An interesting storyline and lots of twists make this an intriguing quick read. Although not my favourite read by S.E. Lynes, I did like it.
Thank You to NetGalley, Bookouture, and S.E. Lynes for the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC.

THE PERFECT BOYFRIEND by S.E. Lynes
Release date set for the 6th of January 2025.
this is my first book by this author.
It's a fast paced psychological thriller.
The suspense.
It's so unpredictable.
I will read another book by this author some day

First off this book took right off and kept me engaged all the way through. While the killer was not hard to guess the reasons why kept the story going.

Kristy is a very pregnant midwife waiting to go out on maternity in just a few more shifts. First, her neighbor comes up missing and Kristy is on the hunt to find out where she could be. She spends time trying to find anyone who has seen or heard from her. Kristy has received a few texts from her but they just seem off. A few days later while her husband is out with friends on the river a body has been discovered. Oddly Kristy has received messages from old Mrs Wood from when she would have already been dead.

Kristy runs into an old boyfriend or at least she thought. Unfortunately for her she learns that the new Dr is not who she thought he was…..what can he be hiding.

A nightmare of a boyfriend would be accurate for this ex. While she attempts to move on in with her life as a midwife at a local hospital, a marriage to a caring husband, and expecting her first child. Only to have her sense of normalcy thrown into a tail spin by the ex boyfriend or is it him? Is she just losing her mind? Do her loved ones believe her? I especially loved the phrases and names used for things in this book as someone from the USA. I already have S.E. Lynes previous book ready to read on my kindle.

Thank you NetGalley, S.E. Lynes, and Bookoture for the opportunity to read and review "The Perfect Boyfriend".

I absolutely loved this book. It is completely unpredictable and will have you gripped. Honestly you won’t want to put this down, you’ll be desperate to know whats going to happen. Frightening at times I was nervous what was going to happen. Lots of twists. Fantastic.

Wow… what a rollercoaster! I’ve had to take some time before writing my review because S.E. Lynes has given me whiplash with The Perfect Boyfriend.
From the jump, the story contains the “perfect” amount of human interest that had me glued to this book. There’s such a build-up of suspense, I couldn’t guess what was going to happen next. Lynes just kept lining events up and then knocking them out of the park.
I’m a huge fan of this author, but I think The Perfect Boyfriend is my favourite to date!
Will review on Amazon on publication.

This is a great read and one which I devoured as it had great pace and so many twists and turns. The story is told by the 2 main protagonists and it certainly kept me guessing all the way through.

Meeting at school Kirstie and Dougie became a couple and when his break up letter shattered Kirstie’s life she fell apart. Many years later she sees her old love but he says she is mistaken about his identity. What follows is the dark story of revenge, betrayal, love, loyalty and the importance of doing the right thing.

There was an odd twist at the end which I was not expecting and won’t go into so it doesn’t spoil the book for others, however it seemed to come from nowhere and although I had no issue with the outcome it really came from nowhere and I felt added nothing to the story. It could have been a part of the book from the outset?

However this is a great read and one I will recommend. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

The book is written from the perspective of two narrators and presented mostly in transcripts. Kirsty is a midwife, expecting her first baby and living with her partner Dougie in a quite cul-de-sac. There she is very good friends with her elderly neighbour Joan who she checks on and brings food to etc.

At work Kirsty is convinced she sees an old boyfriend who disappeared on her, leaving nothing behind but a nasty note. She begins to dig further into this, spiralling as none of her friends or partner believe this could be true and the same person. Then to top it all of, her neighbour Joan disappears.

I did think this was an enjoyable read overall but found one of the main plot points just unbelievable— I do like that this was addressed right at at the end though!

I hate not finishing a book, so I tried really hard to get into this story but I just couldn't finish it.

The story development was slow & Kirsty was a bit annoying of a character.

I wish I could have gotten into it, but it wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC ebook for my honest review.

This book is absolutely incredible! I couldn't put it down and then if I did I couldn't stop thinking about picking it back up. I read it in 3 sittings and stayed up extremely late to finish it. Brilliant end as well.

This was pretty clever and quick moving, and I liked the characters which doesn't always happen in a psychological thriller. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Kirsty and Hughie tell this twisted tale of a man who reappears- or does he- after not doing well on his exams and ghosting his girl. Kirsty is 8 months pregnant and working as a midwife when she spies Hughie in the corridor of the hospital. But it's not- or is it? And then her neighbor goes missing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Lots of little twists here making this a page turner.

I do like S.E. Lynes' books, so in spite of the awful title I was keen to read this.

Even more so when I realised it was set in Aberdeen, where I live. It adds a certain something to a story when you know and can visualise just about all of the places mentioned. (The weather doesn't come out of it so well - it's permanently freezing in this story. Which.... not necessarily wrong.)

Kirsty is a midwife, happily married to Dougie and expecting her first baby. She's never quite got over what happened with her teenage boyfriend Hughie Reynolds, particularly the way it ended, so when he - or someone who looks a lot like him - turns up at the hospital where she works, everything quickly gets a bit weird. Including the behaviour of her elderly neighbour and friend, Joan...

This was a good read - I liked Kirsty's character, she's brave and persistent despite the vulnerability which comes with late pregnancy.

There were a few twists here which I definitely didn't expect. I did get a bit confused about ages and relationships towards the end and things felt a bit complicated but it all hung together in the end (I think). The Dougie "twist" was well executed and came as a surprise, though I'm not sure what the point was of concealing it.

Overall a very good read.

Kirsty Shaw is a midwife. As the story begins she is in hospital delivering a baby. At the end of her shift, as she leaves, she passes a man in the corridor. He’s clearly a senior member of staff, but she also recognises him as Hughie Reynolds, someone she has not seen for years. He was the love of her life who disappeared when she was seventeen years old.
Kirsty’s decision to make herself known to him backfires when she discovers this doppleganger’s name is Barry Sefton, a consultant anaesthetist. Hughie had his sights set on a medical career in anaesthetics too but failed his school grades. He became angry and frustrated at losing the chance to study medicine. Kirsty, however, passed her exams and went on to become a midwife. Hughie’s failure was the trigger for his departure. He simply disappeared without trace, leaving behind a distraught Kirsty, his parting gift a spiteful letter.

Kirsty, who is expecting her first baby, refuses let go of her conviction this doctor is Hughie Reynolds, pulling both her partner Dougie and close friends into what some feel is fast becoming an unhealthy obsession. What follows is a gripping psychological thriller that has multiple twists, turns and edge of your seat moments. Difficult to put down, it's a book I thoroughly recommend.

Heavily pregnant Kirsty is working as a midwife in a hospital. Whilst on a break one day, she spots who appears to be her high school boyfriend, Hughie, who abandoned her one day never to be seen again. He denies this and says he is an anaesthetist and his name is Barry.

Kirsty is convinced that he is lying but can't understand why he would be back now. She begins an investigation and this sets off a wild chain of events.

The story is told in dual timeline, which I love. It's well written although I will say there were some parts that were repetitive. I flew through this in a couple of sittings. Would recommend to anyone that enjoys a fast paced, easy read thriller.

A twisty psychological thriller which kept me turning the pages. Kirsty is a midwife and is also pregnant herself, after a difficult birth she bumps into an anaesthetist who she is sure is her first boyfriend. He denies knowing her but she is convinced that he is lying. Then strange things start to happen and Kirsty finds herself not knowing who to trust. Told in dual viewpoint, this was an absorbing read.

Kirsty is a midwife in the last few weeks of her pregnancy. While working at the hospital, she sees someone who HAS to be her first boyfriend, but so much time has passed that she is not quite sure. As she searches for more information, she becomes deeply involved in a very twisty plot. This story did have several twists, but did lag at times. I look forward to reading the author’s other books.

I've loved all SE Lynes'books so far. This one didn't work for me as well.

The synopsis and overall storyline is interesting. I felt the writing was rather reptile at times about certain things.

I couldn't warm to Kirsty. I know she's pregnant but she seemed weak and lacking agency. She protests a lot she shouldn't be seen as weak because she's pregnant but I felt as a character she needed more depth and fire.

Generally, it's well written but these aspects affected my enjoyment.

This book had me gripped throughout and I felt Kirstie’s exasperation at the situation! The author skillfully builds the tension and desperation and I raced through it. It all builds to quite an ending!!! Defintely worth a read.

Midwife Kirsty Shaw has just led on a difficult birth. Now mum and baby are settling in, Kirsty realises just how tired she is. Eight months pregnant herself, with just a few more shifts to do before her maternity leave starts, Kirsty, though she loves her job, will be glad when she can put her feet up. Her line manager insists that she takes a breather before the next delivery, so Kirsty bundles herself up to face the Aberdeen weather. Walking the hospital corridors she comes fact to face with a blast from the past. Old boyfriend Hughie, who unceremoniously dumped her eleven years previously before disappearing. Both she and her family were very upset at how they had all been so callously treated. Strangely Hughie ignores Kirsty and when she calls his name again, he is adamant she is mistaken, he is not Hughie. At this point most people would take the knock back, realise that a) they were mistaken or b) yes, Hughie really is the thoughtless creep he proved to be. Not Kirsty.

Not a bad start to a book and I really thought it had potential. Sadly these thoughts soon dissipated after constantly reading about whose was the red car, where is Joan and is it Hughie? Far too much repetition, and yes, we get it, late pregnancy can be a trial but the oft mentioned crying, hormones and tiredness really grated. Naive in the the extreme, both Kirsty and Dougie needed a good shake up.

Then, finally, the end, phew! But what an ending. In many books we suspend belief and that only adds to the enjoyment. With this plot not only did we have to go with the flow we had to follow it into the stratosphere. As for the rambling last chapter 😱

Definitely missed the mark for me.

A slow, protracted read that fell far short of this author’s capability.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture.