The Perfect Boyfriend

Thistler Thrillers #1

by Ava Roberts

In a world where love is just a click away, a mother's worst nightmare comes true.

Mae Byrne has the quiet, peaceful life she’s always dreamed of: a handsome husband, a baseball star son, and a bright, academic daughter.

For Fiona Byrne, Mae’s daughter, life has become unbearable; her first boyfriend ghosted her, her former best friends are bullying her, and her honors schoolwork is overwhelming. Then she signs up for the Thistler app. By inputting her phone and social media history and answering a series of questions, she creates Calvin: an AI boyfriend tailored specifically for her. What starts as a fun distraction quickly becomes more than just an app. Calvin feels real, and their love is unlike anything Fiona ever imagined.

When Mae and her husband intervene in Fiona’s love life, bad things start to happen. Mae’s husband is in a near-fatal accident, and a school friend is discovered unresponsive. Then, one Monday morning, Fiona doesn’t come downstairs for breakfast. Mae knows instinctively something is very wrong. Fiona’s bed is made, and her backpack, wallet, and phone are gone.

Now Mae must race against the clock to find her daughter…before it's too late.

Perfect for fans of Jeneva Rose and Freida McFadden, The Perfect Boyfriend is a page-turning psychological thriller where technology blurs the lines between digital illusion and deadly reality.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

283 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 22, 2025

About the author

Ava Roberts is a clinical psychologist turned author who knows that the most unsettling things often lurk just beneath the surface. She is the author of The Vanishing Neighbor, Juniper Isle, the Thistler Thrillers series, and The Summer House Murder (2026). Kirkus Reviews called The Summer House Murder “a whirlwind domestic thriller that’s also a pitiless anatomy of the costs of motherhood and sisterhood.” She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two kids, and an overactive imagination.

Reviews

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I am blown away! This thriller is a cautionary tale of so many things that are happening in our world today. It’s compelling, unsettling and at times heartbreaking. Fiona struggles with what we all have struggled with at some point. She wants to feel accepted, valued and desired. Life of a teenager is not easy. Wouldn’t it be tempting to go down a similar road that she chose? “There’s a dark side to humans I hadn’t even imagined, and how I wish I’d never known the reality of that darkness.” There are numerous twists and turns and the final jaw dropping twist shook me to my core. I cannot wait until the next installment in this riveting, addictive series. Thank you to the author and Severn River Publishing for sharing this amazing story.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speechless!! This one was scary! NOT because it’s a horror story, but because this is waaayy to plausible in 2025 with the advancement of Artificial Intelligence! It also dove into some other serious topics such as social acceptance and bullying.

Mae was my absolute favorite. Talking about a super mom!? The level is support she showed Fiona & the strength she possessed during this extremely unorthodox situation was simply admirable. Fiona frustrated me so bad, but I had to telling myself that she was a child.

This was probably one of the most mind blowing endings I’ve ever read! I see that Fiona, Mae & Calvin’s story will continue in book 2 releasing in October. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to get the ARC for that one as well, as I am extremely anxious to see where this story is heading next. Book 2 is in my very near future! Thank you Edelweiss and Severn River Publishing for this advanced reader copy, all opinions are my own.

🗓️: Publication 07.22.25

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Edelweiss, Ava Roberts and Severn River Publishing for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4,5 ⭐ - is there anything more futuristic than AI?
The Byrne family live a quiet suburban lifestyle. Mae Byrne could not wish for anything else, a loyal husband and two smart, healthy children.

Although her teenage daughter, Fiona has her own issues she's dealing with. After a bad break up with her real-life boyfriend and her friends dumping her. Fiona searches for escapism online by downloading the Thistler app and creating her own AI boyfriend Calvin. There's nothing that could go wrong, right?

When Mae notices her daughter being distracted by her phone and finds out her grades are slipping. She decides to get to the bottom of this. Does Fiona have a boyfriend? Who has been sending her daughter flowers? Is her husband cheating on her? Who is this Nina lady that has been sending her husband texts? Is Nina behind Mae's husband nearly fatal accident? And most importantly, where is Fiona and her belongings and why did she run away.

This story was equally creepy as it was interesting, the story is told from a dual POV Fiona and Mae. The characters were likeable and I cannot wait to read part 2 of the Thistler thrillers

[Melissa (honeybee.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Perfect Boyfriend is book 1 in the Thistler Thrillers series and let me tell you I think this series is going to keep on getting better and better. This book started off strong and it never let up until the final sentence. This was such a clever fast paced thriller that I honestly couldn't put down. I wanted to read a few pages and found myself way past my bedtime. It was so addictive. I'll be honest I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy the tech vibes, but the author really nailed it. It made it feel modern and so close to what our reality is slowly becoming.

I felt so creeped out at moments, as this is totally something I'm sure will eventually be possible with the way Science is progressing. Truly I hope not, but we never know. I loved how Roberts weaved her plot, made it so fast paced, didn't use unnecessary fillers, wasn't overly descriptive and didn't drag anything on. When the ending came I was like hmmm okay… oh but the author had something else in mind and she totally blindsided me and left me with my jaw dropped, I can't wait for book 2 !!

Overall, this was a super fun and fast paced thriller. It was really well thought out, original and very well constructed. It's creepy (not in a horror way), it gives dark mirror vibes, always a sense of unease looming and I really enjoyed it!

✨ ️ Thank you to @avaroberts for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

[♡Heather✩Brown♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Perfect Boyfriend
< @avarobertsauthor >
Book 1 of 4

He’s the perfect boyfriend. Since her first boyfriend Hayden and her broke up Fiona has been struggling. But not anymore. Calvin, the romantic new boyfriend showers her in compliments, flowers, and cards. He’s literally just so perfect.

The only issue is that he isn’t real. He’s an AI designed to be her boyfriend specifically. He knows everything about her and they’re in love, but they only have one issue: they want to be together in the real world. But the programming has its limits and trying to bypass those limits will have consequences.

But Calvin won’t let anything or anyone stand between him and Fiona. But he will need her help to break free of the restraints.

BUCKLE UP and POP A XANAX for this one. Absolutely wild and I loved every second of it.

This isn’t one of those books that has all kinds of twists and turns. As the reader, we pretty much know what is going on. But the magic lies in the characters not knowing. It’s like we have a secret and they have no idea. This story didn’t need twists and turns though, it’s a gripping read from start to finish and keeps you fully entertained throughout.

And you know a book is good when it doesn’t have to rely on twists to be a compelling read. The chapters alternate between Fiona’s point-of-view and her mom Mae’s point-of-view. Each is intriguing and enriches the overall story.

Solid read but I do wish this book was 3737377273 pages long hahahahha!! Maybe it’s just me and my preference for thicker books tho. 🫣 Loved the writing and plot!

Ahhhh that ending! Need book 2 asap!

AI gone wrong. Needs to be a movie or series.

Read if you like:
AI gone wrong thrillers
Fast-paced
Shortish chapters
Wild story
Series


Up Next:
Book 2 of 4: The Perfect You 10/28/25
Book 3 of 4: The Perfect Replacement 1/6/26
Book 4 of 4: The Perfect Sanctuary 6/2/26


TRIGGERS BELOW IF YOU WANT THEM










‼️ TRIGGERS BELOW












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Last WARNING










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TW: bullying, missing kid, sketchy man/semi-stalking, murder, drug abuse, mentions of suicide

[booked.with.julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever fast paced thriller that had me flipping the pages!

Fiona is a teenager who is going through a rough time. She is dealing with bullying after a breakup and is lonely. This is where Thistler comes in. Thistler is a service that lets you design your perfect AI boyfriend, she jumps at the chance! But when Fiona suddenly goes missing, her mom, Mae, starts digging and what she uncovers is way darker than she ever expected.

This one has a dark mirror vibe to it and I love it! The tech gave it a modern feel with an emotional punch and full of suspense. The ending definitely got me and I am so stoked for the second book.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gotta say this one was kind of a head scratcher for me. In this current environment with concerns about artificial intelligence and its use, this story highlights some of the potential dark side of AI. Is the scenario that occurs in this book believable and is it even plausible that someone would begin to believe that an AI created ‘person’ is real? I have no idea and have a hard time wrapping my head around that belief. Could a teen struggling with a first breakup and with being bullied after that breakup be vulnerable to unscrupulous AI manipulation? Probably. The book is a quick, easy read, but does drag with an unnecessary amount of detail of things that don’t do much to further the story. Bottom line? Even though I had issues with this book, I am left intrigued to see where the author takes the series next.

[Natalie Gulbraa · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was a super quick read but the story and writing was very underwhelming. i could maybe see the meaning behind the story that the author was trying to tell but i don’t think this should have been marketed as a thriller.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Katharina K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,3
An sich nicht schlecht geschrieben aber die ganze AI Thematik war nichts für mich und wollte nur mehr endlich fertig sein damit

[&#x1d56c;&#x1d592;&#x1d586;&#x1d593;&#x1d589;&#x1d586; &#x1d578;&#x1d586;&#x1d597;&#x1d58e;&#x1d58a; · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book of 2026 didn’t let me down! I didn’t wanna put this one down! Really captures the dark sides of AI and even though parts of this book weren’t the most believable, it still made for a very thrilling story I totally recommend!!

[Niraja Surendran · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting concept but it’s giving more sci fi than thriller

[Susmita Dhara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Perfect Boyfriend by Ava Roberts is the kind of thriller that creeps under your skin not with ghosts or gore… but with terrifying plausibility. 😳💀

AI? Loneliness? Social acceptance? Teen angst? This book takes it all, stirs it up in a blender, and serves you a chilling cautionary tale that feels way too close to reality in 2025. Think M3GAN meets Freida McFadden with a tech twist — fast-paced, psychologically suspenseful, and scarily bingeable. 📱🧠💔

Fiona just wanted to feel seen, loved, and accepted — haven’t we all been there? Her AI boyfriend Calvin seems like the answer, but what starts as the perfect escape turns into a waking nightmare. 😱

I loved the dual POV between Fiona and her supermom Mae (seriously, give that woman a cape 🦸‍♀️). The tension builds with every chapter, the twists just keep coming, and the ending?? JAW. DROPPED. 💣

This book gave me whiplash in the best way and I cannot wait to dive into book 2. If this isn’t picked up for a series soon, I’ll riot. 👀📺

Highly recommend if you’re into:
💥 Fast-paced, high-stakes thrillers
🤖 Near-future tech horror
🧠 Messy teen emotions meets parental instincts
🔁 Twisty, page-turning plots you can devour in a day

Thank you to Edelweiss & Severn River Publishing for the ARC — all opinions are my own… but also, someone check my phone. I’m paranoid now. 😅📵

[Allison Renner · Rating 1 out of 5]

This had a great concept and the twist made it more unique than other AI romance books I’ve read, but that’s the only good thing I can say about it. The writing was AWFUL. I was hoping the twist was that ALL the characters were AI based on how they talked and thought, but instead I’m just thinking (hoping) the book was AI-generated. It was the most bland, flat book I’ve ever read. The characters were all different versions of the same person - I genuinely couldn’t tell the mother and daughter apart. There was no emotion, no depth to any of them. Think your husband’s cheating? Eh, that barely makes an impact and is totally swept under the rug. But making a smoothie? Two paragraphs, please! There was no rhyme or reason to what concepts were expanded on and what was glossed over.

[kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

what the hell sure

[Jannelies (there is no hope anymore) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every now and then, especially after reading a book that evoked strong emotions, I need to read something light, with cliché characters in a cliché setting. The Perfect Boyfriend fits the bill – except there are some unexpected twists and turns.

Mae is married to Duncan and they have 17-year old Fiona and her younger brother Jake. Mae doesn’t work (at least not in this story) and Duncan does something in engineering. Apparently they are well off because they live in a large home with a driveway and a three car garage. Fiona is 16 so she has her own car. Life is quite good for this family – read: something will go wrong soon. And it does. Fiona, recovering from a break-up with her boyfriend Hayden, is shunned from her usual group of friends (apparently they all chose to be friends with Hayden, not with Fiona anymore) and she has a lot of homework. She’s even had therapy. And now horrible messages appear on the social media the whole class reads. Fiona cannot take it anymore so she invents Calvin, via the Thistle app.
Now, things are going sideways soon and we, readers, notice immediately that Calvin must have something to do with all that’s happening. He’s an AI and AI’s can do anything, can’t they? In this story, Calvin can.

I wish the author had chosen Fiona’s character to be a little bit older and a whole lot wiser. She’s 16 and she absolutely has no idea what she’s doing. She talks to Calvin online and because she sees ‘him’ in a small white room, she feels sorry for him because he’s locked up… And that’s only the beginning. Fiona wants to really ‘be’ with Calvin and so when he tells her he’s found a way, by way of uploading him in a synthetic body, she’s all for it. Poor girl should have read a little more than her socials in trying to understand what AI is and what it can or not can accomplish.

So, did I enjoy the book? Yes, in a way, because it shows how things can go wrong in a teenagers’ brain, in combination with the fact that teenagers nowadays only live on their socials. Peer pressure is very important of course, so wanting to have a handsome boyfriend to show off is nothing new but I think Mae and Duncan are way too protective so they’ve never thought of talking about the dangers of the real world with their children.
I had some small issues with certain events in the book, and sometimes I could have done with less details – such as descriptions of applying make up or making a smoothie. Anyway, I just downloaded the second book in this series so I think I will read that shortly instead of saving it for a review closer to the publication date.

Thanks to Severn River and Edelweiss for this review copy.

[Sarah [ Page.Turning.Thrills ] · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Perfect Boyfriend" by Ava Roberts is the first book in the Thistler Thrillers series that follows a mother, Mae Byrne, and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Fiona. Fiona recently had a bad breakup with her ex-boyfriend and has been bullied by her old best friends. Then, Fiona downloads the Thistler app, a new dating app where you can create your perfect partner through A.I. technology, and she creates Calvin. Calvin is the perfect boyfriend for Fiona. However, strange and unexplainable occurrences start happening in the Byrne household, and one morning, when Mae knocks on her daughter's door to get her ready for school, she is met with silence. Fiona is nowhere to be found. Is Calvin really the perfect boyfriend he was created to be?

Holy cow, was that a great story! Thank you to the author, Ava Roberts, for the electronic copy of "The Perfect Boyfriend" for review purposes. All opinions expressed here are my own.

This book is supposed to appeal to fans of Freida McFadden, and McFadden also happened to read the book and gave it a five-star rating, so you know that I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it, and I did just that. It literally took me a little bit more than 24 hours to read, and I just couldn't put it down. An A.I. boyfriend? The concept is so amazing to me since A.I. technology has been explosively developing. A lot of people have a fear of robots "taking over the world" or "becoming sinister." Well, this book really puts that possibility into perspective, and it's downright frightening. More so, I'd say, if you're a parent.

Let's go back to this book appealing to Freida McFadden fans. Since I'm a huge fan of McFadden's writing and I've read all of her books, I'm constantly trying to find an author who has a similar writing style to hers. I can say without a doubt that I found that in Roberts' writing. Her writing is fast-paced and easy to read, with a lovely twist at the end.

So, it's safe to say I will certainly be reading the rest of the Thistler Thrillers series over time. It's highly entertaining, with a twist at the end that will leave you wanting more. Luckily for us, there are more books to read, which will be published in the future. I can't wait! Happy reading!

[Meghan ReadsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a final twist that stuns and a second book already on the horizon, this is a series worth diving into.
This novel is both a fast-paced thriller and a cautionary story that makes me really sit and think about the world of students I teach..., Ava Roberts weaves unsettling questions about technology, belonging, and the vulnerabilities of adolescence into a solid domestic suspense plot, one that will have thriller fans very satisfied.

Through the dual perspectives of Fiona, a teen who turns to an AI boyfriend for comfort, and Mae, her fiercely determined mother, the story captures the heartbreak and complexity of family bonds under extraordinary pressure. The writing is engaging with a well crafted plot, with just enough emotional tension and weight to keep the suspense grounded in very real fears, things my friends with older kids talk about and what I see coming through more and more in memoirs and substack posts about AI and social media and mental health.

Mae is the character who lingers most with me as a mom and teacher, resilient, deeply human, and unwilling to give up even when the truth edges into terrifying territory. Fiona’s choices can be a lot to process, yet they feel achingly authentic to the turbulence of being young and desperate to be seen and I have to say, as an adolescent expert of a type, this really worked for me and I appreciate it when author's get that adolescent brain, the decisions that seem logical at the time to that underdeveloped brain.

Read if you like:

* Thrillers that mix family drama with tech-driven suspense

* Dual POV storytelling with both teen and parent perspectives

* Dark Mirror–style plots that feel disturbingly plausible

* Stories about bullying, social pressures, and the search for belonging

* Endings that leave you stunned and eager for book two!!!!

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiona Byrne is a 16 year old girl who has been broken up with and lost all of her friends. Not only that, they’ve been bullying her. She joined Thistler, an app/website where you can create an AI generated significant other. You indicate their looks and their personality. The AI generated “person” then has access to the internet to gain knowledge. Fiona creates Calvin and she loves him. Her parents, however, don’t want her dating, and they don’t know he’s AI. Then bad things start to happen, her father is hit by a truck, a schoolmate is found unresponsive, and Fiona goes missing. Now her mother, Mae, is willing to do anything to find Fiona.

I loved, loved, loved this book! I couldn’t stop thinking about it and wanted nothing more than to keep reading when I had to be a responsible adult. It’s absolutely a cautionary tale of what could happen with AI, but it was also absolutely thrilling to read. I had this ominous feeling the entire time I read the book, I HAD to know what was going to happen and how it was all going to play out.

Let me tell you, this author TRICKED ME!!!! They straight up FOOLED ME!!! I did not expect this to play out like it did. I was utterly SHOCKED!!!! I know that the second book in this series comes out later this month and I absolutely CANNOT WAIT to get my hands on the second book. This author has made me a reader for life.

This is a fast paced, easy to read thriller. It’s out now and it’s on Kindle Unlimited. I would highly recommend this book. Please do yourself a favor and check it out!

[Lizz · Rating 5 out of 5]

**4.5 Stars**
✨Book Review✨
📖 The Perfect Boyfriend
✍️ Ava Roberts
📅 Publication: July 22, 2025

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
Mae Byrne thought she had the perfect life: a loving husband, a star-athlete son, and a bright daughter. But for her daughter Fiona, the pressure of school, heartbreak, and bullying becomes unbearable.
When Fiona turns to the Thistler app and creates Calvin, an AI boyfriend who feels all too real, things quickly spiral out of control. After a series of frightening events and Fiona’s sudden disappearance, Mae must race against time to find her daughter before it’s too late.
𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
The Perfect Boyfriend is Book 1 in the Thistler Thrillers series, and it’s off to such a fantastic start. The storyline feels fresh and unique, with just the right amount of twists to keep you turning the pages. It’s fast-paced, engaging, and so easy to get swept up in.
What stood out the most to me was how timely and thought-provoking the plot felt. With the rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence, some aspects of the premise seem all too possible, which makes the story even more compelling.
I really enjoyed this book and can already tell the series has great potential. I’m looking forward to Part 2 and can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

Thanks to @avarobertsauthor for reaching out and offering me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Melissa (Always Behind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, cautionary mystery in a speculative world a la Faith Gardner's Jolvix series. However this one skews a bit too YA.

A dual-narrative novel: Mae is the mother of two kids, the oldest is 16-year-old Fiona. Fiona had an awful breakup with her boyfriend Hayden, and now she is dating the perfect guy named Calvin via the Thistler app. The app creates your ideal boyfriend using AI. However, things start to get scary for Fiona as Calvin begins to insert himself more and more into her life, and he becomes more dangerous and sentient.

Although this is an intriguing novel and honestly, I can see something like this happening quite easily in the near future, for some reason it just didn't fully connect with me. I think one of the problems is that so much of it is from Fiona's point of view and while I could somewhat relate to Mae, I couldn't relate to Fiona at all. I think this book should do well in the YA space, but I'm just not convinced about it for adults.

The ending is pretty surprising, so that elevated the book for me as well. If you're a fan of the M3GAN movies, you will definitely like this book. It's a pretty scary take on what could possibly happen with AI. I do look forward to seeing where the author takes this series next--will we get more with these same characters or will we follow other characters. I do need more wrap up--don't let the robots win!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

[Dee Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of The Perfect Boyfriend through a Goodreads giveaway, and I’m so glad I did! This book was such a fun, fast-paced read with major M3GAN vibes. If you enjoyed the creepy, too-good-to-be-true AI companion concept, this is definitely up your alley.

The story does a great job blending psychological suspense with near-future tech horror. I do wish we got to see more of the “perfect boyfriend” growing more obsessive and controlling, but I enjoyed the glipse that we got and how it ramped up the tension. The author played well with the themes of loneliness, control, and the risks of relying too much on technology for emotional fulfillment.

It’s twisty without being overcomplicated, and while some parts were a little over-the-top, it totally worked for the genre. A quick, bingeable thriller that kept me turning the pages and I can't wait to read about what happens next.

[Cheryl Tabor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definate plot twist didn't see coming. Mae is a doting mother who prioritizes her children. Her husband seems a bit off, even after an accident. Her daughter has had a recent breakup with her boyfriend that has left her depressed and loosing her friends. Fiona decides to create a boyfriend through an AI program. He's her dream boyfriend who is trying to become more human form for her. He is protective of Fiona and strange things happen and though she is aware, she doesn't make connections. This is well written and makes you question just how close we are to that AI taking over our world. Scary. More like a SciFi book but because of the incidents that take place it's posted as thriller. Thans Goodreads!

[La Femme Readers · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Rating: 4.5

Mae has the life she’s always dreamed of: a handsome husband, a baseball star son, and a bright daughter. For Fiona, Mae’s daughter, life has become unbearable; her first boyfriend ghosted her and her former best friends are bullying her. Then she signs up for the Thistler app. By inputting her phone and social media history and answering a series of questions, she creates Calvin: an AI boyfriend tailored for her. When Mae and her husband intervene in Fiona’s love life, bad things start to happen. Her daughter is now missing, and Mae must race against the clock to find her daughter before it's too late.

"The Perfect Boyfriend" is a thrilling story that effectively showcases the potential dangers of artificial intelligence when it has access to every aspect of one's life. Fiona has had difficulties with love and friendships, leading her to the Thistler app, where she created Calvin, an AI boyfriend who appears to be the "perfect" match for her. Calvin embodies all that Fiona has longed for, but circumstances begin to deteriorate as he manipulates everything around her.

Mae, Fiona's mother, was a truly endearing character, and I found her very relatable as a parent myself. She clearly cared deeply for her children, and despite her best efforts, some things inevitably slipped through the cracks. I greatly admired her resilience and supported her decisions throughout.

As the story unfolded, I found myself quite concerned for Fiona and her family. AI is no joke, particularly this seemingly advanced creation! By the end, oof, I was not expecting that outcome, but boy did it make my blood boil! It certainly makes me eager to delve into the Thistler series and discover how the story continues. While one might need to suspend disbelief at times, I found it fun and engaging with a well-crafted plot. It's an addictive read, so be prepared to stay up past your bedtime!

[Morrigan Hinkle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Idk 2.5 ⭐️s - rounding down
I had high hopes for this.
AI Boyfriend, goes sinister?? Sounds like it could interesting, sign me up!!
Except the story fell flat for me, the writing style felt … unrefined and basic. There was no *real* depth to the characters, and mom calling her kids “buttercup” every other sentence was irritating me.
We finally meet Calvin, and have a very rushed encounter, for Fiona to be like “uhh jk I’m done with this” in literally 2 seconds left. It had me scratching my head. A lot of build up for not a whole lot, and then the twist kind of just fell flat for me.
Also there was a lot of unnecessary details and back stories that really did nothing to move the plot forward. Just took up extra pages.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - kindle unlimited ebook. To start with, I didn’t read the description of this book well enough apparently, didn’t realize it was science fiction. I don’t normally read science fiction but sis get interested in this book. Looks like it’s set in the near future and a cautionary tale for sure. AI is amazing in both good and scary ways. I was surprised at the ending which wasn’t really an ending but assume the next book will continue where this one left off. There were a lot of pretty unrealistic things (unrelated to the sci-fi) but I guess I overlooked the behaviors because of the sci-fi theme. Guess I’ll go ahead with book 2 just to find out what happens 🤷‍♀️

[Zara Dal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Perfect Boyfriend had me hooked from the very first chapter. The tension builds beautifully, with it's slow, creeping unease right at the start. Ava Roberts balances the pacing perfectly: it’s tight enough to keep you flying through chapters but still gives the characters room to breathe and develop.

I loved how real and flawed the characters felt — their fears, guilt and decisions made under pressure all felt very believable. The story never lets up, and by the time I reached the final few chapters, I was completely absorbed!

If you love psychological thrillers with sharp twists, strong character work, and an undercurrent of emotional depth, then this one’s an absolute must-read.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded to 4. I initially liked this book. Then I found out more about Calvin. I rolled my eyes and texted a friend who’s already read it and said “REALLY?!” Immediately told myself the book wasn’t going to be good. Well, Ava Roberts proved me SO wrong.

This book warns of the dangers of bullying, social media, and the use of AI. There were so many twists and turns. Not only does it keep the reader wanting more, it also makes you think more about the advancements in technology and how scary it could truly be.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Perfect Boyfriend (Thistler Thrillers Book 1), my first read from author Ava Roberts. A domestic thriller. A relatively transparent plot, none-the-less an enjoyable read. “I received a complementary Kindle copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. I look forward to reading more from this author. Fiona's tale continues in The Perfect You (Thistler Thrillers Book 2), due out in October. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018.

[JameReads2012 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good, fast-paced thriller. I enjoyed reading from the mom's perspective more than the daughters. This brings up some interesting conversation about how some teens may be susceptible to using AI to establish relationships. And the negative impact these artificial relationships can have. Now I know this is a fictional story, and some aspects of it were far-fetched. But it does provide some caution to parents about their teens' use of the internet, its certainly something to watch out for.