I am a huge Sue Watson fan. In fact I literally try to grab a copy of her books the second I can get my hands on them. She has mastered the thriller genre and I have enjoyed her last three books so much that she is a must read.

That being said, this one just was very hard for me to connect with for some reason. The first date that Alex and Hannah had, felt like it lasted forever. I got a bit bored waiting around in their homes..waiting for something to happen. Hannah...oh Hannah...get a clue girlfriend. It was painful to watch her overlook how creepy her internet date really was.

Then the last 1/3 of the book took off into another gear. The twists and turns were what I had hoped for all along. As we sped to the end, I got a twist that caught me totally off guard. I only wish the entire book was as suspense filled as the last couple of chapters. Even though this one for some reason didn't pull me in as I had hoped, I do look forward to more from this author!

It was the perfect First Date, as Sue Watson's latest thriller indicates. Hannah took a chance with online dating. The profile for someone named Alex that she liked not only showed quite a handsome guy, but he matched her almost completely. When they have that first date, he checks even more boxes. Things couldn't be going any better for Hannah when she begins dating Alex. Coming from a difficult past as a foster child, Hannah often wondered if she would ever find stability. She need look no further - Alex is the perfect date, the perfect man.

A busy social worker who has seen far too many broken families, Hannah would rather exercise caution in her dating life. However, she soon throws caution to the wind when it looks like Alex is the man she will fall in love with, perhaps even finding her forever happiness.

Hannah may be happy as to how things are progressing with Alex, but her friends and coworkers, Jas and Harry, aren't as keen to what they see. As much as they would like for Hannah to slow down and to show caution, she just can't. He. Is. The. One.

Alex knows what he wants and pulls out all of the stops for Hannah, easily matching her needs at every turn. This begs the question: Are things too good to be true? Hannah doesn't want to believe that, and Alex goes the extra mile to remove any doubts she might have. However, along the way, things begin to take on an air of uncertainty, especially as Alex's true colors begin to shine through.

What a thrilling book! Now, as a reader, knowing going in that this is a psychological thriller, well, we know that things are not always as they seem. In this engrossing read I was kept on the edge of my seat because I knew something was going to happen. All along I sensed a "creep" factor with Alex and I love how Sue Watson led us down the twisty road to see his true nature, all while hoping against hope that Hannah would see the light.

I love the draw I had to Hannah. I wanted to take her by the hand and pull her away from Alex. That proved my investment in this incredibly well-written book. We as the reader could see his controlling nature, and why she couldn't was frustrating. Lastly, as if watching all of this drama unfold, it was truly exciting to find myself fully drawn to this book, especially with the final twist. I never saw it coming and can only say: Very well done.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This is my honest opinion.

I love Sue Watson books!! Her writing style is so readable and I find getting in to her stories and characters very easy.

Hannah the main character seems to be unlucky in love. Her first relationship with Tom has broken down and she seems to have found the perfect partner in Alex who wants to share everything with her. The fine line between love and control is explored in this book. To the outsider many red flags appear but toxic relationships are complex and when you are in one yourself your vision sometimes can be blurred.

I read this book quickly thanks to the well written and perfectly paced storyline. The twist at the end was fantastic not what I was expecting at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this brilliant twisty thriller.

I really enjoyed the previous Sue Watson books that I have read. For some reason, this book just didn't do it for me. The book started strong (even though I found Alex super creepy and too good to be true). Although I finished the book, it wasn't one of my favorites. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the advanced copy.

WOW this is a twisted thriller that I couldn't stop reading!!! It has to do with a dating app that becomes more like a stalker app! Lots of twists and turns and I can't wait to read more by this author. I don't want to say to to much because I like going in blind but I HIGHLY recommend this one for anyone who loves a good twisted thriller!

Thank you netgalley for this book. Each page a new emotion, very well written and interesting. I loved all the characters. I will read everything by this author !!!

Ohhhh this book was so good!! A huge story and an intense thriller. Definitely not one to miss at all. I loved every twist and turn in it.

I've just finished reading Sue Watson's "The Sister in Law" and really enjoyed that so I decided to jump straight into reading this one and it didn't disappoint. So thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Hannah and Alex met on a dating app and went on a first date. Hannah learns that they have so much in common, in fact they have everything in common. Alex is the perfect match and it all seems too good to be true. However right from their first date there are little red flags with Alex that make you think he isn't as nice as he seems. Hannah clocks Alex pocketing her used napkin and spoon as they leave the restaurant on their first date but is so taken with him that she ignores her intuition about his bizzarre behaviour. Soon she finds herself in a serious relationship with Alex which quickly turns controlling and claustrophobic.

I love the way Sue Watson writes. She quickly draws you into her story and leaves you feeling dizzy with the many twists and turns she creates. You end up not trusting anyone's intentions. I did like Hannah and found myself telling her to listen to her gut when she believes what Alex is telling her when her intuition is telling her something is wrong. It just highlights how easy it is for women to become trapped in controlling relationships as Hannah did. Oh and that final few twists at the end were fantastic and I didn't see them coming.

I really liked The Sister-in-Law, so I was super excited to pick up First Date. The first third of the book was filled with tension and laid the groundwork for what could have been a few solid twists. However, after that, the plot felt a bit cyclical. The characters were trapped in a repeating pattern of events, and I felt my interest wandering. Ultimately, the ending didn't have the payout I'd hoped for getting through the middle part of the book. This one was a miss for me, but hopefully will be a better fit for other readers.

This is the first book that I have read by Sue Watson and once I started I just couldn’t stop. First Date follows the journey of Hannah who has started to date online after her horrible breakup up with Tom. After several dates with some unsavoury characters, she finally meets Alex. From the very first date there were a lot of red flags which Hannah seemed to ignore which drove me crazy. I think that she was so desperate to find love that she let herself be treated so badly.

Somethings that I liked were the storyline, the interesting characters, the suspense, the twists and turns.

Somethings that I didn’t like were Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah and Hannah.

The way she acted just made her a character which I couldn’t relate to, most of the time I was yelling at her and fighting the urge to shake her. I actually liked Alex more which is crazy.

This book is a prime example of toxic relationships and gas lighting. For example when Alex tried to poison Hannah against Jas and when he cries to make her feel bad. Even though at times the story was a little slow and everything seemed to repeat, I am really glad that I kept reading. Because OMG the ending was mind blowing and absolutely crazy.

I would definitely be interested in reading more books by Sue Watson.

I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.

Wowza! Page turner and a shocking ending you won’t see coming! I thought the whole book that it’s good but predictable. I was wrong. Didn’t see that ending coming! Enjoy. You won’t want to put it down till you finish the book!

Twisted psychological thriller that I could not put down. Hannah is thrilled when she meets Alex on a dating app. Alex seems like the total package until he becomes super controlling and more than a little bit of a stalker. Hannah has a very demanding job as an overworked social worker and is thrilled to find someone with the same goals she has. Excellent story of a toxic relationship with lots of twists and turns. This is my first book by Ms. Watson, but it definitely will not be my last. Highly recommend.

Hannah is a social worker and Alex is a lawyer. Their first date is perfect. A little too perfect. I loved this book, although the main character is a little unrealistic with her willingness to overlook some pretty major red flags. The book dragged a bit at times but made up for that with the last few chapters. I wasn't really surprised by the ending as I had my suspicions along the way.

Thanks to netgalley, Bookouture and Sue Watson for the arc

WOW! I read this in one-sitting!

This is an excellent book. Highly engaging and timely, especially with online dating being all the rage!

Well-written and evenly paced.

Highly recommended for fans of domestic thrillers!

Hannah cannot find her ideal man, she has tried online dating ( one of the experiences she recollects is hilarious ) and then she meets Alex, he is perfect, he wants to be with her and love her 24/7....but is this love or is it control?
Her friends are suspicious and think control but they say ‘love is blind’ and Hannah has waited too long for Mr Right and so she ‘lets a few things go’, however by the time she realises it’s too late....almost
And there I shall leave the plot before I give anything away aside from saying this is a book that builds and builds to a surprising and taut ending that is written to surprise and 100% does it’s job
I didn’t particularly like either main player but I dont think you were meant to
A well written pyschological thriller that did as it set out to do, shock!

9/10
5 Stars

Hannah has always done everything in her power to make sure that she is as safe and secure as possible, but after turning 36 years old she’s worried that she’ll spend the rest of her life single. After much persuasion by her friend, she finally agrees to create an online dating profile. This is where she meets Alex and her perfectly shielded life starts to unravel. There’s something that isn’t quite right with Alex, but now that she’s in his grasp is it too late to escape?
 
All I can say is wow, Sue Watson has truly outdone herself with this book. It is absolutely bursting at the seams with twists, turns, jaw-droppers and bombshells! I thoroughly devoured this book, if you’re a fan of mystery and thriller novels then I highly recommend you try this book!

I have to admit I nearly stopped reading this book several times. Hannah meets Alex on a dating app, he is too good to be true. After their first date, Hannah and Alex are talking marriage with 3 kids, a golden labrador and holidays in Devon. However there are so many warning signs that Alex is a lying sociopath which Hannah seems to ignore after some good sex or a great meal that I was exasperated! I just found that he was too blatant with his creepy controlling behaviour that an intelligent woman like Hannah would have walked away.
However, I am glad that I kept reading as the book did not turn out as expected. There are quite a few twists near the end which brightened up the story but I felt they were all just too unbelievable. Hannah had quite a power over men! The main characters all seemed a little superficial, they were displaying bizarre behaviour which you were expected to accept without any real background information as to their motivations.

This author's previous book was really good but this one was just cliched. The main lead was pretty dumb. She cannot take decisions of her own.

Is this book a thriller - yes. Is it a mystery - no. I could figure every part of the plot. Like i was saying this is just heaps of cliched characters and twists.

Looking forward for this author's next book.

While I mostly enjoyed this book, I was perplexed by the character Hannah. She was this independent, strong, intelligent woman but I saw none of that in her relationship with Alex. She was rather quite annoying. Nevertheless the story line was good and mostly believable. I didn't see the ending coming and that made the entire book for me. I'd totally recommend this to my friends.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc!

This was a struggle taking a really long time to get anywhere with some really irritating characters however the last three chapters were five star edge of your seat brilliance.