I have seen so many positive reviews for this one, and was very excited after reading Zero Days last summer, but this one was just okay for me. I was drawn into the story, following Lyla on her adventure into reality TV as her post doc research project is sputtering out. I have never read Lord of the Flies, so perhaps that is the missing piece for me. The ending feels very rushed, considering how slowly the story builds, and I kept waiting for the plot twist that never came. The Joel storyline felt unresolved. I did find it gripping - enough to keep me up until well past my bedtime finishing it up, just wanted MORE.

I enjoyed this read. It was similar in plot to some others I have read but it took a different twist that I didn’t expect. The timeline was easy to follow with the journal entries. I liked the mix of characters and getting information on their backgrounds.

Can Ruth Ware ever do wrong? "One Perfect Couple" pulls the reader into a twisted reality show that feels like a spin of "Lord of the Flies" meets "Yellowjackets" for adults. I immediately messaged my book club and this is slated to be a summer read for us. I cannot wait to discuss the characters! This slow burn quickly turns to a page turner in this thriller/suspense with a nod to Ware's "Woman in Cabin 10" and is a must read! Get on the pre-order list ASAP!

Holy crap this was effed up! I can't even imagine - just wow. As per usual, Ware takes everything you expect based on the book and throws it upside down and backwards with a major twist. This is definitely a keeper.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! This one comes out May 21st!

Wow! This one was fast-paced, and I couldn't put it down. Read it in one day :)

This is reality tv meets mystery meets scary movie. I've read two other Ruth Ware books, but this one is by far the best!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This book was a wild ride. Survivor shows scare the bejeebers out of me for the very reason that I’m afraid of being stranded on an island and have it turn into what this book is. This book tapped into my irrational fears and my long buried anxiety from watching Lost on tv. 4 stars for scaring me!

Welcome to Ever After Island, a secluded island, where Baz is recording a reality TV show with five couples. Five couples go in and one couple comes out that’s the goal. Nico convinced Lyla to join him on this reality TV show to help boost his acting career, but Lyla was reluctant to take this journey with him.
…
The first day in and they find themselves stranded on the island with the weather holding them captive. The weather wasn’t part of the plan, but it played a vital role.
…
One Perfect Couple starts off slowly but once the storm arrives on the island the pace begins to build. The story moves at a steady pace. It reads much like the show Survivor. Except there were no challenges. This was eight individuals trying to survive long enough for help to arrive. Meanwhile food and water were scarce. With dehydration a huge factor temperaments were at an all time high. They knew no one was looking for them because they told family and friends they’d be unreachable for six to eight weeks.
…
Ruth Ware writes a story about survival. It was originally written as a reality TV show with five couples competing against each other. That all changed when a storm hit the island.
…
The ending was underwhelming. The entire time I was reading I kept thinking the game was still being played. I guess I didn’t want to accept their reality. The twist of information was cleverly hidden but like I said before it was kind of disappointing that it happened that way. There was no satisfaction with that ending. I couldn’t even rejoice with the outcome. It was bittersweet.
…
The writing was slow and arduous. Reading survivor stories just doesn’t carry the sane weight as watching them. Maybe had I gone into thinking this was about survival instead of a reality show then I could’ve done a better job of feeling the words differently.

This author! What a roller coaster ride. Even though I’m not a reality show fan, I’ve seen enough commercials and this story is very believable. Very suspenseful and nail biting. The setting is easy to imagine and the characters/contestants bring a variety of personalities both good and bad.

One Perfect Couple is classic Ruth Ware. Suspenseful and set on a deserted island, this book follows five couples who embark on a reality TV show to try to determine whether they are with their soul mates. Friendships are born and true colors are revealed. Cut off from family and loved ones due to an unexpected storm, the survivors need to figure out what and who are important to them.

This is my second book by Ruth Ware and I am completely taken by her ability to plot and weave the threads of her books.

Lyla is a young scientist who has become the breadwinner in her relationship with her boyfriend Nico, who is looking for his break to become a star. When he is offered a role in an upcoming reality show called One Perfect Couple, he nags and pouts until she agrees to go. Of course, Lyla starts realizing things are not quite as good as Nico portrays them to be, and after meeting the other couples, a storm hits the island resort where filming takes place and things start going badly.

As with The It Girl, you can't trust anything - or anyone - in this book. There are agendas at play and the most innocent message can have a completely different meaning under another light. The denouement is as always, full of shocks and reveals that had me going back to the beginning to see the seeds that had been carefully planted by Ms Ware. I am diving into the backlist until her next book comes out.

One Perfect Couple
by Ruth Ware
Pub Date: May 21, 20024
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel so true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense.
The reality show motif is not my favorite but the book turned out great.
There was a big cast of characters, and it took a minute to remember who's who, and who goes with whom, but ultimately they each had a unique voice. While this was an entertaining, escapist thriller, it also touched on the seriousness of bullying and domestic abuse. This was a page-turner that I flew through in record time. I also loved the little nod to THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10.
Gripping novel!
4 stars

One Perfect Couple is one of those books where a group of people find themselves stranded in a tropical island. These books throw a group of people together … each with their own issues and then mayhem ensues . I’ve read books similar to this where there is a secluded cabin and avalanche … you get the picture.
The basic premise is that 4 couples are going to this island to participate in a reality tv series … to determine who is the perfect couple.
A big storm hits the island almost immediately and it goes from Love Island to Lord of the Flies.
As a frequent reader of Ruth Ware … in my mind there was going to be some mind blowing twists… and I kept waiting for them…and they never really delivered. The plot was pretty straight forward … even until the end. I did enjoy the cheeky reference to The Woman in Cabin 10.
All in all … familiar story that didn’t bring anything new to the genre.
Thanks net galley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was hesitant about this one. Reality TV is just not my thing so to read a novel about a reality TV show just didn’t sound enticing. But it is by Ruth Ware so that was enough for me to at least give it a try. And I’m glad I did. I think One Perfect Couple just might be my favorite book from this author to date.

Five couples are selected to compete on a reality TV show to see who is the Perfect Couple. When they arrive on the isolated tropical island, not every thing is as they expected. Not all the equipment is working and it is not yet clear exactly what the competitions are going to involve. When a fierce tropical storm hits the island on their first night there, all communication with the outside world is cut off. As supplies run low and tempers run high, they all must do what every it takes to survive. But can they?

There was a full cast of characters but the development was such that it wasn’t hard to keep everyone straight. They were all very realistic, some you wanted to cheer on and other the kind you loved-to-hate. A real page turner that kept you on the edge of your seat in anticipation of what would happen next. All Ruth Ware fans and mystery/thriller fans alike will not want to miss this one!

I have not always liked every Ruth Ware novel, but I did enjoy One Perfect Couple. Admittedly, I had a tough time putting down this book, once I got to the half-way point. One Perfect Couple is the second book that I have read lately using a reality TV show motif. The plot begins for 5 couples, who will be deposited on a remote island, where they will undertake a series of challenges that are designed to determine which coup[le is best suited to one another. That is the premise, but that is not this novel. How all of that goes wrong is the plot, which I am not going to spoil for readers.

I liked that there were a lot of twists and turns and that nothing was as it seemed. Halfway through the novel I was sure how this Ware's novel was going to end. I could not have been more wrong. I did enjoy One Perfect Couple very much. There is a 3-part structure, where in part 1, everyone is introduced and dropped off at the island. Part 2 is the complication--a storm, and part 3 is the resolution and how that happens. And how the resolution takes place is witty and full of twists. I am recommending this novel.

Thank you to the publisher, Scout Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, and to NetGalley. The above is my honest review.

Ruth Ware is consistently one of the best authors in the psychological thriller genre and this book is no exception. The ensemble cast of characters makes for a wild ride from start to finish, and I couldn't wait to see how it ended. I loved how the plot unfolded and how strongly I felt about the characters--bad and good.

I'm not a big fan of deserted Island books, but this one was good. Her writing reminded me of Woman on Cabin 10, but better.

I had 4 other books lined up to read first and as soon as this became available I dropped everything to read it. Her writing style and descriptions are great, I felt so anxious, like I was there with them in the island.

The only thing is I wish there a big twist at the end. Like someone set them all up, or the boyfriend was alive and waiting for revenge. I don't know, but I guess I wanted more.

Otherwise it was great as are most of Ruth Ware's books.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lyla a scientist, and her boyfriend Nico, a wannabe actor, are cast on a reality TV show on an island in the Indian Ocean. The premise behind the show is kind of sketchy, but this might be Nico's big break and chance at stardom, so Lyla goes along with the plan to be the first one voted off and sent home early. When a huge storm hits, they are cut off from civilization and any contacts. Then one by one, people start dying. Are they accidents or in there a killer among them?

This book was a tough one to rate because I flew through it and read it all in a day, but in the end it was not my favorite Ruth Ware book.

Positives:
Quick pacing making it a quick read
A satisfying conclusion
Intriguing setting
At the end the real reason behind the TV show comes to light and is interesting
The theme of survival on a remote island after a devastating storm was well done
 
Negatives:
There were a lot of characters to keep track of. I kept a running list and crossed them off as they died.

I can see this book being a very popular summer beach read and I will continue to auto buy every Ruth Ware novel.

wow. this was so good! i could not put it down!! i needed to know what was going to happen.

the only thing for me was all the characters and at times remembering who was coupled up with who because there was a decent amount but other than that enjoyed a lot!

"One Perfect Couple" by Ruth Ware is a riveting thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie's best works. Set on a storm-swept island, Ware expertly crafts tension and intrigue, keeping readers hooked until the final page. Lyla's journey from uncertainty to resilience is captivating, and Ware's mastery of suspense is on full display as she weaves together intricate plot threads. With its authentic characters and relentless pacing, "One Perfect Couple" is a must-read for fans of psychological suspense.

4.5
I am a huge Ruth Ware fan, so I want to start by thanking her, Netgalley, and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

The plot follows Lyla, a post-doc virologist, and her boyfriend Nico, and actor waiting for his big break. It looks like that big break finally might have come along when Nico and Lila get cast in a new reality show called One Perfect Couple. Details about the show are scarce, but the beautiful, remote, tropical setting, and the opportunity support Nico, or eventually enough to convince a reluctant Lyla. Unfortunately, a horrific storm turns the focus from winning to simply surviving against the elements… and the other castaways.

Open all, I really enjoyed this book. The characters are engaging and the reality show format is a fun way to introduce the characters and the relationships. The pacing is great- it moves quickly and keeps the readers attention. The author also does some really great foreshadowing. My only wish for this book is that it had more of the mystery element that Ware does so well. I appreciate that she isn’t afraid to mix it up and vary her plots, but in many ways this is more a survivalist tale than the true mystery I was looking forward to. Still, I was engaged throughout, and especially loved how the author crafted her woman characters. I definitely recommend :-)