Zara and Ivy are best friends from University and roommates. They do everything together including sharing their future dreams which are so polar opposite it’s hard to believe they remain friends. The one  common denominator that keeps them connected is their family drama and there has been plenty of it.
   There is a constant verbal commitment of trust and love that seems necessary to the relationship but then it starts to fall apart when Zara meets someone who sweeps her off her feet and Ivy is not happy with this new man. Ivy does all she can to dissuade her: there are stories, lies, he said then she said. Zara waffles every day on who to believe. Even as the reader we wonder whose story is real.
   Many issues are woven into the book: wealth, power, alcoholism, childhood trauma, family issues, dependency, fear, manipulation. You see these pitfalls introduced bit by bit into the story become more compelling and certainly recognizable to the reader who then becomes frustrated that the character can’t see them as well.
   Exciting to the very end.

Henry is everything Zara has been looking for. She has always wanted marriage and a family and thinks she may have found the possibility with Henry.

Ivy, her best friend who she lives with, is not a fan of him. She makes this known. I loved their friendhsip in the beginning, but was slightly torn on if Ivy was actually trying to protect Zara or if she was kind of jealous.

As the story goes on, we find Ivy and Henry each have secerts of their own, and Zara doesn’t know who is telling the truth and is torn about where her loyalty lies.

Without giving too much away, I want to say: pay attention to the red flags. Be careful who you trust with your heart.

Thank you to netgalley and emblabooks for this beautiful book in exchange for my honest review.

*Check trigger warnings

Once again Dandy Smith has created a gripping and twisting relationship based psychological thriller that kept me up till the early hours. The Perfect Match is the perfect title with different connotations depending on where in the storyline you are so I was never quite sure where the plot was heading or indeed why. It’s a clever concept once again using the relationships between the characters to ramp up the tension between their respective personalities so you never know quite who or what to believe. And the ending is once again unexpected and unsettling leaving me wanting more!
Highly recommend by me!

My Thoughts: this one took a while for me to get into, but believe me it’s worth the wait!

We’re following Zara and Ivy, they’ve been best friends since uni, they live together and so everything together, Zara can’t wait to fall in love and have everything that traditionally follows.

Ivy couldn’t think of anything worse, she would rather spend her time sleeping with married men, they’re complete opposites but it works.. until Zara meets Henry..

With Zara feeling like she’s found everything she’s ever wanted, she can’t understand why Ivy isn’t happy for her.

Full of secrets, lies and accusations, this one was difficult to put down. I genuinely couldn’t work out where the story was going and who was telling the truth.

The multi time line added a whole new level to the story because you knew something big had happened but you don’t know when or who was involved.

I can highly recommend the audio book, I ended up downloading it because I was so busy that I didn’t have time to sit and read and it made the whole thing just feel edge of your seat intense!

🐧❤️

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Perfect Match' by Dandy Smith.

Read and reviewed for Dandy Smith, NetGalley, Compulsive Readers, Tracy Fenton.

Publication date 19th January 2023.

This is the first book I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and its fascinating synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'A totally gripping read with a killer twist you won't see coming. Fans of K.L Slater, Lisa Jewell and C.L Taylor will be hooked.' I am a MASSIVE fan of all three of these authors so am looking forward to seeing if this book lives up these expectations. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Embla Books. I have yet to read a book published by Embla Books that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 51 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Bath, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 , UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I actually live in Wales so am looking forward to seeing if I recognise any places mentioned.

This book is written first person perspective and the main protagonists is Zara. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them.

'The Perfect Match' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Dandy discusses emotional abuse, sexual abuse attempted or reported, and physical abuse.

Wow!!! This book is fantastically written and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.

I was absolutely absorbed throughout this page turner. It is filled with tension, friendship, secrets, romance, lies, twists, family, suspense and omg the twist!!! I absolutely loved the fact that it was written in first person perspective which gave us so much insight into what Zara was thinking and feeling throughout. It also brings the reader close to her and pulls her out of the pages so it feels that she is sitting opposite you telling you her story over a cup of tea or glass of wine! The storyline was addictive and I just could not put it down leaving me reading it in one sitting. You lady have one hell of a talent and I cannot wait to get hold of your previous and future books. The storyline is filled with shocks, friendship, lies, secrets, betrayal, suspense, romance, tension and so much more! There was so much going on and it was very fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Dandy's writing style and depth had me so engrossed that when I looked up it took me a moment to realise I was even reading!! Clear your schedule before you start as I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down!! I was absolutely hooked!! I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie!!!! I thought the storyline was quite unique which is important to me in a book and I loved the explosive twists and cliffhanger which I did not expect!!! Congratulations Dandy it is getting harder and harder to surprise me but just when I thought I had worked out what was really going on everything was spun around again and I found myself completely wrong. This book is also really thought provoking and I put myself in Zara's position so many times and wondered who I would have believed if it was happening to me. It is so hard to say much about the storyline without giving too much away.

An absolutely gripping, dark and explosive psychological thriller that I was so addicted to I read it in one sitting!

Clear your schedules before even looking at the first page as you will not be able to put this book down!!!!

It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.



I was completely invested in both the storyline and the characters. Each of the characters had their own unique personalities and I felt differently about each of them. I'm not going to say as much about the characters as I usually do as will speak more about them based on how I felt at the start of the book as I don't want to give too much away. The main characters are Zara, Ivy, Luke and Henry. Zara and Ivy meet at a party when they are both drunk and become best friends. They live together and are practically sisters but some of the things that happen made me consider if there was more going on and one or the other had more than sisterly feelings. Zara and Luke are longtime on/off partners which ends when Zara decides she wants to settle and have children and Luke decides to spend his life travelling after the death of his brother. I really liked Luke and he was one of my favourite characters. I thought he was sweet, kind and an amazing person. Zara meets Henry at a wedding of a friend of Ivy's. I wasn't a huge fan when me met and I wasn't sure what to make of him although my feelings changed throughout. Ivy does not like him from the moment they meet. This dislike is the start of the cracks in Zelda and Ivy's relationship and jealousy, lies and drama come into play. My feelings for both Zara and Ivy changed as the story went on so I am not going to say any more about them. However, regardless of whether you love or hate them each of these characters worked perfectly together to make this a Ln absolutely addictive page turner.


Congratulations Dandy on a true page turner! This may be the first book I have read by you but it most definitely will not be my last!! Here's to your next success 🥂

Overall a dark, thought provoking, page turning and addictive page turner filled with love, friendship and betrayals that will keep you guessing throughout.

Genres covered in this novel include General Fiction, True Accounts Of Hoaxes & Deceptions, Mystery, Vigilante Justice Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Biographies Of Hoaxes And Deceptions, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Relationships, Parents & Families amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'Gone Girl' , 'The Girl on The Train', K.L Slater, C.L Taylor , 'The Wife Between Us', Liane Moriarty, Lisa Jewell and anyone looking for an explosive crime mystery that will keep you hooked from the first page to the last!!

308 pages.

This book is just £2.84 to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited and £9.99 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews

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Okay, we'll start with the good. This book definitely kept me guessing until the end. Zara feels behind in life. While her friends are getting married and having babies, she's been stuck in what she believes is a dead end relationship and all she wants is a fairytale romance. So when she meets Henry, she thinks all her dreams are about to come true.

But Zara's best friend, Ivy, doesn't trust Henry. There's something about him that doesn't sit right. Unfortunately, as Ivy tries to warn Zara, their friendship starts to crumble and the closer Zara and Henry become, the further apart Ivy and Zara become.

I loved the guessing game about who the "bad guy" was and who was really looking out for Zara. It kept the story moving forward as I tried to figure out how the story would end.

There were some things, though, that fell flat for me. Smith wants us to believe that Zara and Ivy might have more than just friendship going on, and although I feel this could have made the novel more interesting, it wasn't fully fleshed out and just didn't work for me. I also disliked the amount of times that feminism was mentioned - I felt like the author was trying to shove it down our throats vs. letting things happen naturally. I also found Zara to be kind of an idiot, making decisions based on what society was telling her vs. what her heart was telling her.

This book was just okay for me. There were enjoyable parts, and I finished it, but there was too much that didn't sit well with me. Maybe read it and decide for yourself.

This book was the wildest ride ever! Twisty! Unpredictable! Wild!
The plot twists were quite unusual, and the storyline was unlike any other I have read. Also, the way the plot twists were presented felt kind of unique.
I understand that this book is either liked or disliked by most readers, the same goes for the main character.
I happen to be of those who loved the book and who also liked the main character. I saw her as someone super easy to relate to, someone who made her decisions being sure that she is making the right choice in every situation.
The ending? Ok, not thrilled, because I am not a fan of sort of open endings. I want it to be done and dusted, solved and done, as I read the last page, I know this is the end of it. I prefer not to be left with a zillion what-ifs. If you write a book, please finish it. Do not make me do your work and come up with the ending.
Either way, this was quite an awesome read. I will be looking forward to more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for the opportunity to read this entertaining book in advance of its publication.

Zara and Ivy are best friends. They live together. They couldn’t be more different. Ivy has a complex love life, mostly filled with dating married men and lives on the edge all the time. Zara wants a more traditional life of marriage and children.

Throughout the book, there is also a subtle lesbian vibe between the two women which is never fully explained but which also fuels suspicions about Ivy’s supposed jealousy of Zara when she finally meets a new boyfriend, Henry, who seems “the perfect match” but there is more than meets the eye. Of course, Zara is still trying to get over her lifelong relationship with childhood sweetheart, Luke, who spends most of his time traveling (partly because he is a travel writer)…but mostly because he is terrified to settle down.

Both women have had very difficult relationships with their parents. Zara’s mother is an angry, sad alcoholic and requires demanding care from her daughter. Zara’s father is also angry. He wants nothing to do with his ex-wife who constantly drunk dials him. He takes it out on Zara. Ivy had a wealthy family; including a grandfather who died and left her the house and apparently money in his will.

As the book progresses, the reader begins to see all the flaws in Zara’s relationship with Henry – his possessiveness and over-eagerness to push the relationship forward and have Zara forsake her job, her friends and all else to devote herself to him. Poor Zara – who just wants love and marriage is fooled into believing he is looking out for her best interests.

Meanwhile Zara keeps getting cryptic text messages that make her question the relationship with Henry. At the same time, Henry and Ivy clash bitterly and it’s clear that Henry would like to isolate Zara from Ivy. Turns out there are good reasons for that…as well as even better reasons she is receiving the secretive text messages from an unknown “friend.” Suspicious me thought Henry was too good to be true from the getgo.

The book has all sorts of twists and turns and it was a quick read and enjoyable.

If ever there was a story which takes you on a twisty journey, this is the one. It is all about a complicated web of relationships with people who can manipulate and others who wander into their orbit. Zara and Ivy have a complex dynamic and their friendship feels obsessive at times. You are kept guessing as to what is actually going on in their friendship but they seem to recognise in each other, vulnerabilities which are the result of their childhoods.

There are plenty of red flags in the story and points which you hope that Zara will notice. I liked how all characters have a purpose in the story. Nobody is in there as padding. This is a page turner of a thriller and right to the end, you aren’t quite sure how it will pan out. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you engaged and quite a few surprises.

In short: a pacy, entertaining thriller

*slight spoilers*

I was intrigued from the get go as to where this one was heading! But ultimately it ended up leaving me frustrated - the plot just got a bit too far fetched and the majority of the characters were so unlikable. Then the ending leaves us hanging - such an anticlimax. 2.5 stars
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook

Ivy and Zara have been best friends since the first year of uni and now at 28 nothing has changed, they are inseparable and they are pretty happy about that, but Zara does dream of marriage, kids and the white picket fence.

Once night at a wedding, Zara meets Henry, he’s a very successful older man, Ivy knows of him, they both move in the elite circles that Zara doesn’t having not been born in to wealth.

The book tells us a murder is coming, that Zara is interviewed about it and the tension of this book is great.

Sadly the plot is overdone, Zara has to choose between Ivy or Henry, she has to decide who is telling the truth.
If this book had added any new material to the tired old tropes it would have been excellent. The pacing too slow, yet the tension and suspense was perfection.

Zara Barton, 28, is a wedding planner. She and Ivy Holt have been friends for a very long time. Zara hopes to getting married and have a family one day. Ivy tends to be critical of the men that Zara meets.

Zara grew up with Luke and has always loved him. However, as a travel writer, he is always away. When Zara meets super wealthy Henry who seems to be instantly in love with her, she is smitten.

Now begins a story of angst between Ivy and Zara. Their co-dependent friendship is very strange but is chalked up to both of them having bad relationships with their families.

When Ivy and Henry clash over Zara, life get difficult for the couple and things become very dangerous.

This is a hard book to read and understand. Ivy and Zara’s relationship is pathetic and no one ever seems to be happy. I found the story dark and depressing and did not care for it at all even though I stuck with it all the way through hoping to find something redeeming about it. That did not happen. Sorry, but this one is not for me.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

So many questions! Zara has a lot going on in her life between her best friend and her boyfriend. I like a strong female character and Zara was not this. The plot was interesting and the characters are beautifully written. You love some and hate others but you are supposed to. I would have liked Zara to be a stronger character.

The Perfect Match was an engrossing psychological thriller. Zara meets the perfect man and quickly falls for him. But he and her best friend Ivy have a lot of friction between them. Even worse, they start to have very different stories about their interactions. Now Zara must decide which person she can truly trust.

My first read by this author and it was a good one. The perfect psychological thriller to read on a cold wintry night. It is told in the first person by Zara - one half of the friendship that is Ivy and Zara, friends since university and flatmates living in Bath. A well written story of friendship, love, trust and murder! What more could you want?

Briefly, whilst Ivy is outgoing and not interested in marriage Zara is the complete opposite. Despite her on off relationship with Luke when the handsome and wealthy Henry comes into her life she thinks all her dreams have come true. But Ivy and Henry don’t seem to hit it off and there is something they aren’t telling Zara. A sudden death brings everything to a climax and as secrets are revealed is Zara safe?

I read this in a day I was so engrossed in the story. The relationships between the two girls is laid out brilliantly and even better ‘that’ ending when Zara has to make the most difficult decision of her life. A really good easy read, some humorous moments and some great twists and turns. Fabulous!

💄 The Perfect Match 💄

I've never met a main character I wanted to throat punch more in the face.

This Pollyanna train wreck had 0 redeeming qualities and I hated everything about her.

With this ambiguous opinion, it's no surprise this book by Dandy Smith was a miss for me.

"Best friend or boyfriend, who would you believe?"

I never cared because it took me becoming AARP eligible before anything even happened!

These slow burn types of books just have me dragging lately. I don't get it.

It wasn't until the 80% mark where things started to pick up, but by then my distaste for everyone was like my distaste of yogurt. I was out.

Thank you Netgalley and Embla Books for the ARC.

WOW , this was a twisted, very clever read! I was new for reading with this author and I cant say enough great things about this book! It was fantastic! 3.5 STARS

I really wanted to know the truth and I admit to putting this book down a few times at the start but it did pick up and in the end I really enjoyed it. But if a slow burner for me.

I wonder if I need to stop reading thrillers - every single one I’ve picked up within the last year has been such a disappointment.

“Best friend or boyfriend, who would you believe?”

This book felt like a novelization of the first season of You (yes I’m aware that was a book as well but the show is a better comparison). The entire book you are wondering which person is crazier, Zara’s best friend Ivy or her dreamy boyfriend Henry. Personally, I thought that Ivy was psycho and manipulative and Henry was a gaslighting narcissist, but the main character was so unlikable I didn’t think she deserved either of them.

This book was so forgettable and boring - I probably would have abandoned it halfway if I didn’t get it as a ARC request.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Embla Books for sharing a digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

*received this as an ARC from netgalley. I enjoyed this book. The beginning was a little slow but then the last 4 hours I read straight through. The end keeps you wondering. I’m only assuming the end decision. I don’t really love books that just end so I’m pretending I know what happened ha!!