syazahaniss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
What threw me off though, was what happened afterwards on Meroe Island. I expected a dead body to be instantly found (or like within a few days) and they had to scramble to find out who did it and what was the motive lest they become the next victim. But this part was pretty slow-moving (the first body was discovered nearly 2 weeks later).
Some of the fights and conflicts were also confusing. I guess the author meant to make it such that it was the influence of the island that made them that way but because I didn’t trust anyone, I kinda just assumed they were inherently like that i.e the island didn’t play a part.
The “flashback” portions also felt unnecessary since the cliche big reveal scene in the last few chapters kind of summarised it all so I really didn’t appreciate the Before chapters, because they confused me.
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Blood, Death, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Drug use
kimveach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Cannibalism, Sexism, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Blood, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
sahcrook's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Gore, Infidelity, and Murder
chandranolynne'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
5.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Classism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Grief, and Toxic friendship
taelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The writing was good and it was interesting enough to listen to during work but if I had read the physical book I probably would have definitely dnf it.
Also the whole twist of the story is built on a giant plot hole so…. yikes.
Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Cannibalism and Car accident
bookishgoob's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Violence
foldingthepage_kayleigh'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
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Drug use, Death, Murder, Alcohol, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Cancer, Classism, and Gore
Minor: 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, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death, Cannibalism, and Vomit
kaylamdean1'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
0.5
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Infidelity, and Gore
Moderate: Drug use
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: Blood, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Car accident, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death and Chronic illness