Reckless Girls was the first book I have read by Rachel Hawkins, and it made me want to go back and read The Wife Upstairs. The plot hooked me: four young, beautiful people sail to a deserted island to soak up the sun and stumble across another couple who is already there. At first they drink, party, swim and enjoy exploring the island. When a seventh person shows up unexpectedly, the situation heads downhill fast.

The characters were fairly flat and not extremely fleshed out, but the pace of the story was spot on, with brief chapters ending in cliffhangers.

The end did get pretty wild, but if you're willing to suspend belief, it is a lot of fun. I will admit I didn't quite catch how the pieces fit together until the twist was almost revealed.

I will recommend this to readers who like suspenseful thrillers without worrying about all the pesky details of reality.

Thanks to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

📚 Book Review 📚

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins is a story of a group of people who meet up to travel to an uninhabited island that has a interesting history.

Things I liked:
🌺 Multiple POV
🌺 Character development as the author moved back and forth from the past to now
🌺 The setting sounded glorious!

Six strangers together on a deserted island for two weeks that is clouded in mystery? What started off as a fun party quickly turned sideways. The book gave off vibes of the show Lost, which I was a big fan, and made me long for a less sinister tropical get away.

Reckless Girls by @ladyhawkins is a book that I couldn’t put down once I picked it up! It’s a suspense book that kept me guessing up until the end. There’s romance. There are new friendships. There’s that one creepy guy. The character development is captivating and really gets you thinking about which person is going to turn on the others.

If you like listening to suspense books, you’re in luck! I went back and forth between the egalley and audiobook (@macmillianaudio). You can’t go wrong with either!

4.5 stars – Rounding to 5 for Goodreads

Pub Date: January 4, 2022

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lux can't figure out how she's ended up here - living in Hawaii, working as a maid in a high-end resort, waiting for her boyfriend Nico to fix his boat so they can begin traveling the world like they'd agreed to do. Then one day, Nico introduces Lux to Brittany and Amma, two girls who want to pay Nico $50,000 to sail them to a remote island in the Pacific. Nico tells the girls that he'll only go if Lux can come - and if they pay to fix his boat. Within days, the four have set sail for Meroe Island.

When they arrive, they are disappointed to find a boat already docked on the island - though they quickly bond with Jake and Eliza, the wealthy couple they find there. Initially, Meroe Island feels like paradise - lazy days full of of drinking, eating, sunbathing, and swimming - but something doesn't seem right. Lux soon begins to wonder what she really knows about Jake, Eliza, Brittany, and Amma - and what she even knows about her boyfriend Nico. Is the island really paradise... or is it a disaster waiting to happen?

Whew! This book was a whirlwind read that captivated me right from the start and didn't let go until the last page. This was an interesting take on a locked door mystery and I enjoyed every minute of it. Not too many likable characters in this one, but my heart definitely pulled for Lux as she navigated the many crazy twists and turns.

Reckless Girls is a perfect escapist thriller for after the holidays. It reads quickly and you will definitely be transported to Meroe Island, a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a mysterious history of shipwrecks and cannibalism. It's the type of thriller where you know everyone has secrets, but whose secret is the one causing all the trouble? So while you're stuck inside unable to travel, pick a book that let's you do just htat.

an interesting premise. The story follows Lux, a young woman who is working as a waitress in Hawaii, but then follows her boyfriend to a deserted island on his yacht in order to earn money to travel. Having read The Wife Upstairs previously, I knew Hawkins would not disappoint and boy was I right. This book took so many twists and turns I thought I was on a rollercoaster! Unsurprisingly, I flew through this book in one night and I would suggest this book as a great vacation read for anyone wanting to get away and have a sneaky mystery at the same time. Reminiscent of the Beach meets the Girl on the Train, I would HIGHLY recommend this book to thriller and mystery lovers the world over.

This book was quick and fun to read, even if not all of the twists landed for me. Some of the side characters—especially Brittany and Amma—were tough to distinguish at first, and I struggled to keep them straight. But the atmosphere is so good and spooky, and this is ultimately a fun, easy book that’d fit right in on the thriller shelf.

WOW! This was my first ever Rachel Hawkins book and boy am I a fan! I loved the writing, The interwoven stories...the suspense and more! Quick and fun read - would highly recommend....now time to pull The Upstairs Wife off my TBR list!

While this was the kind of thriller with the twists and turns we love to see, some of them were a little too twisty and turny for me while others were disappointingly predictable.

Lux is aimless after the death of her mother and jumps at the chance to travel with the dreamy Nico but when they end up in a rut in Hawaii she thinks this makeshift dream is over. Until they are given the opportunity to Shepard two young women to a remote desert island that’s not as deserted as they thought. There they meet up with two other travelers and begin to enjoy what seems to be a dream vacation until a 7th creepy guy shows up then all hell breaks loose.

I felt the claustrophobic tone throughout the book and Hawkins is good and building a tense atmosphere but the characters were at best unlikeable and at worst you wanted them to get swallowed whole by the island itself.

The first half of the book you could feel the tension building and then the introduction of Robbie sends things off the rails. So many bizarre connections and disconnections. Triggering behaviors and unbelievable plot holes.

There is a rule with writing that says you don’t introduce a gun in act 1 if you aren't going to use it in act 2. I feel like Hawkins fell victim to that a bit. Some of the events in the first half just seem superfluous. And then other things seemed like they needed a bit more explaining.

While I enjoy her writing style and she has a way of setting mood, this was a bit of a miss for me

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it fell flat for me for several reasons. One of was that I feel like I need to at least like one character but honestly everyone was so awful. So many times bad things could have been avoided if someone would have made a good decision. The ending was insane and for me it felt highly unbelievable and didn’t sit well with me. Overall I think this one will come down to personal preference and it wasn’t for me.

A nifty thriller with a great setting (especially if you like me are reading it on a rainy cold day!) Lux has had a rough go of it in the last few years but now she's happy- living with an loving Nico. So what if they're sleeping in a living room, they're in Hawaii. A chance meeting with Brittany and Amma leads to a terrific opportunity. The women are willing to pay them to sail to Meroe Island, an atoll in the middle of the ocean and all seems well, if a little awkward. To everyone's surprise, there's already a boat moored there but Jake and Eliza are gracious and life is pleasant. Until.....no spoilers from me. This moves back and forth in time a bit to peel back some, but not all of the secrets these people carry. There might be a couple of plot holes but it's very much a page turner and some of those (not all) will be tied up in the end. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great storytelling and a sympathetic character in Lux makes this a very entertaining read.

This novel fulfills the classic "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Rachel Hawkins is one of my favorite thriller authors, and when I read that the setting was a deserted island, I was all in. Sadly, the ending was so tangled that it left me a bit incredulous. I'd rank this as 3.5 stars but round it up to 5 because I love Hawkins' storytelling capabilities.

There are four main characters in Reckless Girls (although I'd argue that the title should have been Reckless Girls and Boys): Lux and Nico, Brittany and Amma. We first meet Lux and Nico. Lux is kind of the hero of the story. She was in college when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She had to quit school to take care of her, and after her mom's death, she began waitressing to make ends meet. While working at a seaside bar, she meets Lux. He's handsome and very much into her. He's also from a wealthy family, but is now shunning their money in order to live life on a boat in disrepair. When Nico invites Lux to sail with him to Maui, she jumps at the chance. However, when they get there, the boat needs a ton of repairs and parts, so Lux finds work as a cleaner at one of the resorts. (Apparently Nico is too good or too busy with the disabled boat to get a job.)

One day Nico announces to Lux that he has met two young (20's) women who are willing to pay him $50,000 for two weeks to captain a boat and take them to a deserted island they read about. The island is called Meroe Island. It is a desolate place that was once a base for Allied forces during WWII. It is, however, best known as the place where the HMS Meroe shipwrecked and its sailors were marooned for more than five months. Only a handful of sailors survived, and rumors of cannibalism resulted in one of the sailors being convicted when they made it back to England. Anyway, these two young women are Brittany and Amma. They're apparently long-time school friends, but how they have so much money to throw around is a bit of a mystery. Brittany, we soon learn, lost her family in a car crash, and is a puppy-dog type of friendly. Amma is much more reserved and aloof. Presumably, Brittany has some inheritance/insurance money, but still, she and Amma have already traveled throughout Europe and now this expensive boat trip?!?!

So off they sail, but when they arrive at Meroe Island after a harrowing three days of sailing, they're shocked and disappointed to find another boat already docked there. Enter our next two key characters: Jake and Eliza. Unlike Nico's battered boat, Jake's boat is sleek and gorgeous. What's better, Jake and Eliza have stocked it with the very best food and wines! Jake and Eliza are also quite friendly and generous, and soon the six island visitors are fast friends. That is until a scruffy, creepy stranger sails in alone.

So now we have seven people on a deserted island. Only one of them will be alive by the end of the book. The rest of the novel tells the story of what happens, and as I said, it is a helluva tangled web.

Rachel Hawkins really knows how to thrill and surprise, and fans of hers are sure to enjoy Reckless Girls. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 1/2 stars...but I couldn't stop reading it...so bump it up to 4 stars....

Reckless Girls is one of those books that I would compare to a train wreck. You know you shouldn't look, but you just can't help yourself. It started out strong, but as the story progresses, the plot limps along somewhat. In addition, the characters are all unlikable people.. Not one single person was worth "rooting for" in this book. When I don't even like or respect the main character, it's a struggle to connect with the storyline.

The story follows Lux and her boyfriend, Nico as they take off for a deserted island with two young women that hired them. The island is not only remote, it has a history of murder and mayhem. Once they arrive there, nothing seems to be what they expected. The paradise it appears to be initially may be an illusion. The island ends up feeling very sinister and dangerous.

Other characters are added, along with several twists and turns that are blended into the storyline. Again, I wasn't fond of these characters or the direction the story went in....but I couldn't stop reading. As the story approached the end, I truly was disappointed. I found the ending to not only be far-fetched, but also somewhat excessive. Again, it's only my opinion. Many readers may enjoy each and every word of this book. I was too busy overanalyzing certain aspects of it. That said, it did keep my interest....that's definitely worth something.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Lux and Nico have big plans to travel the world, but don’t have the means to get their sail boat back up and running. That is until Amma and Brittany offer a chance for them to travel by sailing the girls out to a private island for a hefty pay. The trip almost seems too good to be true, but several days into the trip a newcomer brings about change and the true colors of all the travelers gradually start to surface.

Reckless Girls slowly builds suspense. Set with a paradise island getaway the atmosphere created this perfect ominous undertone. I found myself expecting something sinister to happen with every new chapter, and it just kept building. The few “before” chapters gave a glimpse into the background of several characters, truly added to the tone and slowly revealed true motives and lies that they were harboring.

The audiobook narrator had a smooth voice that added just enough of a shift for each character. It created an enjoyable listening experience and allowed a reader to follow the various characters and flashbacks with ease.

This Agatha Christie-esque thriller will keep a reader guessing and add a new element of paradise turned horror trip.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for offering an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

How adventurous are you?

In Rachel Hawkins' new novel, Lux is about to find out just that. After following Nico to Hawaii, he decides to charter a girls’ trip to a remote atoll with a haunting history. The story goes that anyone who spends too much time on the island begins to go a little crazy.

Amma and Brittany seem like two nice girls who are looking for a great graduation adventure before beginning their post-graduation lives. But are they as innocent as they appear? When they arrive on the atoll, they find another vacationing couple willing to share their good fortune. As we can expect, when 3 pairs of strangers all end up on an island together so much can happen.

Told in dual timelines, we slowly learn the pasts of each of the characters. Little by little we see how those pasts are impacting their current island experience. Secrets are revealed and will shock you!

None of the characters are particularly likable or trustworthy in this novel. It is definitely one that will keep you guessing all the way through and make you wonder what you would do in that situation. Would you trust or would you be suspicious? In true Rachel Hawkins’ fashion, there are some major twists that will shock you. Including the end!

This book had a lot of potential, and I’ll admit I did want to keep reading. But by the time the book was over, I was so tired of all of the whining from all of the characters. It was compelling but the characters are super unlikeable.

It isn’t often I read books filled with questionable/unlikeable characters. That’s one of the many reasons Reckless Girls felt fresh and real. If you’re in need of a book you can easily binge, this is the one.

I love complicated relationships, especially when it’s between women. Between Lux, Amma, and Brittany, there’s a lot going on. The story is told in alternating time periods with the present focusing on Lux, and the past chapters focusing on some of our supporting characters. It was interesting to see the build up - it’s a delicious mix of vulnerability and power seeking amongst women trying to find their footing in the world.

I think I can safely say we all love when a setting is a character in its own right and Meroe Island was just that. Filled with tales of cannibalism, murder and more, it’s a floating nightmare disguised as paradise. No better place for long-buried secrets to be unearthed, right?

I listened to this on audio and was instantly along for the ride. It’s one of those books where you don’t think too far ahead to try and figure things out. I had no idea where it was going and constantly found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t listening. Which is when I figured out one small twist (it was fun to see whether or not I was right). But I had 0 idea how it would end and while I would love for it to have been slightly different, I’m still content with how things were left.

I think fans of The Wife Upstairs and those looking for a concept that hasn’t been overdone and feels like it could really happen will enjoy Reckless Girls.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins is a page-turning psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't wait to find out what Meroe Island had in store for the six characters who chose to get away from it all for a few weeks on a deserted island of some infamy.

What I Enjoyed:
The aspect that I loved the most about Reckless Girls was its ability to keep me on the edge of my seat at all times. It amazed me every time I stopped to think back about what had been taking place, and I had to admit nothing of note had happened. Yet, I found it hard to tear my eyes from the page. A few ingenious and highly effective technical aspects make this possible.

The backstories of each character are full of intrigue and perfectly placed to break up the current timeline and add a bit of suspense that couldn't have happened otherwise. I'm not sure that they added much to character development. Still, they propel the story into a more fast and furious pace as all the many layers of the past are revealed slowly and purposefully, sort of like a thriller version of a striptease. And the way that past and present converge is utterly mind-blowing, and who doesn't love their minds blown in a psychological thriller.

Also, another aspect that kept the pace up until the speed of the current timeline was ready to take off in an explosive finale is the little blurbs of different stories about the island itself. This made the island take on the importance of a character and increased the atmospheric quality of the tale ten-fold. The creepy and eerie tales were small but powerful in creating just the right suspenseful feel that the story needed.

Lastly, the current timeline told in the first person through the eyes of Lux gives the timeline that bit of suspense needed as her thoughts go a bit wild. A third person telling could not have accomplished this. Lux's interpretation of the events unfolding is delightfully unreliable and seen through untrusting eyes. I loved this story's narration and what it added to the thrills.

I can't tell you much more without repeating the book blurb, or worse, giving away spoilers, and you all know how I feel about that.

Characters:
There are six characters of significance, all in their 20s:
Lux, the main character and narrator
Nico, her boyfriend
Brittany and Ama, college friends who hire Nico to sail them to Meroe Island
And Eliza and Jake, already at the island when the other 4 get there.

The characters aren't developed a great deal but just enough to understand their motivations in the story.

What I Wish:
My instincts tell me that this novel could have been taken to a whole other level if the characters had been developed more fully and sympathy or even empathy had been able to find its way into the reader's experience. I don't mind a lack of character development in a thriller because there are lots of times when I can see where it's necessary to carry off the big surprises. Still, I could imagine in this story that it would have transported the story and reader into a mind-blowing experience that would have stuck with me for a long time.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a thrilling escape story, this one will happily transport you to a deserted island in the pacific that is as beautiful as it is deadly,

Rachel Hawkins, who served up a modernized skew on "Jane Eyre" in last year's "The Wife Upstairs," tackles the classic locked-room mystery in her latest, "Reckless Girls." But the "room" here is a tiny island too beautiful to attract so many doomed people. Lux, our protagonist, escapes a bleak life to travel with her sailor-wannabe boyfriend, Nico, as he accepts a boatload of money to sail two young women to a Pacific islet. There, they encounter a couple with a much nicer boat and plenty of booze. What can go wrong? You can guess, and will, but you'll never imagine the twists, which sometimes feel like body blows as person after person's motivations are revealed in flashbacks. "Reckless a Girls" (not actually a fitting title) is fast-paced and may seem like a good one to save for the beach. But don't. Really, don't.