This book was soooo good! Intense, terrifying and utterly gripping! I love Ruth Ware and this latest book from her is sure to be a hit.

I could not put this one down. Let me tell you that I love my sleep, and I rarely stay up late reading books, but I stayed up reading this one because it was very hard to find a stopping point. It has everything you would want in a thriller: fast pace, an evil bad guy, strong women, and major suspense and action. It reminded me the entertaining anxiety I had while reading Stranded. Definitely recommend and is now one of my favorite Ruth Ware’s.

This one was tense. Scientist Lyla (never call her a doctor or she’ll spend a whole paragraph ranting about it) and her wannabe actor boyfriend Nico, get the chance to go on a Love Island meets Survivor reality show. They’re in the middle of the Indian Ocean without any contact to the outside world when a storm changes everything,

There were times when the tension was palatable but also the build up of the story dragged and the climax was fast. The inserts of the radio messages and Zan’s diary broke it up a little but it felt more like interruptions than anything.

I didn’t really care for anyone and Lyla wasn’t exactly the most loveable protagonist. An entertaining thriller/beach read. You’ll certainly appreciate what you have after reading this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Scout Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book!

One Perfect Couple is Lord of the Flies meets The Bachelors meets Agatha Christie. Ruth Ware can be a hit or miss author for me, but this one was enjoyable all the way through.

Lyla, a microbiologist in the UK, and her aspiring actor boyfriend Nico join 4 other couples for a reality TV show called One Perfect Couple on an island in the Indonesian Ocean. After night 1 tensions are high, but an overnight storm takes tensions from bad to horrible.


If you enjoy horror, thrillers, and survival instincts, you’ll love this book by Ruth Ware! I felt the characters were well chiseled and many were likable. I loved the ending.

A solid 4!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The setting of a reality show is appealing and modern. The pace was quick enough to hold my attention, which tends to be an issue for me. Considering I am a young couple this book featured what felt like my peers, so was easy to connect to the characters and get invested in the outcome.

I love a good tropical setting thriller and this one definitely had that. It was enjoyable, just somewhat uneventful. There were no big twists or anything. I liked that the diary entries were explained at the end. Character development could have been a little better. Worth the read but won’t be one I think about for a while.

I loved this one so much! It was not at all what I was expecting but nevertheless it was amazing. Less of a mystery and more a thriller about survival with a feminist slant. I will definitely be recommending this one.

Read this one on a tropical vacation and it was the perfect setting for inhaling this book. Ruth Ware can be hit or miss for me but this one is a hit. I loved the sense of place and the ways in which the women banded together throughout the novel. The blurb harkens to Agatha Christie, but I really did not see that many similarities between this, and And Then There Were None. Although if you do know that story, you may be able to figure out the ending quicker than some other readers. That being said, I wasn’t disappointed, even though this is technically a popcorn thriller. It just goes down easy!

What an entertaining thriller! I loved the different timelines and the journal entries sprinkled through. I also appreciated that it was mainly from one character’s POV, it helped me keep track of the timeline easier.

I didn’t like the ending for one character—it felt like the author kind of forgot about them and then was like “oh shoot, lemme tie this up real quick!” However, the pacing was good and the character development by the end was satisfactory for me.

Overall, this is going to be a great summer book. Perfect to read on vacation because you won’t want to put it down. One Perfect Couple gets a 4/5 from me. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a fast paced thriller set on a remote island following a group of couples who are there to film a reality show. Things go terribly wrong and chaos ensues as there is a murderer among them. Lyla is our main character but I found I didn’t care deeply about any of the characters in this book. I was rooting for their survival but I wasn’t deeply invested in it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I’ve always been lukewarm/underwhelmed once I finish a Ruth Ware novel, yet I’ll knock my chair over to request an ARC of hers when one is released. Can’t explain it. Welp, this one I REALLY liked. It was fast paced yet fully developed. I could have done without the very last twist but all the twists prior really had me. I was misdirected and second guessing until the very end which I loved. Couldn’t put this down- highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

Lyla, appeasing her aspiring actor boyfriend, agrees to join 4 other couples on a paradise island to participate in a reality TV show. Things take a turn when after a storm, they are stranded with dwindling resources and must figure out how to survive.

This book was an interesting read. There was definitely thrill, shock, and awe. The ending was a little lackluster for me. Also I wish there had been a bit more character development in some of the couples. It would help me to understand the reasons behind the actions and behaviors of some of the characters.

Overall I think this was an engaging read. Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

One perfect couple. As a person who loves reality TV, this plot is so fun. Reading part 1 of this book was like sitting on my couch eating popcorn watching these characters' relationships implode but also knowing they aren't all getting off this island alive... this book, in true Ruth Ware fashion, is full of heartbreak and surprises! I had so much fun reading this one.
Thank you Netgalley and Gallery for the ARC!

Although a little slow, this was a fun read! I genuinely was invested in a handful of the characters, especially as we neared the end. I do wish we had spent more time with them to know them on a deeper level outside of our narrator, though.

The DIARY. I LOVED that aspect of the story. It really brought everything together in the end.

I have conflicting feelings about the ending as a whole. I understand the narrative the survivors had to take and I appreciate that. It just isn’t fair! Also, I was happy to see all the puzzle pieces fit together. The text messages were a bit off. The content of them left me even more confused about that relationship.

Ruth ware can do no wrong. This is a wonderful summer thriller. Beautiful people on an island. The storytelling is spectacular and what is expected from a Ruth ware book. I can’t wait to hear the Audio of this book.

4/5 Stars

The moment I saw this book, I knew I needed to read it. After all Ruth Ware has quickly solidified herself as a Queen of Thriller and her reads rarely disappoint (I have blacked out Zero Days from my mind). As someone who definitely watches those reality love competitions (Love Island, Too Hot To Handle, etc) I loved the idea of reality tv meets murder.

What I got was really so much more than that. Lyla, is a practical, down on her luck scientist who gets wrapped into doing a reality tv show on an isolated island by her actor boyfriend Nico. But after an exciting day, a storm hits and things go from Love Island to Survivor real quick. Trapped on an island with people she barely knows, things get dark and we just don’t know who will make it out.

I’ve seen this book notes as “Lord of the Flies” meets “And Then There were None” and I’d call that an accurate assessment. But make no mistake, for fans of Ware’s previous works, One Perfect Couple reads less like a “who dunnit” than a story of survival in the face of hopelessness and fear. It had drama, thrills, and a lot of power plays that I could probably write an analytical paper on. This is a book that thrives on its character dynamics and setting rather than just straight plot and twists so be prepared for a story of suspense rarely seen in the thriller genre.

I truly enjoyed One Perfect Couple and I love to see some out of the box thrillers from Ware! Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of One Perfect Couple in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed reading this book overall. It was Lord of the Flies meets reality tv and I love both! While an enjoyable read, it didn’t have anything remarkable. No super crazy twist or really crazy twist at all. The ending was kind of frustrating as well. While I think the setting was described well, the characterization lacked a little. Overall a strong 3 star read.

Just a word of thanks to both netgalley.com, as well as Gallery Books/Scout Press Publishing for an advanced reading copy of One Perfect Couple in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Ruth Ware has been described as the second coming of Agatha Christie. I would tend to agree. I have enjoyed Ware's books starting with one of her first novels - In a Dark, Dark Wood. Her books are definitely page-turners, and they do remind you of the classic Agatha Christie novels.

As for One Perfect Couple? This was a really interesting read. Think of one of the reality TV shows - Survivor - in which contestants come to a remote island and have challenges to ultimately determine a winner. One Perfect Couple takes this theme and rolls with it. Our main character, Lyla, is a virologist in London whose academic work is going nowhere. Her boyfriend, Nico, is an actor who is also trying to find a steady job. Nico's agent tells Nico of an excellent opportunity for both he and Lyla - to co-star on a reality TV show called One Perfect Couple. Lyla ultimately agrees to be on this show - and that's where the intrigue of the book begins.

Five total couples, all trying to ultimately succeed and win this "survivor-like" competition meet and travel to Ever After Island - a remote island in the ocean. The couples have a meet-and-greet session with the production team and take in the beautiful sites on the island. Seems to be a wonderful trip.....until it doesn't.

One major turning point in the novel is a massive storm blows through the island - leaving the island in shambles. We discover that one of the contestants has perished in the storm, and that the production team (who had left the island by boat the previous evening), have not returned to the island. Tensions begin to build, and survival is at stake. The book then has similarities to "And Then There Were None" by Christie - and it does keep your interest.

I give this novel 4 stars. Really enjoyable and kept my interest. My only complaint? I was hoping for one more twist from the author - but I didn't get it. The novel ended a tad flat for me. However, for a psychological thriller that is both enjoyable and believable, One Perfect Couple certainly fit the bill.

Ruth is at the top of her game with this book. It drew me in instantly and I couldn't put it down. Couples are brought to a remote island is Indonesia for a low budget reality TV show. After the first day a huge storm hits and wipes out the power and leave the contestants stranded. As they fight for survival, several of them die. Tempers flare and they break into factions. Will they get off the island? Who is plotting the murders. It is a page turner. Read it to find out. You won't be sorry.

Love Island meets Lord of the Flies🖤. This was a quick compulsive read. The characters draw you in and make you want to keep reading. Ware is one of my favorite thriller authors and this is my sixth book by her. This one had a different feel than some of her other books, but I still enjoyed it.
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Lyla’s post-doctoral research project is on the rocks, and so is her relationship with her aspiring actor boyfriend, Nico. When Nico and Lyla are invited to join the cast of a reality TV show set on a deserted island, Lyla decides a respite in paradise might be just the reset she needs. They join four other couples to compete for a cash prize. But a massive storm leaves the couples cut off from communication with the show’s crew and civilization. All they have to survive on are meager rations and their own hunting and gathering. But ultimately, it’s not the hunger and thirst that’s killing the contestants.
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Ware did a fantastic job developing this cast of characters and making the reader invested in their fates. I loved watching the brilliant women on this island band together to fight to survive. While many of her other books focused on unraveling a mystery, I would say this one is more firmly in the suspense and psychological thriller category. This book is billed as a fresh take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.
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Thank you to @gallerybooks and @netgalley for this ARC. And thank you to @wild_lainy for the buddy read and great chat 🫶📚!
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TWs: toxic masculinity, misogyny, abusive relationship, people being unalived
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One Perfect Couple - Ruth Ware
4/5⭐️
Pub Date: 5/21/24