I discovered the author, Ruth Ware, a couple years ago when I read One By One. I then read The It Girl. I loved both of them. I was excited to read The Perfect Couple.

The synopsis led me to believe that it would be a fantastic read. A group of couples are competing in a reality TV show on a deserted tropical island when a storm hits the island. They are totally cut off from the world without electricity and dwindling amounts of food and water. They must learn to survive while it looks like there is a murderer in their midst. This storyline sounds like it would be a real page-turner and thriller. However, I was disappointed with the book. It wasn’t as good as the two other Ruth Ware books that I had read. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. There were a few twists and turns that kept me at the edge of my seat, but for the most part, it dragged.

I have not given up on Ruth Ware, though. I look forward to reading more of her thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a little puzzled about how I feel about this book. On one hand, I had a hard time getting into this book and I really didn’t like the characters all that much. However, on the other hand, there were times when I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what the heck was actually going on.
All in all, I thought this book was pretty good.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This was a super fast read, and while I did enjoy it, I found it to be lacking in the mystery and suspense that I'm used to from this author. I liked the "locked room" island setting, and I had fun rooting for Lyla, who was the only likable character.

I'm a Ruth Ware fan and will be anxiously awaiting her next book!

Thank you @netgalley and @gallerybooks for the #gifted e-arc and physical ARC of this book!

I did not care for this book at all! I thought the idea was there but it lacked excitement. It was also too drawn out.

I love Ruth ware and will read anything she writes!one perfect couple is set on an island where couples have been deserted. One of them is a murderer and they need to find them before they all die.

Ruth Ware has become an auto-buy author for me, so I was incredibly eager to read her latest summer thriller. While it sounded a bit different from her usual domestic thriller fare, I was interested to see what she could do with an isolated island setting. This book begins with a couple winning a spot in a reality TV show set on a tropical island, competing with a few other couples to find the "perfect couple." Things quickly take a turn when our protagonist couple is separated and a tropical storm isolates the island from the outside world. Now the contestants are forced to band together for survival. There's plenty of drama, betrayal, alliances formed, and secrets revealed. There were even a few genuinely tear-jerking moments, which I didn't expect from a book like this. The novel touches on some heavier subjects as well, in a way that kept this rather farfetched story feeling grounded and real. The characters all felt distinct and different, and the way Ware has them interact with each other (for good or bad) was genuinely enjoyable. I highly recommend this book to lovers of isolated island thrillers.
Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery/Scout Press for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I no longer know if Ruth Ware is for me. Though an interesting plot, One Perfect Couple felt 300 pages too long. We were going in circles and the characters all felt one dimensional. The writing felt subpar and there wasn't a true plot twist. It feels like a good idea wasted on a bad author.

Thank you to Ruth Ware and Gallery Books for my copy of One Perfect Couple!
This was a reality tv version of a book. It was super fun, lots of drama, and way over the top. You have to suspend belief immediately, and then this book is easy to enjoy. I loved the premise of the reality tv show and the location of a resort in the middle of nowhere. It was just like if Love Island went wrong.

I didn’t like any of the characters and they were hard to root for. I thought it was hard to connect with them because there wasn’t much background established. It was a fun popcorn thriller with an “And Then There Were None” trope. I think it could have been a bit more mysterious, as the reveal, if you can even call it that, fell pretty flat and was obvious. It’s a fun beach read, but I wasn’t necessarily wowed. 3-stars

Ruth Ware is the queen of thrillers! I really enjoy thrillers that include a reality TV aspect. This book was fantastic! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I read this book in one night. Thank you to Galley for the ARC.

British author Ruth Ware is often compared to Agatha Christie, and her books are brilliant takes on Christie’s classic locked-door mysteries. Her latest book, One Perfect Couple, is a modern telling of Christie’s famous And Then There Were None, along with a dose of The Lord of the Flies. When five couples sail to a desert island to compete on a reality TV show, the stakes are more than roses and fame—they’re life and death.

Virus researcher Lyla has hit a dead end with her latest project—the numbers just don’t add up. When her boyfriend, struggling actor Nico, is offered an opportunity to compete on the new reality TV series One Perfect Couple, it seems like a great chance to take a break. The couples will fly to Jakarta, then take a seven-hour boat ride to a new island resort in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Along with Lyla and Nico, the other couples include Conor and Zana, Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, and Joel and Romi. The players hunker down for the duration: No phones or laptops, a game that lasts six to eight weeks.

But after the first challenge, a violent storm batters the island, leaving two people dead, others injured, the electricity off, and no way to contact the boat. As the survivors band together to salvage what’s left of the food and water, it gradually becomes clear that one of them is a danger to the rest. And then the dying starts.

One Perfect Couple unfolds at a dizzying pace, even in the early scenes setting up Lyla and Nico’s relationship and the later parts of the book when days turn into weeks. Ware’s narrative voice is perfect for suspense, and unlike many authors in the genre, she writes in the past tense, making it easier for the reader to lose herself in the prose. Lyla is the first-person narrator, and as a scientist who doesn’t watch reality TV, she’s an ideal stand-in for the reader.

Interspersed with Lyla’s narration is the diary that Zana updates as events unfold. And Zana’s take is a lot different than Lyla’s descriptions. But her entries are so short and seem so divorced from the experience of trying to survive on a desert island that I never doubted Lyla’s account, and I wondered Ware’s purpose for including the diary. That reasoning doesn’t come clear until the end, when it plays a part in tying everything together.

There were a few twists that I’d anticipated that did not play out. The book is a lot more straightforward than other offerings in the genre, and readers expecting to be tricked may be disappointed. By the end, though, I was happy that my predictions didn’t come to fruition. Rather than playing games with her readers, Ware is able to tell two stories: One about a group of people stranded on a desert island, and the other about toxic masculinity, the importance of trusting a fear response, and how our culture is set up to both glorify and excuse its perpetrators. This “second story” is another way in which Ware resembles Christie. Many of Dame Agatha’s murder mysteries, especially Miss Marple’s, have subtle messaging about sexism and abuse of women.

One Perfect Couple is another home run for one of Britain’s leading crime fiction writers. Every fan of the genre should have her books in their libraries.

I was really looking forward to starting this book. I was ready for all the twists and turns. Sadly, this book was merely okay. I was expecting a high-tension read. Instead, what I read was a book that had no mystery, no plot twists, and no plot holes. This was more of a TV reality show (survivor-like show), but the contestants, who are very cliche, are being killed off one by one. And you know who the killer is. Ugh!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the E-ARC.

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

On paper, Lyla and Nico don't make sense. She's a scientist and he's a struggling actor, their lives couldn't be more different. But they've been together for two years and are, for the most part, happy. When Nico comes to Lyla with a proposition to go on a reality TV show, she hesitates even though she knows it could change both of their lives. She's in a rut professionally, and she's desperate to get out, but a reality show? Her? Despite her hesitancy, she agrees to give it a shot - a choice that she would probably take back if she could.

When Lyla, Nico, and their fellow competitors arrive on the island, they notice things are not quite as they were billed to be. The majority of the resort is still under construction, theres limited resources, and there's a storm brewing (because of course there is). The first challenge brings tension, and when the storm cuts off the competitors from any contact from the mainland they must work together to survive the elements and each other.

If Fyre Festival and The Bachelor in Paradise had a love child and a serial killer in the cast...it would be this book. What could have been a silly, over the top scenario was dealt with a deft hand by Ruth Ware, as always.

Lyla, is a scientist, and Nico, is a struggling actor. The two have been dating for two years, but have hit a wall as their relationship doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Nico is blown away when he’s presented with the opportunity to appear on a new reality television show, being pitched as… One Perfect Couple. After much persuasion, he convinces Lyla to join him explaining that it would really bolster his career. Lyla very reluctantly takes time off work to join him on set, a remote Indonesian island. It’s tropical and beautiful and she thinks this might actually be a good vacation. There are romantic huts, beautiful crystal clear water, palm trees, and lots of food and alcohol. After all the crew wants the couples, relaxed and loose lipped. Ding ding ding… behind the beautiful facade, there are some concerns. The director seems off, not to mention, most of the crew leaves every night and returns in the morning. One night a really bad storm hits the island and there's a lot of damage to the rooms and one of the palm trees falls on a hut and kills someone. To make matters worse, the boat with the director and supplies never returns. Did they go missing during the storm? Now the couples are stranded on this remote island with no communication. Part of the agreement was that there would be no cellphone usage, therefore all phones were taken away. It’s a small island and all the water is saltwater so water supplies are an immediate problem. Food is also an issue because there were to be deliveries regularly, but they don’t deliver! And as desperate people tend to do,there is back biting and people turning against each other. So you see there is a ton of suspense here.

This Ruth Ware is not one of my more favoured novels she has penned, but still it’s very good,

Lyla is a smart scientist and Nicole is a jerk struggling to be an actor. I was surprised she would agree to this escapade with Nico. Otherwise the plot is quite believable. There is no mad monster stalking and killing the couples, instead, just regular peopke in desperate situations.


While anxious and thrilling the story line and the great deal of dialogue dragged for me

Lyla is in a rut professionally and in her relationship with aspiring actor boyfriend, Nico. When Nico presents an opportunity (more for himself to increase his social media visibility) to enter a reality dating competition with four other couples, she begrudgingly agrees despite her reservations. She finally concedes to Nico - who could deny a free vacation on a remote island with a cash prize for the winning couple? Despite the idyllic setting, the first challenge quickly mounts tension amongst participants. When a storm hits, participants are cut off from producers and the mainland, thus must work together to survive on the island. A satirical commentary on the extreme reality dating shows with alternating POV and a not-quite-so-reliable narrator. Ruth Ware has created a whirlwind mystery that leaves readers on the edge of their seat to find out who is the One Perfect Couple.

I was very excited to get my hands on this book early. It was good, but it wasn’t quite what I expected. There wasn’t much of a mystery, it was a very slow burn. It all came together in the last few chapters. But it wasn’t that kind of revelation that that surprises you. There was not much on the reality TV front, as they never even began the show technically so that was disappointing. But overall it was a good read. If you’re looking for lots of twists and surprises this is not the story for you. It’s more a story of survival and will they or won’t they. So if you go in with this in mind, you will find it enjoyable. For reference, I love this author, and her books, just went into this one with different expectations.

This was the first book by this author that I have read.
It wasn’t bad but I really thought it would be more.
I read reviews that said it was extremely suspensful and scary. Sorry I didn’t find that. Maybe I’ll try another one if her books!

This was great! I've read Ruth Ware before and this definitely lived up to my expectations. I struggled at first to get into the story, but I was gripped as soon as the storm hit. I read the vast majority of this book in one day because I just had to know what was going on (the diary entries that contradicted the actual events really got to me - I had to know what made that character lie like that). I would easily recommend to anyone looking for a good thriller, especially as we approach a new season of the Bachelorette this summer.

A new Reality TV show filmed on a remote island. Five couples. A storm on the horizon. No cell service or contact with the outside world. What could go wrong? Turns out, EVERYTHING. The storm hits, and the producers have abandoned the island leaving the contestants to fend for themselves. Everything becomes about survival. There are power dynamics at play, tensions flare, people die, and there's literally no way to request help or get off the island. Ruth Ware does a fantastic job of taking the reader into the novel. I enjoyed this book from start to finish.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.

Many thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for this copy!

Ugh. I wanted to like this book. I really did, but I just couldn't get into it. I found it boring, if you can believe that. I normally face liked Ware's books but this one just didn't do it for me, unfortunately.

Ruth Ware is one of my absolute favorite suspense authors. While "One Perfect Couple" was good, I don't think it was one of her best. The story line was a little flat to me.