katiejohns's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0


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gwenswoons's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

God this was so unrelentingly terrible. Terrible characters, terrible plot, terrible everything. And just terrible writing, somehow both repetitive and inconsistent, ugly and banal on a sentence level. Predictable, badly written, boring, meaningless. I honestly cannot believe that people can read this and tolerate it and that it got past editors in this state.

I listened to it on 2x speed while driving and doing errands and chores and I STILL wish I could get those 7 hours and 4 and a half minutes back. You could not pay me to read another book by Ruth Ware.

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

Finished reading: November 18th 2024


"I had been bad at assessing danger since the day I set foot on Ever After Island. I had trusted the wrong people, made the wrong decisions. I had let my instincts override the evidence in front of me."

It's true that Ruth Ware's books can go both ways for me and her most recent books have failed to hit the mark (my favorite books are actually her gothic thrillers). Still, I can never resist a locked room vibe, a foreign setting or a reality TV angle, so it seemed like I truly hit the jackpot with One Perfect Couple. It's kind of funny how I would never watch this type of reality TV, but they are usually surprisingly fun to read about... This story is no exception to that rule, and I had a blast watching this trainwreck unfold. True, the cast of characters isn't exactly likeable and it took me a minute to keep them all apart. Sure, there are definitely cliches involved and you have to be able to suspend your disbelief. Sure, it is pretty clear almost straight away who is behind the bodies piling up. Also true: the final twists were a bit too convenient and seemed too much like the easy way out, and I kind of wished for a more satisfying ending. BUT. If you take this like the popcorn thriller it is, simply sit back and enjoy the ride, you will have a lot of fun on Ever After Island. The start is a bit slow with all the introductions and their travels to the Indonesian island... But once the storm hits the island and things start to go south, the plot becomes more interesting. It sure isn't a situation I would ever like to be in myself, but it makes for a very entertaining plot to read about! I also really liked the journal entries in between chapters, although I admit that they confused me at times. That said, it seems that this author is finally starting to redeem herself, and I can't deny I had a lot of fun reading One Perfect Couple despite its flaws. 

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kennim's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-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? No

3.0

Pros:
- Santana was definitely my favorite, I loved her personality and the way she was written.
- If you’re like me and don’t live on the coast you can forget how devastating and dangerous a storm can be. Ruth Ware does a good job of reminding you. The build up, arrival, and immediate aftermath of the storm were all well written.
- The build up of tension was well done and kept me on the edge of my seat (the payoff is a different story…). Reading Lyla’s thought process as things devolved helped in understanding how things got so bad, especially with the group dynamic.

Cons:
- It took a while for me to get into the groove of the story; it was really hard to believe that Lyla would agree to being in a reality tv show.
- The marketing did this book dirty, it is not a mystery. Publishers need to stop comparing books to And Then There Were None, they’re setting their books up for failure.
- The ending was severely lacking. I can’t say more because I’d like to keep it spoiler free, but it left me wanting more.

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shesflippinpages's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5


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tayreads10's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved the vivid imagery she portrayed that had me picturing every bit of the island vividly. My daughters live with Type 1 Diabetes and I was so pleasantly surprised that she did her research and got all of the diabetes related scenes correct! This book was definitely Lord of the Flies, but adult version. Very well written!

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amanda_reads89's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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celticthistle's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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lovesarahmae's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is *chef's kiss* summer reading perfection. A thriller written beautifully, with respectful disibility representation, and an honest look at domestic violence.  A Love Island meets Lord Of The Flies-I wouldn't read this at the beach, but it was brilliant for a sweaty work day doing summer chores.  There were twists and turns and such strong women, I was mad when I had to stop the audiobook to interact with people. 5 stars- fully recomend.
...
TW: mentions of suicide, mentions of depictions domestic violence and abuse, depictions of withholding medication (insulin), death of characters, survival. 

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havenraven23's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Least fave book from this author I've read so far. Idk it started off good, but it was too long for the story she told. It dragged too much at times since there wasn't a real mystery to solve, & everything was way too obvious. 

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