Know your enemy.

They may be wearing an all too familiar face.

Ruth Ware injects One Perfect Couple with an intense White Lotus vibe marinated in the reverberations of every reality and competition show out there. One Perfect Couple wears a smug face that checks over its shoulder every nano second. Being safe seems only an illusion.

If it's too good to be true.......it probably is. Lyla Santiago deals in scientific facts. She's working on her post doctorate and the scientific results of a previous researcher seem a bit sketchy. She's not sure that the grant will continue to be available.

Frustration sets the stage for weakening her steady resolve when her boyfriend, Nico, comes home with an off-the-wall proposition. He's an on-again-off-again actor. Nico thinks this will be his big break. His agent has presented him with an opportunity to try out for a TV reality show with a cash prize. Nico promises that the entry as a couple will only last for a couple of weeks. Then they can bail. Lyla loves Nico and eventually agrees.

Ever After Island is located like a blip in the Indian Ocean. It's taken six hours to get there from London. There are four other couples involved besides Lyla and Nico. Lyla is already feeling uncomfortable by the looks of these beauties. Baz, the producer, assures them that all will be well. It's a tropical paradise......until it's not.

Ruth Ware starts to rev the engines with an unexpected tropical storm brewing. There's also a storm brewing amongst these contestants. Personalities and preferences begin to reveal themselves. Ware knows how to insight high anxiety in her characters. She's a master. But this bevy of competitors aren't about to take prisoners. The stakes are far higher. Does life actually prepare you for the fight of your life? Perhaps not.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and to the talented Ruth Ware for the opportunity.

Wow! I enjoyed the twists and turns of One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware. The plot is unique and the characters were well developed. Our library will purchase this book when it releases.
I appreciate the opportunity of an ARC

Lyla a brilliant scientist is dragged by her not as aspiring our of luck and work boyfriend onto a game show on a deserted island. It is a couples competition. What could go wrong? She gets to the island and meets the other couples and it seems a little shady -the production team and the island itself. Enter the crew setting off to sea, bad storm that comes in and people start dying. As the survivors wait for help to arise they become increasingly concerned about one members quest for control of what happens and also the supplies left on the island. People continue to die under suspicious circumstances and the supplies become and issue and when if ever will they get off the island? I found myself throughout the book trying to figure out who the bad guy was and thought it was too easy who they were factoring it to be. I wont ruin the ending or whether anyone survives and if they do if they get off the island. This one kept me guessing. I was a major Ruth Ware fan prior to this book and i continue to love her writing and the suspense!

Overall I enjoyed the story- I finished it in a day and a half. There was a very small twist at the end that was not what I was expecting but I’m not sure I loved it. More could have been done with character development and some things were not explained enough to the point it felt rushed (ie Joel).

4.8 ⭐️ Big Brother meets And Then There Were None meets Lord of The Flies…. (I really don’t think it’s anything like Traitors and hope the mention of that tagline in the UK isn’t misleading)

So exciting! This book is over 300 pages but I read it in a day because it was that addictive!

I’ve read almost all Ruth Ware’s books and this is without a doubt my favorite. Like Zero Days, it’s fast paced and addictive but it’s reality TV and what’s more thrilling by than that?!!

I loved the characters, even the unlikable ones! I always say, reality TV needs a bunch of unlikables or it would be boring! I also loved the format of the action, the sos calls and diary entries

For me, the only thing that let it down was the big twist - it was more tell than show which isn’t my jam BUT the book was so action packed, it didn’t feel as crucial as it would in a suspense

I don’t think you need to be a reality tv fan to enjoy this book, by the way - as long as you like action and intrigue, you’re good

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for access to this eBook ARC in exchange for my honest review

Note: Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

It pains me to write this as Ruth Ware is a favorite author of mine and her books The Lying Game and The Woman in Cabin 10 really got me back into reading, but Zero Days and this new book have been flops for me. When I read Ruth's books, I go in for a classic whodunnit plus a lot of really great twists and turns. I feel like her writing is still very well developed, but I wasn't very entertained with her latest story. The one big twist really came in the second to last chapter and it felt very rushed and underwhelming. I think there was so much in the middle that could have been cut out or more clues/easter eggs could have been laid for the reader. This book felt more about survival than actual thrills. And it was already understood who the "murderer" was in the second part of the book.

This is definitely my favorite Ruth Ware book yet! It was worth the lack of sleep.
The deserted island setting sounded glorious until the storm hits -- in more ways than one.
There's lots of girl power and sisterhood in One Perfect Couple. It would be a great book club selection!

I'd just finished reading another reality TV themed book before this one (Everyone Is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf) so I was kind of bummed about this topic at first. As soon as I got through the first couple of chapters, though, it was clear that One Perfect Couple was very different -- in a good way. The characters are not the type of people I'd normally like or want to hang out with, but I was obsessed with this book until finally reaching the end.

I feel like Ruth Ware watched a season of Bachelor in Paradise and was like “but when if this turned in to Lord of the Flies?” And that is this book. It’s a page turner, a little violent but nothing gory or graphic. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend!

This was really good. This was my third book by Ware and my favorite so far. So if you've been wanting to read something by her, I'd recommend this one! In this one. Couples on an island for a reality TV show. Free vacation, right?! Well you start to get the impression that there is already tension between these cast members. Then a storm hits and after this, things really take a turn for the worst. People wind up dead. Is this an accident?! Could there be a killer?! Imagine the show Survivor, and complete chaos. I loved how Ware had diary entries throughout the book,and you wonder how this is going to connect to the story in the end. This definitely kept me guessing. It was a pretty wild ride. It was fast paced and grabbed me from the start.

Out May 21.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. My review will be posted on Instagram, Bookbub, Goodreads, and Amazon once it publishes.

Honestly pretty disappointed with this one. I am not a Ruth Ware fan, so let's be honest up front. This was my last Ruth Ware chance read... that being said.

I think the book isn't being marketed as it should be. It is being marketed as a Thriller, Suspense, Mystery novel and to me it was more of a survival story.

I think Ruth's books are slow paced but this one was even slower. I went into this book thinking it was about these married couples going to a deserted island to film a reality TV show. A terrible storm hits, they get stranded, and then they all start dying. The mystery is how are they dying. What's causing these things?

However, this really isn’t what happens. We know how all these people die (more or less) and we see a few of them on the page.

What's frustrating is we puzzle pieces about connections between some of the characters so we are waiting the entire book for those connections to become relevant. The rest of the story doesn’t seem to be important. This is something I have found common in her books, that's the main downfall to her writing for me personally. I think there is always so much filler that isn't needed. Isn't of any importance.

The book is extremely slow paced, there isn't anything thrilling or exciting and I don't feel like there's anything to really figure out.

"One Perfect Couple" by Ruth Ware is another thrilling addition to her collection. In this novel, couples find themselves competing in a reality TV show on a small island, but things quickly take a dark turn when a big storm hits and tensions rise. With big personalities clashing and secrets lurking, the atmosphere becomes tense and dangerous. Drama, suspense, murder, and deception ensue as the couples navigate the treacherous situation. The question of who can be trusted adds to the gripping storyline, making it a must-read for fans of Ruth Ware's suspenseful novels.

Once again, Ruth Ware for the win! This plot pulled me in from the very first chapter. I finished this book in one sitting and it did not disappoint. It had all of the twist and turns that you look for in a book. This will definitely be on my purchased shelf!

Another 5 star book by Ruth Ware. If you want the feel of a locked room thriller but on a tropical island then this book is for you. This book has it all... mystery, suspense and a killer cast of characters.

I just love Ruth Ware.... and truthfully, I feel like this was her best book out of her 3 most recent ones. What I liked best, strangely enough, was how incredibly detailed and atmospheric this novel was. I actually felt like I was on a beautiful beach in the Indian Ocean; could completely envision the destruction of the storm; genuinely found myself reaching for my glass of ice water when reading the parts about cracked lips and sunburned skin. Very rarely do I feel transported from my home in Atlanta, so it was a definite blessing. Although about halfway through Ware definitively tells you who the "bad guy" is, there are diary entries that threw me off, made me question what I was thinking. It was a different kind of "mystery/thriller", one that leaned heavily towards thriller, far from mystery (although there IS a mystery- what was the point of THESE particular people being chosen for the reality show?). Overall, I raced through this book in 4 sittings, and was disappointed to discover I was nearing the end at one point. Ruth Ware has been a "must-read" author for many years, and will continue to be, for years to come. Oh, I also found the mention of "The Woman in Cabin 10" to be used for kindling incredibly clever!

Thank you to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster Publishing for an early copy of One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware

The supposed opportunity of a lifetime offered to couple Nico and Lyla sets the stage for an agonizing and suspenseful time on an Indonesian Island when a deadly storm wreaks havoc almost immediately and brings to the forefront the various personalities struggling to survive. Five couples were to participate in a reality TV show that will determine which couple, if any, is a perfect match.

Because the five couples signed off on contracts stating they must turn in all electronic devices while participating in the Perfect Couple challenge (they ALL claim to have neglected to read the fine print??), they have no way to communicate with the outside world to beg for rescue. The battery has died in the communications center, leaving the remaining participants to work together to survive.

Enter Conor, one of the participants, who takes over leadership, rationing food and water and fighting off anyone who challenges his authority (Lord of the Flies and And Then There Were None come to mind plotwise). In addition, a female diabetic has had her insulin stolen and will survive only a few days without it.

With four women and Conor surviving two weeks into this life-threatening situation, the women hatch a plot against Conor that will have lasting consequences. The unfortunate reality of misogyny plays a major role in Conor's back story.

Author Ruth Ware has also included diary entries written by one of the women that seem incongruous when first read but in Ruth Ware style will be explained as the action concludes.

Ware has yet to disappoint in either characterization or plot and One Perfect Couple adds to the plus column of her work. This is a strong recommend for both die-hard and first-time readers of Ruth Ware's storytelling with a twist.

Honestly pretty disappointed with this one. Of course it’s Ruth Ware, so the writing is great and the story is very interesting, but I think there is a really big disconnect between what is being advertised and what this book actually is.
*mild spoilers from here on out* It’s a very different story from what Ware usually writes, which is absolutely fine, it just doesn’t fit with the synopsis. I went into this book thinking it was about these couples going to a desert island to film a reality TV show, a horrible storm hits, they get stranded, and then they all start dying in suspicious circumstances. I thought it was basically just a “And Then There Were None” retelling where there’s someone unknown person on this island picking these people off one by one and they have to try to survive not only that, but being stranded on an island. However, this really isn’t what happens. We know how all these people die (more or less) and we see a few of them happen on the page. This isn’t really a thriller book about a mysterious killer, but an island survival book. It’s really frustrating because we get little hints, specifically in the beginning, about mysterious connections between some of the characters so you’re waiting the whole book for those connections to become relevant and the rest of the story doesn’t really seem to matter. And you can’t even call them red-herrings because the connections do become relevant in the last like five pages of the book.
I think if the book was just advertised differently and there wasn’t that rushed connection at the end, it would be so much better. I usually love Ruth Ware’s books, but this just wasn’t it.

This book was very well written. I loved how the diary entries were scattered throughout but not specified who had actually written them until the end. Started and finished in 1 day!

Finished this one quickly, but not one of my favorite Ruth Ware books. Too much like other books I’ve already read. I was waiting for a big ending twist to make it a little more original but there really wasn’t much. It is an easy read and entertaining enough, so I still recommend you give it a try. It might just be your thing! Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I was hooked on this book early on as it had a great Surviver feel with players navigating physical challenges in a remote jungle. Unfortunately, 3/4 into it, it went off the rails, verging into ridiculousness amongst the characters.

Hands down my favorite Ruth Ware book! The pacing of this one made it a one-day read that I couldn't finish fast enough.

Wanna-be tv star Nico convinces his long-time scientist girlfriend Ivy to join a reality tv show with him--it's a a free vacation, but it could really catapult Nico's career. Fairly quickly, it's obvious that the production team is ill-equipped and manipulating the storylines and there is somehow already tension between cast members. As though that's not enough, natural disaster strikes, people wind up dead, and scare resources lead to high tensions as everyone remaining fights for survival.

I loved getting little snippets of each character as the story progressed, even if it did take me a minute to keep all the couples straight. For the plot itself, even with the "villain" seemingly spelled out, there were always little twists that caused hints of doubt to creep in. I was pleased with how this story played out overall. Ware is liberal with giving credit to her sources (she mentions various shows, casting tropes, etc by name), but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment. This would be a GREAT beach reach for the summer!

Overall: 4.5 stars (I really liked it)

I'll tell my students about: language, LGBT+, physical abuse, mental abuse, suicide, trauma, violence/gore/death/murder, drugs

**Thank you to NetGalley & Gallery Books, Gallery/Scout Press for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**