Another wonderful read from Ruth Ware! Fascinating story arc and definitely had a real reality tv show feel throughout the book. Thank you for allowing me to read One Perfect Couple.

If Ruth Ware wasn't already an automatic Netgalley request, Ruth Ware writing a dating show thriller absolutely was! Ware's latest thrilled places an overworked virologist, Lyla, and her washboard-abs-empty-head actor boyfriend Nico on a survivor-meets-love-island dating show on a remote tropical resort in the Pacific Ocean miles away from civilization. What could possibly go wrong??

This wasn't my favorite Ware by a long shot - beleaguered by unusually predictable plot points and unsatisfying loose ends - but still manages to capitalize on classic overblown dating show personas to create roiling tension between the last people you'd ever want to be stuck with on a desert island. Very much has the energy of "what if you put 10 TikTok beauty influencers on Survival and then unleashed a natural disaster of epic proportions". I didn't connect to any of the characters expect a few near the end, and found Lyla in particular to be fascinatingly dense: who of all people would be likely to agree to a sketchy dating show on a remote tropical island without apparently reading any of the contract or the fine print? Naturally, a PhD level virologist!

Still, like all of Ware's thrillers, I literally could not put it down until I got to the bottom of the cryptic journal entries and radio dispatches AND I failed to guess about 1/2 of the plot twists so that has to count for something. Ware's books may be hypnotically formulaic, but I'll be damned if she doesn't lock me in every single time.

3.5/5
While off to a strong start, I found the last quarter or so to be a missed opportunity if not disappointment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books and Scout Press for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Ruth Ware is a guaranteed great read every time and One Perfect Couple was no exception. Lyla and Nico are a couple in need of something in their relationship as it’s feeling stale, and when Nico gets the opportunity to put them on a reality show, they may have found a solution to reinvigorate things and jumpstart his acting career. Unfortunately things turn very Lord of the Flies and we get enmeshed in a thriller that is complex and fraught with twists and turns the reader cannot anticipate.

I loved the premise of this and the female relationships. I also loved the twists, especially at the end. If you’re ever wanting a smart thriller, Ruth Ware is a must read, and this book is no exception.

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this boo in exchange for an honest review.

I say it constantly: Ruth Ware books are always such a good time. She’s an auto buy author for me, so I would have requested an ARC for this book regardless of what the premise was. But THAT PREMISE!! Pitched as “And Then There Were None” meets “Love Island”?? Perfection! No notes!

I would say this book is more of a thriller than an actual mystery, which I wasn’t exactly expecting. But it did its job and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Would absolutely recommend.

Lyla, a virologist whose post doctoral research is looking like a failure, is persuaded by her wannabe-actor boyfriend Nico to participate in a new experimental reality show called The Perfect Couple. Though everything seems idyllic at first. a tropical island locale, other interesting, congenial participants, a plan to get kicked off the show early, it's not long before everything goes awry. A major storm ravishes the island and the yacht that brought everyone there is nowhere to be found. As casualties begin to amass and supplies start to dwindle, the group soon begins to break down into a Lord of the Flies scenario as Lyla and the others try not to become the next contestant permanently removed from the competition.
This story was different from most of Ruth Ware's previous novels, but the writing was engaging and immersive throughout. Though many of the characters began as typical reality show tropes, they develop and deepen as the peril of their situation ramps up. Some who were likeable at the start take a turn for the worse while others who weren't so sympathetic to begin with become much more layered and impressive as the book goes on. This was an intense and exciting thriller that had a few surprises up its sleeves. 4.5/5*

This is one of the best books I have read in quite awhile, like at least six month's. This is one of those reads that you start rooting for an individual and by the middle it changes and the end is just something you did not expect at all. I will be recommending this to everyone! Great great read. I wanted it to keep going on.

I absolutely loved this book! It was such an easy read and was difficult for me to put down. A great thriller that had some unexpected twists.

Know your enemy.

They may be wearing an all too familiar face.

Ruth Ware injects One Perfect Couple with an intense White Lotus vibe marinated in the reverberations of every reality and competition show out there. One Perfect Couple wears a smug face that checks over its shoulder every nano second. Being safe seems only an illusion.

If it's too good to be true.......it probably is. Lyla Santiago deals in scientific facts. She's working on her post doctorate and the scientific results of a previous researcher seem a bit sketchy. She's not sure that the grant will continue to be available.

Frustration sets the stage for weakening her steady resolve when her boyfriend, Nico, comes home with an off-the-wall proposition. He's an on-again-off-again actor. Nico thinks this will be his big break. His agent has presented him with an opportunity to try out for a TV reality show with a cash prize. Nico promises that the entry as a couple will only last for a couple of weeks. Then they can bail. Lyla loves Nico and eventually agrees.

Ever After Island is located like a blip in the Indian Ocean. It's taken six hours to get there from London. There are four other couples involved besides Lyla and Nico. Lyla is already feeling uncomfortable by the looks of these beauties. Baz, the producer, assures them that all will be well. It's a tropical paradise......until it's not.

Ruth Ware starts to rev the engines with an unexpected tropical storm brewing. There's also a storm brewing amongst these contestants. Personalities and preferences begin to reveal themselves. Ware knows how to insight high anxiety in her characters. She's a master. But this bevy of competitors aren't about to take prisoners. The stakes are far higher. Does life actually prepare you for the fight of your life? Perhaps not.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and to the talented Ruth Ware for the opportunity.

Wow! I enjoyed the twists and turns of One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware. The plot is unique and the characters were well developed. Our library will purchase this book when it releases.
I appreciate the opportunity of an ARC

Lyla a brilliant scientist is dragged by her not as aspiring our of luck and work boyfriend onto a game show on a deserted island. It is a couples competition. What could go wrong? She gets to the island and meets the other couples and it seems a little shady -the production team and the island itself. Enter the crew setting off to sea, bad storm that comes in and people start dying. As the survivors wait for help to arise they become increasingly concerned about one members quest for control of what happens and also the supplies left on the island. People continue to die under suspicious circumstances and the supplies become and issue and when if ever will they get off the island? I found myself throughout the book trying to figure out who the bad guy was and thought it was too easy who they were factoring it to be. I wont ruin the ending or whether anyone survives and if they do if they get off the island. This one kept me guessing. I was a major Ruth Ware fan prior to this book and i continue to love her writing and the suspense!

Overall I enjoyed the story- I finished it in a day and a half. There was a very small twist at the end that was not what I was expecting but I’m not sure I loved it. More could have been done with character development and some things were not explained enough to the point it felt rushed (ie Joel).

4.8 ⭐️ Big Brother meets And Then There Were None meets Lord of The Flies…. (I really don’t think it’s anything like Traitors and hope the mention of that tagline in the UK isn’t misleading)

So exciting! This book is over 300 pages but I read it in a day because it was that addictive!

I’ve read almost all Ruth Ware’s books and this is without a doubt my favorite. Like Zero Days, it’s fast paced and addictive but it’s reality TV and what’s more thrilling by than that?!!

I loved the characters, even the unlikable ones! I always say, reality TV needs a bunch of unlikables or it would be boring! I also loved the format of the action, the sos calls and diary entries

For me, the only thing that let it down was the big twist - it was more tell than show which isn’t my jam BUT the book was so action packed, it didn’t feel as crucial as it would in a suspense

I don’t think you need to be a reality tv fan to enjoy this book, by the way - as long as you like action and intrigue, you’re good

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for access to this eBook ARC in exchange for my honest review

Note: Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

It pains me to write this as Ruth Ware is a favorite author of mine and her books The Lying Game and The Woman in Cabin 10 really got me back into reading, but Zero Days and this new book have been flops for me. When I read Ruth's books, I go in for a classic whodunnit plus a lot of really great twists and turns. I feel like her writing is still very well developed, but I wasn't very entertained with her latest story. The one big twist really came in the second to last chapter and it felt very rushed and underwhelming. I think there was so much in the middle that could have been cut out or more clues/easter eggs could have been laid for the reader. This book felt more about survival than actual thrills. And it was already understood who the "murderer" was in the second part of the book.

This is definitely my favorite Ruth Ware book yet! It was worth the lack of sleep.
The deserted island setting sounded glorious until the storm hits -- in more ways than one.
There's lots of girl power and sisterhood in One Perfect Couple. It would be a great book club selection!

I'd just finished reading another reality TV themed book before this one (Everyone Is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf) so I was kind of bummed about this topic at first. As soon as I got through the first couple of chapters, though, it was clear that One Perfect Couple was very different -- in a good way. The characters are not the type of people I'd normally like or want to hang out with, but I was obsessed with this book until finally reaching the end.

I feel like Ruth Ware watched a season of Bachelor in Paradise and was like “but when if this turned in to Lord of the Flies?” And that is this book. It’s a page turner, a little violent but nothing gory or graphic. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend!

This was really good. This was my third book by Ware and my favorite so far. So if you've been wanting to read something by her, I'd recommend this one! In this one. Couples on an island for a reality TV show. Free vacation, right?! Well you start to get the impression that there is already tension between these cast members. Then a storm hits and after this, things really take a turn for the worst. People wind up dead. Is this an accident?! Could there be a killer?! Imagine the show Survivor, and complete chaos. I loved how Ware had diary entries throughout the book,and you wonder how this is going to connect to the story in the end. This definitely kept me guessing. It was a pretty wild ride. It was fast paced and grabbed me from the start.

Out May 21.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. My review will be posted on Instagram, Bookbub, Goodreads, and Amazon once it publishes.

Honestly pretty disappointed with this one. I am not a Ruth Ware fan, so let's be honest up front. This was my last Ruth Ware chance read... that being said.

I think the book isn't being marketed as it should be. It is being marketed as a Thriller, Suspense, Mystery novel and to me it was more of a survival story.

I think Ruth's books are slow paced but this one was even slower. I went into this book thinking it was about these married couples going to a deserted island to film a reality TV show. A terrible storm hits, they get stranded, and then they all start dying. The mystery is how are they dying. What's causing these things?

However, this really isn’t what happens. We know how all these people die (more or less) and we see a few of them on the page.

What's frustrating is we puzzle pieces about connections between some of the characters so we are waiting the entire book for those connections to become relevant. The rest of the story doesn’t seem to be important. This is something I have found common in her books, that's the main downfall to her writing for me personally. I think there is always so much filler that isn't needed. Isn't of any importance.

The book is extremely slow paced, there isn't anything thrilling or exciting and I don't feel like there's anything to really figure out.

"One Perfect Couple" by Ruth Ware is another thrilling addition to her collection. In this novel, couples find themselves competing in a reality TV show on a small island, but things quickly take a dark turn when a big storm hits and tensions rise. With big personalities clashing and secrets lurking, the atmosphere becomes tense and dangerous. Drama, suspense, murder, and deception ensue as the couples navigate the treacherous situation. The question of who can be trusted adds to the gripping storyline, making it a must-read for fans of Ruth Ware's suspenseful novels.

Once again, Ruth Ware for the win! This plot pulled me in from the very first chapter. I finished this book in one sitting and it did not disappoint. It had all of the twist and turns that you look for in a book. This will definitely be on my purchased shelf!