As the couple added to a reality show, Lyla and Nico end up on an island paradise with four other couples. However, this is not your usual survivor wannabe. Here they encounter storms from the ocean and within the group. You will be on the edge of your seat to see how and how the lucky one are who survive.

Thank you to NetGalley for the book! I thought it started off a little slow, but it ended up being a wild ride in the last 60% of the book.

My only qualm, which was rectified later in the book, is that Nico and Lyla would never even be friends in real life, let alone bf/gf. Lyla seemed lonely and kind of sad in the beginning.

Ruth Ware is one of my favorite thriller authors, so it kills me to say that this one didn’t work for me. By all accounts it should have. I love locked room/stranded/deserted thrillers, I love reality tv, and I love tropical locations in books. Unfortunately, despite it having all my favorite things I didn’t care for this one and here’s why. First, it’s SLOW. We get to know the characters prior to their trip to the Ever After Island in the Indian Ocean, which was fine, then we learn what is expected of them for the reality portion of the show (again, fine) then a storm hits. What happens next should have been tense and suspenseful because suddenly these people are stranded on an island with limited food and water, no communication to the outside world aside from pone radio device, and then eventually a killer. I wasn’t nervous for them (maybe a little thirsty) but not nervous. I never had a foreboding feeling that the killer was going to kill off anyone because it’s barely talked about in the book (small mentions YES but nothing big to where we should feel scared for these characters). And finally, we basically know who the killer is from the start. It’s extremely obvious from the get-go who it is making the mystery portion extremely lacking. The ending was too easy as well. Had it picked up in intensity I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Despite my feelings on this book, I’ll continue to read Ruth Ware because I love her books and she’s one of my favorites. But this one won’t go down for being a top read of the year.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙
❥ Thrillers
❥ Stranded/Deserted Thrillers
❥ Tropical Locations

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐

One Perfect Couple has allowed me to understand something about my reading style: I think Ruth Ware is a good author whose stories I don’t connect with. The overall story is fine but I never connected with any characters or the plot and this has been the case with her other books.

Trigger Warning: murder, graphic death, strong language, infidelity

If you love reality shows such as Love Island and Survivor, this book is for you! A deserted island, a reality TV show, a diabetic, a murderer, and a large cash prize combine to create an engaging, fast-paced novel. One hot mess after another, where everything that can go wrong does. Distinct characters, and some you love to hate, pull readers in. There's so much drama that you don't want to put the book down until you see who, if anyone, will survive.

Most of the characters are very unlikable, which makes it a bit difficult to get in to at first, but I enjoyed reading the strong female characters and seeing their growth. Also, there wasn’t really any big twist, the plot was a bit foreshadowed and predictable. Overall, a decent fast paced summer setting thriller, but not my favorite Ruth Ware book that I’ve read.

Ruth Ware is one of my favorites. This was a fun read. I love the idea of how uncomfortable that reality show could have been. Then it took a turn and became a book about survival. I wasn’t sure how it was going to end but I knew who I didn’t want to end up in top. I always enjoy Ware’s books and look forward to the next one. This is recommended to mystery readers.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Gallery Books, and Ruth Ware for allowing me to review this page turning thriller. I loved this book so much. I am a sucker for anything reality tv and it’s even better when the contestants go missing one by one. While those aspects are part of the book it quickly shifts to more of a survival on a deserted island with strangers type of a thriller. I loved the shift in the storyline just as much. The diary entries were so interesting and kept me guessing the entire time. I stayed up late to finish this book! I just couldn’t put it down. I adore Ruth Ware and can’t wait to read what she writes next. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers.

Ruth Ware is a a really good mystery and suspense writer. This new title is set in an reality show paradise where 5 couples are vyig for the title of The Perfect Couple. Contestants have various reasons for wanting to compete-most looking for publicity to further their entertainment career. A storm interferes with the competition which quickly turns to survival. Reminescent of Christie's THEN THERE WERE NONE, I hadd to set that aside as I read.

3.5 stars rounded down

This story was crazy. Lyla agrees to go on a new reality tv show, despite reservations, at the urging of her boyfriend. He believes this is his moment to get famous, so they make a plan that will best put him in the spotlight. From the start, she doesn't get a good vibe from production. Once filming starts it only gets worse, a freak storm cuts off their connection to the mainland and claims the lives of some of the cast members. Things only go from bad to worse, and they soon realize that something very sinister is at play and there is a killer amongst them. The story is told from multiple points of view, and catalogs their fight for survival. Secrets and twists abound.

This was prolly my favorite Ruth Ware book yet. It was a page turner. Lots of characters and not the easiest to keep track of them all but the main ones stick through and keep the ball rolling. I appreciated every bit of the wrap ups and felt pretty fulfilled by the end of the book. Was super excited to read this book and it was a well worth the wait pick!

Not her best work. Story line seemed pretty out there. Reactions of characters weren’t very believable.

Ruth Ware has the ability to grab me from the beginning and keep me hooked until the last page. Her writing style is top notch. I love the array of characters and this read like a movie playing out in my head. I was anxiously waiting for whatever was going to happen next.

This book started out so interesting! I was intrigued with the whole set up...filming a couples reality show on a remote island...a storm comes and causes them to be stranded with no communication..and then people start dying one by one. I'm always game for a good stuck on a deserted island with a killer story! So I was ready to dive with my popcorn and eat this one up.

But then it just fizzled out in the last third of the book. So many of these modern thrillers have a wild crazy twist at the end, and I appreciated that this story was not super twisty. But at the same time, there was also no mystery or suspense or intrigue as the story progressed. It really dragged at the end as the author tried to explain the story and make all the ends meet.

It started with promise but ended up being not my favorite.

Ruth Ware's One Perfect Couple throws you right onto Ever After Island, where couples are chasing fame and fortune on a reality TV show in the middle of the gorgeous Indian Ocean. It starts off feeling like a mashup of Survivor and Love Island, but things take a serious turn when a nasty storm hits, stranding everyone and kicking off some seriously unsettling stuff.

The book dives deep into survival, lies, and how people crack under pressure. It starts with all the drama you'd expect from a reality show, but then it gets into the heads of the contestants. Ware digs into their secrets and struggles, showing us what really makes them tick and how they handle tough situations.

Unlike your typical mystery, One Perfect Couple isn't about whodunit but more about the messed-up dynamics between the characters. They're stuck dealing with not just each other but also the dangerous aftermath of the storm. Even though it's not a twisty mystery, Ware's storytelling keeps you hooked. It's all about how people act when pushed to their limits, and it makes for a gripping read that's more about human nature than solving a crime.

I’d give this 4.6/5. This is my first Ruth Ware novel but with a comparison to Agatha Christie, I felt compelled to check out One Perfect Couple. I thought it was a clever premise. The characters felt fully fleshed out and believable. The suspense was enough to keep me curious but did not lead to a stressful read. This was a great mystery for the summer.

This was a fun, fast-paced read that felt like a feminist Lord of the Flies. I really enjoyed this one, and it's ending was satisfying despite not featuring the typical thriller plot twist!

This one didn't work as well for me as some of Ruth Ware's other books. That said, if you are a fan of the jerk getting his just desserts, then this is a great one for you!! There are strong women characters and women characters that find their strength as well.

What didn't work for me: The murderer is obvious from very early on. Any twist is about relationships and motives for things that didn't happen. Not the killer's motive, which is written off to psychopathy. My disconnect may also be related to not being into reality TV or online personalities. I had a very hard time relating to characters until their pretences were stripped away, letting some humanity show through. And I've been through grad school like our main narrator! Unfortunately, this was only true for a few characters, and for the most part characters actions were just the thing for the plot to move along.

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4

This was fairly good as mild thrillers go. I liked it because it actually didn't feel like a thriller for the first part. And even when it started to, it was kind of in an eery creepy way and less in an omg serial killers, murders, etc. thriller kind of way.

I'm a reality show fan, so I enjoyed that One Perfect Couple is about the filming of a couples adventure type dating show on an island. The main character, a scientist named Lyla, is an unlikely reality show contestant. But her boyfriend Nico is an aspiring actor and thinks this could be the big break he needs for his career. So, she agrees to go on the show with him, which is being filmed on a remote island with several other couples. But soon after they arrive, things start to go very wrong.

There were a few details that drove me a bit crazy... Like the fact that none of the reality show contestants seemed to realize they'd have to give up their phones while filming. Anyone who's seen pretty much any reality show competition knows this is pretty much always the case. Some of them were also shocked there were cameras in the bedrooms, which hello?? It didn't appear that anyone had actually read the contract for the show before they signed it.

Anyway, this didn't really feel like typical Ruth Ware to me, but I was entertained enough and think it will be a great summer read for many.

What happens when you are stranded on a desert island with strangers? This is the tale of Lyla after her boyfriend lands them a spot on a new reality TV show. But when the storm of the century hits the island, the remaining contestants are stranded with no ability to contact the outside world. How will they survive? Ruth Ware has done it again with another thriller. Enjoyable every second, even when it started to have Lord of the Flies vibes.