Reviews with content warning for Blood - One Perfect Couple

While trapped on a desert island a group of strangers there for a supposed dating show must survive, as a murder tries to take them out one by one.

Review:
As to the ending, I knew something was hinky with the show they were supposed to be on, but not what it was exactly and I loved that final twist.
The book was a bit long though, it seemed to drag in parts which is why it took me so long (for me) to read, there were days I didn't press play to listen because it was hard to get through. Though some of that may have been the subject matter, lots of murder, domestic abuse, and gaslighting, plus medical-type content i.e., dehydration and starvation.
Overall a good book even if it was tough for me to read, it got into many topics that need to be discussed more.

Narrator Rating: 3.5 stars
I always have mixed feelings about this narrator. She does a good job with tonal shifts and emotions, but sometimes her voice grates on me.

Content Warnings

mollyb13's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was definitely not the And Then There Were None type story I was promised in the book jacket and much more of a Lord of the Flies/Animal Farm situation. I was definitely intrigued the entire time, but the book was much more of a survival thriller than mystery thriller. I was hoping that the reality tv portion of the show would be more prominent (big Bachelor/Survivor/Traitors/Love Island fan over here!) and the ending fell flat for me.

I kept thinking that Conor couldn't actually be the bad guy because that was too straightforward - that maybe the diary was accurate and that maybe Lyla was an unreliable narrator but nope... And the twist at the end that Baz set the entire thing up seemed kind of obvious the entire time?

Ware's last two novels have been a bit of a flop for me - hoping that she moves back into the mystery thriller genre with her next novel. Still enjoyed my time reading it though and worth a read if you are a Ruth Ware fan!

Content Warnings

mysterymom40's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

luverbyrd's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

rbudd24's review

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

michelle_mightbereading's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

kimmberr's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

overall i liked it! It wasn’t as much a mystery as just a bunch of bad things happening to people stranded on a demolished remote island, but the pacing felt good and it was easy to follow with just one narrator. I will say, it didn’t have any high suspense moments… it felt mostly flat/level the whole way through, which made the ending feel a bit uneventful. But all in all a good, quick read.

Content Warnings

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

Thank you to Libro FM for the ALC.

I hadn't read a Ruth Ware book in a while, but when I see a book compared to Agatha Christie, I am pretty much sold, so I wanted to give this one a try, and I'm glad I did!

It was a fun premise (post-doctoral researcher Lyla agrees to film on a remote island with her actor boyfriend Nico for a reality tv show; there is a lot of tension built up amongst characters and couples especially, as we see the cracks in their relationships begin to shine through.... then bodies of the other contestants begin to drop!), and I didn't expect the twists or turns, so overall, I had a good time with this one. I didn't fully understand why the final girls decided on what they did in the end (I mean, I did, but I also had to suspend a bit of disbelief).

Ultimately, I appreciate a commentary on why most cishet men are ass, and I will make statements like this until they prove me wrong. I chose the bear, and every woman in this book would also choose the bear. The honeys who get it get it.

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