Interesting and written pretty good, but the ending seemed a bit obvious to be honest which was a shame

In her debut novel, Nicole Hackett weaves an engaging and thrilling story that deftly explores the pervasive, and often false, world of influencer culture.

When Alabama Wood goes missing two days into a promotional trip to Iceland, all of the influencers on the trip are called into question. There is no shortage of secrets between the women and the blurred lines between their online personas and real-life personalities make it hard to determine who is telling the truth about what they know.

Using multiple POVs and jumping back and forth in time, Hackett skillfully leads readers through the lives of the influencers before they embark on their Icelandic adventure right through to their return home, where they must all navigate the aftermath of the experience.

Each of the characters was likable and unlikable in their own way which made them perfectly human and relatable. The themes of friendship, motherhood and the pressure of social media were all handled with care and depth. I couldn’t put this book down and am looking forward to whatever Hackett writes next.

THE PERFECT ONES releases on May 2, 2023 and you should definitely add this to your list.

My thanks to Crooked Lane Books for the advance reading copy.

Everyone wants to be a "influencer" these days. In this story, top influencers around the country meet in Iceland for a conference. All seems to be going well until superstar Alabama goes missing. Told in alternate POV's and secrets are revealed, everyone is a suspect.

We also hear perspective on their inside lives, not just what is portrayed on social. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

I can never resist a novel that portrays the dark side of social media and what it does… our whole life revolves around influencers, the Gram, cyber stalking, portraying a perfect life that doesn’t exist. and so much more
Now. It’s a scary world out there and this novel nailed it.

Social media influencers attend a trip to Iceland together when one woman goes missing. Follow the lives of the woman's best friend and the influencer she most admires leading up to the incident and after things fall apart.
The characters were well written with depth and relatability. The settings were described in vivid detail with a real sense that the author knew what she was writing about. The story was interesting and engaging. However, the ending was a little too abrupt for me and left me with unanswered questions. I think it could have easily taken another twist or turn before wrapping up.

I am not sure how to feel.
The Perfect Ones

Some influencers go on a sponsored trip to Iceland. I don't remember exactly how many there were as all of them are inconsequential and completely undeveloped except for our main three characters: Hollie, Celeste, and Alabama. Hollie is the most popular by far, with over a million followers, and Alabama is looking to grow her following and thinks befriending Hollie is the way to get there. But something has happened, and she's gone missing. It is quickly established that Hollie, who didn't even know Alabama before the trip, and Celeste, Alabama's best friend since college, are both hiding things that may be related to her disappearance.

I very quickly realized I do not relate to any of these characters in the slightest. I think they're early 30s, all are influencers, hot and fit due to discipline and effort. Except Celeste, who doesn't really care about those things and is ten pounds overweight but still effortlessly attracts enough followers to have a profitable business. Of course there is more than meets the eye, as with all influencers, but the very real issues characters dealt with later on (binge eating, mental illness, issues surrounding having children) don't feel authentic to each character. With the exception of the one used as the main plot device, which is not a good look.

The timeline is... A lot. We get scenes from three months ago, the day before, the day after, and finally "the night of," which were revealing but not as dramatic as I felt like I was led to believe. There is so much back and forth, building suspense really well, but I feel like it fell short. The end could've been more surprising if it had done a little less post-climax, because at a certain point there were only two ways the story could go, and both were predictable.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

Maybe she was just very good at telling lies people wanted to believe.

The Perfect Ones is an interesting thriller set in the lives of three instagram influencers on a sponsored trip to celebrate, connect, or pit them against each other. It starts off with one, Alabama Woods, disappearing. It time jumps a bit so we never get a straight story as to what happened until the author wants you to know. You may think along the way you've figured it out, but then here comes a twist in the narrative having you reconsider.

As a regular person, having no influencer capabilities whatsoever, I found the book an interesting take on cultivated appearance versus reality. The thoughts they each had and the planning, risks and rewards to keep that top status made for a good read in this debut novel. By the end, I still wanted more though there were no more pages. I'm already anticipating her next book.

“The Perfect One’s” by Nicole Hackett was, unfortunately, far from perfect. I had high hopes for this book about influencers on a trip to Iceland but the book failed to hold my interest.

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

A stunning novel about an influencer trip to Iceland gone wrong. When one of the influencers goes missing, each influencer questions that night and their lives. But, did that night actually happen, or was it a trick to gain more followers?

A group of influential women go on a trip to broaden their spectrum of social media outreach. This books hits on so many levels of our current world, in the way that people feel the need to be liked, loved and important. And that social media is the way to achieve that.
The story takes some twists in things that can happen in every day life, with autism, infidelity, infertility, eating disorders, etc. The author hits the nail on the head with many issues we all face from time to time. And the extremes people will take for those things.
I read this book in one day. Literally an 8 hour car ride. Recommend 100%

The Perfect Ones – Nicole Hackett
When influencers are treated to a trip in Iceland, no one expects it to be the source of tragedy as Alabama Woods goes missing and is presumed to be dead.
Celeste, Alabama’s closest friend blames herself. She knew something wasn’t quite right with Alabama and as she reaches out to Alabama’s husband, she is only left with the guilt of her own mistakes. Upon seeing communication with her husband, Alabama puts the pieces together and everyone hears their explosive fight.
Hollie felt Alabama’s presence immediately as the girls were introduced to each other. She knew this girl was coming on strong, and maybe under different circumstances, Hollie may have encouraged the admiration, but Hollie took this trip to escape the mess of her life she left behind at home. As Alabama continues to push and push, she only pushes Hollie to a breaking point instead of encouraging the relationship she had hoped for.
As they’re questioned by the police, Hollie and Celeste both do their best to keep their secrets under wraps, while hoping with everything in them that Alabama is found. Is this the price of “Insta fame”?
I have been incredibly undecided in my opinion of this novel. I love the concept as influencers have taken a real role in society and everyone wants to be one. The levels people will go to for the fame are nothing short of what's represented in The Perfect Ones. However, the writing itself I found to be annoyed with. The author seemed to overly describe scenes, trying a bit too hard to “paint a picture”. In the end I decided to go with ⭐⭐⭐/5. This was Nicole Hackett’s debut novel and I can’t wait to see what’s next for her!
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! :)

An inconsistently gripping thriller about influencers on an...influencing trip in Iceland. A missing woman. Mental illness. Boring at times, annoying at times, much like influencers themselves.

A very entertaining read, a sly side-eye look at the world of influencers and how reality can often fall short compared to the carefully curated world of social media.
An interesting story with a well-paced plot set in a stunning location which adds to the unease and mystery. A novel to demolish on holiday!

Thank you NetGalley for the book. I liked the cover of the book and the description of the story had me intrigued. I was interested in the beginning. However, felt as though the story was flat and we were always missing information. I can see that was a part of the story, but felt we never got answers on what happened. I also felt the ending was a bit predictable, not to give it away. And I didn’t love how it ended. I wanted to love this book more than I actually did.

A thriller about an influencer trip gone wrong sounded like a great read to me but I ended up having to force myself to finish it. This book just didn’t hold my interest like I hoped it would and is not one I would recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This one started off strong, but unfortunately fell flat for me. The characters were underdeveloped and I wasn’t able to connect to them. The plot was all over the place and I felt like it didn’t really ever go anywhere. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was sold as soon as I saw the book was centred around a group of influencers. I was expecting juicy drama and bold characters - sadly I didn’t get either of those things.

The main reason I didn’t connect with this book is because I felt like the characters behaviour wasn’t consistent throughout, and sometimes felt unnatural. Over all I think this book just didn’t align with how I see influencers, so I felt disconnected from the start.

I was also a bit put off by the over descriptive sentences. I don’t mind over descriptive writing in general, but it has to add something extra to the story. I feel like a lot of the words in this book could’ve been cut out without impacting the story.

There was a small oversight/plot hole that I couldn’t get over and it bugged me throughout the book - I won’t add it here because I don’t want to include spoilers but if you’ve read it I’m sure you’ll know what I’m talking about!

I would try another book from this author because I appreciate the idea behind it but this one was sadly not for me!

Set on a trip in Iceland for social media influencers during which one goes missing, THE PERFECT ONES is both a windy mystery and a commentary on influencer culture. The perspective alternates between the women on the trip: Texan Hollie, an established influencer whose home life is falling apart; mom Celeste (best friend of missing Alabama), who feels like an impostor despite her online success; and Alabama herself, whose obsessive nature and social media striving may have led to her disappearance. This is a fun, engrossing psychological thriller that compelled me to finish and painted a vivid picture of the darker underbelly beneath the Instagram grid.

I love a thriller that incorporates a modern twist-- influencers on an Iceland trip sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, this never quite caught my interest. While the characters were interesting, the story lacked propulsion and I struggled to keep them straight (Hollie and Celeste were, to my mind, very similar and I had to frequently remind myself who was who based on the other people in their lives). I wanted to like this a whole lot more than I did.

Y’all. I tried. The influencers didn’t bother me. The plot didn’t bother me. The ending didn’t bother me. The story taking forever to get anywhere did. I was like surely we are getting somewhere near a climax and I looked at my % read and I’ll be darned if I wasn’t even 40% thru the book. I’d already started and stopped it a few times at that point. I feel this book could be really good but my word it goes on and on and on.

I hate to leave a negative review bec I do believe authors put their hearts on these pages. Best I can do is not publish mine elsewhere.