A fantastic debut novel. I really enjoyed the narrator. I could feel the atmosphere of the story play out especially the impending gloom. The narrator clearly distinguished between the characters in dialogue and tgrte was no need for another.
I felt the emotion throughout and was deeply engrossed in all the scenes.
A fantastic story brought to life through a talented narrator.
Highly recommended 5 stars.
Thank you net gallery and bookulture for my arc

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Where do I start? Lauren and Jay meet at a music festival and hit it off and soon they are living together. As theylcontinue to get to know each other, there are several things that they hide from each other. This was a tough read for me as I just have a problem with the weak women character and how they continue to let men walk all over them and tell them what to do and where to go etc. I would be like you know where the door is don't let it hit you on the way out. There seemed to be a lot going on in this book. Overall, when it came together it was alright but I felt there was just a lot going on in this one that really didn't need to be there I guess. I am struggling a bit with my feelings on this one. Enjoy!!

I listened to the audiobook of The Perfect Girlfriend and it was a great book! I’m a sucker for British accents, so when I heard a clip of the audio sample I knew I was going to love following along. I love the building anticipation and how the author did a fantastic job with their attention to details throughout the book! I felt like it had many moments where my stomach was in knots thinking how the scene was going to play out. I did feel like I knew the direction the book was going, but there were moments where the author made me second guess myself, which is a plus!

The Perfect Girlfriend is a book that I found to be slow and uninteresting but then picked up steam in the back half of the book and hooked me in. Lauren and Jay are not together long but they move into Jay's secluded cabin together. The cabin does not have wifi or cell signal so it is truly secluded. Lauren tries to fill the role of the perfect girlfriend, but nothing is as it seems.

Personally, I did not care much about their story. They met at a music festival but none of it was intriguing. Once they move into the cabin some things are a little strange but mostly uneventful. It was not until Lauren’s best friend who recently died comes up that the true motives come into play and the story takes off.

I don’t want to spoil anything but I didn’t expect most of the events that happened in the back half of this book. The second part of this book is enough for me to recommend it but just be warned it's a slow burn.

Thank you Net Galley and Bookoture Audio for the ARC of The Perfect Girlfriend.

Lauren's life is a mess until she meets J. After a whirlwind weekend she is moving in with him to a cottage in the country living off the grid.

But is J who he seems? Who is the mystery ex- girlfriend Ruth? And why is his friend Rick trying to run Lauren off?

As Lauren renovates the rundown cottage, she slowly unravels J's secrets. But what no body knows is Lauren isn't who she seems to be either- and her motives may not be what they think.

The narration of this audiobook was pleasant. I found parts of the novel to be redundant and unnecessary- that kind of thing loses me a bit as a reader or listener.

The plot was a bit slow but concept was great. I kind of want to go off grid and raise some chickens now, lol.

Thanks to all for the audio in return for my honest review.

I really love a thriller, not to mention my favourite trope being a physiological thriller so when I saw this for review I jumped on it.

It was a fantastic, tense, jumpy story about our two main characters in a relationship that can only be said to be bat crazy. I loved the narration and I loved the ending. A refreshing thriller I have enjoyed thoroughly and would recommend on audio.

4 stars

3.5-3.75 stars

This was a fun, interesting story with a bit of a twisty, if semi unbelievable, ending. It wasn’t exactly like things I’ve read in the past, but it did definitely remind me of stories from previous years. I was frustrated with some of the protagonist’s choices and oversights, but in the end, it all seemed to more or less fit, and I was happy with the resolution.

This was a very good, twisty thriller. However it was such a long, slow burn I started to lose interest. The narrator was great, and the story ended up being great, I just wish it hadn’t come with such a slow start.

This book is my kinda of book. I love thrillers so when I had the chance to this ARC i took it. A woman impulsively move to his new partner, then couple lives alone on the edge of a forest, in a ambiance cut off from the rest of the planet. She start to discovering dark secrets in this time. My only downfall is that I felt the story was very cliche and I could find some of the twists in the plot. But is very interesting book I enjoyed Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the access to this ARC

A woman meets a man, typical love story! She moves in, rather quickly and starts to notice a lot of strange things her boyfriend, Jay, is doing. Eveb get warnings from others doesn't deter her.

I really wanted to like this novel and it had a really good start. Unfortunately I was about 50% in when I pieced everything together and then the rest of the book felt like a slog to get through.

It wasn't awfully written but thr story is very cliche.

The Perfect Girlfriend by Hayley Smith is a psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This book was filled with twists and turns and plenty of secrets. It was fun to listen to as an ALC and I can’t wait to recommend it to my bookish friends.

Thank you NetGalley, Hayley Smith, and Bookouture for choosing me for this ALC. Can’t wait for the next one!

So many twists and turns. This book has me never really know what was about to happen next but excited to find out. Loved it! Thanks NetGalley!

The Perfect Girlfriend is a thriller novel about a woman who decides to impulsively go to live with a new love interest in a house in the middle of the woods. She tries to be the perfect girlfriend but it seems like her love interest is keeping secrets from her.

Wow! This thriller was great. I loved the narrator with an English accent and the story was very shocking. Twists kept coming left and right and I did not know what to think throughout the entire book. I did not see the ending coming and I loved every minute of it. Definitely worth reading and I would love to read anything written by Hayley Smith.

This is a very enjoyable debut thriller which will grab your attention from the start and keep you on tenterhooks right until the end. The narrator of the audiobook does a great job conveying an atmosphere of suspense throughout adding to the enjoyment for the listener.

The characters are all well developed and whilst I found the main character a little frustrating at times this didn't impact on my overall enjoyment of the book.

The second half of the book picked up pace and gave rise to several twists and turns leaving you constantly eager to uncover the many secrets and establish the truths. Practically all the characters had their hidden secrets and back stories with everything coming together towards the end.

This is a a gripping read and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I want to thank Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and leave a review for The Perfect Girlfriend. I had a fun time listening to this one today (finished in one day). The narrator was great. The story was entertaining in the sense that I enjoyed the writing, the turns kept me wondering, and I had no major issues with “omg that would never happen” type scenarios. There were a few “I would never do that” scenes, but overall the ability to suspend disbelief was within reach. That is they type of thing we need with thrillers. If they get too wild, it takes the fun out of it.
I did get a little turned off by the repeated mention of “special kisses” that the MC wanted from her boyfriend. The term felt a bit a creepy, not “special”
The final reveal was pretty interesting and I can’t say I figured it out, but also was overly shocked. I won’t say this is a fault of the author, but may just mean I need a break from thrillers. It was an entertaining listen, and I’d recommend for a quick, fun read.

The Perfect Girlfriend by Hayley Smith and Narrated by Katie Villa is an absolutely gripping and breathtaking psychological thriller! I loved it from the start to the end! Finally, I had a book where the action is happening all the time. Where you question everything all the time. You don't need to wait for a long build-up as things happen straight away! I love that! I love that so much! And what I loved, even more, was where the book activity was set up as it's right next to me (I live in Chesterfield). This made me every time when places that are mentioned I know! Made me think, can I find where the village or the farm is?
Narrator Katie Villa has done an amazing job! The flow was easy to understand as the book moved from one chapter to the next. I loved that there weren't many characters so I could easily remember all the names. I was so in the story that I even don't remember how Katie was switching between the characters! Must be good!
What I really enjoyed was that book was set up in present times so no jumping in between the timelines. I don't mind but when each book jumps back and forth it's so refreshing to stay and enjoy things that happen at present time.
This is a story about Jay and Lauren who meet at the music festival and shortly after move in together on the farm that Jay rents from his friend's mum. From the minute Lauren moves in questions start to pop around and makes you wonder what is going on, what is behind this and that. Lauren can't work out how much she can trust Jay at the same time she is not scared to ask questions!
Lauren who used to make mistake after mistake feels she finally has her perfect "forever after" but is it? Even so, Lauren falls in love with the place and new lifestyle each day she comes across secrets and demands answers. Some answers can put her life in danger but will this stop her?

This is the first book by Hayley Smith and I hope it's not the last one as I would love to read/listen to books by this author in the future!
I definitely believe all Freidas McFadden and Kiersten Modglin fans will love this book!

Massive thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for an advance copy!
#ThePerfectGirlfriend #NetGalley #BookoutureAudio

How well do you the person sleeping next to you? How well do they know you? A couple lives alone on the edge of a forest, completely cut off from the world, with no phones, no reception, no internet. She put up with the fact that he often disappears at night because no one is perfect. After all, she has some very dark secrets of her own. This creepy thriller had me hooked.

Excellent read. Fast paced with enough twists and turns to keep you engaged and wanting more. Narrator did an excellent job.

How on earth is this a debut novel!?! It’s an absolute whirlwind of a thriller. Bloomin’ loved it. Cannot wait to read more from this author!

A Tale of Suspense and Subtlety: Unraveling the Intricacies of "The Perfect Girlfriend"

My sincere gratitude goes to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for providing an advance copy of "The Perfect Girlfriend" by Hayley Smith. This absorbing novel offers an exploration into the darker recesses of the human mind and will have readers constantly questioning their perceptions.

Smith delivers a truly exceptional narrative that brilliantly weaves suspense and intrigue throughout the storyline. The book engenders a palpable sense of foreboding from start to finish, cultivating a riveting atmosphere that is sure to keep readers ensnared.

Smith's characters are masterfully crafted, each uniquely chilling in their own right. The character Rick is particularly unsettling, evoking an eerie aura that perpetuates the menacing tone of the book. The child character, meanwhile, is creepy in that uncanny way that only children can be, contributing a distinctively eerie flavor to the narrative.

The story is enriched by a couple of underlying mysteries that ingeniously keep the readers guessing. The reliability of the narration is kept deliberately ambiguous, adding another layer of intrigue to the story. This approach heightens the suspense, constantly leading readers to question what is real and what is mere fabrication.

The narrative structure maintains a steady pace, ensuring readers remain on tenterhooks, anxiously anticipating when the simmering tension will finally reach its boiling point. Smith’s adept handling of suspense sets the stage for a climax that will leave readers stunned and wanting more.

Without venturing into spoiler territory, "The Perfect Girlfriend" is a superb mystery-thriller that will undoubtedly keep readers engaged and eager to unravel the truth. Smith’s storytelling prowess, combined with a knack for creating an engrossing atmosphere of suspense, makes this book an excellent addition to the thriller genre.

To sum up, "The Perfect Girlfriend" is a thrilling narrative ride that expertly blends mystery and suspense, creating a gripping tale that readers won’t be able to put down. A perfect read for those who relish unsettling twists, unending suspense, and the thrill of the unexpected. Loved it!