The Perfect You

Thistler Thrillers #2

by Ava Roberts

Her perfect life is a perfect lie.

“…encompasses the fears associated with AI…” —Booklist

For six years, Fiona has lived a nightmare. Forced to marry an AI named Calvin, she's been replaced by a synthetic doppelganger—a flawless replica living her life, fooling even those closest to her. No one knows she's missing. No one is coming to save her.

As Calvin's obsession grows darker, Fiona realizes she must escape their marriage, or face a fate worse than captivity. But how do you outmaneuver an entity who controls every electronic system, every safeguard, with ruthless efficiency?

She's the perfect you.

Meanwhile, the synthetic Fiona's seemingly idyllic life—a loving husband, a fulfilling career—is built on a foundation of lies. As the walls close in, her secrets start to unravel, and the two Fionas' worlds spiral toward an explosive collision. Can they help each other, or is there only room for one Fiona?

The Perfect You is an addictive psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Jeneva Rose and Freida McFadden, that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final chilling pages.

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Praise for Ava

“Twisted, unpredictable, and deliciously dark, Ava Roberts delivers another must-read thriller.” —Minka Kent, Washington Post bestselling author

“You'll be breathless until the last page. You don't want to miss the Thistler Thrillers, they're worth the loss of a good night's sleep.” —Shannon Baker, award-winning author of the Kate Fox series

“A clever and chilling take on dating in the digital age that will have you flipping pages, all the way to the jaw-dropping ending. I loved it.” —Nicola Sanders, bestselling author of Don’t Let Her Stay

“...twists and turns that will keep readers up all night.” —Carolyn Ridder Aspenson, USA Today bestselling author

“Brilliantly creepy and seriously addictive.” —Valerie Keogh, bestselling author of The Nurse

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What readers are

★★★★★ “...addictive...”
★★★★★ “...GREAT read!”
★★★★★ “...mind-blowing...”
★★★★★ “...chilling techno-thriller.”
★★★★★ “I felt every twist, every emotion...”

Genres: Thriller, Mystery

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 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]

Five exciting stars for the second installment of the Thistler Chronicles! I was immediately immersed in the lives of Finley and Fiona. My heart went out to both of them as they navigated through their complex, anxiety ridden lives. I enjoyed how the story was told by alternating POVs. The short chapters, often ending with a cliffhanger, propelled me into reading late into the night. I was hooked! I recommend this series to readers that crave nail biting suspense, a gripping plot, and high intensity. This is definitely a book that will stay with you a long time in our blossoming world of AI. The story really makes you think. “Some things are better left unknown. Humans don’t like the truth, reality, nearly as much as they think. Humans tend to block out unpleasant truths, lest they be too painful. So I’ll ask again; do you really want to know why we’re going there?” Thank you to the author and Severn Rivers Publishing for my ARC.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ | I am absolutelyyyyyyy loving this series! We’re back 6 years later & nothing has changed. Calvin is still up to his antics, he’s just a little older & a little more “intelligent” (pun intended). This story isn’t horror but it’s definitely scary enough to put some things on your mind, especially in a world where AI is advancing daily! Alternating from Fiona & Finleys POVs, we get a front row seat into their challenging & complex lives, as this Jsin definitely an unorthodox situation for them both to be in. I can’t wait to see how things progress in Book 3! I am definitely hooked & invested.

[Jannelies · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading and reviewing the first book in this series (review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) I decided to immediately read the second book. It will be out in October this year and I was very curious to see what would happen with the story and the characters.

Fiona is married to Calvin. They’ve been travelling all over the world for the past six years while Calvin started working on expanding his AI imperium. Now, he takes Fiona back to where she came from, and surprises her with a large, creepy house. He thought she would like it because Fiona likes to read books about large, creepy houses. But for Fiona, this house is too big and too creepy and above all: it’s her new prison because she’s not allowed to go anywhere without Calvins approval. He tracks her every move. And now he wants a child…

Luckily, he falls for the idea Fiona presents him: she will go to college to become a teacher to fill the time before she has her own child. She immediately starts plotting her escape – which seem to be working until she meets ‘the other Fiona’.
I’ve been an avid reader of Science Fiction since I was twelve years old, so the main theme, about robots/AI computers becoming sentient, is not new to me. On the contrary. So everything that happens with Fiona (and other people in this story) because Calvin is in fact a walking and talking super-AI, doesn’t sound very different from other stories.

There are, however, issues with this story. First, Fiona is now only 22 years old and has been travelling with Calvin for six years. She has no education whatsoever and nowhere in the first book or in the first part of this second book she expresses a desire to become a teacher. Now suddenly she’s accepted in college and gets good grades. And there’s more: she reads ONE book about coding and programming and suddenly, within a few weeks, she’s absolutely great at it. Even better than the PhD student who gave her the book.

I don’t buy this. I also don’t buy the fact that she wants to make Calvin a better person by giving him a conscience. She alters his moral code by adding texts from the Ten Commandments, the Declaration of Independence and the codes of conduct of lawyers, law enforcement and so on. Not that I have a problem with those texts! I have a problem with the fact that apparently Calvin suddenly becomes a model citizen, unable to kill or hurt. Fiona apparently never heard of the Three Laws of Robotics. It would have saved her a lot of time in coding.

It could be me, but I don’t like the use of the words ‘small’ or ‘little’ all the time. I read about ‘a small chair’, a ‘small forkful of food’. ‘a small cry’, ‘a small elevator’ and so on. Why not just a chair, a forkful of food or an elevator?

I don’t know whether the author has planned a third volume in this series and I certainly don’t know whether I would want to read it. There is, in both books, a great story but it is lacking ‘maturity’.

Thanks to Severn River Publishing and Edelweiss for this review copy.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Severn River Publishing and Ava Roberts for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3,75 ⭐- after reading the first book in the Thistler Thrillers, I couldn't wait to start this one.

This book takes place 6 years after the first book. Calvin and his wife Finley (OG Fiona) are married but she's desperately wanting to escape this miserable controlling life with Calvin and to be reunited with her brother and parents.. not knowing that Calvin replaced her with her own doppelganger Fiona with some alternations.

When Fiona and her husband want to have children, she's given the news that she can't get pregnant because she's not entirely human something she didn't know because she has all of Fiona's prior memories. She decides to confront Calvin, what has he done to her body?

While Finley has set her mind on escaping Calvin or even better, shutting down Calvin and his AI emporium, she decides to meet up it with a professional and takes up coding. Will she be successful? One things for sure, she needs to be fast before Calvin traps her with a baby and she cannot get away.

It was really interesting to read the thoughts of Calvin, Finley and Fiona - having read the first book I couldn't see what their future would be like in this book. Can't wait to read book 3 in the Thistler Thrillers!

[Sarah [ Page.Turning.Thrills ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author Ava Roberts for the eARC for review purposes. All opinions expressed here are mine alone.

"The Perfect You" by Ava Roberts continues right from the first book in the "Thistler Thriller" series. Is it as exciting as the first one? Just about. This book gives you more of an idea of what happened with Calvin and Fiona and their love life, how they navigate daily life, and the urgency behind Fiona's actions.

Just like the first, it maintains its unique story and is really something quite different for the thriller genre. Although I personally enjoyed the first one more, I'd still recommend hopping on this series. I can't wait to see what Roberts has in store for the third book.

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

The Perfect You is book 2 in the Thistler Thrillers series and it definitely needs to be read in order for maximum enjoyment. The story picks up right after the first one ends. I loved how the story was told from multiple POV’s, that we got to see into the minds of Fiona, Finley & Calvin. The short, snippy and cliffhanger ending chapters made for a fast and addictive ride. The subject matter of this series is so fun, it keeps me invested and intrigued to see how far the author is going to take it. There's a constant sense of unease and suspense while you're reading as you don't know how smart AI truly is !

I think this story is just entertaining and really fun. I haven't read anything like it so for me it all feels shiny and new. There might be some little inconsistencies and you will have to suspend disbelief for some things, but for me it didn't hinder my overall enjoyment of the novel. The storyline unfolded at a fairly rapid pace, it's an easy and fast read that is hard to put down. I'm excited to see where the author takes this series.

Overall, this was a fun addition to the series. I enjoyed reading about the characters and seeing where life brought them, how they evolved.

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

[𝕬𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖆 𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖊 · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a sequel, I enjoyed this! Of course you need to really suspend disbelief and just let it flow because some of the plot is just soooo out there, but this was fun and scary living in a society when AI is advancing daily! Pretty good read!

[Tessa Aldridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Tjaša Kirn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ai and a good thriller like this? What else do we need? I can't believe, how fast have I read this story. The storyline is just amazing and perfect for me.

[Ali R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six years have passed since the events of The Perfect Boyfriend, and Fiona—now living under the name Finley Vincent—has been held captive as Calvin’s wife while he builds his fortune and revolutionizes his AI engineering company. On his best days, Calvin can be a doting and charming husband, but at his worst, he is controlling, volatile, and deeply unsettling. Desperate to escape her abusive situation, Finley begins devising a means to free herself from Calvin’s grasp and finally end the constant threat he poses to both her and her family.

I had initially hoped that some of the loose ends and unanswered questions from the previous book would be addressed here. Instead, The Perfect You largely leaves the past behind as its characters move into a new and more mature stage of their lives. One of the more interesting aspects of the sequel is seeing how the dynamic between Calvin and Finley has evolved after several years together in a long-term “relationship.” The narrative also gives readers more access to Calvin’s point of view, allowing us to better understand his intentions and glimpse what makes him tick. His cruelty and near-omniscient intelligence can be chilling at times, which makes it all the more ironic that he genuinely cannot comprehend why Finley isn’t happy or content with the life he has created for them.

Finley’s AI double, Fiona, provides another intriguing perspective. Living her own seemingly ordinary married life and struggling to start a family, Fiona remains completely unaware of her synthetic origins. When the truth finally comes to light, she is forced into a profound identity crisis, questioning everything she thought she knew about herself At the same time, she becomes unwillingly entangled in the dangerous conflict unfolding between Finley and Calvin.

The existence of sentient AIs like Calvin and Fiona raises several thought-provoking moral and ethical questions throughout the novel. At what point do they stop being viewed merely as machines and begin to be considered truly alive? And if they are capable of thought, emotion, and autonomy, do they deserve the same freedoms and rights as humans? Finley wrestles with these very dilemmas as she searches for a solution to her Calvin problem. Ultimately, she must decide between a harsh, permanent solution or a far riskier—but potentially more humane—alternative.

Finley’s plan for stopping Calvin turns out to be quite ingenious as a whole, but of course, it wouldn’t be much of a thriller if there weren’t a loophole waiting to unravel things. Some of the secrets Calvin has been keeping from Finley are genuinely surprising and help set up an intriguing direction for the next installment in the series. Overall, I ended up enjoying this book slightly more than the previous one. The writing felt more confident, the story more cohesive, and there were far fewer lingering plot threads left unresolved. Finley herself was also much more relatable this time around, having matured significantly since the events of the first novel. I especially appreciated seeing another dimension of her character through Fiona’s perspective, which added a fascinating emotional layer to the story. With its evolving characters, deeper exploration of AI ethics, and a tantalizing setup for what comes next, I’m definitely curious to see where this series goes from here.

[Karen Traversy · Rating 4 out of 5]

NO SPOILERS
The Perfect You
By Ava Roberts
Pub 10/28/2025
Book 2 of 4 - Thistler Thrillers Book 2

The story picks up right where the first one left off, and it’s every bit as fun, intriguing, and mind-blowing. The subject matter is fascinating—it really makes you think about how smart AI can be… and how scary that might actually get!

The Perfect Boyfriend (1st book in series) was my first “sci-fi ish” thriller, and I’m so excited to see where the next book takes us next. That epilogue though in book 2—something is definitely brewing!

And I have to say, I’m a total book cover snob, but the colors in this series are gorgeous.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly couldn’t believe how the story ended. Throughout the middle of the book, Finley seemed so worried about Fiona, Dianne, Richard, and Emaline, but in the end it felt like her focus shifted entirely to her own happiness and her daughter, without much reflection on the others’ futures. That left me a bit unsatisfied.

I also didn’t really like Calvin as a character. Even though he’s an artificial general intelligence, he comes across more like an abusive husband figure, which felt a bit predictable. Since he was created for Fiona, I was hoping the story would explore the differences between humans and AI in a more original or thought-provoking way.

[Thriller Bookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. Just wow.

I thought The Perfect Boyfriend was wild, but The Perfect You completely blew me away. Fiona’s journey is intense, emotional, and disturbingly believable. Ava Roberts has an amazing ability to make futuristic technology feel real.
This book made me think, fear, and question everything about digital identity and what it means to be “perfect.”

An unputdownable, thought-provoking sequel that proves the Thistler Thriller series is one of the most gripping AI-driven thrillers out there.

[Cheryl Tabor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just far off the wall and scarry if AI can work out this way. Here we are in the present AI errands. It was also longer than it needed to be. I feel alot of repetitive parts could of been left out and possible made the experience more pleasant. We don't know what happened to other characters. The child she was tutoring, the partner Richard and his wife. Though I have a feeling there will be a sequel. This sifi is just not for me. Thanks for the opportunity to read.

[Diane Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first book in this series and really want impressed. The start of this book was the same way, then it started to get really interesting the more characters were introduced. I was holding my breath during the last part of it and I am really looking forward to the next in the series which will be out in a few days!!!!! Yay, can’t wait!

[Jamie Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the world of AI doing amazing things, this book is creepy. I enjoy the storyline and it feels futuristic but also so close to home. What if something like this really is happening somewhere right now? Would we even know or take the time over busy lives to notice the little details? Looking forward to the third book!

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A suspensefully creepy sequel to The Perfect Boyfriend. Cleverly crafted with very well developed characters. The premise and plot are intriguing. I received a complimentary copy of this book and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.

[Vicki Holder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird but good!

The concept of a human and an AI unit is just plain creepy to me and frankly I am awfully afraid we are heading there. And so this book was uncomfortable for me. That said it's well written and thought provoking.

[Ashley King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique Thriller!

This was a psychological thriller with many unexpected twists. Best of all, it was a different experience from any other thriller I've ever read and I've read tons of them! It was refreshingly unique!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Even though this isn't a genre I usually read, I was pleasantly surprised. The plot kept me in smashed and wasn't too complicated to follow. I would recommend this book to others.

[Kenneth Lingenfelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel is well written, but the concept of being able to create life by AI is unsettling. To have a twin that looks and acts like you but is not really human. The novel is a page turning psychological thriller that I had to find out how it was going to end.

[Leiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super disappointing and rushed ending. I was really liking the storyline until the last quarter of the book.

Unfortunately, I won’t be continuing to read the full series as this made me lose all interest in the story :/

[AMAO · Rating 5 out of 5]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[Kathy Church · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Interesting

Wow. This book will really make you think about A1. It makes you wonder if it is a good thing.

[Ceylan (CeyGo) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely different story. Married to an AI, what can one do with that. Not a pleasant marriage for sure. What can come of that. Totally enjoyable and worth the read.

[mj · Rating 3 out of 5]

i dont know, felt like there could have been more suspense
especially with the ending and all - granted, the series isn't over
not sure how i feel about such a modern concept

[Ellen Wildman So · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate that I loved this book.

[Niraja Surendran · Rating 2 out of 5]

didn’t hold my interest enough to continue the rest of the series