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wrestleacademic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
jcpreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
martamae77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, Car accident, and Abandonment
hbrown00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity and Abandonment
Minor: Drug use and Cannibalism
kylasmv15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Child death, Vomit, and Cannibalism
elizabethgreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Gun violence, Car accident, and Classism
michellemaas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
2.5 - ⭐⭐💫
Standalone Adult Thriller with island vibes, dual timelines, and multiple point-of-views. Also deals strongly with themes of privilege and loss.
It was a great study on human nature, but marketing it as a thriller is a bit of a stretch.
"Dreams were for people who had choices, opportunities. I didn’t believe I had any of those things."
Lux and her boyfriend, who are in dire need of some money, offer to accompany 2 college girls to a deserted island for a thrilling adventure. While things are nice, even relaxing at first, the discovery of a dead body causes them all to question whom they can trust.
"The truth is, when your world is falling apart, you stop having 'a thing.' You get so focused on just making it through each day that 'interests' or 'ambitions' kind of go out the window. You definitely don’t have time for passions."
First and foremost, I think marketing this as a "thriller" is a bit of a stretch. There were legit maybe 4 thrilling scenes in total, and even that's me being a bit generous. Now this was my first thriller so maybe I'll come to learn that that's just how it is, but I don't think so. This felt a lot more like a contemporary or speculative fiction book with a heavy emphasis on sociology.
The whole point of the book was to explore people. How they interacted, the things they did to be accepted by others, how loss affected them but also how isolation affected them. Being on a deserted island with no connection to the modern world gave everyone the freedom they needed to justify their baser human instincts. The jealousy, the possessiveness, the sexual urges, everything was dramatically heightened because there were no other people to subconsciously keep them in line with the threat of not fitting in and being accepted. It was a great study of human nature and I really enjoyed it but thrilling, it was not.
All that being said, I still think Hawkins is an amazing author. She has this way of using stylistic devices (which is not something I ever notice) to enhance the story and make the characters super realistic. Things such as her narrating past events in the third person as opposed to the first person of current events to create distance between the people our main characters were and currently are, for example. She also delivers a very slow and mundane start to the book so we can see how fast things escalate in the end. It was all just really well done.
"What am I when you strip everything else away? I’m a motherf*cking survivor."
Overall, I unexpectedly really enjoyed reading this book, especially the social commentary Hawkins made, but I wish there were more heart-pounding scenes and a bit more of a plot since things only really started happening at 65% in. The ending was pretty mind-blowing and expertly done though. Would recommend it if you are in the mood for a book that is slightly thrilling and has a cast of amazing characters.
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death and Chronic illness
mbedrosian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer and Car accident
Minor: Abandonment
ekmook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cannibalism
Minor: Car accident
katiekreis14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Woah, “Reckless Girls” by @ladyhawkins was way good. The twists of murder and tangled backstories on a tropical island had me hooked the whole time—I read this one in a day! Three parties—seven people—wind up at an island with bad vibes, and only one person makes it out alive.
I liked it a lot. There was enough mystery and adventure to keep my attention the entire time. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery… and bonus points to anyone who is next level enough to read it while vacationing on a tropical island themselves—spooky!
Moderate: Murder and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity