This book was immersive and felt very dangerous… You always knew something bad was going to happen around the corner. Lots of good love to hate characters as well!

"...𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘛𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘥."⁣⁣
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{Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this ARC of 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 by Rachel Hawkins.}⁣⁣
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𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: January 4, 2022⁣
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I've been putting this one off but let's just pull off the band-aid and get it over with. ⁣⁣
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Sailing towards a deserted tropical paradise with a history of horrific events...potential, potential, potential. But what started off with intrigue, quickly digressed into a downward spiral of meh.⁣⁣
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Incredibly unlikeable characters all around. Not one male character with any redeeming qualities. It was basically impossible to care about anyone. ⁣⁣
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The ending just got more haphazard with every turn of the page. Finally, ending with a character having to literally explain what was going on because it was all so random. ⁣⁣
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3 ⭐ because while it wasn't great...it wasn't the worst thing I read this month.

Do you like boat murder books? Do you like creepy island murder books? Then Reckless Girls is for you! It is a great murder mystery, well plotted and well paced. The book is utterly readable and flows like a movie.

What do I not like about it? Pretty much all of the characters. The book was good I definitely enjoyed it and recommend it. Without a doubt, the main character, Lux, finds personal growth. After her mom's death she is lost - a wanderer and follower. And, by the end, she is no longer along for the ride. The other five characters have more defined personalities but I wouldn't want to be friends or in a relationship with any of them (probably what makes for such a good mix of characters to ship of to an island with a sinister history).

by Rachel Hawkins

Thank you to St Martins Press for the gifted arc!

I don't know about you- but I am too anxious and would NEVER go on a boat trip with a bunch of people I didn't know and absolutely trust! But I guess that's why I'm not in their situation.

My rating: I loved it!

MY THOUGHTS:
● These characters were hard to like- but I think that it worked for this story. Each character made stupid decisions and did things that made me really dislike them. I couldn't even sympathize with Lux (but she has a super cool name!)
● It was a very quick read- every part flowed and sucked you into the story.
● The little excerpts from emails or magazines was a bit distracting, but I guess helped build the back story of the creepy island.

Now I'm ready for a tropical vacation! We have a cruise planned for February, but with COVID cruises in the news every day, I'm starting to get a bit worried...

This book was easily readable and I finished it in less than two days. I was intrigued by the characters—Lux's narration draws you in and I found myself rooting for her even as I was unsure if I really liked her. But I think I did like her more than anyone else as all these characters are pretty unlikable (especially the guys...no decent men to be found anywhere in this book).

The standout of this book was the setting—a remote island with a bad history and no cell service, and you really feel that isolation with the characters! I loved how the story turned from the beginning to the middle, and how we learned about the other characters through flashback scenes, things that Lux doesn't know.

The one thing I didn't like was the ending—it was too abrupt for me and wrapped things up in an unexpected way that had me skeptical. But this whole book was definitely a wild ride and a fun read if you're looking for a quick thriller.

I gave it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 here.

Thank you St. Martins Press, Rachel Hawkins and Netgalley for the eARC!

I really enjoyed The Wife Upstairs (and The Ex Hex!) so I was so excited when I was approved for Reckless Girls! If I wasn’t so exhausted I definitely would have stayed up all night to finish this book in one sitting. It’s super fast paced and the tension rackets up quickly.

My main complaint is about the language. The writing felt really bro-y and was full of f bombs. I swear A LOT but even this felt like too much for me. BUT at the same time, the language felt really appropriate for a bunch of twenty-somethings who decide to go party on a deserted island. Soooo maybe it’s not a complaint as much as a note to readers.

Reckless Girls is out 1/4/22!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4074361157
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYCsCtwPNGP/

Four young women and three men converge on a deserted island paradise where life should be idyllic but no one/nothing is what it seems.

The story is told in two timelines: 'Before' and 'Now.' In 'Before,' we learn each woman's story and how they happen to be on the island. The main character, Lux, narrates the 'Now' sections and we learn that she has lost her mother from pancreatic cancer and can no longer afford to go to college, so she's waiting tables in San Diego when she meets the handsome Nico, who invites her to sail away with him to Hawaii on his ship, Suzannah. There they meet Amma and Brittany who offer to pay for some needed repairs to the ship if they will sail with them to the deserted island of Meroe.

When they arrive at the island, they find two people already there--Jake and Eliza--a wealthy couple who are more than willing to share food and wine with their new 'friends.' Then sails in a scruffy fellow named Robbie whose very annoying presence there seems to upset the delicate balance of their peaceful island adventure with his tales of the island's past. Is it true that the island is cursed?

I couldn't stop reading this thriller--I loved all the twisty turns involving these characters. What a strange bunch!

I received an arc of this new thriller from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity.

Reckless Girls was the second book I've read by this author and WOW it was exciting! How does a story about 6 people on a very remote island alone...that starts out fun and friendly turn so wrong?
This tense on your seat thriller had me hooked so much I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book for all mystery thriller lovers.

Inspired by Bugliosi's "And the Sea Will Tell," this book by Hawkins is set on the storied, out-of-touch (imaginary) Pacific island of Meroe. Lux McAllister, who is without a family, falls for Nico, a rich sailor who is determined not to depend on his family. They live in Hawaii where they are finally offered the opportunity to finish repairing Nico's sailboat and sail two young women to a the island of Meroe.

In the beginning, it's a beautiful adventure but then others appear with their boat and the equilibrium of the island changes. When one more stranger sails up in his boat, his rudeness and boorish behavior cause the whole group to begin sniping at one another. After the stranger sabotages the others, they are all stuck there and tempers grow short.

Hawkins offers a couple of plot twists and a surprise ending. This book is a good get-lost-in-it read that will keep you entangled with it until the very end.

“There are always options. Particularly when you let go of the version of yourself that got here in the first place. You can cling to the before, or you can live in the after.”

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins is a propulsive page turner I binge read in a single day. It is a book about power, options, who has them inherently, who must adapt to make their own. It’s about before and after. How we move forward, what are we willing to do to start over. Told in alternating timelines from several different point of views it’s quite a while before pieces start coming together, forming a larger picture of how these characters fit together, their motivations, who knows what and when. Hawkins presents the question: who are we when everything is stripped away, what are we capable of? I would have liked less going on, it felt slightly fussy. No plot holes are left which is impressive!
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review Reckless Girls. All opinions are my own.

Reckless girls is a slow build thriller with a grab you by your pants ending. Lux sets sail on her boyfriend's boat with two strangers - destination: Deserted Island a few days travel from Hawaii. But as the trip progresses, secrets unravel. And who can better keep secrets than someone who can no longer share them?

Hawkins crafts a suspenseful story, alternating between Lux's perspective of "Now" and various points-of-view leading up to the fateful trip. While the first half of the book spends time building up the plot and setting, it keeps you engaged and moves quickly. But boom. Right at the halfway point, things pick up and you cannot put this book down, you just have to find out what happens to these people on the island. While the ending leaves you wanting a little more information, the overall story is a great thriller that pulls you in quickly and leaves you breathless. The gorgeous setting adds to the esthetics of the scenery.

Reckless Girls is a great book for someone who loves slow burning thrillers. The second half of the book is really hard to put down! Although I didn’t particularly connect with any of the characters, I still recommend picking up this book.

Thank you to Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“You can cling to the before, or you can try to live in the after, you know?”

I’ve been reading Rachel Hawkins for a long time, all the way back to her Hex Hall days which, I might add, remains one of my YA favorites to this day. I’m happy to say she’s no slouch in the adult thriller genre either, let me tell you!

I loved The Wife Upstairs for its gritty & crafty retelling of a classic favorite and I loved Reckless Girls for the twisty revenge story that fed my thriller loving heart. I’m hesitant to draw parallels to my girl, Agatha, and her classic And Then There Were None but there’s a few similarities; an isolated setting where everyone has a secret and everyone is lying but this is basically where that ends. But c’mon! Secrets! Lies! A Gorgeous tropical island with a sinister vibe? Yes, please!

If you enjoy supremely flawed characters with a fast-paced twisty plot, give this one a read!
My thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this DRC.

3.5 stars.

I mostly enjoyed this one. A bit like And Then There Were None but also not. There were a lot of unanswered questions at the end and who could answer them? It took a long time for things to pick up. A handful of unlikable characters, mostly spoiled rich adults. I thought the ending was rough and the epilogue was unnecessary and confusing. All of a sudden Lux is a guide for wandering women? What?

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an ARC of Reckless Girls in exchange for my honest opinion.
How long would you last on a deserted island? What if another boat also arrived at the island with a seemingly never-ending supply of food and booze - would you ever want to leave?
I had trouble putting this book down to accomplish basic things like eating lunch and running errands because I was so sucked into the story. Lux has followed her new boyfriend Nico to Hawaii in hopes of embarking on sailing their new boat, the Susannah, around the Pacific. Considering the Susannah is named after Nico's ex, Lux should have been slightly more prepared for Nico to lose interest in her midway through their first real trip, being paid to chauffeur two girls to the deserted Meroe Island, famous for a shipwreck where the survivors resorted to cannibalism before being discovered. The bad juju of the island continues for the six visitors (when the four arrive, there is already one more couple with their boat anchored in the harbor), and escalates when a seventh visitory arrives on his own.
Told with small chunks of flashbacks to "then" with most of the characters, the story helps the reader see that not everyone is exactly how they seem and that some of the relationships between the characters have been falsely established, making the reader wonder what could be the truth. Ultimately I guessed where this was going, so I wasn't as excited about the ending as I would have been if it had been a surprise, but perhaps other readers will enjoy that part!
This book also succeeded in getting me SO excited for my upcoming trip to Hawaii - but I think I'll stay away from any visits to deserted islands while I'm there!

Reckless Girls is a suspense drama - sort of thriller - with many components that ultimately fell short of my expectations. It was fast paced which kept me going, but was too unrealistic for me to ever become completely engaged. Lux is a lost soul, her mother passed and she is making her way and followed her boyfriend to Hawaii. Someday they will fix his boat and go on grand adventures. enter Brittany and Amma. Things get a tad crazy. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early release in exchange for my honest opinion. Reckless Girls will be available on 1/4/2022.

Reckless Girls gave me heart palpitations. A sinister air was lurking the entire time I read it. An innocuous sail to a remote island, that has bad vibes, will not end up well. It was like merging Fentasy Island and Cast Away. When the stuff started going down I didn’t know who would be the last one standing. The ending was predictable but a bit stretched, in my opinion. It’s a read that messes with your mind. Word of caution: keep sailing past deserted Pacific islands.

This book was amazing and met most of my expectations. The characters are beautifully crafted and I fell in love with them. The story itself kept me interested even through the middle (which can be tricky for some writers). This is my first Rachel Hawkins book and I am super excited to read more of her stuff now that I’ve read this.

Lux and her boyfriend Nico are hired to sail two women to a remote island in the South Pacific. It seems like the job of a lifetime. Liz is quick to bond with their passengers, college best friends Brittany and Amma. When they reach Meroe Island, they come across Jake and Eliza. The new friends all settle in to experience this stunning island and life off the grid. Soon though, people are going missing and turning up dead.

Overall I enjoyed the book. I flew through it but the characters made such poor choices that it sometimes got to me. I don’t think any of the characters were particularly likable. The ending felt rushed and I’m still not even sure what happened. 🤣

I literally could not put this book down. Great characters, fast pace, with lots of little twists along the way. Alternating between current time and flashbacks of the various characters life "before" kept me turning pages late into the night. Highly recommended