This was my first Ruth Ware novel and it was pretty good! I really liked the main character and connected with her. I did think the story dragged on a bit at the beginning, but I liked the ending.

I need another Turn of the Key from you, Ruth. This is a thriller set on a remote island where they participate in a competition called, "One Perfect Couple." It's very clear from the outset that none of the couples are that perfect. The reasoning behind the reason why all the scary and survivally events happened was very meh to me. I felt like this could have been so much more than it was. I understand trying to help your actor boyfriend, but the reluctance was so strong from the beginning. There is a continuous theme throughout the book of violence against women, so one may want to consider that before picking this up.

Thank you to Netgalley and @gallerybooks for the ARC for an honest review.

One Perfect Couple begins with Nico and Layla entering a Reality Television Contest on a deserted island. After a storm, the contestants begin dying. Is someone killing them? Can they survive? Despite an interesting premise, this book had a slow start. I did eventually get hooked and read the remaining half quickly. It didn’t have the usual big reveal or twist that I expect from Ruth Ware. The ending was satisfying and overall, it was an enjoyable read.

Not my favorite Ruth Ware but overall it was good. Seemed similar to other recent books I had Read.

This was so so good! Ruth ware is an autobuy author for me at this point! This was so thrilling and I couldn’t put it down.the twist totally shocked me!

Nico is an aspiring actor and Lyla is a scientist. She has a lot more going for her than he does. He is always waiting for his big break. A chance to be on a reality show pops up and he begs Lyla to take a leave from work to do it with him.

My irritation with Nico began immediately as he was so desperate to do this show, he acted like a teenage boy, in my opinion, while trying to talk her into it. She concedes and they take off to an island to film with the other couples. Right off the bat a storm swoops in on them and terrible things begin to happen.

This story is fun, thrilling and relevant because of all of the reality shows out there now. Was this all I feel it could have been? No. Ruth Ware is one of the top thriller queens and some of her others were better. However, this was a good one and worth the read.

The characters were irritating, for the most part, but they made the story work. We get closure in the end albeit, nothing over-the-top spectacular. I did in fact enjoy this book and it has some fabulous drama and thrilling suspense. I always look forward to Ruth Ware’s books and the next one can’t come soon enough. Check this one out; it’s a quick, hair-raising read. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book.

Lots of good here in this story, but there are also parts that were rather far fetched. The premise is that of a reality tv show for couples. Tragedy strikes and survival of one, or more, is in the balance. When life is one the line, do you really know whom you can trust? One of the hang ups on my end is that of the title - I get it, but thought there were many better options. Thanks to NetGalley for this one. I think I’ll keep my vacations to a lake rather than a remote island.

BOOK REVIEW: ONE PERFECT COUPLE

“Welcome to Ever Island, contestants! Here we’ll be finding out who among you us truly the perfect couple — and who are Mr. and mismatched.”

The premise of this one sounds enticing- 4 couples go to a remote island to shoot a new reality show where they compete in different challenges and ultimately find out if their partner they came with is their soulmate or if it’s someone else on the island.

Pretty soon after arriving on the island, our MC Lyla realized some things are off…and then a huge storm hits and things quickly turn into a life or death situation.

Ruth Ware’s books are hit or miss for me and this one was unfortunately more of a miss. The pacing in this one was a bit off and I feel like it could have been like 100 pages shorter. I wish there was more about the reality TV show to develop the characters a bit more before the storm hit and everyone went into survival mode.

I binged this one in a day at the beach and breezed through it pretty quickly and it was enjoyable but not my fav Ware novel!

The biggest takeaway from this book is that there is no perfect couple depicted within the pages.

I see what Ruth Ware did, she tried to make a fast paced thriller just in time for those summer vacations. That's what this felt like. There was little mystery, we knew what the issues were and who the bad person was early on. Every character is unlikable in some way.
We are stranded on an island, food is running out, the storms are rolling in and there is some angry people on the island. Set up was basic but I was here for Wares writing which is always so easy to get lost in.

I did enjoy the women empowerment theme that ultimately threw me off at the end when the "survivors" did certain things but there is no real big twisty ending so if you're looking for that this is not it!

Disappointed by the latest from Ruth Ware... I found myself just not caring about any particular characters which really killed the suspense. Without anyone to really root for I found myself losing interest and felt like a slog to get through. I felt some of the explanations to be far fetched and unbelievable. Perhaps the reality television focus was just off putting for me personally, each of the characters were insufferable in their own way at least. Overall not my favorite.

I am a fan of Ruth Ware’s books, but this was not a favorite. One problem was that I found it difficult to keep the large cast of characters straight. And while I realize that it was necessary to pick the characters off one by one, I felt that the pacing dragged in the middle of the book. I did appreciate the references to Lord of the Flies - how could the author avoid it?? Having Angel light a copy of The Woman in Cabin 10 to signal a passing ship was a perfect touch. If readers are expecting a big twist at the end, this book does not deliver.

This is a fun spin on the classic locked room thriller - toss a bunch of reality show competitors on an island, strand them, and then someone starts killing people off. I love unreliable narrators and playing the whodunnit game so I really enjoyed that aspect of this story. The second half of the book really picks up and was a lot of fun. The beginning dragged a tad for me during the setup but it all ties in pretty well as the story continues. This is a great summery thriller. I think fans of Agatha Christie style books will love it.

If you've watched the show Lost - it's like a mini version of that. Minus the paranormal parts. Watching people fight over water and hide resources can only be entertaining for so long- so maybe another twist or two in the middle would help keep readers engaged. It did feel a little bit long in parts.

Disappointed by Ruth Ware lately as an author. Yes, she rights a food and suspenseful book. Yes, sometimes she has some good characters, but some are also very unlikable and cringey, it is part of being a good author. My experience reading her last few books have been the same due to predictable plots/reveals and lackluster endings.

It took awhile for me to read this one because I was reading better books and I read this one in stages. Underwhelmed, yet again.

Cannot recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, Ruth Ware and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

already available

Ooooh this was so good!!! Truly could not put it down and was reading a page here or a paragraph there whenever I could get a spare moment to myself.

I wish we spent less time in England at the beginning - that much lead up wasn’t necessary and made it a slower start than it needed to be. Then once we arrive on the island, I wish there had been a little more show content (because it was really fun, like reading a guilty pleasure reality tv show!). Everything that happened afterward was appropriately paced to me.

The content was frustrating at times, but very easy to see how each situation could’ve arisen. The characters handle their circumstances with less bumbling and idiocy than other books with characters in a locked-room “thriller” type book, which I appreciated.

Things wrapped up pretty cleanly and while it wasn’t necessarily a happy ending, it felt mostly satisfying.

4.5 rounded up!

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.