At first, I was just like GIRL GET OUT OF THERE! But then further into the story, I see what's what and I'm like GIRL GET HIM! This was a wild ride and I was totally here for it! This was my 1st book by Hayley Smith but it won't be my last!

#ThePerfectGirlfriend
#NetGalley

The Perfect Girlfriend by Hayley Smith

Narrator: Katie Villa
Publisher: Bookouture
Release Date: July 20, 2023
Listening Time: 9 Hours, 5 Minutes

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological

Lauren is dealing with issues in life. She was in a relationship with a married man that ended badly. Her family is embarrassed of her and hasn’t had anything to do with her. Now she is living with her friend Rachel. She is playing the violin in a folk band filling in for an injured player for the spring and summer festival season.

She meets Jason at a festival and spent the rest of the weekend together. He asks her to move in with him in his country cottage after the tour ends. She surprises herself when she says yes. Once she gets to the house it is not what she expected. Jason sells her stereo without her knowledge and then wants her to sell her car since they do not have enough money. She is constantly questioning him about his past, but he is always evasive. She is suspicious about him but has become addicted to him.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. I did not know where this book was going. I thought it was heading in one direction, but it quickly turned around with a twist. If you like psychological thrillers, this is a must read/listen.

I was drawn to this book because my name is Hayley and it’s spelled the same way as the authors. You don’t really see it spelled that way, so I was intrigued. I also really like the cover.

Then the main characters name is Lauren, my middle name. Spooky.

Lauren is a fiddler in a band call Cuckoo Spit. Her life is on the rocks and she’s had to leave her hometown due to some unfortunate incidents. While at a music festival she meets Jay and they have a whirlwind romance and she ends up moving in with him out in the middle of nowhere. Some weird stuff starts to happen to her and she suspects Jay isn’t all he seems.

Aside from the coincidences, I really enjoyed this book. I was drawn in from the beginning. It was very twisty and had me on the edge of my seat. I’d compare it to authors like Ruth Ware or Lisa Jewell. I look forward to reading more of Hayley Smith’s books!

3/5 ⭐️
This was pretty good. I always love the trope when the person gets totally obsessed with someone and knows everything about them and then molds their personalities into something that other person would love. Really good writing and I enjoyed the characters.

Just when everything in Laurens life has hit rock bottom and she is at her lowest point she meets a great guy who lives a few hours from her home and family. Within a week he asks her to move in with him and she thinks perfect. His home is a few hours away from all of the bad things that have occurred and she can start anew. She packs up and heads off for a whole new life with Jay. They’re living a self sufficient life, playing music and rehabbing the off the grid house together. As she is in some ways loving her new life, she also starts to grow suspicious of Jay and his friends. Secrets, Jays volatile temper, a lot of lies and deception and more start to unnerve her. Turns out he isn’t the only one with secrets. The author has woven a twisted, dark story that will most certainly surprise you at the end. The narration was fabulous.

This debut novel was exceptionally well-written!🙌🏻 I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The author's writing style was easily understandable, the unexpected plot twists kept me on edge, and the pacing was skillfully maintained.

Lauren, who recently ended a toxic long-term relationship, yearns for a fresh start. At a music festival, she meets Jay, and they instantly connect. Soon after, she decides to leave behind her friends and family to stay with him in a remote cottage without any network service. However, suspicions arise as she finds weird things around the house.👀 Jay harbors numerous secrets that fuel Lauren's anxiety, prompting her to dig deeper for the truth. As the story unfolds, she questions whether she truly knows her boyfriend and if her decision to abandon her previous life to move in with him was a right choice.

At times, I found myself wanting to shake Lauren awake to make her realize the gravity of her situation, as it made me anxious😂 However, as the story progressed, I was genuinely impressed by Lauren's wit. The author adeptly crafted suspense, flawed characters, and a captivating setting.

Katie Villa, the narrator, did an outstanding job bringing this thrilling story to life by skillfully portraying the characters.

I would like to express my gratitude to Bookouture Audio and Netgalley for providing me with an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

In a way, I feel like this book exceeded my expectations. It had a great plot and I have to admit, it kept me intrigued until the very end. It was very well written, even if I listen to the audio version and I enjoyed the narrator's voice.

I was amazed to find out that this book is a debut novel from Hayley Smith, considering that's a very good book which for sure I would recommend it.

Not last, I would like to thank Netgalley, the author and the publisher for offering me the opportunity to listen to this book before being released in exchange for my honest review.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great! I enjoyed the twists and turns of the book but wish there had been more character development. I read that this is the author’s debut novel and for that, I am super impressed and know she will have a brilliant writing career, I will definitely read more by her!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for the ARC of#ThePerfectGirlfriend by #HayleySmith. As her debut album she did a wonderful job. Maybe I am in need of a hair color change. The narrator was perfect.

The Perfect Girlfriend was a great debut novel, but one that I just couldn’t feel connected to. I wish there would have been a bit more backstory on the MC, as I just didn’t feel like I could connect with her at all. I struggled to really get into this story and to see where it ultimately was going.

Jay and Lauren met at a music festival and instantly connected. She moves in to his secluded home only to find out he has all sorts of secrets - as does she.

A lot of interesting moving parts thrown into this book, maybe too many? Drugs, sex, bondage, secrets, dead people, ghosts - such an odd mixture.

That being said, I did listen to all of it (the narrator was great) and glad I did. The ending twists I just didn’t see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this advance audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Read this if you like:
music/festivals
love at first sight
don’t know who to trust
secrets
isolated environment

This is my first ALC from Netgalley and I’m a bit conflicted about my feelings for this book as it’s never easy to give negative feedback especially when it’s your first RC you get. I was super excited after reading the summary because it seemed like this would be a very dark and tensive read. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case at all.

In general the story is moody but lacks a lot of suspense for me. The MCs aren’t likable at all, none of them. Lauren is very naive and most of the time I didn't understand her decisions at all. Jay seemed very manipulative and egocentric.

There are a lot of mixed storylines that create a messy feeling without concrete addition to the main story and it all feels superficial for a long time. When everything started to develop, I felt a bit disappointed because the secrets aren’t as dark and twisted as I hoped for nor was the ultimate plot twist.

I’ve listened to the audiobook version which I enjoyed because the narrator uses a lot of intonations, but I did find the chapters a bit too long and because there were also pieces that eventually turned out to take place in the past, it was not always clear what it was all about.

Despite the less pleasant experience, I would like to thank @netgalley and @bookouture for this ALC.

Thank you, NetGally and Bookouture Audio for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

I think think was an great debut. It was fast paced and twisty.
I did struggle with some of the MC's decisions at various points, but all of her decisions were based on a master plan.
While there wasn't a big twist in the end, the ending was great nonetheless.
I will definitely be checking out future books by Hayley.

Side note, this book has one of my all time favourite dedications - "For my parents, who taught me to read."

Lauren and Jay met at a music festival. They instantly fell for each other. Not soon after, Jay even asked Lauren to move in with him. Not thinking twice, Lauren left everything behind and moved into a remote cottage in the woods with Jay. Once they were settled in, Lauren noticed that Jay wasn't the perfect man she had thought. He was secretive and controlling. What was he hiding? Could Lauren uncover his secrets before it's too late?

This was a good story with a few twists and turns. Why only three stars? It's because I couldn't connect with any of the characters. This novel does have quite a few high ratings. So if you're a fan of thrillers, you should check this novel out.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Hayley Smith, and Bookouture Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Lauren and Jay meeting during music gigs by chance, and then they decide to move in together - while Lauren is enjoying the slow and mindful living, she is also finding all of Jay's friends to be strange in their own way. Jay's close friend Rick hates Lauren for some reason and is always making snide comments and remarks!

Lauren also learns a lot of hidden secrets in the house - there's a strange door with a missing key, then there are special kisses - what is Jay doing to her? And what secrets has Lauren come to unearth at Jay's house?
The writing of this book was really different, a bit slow at the beginning as the author introduces us to the characters lives and then the story picks pace, there's no stopping it!

Katie Villa's narration was a good addition to this intriguing book.
Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture Audio and Hayley Smith for approving the ALC in exchange for honest review.

There wasn’t enough backstory, I didn’t feel connected to (so didn’t care about) any of the characters, and I thought the random sex bondage stuff was gratuitous and came out of nowhere.

The story was just generally clunky and disjointed.

Enjoyed this audio book , Jay seems like the perfect boyfriend and after a chance meeting at a festival when Jay asks Lauren to move away and live with him she jumps at the chance
All seems perfect but both of them have secrets to hide and the cottage she has Lauren pictured from Jays description is not as she imagined but she aims to change that.
A few nice twists in the storyline keep it interesting up until the end

This was an exciting listen! Just when I think I’ve got where it was going … sharp right turn! It kept me guessing the whole book. The narrator did an excellent job of keeping the story interesting and wanting more. I’m very happy to have been selected for an advanced copy of this book

I enjoyed the audio version of The perfect Girlfriend which I received from Netgalley. It is, though, very, very chilling and yet totally gripping! I found myself wanting to shout at Lauren to make her see sense.
The narrator was perfect, although I did find her voice for jay just a bit off but that just added to the unease so maybe it was deliberate.

Intense psychological thriller, would make a good TV series.

Not my usual genre, but I dabble, especially on audiobook as thrillers are often very straightforward narrations that don't skip around too much and pass the time driving very quickly.

I had thought this might be a bit more about a woman's descent into submission and loss of control/will, so the mid-way twist got me. But I did quite like this even if I didn't feel it all came together perfectly.

Lauren decides to move in with Jay very soon after meeting him at the music festival she's performing at. It all seems sudden, but we soon learn she's suffered years of trauma in an unhealthy relationship, lost her job and best friend and needs stability. Jay has a quiet idyllic rural home, lives self-sufficiently, and seems to be offering Lauran the mental calm she craves.

But it isn't long before the reader has suspicions that things aren't right. And Lauren does too. Jay's best friend seems to be very hostile towards her, Jay's van is often covered in accusing messages, there are lots of references to an old girlfriend everywhere...

Working out what's going on is always at the heart of thrillers, racing the protagonist to reach the solution first. It's satisfying enough, but a lot of exposition and I just didn't really like anyone very much really, even Lauren, who I was meant to sympathise with. Even knowing what we pick up through the book, I still didn't understand or agree with her actions, they still didn't make sense to me.

This makes a fast-moving audiobook, good narration and very easy to follow, with lots of twists and information thrown at you all the way through.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.

Well this was an interesting listen. At the beginning I wasn't sure what to make of it and I hated the main characters but then it all started to come together as more and more clues were given, in the end I was really intrigued and wanted the best for the right person (dont want to spoil it) Loved the ending it was poetic but bittersweet

The narration really worked and kept with the story

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.