A new to me author. Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins.
Not what I expected. Started out enjoying it but later on turned for me.
Glad I read it but only a okay book for me.

This isolation thriller follows Lux and her boyfriend Nico when they are hired to sail two women to a remote island in the South Pacific. At first, Lux is excited as she's been waiting for her and Nico to start sailing around the world in his boat. However, when they pull up to the island and find a second boat already anchored there. Luckily, the couple from this new boat are also looking to relax and explore this remote island and the group of six quickly become friends. They spend days swimming in the clear waters, exploring the thick jungle, and drinking on the beach. But when a third boat sails up and the owner is off-putting and creeping Lux out, the resulting tension in the group forces cracks to open up and secrets are revealed. When people start disappearing or turning up dead, the cheery tropical island starts feeling more like a death sentence.

TW/CW: alcohol use, drug use, infidelity

For me, this was one of those reads where I really loved the reading experience but when I think just a bit about some of the plot points, I find it falls apart a bit. I think this would be a really great summer beach thriller read where you just want to have a good time. I also think the ending (really, last 25%) is going to be polarizing but it really worked for me.

I really loved the premise and set up in this book. Isolation thriller set in a beautiful tropical setting instead of a snowy location - perfect. The characters all choosing to go somewhere very remote and not necessarily being 'stuck' there - great. Natural tension in the group because the people involved are basically strangers - fantastic. Our characters get to the island at about the 10% mark which is exactly the timing I like in isolation thrillers. We do see Lux and Nico in that first 10% and we can see the cracks starting to form in their relationship, the little resentments that are going to start to build This really allowed me to get sucked into the premise of being on this island with basically strangers and just waiting for things to start going wrong. In the Author's Note at the end, Hawkins said she's always wanted to write a "boat murder" book and I think a lot of people are similarly interested in stories of shipwrecked or otherwise isolated island stories (Lord of the Flies, Swiss Family Robinson, Gilligan's Island, Castaway, etc).

The setting was fantastic and I think Hawkins did a great job at weaving in the sordid history of the island throughout the book. Our characters are visiting Meroe Island, an island with a dark past (which based on my googling, is the name of a real island off the coast of Thailand but the one in the book is a 3-day sail off the coast of Hawaii so it is fictional). Multiple ships had been shipwrecked on the coral surrounding the island which led to rumors of cannibalism. Also, it was used as an airstrip during WWII and there had been people attempting to live on the island on and off ever sense. We get snippets of articles, letters, and other discussions about the history of the island at the ends of some chapters which further builds the reputation of this island. I love the setting of a tropical island for an isolation thriller because the dangers are so different than we normally see with more snowy-settings. We're told about some of the threats on the island and we see a few of them, but I really wished Hawkins would have leaned into those elements a little harder. I felt like there was a bit of a discrepancy between the threats that were introduced to the reader and the threats that the characters ran into. Another specific threat that kept being mentioned to the reader is that people have gone mad on the island because it seems so perfect but is actually very hard to survive there. There were a few places that it felt like Hawkins was trying to inject some of that into the plot thread with the characters but it didn't really work for me. I wanted the island to be more of an antagonist during the story and while we do get little pieces of that, it never went as far as I was hoping.

I was pleasantly surprised that this ended up being multi-POV/multi-timeline. We're only getting Lux's POV in the 'now' timeline but we do get flashbacks that follow Lux as well as other flashbacks that show us the pasts of the other characters. I did find it a little strange to read because the present day plot was in first person (Lux) but all the flashbacks (including Lux's) were in third person so brain took a page to adjust every time there was a change. I'll admit that at the beginning, I found the flashbacks to be pretty boring but they slowly started to build some unease and tension in my reading experience. When I got to the ending, I do think the flashbacks were essential in helping the ending make sense. That being said, I feel like we got a few too many of these flashbacks that covered very similar information. I would have preferred a couple fewer flashbacks and more present-day tension. I did like how the flashbacks eventually tied into the current plot line in an unexpected way. I was making all sorts of guesses to figure out how everything would be connected but I wasn't able to figure it out before the reveal.

The ending 25% goes pretty much from 0 to 100 and while I do appreciate an over-the-top ending to a thriller, I think the tension hadn't been built up enough to really earn that ending. I felt like there was a disconnect between the first 75% and the last 25% in terms of tension and darkness. The majority of the book felt very light and fun with just an undertone of unease and then in the last 25% bodies start dropping and it really felt like we missed a day or two of escalation. I've read a few reviews that mentioned readers are either going to love or hate where the ending goes and I agree with that sentiment (personally, I really liked where it went). I do think the ending reveal worked well since I was already onboard with everything hitting the fan once it got going. It was a satisfying reveal because we know from the flashbacks that there was some unresolved plot threads and the ending wrapped all those up together. There was one particular point that I felt was a little too convenient but overall I liked it and I think the over-the-top-ness of the ending fit the vibe of the rest of the book as sort of this extreme and opulent vacation that goes horribly awry.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read and had a fun time but at the end, I do think it was a little light on the tension for me. The setting and premise were great but I know the ending is going to be hit or miss. This really feels, to me, like the book you pick up on your way to your beach vacation. I think this same premise could have taken a really dark bordering on horror turn but Hawkins keeps it pretty light (although there are pretty consistent rumbles of tension below the surface).

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Expected publication date: January 4, 2022

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advance reader’s copy.
I would describe this book as Bachelor in Paradise meets Lord of the Flies. This page turning thriller was full of suspense, but also irritating characters and way too much profanity for my taste. With that said, it only took me around 24 hours to devour this book. A true “popcorn thriller.”

What a wild ride! This is not your typical romantic thriller! This one throws in some unbelievable twists however, I caught on as to why this was named Reckless Girls pretty early on.

Four young adults without any ties to home set out on a sailboat into the deep blue. Upon arriving at their island destination, they are met by a couple with the same idea of a tropical getaway. As these 6 form a friendship and line strangler shows up on their island and things start to spiral out of control. Everyone has their own ideas of fun and “experiences” and soon secrets unravel and maybe they all have more in common than initially suspected!

I really enjoyed how this book progressed. I feel like there were a couple of holes in the storyline that should have been expanded upon but it probably wouldn’t have changed my rating.

My anticipation for this one was high after reading and loving The Wife Upstairs. This book is very different in tone, but still so good for the most part. There’s an underlying sense of suspense, and it’s hard to pinpoint the sense of unease in the air, but you’ll detect it just as you can feel the suffocating heat of the sun that these characters endure while exploring the island. Reckless Girls is highly addictive and is the definition of a page turner. The first 10% of the book was incredibly strong, a great opening. Then, between 10% to 50%, there is a bit of a ramp-up period (it takes a bit of time for the book to hit its stride), but after the 50% mark, WOW, I constantly wanted to know how each new surprise would turn out. Reckless Girl was highly entertaining which reigns supreme for me.

Overall, if you want a highly entertaining, addictive story, pick this book up! Be sure to clear your schedule first.

Meroe Island has a centuries-long history of horror. In the 1600s, a group of sailors was stranded on the inhospitable island. More than 20 landed on the island. Only 8 were rescued. Rumors of cannibalism and madness have kept the island mostly abandoned save a few adventurers who spend a few days exploring its isolated beauty.
Aimless and jobless Lux and her boyfriend Nico are given the opportunity of a lifetime. All they have to do is take Amma and Brittany to Meroe Island for 2 weeks and they can make $50,000. Amma and Brittany are likable and fun, so a couple of weeks of partying and exploring with new friends and enough money to kickstart their own adventure after sounds amazing.
Upon arriving on the island, the foursome becomes six when they meet Jake and Eliza, who are also young and fun and ready to explore and party. Everyone is having a great time, but Lux can’t help but feel impending doom. This island is full of death and madness and it seems like it’s coming for them. The doom combined with dangerous secrets leads to one conclusion- not everyone is getting off the island alive.
I have a lot of complaints about this book, but at the same time, I really liked it. You’d expect a group of young beautiful people liquored up and showing some skin would be interesting. They bored me. I got Amma and Brittany confused for probably the first 60% of the book. The secrets were very predictable, and thus so was the peak of the book. I will say that I didn’t see the very end, but I also did not like the end at all.
So if it’s so predictable and everything is so boring why did I like it? I’m not sure, but there was something about it that made me want to know what happened next. I wanted to gasp over deaths and ignore predictability. I liked how the history of the island was strewn through the book. I thought it was an interesting touch. Or maybe it’s because I’ve experienced several duds recently and this one was better than those. Either way, I give this one a 3.5/5.
*Special thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this one.

Thought I would enjoy this since I liked The Wife Upstairs so much. Boy was I wrong! Horrible characters that you couldn't possibly route for, a convoluted story that I didn't care if I ever got straight, and more F-bombs than remotely necessary. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book got me right from the start and I was excited to get into it. I like the main character, Lux, and how she showed a vulnerable side to her and we knew any time she felt insecure. It felt relatable in that way. The middle of the book felt really slow and I wanted to DNF a few times. It picked up again and the twist was unexpected but it also felt super unrealistic and a bit messy.

This was an all around okay thriller. It had a lot of promise to it, but ultimately fell a bit flat for me.

Things I liked:
- The premise. I liked that it was basically a locked room mystery, just with the island being the locked room.
- That the island and it's history was like a character in it's own right.
- There were flashback chapters for multiple characters with lots of solid character building to them.

Things that didn't work for me:
- The pace was quite slow. I didn't find it picked up until I was about 70% through.
- I didn't find the twists all that shocking. I predicted a few of them about half way through the book.

Read this if you..
- ever wondered what it would be like to stuck on a deserted island;
- like to befriend strangers;
- have wanderlust

Review to be posted on: http://instagram.com/plotspawspinot

A dark and twisty travel thriller that sees a group of strangers with suspect pasts sailing together to a deserted tropical island. Told in a dual timeline with multiple POVs this one kept me on my toes and had a deliciously jaw dropping ending. Perfect for fans of Roz Nay's Hunted. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copies!

This was a hard one for me. I DNFed at 25%. I wanted to really enjoy this story but I just couldn't get into the story.

Well this one kept be guessing until the very end!
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins is the perfect book if you are looking for a quick, exciting read. I wouldn’t even read any teasers for this one. Just jump right in! The characters in this one have you loving them one minute and hating them the next. There was one on pretty predictable plot line, but the rest of them were definitely not.
A good mystery that keeps you guessing.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

*Will post on Instagram closer to release date

I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book (thank you NetGalley and the publisher!) but that cover design alone means I might need to purchase a copy when it releases in early 2022.

It's a pretty rare day when the ending of a book can actually make my jaw drop and hang open for awhile, and that's exactly what this book did. I really enjoyed The Wife Upstairs so I was excited to read more from Rachel Hawkins and this book did not disappoint!

Lux moves to Hawaii with her new boyfriend, Nico, who promises to take her sailing around the world. Floundering for purpose after her mother's death, Lux is excited to live a life out on the open sea --- except when she arrives in Hawaii the boat (named after Nico's ex btw....) is broken and Nico doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry to get it fixed and get on their way.

So when two young travelers, Amma and Brittany, offer to fix the boat and pay them to take them on a trip to a remote deserted island for a few weeks, it's an easy decision.

Remote, deserted island --- what could possibly go wrong? When they arrive at the island, they are surprised to see another boat & couple already there. But they have high-end booze and snacks, so all is well. But the arrival of a third stranger tips the trip into the realm of weird. You can slowly see the tension building between this band of travelers until it snaps in its stunning conclusion. As we learn a little bit more about what actually brought each of the travelers to the island, you begin to realize that no one is safe.... and not everyone will leave the island.

Definitely recommend this one-sitting thriller as a beach read next summer (if you can wait that long!)

I loved THE WIFE UPSTAIRS, so I knew that I absolutely had to get my hands on Rachel Hawkin's new thriller, RECKLESS GIRLS. When six people are on a deserted island, secrets come out and true motivations are revealed. I thought that the past/present timelines were well woven to provide glimpses into each character's back story. I am officially a Rachel Hawkins convert and will read anything she writes!

Thank you to St. Martin's press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Reckless Girls is suspenseful with many twists and turns. It is an island read with a touch of Lord of the Flies. Lux and her boyfriend Nico decide to make some money to fix their boat by taking a couple of girls who paid them well to the remote Meroe Island. Meroe Island has a dark history but piques the interest of the group. When the group arrives on the island, they see another couple is also staying there. From here (and without giving any spoilers), there is a series of crazy events that keep us guessing until the very end of the novel. I would recommend this book if you are new to Rachel Hawkins or a returning reader!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Lux is feeling rudderless. She hates her dead-end hotel job. Granted she lives in the beautiful state of Hawaii, but she can't see any future here if her boyfriend, Nico, doesn't get motivated. Luckily on the same day she gets fired, Nico finds clients who will pay for the repairs their boat needs before they take the two women to Meroe Island, an isolated chunk of coral off the Hawaiin coast. Meroe Island has a dark reputation, but Lux doesn't believe in ghosts. They arrive at the island to find it occupied by a bigger, luxury boat and a beautiful couple. Soon everyone is fast friends. Food and liquor flow. What begins as two weeks of bliss devolves quickly into chaos, distrust, & death.

I love this author! Her first book The Wife Upstairs blew me away. This book is just as hypnotic and enthralling.
If you like B. A. Paris and Greer Henricks you will love this novel.

Robyn Heil, Brodart Co. Buyer

This story was a little predictable. With her last book I thought I knew what was going to happen and at the end I was thrown for a loop. I was hoping while I was reading/listening that the same thing would happen, but unfortunately there was not really a big twist. There was a lot going on that kept you involved in the story, I was just hoping for a little more shock based on her previous novel.

I think by all accounts, I should enjoy Rachel Hawkins as a writer. She did, after all, take one of my favorites - Jane Eyre - and modernize it. BUT....if we remember correctly....I didn't enjoy that re-telling.

Well, I didn't really enjoy Reckless Girls that much either. I wanted to - and in fact, did for the first...40% of the book! A down on her luck girl, in love with a rich boy who wants nothing to do with his family's money. They are in love! and on a boat! in paradise! They pick up two young women who want to pay them to sail to a remote island for two weeks of adventure. They meet two other strangers. Then a weirdo shows up and ruins everything. Or at least kickstarts the downfall of everything....

It just got....melodramatic. And again...more men gaslighting women. More women gaslighting other women. The constant violence and assault and backstabbing and lies and sex and etc etc. I can't quite figure out who these books are for. Adults? Young adults? Women? They read early 20's....which - it's 20 years ago for me, and I hate even admitting that!

I think that Rachel Hawkins is a good writer but maybe just not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A tropical themed thriller where no one is who they seem, everyone has a past and a mysterious island threatens to curse them all. This was a fast-paced, action packed thriller that kept me interested the whole way through. I loved the different perspectives from characters as well as the flashbacks. The end seemed a bit rushed to me and I would have appreciated more plot + intrigue there as the build up and character development had so much potential. Overall, I would recommend.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's and Netgalley for my ARC.

4.5 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Lux has an interesting name and an interesting past. After dropping out of college and caring for her mom while she battled, and ultimately died from cancer, she’s hopped from low rent housing and minimum wage jobs. When she meets Nico, she thinks that her world is finally turning around. But here she is in Hawaii cleaning hotel rooms while her silver spoon boyfriend fulfills his dreams of being a boat mechanic.

The dream was supposed to be to travel around the world on Nico’s sailboat. The sailboat encounters several problems on its way to Hawaii and now it sits in dry dock awaiting repairs. Nico refuses to call his family for any help. When two young women come along and want to hire Nico to take them to a deserted island in the Pacific, he jumps at the offer. His boat can be repaired and then the dreams can begin.

This island has a very sordid past, however. Meroe Island has a history of a WWII settlement with many lost souls throughout the years. Nico, Lux, Amma & Brittany head off to the island for two weeks of relaxation. Sadly, this trip will be anything but relaxing.

Hawkins creates quite the cursed Pacific island in this new novel. As with her other novels, she weaves a tale that cannot, literally, be put down. Each character has a secret past to hide, making them all suspect in anything that might happen. The book is written through chapters of past for some of the characters, and present, so you get a really great picture of how they ended up here, together, on a very cursed, deserted island.

Not my first Hawkins read, definitely not my last.