One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware caught my attention just by the name. However when I started reading the book I was totally blown away. I had to really pay attention to the characters/storyline because there is a lot going on.

Overall a good book by a great author!

This was an interesting book. - has all the trappings for a twisty, fast paced, beach read. I enjoy reality tv and like mysteries - this was both. It took me a while to get into it and know all the characters - there are many! Readers who like "Love island" may enjoy this book but it felt too forced and contrived for me. Ruth Ware is an author who is hit or miss for me - One by One is her best work - atmospheric. This tries to do that in a tropical island and fails. I will definitely read her next though!

Ruth Ware's 'One Perfect Couple' is shaping up to be her standout thriller yet, primed to be the talk of the town this season! From the very start, I was hooked on the gripping journey of Lyla and Nico, thrown into a reality show that quickly turns into a fight for survival.

As they navigate the challenges of the competition, the tension keeps rising, pulling you deeper into the story. What begins as a slow build soon explodes into a whirlwind of suspense and intrigue, leaving you eagerly flipping pages to uncover what happens next. With authentic characters and a clever twist of a reality show within a novel, 'One Perfect Couple' is a must-read for any thriller enthusiast.

This one felt a little different from the typical Ruth Ware formula, and I appreciated it. I felt like I was on the deserted island, and was very concerned with the survival of the characters and how the island brought out different parts of their personality. Everyone handles the pressure differently.

It didn't read as much like one of her locked room mystery's in that the deaths were mostly explained as they occurred, so the end felt less satisfying as I hoped, but I did enjoy the Lord of the Flies aspect of the novel.

Perhaps my favorite mystery author Ruth Ware always manages to find an interesting setting for her novels. This time she takes us to a remote tropical island in Indonesia where the filming of a reality show is taking a bad turn when an unexpected storm hits the island.

I really wanted to love this book. I enjoyed past Ruth Ware books, but unlike most thrillers, this book didn't surprise me. It kept my interest and attention, but it wasn't my favorite book of all time. I will still be looking forward to her next book, but this one missed the mark for me.

I am a big fan of Ruth Ware, but this was not a favorite. Good story line and interesting, but I enjoyed more of her mystery plots in other books and this one kind of ended flat.

A page turner that I devoured in a weekend, as I’ve come to expect from Ruth Ware. I loved the premise of the Love Island type tv show and the different characters included. Lyla was a great protagonist and when I got to know the other characters a little better they all had depths to them that weren’t immediately apparent. A few little things were bothering me as I read which I detailed below, they include minor spoilers.
I did really enjoy this one though and couldn’t put it down.

SPOILERS
I thought that there was a way to distill sea water somehow to make it drinkable, I’m sure as a scientist Lyla would know something about that. I could be wrong though. The other thing that bugged me was that no one realized that Santana needed insulin after her head injury. Her diabetes had been talked about so much and her insulin going missing was a big deal.

As a fan of Ruth Ware in general: This just became my favorite title of hers! The beginning felt "off" and I wasn't sure the storyline was going to hold up to Ware's usual strong writing, but I was wrong (and so happy to be wrong!). I appreciated the duality (and duplicity) of characters, the tension held in the storyline, the way it was written--the journal entries, the mayday calls, and figuring out how each bit actually fits in the plot was definitely part of the fun for me...just a solid, enjoyable read all-around.

My thanks to NetGalley and Gallery books for the chance to preview this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow, this one was hard to finish. It took me a long time to finish because I just couldn’t get into the story. It had potential, but fell very flat for me.

When I see Ruth Ware's name on a book, I am already intrigued. What will she come up with this time?

One Perfect Couple is a bit on theme with One By One and a tip of the Hat to Agatha's, And Then There Were None.
Lyla is a virologist working to recreate, and thus confirm, the outcome of her predecessor's research which, if reproducible, would be a very big scientific break through. Try as she might, she cannot reproduce the results. Lyla is frustrated with work and not all that happy with her relationship with her actor/boyfriend, Nico. Nico is eternally optimistic about his threadbare career, which leaves Lyla as the breadwinner.

Nico gets an opportunity to participate in a reality television pilot for a yet to be launched tv network. The only problem is, the show is looking to find "One Perfect Couple," so Lyla would have to come too, or no show for Nico. In a last ditch effort to be supportive and try to make the relationship work, Lyla agrees.

Days later they find themselves taken by boat to an island with 4 other couples competing to be crowned the One Perfect Couple and take home a substantial monetary prize. The other couples are quite competitive and Lyla feels even more out of place. A violent storm passed over the island on the first night leaving the couples stranded, without power, without real food, and with a broken water desalination system. Surely the production crew will be coming to rescue them. As they wait, tempers flair and Lord of the Flies sets in. Everyone wants to be in charge. As tensions mount and fears rise, so does the body count. One by one, people go missing or are found dead. What will kill them first, the killer amongst them or being stranded on the island?

The story is fairly face paced and written in a way that is easy to keep track of so many characters. It is told from the POV of Lyla, but with insertions of one of the contestant's diary. Although I did not find any of the characters very sympathetic, I did see qualities of each of them in people I met in my life. You will have to place a bit of suspended belief to move through some of the action, but go with it for the fun of the journey.

One Perfect Couple is another entertaining story by Ruth Ware which includes updating a familiar scenario with the fresh twist of a reality show lens. This is definitely a great beach read; that is unless you are on a deserted island.

My thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/ Scout Press for the ARC of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

Maybe my favorite Ruth Ware book so far! 4 out of 5 stars. First few chapters I wasn’t hooked when introduced to Nico and Lyla’s seemingly superficial disingenuous relationship. The ominous unease crept in soon after and I was hooked.

Five couples travel to a deserted island to compete to prove themselves as the “one perfect couple” completing challenges for a new reality tv show. After the first challenge and unexpected storm changes the course of the staged show the contestants are soon fighting for their lives rather than the prize and the eliminations begin.

The distress calls at the end of each chapter were a reminder of the impending doom. Then the distress transcripts were replaced with journal entries giving the reader a perspective of the situation besides Lyla’s (MC).

Tensions start rising as rations start to diminish. This locked “room” trope gives tense feelings as the days tick by and the contestants start to analyze who is them and who is us.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I gave this book 4 stars. I love Ruth Ware’s writing and this book did not disappoint. The only thing I didn’t love was that I feel like I’ve read a hundred books about a group of couples stuck on an island.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I have not read anything by Ruth Ware before, so was solely drawn to this book by the synopsis. A reality tv show with couples on a secluded island, a big storm causing them to be stranded and in survival mode. All their truths and personalities come out during this time. People were dying and they weren’t finding a way off the island. I knew there was something underlying the whole story and kept thinking - is it the tv show making them think they were stranded? Is one of them in on something and have contact with the outside world? Etc… there just had to be something more to it than what I was reading. I kept going and the twists at the end were what I was waiting for! There was definitely more to the story and while it wasn’t exactly what I had been expecting, it was still good! Overall, this was a really good book and kept me interested to find out more the whole story!

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝕆𝕟𝕖 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕡𝕝𝕖
𝙍𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙚
Thriller
400 pages
May 21, 2024

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs
Lyla agrees to go to a faraway island to be on a show with her boyfriend. She isn’t thrilled about it but does it for him as he tells her it is his last chance to be a star.

Once there, a massive storm hits, leaving some dead and others hurt. With no outside communication and limited supplies, how will they manage?

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs
I knew this would be a five-star read for me soon after I started reading it. This story kept me thinking about how I’d handle the situation.
Not surprisingly, there is a bulked-up bully who decides he will run the show. This type of person makes me cringe.

The things happening seemed so realistic, making for a frightening and emotional situation that makes you wonder what people will do when pushed too far.

One Perfect Couple clipped along at a fast pace. It was a psychological thriller indeed; the thrills were around every corner.

The characters are all so different from each other, yet they eventually find out each other’s secrets. I wanted the rest of the group to stand up for themselves when Conor used his brute strength and mental brutality to rule the island.
The ending was intense and perfect to bring this story to a close.

💕Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

Don’t let the title of this book fool you into thinking it’s some cute romance. Ruth Ware has concocted another thriller with some serious, relevant issues in the background. I found this enjoyable, but did get to a point where I was ready for things to get wrapped up. I recommend this book for those who enjoy Ruth Ware and trapped thrillers.

As with all Ruth Ware books, One Perfect Couple is bingeable! I read it in one day (and ignored my family and chores for the day!) This thriller had me guessing (and hating!) many of the characters!

Reality Show ✅
Group of Friends ✅
Deserted Island ✅

Here for ALL the drama!

Another great page-turner from Ruth Ware! While I didn't feel like it was a murder mystery and lacked some great twists, I was still enthralled and couldn't wait to see what happened next. This will be a great addition to your beach or pool bag this summer!

One Perfect Couple felt like abut of a deviation from Ruth Ware’s typical work and I’m feeling decidedly meh about it. I still love and respect her and consider her a “must read,” but this book wasn’t my favorite. The concept of a reality TV show with one especially awful character was (in my opinion) the makings of a mediocre story. I did really enjoy the character development of the girls on the island. I love how they bonded together and found a way to survive (both the island and the people around them). Personally, I feel like this this could’ve been branded as a survival story rather than a “thriller” and I may have enjoyed it more.

I wouldn’t call the ending a “twist” per se, but I like how it was neatly wrapped up and explained.

I’m a big Ruth Ware fan but I didn’t love this one. I felt like it was hard to keep track of the couples, the plot dragged a big and it was a little predictable. I did like the love island vibes though but was hoping for a few more twists.