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booksnbones13'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
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
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: Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
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: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
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, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
fellbyrd34'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cancer, Blood, Cannibalism, Car accident, and Alcohol
sdunn13'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
3.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
alona_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Car accident
veronicats'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit, Cannibalism, Car accident, and Alcohol
ashvini's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cannibalism and Car accident
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