for some reason, out of all the books i took to the beach, i thought reading the one with tons of murder would be most fun??? 😵‍💫

it starts with a couples reality show set on a remote location (like love island meets survivor) but it ends up more like frye festival with very little being fully established, and then a storm hits…

it’s in the style of “and then there were none” so expect that few people will make it out alive, and tbh, it got very “lord of the flies” toward the end, but it held my interest and had me concerned for who would survive!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ for this one!

ps — thank you @gallerybooks for the free book!

Reality show for couples turned Survivir in a deserted island. Lyla agrees to go on a couple reality show with her boyfriend she’s not sure she has feelings for anymore. They are grouped with other couples and the winning pair are the perfect couple but when a storm hits all bets are off. Why are they all connected in some way? Who will survive this reality show turned survival of the fittest. A great summer thriller.

This was a super captivating book! The setting and circumstances felt very unique for the thriller genre, which is very welcome. This isn’t the first Ruth Ware book that has a theme of characters dying off one by one (hehe), but this still felt new and fresh. All of that plus a satisfying ending makes for a solid 4.5 star read!

Ruth Ware has done it again with a page turning thriller set on a tropical paradise island. One Perfect Couple is Survivor meets Hunger Games and I was all for it! When Lyla is in a rut and her influencer boyfriend, Nico, finds this game show opportunity for them, she says why not? But things do go quite as planned and when a storm hits and cuts them off from any way of getting to the mainland and any possibility of communication, tensions start to rise and not everyone is able to stay cool under pressure. Signature Ruth Ware!

I love the callback in this book to the original crime writer Agatha Christie and her book And Then There Were None by focusing on an isolated island with five couples during a tv show taping where one among them is a murderer. I love that it focuses so heavily on the character development in a way that has you questioning each and every person and looking for a twist. The book was well thought out, well written, and filled with tension throughout!

One Perfect Couple takes place in an atmospheric location - a remote island off the coast of Indonesia at a resort that is not quite finished and open for business. Couples have signed up to participate in an all-inclusive vacation, agreeing to be filmed for reality tv while trying to see which couple is truly the perfect couple. But as soon as the contestants arrive at the island, a huge storm wipes out all electricity and the staff are no longer able to get to the island either. Now the strangers are completely on. their own, and there is no telling when they will ever be rescued, if ever.

A story that had the potential for SO many more twists and turns than there turned out to be. I was ultimately intrigued by the concept of the reality show turned Most Dangerous Game, but alas everything was very obvious. 3 stars for believability of the main character, but lack of capitalizing on opportunity.

Another gripping thriller from Ware. Survival on a desert island is always intriguing. Add a murderer and things get really intense! I highly recommend this to fans of Ware and fans of thrillers who haven't yet explored her novels.

Honestly not my favorite by Ruth Ware. This was a good read, but it was a bit slow for me in places and it I wasn't in a rush to pick it up. Overall, the story was just so/so for me. I will continue to read this author. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Ms. Ware for giving me the opportunity to review "One Perfect Couple." "One Perfect Couple," Is different from other novels by Ms. Ware. While I consider Ms. Ware a thriller writing, this book was more of a survival novel. Unfortunately, I found this book to drag on. I felt like I was stuck on an island forever, waiting for the book to pick up in excitement. I am sorry to say that this is not a book that I would recommend.

This book took me by surprise. When I started out, I thought it might be trite and predictable. It held my interest and the tension built throughout the book. I could not have seen the ending due to many twists and turns in the plot. It's a fast read and enjoyable.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting take on reality tv and the lengths people will go to become famous. It’s also interesting to see how people will react when placed in a life or death situation. It felt a little less thriller-like than Ware’s other works, but it was a quick read. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but they were well developed and important to the story. It all came together nicely in the end.

3.5

The synopsis and the fact that this was by R.Ware made me pick me pick this one up. However none of the characters did I like. Not sure really why Lyla was even with Nico as he was awful, so self-centered. This was hard to get into but at times I was in suspense so many murders but you knew the murderer. Just not a fav of mine by this author.

Thank You NetGalley, Scott Press, and Ruth Ware for the free e-ARC.

Summary: Couples are selected to be on this lovely island as part of a reality show. One of the couples is Lyla and Nico. Nico tries to encourage his girlfriend, Lyla, to go on this show to help gain him fame and ramp up his career. Lyla, a post-doctoral researcher in a rut and has not finished her research. She does not think her contract will be renewed. Lyla finally agrees to help out her boyfriend, thinking she won't be on the island that long, and then they're off to paradise. They meet the other contestant couples Bayer and Angel, Conor and Zana, Joel and Romi, and Dan and Santana and are ready to compete against them for a cash prize.

Upon arrival at the stunning deserted island, things start going horribly wrong. An overnight storm makes things worse off than before. The only contact they have is themselves. They do not have their cell phones, the crew and first kicked-off the island people leave before the storm. They have no way to contact anyone. If they want to survive they must work together. Tensions run high as water and eventually food start to dwindle and people start dying.

Ruth Ware is always a must read for me. Some books are better than others and are either a hit or a miss. I think One Perfect Couple is a hit out of the park. How timely that I happened to read it during storm season, hurricanes, heat waves, tornadoes. I couldn't put this book down. It was an interesting Survivor Island meets Paradise Island meets Love Island or if they all had kids together and then lets see who survives in a not so good way. It reminded me a little bit of the tv show The Wilds and the book/movies, Lord of the Flies. What comes about are lies, truth, what are they actually doing there?, how did they become to be selected? Relationships are tested. Truths unfold. Multiple points of view. Who do you believe? Who will survive the desert island after the storm and people start dying. Who is the killer on the island and how will this end?

Let's talk about the setting the Indian Ocean. It sounds and looks amazing, but will the characters come to feel that way in the end. I enjoyed the characters. Plus the ones I didn't care for had a role in the story as well. I bet this would make a great audiobook and maybe even a movie. I stayed up way too late most nights to read this. I would reread or listen to this as an audiobook.

Read this if you love remote islands, beaches, vacation, game shows, thrillers, twist turners, secrets, romance, relationships, and survival.

Warning: Domestic violence.

I discovered the author, Ruth Ware, a couple years ago when I read One By One. I then read The It Girl. I loved both of them. I was excited to read The Perfect Couple.

The synopsis led me to believe that it would be a fantastic read. A group of couples are competing in a reality TV show on a deserted tropical island when a storm hits the island. They are totally cut off from the world without electricity and dwindling amounts of food and water. They must learn to survive while it looks like there is a murderer in their midst. This storyline sounds like it would be a real page-turner and thriller. However, I was disappointed with the book. It wasn’t as good as the two other Ruth Ware books that I had read. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. There were a few twists and turns that kept me at the edge of my seat, but for the most part, it dragged.

I have not given up on Ruth Ware, though. I look forward to reading more of her thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a little puzzled about how I feel about this book. On one hand, I had a hard time getting into this book and I really didn’t like the characters all that much. However, on the other hand, there were times when I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what the heck was actually going on.
All in all, I thought this book was pretty good.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This was a super fast read, and while I did enjoy it, I found it to be lacking in the mystery and suspense that I'm used to from this author. I liked the "locked room" island setting, and I had fun rooting for Lyla, who was the only likable character.

I'm a Ruth Ware fan and will be anxiously awaiting her next book!

Thank you @netgalley and @gallerybooks for the #gifted e-arc and physical ARC of this book!

I did not care for this book at all! I thought the idea was there but it lacked excitement. It was also too drawn out.

I love Ruth ware and will read anything she writes!one perfect couple is set on an island where couples have been deserted. One of them is a murderer and they need to find them before they all die.

Ruth Ware has become an auto-buy author for me, so I was incredibly eager to read her latest summer thriller. While it sounded a bit different from her usual domestic thriller fare, I was interested to see what she could do with an isolated island setting. This book begins with a couple winning a spot in a reality TV show set on a tropical island, competing with a few other couples to find the "perfect couple." Things quickly take a turn when our protagonist couple is separated and a tropical storm isolates the island from the outside world. Now the contestants are forced to band together for survival. There's plenty of drama, betrayal, alliances formed, and secrets revealed. There were even a few genuinely tear-jerking moments, which I didn't expect from a book like this. The novel touches on some heavier subjects as well, in a way that kept this rather farfetched story feeling grounded and real. The characters all felt distinct and different, and the way Ware has them interact with each other (for good or bad) was genuinely enjoyable. I highly recommend this book to lovers of isolated island thrillers.
Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery/Scout Press for my ARC. All opinions are my own.