone else. In any case, Nico has barely left when a heavy storm comes in destroying some of the huts and killing two people.

Most of the book is about surviving on this island with very limited food and water and with people who may not be trustworthy. I did like the way the women supported each other and banded together to make sure they could survive. I also enjoyed the details on how the group put their heads together to think about ways to signal for help and to help those who were injured. I had a hard time keeping the couples separate for quite awhile and felt like the men could have been described more and had more of a role in the story. I don't always need a twist in a story but here I was really looking forward to a twist at the end which didn't come. I never quite understood the purpose of the show even with the explanation given and felt like there were a few loose ends. Not my favorite Ware novel but I would recommend it for her quality of writing and the survival aspects and feminist message.

I finished One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware yesterday, and I still don’t think I’ve recovered. It’s a story told by Lyla, one of the participants of a new reality show filmed on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. The night after their first day of filming, a storm hits, and they wake to discover that two people have been killed and the boat is nowhere to be seen. Left alone with barely any natural resources, will they be found before they all perish?

The intensity of the survival story was truly through the roof. I’m still reeling from it.  That intensity held me riveted from beginning to end, and I still feel its impact the day after finishing it. The book left me questioning my own capacity for survival and the depths of human cruelty, and I believe it will have a similar effect on anyone who reads it.

The characters are so authentically developed, as are their reactions and interactions.  I could see all of the events coming together, and the feeling completely believable, which added significantly to the intensity.  Man’s inhumanity to man is a well-developed theme that plays out with significant messages.

The only thing I’m not sure how I feel about is the ending. It was somewhat of a surprise, but I’m not sure it was a good surprise. However, it does send a very powerful message about the consequences of our actions. I don’t want to say more, though, because this story will have more impact if you go in as blind as you can.

Ruth Ware has a history of hit-or-miss titles---and this title falls kinda in between. The first half felt like a very slow start --to I prefer Ware's titles that are faster pace and have more suspense. The set up sounds great---a mismatched couple goes on a reality show where disaster immediately happens. It felt like the "set up " took a very long time and the payoff wasn't really worth it. I did enjoy it--but it wasn't my favorite Ware title by far. I would recommend for fans of Ware, but not first-time readers.

Absolutely loved this novel! It was filled with all the classic whodunnit twists and I was left guessing constantly. Loved the setting of a reality show on an island as it adds to the suspense with them not only having to survive a murderer…but the elements!

Whenever I get a new Ruth Ware book to read I find that I have to put my life on hold while I read it. This one is no exception, I read it straight through in a day and a half. Intriguing premise, well developed characters, a fast paced plot and some unexpected twists had me reading late into the night. If you are new to Ruth Ware, start here but don't miss her entire catalogue starting with "In a Dark, Dark Wood". Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for an advanced reader copy

A perfect reality show, One Perfect Couple strands couples on an island to determine who will be the perfect couple in the end. Lyla agrees to be a part of the show because it can be a perfect opportunity for her actor boyfriend. Nothing is as it seems. The contestants get stranded on the island after a terrible storm. Then they are in a fight for their lives for survival. Will they survive the elements and each other? This is a fun, suspenseful read that keeps you guessing until the end.

Quick and easy read. I sped through this. I had to know what would happen next. Ruth Ware is an auto read for me, and she did not disappoint.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read a digital ARC of One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware. This adult, mystery, thriller will be published May 21, 2024. All opinions are my own.

Lyla is a post-doctorate virologist in her early thirties whose research and career have hit a wall. Her boyfriend, Nico, is an aspiring actor looking for his big break. When he proposes they join the cast of a couples reality TV show set on a remote island in the Indian Ocean, she begrudgingly agrees. Once on the island, things go down hill quickly. A storm rolls in over night destroying the island and cutting the contestants off from civilization. With limited supplies and injured parties, they're not sure how long they'll be able to survive. To make things worse, the survivors start dropping like flies. It's clear that there's foul play and not everyone is as innocent as they seem. Will Lyla be able to survive and make it off the island?

I really enjoy Ruth Ware's books. She has an interesting style and I appreciate that we get the perspective of the main narrative as well as radio transmissions and diary entries. The first half of the book did move a little slower than I would have liked, but I devoured the second half in a matter of hours. Knowing Ware's style, I was on the hunt for red herrings and questioning everything I was presented. I happy to say that I wasn't able to guess all the elements and that there was still a surprise and thrill at the end. I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, but I think that's okay and connected to one of the themes in the story. Because it did take me so long to get into the story, I'm only giving this one a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The PERFECT Summer read doesn’t exi..

@ruthwarewriter is back! I devoured this book, literally could not put it down. A reality dating show on a deserted island? Say less. When this first started, I thought the amount of characters was going to be confusing - but Ware did a fantastic job of making it easy to follow along and keep up!

There were intense thrilling scenes that had me SWEATING! And the end was 🤌🏻 highly recommend this book, Turn of the Key has always been my favorite of hers, but I believe this one has taken that spot and I’m calling it now - I think this is going to be the book of the summer! Mark my words!

🏝️🏝️🏝️🏝️🏝️/5

Thank you @scoutpressbooks for the arc in exchange for my honest review. Pub date: 5/21

Great story and plot line. Finished it in one weekend. Was constantly trying to figure out who the murder they were stuck on the island with was.

This was a wild ride. At first I wasn't sure where the story was going as it is centered around a reality TV show, but I'm so glad I kept reading! This had a lot of twists that I didn't see coming. The writing is such that I felt the tense environment amongst the characters and almost felt their anxiety as they navigated being stranded with limited food, water, shelter, etc. Ruth Ware has done it again! This will be a great summer read.
Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for access to this e-ARC.

Just finished Ruth Ware’s, “One Perfect Couple”. It was suspenseful and kept my interest but was not my favorite book of hers, It was slightly reminiscent of “Lord of the Flies”. A group is stuck on a tropical island and how they survive is the main storyline. One person tries to emerge as the leader.
if you are a fan of hers, then read it, but if you have not read any of Ruth Ware’s books, then try another of her books first. I would recommend reading “The It Girl” if you are new to her books prior to reading this one.
Thank you, NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the ARC.

I read this book in 1 day! What a great read! Fast-paced, twisty, page-turning story! Highly recommend.

Ruth Ware has been touted as a modern day Agatha Christie. This may be true of her earlier novels, butOne Perfect Couple is nothing even close to what Christie would have written. The premise of the novel is that there are five couples filming a reality show and are stuck on an island with a murderer, similar to Christie’s classic And Then There Were None. Unfortunately, Ware has made her characters similar to the lowest of low people who use so much profanity, that they resemble trailer trash. It has been said that people use profanity when they have such a poor vocabulary that they can’t think of proper words to express themselves.

The characters in this novel aren’t the least bit believable or likeable, and hopefully readers won’t be able to relate to them because the characters are such classless people. It may be that the younger generation talks like these characters do, but most of us with any amount of class don't.

Although the story may be a bit interesting, I couldn’t even read past the halfway point of this novel because I refuse to read profanity-laden smut. Ware’s writing talent is lost, and the novel isn’t worth the effort of trying to find a storyline with all the distractions.

I wouldn’t recommend this novel to anyone, and will never pick up a Ruth Ware novel again. I rarely write a bad review and can usually find something good about the worst novel. This one is an exception and is not worth reading. I'll stick to the real Agatha Christie.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This was not in my top Ruth Ware books. Usually she ties all of the strings together from all of the twists and turns. This book fell flat. It might be the premise or the flat characters. Layla and her boyfriend, Nico, travel to a tropical island to be on a reality show called One Perfect Couple. After the first meeting of the couples a tropical storm hits leaving the cast without any contact to the crew or the outside world. Layla must figure out who is sabotaging the other guests and sometimes murdering them. Although Layla and most of the other women are able to be rescued, all of the men parish. The big reveal was lackluster.

In order to give her actor boyfriend Nico a shot at fame, scientist Lyla agrees to join him in a reality show competition where “one perfect couple” has a shot at winning it all. The remote island location seems like paradise until a tropical storm blows through, and the contestants find themselves struggling to survive. Besides their injuries and lack of necessities, they fear one of the contestants is picking the others off one by one.

Ware does such a great job of making each character unique that despite the largish cast, ten contestants and a staff/crew members, I was easily able to keep everyone straight. Lyla made a great fish out of water character as most of the other contestants were used to being on camera.

The novel is broken down into to three parts: the calm, the storm, and the reckoning. The story is told via Lyla’s point of view interspersed with SOS messages and the epistolary perspective of another contestant. When Lyla senses something is off with the show, a secondary mystery is created.

Like Ware’s other books, ONE PERFECT COUPLE is a character-driven page turner. The reality show premise allows the reader to brainstorm ways Lyla might strategize to make Nico’s dreams come true while honoring her own ticking clock agenda. Later her strategy shifts to survival and figuring out who is friend and who is foe.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Scout Press, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

Concept, setting, characters were all top notch. Enjoyed the suspense and uneasiness of the journey to and on the island. The female friendships were strong and unforgettable.

I always love a thriller from Ruth Ware and One Perfect Couple is no exception. I recommend going into this one not knowing much about it. It is such a fun read and will keep you guessing until the end.