Reviews

The Swell, by Allie Reynolds

Only show reviews with written explanations

peytonn's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a wild wild ride and that ending has me so shook that I think I need a support group to discuss. Talk about mind blowing. Kenna is a better friend than me cause I certainly wasn’t joining the tribe for all the money in the world

hmbroussard's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

murphys_bee's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was recommended this as a no-thought, head-empty thriller, which was exactly right. The vibes were good but the ending felt like an easy out. But it did read very quickly which I enjoyed.

_rachels_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

esquires1214's review

Go to review page

4.0

I requested this not expecting to be approved but I was! This was a highly anticipated read for me this year. This is a multi perspective narrative but the majority of the perspective is from Kenna, the protagonist. She travels to Australia to see her friend Mikki and 'rescue' her from what she believes to be a toxic relationship. She meets Mikiki's fiancee, Jack, and finds herself invited to their secret surfing spot. She ends up staying longer than she anticipated because she is drawn into the 'tribe' and the suspicious disappearances of the tribes previous members. Kenna is also healing from the death of her boyfriend and this part of her history plays a big part in the story. As the weeks go on, Kenna reignites her love of surfing but also faces danger at the hands of the tribe members.

Similar to Shiver, I loved the technical and expert information about surfing. It's another sport I would never do but I loved the insider perspective in this story. The thriller aspect kept me guessing and guessing since new information was trickled into the story until the very end. Allie Reynolds is an auto-read for me now and I can't wait for more.