What a fab psychological thriller from a fellow girly (same name) from Derbyshire too!
There are several characters intertwined, each having their own story but being interwoven with the other ones. It wasn't predictable and it was unputdownable!
The narrator was truly fantastic! .I strongly believe a good audiobook has to have a good story but it also needs to be read by a good narrator. Without the latter, it can affect the entire audio experience..
Big thanks to Hayley Smith, Netgalley abd Bookouture for a free audiobook in return for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book did not download to my shelf so I was unable to listen to the book. However the storyline definitely appealed to me

This one didn't really do it for me. I was initially intrigued but it quickly dropped off in drama. I found the ending to be a little lackluster as well. I felt like the first half of the book was very unbalanced, with too many details at some points and not enough in others. I also didn't find any of the characters to be intriguing so it made it hard to care about what was happening to them. They felt very one dimensional and not developed enough. The plot had a lot of potential but really lacked in execution. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had promise, and I honestly might go back and read this book at some point, but I couldn't get past the narrator. Her voice was fine, and I loved her accent, but she read the entire book in the same voice with very little to differentiate between characters and regular text, I found it very hard to follow. She read the main characters in what seemed to be the exact same tone, which made it very hard for me to tell who was speaking most times. I only got about 20% through and was so lost that I gave up. I had to keep backtracking and trying to figure out who said what that it got frustrating. Then when you throw in a third character, the frustrating became impossible. So I DNF this audiobook, but would still recommend this book. I cannot comment much on the plot, but from what I could follow, it seemed to have merit. I will pick this back up in print at some point, but honestly cannot recommend the audiobook.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to have an ARC of this book, and all opinions stated above are strictly my own.

The Perfect Girlfriend tells the story of Lauren, who meets Jay at a music festival and falls in love, quickly moving in with him and joining him in his secluded life of self-sufficiency. She has her concerns as Jay disappears at night and things don't quite seem to add up, but then Lauren has plenty of secrets of her own...

This is a fast paced psychological thriller which draws you in quickly and keeps you hooked the whole way through. The writing was excellent, especially considering it was a debut novel, and I enjoyed meeting and learning about all of the characters...and trying to figure out what they were hiding!!

The narration can make or break a book, but this was good - I was invested from early on and this continued right up until the very end.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️&🌶🌶

I really enjoyed this one! The twists and turns had me questioning what the heck was going on at times, but it all tied together in the end.

The FMC was really easy to relate to. She went through some real-life shit and was just really relatable with her feelings.

The only reason I put a spicy rating was because there are some sexually explicit scenes. But I don't consider this a spicy book. I can't really elaborate without giving away too much, sorry! 🙊

I went into this blind (like I prefer to do with most books but especially thrillers), and I'm glad I did.

I definitely recommend you read this one if you enjoy thrillers.

I did like this story - it was twisty and interesting. It had a lot going on and would have been just as good without ALL of the twists. I really enjoyed the ending. Audiobook narration was very well done.

Things I adored:
🙋‍♀️Kept me guessing
⁉️The twists
🎀The little girl
🚺Women’s Issues
🎧The narrator

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.5 stars

Wildly addictive. This was like a slice of chocolate cake that I devoured. Although when I looked down I realized I’d eat the whole cake. I absolutely love psychological thrillers, but I hardly ever read them because I’m usually disappointed. But I thoroughly enjoyed this one! I loved the women’s issues that were explored throughout the book. They were woven seamlessly and balanced so well! This book kept me guessing and I really did not see the big twist in the middle coming!

The themes of women helping each other, even down to the little girl was wonderful to see. That part made me cry. I loved that there was a powerful message underneath about women helping each other. How much impact that can have and how much it can have when they don’t. And that we don’t know what’s going on in other people’s lives and how harming jumping to the wrong assumptions can be. I think thrillers are best at teaching us about that. We get to see characters jump to the wrong conclusions and we as readers are encouraged to do so too. It’s the nature of the beast, but it does make you reassess passing judgment in your own life. And this book did such a wonderful job with that theme! Thank you!

Also, this narrator was incredible! One of the best narrations I’ve heard this year. While I prefer male characters to be narrated by female narrators, I am usually disappointed. It was not the case here! The main male voice was done so well!! I’m going to see what else she has narrated! Thanks for taking us on such a suspenseful journey!

CW: I know we expect them with thrillers, but I will include some to be mindful of here in case you want to know ahead of time. Be advised this book deals with emotional abuse (including an underaged relationship) and sexual assault.

*Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, author, and narrator for an advanced copy for this audiobook. All opinions are my own. #ThePerfectGirlfriend #NetGalley

DNFed this one because of some very triggering moments. I would not have picked the book had I known it dealt with abusive relationships or drugs

For the first half of this book, I could not figure out who in their right mind would be living the life Lauren was allowing herself to live — moving in with a man she JUST met, recognizing and allowing him to control who she could talk to, when she could leave, where she could go. It all seemed absurd. This book was slow for me and for the first half or so was only worth about 2-3 stars. I never felt a connection to Lauren - how could I? She wasn’t making decisions for herself that would be real life. But I was given little breadcrumbs that helped explain her decisions. Stick this one out because once it starts to really tie everything up I couldn’t stop listening.

Lolly was my favorite character hands down. The others I never really loved; never had that one person I was cheering for.

1.5 stars

This wasn’t what I was expecting when I read the summary and category of mystery & thriller. Yes there underlying plot is a mystery, but the overall book is about the MC Lauren being in an abusive relationship with Jay.

Jay is a psycho who gives Lauren “magical kisses” which he puts drugs (Special K) into her mouth then he pretty much rapes her while she is tied up. She ends up becoming dependent on these kisses.

Then Jay sells her car so she is trapped at his place with limited use of his vehicles. He is controlling and manipulative and Lauren blows off all of the red flags.

There are so many other triggers in this book that put this book more into a category of a fictional drama vs a mystery thriller. I think if this book was categorized differently, I would not have chosen this book since I don’t enjoy reading about abusive relationships, drugs, BDSM, child abuse/neglect and more like this.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you ever needed a reason not to trust strangers, this book is it.

This book follows the FMC after meeting a man at a music festival and making plans to move in with him. If this isn't an immediate red flag, I don't know what is! 🚩

There were several unexpected twists to this book but overall I felt it was predictable. I've never really read a thriller like this one but it still didn't stand out to me.

Honestly, I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. I don't know if it was the narrator, the writing style, or the storyline that didn't fully click with me but I found this book a slight drag to finish.

Happy publication to Hayley Smith and The Perfect Girlfriend! Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ALC (Advanced Listener 🎧 Copy) for an honest review!

📅 The Perfect Girlfriend by Hayley Smith was published on July 20, 2023. 📅

Lauren is the ideal girlfriend in so many ways. She and Jay fit together like a jig saw puzzle. They can’t stay upset with each other for too long. Their relationship seems way to good to be true. Is it so great because they are sincerely in love?

To the reader some things don’t add up. For starters, they move in together after just one weekend together where they met at a music festival. Jay’s house is in the middle of a dense forest 🌳 with no internet 🛜, no phone signal 📱, no other houses, and no neighbors. Lauren harps on the fact that she is the perfect girlfriend. She even says, “I’ve made absolutely sure I’m his perfect match, in every way….”. Lauren begins to question Jay’s intentions when he leaves the house 🏡 for a few hours each day. She can’t help but wonder if she’s safe living with him. Her gut tells her that she should be scared but her memory fails her as to why. Lauren may also be different from who she appears to be. Does she have a few tricks 🪄 up her sleeve? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

There are lots of twists in this book that keep you engaged. The author leaves the reader with gaps of information that leaves them wanting to solve the mysteries!

So this one was a bit strange for me...but I did like it!
Lauren is a young woman who has literally lost everything. Her best friend died. She is estranged from her family. She has no-one. However, she does love her music. And, she is now a temporary player in a small group that does concerts all over...
Jay is a young guy at one of Lauren's concerts. She sees him. He sees her. And the rest is history. Right?
Ummm...NO!
Jay asks Lauren to move to his place out in the sticks after a passionate night they spent together. Being as she has nothing, she decides to take him up on it. (Wait...what????)
His home is NOT at all as she had imagined. It seems instead like a little bungalow that needs a LOT of work. But she doesn't mind...
(I felt like she was being brainwashed! But then again, she was in a drug inspired stupor quite a bit.)
And she gets to meet his friends. One seems crazier than the next...
And then she learns about his old, long-time girlfriend...who surprisingly sounds like she looked just like Lauren!! :0
The story that follows is one of lust, drugs, rape, physical and mental abuse...and weird, strange dreams...
Took me a while to put the pieces together on this one...as they were a bit blurry.
But, the pieces do all come together with the twists and turns that present throughout the story. And, the last couple of chapters will leave you with your mouth hanging open... Literally!!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookauture for the ARC of the audiobook.
The release date was July 20th, so it is available today!
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me.

What a great debut novel this is! Great story, good pace and with some really good twists and with a narrator that only added to the story. Hayley Smith is definitely an author I will look out for in the future and thanks must go to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Perfect Girlfriend.

I was a little unclear where this one was heading at first but it is a solid debut. The characters had secrets and kept me guessing what they might be. Even Lauren’s when she was our narrator. I wasn’t sure if she was unreliable or just not letting me into that part of the story. None of the characters were very likable but I really wanted to know what was going on and if Lauren’s decisions were as bad as they seemed. It was almost like yelling at a horror movie in the why are you doing that??? And then I’d find out a little more about the situation and it would make the decision worse, not better.

I both read and listened to this one and Katie Villa does a good job as narrator. She skillfully brought the story to life and kept my interest.

This one ends up being pretty dark so make sure and check trigger warnings if you have any. If you are a fan of dark suspense novels with secrets and twists, you should definitely check this one out.

The Perfect Girlfriend Review!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for this gifted audio, in exchange for an honest review! The Perfect Girlfriend is out now!

The Perfect Girlfriend was a 3.75/5 ⭐️ for me!! I loved the setting of a secluded cabin. It was so cozy. This one was fine, I just have a hard time remembering most of the plot and I just read it a couple of weeks ago. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Just one of those cheesy, but suspenseful domestic thrillers and wasn’t as memorable as I hoped!

Synopsis: Lauren and Jay pretty much just met, but when he asks for Lauren to move into his little cottage with him, Lauren drops everything and says yes. His cottage is very secluded, with no neighbors or wifi. Lauren doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that Jay is got at random hours or gets super jealous if she does. She isn’t going to questioned him because she doesn’t want to be questioned in return.

This was a mostly entertaining thriller that threw me for a loop a time or two. I do think there was a little too much going on here that didn't really go anywhere (Damien? ghosts??), but I was intrigued enough to keep going and find out what going to happen.

It was sometimes unclear to me if the main character, Lauren, was supposed to be an unreliable narrator or not. I didn't always understand her motives or actions. There's a twist that happens that felt a little out of left field; I wonder if it would have been more effective with a third-person POV instead of first. With that said, I didn't particularly like her or any character in the book. I think they all just needed more depth and background to understand them better.

I thought the audiobook narrator did a really wonderful job; I would definitely listen to her other books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!

3 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to listen to this in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the narrator Katie Villa as she did a wonderful job.



The novel it's was kind of confusing. It is not that I didn't understand the story but I did feel that for a character that was supposed to be smart Lauren really didn't seem to be all that smart. I felt like there was a lot of plot armor. That being said it is a fun mystery if you don't take it too seriously.

This story was boring as hell to me. It started interesting, and I was hoping the rest would be just as attractive, especially since it was supposed to be a psychological thriller, but unfortunately, the whole action stuck. I didn't have the patience to get to know the fate of a couple in love, Lauren and Jay, because their isolated life revolved only around decorating the house, what would be for dinner, and socialising with friends. The only good thing about this book was the beautiful descriptions—excellent language, picturesque and sensual. The narrator, Katie Villa, also fits the whole story with a pleasant voice, sensible modulation and acting. The rest of the story didn't interest me at all.