✨My love for thriller books started way back when with Ruth Ware’s In A Dark, Dark Wood.  I have read every book she’s written and have loved them all. Save for her last.  While it had so many amazing reviews, for some reason it was just not for me.  BUT THIS ONE!! Whew!  This one kept me utterly glued to the pages!
 
✨The tension was UNREAL!  The very real sense of danger lurking around every corner had me on the edge of my seat, and I could not stop reading late into the night so I could finish. 
 
✨I loved the slow burn start that drew me in then quickly thrust me into a rollercoaster ride of hair-raising suspense.  The tropical sunshine reality TV show became a fight for survival, and I could not turn the pages fast enough!
 
✨This will be the perfect summer beach read for thriller lovers!  You won’t want to miss it. 
 
🌿Read if you like:
✨Agatha Christie
✨Isolated settings
✨Weather disaster stories
✨Reality TV
✨Survival stories
✨Strong female characters
✨Tropical settings

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware is an amazing thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. This story follows five couples trapped on a storm swept island as a killer stalks among them. Lyla is at a crossroads in her life, when she and her boyfriend Nico are selected to participate in a reality TV show called One Perfect Couple. What starts as a chance for adventure and a cash prize quickly turns into a fight for survival as the group finds themselves stranded on a deserted island. The author’s storytelling is masterful, and builds tension with each and every page. The characters are well developed, and their interactions feel authentic, adding to the suspense of the story. With its fast paced plot and twists and turns, this book is the perfect psychological suspense read!

While I liked this more than Ware’s last by a mile, it still was missing the pizzazz of some of her earlier works. While this had a good suspenseful pacing, I wish we had more of the game itself before the storm as the book then became solely a lord of the flies survival story, which frankly isn’t something I really care to read. The ending “twist” didn’t feel like a twist at all, which left me feeling underwhelmed. I’d rate this just mediocre, unfortunately.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5!!!
Thank you Net Galley for Ruth Ware’s newest thriller One Perfect Couple!!! This thriller was not like any other book I have ever read, centered around a reality TV show where couples are sent to a lavish resort with Villas on an isolated Island. But things don’t go exactly as planed when a storm hits and all communication is shut off. Can they survive with the little supplies they have?
I really did enjoy the gripping plot line and the scene was set up perfectly by Ruth Ware’s talented writing.

Ruth Ware has written another pulsating thriller. To date, this is my favorite of hers and I highly recommend it if you enjoy the slow unwinding of an intense story.

A new reality show is being filmed on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. Couples must compete in tasks where each week one person must go home and their other half must spend the night with another contestant. But before the show can really even begin, a massive storm blows through and wreaks havoc on the set and it now becomes about survival. With limited food, limited water, and no way to call for help, they must work together to survive, but not everybody will make it home.

The descriptive nature of Ware’s writing makes the reader feel as though they are right there in the middle of the action. Though there were many characters, it was easy to keep track of who was who because each of them had their own voice and each was distinctly unique.

For me, this is a 5-star read and I am grateful to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC.

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware

3.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and Galley Books for the ARC ebook to read.

A psychological whodunnit thriller that takes place on a remote and deserted island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Nico and Lyla will compete with other couples for a chance to win a cash prize on a new reality show. Things don’t go as planned and it soon becomes a test of survival for these contestants.

Things start to go awry quickly after a major storm hits the island and a killer stalks among them. I found the second half of the book to be more fast paced.

This was a quick read and it was a good read, however I have enjoyed some of her other books more. I did like the setting of the story and it was easily pictured in my mind of what the island looked like. I think if you are a fan of reality TV shows, you may find this a better read than I did. I do like Ruth Ware’s writing and storytelling and look forward to more from her.

Loved it! This book mixes “Lord of the Flies” with the reality show Love Island which is a sentence I never thought I would write! It was entertaining and unique. One addition I would make would be to add in the brochure that describes the characters as a key in the front of the book. When the characters were first introduced I had to flip back to remind myself of their descriptions and it was especially tricky because so many of the characters fit the influencer niche.

One word for this book: intense!! In the best way. As a fan of some reality TV--I've watched every season of Survivor--but not many others that are about surviving on an island, I am still familiar with the format that this book's show is based on and it truly felt spot-on. I definitely liked that the intense situation's timing (within 24 hrs of the show's start) was perfection as the characters/contestants don't know each other well as they face the unexpected challenges of the rest of the book. Every character is fleshed out. Every character is an integral and interesting part to the story that gives it more depth. I liked the issues that are addressed and I appreciated how their story wraps up. It was a wild ride. I feel like I was on that island and am still recovering myself!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for an ARC of this book.

Would you agree to be a participant on a couple’s reality show if your significant other begged you to go? Well that’s what Lyla agrees to do with her boyfriend Nico. The two of them will compete against four other couples and the winning couple will win a cash prize. But, soon disaster strikes in the form of a severe storm that leaves the couples stranded and no longer competing for the game, but competing against each other and for their lives.

Loved it! Ruth Ware does not disappoint! Scientist, Lyla, and out of work actor, Nico are picked to compete on new reality TV show, The Perfect Couple. Nico is hoping to get a career boost, and Lyla, although unsure,, wants to be supportive. The resort is a secluded island paradise. After the welcome dinner, crew leaves the contestants alone to go back to the yacht to debrief. Overnight, a tropical storm blows through cutting off all communication and electricity from the island. What unfolds is a mash up of Survivor and Lord of the Flies!
A wonderful locked room thriller! Lots of twists and a couple red herrings come to a satisfying ending. A perfect beach read!

3.75 stars, rounded up for Ruth Ware's latest, "One Perfect Couple" which is another of the "stuck on a _______ with a killer at large" trope very like her previous "One by One", which was good. This time it's an island during the filming of a reality dating show... m'kay? And a storm & everyone's stuck, yada, yada. But of course, what distinguishes this one is Ruth's excellent & suspenseful writing, so I'm good with it & kept flipping pages late at night. Ms. Ware will continue to be an "authored" author for me. My thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the complimentary DRC - my opinions & thoughts are my own

Think Love Island, And Then There Were None, Survivor and Lord of the Flies had a baby and that baby was this book!

Lyla is in a rut, in her career and her relationship. Nico, her boyfriend, has an opportunity to be on a reality show, which would help his career, but only if she joins him. The show, One Perfect Couple, will have 5 couples compete and have eliminations until there is a winner! Lyla reluctantly agrees to go.

You would think that is where the drama is and you would be right for a very short time. Then a storm hits the island and the real drama starts. They are isolated with no electronics or ways to get off the island. With water and food running low, tensions run high!

Tense is a good word to describe this book. There is pretty much constant tension from the get go! I wouldn’t say this is much of a twisty book, but is is very suspenseful! I devoured this book! I didn’t want to put it down even at 2am when I couldn’t keep my eyes open!

One Perfect Couple is told from the perspective of one character. But there are a few excerpts from a diary and radio calls as well. At first the amount of characters was hard to keep up with, especially who was coupled with who. But, you get familiar with them and it’s also easier as the number of characters starts to drop….

This is another great read from Ruth Ware! I feel there are a few authors that I will read whatever they write and she is one of them for sure! Make sure to pick this up May 21, 2024!

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced copy of this book!

Ruth Ware has another blockbuster on her hands. This was a fun read, a bit of Survivor, a bit of The Bachelor, and a bit of Lord of the Flies. A reality contest where 8 couples go to an island in the Indian Sea for a 10 week competition, to determine who the "one perfect couple is." Well, that's the premise anyway. The story goes off in a completely different direction almost immediately after arriving on the island when a typhoon hits. It becomes a contest for survival. I'm not of the mind to spoil the story, so I will keep it to this - the book is fast paced. It has several twists and turns, and a satisfying end. And Ruth Ware throws in a fantastic easter egg to her first hit book. I'll let you find it.

Thank you to the publisher Simon and Schuster, and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced readers copy. I predict this will be a fantastic summer beach read when it hits book stores in May.

One Perfect Couple follows five couples on a trip of a lifetime for a new reality show. Before they know it, rather than fighting for the game....they are fighting for their lives. The book begins slower as it follows Lyla thru her worries and fears regarding her job, relationship, and this new adventure she doesn't even want to be on. As the competition goes as does the heartbeating in your chest wondering what will happen to Lyla, Santana, Dan, Connor, Nico, Joel, Romi, and Zana. Who will live and who will die?

Hard to find a book that captures my interest from page 1 to the end but this one managed to do it. I had so much fun reading this one, I couldn't wait to pick it back up when I stopped but yet, didn't want it to end. Definitely one of my top 10 thrillers for the year and would make a great beach read!

Let me start by saying that I absolutely love Ruth Wares books and look forward to every time she releases a new one.

This was probably my least favorite so far. It was a bit far fetched and I didn’t love any of the characters. By the end of the book I was letdown and just frustrated that it wasn’t as good as I had hoped..

One Perfect Couple is the latest adventure thriller from Ruth Ware. It’s less of a moody psychological thriller than many of her titles. This one is a disaster thriller on a deserted island. The suspense and paranoia is ramped up by flashes into the demise of the islanders’ future. The setting adds to the fear, as the stranded travelers fight to survive.

This would be a fun beach read for those with dark tastes (like me). ❤️

This is now officially my new favorite Ruth Ware book. It is one of those books that you keep thinking about hours and days after finishing it...caused a large book hangover!

Several couples are invited to participate on a reality TV show. The only catch is that it takes place in a deserted island that is only accessible via a 22 hour boat ride. Shortly after the game show kicks off, a massive storm destroys the island and the couples are left stranded and alone.
As the book continues it is clear that there are massive dangers not only from the island but from each other as well.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

One perfect couple:
Colorful characters! Lots of adventure! Plenty of twists and turns! However, too much swearing. It was offensive to me & took away some of the joy I had reading this delightful thriller.

Rounded up to 3 stars. I have enjoyed some of Ruth Ware's other books, but this one was a let down to me. One Perfect Couple starts painfully slow and fails to deliver on its intriguing premise of a reality TV show turned survival thriller. The transition feels forced, the mystery lacks suspense, and the characters lack depth. The reveal and "shocking twist" at the end was underwhelming. While some may find it amusing, I was disappointed and believe it fell short of Ware's potential.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this title.