Unfortunately, I feel like the author has a bit more refining of his style. I felt like the focus was so much in dialogue that I couldn't actually see any world building or atmosphere. I wanted very badly to like this, but I can't get on board. Still a 3 star for excellent plot

I am a sucker for thrillers and this book does not disappoint. It chronicles the story of 4 high school graduates in the Pacific Northwest who return from a mainland camping trip to Echo Island. They get into a car crash which leads to all things weird: the island's residents are missing, the electricity isn't working and they discover that they are not alone. Did they die? Who are these other people that they discover? Did the rapture happen and all of the believers ascended into Heaven? Where did everyone go?

One of the characters discovers a weird notebook with seemingly indecipherable language. At some point, the story becomes very meta. There's a strange English man, a ghost girl and a terrifying, murderous mountain of a man. The author does a good job of making you feel scared, terrified, sad and happy.

So why the 4 stars you ask? There's a weird focus on one of the protagonist's body type. The author constantly points out that they are thin, that they have a bony finger, a bony leg and so on. No other character gets this kind of attention. I am all for descriptive narrative but this was too much. Note to author: we get it, this character is skinny, move on.

“Echo Island” is a young adult mystery & thriller novel about four friends who explore an island filled with mystery.

While I wasn’t as captivated by this story as I hoped I would be, I still enjoyed it a lot. The suspense throughout the book continuously kept me interested, I loved the mysterious and (in some cases) creepy elements in the book, and overall, I think it’s a really good YA mystery/thriller book that I would recommend checking out.

Rating: 3.5/5

Echo Island had so much potential and a great premise, but ultimately I felt let down. It turned out not to be what I thought it was going to be, but I didn't mind that part. It was surprising, different, and kept my interest. I would describe this mystery as more of a chill, easy, and quick read with a little bit of spook. However, I felt that the book lacked excitement which led to its downfall. I am glad I read it, but it would not be the first book I recommended to my friends, especially friends who want clear-cut answers. I was waiting for some point in the plot to come, maybe a plot twist or an enlightenment of some sort, but instead was left with an anti-climatic ending.

I was really intrigued to read this book after reading the blurb. It did not go as I had envisaged and I was really struggling to get into it.
1/5 stars


Thank you NetGalley and Jared Wilson for giving me an e ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This was an interesting and unique book. I really liked the story and it was a very quick read. I do wish we learnt more about the boys friendship.

2.5 STARS
[This review contains spoilers]

The plot of Echo Island starts from premises already widely used: 4 boys come home after a weekend camping but, on the way back, they find the island completely empty. There’s no sign of life on the island and every electronic device doesn’t work, from cars to flashlights.
As atmosphere Echo Island reminded me a little the TV series The Society, both for the beginning (the protagonists move away and when they return there is no one anymore) and for the behavior/reactions of the characters, which often bordered on the absurd.

Initially the story had intrigued me, in fact I read it very quickly, but arrived at about 70% it all fell flat. The plot twist that was about to arrive was already obvious in the first half [although I must admit that I did not expect the revelation of "you are part of a book". That I found very original and I was personally impressed... but I still found some inconsistencies that made me turn my nose. First of all, Beatrice and Tereus, who seemed to me like little specks; I didn't see all this importance in Beatrice and the reactions of Tereus were all too caricatural. And how the hell does he survive after they burned him alive?!
Tim and Archer are two other characters that didn’t convince me. The first one because his purpose in the end was what... to die a second time? And the second because it turned into a useless speck. Initially Archer is shown like he was the "leader", the one who would solve everything, but then he becomes useless for the purpose of the plot and generally everything he does is unnecessary. That is quite inconclusive.

Bradley and Jason are the ones I liked the most. In the case of Bradley I was amazed, because he had started very badly but he is the only one that has actually evolved throughout the story. I liked Jason but I found too forced the change he undergoes, when they force him to become the hero of the situation and the thing doesn’t seem to fit much with his character.

I liked the writing style a lot, however there are many author choices that I didn't like. The finish, above all, left me with a bitter taste. Leaving aside that I don’t find it consistent with the characters I would never abandon a friend of mine on an island while he’s going crazy, to go explore an afterlife that maybe there isn’t even? Wtf? I didn’t understand what the message was or the world building that was being presented to us. [Are we in the Underworld of Hades? In a kind of Purgatory? Are there other places like the Echo Island of the dead? Does the sea at some point end? What does it mean there’s a way out if they can’t get out of this afterlife anyway???

I don’t know, I found that there were some very interesting starting points (I really like this kind of stories), but personally I was disappointed. The author started well but got a bit lost in the middle, and I think to work well this book had to be much longer than 270 pages.
Overall it’s a nice story but there are too many things that don’t add up - for example how do the notebooks write themselves if it’s said that it’s Jack who writes them? - and that made it all fell flat for me.

Thank You NetGalley/Publisher & Author for this gifted e-ARC!

Summary--
When four recent high school graduates return home from a weekend of camping, they expect to go back to life as usual. Instead, the boys discover empty streets, abandoned cars, and utter silence—everyone has disappeared.

Review--
I was a little bummed about this book. I guess I was expecting a little bit more. Just wasn't what I thought it was going to be.
I wasn't drawn into this the story, it did not hold my attention very well.

Rating-- 3.5/5

Imagine going camping with your friends only to come home and find no one left. The plot is interesting and hard to believe at the same time. As they discover what is really happened it is a twist unlike any other I have read.

This storyline is a little bit out there, but I thought it was memorable. It's a creepy plot, where 4 high school kids go camping off the coast of Washington state, and when they return to the island in which they live, all other people have disappeared.

The author does a great job of helping the reader picture the creepy setting of the story. While the plot becomes a bit fantastical, I could get behind it- it was a unique concept and easy to follow if you are willing to suspend your disbelief.

My one nit was that I didn't really understand the characters or their friendship- I wish the author had gone deeper into their personalities in the beginning, though they began to come together as the book went on.

Overall, this is a quick and unique read and I'd recommend it to those that like the horror genre and the abandoned town situation. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is incredibly creepy and addictive. A group of men goes on a camping trip and come back to an abandon town. I highly recommend this book it’s incredibly engrossing.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Echo Island in exchange for an honest review.

I can't quite describe why Echo Island didn't work for me, so this is going to be a very short review. I just couldn't get into the narrative structure. I've reread bits and pieces to try and figure out why that was but there's nothing inherently wrong with it, it just wasn't for me.

The plot was unique and definitely did not go the route I thought I was going to which was pretty cool. If I liked the narrative structure would I have enjoyed it? Probably? I'm honestly not sure. Sorry this is such an uninformative review.